WorldWideScience

Sample records for video series freshwater

  1. Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Patient Webcasts / Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series This series of five videos ... member of our patient care team. Managing Your Arthritis Managing Your Arthritis Managing Chronic Pain and Depression ...

  2. Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Corner / Patient Webcasts / Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series This series of five videos ... Your Arthritis Managing Chronic Pain and Depression in Arthritis Nutrition & Rheumatoid Arthritis Arthritis and Health-related Quality of Life ...

  3. Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Corner / Patient Webcasts / Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series This series of five videos ... Your Arthritis Managing Chronic Pain and Depression in Arthritis Nutrition & Rheumatoid Arthritis Arthritis and Health-related Quality of Life ...

  4. Winter Video Series Coming in January | Poster

    Science.gov (United States)

    The Scientific Library’s annual Summer Video Series was so successful that it will be offering a new Winter Video Series beginning in January. For this inaugural event, the staff is showing the eight-part series from National Geographic titled “American Genius.” 

  5. Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... of Body Weight in Osteoarthritis Educational Videos for Patients Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series Psoriatic Arthritis 101 ... Patient to an Adult Rheumatologist Drug Information for Patients Arthritis Drug Information Sheets Benefits and Risks of ...

  6. 4-H Science Inquiry Video Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Jeremy W.; Black, Lynette; Willis, Patrick

    2013-01-01

    Studies support science inquiry as a positive method and approach for 4-H professionals and volunteers to use for teaching science-based practices to youth. The development of a science inquiry video series has yielded positive results as it relates to youth development education and science. The video series highlights how to conduct science-rich…

  7. Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Patients from Johns Hopkins Stategies to Increase your Level of Physical Activity Role of Body Weight in Osteoarthritis Educational Videos for Patients Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series Psoriatic Arthritis 101 2010 E.S.C.A.P.E. Study Patient Update Transitioning the JRA ...

  8. Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... and what other conditions are associated with RA. Learning more about your condition will allow you to ... Arthritis Educational Video Series Psoriatic Arthritis 101 2010 E.S.C.A.P.E. Study Patient Update Transitioning ...

  9. Historicizing video game series through fan art discourses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Švelch

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available In this article, we argue that fannish histories should not be dismissed as mere nostalgia over past experiences of one's own media fandom. Instead they should be understood as complex narratives which combine various historical layers (personal, productional, fictional and influence the future reception of and anticipation for sequels. They also shed light on the personal histories of fans, which are often juxtaposed with extratextual and fictional histories of a video game series. The subjective nature of these historical discourses is not to be seen as a constraint but as a feature of everyday history which points to the prominence of historicizing in fan cultures of video game series. These topics are examined in the selected multimodal material from the site DeviantArt consisting of fan art pieces, authorial captions, and respective comments inspired by two single-player video game series: Tomb Raider and Mass Effect.

  10. Using learning analytics to evaluate a video-based lecture series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, K H Vincent; Farooque, Pue; Leydon, Gary; Schwartz, Michael L; Sadler, R Mark; Moeller, Jeremy J

    2018-01-01

    The video-based lecture (VBL), an important component of the flipped classroom (FC) and massive open online course (MOOC) approaches to medical education, has primarily been evaluated through direct learner feedback. Evaluation may be enhanced through learner analytics (LA) - analysis of quantitative audience usage data generated by video-sharing platforms. We applied LA to an experimental series of ten VBLs on electroencephalography (EEG) interpretation, uploaded to YouTube in the model of a publicly accessible MOOC. Trends in view count; total percentage of video viewed and audience retention (AR) (percentage of viewers watching at a time point compared to the initial total) were examined. The pattern of average AR decline was characterized using regression analysis, revealing a uniform linear decline in viewership for each video, with no evidence of an optimal VBL length. Segments with transient increases in AR corresponded to those focused on core concepts, indicative of content requiring more detailed evaluation. We propose a model for applying LA at four levels: global, series, video, and feedback. LA may be a useful tool in evaluating a VBL series. Our proposed model combines analytics data and learner self-report for comprehensive evaluation.

  11. Tutorial Video Series: Using Stakeholder Outreach to Increase ...

    Science.gov (United States)

    The limited amount of toxicity data on thousands of chemicals found in consumer products has led to the development of research endeavors such as the U.S. EPA’s Toxicity Forecaster (ToxCast). ToxCast uses high-throughput screening technology to evaluate thousands of chemicals for potential toxicity. At the end of 2013, U.S. EPA released ToxCast chemical data on almost 2,000 chemicals through the interactive Chemical Safety for Sustainability (iCSS) Dashboard. The iCSS Dashboard provides public access to the high-throughput screening data that can be used to inform the evaluation of the safety of chemicals. U.S. EPA recognized early in the development of ToxCast that stakeholder outreach was needed in order to translate the complex scientific information featured in the iCSS Dashboard and data, with the goal of educating the diverse user community through targeted efforts to increase data usage and analysis. Through survey feedback and the request of stakeholders, a series of tutorial videos to demonstrate how to access and use the data has been planned, and the first video of the series has been released to guide data usage. This presentation will describe the video tutorial strategy including an overview of: 1) Stakeholder outreach goals and approach; 2) Planning, production, and dissemination of tutorial videos; 3) Overview of Survey Feedback; 4) Overview of tutorial video usage statistics and usage of the ToxCast data. This stakeholder-outreach approach

  12. Fiction series and video games: Transmedia and gamification in Contemporary Audiovisual discourses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco Julián Martínez Cano

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The connection between fiction series and video games is evident, and this relationship drives to new strategies to generate narratives within transmedia context. In this article we try to revise the connection between the two media through current productions, with the intention of identifying the contributions of the video game in the serial narrative universes. Within the context of the transmedia narrative discourses, strategies usually have emerged from the TV series to the video game. Currently this tendency is turning around, giving birth titles that have been fed from the video game as the primary source to draw up their storyline. Identifying the contributions of the video game to the transmedia ecosystem of contemporary audiovisual entertainment products, offers the chance to generate more attractive and innovative designs for the audience.

  13. Video Game Rehabilitation of Velopharyngeal Dysfunction: A Case Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cler, Gabriel J; Mittelman, Talia; Braden, Maia N; Woodnorth, Geralyn Harvey; Stepp, Cara E

    2017-06-22

    Video games provide a promising platform for rehabilitation of speech disorders. Although video games have been used to train speech perception in foreign language learners and have been proposed for aural rehabilitation, their use in speech therapy has been limited thus far. We present feasibility results from at-home use in a case series of children with velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD) using an interactive video game that provided real-time biofeedback to facilitate appropriate nasalization. Five participants were recruited across a range of ages, VPD severities, and VPD etiologies. Participants completed multiple weeks of individual game play with a video game that provides feedback on nasalization measured via nasal accelerometry. Nasalization was assessed before and after training by using nasometry, aerodynamic measures, and expert perceptual judgments. Four participants used the game at home or school, with the remaining participant unwilling to have the nasal accelerometer secured to his nasal skin, perhaps due to his young age. The remaining participants showed a tendency toward decreased nasalization after training, particularly for the words explicitly trained in the video game. Results suggest that video game-based systems may provide a useful rehabilitation platform for providing real-time feedback of speech nasalization in VPD. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5116828.

  14. Video Game Rehabilitation of Velopharyngeal Dysfunction: A Case Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mittelman, Talia; Braden, Maia N.; Woodnorth, Geralyn Harvey; Stepp, Cara E.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose Video games provide a promising platform for rehabilitation of speech disorders. Although video games have been used to train speech perception in foreign language learners and have been proposed for aural rehabilitation, their use in speech therapy has been limited thus far. We present feasibility results from at-home use in a case series of children with velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD) using an interactive video game that provided real-time biofeedback to facilitate appropriate nasalization. Method Five participants were recruited across a range of ages, VPD severities, and VPD etiologies. Participants completed multiple weeks of individual game play with a video game that provides feedback on nasalization measured via nasal accelerometry. Nasalization was assessed before and after training by using nasometry, aerodynamic measures, and expert perceptual judgments. Results Four participants used the game at home or school, with the remaining participant unwilling to have the nasal accelerometer secured to his nasal skin, perhaps due to his young age. The remaining participants showed a tendency toward decreased nasalization after training, particularly for the words explicitly trained in the video game. Conclusion Results suggest that video game–based systems may provide a useful rehabilitation platform for providing real-time feedback of speech nasalization in VPD. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5116828 PMID:28655049

  15. Spatial Pyramid Covariance based Compact Video Code for Robust Face Retrieval in TV-series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yan; Wang, Ruiping; Cui, Zhen; Shan, Shiguang; Chen, Xilin

    2016-10-10

    We address the problem of face video retrieval in TV-series which searches video clips based on the presence of specific character, given one face track of his/her. This is tremendously challenging because on one hand, faces in TV-series are captured in largely uncontrolled conditions with complex appearance variations, and on the other hand retrieval task typically needs efficient representation with low time and space complexity. To handle this problem, we propose a compact and discriminative representation for the huge body of video data, named Compact Video Code (CVC). Our method first models the face track by its sample (i.e., frame) covariance matrix to capture the video data variations in a statistical manner. To incorporate discriminative information and obtain more compact video signature suitable for retrieval, the high-dimensional covariance representation is further encoded as a much lower-dimensional binary vector, which finally yields the proposed CVC. Specifically, each bit of the code, i.e., each dimension of the binary vector, is produced via supervised learning in a max margin framework, which aims to make a balance between the discriminability and stability of the code. Besides, we further extend the descriptive granularity of covariance matrix from traditional pixel-level to more general patchlevel, and proceed to propose a novel hierarchical video representation named Spatial Pyramid Covariance (SPC) along with a fast calculation method. Face retrieval experiments on two challenging TV-series video databases, i.e., the Big Bang Theory and Prison Break, demonstrate the competitiveness of the proposed CVC over state-of-the-art retrieval methods. In addition, as a general video matching algorithm, CVC is also evaluated in traditional video face recognition task on a standard Internet database, i.e., YouTube Celebrities, showing its quite promising performance by using an extremely compact code with only 128 bits.

  16. Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... will allow you to take a more active role in your care. The information in these videos ... Stategies to Increase your Level of Physical Activity Role of Body Weight in Osteoarthritis Educational Videos for ...

  17. Performance Analysis of Video PHY Controller Using Unidirection and Bi-directional IO Standard via 7 Series FPGA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Das, Bhagwan; Abdullah, M F L; Hussain, Dil muhammed Akbar

    2017-01-01

    graphics consumes more power, this creates a need of designing the low power design for Video PHY controller. In this paper, the performance of Video PHY controller is analyzed by comparing the power consumption of unidirectional and bi-directional IO Standard over 7 series FPGA. It is determined...... that total on-chip power is reduced for unidirectional IO Standard based Video PHY controller compared to bidirectional IO Standard based Video PHY controller. The most significant achievement of this work is that it is concluded that unidirectional IO Standard based Video PHY controller consume least...... standby power compared to bidirectional IO Standard based Video PHY controller. It is defined that for 6 GHz operated frequency Video PHY controller, the 32% total on-chip power is reduced using unidirectional IO Standard based Video PHY controller is less compared to bidirectional IO Standard based Video...

  18. Celiac Family Health Education Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Videos Experiencing Celiac Disease What is Celiac Disease Diet Information At ... Us Celiac Disease Program | Videos Boston Children's Hospital will teach you and your family about a ...

  19. Predicting freshwater habitat integrity using land-use surrogates

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2007-04-02

    Apr 2, 2007 ... Quantification of potential surrogates of freshwater habitat integrity. We chose a series of land-use variables that might be suitable predictors for assessing freshwater habitat integrity from the land cover map (CSIR 2005) and added separate GIS surfaces for human population density and the distribution of ...

  20. Water Under Fire: A Seven Part Video Series on Canada's Water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mrazek, R.; Byrne, J.; Rabe, N.; Gallant, G.

    2003-12-01

    Canada's water is under escalating pressure from a host of threats. Increasingly, our water is being tainted, misused and over allocated. Experts have identified a multitude of threats to water quantity and quality. Among them, climate change impacts on water supply, and the effects of pesticides, pathogens, industrial waste, urban runoff, and rising demands. These and other threats are the roots to a serious shortage of high quality, safe water sources. In the 1990s, waterborne diseases have re-emerged as one of the primary health issues on a national and global scale. This seven-part video series brings science voices together and provides a nationwide context. The first six programs in the series explore regional concerns: Rocky Mountains, Prairie Waters, Northern Waters, Great Lakes Basin, St. Lawrence and Atlantic Canada. The final program covers the national and international perspectives.

  1. Video microblogging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bornoe, Nis; Barkhuus, Louise

    2010-01-01

    Microblogging is a recently popular phenomenon and with the increasing trend for video cameras to be built into mobile phones, a new type of microblogging has entered the arena of electronic communication: video microblogging. In this study we examine video microblogging, which is the broadcasting...... of short videos. A series of semi-structured interviews offers an understanding of why and how video microblogging is used and what the users post and broadcast....

  2. Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... a more active role in your care. The information in these videos should not take the place of any advice you ... Management for Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Rehabilitation of Older Adult ...

  3. Introducing Statistical Research to Undergraduate Mathematical Statistics Students Using the Guitar Hero Video Game Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramler, Ivan P.; Chapman, Jessica L.

    2011-01-01

    In this article we describe a semester-long project, based on the popular video game series Guitar Hero, designed to introduce upper-level undergraduate statistics students to statistical research. Some of the goals of this project are to help students develop statistical thinking that allows them to approach and answer open-ended research…

  4. Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... to take a more active role in your care. The information in these videos should not take ... She is a critical member of our patient care team. Managing Your Arthritis Managing Your Arthritis Managing ...

  5. Rheumatoid Arthritis Educational Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... treatments are available, what is happening in the immune system and what other conditions are associated with RA. Learning more about your condition will allow you to take a more active role in your care. The information in these videos ...

  6. Celiac Family Health Education Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Information At Home Shopping Cooking Gluten Free Baking School Eating Out Away From Home Emotional Adjustment Kids Speak Research and Innovation Contact Us Celiac Disease Program | Videos ...

  7. Celiac Family Health Education Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Disease Diet Information At Home Shopping Cooking Gluten Free Baking School Eating Out Away From Home Emotional Adjustment Kids Speak Research and Innovation Contact Us Celiac Disease Program | Videos ...

  8. Celiac Family Health Education Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Group Patient Resources Gluten Free Cookbooks Gluten Free Recipes Videos Experiencing Celiac Disease What is Celiac Disease Diet Information At Home Shopping Cooking Gluten Free Baking School Eating Out Away From ...

  9. Celiac Family Health Education Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Videos Experiencing Celiac Disease What is Celiac Disease Diet Information At Home Shopping Cooking Gluten Free Baking ... What is Celiac Disease? : Diagnosis and treatment III. Diet Information : How to start and maintain a gluten- ...

  10. Celiac Family Health Education Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Donate Pay Your Bill MyChildren's Patient Portal Celiac Disease Program Contact the Celiac Disease Program 1-617- ... Kids Speak Research and Innovation Contact Us Celiac Disease Program | Videos Boston Children's Hospital will teach you ...

  11. Celiac Family Health Education Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Emotional Adjustment Kids Speak Research and Innovation Contact Us Celiac Disease Program | Videos Boston Children's Hospital will teach you and your family about a healthful celiac lifestyle. Education is key in making parents feel more at ...

  12. Celiac Family Health Education Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Donate Donate Pay Your Bill MyChildren's Patient Portal Celiac Disease Program Contact the Celiac Disease Program 1-617- ... Adjustment Kids Speak Research and Innovation Contact Us Celiac Disease Program | Videos Boston Children's Hospital will teach you ...

  13. Celiac Family Health Education Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... From Home Emotional Adjustment Kids Speak Research and Innovation Contact Us Celiac Disease Program | Videos Boston Children's Hospital will teach you and your family about a healthful celiac lifestyle. Education is key in making parents feel more at ...

  14. Celiac Family Health Education Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Out Away From Home Emotional Adjustment Kids Speak Research and Innovation Contact Us Celiac Disease Program | Videos Boston Children's Hospital will teach you and your family about a healthful celiac lifestyle. Education is key in making parents feel more at ...

  15. Celiac Family Health Education Video Series

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Free Baking School Eating Out Away From Home Emotional Adjustment Kids Speak Research and Innovation Contact Us Celiac Disease Program | Videos Boston Children's Hospital will teach you and your family about a healthful celiac lifestyle. Education is key in making parents feel more at ...

  16. Freshwater Megafauna: Flagships for Freshwater Biodiversity under Threat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrizo, Savrina F; Jähnig, Sonja C; Bremerich, Vanessa; Freyhof, Jörg; Harrison, Ian; He, Fengzhi; Langhans, Simone D; Tockner, Klement; Zarfl, Christiane; Darwall, William

    2017-10-01

    Freshwater biodiversity is highly threatened and is decreasing more rapidly than its terrestrial or marine counterparts; however, freshwaters receive less attention and conservation investment than other ecosystems do. The diverse group of freshwater megafauna, including iconic species such as sturgeons, river dolphins, and turtles, could, if promoted, provide a valuable tool to raise awareness and funding for conservation. We found that freshwater megafauna inhabit every continent except Antarctica, with South America, Central Africa, and South and Southeast Asia being particularly species rich. Freshwater megafauna co-occur with up to 93% of mapped overall freshwater biodiversity. Fifty-eight percent of the 132 megafauna species included in the study are threatened, with 84% of their collective range falling outside of protected areas. Of all threatened freshwater species, 83% are found within the megafauna range, revealing the megafauna's capacity as flagship and umbrella species for fostering freshwater conservation.

  17. Celiac Family Health Education Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Free Baking School Eating Out Away From Home Emotional Adjustment Kids Speak Research and Innovation Contact Us Celiac Disease Program | Videos Boston Children's Hospital will teach you and your family about a healthful celiac lifestyle. Education is key in making parents feel more at ...

  18. Celiac Family Health Education Video Series

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Boston Children's Hospital will teach you and your family about a healthful celiac lifestyle. Education is key in making parents feel more at ease and allow children with celiac disease to live happy and productive lives. Each of our video segments ... I. Introduction : Experiencing ...

  19. Hygiene problems in practice. Pt. 2. Central freshwater heating systems; Hygieneprobleme in der Praxis. T. 2. Zentrale Trinkwassererwaermungsanlagen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kremer, Robert [DVGW-Fachausschuss Trinkwasserhygiene in Gebaeuden, Leverkusen (Germany)

    2009-02-15

    Hygienically safe freshwater heating is the subject of this two-installment article series. Relevant standards and regulations are discussed, and the legionella problem in central freshwater heating systems is gone into. The second part of the series describes dimensioning errors which result in overdimensioning, which in turn may quickly cause hygiene problems. (orig.)

  20. Exploring Our World with Dr. Ryan: an adventure-science video series

    Science.gov (United States)

    vachon, R. W.; Kramer, N.

    2011-12-01

    Science is embedded in all that we do and experience. It brings perspective to the simplest and most complex systems: A rocket breaking free of the Earth's gravitational field to single stream recycling of waste. Everything! To many of us, these concepts are acknowledged as a part of our lives, but remain at arm's length because we don't understand the fundamental principles that make them all possible. However individuals, armed with information, make wise decisions about their lives and the world that we share. The adults of tomorrow are quickly growing up, which makes effective science outreach to youth all the more important, even urgent. In this presentation we shall describe the infrastructure behind the exciting Exploring Our World with Dr. Ryan series. These stirring, web-based videos (~4 min) are designed to educate audiences (with a target age of 8-12 years old) about various aspects of the world in which we live. Currently we are working on a Climate Change sub-series. The well-produced films are designed to be placed into the hands of educators but are appealing to youth outside of the classroom. The short vignettes are concise descriptions of fascinating and timely scientific topics, making them ideal multimodal teaching tools, introductions to topics of discussion and alternative perspectives to textbook-based curriculum. The series leverages enthusiastic hosting, otherwise inaccessible scientific expertise and authentic illustrations of experimentation. Additionally, each episode is strengthened by a carefully conceived work-flow that not only emphasizes the desired content but encourages critical thinking, models scientific methodology, humanizes scientists and celebrates collaborations that lead to clearer understandings of the Big Picture. Robust social networking is the capsicum to the series successful outreach. Example episode: http://vimeo.com/22397380

  1. Utilizing an Innovative Preceptor Video Mini-Series to Prepare Students for Experiential Rotations: Does it Work?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Craig D Cox

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: To determine whether an innovative Mini-Series training model originally developed for preceptors could be beneficial to pharmacy students prior to and/or after beginning their introductory or advanced pharmacy practice experiences. Methods: This program consists of twelve incremental video episodes, each ranging from five to eight minutes in length. It tells the story of a young pharmacy preceptor as she guides a third and fourth year student through a challenging six-week clinical hospital rotation. Two to three reflection questions were written for each individual episode, focusing on student issues portrayed in the videos. Two-hour viewing sessions, consisting of all (12 video episodes and facilitated student reflection were held for 2nd – 4th year professional students on two campuses. At conclusion of each session, students completed a short evaluation to gauge the effectiveness and potential application of the Mini-Series program. Results: Fifty-six (56 students (22 fourth-year, 6 third-ear, and 28 second-year participated in the voluntary viewing sessions. All students either agreed or strongly agreed that the Mini-Series program was entertaining and educational. In addition, 82% of students strongly agreed this program would be beneficial for students prior to taking their first experiential rotation, while only 47% strongly agreed it would be beneficial after they had started rotations. On a 5-point Likert scale (1=strongly disagree, 5=strongly agree, participants reported a mean of 4.6 that this medium is more effective than traditional lecture orientations held by the Office of Experiential Programs. On three open-ended questions, students provided a diversity of suggestions for enhancing the Mini-Series to make it more effective for students. Implications: The “Mini-Series” model was well received by students as a training medium to deliver educational content. As a result, more programs are being developed

  2. Métodos de modelamiento y predicción de tráfico orientados a plataformas de transmisión de video e IPTV usando series de tiempo1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ayron Villanueva Ocampo

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper, intends to review the most important techniques that allow per- forming statistic video traffic modeling and forecasting, focusing in time series models, so we can identify which models are better to describe the representative IPTV stochastic traffic. For this purpose, we make a short introduction to time series analysis, and a review of the state of the art on video traffic modeling over data networks. From this research we conclude that, of all the available models to describe and forecast network traffic, the more appropriate to use within IPTV systems are ARIMA time series models, from which SARIMA model are the best option.

  3. Epistemic Authority, Lies, and Video

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Rune Saugmann

    2013-01-01

    This article analyses how videos of violent protests become politically powerful arguments able to intervene in debates about security. It does so by looking at a series of videos taken by police authorities and protesters during street battles in Copenhagen in August 2009, when protesters opposed...

  4. Video Nasoendoscopic-Assisted Transoral Adenoidectomy with the PEAK PlasmaBlade: A Preliminary Report of a Case Series

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chao-Yin Kuo

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives. The primary objective for this study is to evaluate the advantages, disadvantages, surgical applicability, and outcome of the pulsed electron avalanche knife (PEAK PlasmaBlade in transoral adenoidectomy under direct visualization using video nasoendoscopy. Patients and Methods. In this series, six cases of adenoid hypertrophy showing varying clinical presentations in relation to its clinical course were surgically treated using a PEAK PlasmaBlade. Before and after surgery, all patients underwent nasal endoscopy to define the grading of hypertrophic adenoids and postoperative outcome. Pure tone audiometry and tympanometry tests were carried out to investigate the change in middle and inner ear functions. Results. The mean follow-up period was 23.8 months. Postoperatively, symptoms of otitis media with effusion were all relieved with closure of the air-bone gap (6/6. Other relevant ear complaints like tinnitus were resolved (1/1 and aural fullness disappeared in 87.5% of ears (7/8. Nasal obstruction (2/2 and postnasal drip (2/2 were improved after surgery. Conclusions. Based on this preliminary report of a case series in a limited sample size, we suggest that using the transoral PEAK PlasmaBlade for adenoidectomy guided by video nasoendoscopy is a safe and feasible surgical technique, allowing remarkable outcomes by providing precise tissue removal, effective hemostasis, and painless postoperative recovery.

  5. Freshwater flux to Sermilik Fjord, SE Greenland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. H. Mernild

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Terrestrial inputs of freshwater flux to Sermilik Fjord, SE Greenland, were estimated, indicating ice discharge to be the dominant source of freshwater. A freshwater flux of 40.4 ± 4.9×109 m3 y−1 was found (1999–2008, with an 85% contribution originated from ice discharge (65% alone from Helheim Glacier, 11% from terrestrial surface runoff (from melt water and rain, 3% from precipitation at the fjord surface area, and 1% from subglacial geothermal and frictional melting due to basal ice motion. The results demonstrate the dominance of ice discharge as a primary mechanism for delivering freshwater to Sermilik Fjord. Time series of ice discharge for Helheim Glacier, Midgård Glacier, and Fenris Glacier were calculated from satellite-derived average surface velocity, glacier width, and estimated ice thickness, and fluctuations in terrestrial surface freshwater runoff were simulated based on observed meteorological data. These simulations were compared and bias corrected against independent glacier catchment runoff observations. Modeled runoff to Sermilik Fjord was variable, ranging from 2.9 ± 0.4×109 m3 y−1 in 1999 to 5.9 ± 0.9×109 m3 y−1 in 2005. The sub-catchment runoff of the Helheim Glacier region accounted for 25% of the total runoff to Sermilik Fjord. The runoff distribution from the different sub-catchments suggested a strong influence from the spatial variation in glacier coverage, indicating high runoff volumes, where glacier cover was present at low elevations.

  6. Tropical Freshwater Biology

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Tropical Freshwater Biology promotes the publication of scientific contributions in the field of freshwater biology in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. One issue is published annually but this number may be increased. Original research papers and short communications on any aspect of tropical freshwater ...

  7. Impact of increasing antarctic glacial freshwater release on regional sea-ice cover in the Southern Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merino, Nacho; Jourdain, Nicolas C.; Le Sommer, Julien; Goosse, Hugues; Mathiot, Pierre; Durand, Gael

    2018-01-01

    The sensitivity of Antarctic sea-ice to increasing glacial freshwater release into the Southern Ocean is studied in a series of 31-year ocean/sea-ice/iceberg model simulations. Glaciological estimates of ice-shelf melting and iceberg calving are used to better constrain the spatial distribution and magnitude of freshwater forcing around Antarctica. Two scenarios of glacial freshwater forcing have been designed to account for a decadal perturbation in glacial freshwater release to the Southern Ocean. For the first time, this perturbation explicitly takes into consideration the spatial distribution of changes in the volume of Antarctic ice shelves, which is found to be a key component of changes in freshwater release. In addition, glacial freshwater-induced changes in sea ice are compared to typical changes induced by the decadal evolution of atmospheric states. Our results show that, in general, the increase in glacial freshwater release increases Antarctic sea ice extent. But the response is opposite in some regions like the coastal Amundsen Sea, implying that distinct physical mechanisms are involved in the response. We also show that changes in freshwater forcing may induce large changes in sea-ice thickness, explaining about one half of the total change due to the combination of atmospheric and freshwater changes. The regional contrasts in our results suggest a need for improving the representation of freshwater sources and their evolution in climate models.

  8. Physics Girl: Where Education meets Cat Videos

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cowern, Dianna

    YouTube is usually considered an entertainment medium to watch cats, gaming, and music videos. But educational channels have been gaining momentum on the platform, some garnering millions of subscribers and billions of views. The Physics Girl YouTube channel is an educational series with PBS Digital Studios created by Dianna Cowern. Using Physics Girl as an example, this talk will examine what it takes to start a short-form educational video series, including logistics and resources. One benefit of video is that every failure is documented on camera and can, and will, be used in this talk as a learning tool. We will look at the channels demographical reach, discuss best practices for effective physics outreach, and survey how online media and technology can facilitate good and bad learning. The aim of this talk is to show how videos are a unique way to share science and enrich the learning experience, in and out of a classroom.

  9. Probabilistic recognition of human faces from video

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhou, Saohua; Krüger, Volker; Chellappa, Rama

    2003-01-01

    Recognition of human faces using a gallery of still or video images and a probe set of videos is systematically investigated using a probabilistic framework. In still-to-video recognition, where the gallery consists of still images, a time series state space model is proposed to fuse temporal...... of the identity variable produces the recognition result. The model formulation is very general and it allows a variety of image representations and transformations. Experimental results using videos collected by NIST/USF and CMU illustrate the effectiveness of this approach for both still-to-video and video-to-video...... information in a probe video, which simultaneously characterizes the kinematics and identity using a motion vector and an identity variable, respectively. The joint posterior distribution of the motion vector and the identity variable is estimated at each time instant and then propagated to the next time...

  10. Geoscience Videos and Their Role in Supporting Student Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiggen, Jennifer; McDonnell, David

    2017-01-01

    A series of short (5 to 7 minutes long) geoscience videos were created to support student learning in a flipped class setting for an introductory geology class at North Carolina State University. Videos were made using a stylus, tablet, microphone, and video editing software. Essentially, we narrate a slide, sketch a diagram, or explain a figure…

  11. A remarkable paradox: Freshwater algae (Botryococcus braunii) in an ancient hypersaline euxinic ecosytem

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sinninghe Damsté, J.S.; Grice, K.; Schouten, S.; Nissenbaum, A.; Charrach, J.

    1998-01-01

    Two relatively immature hypersaline sediments of Miocene/Pliocene age from the Sdom Formation, Dead Sea, Israel were studied using both GC-MS and irm-GCMS analyses. A novel series of extractable organosulfur compounds (OSC) derived from functionalised lipids of freshwater Botryococcus braunii algae

  12. Modeling ecosystem processes with variable freshwater inflow to the Caloosahatchee River Estuary, southwest Florida. II. Nutrient loading, submarine light, and seagrasses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buzzelli, Christopher; Doering, Peter; Wan, Yongshan; Sun, Detong

    2014-12-01

    Short- and long-term changes in estuarine biogeochemical and biological attributes are consequences of variations in both the magnitude and composition of freshwater inputs. A common conceptualization of estuaries depicts nutrient loading from coastal watersheds as the stressor that promotes algal biomass, decreases submarine light penetration, and degrades seagrass habitats. Freshwater inflow depresses salinity while simultaneously introducing colored dissolved organic matter (color or CDOM) which greatly reduces estuarine light penetration. This is especially true for sub-tropical estuaries. This study applied a model of the Caloosahatchee River Estuary (CRE) in southwest Florida to explore the relationships between freshwater inflow, nutrient loading, submarine light, and seagrass survival. In two independent model series, the loading of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus (DIN and DIP) was reduced by 10%, 20%, 30%, and 50% relative to the base model case from 2002 to 2009 (2922 days). While external nutrient loads were reduced by lowering inflow (Q0) in the first series (Q0 series), reductions were accomplished by decreasing the incoming concentrations of DIN and DIP in the second series (NP Series). The model also was used to explore the partitioning of submarine light extinction due to chlorophyll a, CDOM, and turbidity. Results suggested that attempting to control nutrient loading by decreasing freshwater inflow could have minor effects on water column concentrations but greatly influence submarine light and seagrass biomass. This is because of the relative importance of Q0 to salinity and submarine light. In general, light penetration and seagrass biomass decreased with increased inflow and CDOM. Increased chlorophyll a did account for more submarine light extinction in the lower estuary. The model output was used to help identify desirable levels of inflow, nutrient loading, water quality, salinity, and submarine light for seagrass in the lower CRE

  13. Using the RE-AIM Framework to Evaluate Disaster Recovery Videos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah Cronin

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Natural disasters both increase and cause financial challenges for survivors. Crisis support reduces negative outcomes such as financial stress, yet survivors are often unaware or unable to access available services. Aiming to innovatively improve access to quality financial education and to support financial recovery post-disaster, a video series was developed with a community advisory board. The RE-AIM framework informed a developmental evaluation measuring the videos’ influence. Results indicated majority of participants have used or intend to use the videos in their disaster work. This indicates the video series may be a helpful tool for disaster responders when providing financial recovery support.

  14. Headlines: Planet Earth: Improving Climate Literacy with Short Format News Videos

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tenenbaum, L. F.; Kulikov, A.; Jackson, R.

    2012-12-01

    One of the challenges of communicating climate science is the sense that climate change is remote and unconnected to daily life--something that's happening to someone else or in the future. To help face this challenge, NASA's Global Climate Change website http://climate.nasa.gov has launched a new video series, "Headlines: Planet Earth," which focuses on current climate news events. This rapid-response video series uses 3D video visualization technology combined with real-time satellite data and images, to throw a spotlight on real-world events.. The "Headlines: Planet Earth" news video products will be deployed frequently, ensuring timeliness. NASA's Global Climate Change Website makes extensive use of interactive media, immersive visualizations, ground-based and remote images, narrated and time-lapse videos, time-series animations, and real-time scientific data, plus maps and user-friendly graphics that make the scientific content both accessible and engaging to the public. The site has also won two consecutive Webby Awards for Best Science Website. Connecting climate science to current real-world events will contribute to improving climate literacy by making climate science relevant to everyday life.

  15. Freshwater Fish Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freshwater fish are ecologically important in stream ecosystems, and they provide people with significant food, recreation, and conservation value as biological indicator of freshwater streams. Historically, the streams and rivers of southern New England supported moderately dive...

  16. Exploring Freshwater Science

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    and long term studies on mapping freshwater biodiversity1. 1. R J Ranjit Daniels ... The hierarchical nature of stream organization offers opportunity to ecologists to ask .... threats, freshwater systems are losing their aesthetic value (Fig- ure 4).

  17. Freshwater and fish

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saxen, R.

    1997-01-01

    Severe radioactive contamination of the freshwater environment could have serious consequences for both drinking water and fish. Most of the Nordic countries have an abundance of freshwater lakes and rivers. Finland alone has about 56,000 lakes, each with a surface area of 1 hectare or more. Nearly 10% of Finland's surface is covered with lakes and rivers. In Sweden, about 9% of the surface area is freshwater, in Norway about 5%, and in Denmark only about 2%. Freshwater plays a minor role in Iceland, but even there numerous rivers discharge from the volcanic soils to the Ocean. Cs-137 and 90 Sr are likely to be the most important radionuclides with respect to long term radioactive contamination of freshwater. If radioactive deposition occurs in the absence of snow and ice radionuclides will contaminate the surface water directly and may rapidly enter the aquatic food chain. Fish which eat contaminated plankton become contaminated almost immediately. Deposition during summer increases the transfer for radionuclides to fish since fish metabolism is faster during the warm season. During the cold period, fish metabolism is slow and thus uptake and excretion of radiocaesium are also slow. (EG)

  18. Multivariate Time Series Search

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Multivariate Time-Series (MTS) are ubiquitous, and are generated in areas as disparate as sensor recordings in aerospace systems, music and video streams, medical...

  19. Digital video for the desktop

    CERN Document Server

    Pender, Ken

    1999-01-01

    Practical introduction to creating and editing high quality video on the desktop. Using examples from a variety of video applications, benefit from a professional's experience, step-by-step, through a series of workshops demonstrating a wide variety of techniques. These include producing short films, multimedia and internet presentations, animated graphics and special effects.The opportunities for the independent videomaker have never been greater - make sure you bring your understanding fully up to date with this invaluable guide.No prior knowledge of the technology is assumed, with explanati

  20. Recurrent and Dynamic Models for Predicting Streaming Video Quality of Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bampis, Christos G; Li, Zhi; Katsavounidis, Ioannis; Bovik, Alan C

    2018-07-01

    Streaming video services represent a very large fraction of global bandwidth consumption. Due to the exploding demands of mobile video streaming services, coupled with limited bandwidth availability, video streams are often transmitted through unreliable, low-bandwidth networks. This unavoidably leads to two types of major streaming-related impairments: compression artifacts and/or rebuffering events. In streaming video applications, the end-user is a human observer; hence being able to predict the subjective Quality of Experience (QoE) associated with streamed videos could lead to the creation of perceptually optimized resource allocation strategies driving higher quality video streaming services. We propose a variety of recurrent dynamic neural networks that conduct continuous-time subjective QoE prediction. By formulating the problem as one of time-series forecasting, we train a variety of recurrent neural networks and non-linear autoregressive models to predict QoE using several recently developed subjective QoE databases. These models combine multiple, diverse neural network inputs, such as predicted video quality scores, rebuffering measurements, and data related to memory and its effects on human behavioral responses, using them to predict QoE on video streams impaired by both compression artifacts and rebuffering events. Instead of finding a single time-series prediction model, we propose and evaluate ways of aggregating different models into a forecasting ensemble that delivers improved results with reduced forecasting variance. We also deploy appropriate new evaluation metrics for comparing time-series predictions in streaming applications. Our experimental results demonstrate improved prediction performance that approaches human performance. An implementation of this work can be found at https://github.com/christosbampis/NARX_QoE_release.

  1. Making it Real: Faculty Collaboration to Create Video Content

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Jennifer Dold

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Interest in integrative health care is a growing area of health practice, combining conventional medical treatments with safe and effective complementary and alternative medicine. These modalities relate to both improving physical and psychological well-being, and enhancing conventional talk therapy. In an interdisciplinary collaboration, teaching and library faculty have created a series of sixteen on-line video interviews that introduce practitioner-relevant experiences to students as supplemental course material. These videos are available through the department web-pages to students in other related disciplines as well, including Social Work, Counselor Education, Psychology, and the Colleges of Public Health, Nursing, and Medicine. The video series was undertaken as part of the educational mission of the library, bringing to the classroom new material that is essential to the professional development of future counselors.

  2. Conversation therapy with people with aphasia and conversation partners using video feedback: a group and case series investigation of changes in interaction.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wendy Best

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Conversation therapies employing video for feedback and to facilitate outcome measurement are increasingly used with people with post-stroke aphasia and their conversation partners; however the evidence base for change in everyday interaction remains limited. We investigated the effect of Better Conversations with Aphasia, an intervention that is freely available online (https:// extend.ucl.ac.uk/. Eight people with chronic agrammatic aphasia, and their regular conversation partners participated in the tailored 8 week program involving significant video feedback. We explored changes in (i conversation facilitators (such as multi-modal turns by people with aphasia and (ii conversation barriers (such as use of test questions by conversation partners. The outcome of intervention was evaluated directly by measuring change in video-recorded everyday conversations. The study employed a pre-post design with multiple 5 minute samples of conversation before and after intervention, scored by trained raters blind to the point of data collection. Group level analysis showed no significant increase in conversation facilitators. There was, however, a significant reduction in the number of conversation barriers. The case series data revealed variability in conversation behaviors across occasions for the same dyad and between different dyads. Specifically, post-intervention there was a significant increase in facilitator behaviors for two dyads, a decrease for one and no significant change for five dyads. There was a significant decrease in barrier behaviors for five dyads and no significant change for three dyads. The reduction in barrier behaviors was considerable; on average change from over 8 to fewer than 3 barrier behaviors in 5 minutes conversation. The pre-post design has the limitation of no comparison group. However, change occurs in targeted conversational behaviors and in people with chronic aphasia and their partners. The findings suggest change

  3. The Influence of Volcanic and Solar forcings on the Freshwater Budget of the Arctic Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, F. J.; Goosse, H.; Renssen, H.

    2012-04-01

    In recent decades the quantity and spatial extent of measurements for the atmospheric, terrestrial and oceanic sources and sinks, that comprise the freshwater budget of the Arctic Ocean has increased. This has been driven by a need to understand the variability of the freshwater budget, as a response to anthropogenically induced climate change, and the effects upon climate. However, the natural variability of the system due to specific forcings over a number of temporal scales, is yet to be clearly defined. This is due to several factors. A lack of a reliable freshwater proxy, coupled with a truncated instrumental record, make it difficult to elicit meaningful trends from the data that is currently available. In addition, modelling studies have not taken up the opportunity to evaluate the historical freshwater budget, instead focusing all their efforts in ascertaining the future response of the system. Therefore, when it comes to understanding the role individual forcings, such as volcanic and solar, have upon the natural variability of the freshwater budget, a noticeable void is evident. In order to understand the natural variations over the recent past one has to first consider the effects that natural forcings have upon the system, both independently and simultaneously. Therefore, in this study we seek to understand the effects solar and volcanic forcings have upon the freshwater budget of the Arctic, and by association, the climate. Here we present results of a series of transient simulations spanning the last 2000 years, performed with the earth model of intermediate complexity, LOVECLIM (Goosse et al., 2010). These series of simulations use a combination of orbital parameters, greenhouse gas concentrations, total solar irradiance and volcanic forcings. By comparing the simulation with only long-term forcings (orbital and greenhouse gas), to experiments in which the impacts of short-term forcings (solar and volcanic) are added incrementally to the effect of

  4. Mapping potential freshwater services, and their representation within Protected Areas (PAs, under conditions of sparse data. Pilot implementation for Cambodia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonardo Sáenz

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Freshwater is arguably one of Earth’s most threatened natural resources, on which more than 7 billion people depend. Pressures on freshwater resources from infrastructure, resource development, agricultural pollution and deforestation are mounting, particularly in developing countries. To date, conservation responses such as Protected Areas (PAs have not typically targeted freshwater ecosystems and their services, and thus little is known about the effectiveness of these efforts in protecting them. This paper proposes and pilots an innovative freshwater services metrics framework to quantify the representation of potential freshwater services in PAs under conditions of scarce data, with a pilot application for Cambodia. Our results indicate that conservation actions have more effectively represented potential freshwater regulation services than potential freshwater provisioning services, with major rivers remaining generally unprotected. Results from the framework are then used to propose a series of context and region specific management options to improve the conservation of freshwater services in Cambodia. There is an acute need for such management options, as the country’s food security depends largely on important freshwater ecosystems such as the Tonle Sap Lake and the deep water pools systems of the Mekong River. The framework proposed can be applied in other countries or large river basins to explore the degree of representation of freshwater services within PAs systems, under conditions of sparse data.

  5. Freshwater Fungal Infections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dennis J. Baumgardner

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Fungal infections as a result of freshwater exposure or trauma are fortunately rare. Etiologic agents are varied, but commonly include filamentous fungi and Candida. This narrative review describes various sources of potential freshwater fungal exposure and the diseases that may result, including fungal keratitis, acute otitis externa and tinea pedis, as well as rare deep soft tissue or bone infections and pulmonary or central nervous system infections following traumatic freshwater exposure during natural disasters or near-drowning episodes. Fungal etiology should be suspected in appropriate scenarios when bacterial cultures or molecular tests are normal or when the infection worsens or fails to resolve with appropriate antibacterial therapy.

  6. Electronic evaluation for video commercials by impression index.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Wanzeng; Zhao, Xinxin; Hu, Sanqing; Vecchiato, Giovanni; Babiloni, Fabio

    2013-12-01

    How to evaluate the effect of commercials is significantly important in neuromarketing. In this paper, we proposed an electronic way to evaluate the influence of video commercials on consumers by impression index. The impression index combines both the memorization and attention index during consumers observing video commercials by tracking the EEG activity. It extracts features from scalp EEG to evaluate the effectiveness of video commercials in terms of time-frequency-space domain. And, the general global field power was used as an impression index for evaluation of video commercial scenes as time series. Results of experiment demonstrate that the proposed approach is able to track variations of the cerebral activity related to cognitive task such as observing video commercials, and help to judge whether the scene in video commercials is impressive or not by EEG signals.

  7. Special Needs: Planning for Adulthood (Videos)

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Fitness Diseases & Conditions Infections Drugs & Alcohol School & ... and opportunities available to them. While you help your tween or teen plan for the future, watch this video series together to learn about everything ...

  8. Special Needs: Planning for Adulthood (Videos)

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... the future, watch this video series together to learn about everything from financial and health care benefits to employment ... Respite Care for Your Child With Special Needs Special Education: Getting Help for ...

  9. Special Needs: Planning for Adulthood (Videos)

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... video series together to learn about everything from financial and health care benefits to employment and housing options. More on this topic for: Parents Financial Planning for Kids With Special Needs Giving Teens ...

  10. VideoStory: A New Multimedia Embedding for Few Example Recognition and Translation of Events

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-11-07

    series, and movie trailers . We observe these professional videos are typically semantically dissimilar to the event videos which we are interested in...a list of keywords from Wikipedia, which provides an extensive index of celebrity, TV series and movie names1. We exclude the videos whose...Swimming 0.520 0.489 0.691 0.764 Biking 0.324 0.307 0.420 0.561 Graduation 0.083 0.058 0.135 0.121 Birthday 0.149 0.216 0.187 0.257 Wedding reception

  11. Special Needs: Planning for Adulthood (Videos)

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... them. While you help your tween or teen plan for the future, watch this video series together ... Care for Your Child With Special Needs Special Education: Getting Help for Your Child Words to Know ( ...

  12. Special Needs: Planning for Adulthood (Videos)

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Feelings Expert Answers Q&A Movies & More for Teens Teens site Sitio para adolescentes Body Mind Sexual Health ... to them. While you help your tween or teen plan for the future, watch this video series ...

  13. Long-Term Temporal Variability of the Freshwater Discharge and Water Levels at Patos Lagoon, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. P. Barros

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to investigate the importance of freshwater discharge as a physical forcing in Patos Lagoon at timescales longer than one year, as well as identify the temporal variability of the dominant processes in freshwater discharge and water levels along the Patos Lagoon. Due to its proximity to the mouth, the water level at the estuary is influenced by the remote effects associated with the adjacent ocean circulation and wave climatology, reducing the observed correlation. At the lagoonar region a high correlation is expected because interannual data is being used, reducing the influence of the wind. Cross wavelet technique is applied to examine the coherence and phase between interannual time-series (South Oscillation Index, freshwater discharge and water levels. The freshwater discharge of the main tributaries and water levels in Patos Lagoon are influenced by ENSO on interannual scales (cycles between 3.8 and 6 years. Therefore, El Niño events are associated with high mean values of freshwater discharge and water levels above the mean. On the other hand, La Niña events are associated with low mean values of freshwater discharge and water levels below the mean.

  14. Adventure Racing and Organizational Behavior: Using Eco Challenge Video Clips to Stimulate Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kenworthy-U'Ren, Amy; Erickson, Anthony

    2009-01-01

    In this article, the Eco Challenge race video is presented as a teaching tool for facilitating theory-based discussion and application in organizational behavior (OB) courses. Before discussing the intricacies of the video series itself, the authors present a pedagogically based rationale for using reality TV-based video segments in a classroom…

  15. Teaching Surgical Procedures with Movies: Tips for High-quality Video Clips

    OpenAIRE

    Jacquemart, Mathieu; Bouletreau, Pierre; Breton, Pierre; Mojallal, Ali; Sigaux, Nicolas

    2016-01-01

    Summary: Video must now be considered as a precious tool for learning surgery. However, the medium does present production challenges, and currently, quality movies are not always accessible. We developed a series of 7 surgical videos and made them available on a publicly accessible internet website. Our videos have been viewed by thousands of people worldwide. High-quality educational movies must respect strategic and technical points to be reliable.

  16. Teaching Surgical Procedures with Movies: Tips for High-quality Video Clips.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacquemart, Mathieu; Bouletreau, Pierre; Breton, Pierre; Mojallal, Ali; Sigaux, Nicolas

    2016-09-01

    Video must now be considered as a precious tool for learning surgery. However, the medium does present production challenges, and currently, quality movies are not always accessible. We developed a series of 7 surgical videos and made them available on a publicly accessible internet website. Our videos have been viewed by thousands of people worldwide. High-quality educational movies must respect strategic and technical points to be reliable.

  17. Multimedia in physics education: teaching videos about aero and fluid dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wagner, Andreas; Altherr, Stefan; Eckert, Bodo; Jodl, Hans Joerg

    2007-01-01

    In a series of letters, we present teaching videos on topics which are difficult to understand for students, or which are difficult to realize experimentally in school, if at all. These videos can be used for quantitative analysis or visualization of phenomena. Here we present videos on aero and fluid dynamics which deal with the Navier-Stokes equation, the continuity equation and Karman's vortex street. (letters and comments)

  18. Pengaruh penggunaan media video dan gambar terhadap keterampilan menulis kelas V

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dian Mariya Ulfah

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui (1 pengaruh media video terhadap keterampilan menulis kembali isi cerita siswa kelas V SD pada pembelajaran bahasa Indonesia; (2 pengaruh media gambar terhadap keterampilan menulis kembali isi cerita siswa kelas V SD pada pembelajaran bahasa Indonesia; dan (3 perbedaan pengaruh media video dan gambar terhadap keterampilan menulis kembali isi cerita kelas V SD pada pembelajaran bahasa Indonesia. Jenis penelitian yang digunakan yaitu quasi eksperimen, sedangkan desainnya randomized control-group pretestt-posttestt. Populasi penelitian seluruh siswa kelas V SDN Se-gugus V Kasihan-Bantul, pengambilan sampel dilakukan secara random sampling. Variabel penelitian terdiri dari variabel bebas dan variabel terikat. Teknik pengumpulan data berupa pelaksanan tes unjuk kerja. Instrumen penilaian menulis diukur dengan uji validitas isi dan uji reliabilitas inter-rater. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa (a media video berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap keterampilan menulis dengan taraf signifikan 0,000 < 0,05; (b media gambar berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap keterampilan menulis dengan taraf signifikan 0,022 < 0,05; dan (c terdapat perbedaan pengaruh media video dan gambar yang signifikan terhadap keterampilan menulis dengan taraf signifikan 0,043 < 0,05. Kata Kunci: media video, media gambar, keterampilan menulis kembali isi cerita   The effectiveness of implementing video and picture media ofwriting skills in fifth grade students of Elementary School Abstract The purpose of this study are to find out (1 the effect of video on writing skills in fifth grade students of Elementary School in Indonesian learning, (2 the of picture series on writing skills in fifth grade students of Elementary School in Indonesian learning, (3 the differences of  video and picture series on writing skills in fifth grade students of Elementary School in Indonesian learning. This study used quasi experimental

  19. Inhabitants of the Fresh-Water Community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jorgensen, Joseph; Schroeder, Marlene

    This learner's guide is designed to assist middle school students in studying freshwater organisms. Following a brief introduction to freshwater ecology, simple line drawings facilitate the identification of plants and animals common to Florida's freshwater ecosystems. Emphasis of the short text which accompanies each illustration is upon the…

  20. Underwater Communications for Video Surveillance Systems at 2.4 GHz

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Sendra

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Video surveillance is needed to control many activities performed in underwater environments. The use of wired media can be a problem since the material specially designed for underwater environments is very expensive. In order to transmit the images and videos wirelessly under water, three main technologies can be used: acoustic waves, which do not provide high bandwidth, optical signals, although the effect of light dispersion in water severely penalizes the transmitted signals and therefore, despite offering high transfer rates, the maximum distance is very small, and electromagnetic (EM waves, which can provide enough bandwidth for video delivery. In the cases where the distance between transmitter and receiver is short, the use of EM waves would be an interesting option since they provide high enough data transfer rates to transmit videos with high resolution. This paper presents a practical study of the behavior of EM waves at 2.4 GHz in freshwater underwater environments. First, we discuss the minimum requirements of a network to allow video delivery. From these results, we measure the maximum distance between nodes and the round trip time (RTT value depending on several parameters such as data transfer rate, signal modulations, working frequency, and water temperature. The results are statistically analyzed to determine their relation. Finally, the EM waves’ behavior is modeled by a set of equations. The results show that there are some combinations of working frequency, modulation, transfer rate and temperature that offer better results than others. Our work shows that short communication distances with high data transfer rates is feasible.

  1. Special Needs: Planning for Adulthood (Videos)

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Young adults with special needs have many programs, services, and opportunities available to them. While you help your tween or teen plan for the future, watch this video series together to learn about everything from financial and health care benefits to employment and housing ...

  2. The Aesthetics of the Ambient Video Experience

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jim Bizzocchi

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Ambient Video is an emergent cultural phenomenon, with roots that go deeply into the history of experimental film and video art. Ambient Video, like Brian Eno's ambient music, is video that "must be as easy to ignore as notice" [9]. This minimalist description conceals the formidable aesthetic challenge that faces this new form. Ambient video art works will hang on the walls of our living rooms, corporate offices, and public spaces. They will play in the background of our lives, living video paintings framed by the new generation of elegant, high-resolution flat-panel display units. However, they cannot command attention like a film or television show. They will patiently play in the background of our lives, yet they must always be ready to justify our attention in any given moment. In this capacity, ambient video works need to be equally proficient at rewarding a fleeting glance, a more direct look, or a longer contemplative gaze. This paper connects a series of threads that collectively illuminate the aesthetics of this emergent form: its history as a popular culture phenomenon, its more substantive artistic roots in avant-garde cinema and video art, its relationship to new technologies, the analysis of the viewer's conditions of reception, and the work of current artists who practice within this form.

  3. Stable isotope ratios in freshwater mussel shells as high resolution recorders of riverine environmental variation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kukolich, S.; Kendall, C.; Dettman, D. L.

    2017-12-01

    The geochemical record stored in growth increments of freshwater mussel shells reveals annual to sub-annual changes in environmental conditions during the lifetime of the organism. The carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen stable isotope composition of aragonite shells responds to changes in water chemistry, temperature, streamflow, turbidity, growth rate, size, age, and reproduction. The goals of this study are to determine how stable isotopes can be used to reconstruct the conditions in which the mussels lived and to illuminate any vital effects that might obscure the isotopic record of those conditions. Previous research has suggested that annual δ13C values decrease in older freshwater mussel shells due to lower growth rates and greater incorporation of dietary carbon into the shell with increasing age. However, a high-resolution, seasonal investigation of δ13C, δ15N, and δ18O as they relate to organism age has not yet been attempted in freshwater mussels. A total of 28 Unionid mussels of three different species were collected live in 2011 in the Tennessee River near Paducah, Kentucky, USA. In this study, we analyzed the shell nacre and external organic layers for stable carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotope ratios, focusing on growth bands formed between 2006 and 2011. We present a time series of shell δ13C, δ18O, and δ15N values with monthly resolution. We also compare the shell-derived geochemical time series to a time series of the δ13C and δ15N of particulate organic matter, δ13C of DIC, δ18OWater, and water temperature in which the mussels lived. Results show that environmental factors such as water temperature and primary productivity dominate shell chemistry while animal age has little or no effect.

  4. "In Our Own Words": Creating Videos as Teaching and Learning Tools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norda Majekodunmi

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Online videos, particularly those on YouTube, have proliferated on the internet; watching them has become part of our everyday activity. While libraries have often harnessed the power of videos to create their own promotional and informational videos, few have created their own teaching and learning tools beyond screencasting videos. In the summer of 2010, the authors, two librarians at York University, decided to work on a video project which culminated in a series of instructional videos entitled “Learning: In Our Own Words.” The purpose of the video project was twofold: to trace the “real” experience of incoming students and their development of academic literacies skills (research, writing and learning throughout their first year, and to create videos that librarians and other instructors could use as instructional tools to engage students in critical thinking and discussion. This paper outlines the authors’ experience filming the videos, creating a teaching guide, and screening the videos in the classroom. Lessons learned during this initiative are discussed in the hope that more libraries will develop videos as teaching and learning tools.

  5. Humorous Videos and Idiom Achievement: Some Pedagogical Considerations for EFL Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neissari, Malihe; Ashraf, Hamid; Ghorbani, Mohammad Reza

    2017-01-01

    Employing a quasi-experimental design, this study examined the efficacy of humorous idiom video clips on the achievement of Iranian undergraduate students studying English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Forty humorous video clips from the English Idiom Series called "The Teacher" from the BBC website were used to teach 120 idioms to 61…

  6. Scale-based freshwater conservation planning: towards protecting freshwater biodiversity in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Rivers-Moore, NA

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available River systems have strong linear linkages and require innovative solutions to capture these linkages from aquatic conservation planners. The authors applied an approach to freshwater conservation planning to freshwater ecosystems of Kwa...

  7. Designing MOOCs videos - A prompt for teachers and advisers' pedagogical development?

    OpenAIRE

    Van de Poël, Jean-François; Martin, Pierre; Harcq, Samuel; Crepin, Thibault; Verpoorten, Dominique

    2017-01-01

    The use of online video is not new in education but it undergoes a new momentum. What is new is not the medium but its scale of deployment and availability (Van Gog, 2013). MOOCs have played their part in this rise since these new modes of online learning deliver learning through a series of (short) videos. Both for teachers and Teaching & Learning Centers, like IFRES at the University of Liège, designing, shooting, editing, ornamenting, and locating such videos in the instructional design of...

  8. Desalination - an alternative freshwater resource

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shakaib, M.

    2005-01-01

    Global water constitutes 94 percent salt water that is from the oceans and 6% is in the form of freshwater. Out of this 6% freshwater approximately 27% is trapped in glaciers and 72% is underground. The sea water is important for transportation, fisheries. Oceans regulate climate through air sea interaction. However direct consumption of sea water is too salty to sustain human life. Water with a dissolved solids (salt) content generally below about 1000 milligrams per liter (mg/L) is considered acceptable for human consumption. The application of desalting technologies over the past 50 years have been in many of the arid zone where freshwater is available. Pakistan lies in the Sun Belt. It is considered a wide margin coastal belt (990 km), having an Exclusive Economic Zone of 240,000 km/sup 2/, that strokes trillion cubic meters of sea water that can be made available as freshwater source to meet the shortfall in the supply of domestic water through desalination along the coastal belt of Pakistan. The freshwater obtained from the other desalination processes is slightly expensive, but the cost of desalination can be considerably reduced provided that the available inexpensive or free waste energy is utilized mainly. (author)

  9. Using "Making Sense of Climate Science Denial" MOOC videos in a college course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuenemann, K. C.; Cook, J.

    2015-12-01

    The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) "Denial101x: Making Sense of Climate Science Denial" teaches students to make sense of the science and respond to climate change denial. The course is made up of a series of short, myth-debunking lecture videos that can be strategically used in college courses. The videos and the visuals within have proven a great resource for an introductory college level climate change course. Methods for using the videos in both online and in-classroom courses will be presented, as well as student reactions and learning from the videos. The videos introduce and explain a climate science topic, then paraphrase a common climate change myth, explain why the myth is wrong by identifying the characteristic of climate denial used, and concludes by reinforcing the correct science. By focusing on common myths, the MOOC has made an archive of videos that can be used by anyone in need of a 5-minute response to debunk a myth. By also highlighting five characteristics of climate denial: fake experts, logical fallacies, impossible expectations, cherry picking, and conspiracy theories (FLICC), the videos also teach the viewer the skills they need to critically examine myths they may encounter in the real world on a variety of topics. The videos also include a series of expert scientist interviews that can be used to drive home points, as well as put some faces to the science. These videos are freely available outside of the MOOC and can be found under the relevant "Most used climate myths" section on the skepticalscience.com webpage, as well as directly on YouTube. Discover ideas for using videos in future courses, regardless of discipline.

  10. Multiple long-term trends and trend reversals dominate environmental conditions in a man-made freshwater reservoir

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Znachor, Petr; Nedoma, Jiří; Hejzlar, Josef; Seďa, Jaromír; Kopáček, Jiří; Boukal, D.; Mrkvička, Tomáš

    2018-01-01

    Roč. 624, May (2018), s. 24-33 ISSN 0048-9697 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA15-13750S; GA MŠk(CZ) LM2015075 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : model selection * piecewise regression * regime shift * time series Subject RIV: DA - Hydrology ; Limnology OBOR OECD: Marine biology, freshwater biology, limnology Impact factor: 4.900, year: 2016

  11. Evolution-based Virtual Content Insertion with Visually Virtual Interactions in Videos

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Chia-Hu; Wu, Ja-Ling

    With the development of content-based multimedia analysis, virtual content insertion has been widely used and studied for video enrichment and multimedia advertising. However, how to automatically insert a user-selected virtual content into personal videos in a less-intrusive manner, with an attractive representation, is a challenging problem. In this chapter, we present an evolution-based virtual content insertion system which can insert virtual contents into videos with evolved animations according to predefined behaviors emulating the characteristics of evolutionary biology. The videos are considered not only as carriers of message conveyed by the virtual content but also as the environment in which the lifelike virtual contents live. Thus, the inserted virtual content will be affected by the videos to trigger a series of artificial evolutions and evolve its appearances and behaviors while interacting with video contents. By inserting virtual contents into videos through the system, users can easily create entertaining storylines and turn their personal videos into visually appealing ones. In addition, it would bring a new opportunity to increase the advertising revenue for video assets of the media industry and online video-sharing websites.

  12. Lake trout otolith chronologies as multidecadal indicators of high-latitude freshwater ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, B.A.; Von Biela, V.R.; Zimmerman, C.E.; Brown, Randy J.

    2013-01-01

    High-latitude ecosystems are among the most vulnerable to long-term climate change, yet continuous, multidecadal indicators by which to gauge effects on biology are scarce, especially in freshwater environments. To address this issue, dendrochronology (tree-ring analysis) techniques were applied to growth-increment widths in otoliths from lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) from the Chandler Lake system, Alaska (68.23°N, 152.70°W). All otoliths were collected in 1987 and exhibited highly synchronous patterns in growth-increment width. Increments were dated, the widths were measured, and age-related growth declines were removed using standard dendrochronology techniques. The detrended time series were averaged to generate an annually resolved chronology, which continuously spanned 1964–1984. The chronology positively and linearly correlated with August air temperature over the 22-year interval (p otolith chronologies could be used to examine responses between freshwater ecosystems and environmental variability across a range of temporal and spatial scales.

  13. Neural Basis of Video Gaming: A Systematic Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palaus, Marc; Marron, Elena M.; Viejo-Sobera, Raquel; Redolar-Ripoll, Diego

    2017-01-01

    Background: Video gaming is an increasingly popular activity in contemporary society, especially among young people, and video games are increasing in popularity not only as a research tool but also as a field of study. Many studies have focused on the neural and behavioral effects of video games, providing a great deal of video game derived brain correlates in recent decades. There is a great amount of information, obtained through a myriad of methods, providing neural correlates of video games. Objectives: We aim to understand the relationship between the use of video games and their neural correlates, taking into account the whole variety of cognitive factors that they encompass. Methods: A systematic review was conducted using standardized search operators that included the presence of video games and neuro-imaging techniques or references to structural or functional brain changes. Separate categories were made for studies featuring Internet Gaming Disorder and studies focused on the violent content of video games. Results: A total of 116 articles were considered for the final selection. One hundred provided functional data and 22 measured structural brain changes. One-third of the studies covered video game addiction, and 14% focused on video game related violence. Conclusions: Despite the innate heterogeneity of the field of study, it has been possible to establish a series of links between the neural and cognitive aspects, particularly regarding attention, cognitive control, visuospatial skills, cognitive workload, and reward processing. However, many aspects could be improved. The lack of standardization in the different aspects of video game related research, such as the participants' characteristics, the features of each video game genre and the diverse study goals could contribute to discrepancies in many related studies. PMID:28588464

  14. Neural Basis of Video Gaming: A Systematic Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marc Palaus

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: Video gaming is an increasingly popular activity in contemporary society, especially among young people, and video games are increasing in popularity not only as a research tool but also as a field of study. Many studies have focused on the neural and behavioral effects of video games, providing a great deal of video game derived brain correlates in recent decades. There is a great amount of information, obtained through a myriad of methods, providing neural correlates of video games.Objectives: We aim to understand the relationship between the use of video games and their neural correlates, taking into account the whole variety of cognitive factors that they encompass.Methods: A systematic review was conducted using standardized search operators that included the presence of video games and neuro-imaging techniques or references to structural or functional brain changes. Separate categories were made for studies featuring Internet Gaming Disorder and studies focused on the violent content of video games.Results: A total of 116 articles were considered for the final selection. One hundred provided functional data and 22 measured structural brain changes. One-third of the studies covered video game addiction, and 14% focused on video game related violence.Conclusions: Despite the innate heterogeneity of the field of study, it has been possible to establish a series of links between the neural and cognitive aspects, particularly regarding attention, cognitive control, visuospatial skills, cognitive workload, and reward processing. However, many aspects could be improved. The lack of standardization in the different aspects of video game related research, such as the participants' characteristics, the features of each video game genre and the diverse study goals could contribute to discrepancies in many related studies.

  15. Neural Basis of Video Gaming: A Systematic Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palaus, Marc; Marron, Elena M; Viejo-Sobera, Raquel; Redolar-Ripoll, Diego

    2017-01-01

    Background: Video gaming is an increasingly popular activity in contemporary society, especially among young people, and video games are increasing in popularity not only as a research tool but also as a field of study. Many studies have focused on the neural and behavioral effects of video games, providing a great deal of video game derived brain correlates in recent decades. There is a great amount of information, obtained through a myriad of methods, providing neural correlates of video games. Objectives: We aim to understand the relationship between the use of video games and their neural correlates, taking into account the whole variety of cognitive factors that they encompass. Methods: A systematic review was conducted using standardized search operators that included the presence of video games and neuro-imaging techniques or references to structural or functional brain changes. Separate categories were made for studies featuring Internet Gaming Disorder and studies focused on the violent content of video games. Results: A total of 116 articles were considered for the final selection. One hundred provided functional data and 22 measured structural brain changes. One-third of the studies covered video game addiction, and 14% focused on video game related violence. Conclusions: Despite the innate heterogeneity of the field of study, it has been possible to establish a series of links between the neural and cognitive aspects, particularly regarding attention, cognitive control, visuospatial skills, cognitive workload, and reward processing. However, many aspects could be improved. The lack of standardization in the different aspects of video game related research, such as the participants' characteristics, the features of each video game genre and the diverse study goals could contribute to discrepancies in many related studies.

  16. The freshwater reservoir effect in radiocarbon dating

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Philippsen, Bente

    case studies will show the degree of variability of the freshwater reservoir effect over short and long timescales. Radiocarbon dating of recent water samples, aquatic plants and animals, shows that age differences of up to 2000 years can occur within one river. In the Limfjord, freshwater influence......The freshwater reservoir effect can result in too high radiocarbon ages of samples from lakes and rivers, including the bones of people whose subsistence was based on freshwater fish, and pottery in which fish was cooked. In my talk, I will explain the causes and consequences of this effect. Two...... caused reservoir ages to vary between 250 and 700 years during the period 5400 BC - AD 700. Finally, I will discuss the implications of the freshwater reservoir effect for radiocarbon dating of Mesolithic pottery from inland sites of the Ertebølle culture in Northern Germany....

  17. Meeting ecological and societal needs for freshwater

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baron, Jill S.; Poff, N.L.; Angermeier, P.L.; Dahm, Clifford N.; Gleick, P.H.; Hairston, N.G.; Jackson, R.B.; Johnston, C.A.; Richter, B.D.; Steinman, A.D.

    2002-01-01

    Human society has used freshwater from rivers, lakes, groundwater, and wetlands for many different urban, agricultural, and industrial activities, but in doing so has overlooked its value in supporting ecosystems. Freshwater is vital to human life and societal well-being, and thus its utilization for consumption, irrigation, and transport has long taken precedence over other commodities and services provided by freshwater ecosystems. However, there is growing recognition that functionally intact and biologically complex aquatic ecosystems provide many economically valuable services and long-term benefits to society. The short-term benefits include ecosystem goods and services, such as food supply, flood control, purification of human and industrial wastes, and habitat for plant and animal life—and these are costly, if not impossible, to replace. Long-term benefits include the sustained provision of those goods and services, as well as the adaptive capacity of aquatic ecosystems to respond to future environmental alterations, such as climate change. Thus, maintenance of the processes and properties that support freshwater ecosystem integrity should be included in debates over sustainable water resource allocation.The purpose of this report is to explain how the integrity of freshwater ecosystems depends upon adequate quantity, quality, timing, and temporal variability of water flow. Defining these requirements in a comprehensive but general manner provides a better foundation for their inclusion in current and future debates about allocation of water resources. In this way the needs of freshwater ecosystems can be legitimately recognized and addressed. We also recommend ways in which freshwater ecosystems can be protected, maintained, and restored.Freshwater ecosystem structure and function are tightly linked to the watershed or catchment of which they are a part. Because riverine networks, lakes, wetlands, and their connecting groundwaters, are literally the

  18. Fast and Flexible Multivariate Time Series Subsequence Search

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Multivariate Time-Series (MTS) are ubiquitous, and are generated in areas as disparate as sensor recordings in aerospace systems, music and video streams, medical...

  19. 3D Dynamics of the Near-Surface Layer of the Ocean in the Presence of Freshwater Influx

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dean, C.; Soloviev, A.

    2015-12-01

    Freshwater inflow due to convective rains or river runoff produces lenses of freshened water in the near surface layer of the ocean. These lenses are localized in space and typically involve both salinity and temperature anomalies. Due to significant density anomalies, strong pressure gradients develop, which result in lateral spreading of freshwater lenses in a form resembling gravity currents. Gravity currents inherently involve three-dimensional dynamics. The gravity current head can include the Kelvin-Helmholtz billows with vertical density inversions. In this work, we have conducted a series of numerical experiments using computational fluid dynamics tools. These numerical simulations were designed to elucidate the relationship between vertical mixing and horizontal advection of salinity under various environmental conditions and potential impact on the pollution transport including oil spills. The near-surface data from the field experiments in the Gulf of Mexico during the SCOPE experiment were available for validation of numerical simulations. In particular, we observed a freshwater layer within a few-meter depth range and, in some cases, a density inversion at the edge of the freshwater lens, which is consistent with the results of numerical simulations. In conclusion, we discuss applicability of these results to the interpretation of Aquarius and SMOS sea surface salinity satellite measurements. The results of this study indicate that 3D dynamics of the near-surface layer of the ocean are essential in the presence of freshwater inflow.

  20. Embedding supplemental data in a digital video signal

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    2005-01-01

    An MPEG-encoded video signal includes groups of pictures (GOPs), each GOP having an intraframe coded (I) picture and a series of predictively encoded (P) pictures and bidirectionally predictively encoded (B) pictures. Usually, the GOP structure IBBPBBP . . . is used. However, in order to embed a

  1. The freshwater reservoir effect in radiocarbon dating

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Philippsen, Bente

    2013-01-01

    of magnitude and degree of variability of the freshwater reservoir effect over short and long timescales. Radiocarbon dating of recent water samples, aquatic plants, and animals, shows that age differences of up to 2000 14C years can occur within one river. The freshwater reservoir effect has also implications......The freshwater reservoir effect can result in anomalously old radiocarbon ages of samples from lakes and rivers. This includes the bones of people whose subsistence was based on freshwater fish, and pottery in which fish was cooked. Water rich in dissolved ancient calcium carbonates, commonly known...... as hard water, is the most common reason for the freshwater reservoir effect. It is therefore also called hardwater effect. Although it has been known for more than 60 years, it is still less well-recognized by archaeologists than the marine reservoir effect. The aim of this study is to examine the order...

  2. CAMEX-4 NOAA WP-3D VIDEO V1

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The CAMEX-4 NOAA WP-3D Video dataset was collected during the fourth field campaign in the CAMEX series (CAMEX-4), which ran from 16 August to 25 September, 2001 and...

  3. Seri Rama: converting a shadow play puppet to Street Fighter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghani, D B A

    2012-01-01

    Shadow puppet plays, a traditional Malaysian theater art, is slowly losing its appeal to adolescents, who prefer computer games. To help reverse this decline, the authors incorporated the traditional Seri Rama character into the Street Fighter video game. Using modeling, texturing, and animation, they developed a 3D Seri Rama prototype. Users can control Seri Rama with a PlayStation game controller.

  4. Status and Impacts of Arctic Freshwater Export

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haine, T. W. N.

    2017-12-01

    Large freshwater anomalies clearly exist in the Arctic Ocean. For example, liquid freshwater has accumulated in the Beaufort Gyre in the decade of the 2000s compared to 1980-2000, with an extra ≈5000 km3—about 25%—being stored. The sources of freshwater to the Arctic from precipitation and runoff have increased between these periods (most of the evidence comes from models). Despite flux increases from 2001 to 2011, it is uncertain if the marine freshwater source through Bering Strait for the 2000s has changed, as observations in the 1980s and 1990s are incomplete. The marine freshwater fluxes draining the Arctic through Fram and Davis straits are also insignificantly different. In this way, the balance of sources and sinks of freshwater to the Arctic, Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA), and Baffin Bay shifted to about 1200±730 km3yr-1 freshening the region, on average, during the 2000s. The observed accumulation of liquid freshwater is consistent with this increased supply and the loss of freshwater from sea ice (Figure, right). Evidence exists that such discharges can impact the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, and hence Atlantic sector climate. Nevertheless, it appears that the observed AMOC variability since 2004, when high quality measurements began, is not attributable to anthropogenic influence. This work is based on, and updated from, Haine et al. (2015), Carmack et al. (2016), and Haine (2016). Haine, T. W. N. Ocean science: Vagaries of Atlantic overturning. Nature Geoscience, 9, 479-480, 10.1038/ngeo2748, 2016. T. W. N. Haine et al., Arctic Freshwater Export: Status, Mechanisms, and Prospects, Global Planetary Change, 125, 13-35, 10.1016/j.glopacha.2014.11.013, 2015. E. Carmack et al., Fresh water and its role in the Arctic Marine System: sources, disposition, storage, export, and physical and biogeochemical consequences in the Arctic and global oceans. J. G. Res. Biogeosciences, 10.1002/2015JG003140, 2016.

  5. Improving Web-Based Student Learning Through Online Video Demonstrations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Scott; Redman, S.

    2010-01-01

    Students in online courses continue to lag their peers in comparable face-to-face (F2F) courses (Ury 2004, Slater & Jones 2004). A meta-study of web-based vs. classroom instruction by Sitzmann et al (2006) discovered that the degree of learner control positively influences the effectiveness of instruction: students do better when they are in control of their own learning. In particular, web-based courses are more effective when they incorporate a larger variety of instructional methods. To address this need, we developed a series of online videos to demonstrate various astronomical concepts and provided them to students enrolled in an online introductory astronomy course at Penn State University. We found that the online students performed worse than the F2F students on questions unrelated to the videos (t = -2.84), but that the online students who watched the videos performed better than the F2F students on related examination questions (t = 2.11). We also found that the online students who watched the videos performed significantly better than those who did not (t = 3.43). While the videos in general proved helpful, some videos were more helpful than others. We will discuss our thoughts on why this might be, and future plans to improve upon this study. These videos are freely available on iTunesU, YouTube, and Google Video.

  6. Whitemouth croaker, Micropogonias furnieri, trapped in a freshwater coastal lagoon: a natural comparison of freshwater and marine influences on otolith chemistry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristiano Q. de Albuquerque

    Full Text Available Strontium and barium incorporation into otoliths was compared between whitemouth croaker, Micropogonias furnieri, collected from an entrapped freshwater population (Mirim Lagoon and a normal marine/estuarine population in southern Brazil. Chemical analysis was performed using LA-ICPMS with the objective of validating the effects of marine and freshwater environments on Sr and Ba incorporation as a basis for further investigation of marine and freshwater connectivity of M. furnieri. The freshwater population was dominated by older fish with mean ±SD age of 34±1 y, whereas the coastal samples were dominated by younger fish of 14±7 y. Comparison of strontium and barium incorporation among otolith life-history profiles indicated significantly higher barium and lower strontium for the freshwater population compared to the marine population. Furthermore, comparison of otolith material deposited in the freshwater, estuarine and marine life-history phases demonstrated clear differences among these environments. Mean concentrations of strontium and barium in otoliths of M. furnieri were respectively 710 and 112 µg g-1 for freshwater, 2069 and 16.7 µg g-1 for estuarine, and 2990 and 2.7 µg g-1 for marine life-history phases. Barium concentrations in otoliths from the freshwater population of M. furnieri appeared high relative to other freshwater species. Strontium levels across life-history profiles of marine fish increased with age from 2000 to 2900 µg g-1, possibly indicating more time spent in marine than estuarine waters with age. In contrast, for the freshwater population, strontium levels decreased during the first year of life approximately to 700 µg g-1, and remained low and stable thereafter, consistent with the early life-history occurring in an estuarine environment prior to entrapment in Mirim Lagoon. The results confirm the strong and opposite effects of marine and freshwater environments on incorporation of barium and strontium into

  7. Evaluating the Use of Problem-Based Video Podcasts to Teach Mathematics in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kay, Robin; Kletskin, Ilona

    2012-01-01

    Problem-based video podcasts provide short, web-based, audio-visual explanations of how to solve specific procedural problems in subject areas such as mathematics or science. A series of 59 problem-based video podcasts covering five key areas (operations with functions, solving equations, linear functions, exponential and logarithmic functions,…

  8. Embedding supplemental data in a digital video signal

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    2005-01-01

    An MPEG-encoded video signal includes groups of pictures (GOPs), each GOP having an intraframe coded (I) picture and a series of predictively encoded (P) pictures and bi-directionally predictively (B) pictures. Usually, the GOP structure IBBPBBP . . . is used. However, in order to embed a watermark

  9. The Zoogeography of North American freshwater fishes

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Hocutt, Charles H; Wiley, E. O

    1986-01-01

    ..., and Pleistoscene glaciation. The Zoogeography of North American Freshwater Fishes is a comprehensive treatment of the freshwater biogeography of North America, with implications for other disciplines...

  10. Evaluation of the Impact of Groundwater Pumping on Freshwater-Saltwater Interface Fluctuations in a Coastal Aquifer of South Korea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, H.; Kim, Y.; Lee, S. H.; Ha, K.

    2017-12-01

    It is necessary to monitor the variation of freshwater-saltwater interface for the sustainable use of groundwater resources in coastal areas. In the present study, we developed a device to measure the location of the freshwater-saltwater interface based on the concept of the neutral buoyancy and installed it in a coastal aquifer of the western sea, South Korea. To evaluate the impact of pumping on the groundwater and saltwater-freshwater interface level, we designed nine different pumping scenarios and monitored the groundwater and saltwater-freshwater interface levels of pumping well and two observation wells. The result of monitoring groundwater level shows that the response of observation wells to the pumping is relatively fast and high, however, the response of freshwater-saltwater interface occurred when the pumping rate and duration are over 25m3/day and 48hours, respectively. For the prediction and simulation of the groundwater level fluctuation under groundwater pumping events, we designed a artificial neural network based time series model considering rainfall, tide, and pumping rate as input components. The result of the prediction shows that the correlation coefficient between observed and estimated groundwater levels is as high as 0.7. It is expected that the result of this research can provide useful information for the effective management of groundwater resources in the study area.

  11. How the "Understanding Research Evidence" Web-Based Video Series From the National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools Contributes to Public Health Capacity to Practice Evidence-Informed Decision Making: Mixed-Methods Evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Linda; Mackintosh, Jeannie; Dobbins, Maureen

    2017-09-28

    The National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools (NCCMT) offers workshops and webinars to build public health capacity for evidence-informed decision-making. Despite positive feedback for NCCMT workshops and resources, NCCMT users found key terms used in research papers difficult to understand. The Understanding Research Evidence (URE) videos use plain language, cartoon visuals, and public health examples to explain complex research concepts. The videos are posted on the NCCMT website and YouTube channel. The first four videos in the URE web-based video series, which explained odds ratios (ORs), confidence intervals (CIs), clinical significance, and forest plots, were evaluated. The evaluation examined how the videos affected public health professionals' practice. A mixed-methods approach was used to examine the delivery mode and the content of the videos. Specifically, the evaluation explored (1) whether the videos were effective at increasing knowledge on the four video topics, (2) whether public health professionals were satisfied with the videos, and (3) how public health professionals applied the knowledge gained from the videos in their work. A three-part evaluation was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the first four URE videos. The evaluation included a Web-based survey, telephone interviews, and pretest and posttests, which evaluated public health professionals' experience with the videos and how the videos affected their public health work. Participants were invited to participate in this evaluation through various open access, public health email lists, through informational flyers and posters at the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) conference, and through targeted recruitment to NCCMT's network. In the Web-based surveys (n=46), participants achieved higher scores on the knowledge assessment questions from watching the OR (P=.04), CI (P=.04), and clinical significance (P=.05) videos but not the forest plot (P=.12) video, as

  12. Native Freshwater Fish and Mussel Species Richness

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — These data represent predicted current distributions of all native freshwater fish and freshwater mussels in the Middle-Atlantic region. The data are available for...

  13. Secrets of Science. Videos 1-13. [Videotape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walt Disney Publishing Group, Burbank, CA. Discover Magazine.

    Discoveries in science and technology are being made at such a rapid pace that it is often difficult for many teachers to stay abreast of new and relevant information. To assist teachers in keeping their students well informed of new discoveries in science, Discover Magazine developed a 13-part video series entitled "Secrets of Science." In each…

  14. Dynamic Textures Modeling via Joint Video Dictionary Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Xian; Li, Yuanxiang; Shen, Hao; Chen, Fang; Kleinsteuber, Martin; Wang, Zhongfeng

    2017-04-06

    Video representation is an important and challenging task in the computer vision community. In this paper, we consider the problem of modeling and classifying video sequences of dynamic scenes which could be modeled in a dynamic textures (DT) framework. At first, we assume that image frames of a moving scene can be modeled as a Markov random process. We propose a sparse coding framework, named joint video dictionary learning (JVDL), to model a video adaptively. By treating the sparse coefficients of image frames over a learned dictionary as the underlying "states", we learn an efficient and robust linear transition matrix between two adjacent frames of sparse events in time series. Hence, a dynamic scene sequence is represented by an appropriate transition matrix associated with a dictionary. In order to ensure the stability of JVDL, we impose several constraints on such transition matrix and dictionary. The developed framework is able to capture the dynamics of a moving scene by exploring both sparse properties and the temporal correlations of consecutive video frames. Moreover, such learned JVDL parameters can be used for various DT applications, such as DT synthesis and recognition. Experimental results demonstrate the strong competitiveness of the proposed JVDL approach in comparison with state-of-the-art video representation methods. Especially, it performs significantly better in dealing with DT synthesis and recognition on heavily corrupted data.

  15. VideoSET: Video Summary Evaluation through Text

    OpenAIRE

    Yeung, Serena; Fathi, Alireza; Fei-Fei, Li

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we present VideoSET, a method for Video Summary Evaluation through Text that can evaluate how well a video summary is able to retain the semantic information contained in its original video. We observe that semantics is most easily expressed in words, and develop a text-based approach for the evaluation. Given a video summary, a text representation of the video summary is first generated, and an NLP-based metric is then used to measure its semantic distance to ground-truth text ...

  16. Estimating freshwater productivity, overwinter survival, and migration patterns of Klamath River Coho Salmon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manhard, Christopher V.; Som, Nicholas A.; Perry, Russell W.; Faukner, Jimmy; Soto, Toz

    2018-01-01

    An area of great importance to resource management and conservation biology in the Klamath Basin is balancing water usage against the life history requirements of threatened Coho Salmon. One tool for addressing this topic is a freshwater dynamics model to forecast Coho Salmon productivity based on environmental inputs. Constructing such a forecasting tool requires local data to quantify the unique life history processes of Coho Salmon inhabiting this region. Here, we describe analytical methods for estimating a series of sub-models, each capturing a different life history process, which will eventually be synchronized as part of a freshwater dynamics model for Klamath River Coho Salmon. Specifically, we draw upon extensive population monitoring data collected in the basin to estimate models of freshwater productivity, overwinter survival, and migration patterns. Our models of freshwater productivity indicated that high summer temperatures and high winter flows can both adversely affect smolt production and that such relationships are more likely in tributaries with naturally regulated flows due to substantial intraannual environmental variation. Our models of overwinter survival demonstrated extensive variability in survival among years, but not among rearing locations, and demonstrated that a substantial proportion (~ 20%) of age-0+ fish emigrate from some rearing sites in the winter. Our models of migration patterns indicated that many age-0+ fish redistribute in the basin during the summer and winter. Further, we observed that these redistributions can entail long migrations in the mainstem where environmental stressors likely play a role in cueing refuge entry. Finally, our models of migration patterns indicated that changes in discharge are important in cueing the seaward migration of smolts, but that the nature of this behavioral response can differ dramatically between tributaries with naturally and artificially regulated flows. Collectively, these analyses

  17. Effects of Pollution on Freshwater Fish.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brungs, W. A.; And Others

    1978-01-01

    Presents a literature review of the effects of pollution on freshwater fish, covering publications of 1976-77. This review includes: (1) water quality; (2) pesticide pollutants; (3) chemical pollutants; (4) miscellaneous pollutants; and (5) physical factors of pollution on freshwater fish. A list of 338 references is also presented. (HM)

  18. A Dataset for Education-Related Majors' Performance Measures with Pre/Post-Video Game Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Novak, Elena; Tassell, Janet Lynne

    2015-01-01

    This dataset includes a series of 30 education-related majors' performance measures before and after they completed a 10-hour video game practice in a computer lab. The goal of the experimental study was to examine the effects of action video gaming on students' mathematics performance and mathematics anxiety as mediated by the effect of attention…

  19. Lake trout otolith chronologies as multidecadal indicators of high-latitude freshwater ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, B.A.; Von Biela, V.R.; Zimmerman, C.E.; Brown, Randy J.

    2013-01-01

    High-latitude ecosystems are among the most vulnerable to long-term climate change, yet continuous, multidecadal indicators by which to gauge effects on biology are scarce, especially in freshwater environments. To address this issue, dendrochronology (tree-ring analysis) techniques were applied to growth-increment widths in otoliths from lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) from the Chandler Lake system, Alaska (68.23°N, 152.70°W). All otoliths were collected in 1987 and exhibited highly synchronous patterns in growth-increment width. Increments were dated, the widths were measured, and age-related growth declines were removed using standard dendrochronology techniques. The detrended time series were averaged to generate an annually resolved chronology, which continuously spanned 1964–1984. The chronology positively and linearly correlated with August air temperature over the 22-year interval (p fish metabolic rate or lake productivity. Given the broad distribution of lake trout within North America, this study suggests that otolith chronologies could be used to examine responses between freshwater ecosystems and environmental variability across a range of temporal and spatial scales.

  20. Physical modeling of the effects of climate change on freshwater lenses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoeckl, L.; Houben, G.

    2012-04-01

    The investigation of the fragile equilibrium between fresh and saline water on oceanic islands is of major importance for a sustainable management and protection of freshwater lenses. Overexploitation will lead to salt water intrusion (up-coning), in turn causing damages or even destruction of a lens in the long term. We have performed a series of experiments on the laboratory scale to investigate and visualize processes of freshwater lenses under different boundary conditions. In addition these scenarios were numerically simulated using the finite-element model FEFLOW. Results were also compared to analytical solutions for problems regarding e.g. mean travel times of flow paths within a freshwater lens. On the laboratory scale, a cross section of an island was simulated by setting up a sand-box model (200 cm x 50 cm x 5 cm). Lens dynamics are driven by density contrasts of saline and fresh water, recharge rate and Kf-values of the medium. We used a time-dependent, sequential application of the tracers uranine, eosine and indigotine, to represent different recharge events. With a stepwise increase of freshwater recharge, we could show that the maximum thickness of the lens increased in a non-linear behavior. Moreover we measured that the degradation of a freshwater lens after turning off the precipitation does not follow the same function as its development does. This means that a steady state freshwater lens does not degrade as fast as it develops under constant recharge. On the other side, we could show that this is not true for a partial degradation of the lens due to passing forces, like anthropogenic pumping or climate change. This is, because the recovery to equilibrium is always a quasi asymptotic process. Thus, times of re-equilibration to steady state will take longer after e.g. a drought, than the degradation during the draught itself. This behavior could also be verified applying the numerical finite-element model FEFLOW. In addition, numerical

  1. Spatial data processing for the purpose of video games

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chądzyńska Dominika

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Advanced terrain models are currently commonly used in many video/computers games. Professional GIS technologies, existing spatial datasets and cartographic methodology are more widely used in their development. This allows for achieving a realistic model of the world. On the other hand, the so-called game engines have very high capability of spatial data visualization. Preparing terrain models for the purpose of video games requires knowledge and experience of GIS specialists and cartographers, although it is also accessible for non-professionals. The authors point out commonness and variety of use of terrain models in video games and the existence of a series of ready, advanced tools and procedures of terrain model creating. Finally the authors describe the experiment of performing the process of data modeling for “Condor Soar Simulator”.

  2. Methods for preparing synthetic freshwaters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, E J; Davison, W; Hamilton-Taylor, J

    2002-03-01

    Synthetic solutions that emulate the major ion compositions of natural waters are useful in experiments aimed at understanding biogeochemical processes. Standard recipes exist for preparing synthetic analogues of seawater, with its relatively constant composition, but, due to the diversity of freshwaters, a range of compositions and recipes is required. Generic protocols are developed for preparing synthetic freshwaters of any desired composition. The major problems encountered in preparing hard and soft waters include dissolving sparingly soluble calcium carbonate, ensuring that the ionic components of each concentrated stock solution cannot form an insoluble salt and dealing with the supersaturation of calcium carbonate in many hard waters. For acidic waters the poor solubility of aluminium salts requires attention. These problems are overcome by preparing concentrated stock solutions according to carefully designed reaction paths that were tested using a combination of experiment and equilibrium modeling. These stock solutions must then be added in a prescribed order to prepare a final solution that is brought into equilibrium with the atmosphere. The example calculations for preparing hard, soft and acidic freshwater surrogates with major ion compositions the same as published analyses, are presented in a generalized fashion that should allow preparation of any synthetic freshwater according to its known analysis.

  3. Review: Freshwater conservation planning in South Africa ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Review: Freshwater conservation planning in South Africa: Milestones to ... Water SA. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search ... Since the 1970s, at approximately 10-year intervals, 4 national-scale freshwater conservation ...

  4. How the “Understanding Research Evidence” Web-Based Video Series From the National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools Contributes to Public Health Capacity to Practice Evidence-Informed Decision Making: Mixed-Methods Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Linda; Mackintosh, Jeannie

    2017-01-01

    Background The National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools (NCCMT) offers workshops and webinars to build public health capacity for evidence-informed decision-making. Despite positive feedback for NCCMT workshops and resources, NCCMT users found key terms used in research papers difficult to understand. The Understanding Research Evidence (URE) videos use plain language, cartoon visuals, and public health examples to explain complex research concepts. The videos are posted on the NCCMT website and YouTube channel. Objective The first four videos in the URE web-based video series, which explained odds ratios (ORs), confidence intervals (CIs), clinical significance, and forest plots, were evaluated. The evaluation examined how the videos affected public health professionals’ practice. A mixed-methods approach was used to examine the delivery mode and the content of the videos. Specifically, the evaluation explored (1) whether the videos were effective at increasing knowledge on the four video topics, (2) whether public health professionals were satisfied with the videos, and (3) how public health professionals applied the knowledge gained from the videos in their work. Methods A three-part evaluation was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the first four URE videos. The evaluation included a Web-based survey, telephone interviews, and pretest and posttests, which evaluated public health professionals’ experience with the videos and how the videos affected their public health work. Participants were invited to participate in this evaluation through various open access, public health email lists, through informational flyers and posters at the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) conference, and through targeted recruitment to NCCMT’s network. Results In the Web-based surveys (n=46), participants achieved higher scores on the knowledge assessment questions from watching the OR (P=.04), CI (P=.04), and clinical significance (P=.05) videos but

  5. Video game therapy for emotional regulation and impulsivity control in a series of treated cases with bulimia nervosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fagundo, Ana B; Santamaría, Juan J; Forcano, Laura; Giner-Bartolomé, Cristina; Jiménez-Murcia, Susana; Sánchez, Isabel; Granero, Roser; Ben-Moussa, Maher; Magnenat-Thalmann, Nadia; Konstantas, Dimitri; Lam, Tony; Lucas, Mikkel; Nielsen, Jeppe; Bults, Richard G A; Tarrega, Salomé; Menchón, José M; de la Torre, Rafael; Cardi, Valentina; Treasure, Janet; Fernández-Aranda, Fernando

    2013-11-01

    Although standard psychological treatments have been successful in treating several core features in eating disorders (ED), other characteristics such as emotional regulation or impulsivity appear to be more resistant to change. There is a growing body of evidence to support the efficacy of cognitive remediation for cognitive and emotional difficulties in ED. Playmancer/ Islands is a video game (VG) designed to specifically treat mental disorders, characterized by problems in impulse control. The objective of the game is to increase self-control over emotions, decision making and behaviours. The aim of this study is to describe the results from a consecutive series of nine bulimia nervosa patients who were treated with the VG in addition to cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). The outcomes included clinical and psychopathological questionnaires, and physiological measures were obtained during the VG. Emotional regulation improved, heart rate variability increased, and respiratory rate and impulsivity measures reduced after the treatment. These findings suggest that VG training may enhance treatment for ED. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

  6. Nephilim: The Children of Lilith : The Place of Man in the Ontological and Cosmological Dualism of the Diablo, Darksiders and Devil May Cry Game Series

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Poorthuis, M.J.H.M.; Bosman, F.G.

    2015-01-01

    Lilith and the Nephilim are not uncommon characters in modern day pop culture at large and in video games culture specifically. In three video games, the Diablo series (three games, between 1996-2012), the Darksiders series (two games, in 2010 and 212) and the Devil May Cry series (2001-2013,

  7. Freshwater crayfish invasions in South Africa: past, present and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Freshwater crayfish invasions have been studied around the world, but less so in Africa, a continent devoid of native freshwater crayfish. The present study reviews historical and current information on alien freshwater crayfish species introduced into South Africa and aims to indicate which areas are at risk from invasion.

  8. YouTubers as satirists: Humour and remix in online video

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrícia Dias da Silva

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to discuss the role humour plays in politics, particularly in a media environment overflowing with user-generated video. We start with a genealogy of political satire, from classical to Internet times, followed by a general description of “the Hitler meme,” a series of videos on YouTube featuring footage from the film Der Untergang and nonsensical subtitles. Amid video-games, celebrities, and the Internet itself, politicians and politics are the target of twenty-first century caricatures. By analysing these videos we hope to elucidate how the manipulation of images is  embedded in everyday practices and may be of political consequence, namely by deflating politicians' constructed media image. The realm of image, at the centre of the Internet's technological culture, is connected with decisive aspects of today's social structure of knowledge and play. It is timely to understand which part of “playing” is in fact an expressive practice with political significance.

  9. Interview series focuses on IDRC-funded research on climate ...

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

    In Conversation is a series of interviews and videos of research partners working on climate change adaptation projects in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, funded through IDRC's Climate Change and Water program.

  10. Locating inputs of freshwater to Lynch Cove, Hood Canal, Washington, using aerial infrared photography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheibley, Rich W.; Josberger, Edward G.; Chickadel, Chris

    2010-01-01

    The input of freshwater and associated nutrients into Lynch Cove and lower Hood Canal (fig. 1) from sources such as groundwater seeps, small streams, and ephemeral creeks may play a major role in the nutrient loading and hydrodynamics of this low dissolved-oxygen (hypoxic) system. These disbursed sources exhibit a high degree of spatial variability. However, few in-situ measurements of groundwater seepage rates and nutrient concentrations are available and thus may not represent adequately the large spatial variability of groundwater discharge in the area. As a result, our understanding of these processes and their effect on hypoxic conditions in Hood Canal is limited. To determine the spatial variability and relative intensity of these sources, the U.S. Geological Survey Washington Water Science Center collaborated with the University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory to obtain thermal infrared (TIR) images of the nearshore and intertidal regions of Lynch Cove at or near low tide. In the summer, cool freshwater discharges from seeps and streams, flows across the exposed, sun-warmed beach, and out on the warm surface of the marine water. These temperature differences are readily apparent in aerial thermal infrared imagery that we acquired during the summers of 2008 and 2009. When combined with co-incident video camera images, these temperature differences allow identification of the location, the type, and the relative intensity of the sources.

  11. Using Online Interactive Physics-based Video Analysis Exercises to Enhance Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Priscilla W. Laws

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available As part of our new digital video age, physics students throughout the world can use smart phones, video cameras, computers and tablets to produce and analyze videos of physical phenomena using analysis software such as Logger Pro, Tracker or Coach. For several years, LivePhoto Physics Group members have created short videos of physical phenomena. They have also developed curricular materials that enable students to make predictions and use video analysis software to verify them. In this paper a new LivePhoto Physics project that involves the creation and testing of a series of Interactive Video Vignettes (IVVs will be described. IVVs are short webbased assignments that take less than ten minutes to complete. Each vignette is designed to present a video of a phenomenon, ask for a student’s prediction about it, and then conduct on-line video observations or analyses that allow the user to compare findings with his or her initial prediction. The Vignettes are designed for web delivery as ungraded exercises to supplement textbook reading, or to serve as pre-lecture or pre-laboratory activities that span a number of topics normally introduced in introductory physics courses. A sample Vignette on the topic of Newton’s Third Law will be described, and the outcomes of preliminary research on the impact of Vignettes on student motivation, learning and attitudes will be summarized.

  12. Farming of Freshwater Rainbow Trout in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jokumsen, Alfred; Svendsen, Lars Moeslund

    Textbook on Farming of Freshwater Rainbow Trout in Denmark. Danish edition with the title: Opdræt af regnbueørred i Danmark......Textbook on Farming of Freshwater Rainbow Trout in Denmark. Danish edition with the title: Opdræt af regnbueørred i Danmark...

  13. Brownian motion using video capture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salmon, Reese; Robbins, Candace; Forinash, Kyle

    2002-01-01

    Although other researchers had previously observed the random motion of pollen grains suspended in water through a microscope, Robert Brown's name is associated with this behaviour based on observations he made in 1828. It was not until Einstein's work in the early 1900s however, that the origin of this irregular motion was established to be the result of collisions with molecules which were so small as to be invisible in a light microscope (Einstein A 1965 Investigations on the Theory of the Brownian Movement ed R Furth (New York: Dover) (transl. Cowper A D) (5 papers)). Jean Perrin in 1908 (Perrin J 1923 Atoms (New York: Van Nostrand-Reinhold) (transl. Hammick D)) was able, through a series of painstaking experiments, to establish the validity of Einstein's equation. We describe here the details of a junior level undergraduate physics laboratory experiment where students used a microscope, a video camera and video capture software to verify Einstein's famous calculation of 1905. (author)

  14. A Probabilistic Assessment of the Chemical and Radiological Risks of Chronic Exposure to Uranium in Freshwater Ecosystems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mathews, T.; Beaugelin-Seiller, K.; Garnier-Laplace, J.; Gilbin, R.; Adam, Ch.; Della-Vedova, C.

    2009-01-01

    Uranium (U) presents a unique challenge for ecological risk assessments (ERA) because it induces both chemical and radiological toxicity, and the relative importance of these two toxicities differs among the various U source terms (i.e., natural, enriched, depleted). We present a method for the conversion between chemical concentrations (μgL -1 ) and radiological dose rates (μGyh -1 ) for a defined set of reference organisms, and apply this conversion method to previously derived chemical and radiological benchmarks to determine the extent to which these benchmarks ensure radiological and chemical protection, respectively, for U in freshwater ecosystems. Results show that the percentage of species radiologically protected by the chemical benchmark decreases with increasing degrees of U enrichment and with increasing periods of radioactive decay. In contrast, the freshwater ecosystem is almost never chemically protected by the radiological benchmark, regardless of the source term or decay period considered, confirming that the risks to the environment from uranium's chemical toxicity generally outweigh those of its radiological toxicity. These results are relevant to developing water quality criteria that protect freshwater ecosystems from the various risks associated with the nuclear applications of U exploitation, and highlight the need for (1) further research on the speciation, bioavailability, and toxicity of U-series radionuclides under different environmental conditions, and (2) the adoption of both chemical and radiological benchmarks for coherent ERAS to be conducted in U-contaminated freshwater ecosystems. (authors)

  15. Content-based video retrieval by example video clip

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimitrova, Nevenka; Abdel-Mottaleb, Mohamed

    1997-01-01

    This paper presents a novel approach for video retrieval from a large archive of MPEG or Motion JPEG compressed video clips. We introduce a retrieval algorithm that takes a video clip as a query and searches the database for clips with similar contents. Video clips are characterized by a sequence of representative frame signatures, which are constructed from DC coefficients and motion information (`DC+M' signatures). The similarity between two video clips is determined by using their respective signatures. This method facilitates retrieval of clips for the purpose of video editing, broadcast news retrieval, or copyright violation detection.

  16. Exploring Freshwater Science

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Freshwater ecosystems and associated habitats harbor incrediblebiodiversity. They offer various ecosystem services andsustain human livelihoods. However, due to increasing developmentalpressure and rising water demand, these systemsare under huge threat. As a result, many aquatic species arefeared to become ...

  17. Seasonal comparison of aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblages in a flooded coastal freshwater marsh

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Sung-Ryong; King, Sammy L.

    2013-01-01

    Marsh flooding and drying may be important factors affecting aquatic macroinvertebrate density and distribution in coastal freshwater marshes. Limited availability of water as a result of drying in emergent marsh may decrease density, taxonomic diversity, and taxa richness. The principal objectives of this study are to characterize the seasonal aquatic macroinvertebrate assemblage in a freshwater emergent marsh and compare aquatic macroinvertebrate species composition, density, and taxonomic diversity to that of freshwater marsh ponds. We hypothesize that 1) freshwater emergent marsh has lower seasonal density and taxonomic diversity compared to that of freshwater marsh ponds; and 2) freshwater emergent marsh has lower taxa richness than freshwater marsh ponds. Seasonal aquatic macroinvertebrate density in freshwater emergent marsh ranged from 0 organisms/m2 (summer 2009) to 91.1 ± 20.53 organisms/m2 (mean ± SE; spring 2009). Density in spring was higher than in all other seasons. Taxonomic diversity did not differ and there were no unique species in the freshwater emergent marsh. Our data only partially support our first hypothesis as aquatic macroinvertebrate density and taxonomic diversity between freshwater emergent marsh and ponds did not differ in spring, fall, and winter but ponds supported higher macroinvertebrate densities than freshwater emergent marsh during summer. However, our data did not support our second hypothesis as taxa richness between freshwater emergent marsh and ponds did not statistically differ.

  18. Immersive video

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moezzi, Saied; Katkere, Arun L.; Jain, Ramesh C.

    1996-03-01

    Interactive video and television viewers should have the power to control their viewing position. To make this a reality, we introduce the concept of Immersive Video, which employs computer vision and computer graphics technologies to provide remote users a sense of complete immersion when viewing an event. Immersive Video uses multiple videos of an event, captured from different perspectives, to generate a full 3D digital video of that event. That is accomplished by assimilating important information from each video stream into a comprehensive, dynamic, 3D model of the environment. Using this 3D digital video, interactive viewers can then move around the remote environment and observe the events taking place from any desired perspective. Our Immersive Video System currently provides interactive viewing and `walkthrus' of staged karate demonstrations, basketball games, dance performances, and typical campus scenes. In its full realization, Immersive Video will be a paradigm shift in visual communication which will revolutionize television and video media, and become an integral part of future telepresence and virtual reality systems.

  19. "Bacon Brains": Video Games for Teaching the Science of Addiction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Epstein, Joel; Noel, Jeffrey; Finnegan, Megan; Watkins, Kate

    2016-01-01

    Researchers have developed many different computerized interventions designed to teach students about the dangers of substance use. Following in this tradition, we produced a series of video games called "Bacon Brains." However, unlike many other programs, ours focused on the "Science of Addiction," providing lessons on how…

  20. The Tube on YouTube: TV Series, Media Strategies, and User Tactics in a Transmedia Environment

    OpenAIRE

    Rodríguez Ferrándiz, Raúl; Tur-Viñes, Victoria; Mora Contreras, Francisco Javier

    2015-01-01

    This study analyzes the traffic generated on YouTube around television series. We selected a sample of 314 short YouTube videos about 21 Spanish TV series that premiered in 2013 by Spain’s three most popular mainstream television networks (Telecinco, Antena 3, and La1). These videos, which together received more than 24 million views, were classified according to two key variables: the nature (official or nonofficial) of the YouTube channel on which they were located and the exclusivity of th...

  1. Video demystified

    CERN Document Server

    Jack, Keith

    2004-01-01

    This international bestseller and essential reference is the "bible" for digital video engineers and programmers worldwide. This is by far the most informative analog and digital video reference available, includes the hottest new trends and cutting-edge developments in the field. Video Demystified, Fourth Edition is a "one stop" reference guide for the various digital video technologies. The fourth edition is completely updated with all new chapters on MPEG-4, H.264, SDTV/HDTV, ATSC/DVB, and Streaming Video (Video over DSL, Ethernet, etc.), as well as discussions of the latest standards throughout. The accompanying CD-ROM is updated to include a unique set of video test files in the newest formats. *This essential reference is the "bible" for digital video engineers and programmers worldwide *Contains all new chapters on MPEG-4, H.264, SDTV/HDTV, ATSC/DVB, and Streaming Video *Completely revised with all the latest and most up-to-date industry standards.

  2. De-framing video games from the light of cinema

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernard Perron

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available In this essay, we shall try to step back from a blinding cinema-centric approach in order to examine the impact such a framing has caused, to question its limitations, and to reflect on the interpretive communities that have relied on film (communities we are part of, due to our film studies background to position video games as an important cultural phenomenon as well as an object worthy of scholarly attention. Using Gaudreault and Marion’s notion of cultural series and wishing to spread a French theoretical approach we find very relevant to the discussion, we will question the bases on which we frame video games as cinema. This inquiry will focus on the audiovisual nature of both media and highlight their differing technical and aesthetic aspects, which will lead us to consider video games as being closer to other forms of audiovisual media.

  3. Video pedagogy

    OpenAIRE

    Länsitie, Janne; Stevenson, Blair; Männistö, Riku; Karjalainen, Tommi; Karjalainen, Asko

    2016-01-01

    The short film is an introduction to the concept of video pedagogy. The five categories of video pedagogy further elaborate how videos can be used as a part of instruction and learning process. Most pedagogical videos represent more than one category. A video itself doesn’t necessarily define the category – the ways in which the video is used as a part of pedagogical script are more defining factors. What five categories did you find? Did you agree with the categories, or are more...

  4. What do we do with all this video? Better understanding public engagement for image and video annotation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiener, C.; Miller, A.; Zykov, V.

    2016-12-01

    Advanced robotic vehicles are increasingly being used by oceanographic research vessels to enable more efficient and widespread exploration of the ocean, particularly the deep ocean. With cutting-edge capabilities mounted onto robotic vehicles, data at high resolutions is being generated more than ever before, enabling enhanced data collection and the potential for broader participation. For example, high resolution camera technology not only improves visualization of the ocean environment, but also expands the capacity to engage participants remotely through increased use of telepresence and virtual reality techniques. Schmidt Ocean Institute is a private, non-profit operating foundation established to advance the understanding of the world's oceans through technological advancement, intelligent observation and analysis, and open sharing of information. Telepresence-enabled research is an important component of Schmidt Ocean Institute's science research cruises, which this presentation will highlight. Schmidt Ocean Institute is one of the only research programs that make their entire underwater vehicle dive series available online, creating a collection of video that enables anyone to follow deep sea research in real time. We encourage students, educators and the general public to take advantage of freely available dive videos. Additionally, other SOI-supported internet platforms, have engaged the public in image and video annotation activities. Examples of these new online platforms, which utilize citizen scientists to annotate scientific image and video data will be provided. This presentation will include an introduction to SOI-supported video and image tagging citizen science projects, real-time robot tracking, live ship-to-shore communications, and an array of outreach activities that enable scientists to interact with the public and explore the ocean in fascinating detail.

  5. Multimedia in physics education: two teaching videos on the absorption and emission spectrum of sodium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wagner, Andreas; Altherr, Stefan; Eckert, Bodo; Jodl, Hans Joerg

    2006-01-01

    In a series of letters we present teaching videos on topics where the learners of physics used to have problems. The first video presents an experimental set-up by which the absorption lines (D 1 , D 2 ) of sodium can be resolved simultaneous with the emission lines. The second video allows us to determine their wavelengths in comparison with calibrated spectral lines of mercury. This type of multimedia should not replace the real demonstration experiment, but is of good support for a long distant learner or for simply reading a textbook. (letters and comments)

  6. Field and model investigations of freshwater lenses in coastal aquifers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pauw, P.S.

    2015-01-01

    A major problem of sustaining freshwater supply from freshwater lens is the invasion of saline groundwater into a fresh groundwater body. In many coastal areas saltwater intrusion has led to well closure and reduced freshwater supply. Furthermore, in the future saltwater intrusion is expected to

  7. Arthroscopy Techniques: The Premier Arthroscopic Video Library.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leland, J Martin; Lubowitz, James H; Provencher, Matthew T

    2016-12-01

    Arthroscopy has always been focused on its roots-providing practical, clinically relevant information for the practicing arthroscopist. In the digital age, there is a need for publication platforms dedicated to multimedia presentations, hence the birth of Arthroscopy Techniques, Arthroscopy's online video companion. With over 700 videos, our library is filled with an exceptional collection of arthroscopic educational material, with topics ranging from the basics of arthroscopy to the most complex surgical procedures. One series, published this month, explores elbow arthroscopy with specific attention to describing various elbow portals, patient positioning, and tricks of elbow arthroscopy known only to the masters. If you have yet to view Arthroscopy Techniques, experience the future of arthroscopy today at www.ArthroscopyTechniques.org! Copyright © 2016 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Predicting freshwater habitat integrity using land-use surrogates

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Amis, MA

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available Freshwater biodiversity is globally threatened due to human disturbances, but freshwater ecosystems have been accorded less protection than their terrestrial and marine counterparts. Few criteria exist for assessing the habitat integrity of rivers...

  9. Commercial Video Programs: A Component to Enhance Language Skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linares, H. A.

    After the passage of a resolution by the South Dakota Board of Regents to place greater emphasis on the study of foreign language, Northern State College introduced commercial video programs in Spanish for classroom use. After installing a parabolic antenna and the other necessary equipment, the department selected and edited a series of programs,…

  10. Restricted-range fishes and the conservation of Brazilian freshwaters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nogueira, Cristiano; Buckup, Paulo A; Menezes, Naercio A; Oyakawa, Osvaldo T; Kasecker, Thais P; Ramos Neto, Mario B; da Silva, José Maria C

    2010-06-30

    Freshwaters are the most threatened ecosystems on earth. Although recent assessments provide data on global priority regions for freshwater conservation, local scale priorities remain unknown. Refining the scale of global biodiversity assessments (both at terrestrial and freshwater realms) and translating these into conservation priorities on the ground remains a major challenge to biodiversity science, and depends directly on species occurrence data of high taxonomic and geographic resolution. Brazil harbors the richest freshwater ichthyofauna in the world, but knowledge on endemic areas and conservation in Brazilian rivers is still scarce. Using data on environmental threats and revised species distribution data we detect and delineate 540 small watershed areas harboring 819 restricted-range fishes in Brazil. Many of these areas are already highly threatened, as 159 (29%) watersheds have lost more than 70% of their original vegetation cover, and only 141 (26%) show significant overlap with formally protected areas or indigenous lands. We detected 220 (40%) critical watersheds overlapping hydroelectric dams or showing both poor formal protection and widespread habitat loss; these sites harbor 344 endemic fish species that may face extinction if no conservation action is in place in the near future. We provide the first analysis of site-scale conservation priorities in the richest freshwater ecosystems of the globe. Our results corroborate the hypothesis that freshwater biodiversity has been neglected in former conservation assessments. The study provides a simple and straightforward method for detecting freshwater priority areas based on endemism and threat, and represents a starting point for integrating freshwater and terrestrial conservation in representative and biogeographically consistent site-scale conservation strategies, that may be scaled-up following naturally linked drainage systems. Proper management (e. g. forestry code enforcement, landscape

  11. Some properties of suspended sediment absorbed cations in turbid freshwaters of South Africa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grobbelaar, J.U.; Stegmann, P.; Keulder, P.C.

    1980-01-01

    Large quantities of suspended sediments are common in many of South Africa's freshwaters. Temporal and spatial variations in the amounts of cations adsorbed were recorded. The adsorption appears to be dependent on valency, because greater quantities of the higher valencies are adsorbed. Ca++ dominated the adsorbed cations and Mg++ the dissolved fraction. Water originating from the Beaufort Series contained high sodium concentrations. Fe++ dominated the adsorbed minor cations. Large quantities of sediments transported by rivers enter impoundments. The adsorbed ions transported in this way are influenced by the type of suspended sediment and form a significant part of the total input of ions

  12. length-weight relationhip of freshwater wild fish species

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Dr Naeem

    2012-06-21

    Jun 21, 2012 ... Length-weight (LWR) and length-length relationships (LLR) were determined for a freshwater catfish ... Key words: Mystus bleekeri, length-weight relationship, length-length relationship, predictive equations. INTRODUCTION. Mystus bleekeri (freshwater catfish Day, 1877), locally ..... fish farmers, Aquacult.

  13. XbD Video 3, The SEEing process of qualitative data analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2013-01-01

    This is the third video in the Experience-based Designing series. It presents a live classroom demonstration of a nine step qualitative data analysis process called SEEing: The process is useful for uncovering or discovering deeper layers of 'meaning' and meaning structures in an experience...

  14. Modeling Periodic Impulsive Effects on Online TV Series Diffusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Peihua; Zhu, Anding; Fang, Qiwen; Wang, Xi

    Online broadcasting substantially affects the production, distribution, and profit of TV series. In addition, online word-of-mouth significantly affects the diffusion of TV series. Because on-demand streaming rates are the most important factor that influences the earnings of online video suppliers, streaming statistics and forecasting trends are valuable. In this paper, we investigate the effects of periodic impulsive stimulation and pre-launch promotion on on-demand streaming dynamics. We consider imbalanced audience feverish distribution using an impulsive susceptible-infected-removed(SIR)-like model. In addition, we perform a correlation analysis of online buzz volume based on Baidu Index data. We propose a PI-SIR model to evolve audience dynamics and translate them into on-demand streaming fluctuations, which can be observed and comprehended by online video suppliers. Six South Korean TV series datasets are used to test the model. We develop a coarse-to-fine two-step fitting scheme to estimate the model parameters, first by fitting inter-period accumulation and then by fitting inner-period feverish distribution. We find that audience members display similar viewing habits. That is, they seek new episodes every update day but fade away. This outcome means that impulsive intensity plays a crucial role in on-demand streaming diffusion. In addition, the initial audience size and online buzz are significant factors. On-demand streaming fluctuation is highly correlated with online buzz fluctuation. To stimulate audience attention and interpersonal diffusion, it is worthwhile to invest in promotion near update days. Strong pre-launch promotion is also a good marketing tool to improve overall performance. It is not advisable for online video providers to promote several popular TV series on the same update day. Inter-period accumulation is a feasible forecasting tool to predict the future trend of the on-demand streaming amount. The buzz in public social communities

  15. Modeling Periodic Impulsive Effects on Online TV Series Diffusion.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peihua Fu

    Full Text Available Online broadcasting substantially affects the production, distribution, and profit of TV series. In addition, online word-of-mouth significantly affects the diffusion of TV series. Because on-demand streaming rates are the most important factor that influences the earnings of online video suppliers, streaming statistics and forecasting trends are valuable. In this paper, we investigate the effects of periodic impulsive stimulation and pre-launch promotion on on-demand streaming dynamics. We consider imbalanced audience feverish distribution using an impulsive susceptible-infected-removed(SIR-like model. In addition, we perform a correlation analysis of online buzz volume based on Baidu Index data.We propose a PI-SIR model to evolve audience dynamics and translate them into on-demand streaming fluctuations, which can be observed and comprehended by online video suppliers. Six South Korean TV series datasets are used to test the model. We develop a coarse-to-fine two-step fitting scheme to estimate the model parameters, first by fitting inter-period accumulation and then by fitting inner-period feverish distribution.We find that audience members display similar viewing habits. That is, they seek new episodes every update day but fade away. This outcome means that impulsive intensity plays a crucial role in on-demand streaming diffusion. In addition, the initial audience size and online buzz are significant factors. On-demand streaming fluctuation is highly correlated with online buzz fluctuation.To stimulate audience attention and interpersonal diffusion, it is worthwhile to invest in promotion near update days. Strong pre-launch promotion is also a good marketing tool to improve overall performance. It is not advisable for online video providers to promote several popular TV series on the same update day. Inter-period accumulation is a feasible forecasting tool to predict the future trend of the on-demand streaming amount. The buzz in public

  16. Modeling Periodic Impulsive Effects on Online TV Series Diffusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Qiwen; Wang, Xi

    2016-01-01

    Background Online broadcasting substantially affects the production, distribution, and profit of TV series. In addition, online word-of-mouth significantly affects the diffusion of TV series. Because on-demand streaming rates are the most important factor that influences the earnings of online video suppliers, streaming statistics and forecasting trends are valuable. In this paper, we investigate the effects of periodic impulsive stimulation and pre-launch promotion on on-demand streaming dynamics. We consider imbalanced audience feverish distribution using an impulsive susceptible-infected-removed(SIR)-like model. In addition, we perform a correlation analysis of online buzz volume based on Baidu Index data. Methods We propose a PI-SIR model to evolve audience dynamics and translate them into on-demand streaming fluctuations, which can be observed and comprehended by online video suppliers. Six South Korean TV series datasets are used to test the model. We develop a coarse-to-fine two-step fitting scheme to estimate the model parameters, first by fitting inter-period accumulation and then by fitting inner-period feverish distribution. Results We find that audience members display similar viewing habits. That is, they seek new episodes every update day but fade away. This outcome means that impulsive intensity plays a crucial role in on-demand streaming diffusion. In addition, the initial audience size and online buzz are significant factors. On-demand streaming fluctuation is highly correlated with online buzz fluctuation. Conclusion To stimulate audience attention and interpersonal diffusion, it is worthwhile to invest in promotion near update days. Strong pre-launch promotion is also a good marketing tool to improve overall performance. It is not advisable for online video providers to promote several popular TV series on the same update day. Inter-period accumulation is a feasible forecasting tool to predict the future trend of the on-demand streaming amount

  17. Video Game Addiction and Life Style Changes: Implications for Caregivers Burden.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Manoj Kumar

    2016-01-01

    Limitation of available information on caregiver perspective on managing the users excessive use of technology. The present case series explore the caregiver burden related to users addictive use of video game. The users and caregivers approached the service of healthy use of technology (SHUT clinic) for management. They were assessed using Griffith criteria for video game; General Health questionnaire and family burden interview schedule. It demonstrate the addictive use of video game and its impact on users life style and the presence of psychiatric distress/family burden in the caregivers. Caregivers also reported presence of disturbance in psychosocial domains and helplessness to manage the excessive use. It has implications for building support group and service to handle parents' distress and enabling them to handle the dysfunction in users.

  18. The freshwater biodegradation potential of nine Alaskan oils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blenkinsopp, S.; Segy, G.

    1997-01-01

    Nine Alaskan representative crude oils and oil products with freshwater spill potential were collected, aged, and incubated in the presence of the standard freshwater inoculum for 28 days at 10 degrees C. Detailed analytical chemistry was performed on all samples to quantify compositional changes. All of the samples tested exhibited measurable hydrocarbon loss as a result of incubation with the freshwater inoculum. Total saturate and total n-alkane biodegradation were greatly enhanced when nutrients were present. The oil products Jet B Fuel and Diesel No. 2 appear to be more biodegradable than the Alaska North Slope and Cook Inlet crude oils tested, while the Bunker C/Diesel mixture appears to be less biodegradable than these crude oils. These results suggest that the screening procedures described here can provide useful information when applying bioremediation technology to the cleanup of selected oiled freshwater environments. 10 refs., 5 tabs., 13 figs

  19. Threatened and Endangered Freshwater Fish and Mussel Species Richness

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — These data represent predicted current distributions of all US listed Threatened and Endangered freshwater fish and freshwater mussels in the Middle-Atlantic region....

  20. Prior video game exposure does not enhance robotic surgical performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harper, Jonathan D; Kaiser, Stefan; Ebrahimi, Kamyar; Lamberton, Gregory R; Hadley, H Roger; Ruckle, Herbert C; Baldwin, D Duane

    2007-10-01

    Prior research has demonstrated that counterintuitive laparoscopic surgical skills are enhanced by experience with video games. A similar relation with robotic surgical skills has not been tested. The purpose of this study was to determine whether prior video-game experience enhances the acquisition of robotic surgical skills. A series of 242 preclinical medical students completed a self-reported video-game questionnaire detailing the frequency, duration, and peak playing time. The 10 students with the highest and lowest video-game exposure completed a follow-up questionnaire further quantifying video game, sports, musical instrument, and craft and hobby exposure. Each subject viewed a training video demonstrating the use of the da Vinci surgical robot in tying knots, followed by 3 minutes of proctored practice time. Subjects then tied knots for 5 minutes while an independent blinded observer recorded the number of knots tied, missed knots, frayed sutures, broken sutures, and mechanical errors. The mean playing time for the 10 game players was 15,136 total hours (range 5,840-30,000 hours). Video-game players tied fewer knots than nonplayers (5.8 v 9.0; P = 0.04). Subjects who had played sports for at least 4 years had fewer mechanical errors (P = 0.04), broke fewer sutures (P = 0.01), and committed fewer total errors (P = 0.01). Similarly, those playing musical instruments longer than 5 years missed fewer knots (P = 0.05). In the extremes of video-game experience tested in this study, game playing was inversely correlated with the ability to learn robotic suturing. This study suggests that advanced surgical skills such as robotic suturing may be learned more quickly by athletes and musicians. Prior extensive video-game exposure had a negative impact on robotic performance.

  1. Study on polychlorobiphenyl serum levels in French consumers of freshwater fish

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Desvignes, Virginie; Volatier, Jean-Luc; Bels, Frédéric de; Zeghnoun, Abdelkrim; Favrot, Marie-Christine; Marchand, Philippe; Le Bizec, Bruno; Rivière, Gilles; Leblanc, Jean-Charles; Merlo, Mathilde

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: Polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) are persistent pollutants that are widespread in the environment and in foodstuffs, particularly in freshwater fish, which frequently exceed the maximum levels set by European regulations. Objectives: First, we describe the consumption of freshwater fish and serum PCB levels in French anglers, a population expected to have the highest level of dietary PCB exposure. Second, we investigated whether there is a statistical relationship between serum PCB levels and the angler consumption of freshwater fish with high PCB bioaccumulation potential (PCB-BP + freshwater fish) in order to make recommendations with regard to safe consumption of freshwater fish. Methods: We conducted a survey of anglers from six sites with contrasting PCB contamination levels. The survey included a food consumption frequency questionnaire and blood samples were taken to assess serum PCB levels. We used a regression model to determine the main factors contributing to serum PCB levels. Results: Consumption of PCB-BP + freshwater fish was relatively infrequent. Serum PCB levels of the study population and of women of childbearing age were in the same range as those observed in the French population and in neighbouring European countries, but higher than in the North American population. The two factors with the highest positive association with serum PCB levels were age (R 2 = 61%) and the consumption of PCB-BP + freshwater fish (R 2 = 2%). Using the regression model, we calculated, for several scenarios depending on the age and gender of the population, the maximum annual frequencies for PCB-BP + freshwater fish consumption that do not exceed the critical body burden threshold. Conclusion: Following the results of this study, the French agency for food, environmental and occupational health and safety (ANSES) issued an opinion and recommended some specific maximum freshwater fish consumption frequencies to protect the French general population

  2. Study on polychlorobiphenyl serum levels in French consumers of freshwater fish

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Desvignes, Virginie, E-mail: virginie.desvignes@anses.fr [Risk Assessment Department, French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), 27–31, avenue du Général Leclerc, Maisons-Alfort, F-94701 (France); Volatier, Jean-Luc [Risk Assessment Department, French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), 27–31, avenue du Général Leclerc, Maisons-Alfort, F-94701 (France); Bels, Frédéric de [Division for Public Health and Care, French National Cancer Institute (INCa), 52, avenue André Morizet, Boulogne Billancourt Cedex, F-92513 (France); Zeghnoun, Abdelkrim [Department of Environmental Health, French Institute for Public Health Surveillance (InVS), 12, rue du Val d' Osne, Saint-Maurice, F-94415 (France); Favrot, Marie-Christine [Ministry of Health, 14, avenue Duquesne, Paris, F-75350 (France); Marchand, Philippe; Le Bizec, Bruno [LUNAM Université, Oniris, Laboratoire d' Etude des Résidus et Contaminants dans les Aliments (LABERCA), USC INRA 1329, Nantes, F-44307 (France); Rivière, Gilles; Leblanc, Jean-Charles; Merlo, Mathilde [Risk Assessment Department, French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES), 27–31, avenue du Général Leclerc, Maisons-Alfort, F-94701 (France)

    2015-02-01

    Introduction: Polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) are persistent pollutants that are widespread in the environment and in foodstuffs, particularly in freshwater fish, which frequently exceed the maximum levels set by European regulations. Objectives: First, we describe the consumption of freshwater fish and serum PCB levels in French anglers, a population expected to have the highest level of dietary PCB exposure. Second, we investigated whether there is a statistical relationship between serum PCB levels and the angler consumption of freshwater fish with high PCB bioaccumulation potential (PCB-BP{sup +} freshwater fish) in order to make recommendations with regard to safe consumption of freshwater fish. Methods: We conducted a survey of anglers from six sites with contrasting PCB contamination levels. The survey included a food consumption frequency questionnaire and blood samples were taken to assess serum PCB levels. We used a regression model to determine the main factors contributing to serum PCB levels. Results: Consumption of PCB-BP{sup +} freshwater fish was relatively infrequent. Serum PCB levels of the study population and of women of childbearing age were in the same range as those observed in the French population and in neighbouring European countries, but higher than in the North American population. The two factors with the highest positive association with serum PCB levels were age (R{sup 2} = 61%) and the consumption of PCB-BP{sup +} freshwater fish (R{sup 2} = 2%). Using the regression model, we calculated, for several scenarios depending on the age and gender of the population, the maximum annual frequencies for PCB-BP{sup +} freshwater fish consumption that do not exceed the critical body burden threshold. Conclusion: Following the results of this study, the French agency for food, environmental and occupational health and safety (ANSES) issued an opinion and recommended some specific maximum freshwater fish consumption frequencies to protect the French

  3. Changing Arctic Ocean freshwater pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morison, James; Kwok, Ron; Peralta-Ferriz, Cecilia; Alkire, Matt; Rigor, Ignatius; Andersen, Roger; Steele, Mike

    2012-01-04

    Freshening in the Canada basin of the Arctic Ocean began in the 1990s and continued to at least the end of 2008. By then, the Arctic Ocean might have gained four times as much fresh water as comprised the Great Salinity Anomaly of the 1970s, raising the spectre of slowing global ocean circulation. Freshening has been attributed to increased sea ice melting and contributions from runoff, but a leading explanation has been a strengthening of the Beaufort High--a characteristic peak in sea level atmospheric pressure--which tends to accelerate an anticyclonic (clockwise) wind pattern causing convergence of fresh surface water. Limited observations have made this explanation difficult to verify, and observations of increasing freshwater content under a weakened Beaufort High suggest that other factors must be affecting freshwater content. Here we use observations to show that during a time of record reductions in ice extent from 2005 to 2008, the dominant freshwater content changes were an increase in the Canada basin balanced by a decrease in the Eurasian basin. Observations are drawn from satellite data (sea surface height and ocean-bottom pressure) and in situ data. The freshwater changes were due to a cyclonic (anticlockwise) shift in the ocean pathway of Eurasian runoff forced by strengthening of the west-to-east Northern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation characterized by an increased Arctic Oscillation index. Our results confirm that runoff is an important influence on the Arctic Ocean and establish that the spatial and temporal manifestations of the runoff pathways are modulated by the Arctic Oscillation, rather than the strength of the wind-driven Beaufort Gyre circulation.

  4. A beginners guide for video production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1991-11-01

    The Seattle-King County Hazardous Waste Management Plan provides the framework for an intensive effort to keep Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) and Small Quantity Generator (SQG) wastes from entering the municipal solid and liquid waste streams. Many innovative programs for managing small sources of hazardous waste have been developed in response to the Plan. With the assistance of Urban Consortium grants, the City of Seattle has researched and developed a series of reports describing the planning, operation and evaluation of the plan`s HHW collection programs. Three of the Plan`s programs of particular interest to other jurisdictions are the fixed site and mobile HHW Collection Facilities, and the Business Waste Consultations provided to SQG`s. In 1991, Seattle received an Urban Consortium grant to produce two videos showing how the HHW Collection Facilities and Business Consultations programs work. This report provides an overviews of the video development and production process and a discussion of the lessons learned by the staff directing the production.

  5. Freshwater Mussels as Biological Sensors and Cyclers of Aquatic Nitrogen Constituents: An Experimental Investigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruger, A.; Just, C. L.; Mudumbai, R.; Dasgupta, S.; Newton, T. J.; Durst, J.; Boddicker, M. D.; Diken, M. B.; Bril, J.; Baidoo-Williams, H. E.

    2011-12-01

    One of the most extensive manifestations of anthropogenic mismanagement of nitrogen is eutrophication of the Gulf of Mexico. Leaching and runoff transport nitrate compounds-excess agricultural fertilizer and animal waste-via the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. Phytoplankton then multiplies exponentially, and consumes most of the dissolved oxygen. This hypoxia kills fish and other organisms, leading to so-called dead zones in the Gulf that can cover 6,000-7,000 square miles. Dead zone mitigation plans call for coupling management actions with enhanced monitoring, modeling, and research on nitrogen delivery to, as well as processing within, the Mississippi River. Our vision is to create a biosensor network of native freshwater mussels in a major river to monitor, comprehend, and ultimately model key components of the nitrogen cycle. Native freshwater mussels are a guild of long-lived, suspension feeding bivalves that perform important ecological functions in aquatic systems. Mussels can influence nutrient cycling by transferring nutrients from the water column to the riverbed. A major problem for environmental scientists is that relatively little is known about the diurnal behaviors of freshwater mussels or the impacts these behaviors may have on the aquatic nitrogen cycle. Our multidisciplinary team is performing a series of laboratory experiments exploring the feasibility of using freshwater mussels as sensors of and capacitors for nitrates. For sensing, we place Hall-effect sensors on mussels to monitor the rhythmic opening and closing of their valves (gape). One shortcoming of previous work is that mussels were monitored in artificial conditions: glued fast in laboratory flumes, or tethered in constrained settings. To overcome this shortcoming, our team has built a mussel microhabitat with a constant river water feed stock, solar simulator, and a variety of water chemistry sensor. A main thrust of our work is to develop the technology to monitor mussel

  6. Dashboard Videos

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gleue, Alan D.; Depcik, Chris; Peltier, Ted

    2012-01-01

    Last school year, I had a web link emailed to me entitled "A Dashboard Physics Lesson." The link, created and posted by Dale Basier on his "Lab Out Loud" blog, illustrates video of a car's speedometer synchronized with video of the road. These two separate video streams are compiled into one video that students can watch and analyze. After seeing…

  7. Choices and Consequences: The Role of Players in The Walking Dead: A Telltale Game Series

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Genovesi Matteo

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available One of the most important features in a transmedia structure, as Max Giovagnoli argues in his book Transmedia: Storytelling e Comunicazione [Transmedia: Storytelling and Communication], is the development of the user’s decision-making power, defined by the author as “choice excitement.” In this, every choice of the user should have a consequence in the fictional universe of a specific franchise. Consequently, a narrative universe that wants to emphasize choice excitement and the active role of people can focus on video games, where the interactive approach is prominent. This essay will discuss a specific video game, based on the famous franchise of The Walking Dead. This brand, which appears in comic books, novels, TV series, Web episodes and video games, is analysable not only as an exemplary case of transmedia storytelling, where every ramification of the franchise published in different media is both autonomous and synergistic with the others, but also by focusing on the choice excitement of users in the first season of the video game The Walking Dead: A Telltale Game Series.

  8. Lysogenic infection in sub-tropical freshwater cyanobacteria cultures and natural blooms

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Steenhauer, L.M.; Pollard, P.C.; Brussaard, C.P.D.; Säwström, C.

    2014-01-01

    Lysogeny has been reported for a few freshwater cyanobacteria cultures, but it is unknown how prevalent it is in freshwater cyanobacteria in situ. Here we tested for lysogeny in (a) cultures of eight Australian species of subtropical freshwater cyanobacteria; (b) seven strains of one species:

  9. Restricted-range fishes and the conservation of Brazilian freshwaters.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristiano Nogueira

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Freshwaters are the most threatened ecosystems on earth. Although recent assessments provide data on global priority regions for freshwater conservation, local scale priorities remain unknown. Refining the scale of global biodiversity assessments (both at terrestrial and freshwater realms and translating these into conservation priorities on the ground remains a major challenge to biodiversity science, and depends directly on species occurrence data of high taxonomic and geographic resolution. Brazil harbors the richest freshwater ichthyofauna in the world, but knowledge on endemic areas and conservation in Brazilian rivers is still scarce. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using data on environmental threats and revised species distribution data we detect and delineate 540 small watershed areas harboring 819 restricted-range fishes in Brazil. Many of these areas are already highly threatened, as 159 (29% watersheds have lost more than 70% of their original vegetation cover, and only 141 (26% show significant overlap with formally protected areas or indigenous lands. We detected 220 (40% critical watersheds overlapping hydroelectric dams or showing both poor formal protection and widespread habitat loss; these sites harbor 344 endemic fish species that may face extinction if no conservation action is in place in the near future. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We provide the first analysis of site-scale conservation priorities in the richest freshwater ecosystems of the globe. Our results corroborate the hypothesis that freshwater biodiversity has been neglected in former conservation assessments. The study provides a simple and straightforward method for detecting freshwater priority areas based on endemism and threat, and represents a starting point for integrating freshwater and terrestrial conservation in representative and biogeographically consistent site-scale conservation strategies, that may be scaled-up following naturally linked

  10. Photographic and video techniques used in the 1/5-scale Mark I boiling water reactor pressure suppression experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dixon, D.; Lord, D.

    1978-01-01

    The report provides a description of the techniques and equipment used for the photographic and video recordings of the air test series conducted on the 1/5 scale Mark I boiling water reactor (BWR) pressure suppression experimental facility at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL) between March 4, 1977, and May 12, 1977. Lighting and water filtering are discussed in the photographic system section and are also applicable to the video system. The appendices contain information from the photographic and video camera logs

  11. Video game addiction, ADHD symptomatology, and video game reinforcement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathews, Christine L; Morrell, Holly E R; Molle, Jon E

    2018-06-06

    Up to 23% of people who play video games report symptoms of addiction. Individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be at increased risk for video game addiction, especially when playing games with more reinforcing properties. The current study tested whether level of video game reinforcement (type of game) places individuals with greater ADHD symptom severity at higher risk for developing video game addiction. Adult video game players (N = 2,801; Mean age = 22.43, SD = 4.70; 93.30% male; 82.80% Caucasian) completed an online survey. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were used to test type of game, ADHD symptom severity, and the interaction between type of game and ADHD symptomatology as predictors of video game addiction severity, after controlling for age, gender, and weekly time spent playing video games. ADHD symptom severity was positively associated with increased addiction severity (b = .73 and .68, ps .05. The relationship between ADHD symptom severity and addiction severity did not depend on the type of video game played or preferred most, ps > .05. Gamers who have greater ADHD symptom severity may be at greater risk for developing symptoms of video game addiction and its negative consequences, regardless of type of video game played or preferred most. Individuals who report ADHD symptomatology and also identify as gamers may benefit from psychoeducation about the potential risk for problematic play.

  12. Vulnerability of European freshwater catchments to climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markovic, Danijela; Carrizo, Savrina F; Kärcher, Oskar; Walz, Ariane; David, Jonathan N W

    2017-09-01

    Climate change is expected to exacerbate the current threats to freshwater ecosystems, yet multifaceted studies on the potential impacts of climate change on freshwater biodiversity at scales that inform management planning are lacking. The aim of this study was to fill this void through the development of a novel framework for assessing climate change vulnerability tailored to freshwater ecosystems. The three dimensions of climate change vulnerability are as follows: (i) exposure to climate change, (ii) sensitivity to altered environmental conditions and (iii) resilience potential. Our vulnerability framework includes 1685 freshwater species of plants, fishes, molluscs, odonates, amphibians, crayfish and turtles alongside key features within and between catchments, such as topography and connectivity. Several methodologies were used to combine these dimensions across a variety of future climate change models and scenarios. The resulting indices were overlaid to assess the vulnerability of European freshwater ecosystems at the catchment scale (18 783 catchments). The Balkan Lakes Ohrid and Prespa and Mediterranean islands emerge as most vulnerable to climate change. For the 2030s, we showed a consensus among the applied methods whereby up to 573 lake and river catchments are highly vulnerable to climate change. The anthropogenic disruption of hydrological habitat connectivity by dams is the major factor reducing climate change resilience. A gap analysis demonstrated that the current European protected area network covers climate change. Priority should be placed on enhancing stakeholder cooperation at the major basin scale towards preventing further degradation of freshwater ecosystems and maintaining connectivity among catchments. The catchments identified as most vulnerable to climate change provide preliminary targets for development of climate change conservation management and mitigation strategies. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Participatory Video: Toward a Method, Advocacy and Voice (MAV) Framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sitter, Kathleen C.

    2012-01-01

    Using the new conceptual framework of participatory visual media as method, advocacy and voice (MAV), the author explores an action research study using an exemplar in which advocates from the disability community created and distributed a series of videos about love and sexuality as a critical human rights issue in the disability community. The…

  14. Electromagnetic methods for mapping freshwater lenses on Micronesian atoll islands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anthony, S.S.

    1992-01-01

    The overall shape of freshwater lenses can be determined by applying electromagnetic methods and inverse layered-earth modeling to the mapping of atoll island freshwater lenses. Conductivity profiles were run across the width of the inhabited islands at Mwoakilloa, Pingelap, and Sapwuahfik atolls of the Pohnpei State, Federated States of Micronesia using a dual-loop, frequency-domain, electromagnetic profiling system. Six values of apparent conductivity were recorded at each sounding station and were used to interpret layer conductivities and/or thicknesses. A three-layer model that includes the unsaturated, freshwater, and saltwater zones was used to simulate apparent-conductivity data measured in the field. Interpreted results were compared with chloride-concentration data from monitoring wells and indicate that the interface between freshwater and saltwater layers, defined from electromagnetic data, is located in the upper part of the transition zone, where the chloride-concentration profile shows a rapid increase with depth. The electromagnetic method can be used to interpret the thickness of the freshwater between monitoring wells, but can not be used to interpret the thickness of freshwater from monitoring wells to the margin of an island. ?? 1992.

  15. Vodcasting space weather: The Space Weather FX vodcast series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins Petersen, C.; Erickson, P. J.

    2008-06-01

    The topic of space weather is the subject of a series of nine vodcasts (video podcasts) being created by MIT Haystack Observatory (Westford, Massachusetts, USA) and Loch Ness Productions (Groton, Massachusetts, USA). This paper describes the project, its science and outreach goals, and introduces the principal participants.

  16. "Is Your Man Stepping Out?" An Online Pilot Study to Evaluate Acceptability of a Guide-Enhanced HIV Prevention Soap Opera Video Series and Feasibility of Recruitment by Facebook Advertising.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Rachel; Lacroix, Lorraine J; Nolte, Kerry

    2015-01-01

    Love, Sex, and Choices (LSC) is a 12-episode soap opera video series developed to reduce HIV risk among at-risk Black urban women. We added a video guide commentator to offer insights at critical dramatic moments. An online pilot study evaluated acceptability of the Guide-Enhanced LSC (GELSC) and feasibility of Facebook advertising, streaming to smartphones, and retention. Facebook ads targeted high-HIV-prevalence areas. In 30 days, Facebook ads generated 230 screening interviews: 84 were high risk, 40 watched GELSC, and 39 followed up at 30 days. Recruitment of high-risk participants was 10 per week, compared to seven per week in previous field recruitment. Half the sample was Black; 12% were Latina. Findings suggest GELSC influenced sex scripts and behaviors. It was feasible to recruit young urban women from a large geographic area via Facebook and to retain the sample. We extended the reach to at-risk women by streaming to mobile devices. Copyright © 2015 Association of Nurses in AIDS Care. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Enhancement system of nighttime infrared video image and visible video image

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yue; Piao, Yan

    2016-11-01

    Visibility of Nighttime video image has a great significance for military and medicine areas, but nighttime video image has so poor quality that we can't recognize the target and background. Thus we enhance the nighttime video image by fuse infrared video image and visible video image. According to the characteristics of infrared and visible images, we proposed improved sift algorithm andαβ weighted algorithm to fuse heterologous nighttime images. We would deduced a transfer matrix from improved sift algorithm. The transfer matrix would rapid register heterologous nighttime images. And theαβ weighted algorithm can be applied in any scene. In the video image fusion system, we used the transfer matrix to register every frame and then used αβ weighted method to fuse every frame, which reached the time requirement soft video. The fused video image not only retains the clear target information of infrared video image, but also retains the detail and color information of visible video image and the fused video image can fluency play.

  18. A Synopsis of Global Mapping of Freshwater Habitats and Biodiversity: Implications for Conservation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McManamay, Ryan A. [ORNL; Griffiths, Natalie A. [ORNL; DeRolph, Christopher R. [ORNL; Pracheil, Brenda M. [ORNL

    2018-01-01

    Accurately mapping freshwater habitats and biodiversity at high-resolutions across the globe is essential for assessing the vulnerability and threats to freshwater organisms and prioritizing conservation efforts. Since the 2000s, extensive efforts have been devoted to mapping global freshwater habitats (rivers, lakes, and wetlands), the spatial representation of which has changed dramatically over time with new geospatial data products and improved remote sensing technologies. Some of these mapping efforts, however, are still coarse representations of actual conditions. Likewise, the resolution and scope of global freshwater biodiversity compilation efforts have also increased, but are yet to mirror the spatial resolution and fidelity of mapped freshwater environments. In our synopsis, we find that efforts to map freshwater habitats have been conducted independently of those for freshwater biodiversity; subsequently, there is little congruence in the spatial representation and resolution of the two efforts. We suggest that global species distribution models are needed to fill this information gap; however, limiting data on habitat characteristics at scales that complement freshwater habitats has prohibited global high-resolution biogeography efforts. Emerging research trends, such as mapping habitat alteration in freshwater ecosystems and trait biogeography, show great promise in mechanistically linking global anthropogenic stressors to freshwater biodiversity decline and extinction risk.

  19. SnapVideo: Personalized Video Generation for a Sightseeing Trip.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Luming; Jing, Peiguang; Su, Yuting; Zhang, Chao; Shaoz, Ling

    2017-11-01

    Leisure tourism is an indispensable activity in urban people's life. Due to the popularity of intelligent mobile devices, a large number of photos and videos are recorded during a trip. Therefore, the ability to vividly and interestingly display these media data is a useful technique. In this paper, we propose SnapVideo, a new method that intelligently converts a personal album describing of a trip into a comprehensive, aesthetically pleasing, and coherent video clip. The proposed framework contains three main components. The scenic spot identification model first personalizes the video clips based on multiple prespecified audience classes. We then search for some auxiliary related videos from YouTube 1 according to the selected photos. To comprehensively describe a scenery, the view generation module clusters the crawled video frames into a number of views. Finally, a probabilistic model is developed to fit the frames from multiple views into an aesthetically pleasing and coherent video clip, which optimally captures the semantics of a sightseeing trip. Extensive user studies demonstrated the competitiveness of our method from an aesthetic point of view. Moreover, quantitative analysis reflects that semantically important spots are well preserved in the final video clip. 1 https://www.youtube.com/.

  20. Understanding ‘human’ waves: exploiting the physics in a viral video

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferrer-Roca, Chantal

    2018-01-01

    Waves are a relevant part of physics that students find difficult to grasp, even in those cases in which wave propagation kinematics can be visualized. This may hinder a proper understanding of sound, light or quantum physics phenomena that are explained using a wave model. So-called ‘human’ waves, choreographed by people, have proved to be an advisable way to understand basic wave concepts. Videos are widely used as a teaching resource and can be of considerable help in order to watch and discuss ‘human’ waves provided their quality is reasonably good. In this paper we propose and analyse a video that went viral online and has been revealed to be a useful teaching resource for introductory physics students. It shows a unique and very complete series of wave propagations, including pulses with different polarizations and periodic waves that can hardly be found elsewhere. After a proposal on how to discuss the video qualitatively, a quantitative analysis is carried out (no video-tracker needed), including a determination of the main wave magnitudes such as period, wavelength and propagation speed.

  1. Mechanical challenges to freshwater residency in sharks and rays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gleiss, Adrian C; Potvin, Jean; Keleher, James J; Whitty, Jeff M; Morgan, David L; Goldbogen, Jeremy A

    2015-04-01

    Major transitions between marine and freshwater habitats are relatively infrequent, primarily as a result of major physiological and ecological challenges. Few species of cartilaginous fish have evolved to occupy freshwater habitats. Current thought suggests that the metabolic physiology of sharks has remained a barrier to the diversification of this taxon in freshwater ecosystems. Here, we demonstrate that the physical properties of water provide an additional constraint for this species-rich group to occupy freshwater systems. Using hydromechanical modeling, we show that occurrence in fresh water results in a two- to three-fold increase in negative buoyancy for sharks and rays. This carries the energetic cost of lift production and results in increased buoyancy-dependent mechanical power requirements for swimming and increased optimal swim speeds. The primary source of buoyancy, the lipid-rich liver, offers only limited compensation for increased negative buoyancy as a result of decreasing water density; maintaining the same submerged weight would involve increasing the liver volume by very large amounts: 3- to 4-fold in scenarios where liver density is also reduced to currently observed minimal levels and 8-fold without any changes in liver density. The first data on body density from two species of elasmobranch occurring in freshwater (the bull shark Carcharhinus leucas, Müller and Henle 1839, and the largetooth sawfish Pristis pristis, Linnaeus 1758) support this hypothesis, showing similar liver sizes as marine forms but lower liver densities, but the greatest negative buoyancies of any elasmobranch studied to date. Our data suggest that the mechanical challenges associated with buoyancy control may have hampered the invasion of freshwater habitats in elasmobranchs, highlighting an additional key factor that may govern the predisposition of marine organisms to successfully establish in freshwater habitats. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  2. Microplastics ingestion by a common tropical freshwater fishing resource.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva-Cavalcanti, Jacqueline Santos; Silva, José Diego B; França, Elton José de; Araújo, Maria Christina Barbosa de; Gusmão, Felipe

    2017-02-01

    Microplastics pollution is widespread in marine ecosystems and a major threat to biodiversity. Nevertheless, our knowledge of the impacts of microplastics in freshwater environments and biota is still very limited. The interaction of microplastics with freshwater organisms and the risks associated with the human consumption of organisms that ingested microplastics remain major knowledge gaps. In this study, we assessed the ingestion of microplastics by Hoplosternum littorale, a common freshwater fish heavily consumed by humans in semi-arid regions of South America. We assessed the abundance and diversity of both plastic debris and other food items found in the gut of fishes caught by local fishermen. We observed that 83% of the fish had plastic debris inside the gut, the highest frequency reported for a fish species so far. Most of the plastic debris (88.6%) recovered from the guts of fish were microplastics (microplastics at the urbanized sections of the river, and that the ingestion of microplastics was negatively correlated with the diversity of other food items in the gut of individual fish. Nevertheless, microplastics ingestion appears to have a limited impact on H. littorale, and the consequences of human consumption of this fish were not assessed. Our results suggest freshwater biota are vulnerable to microplastics pollution and that urbanization is a major factor contributing to the pollution of freshwater environments with microplastics. We suggest the gut content of fish could be used as a tool for the qualitative assessment of microplastics pollution in freshwater ecosystems. Further research is needed to determine the processes responsible for the high incidence of microplastics ingestion by H. littorale, and to evaluate the risk posed to humans by the consumption of freshwater fish that ingested microplastics. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Global impacts of energy demand on the freshwater resources of nations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holland, Robert Alan; Scott, Kate A; Flörke, Martina; Brown, Gareth; Ewers, Robert M; Farmer, Elizabeth; Kapos, Valerie; Muggeridge, Ann; Scharlemann, Jörn P W; Taylor, Gail; Barrett, John; Eigenbrod, Felix

    2015-12-01

    The growing geographic disconnect between consumption of goods, the extraction and processing of resources, and the environmental impacts associated with production activities makes it crucial to factor global trade into sustainability assessments. Using an empirically validated environmentally extended global trade model, we examine the relationship between two key resources underpinning economies and human well--being-energy and freshwater. A comparison of three energy sectors (petroleum, gas, and electricity) reveals that freshwater consumption associated with gas and electricity production is largely confined within the territorial boundaries where demand originates. This finding contrasts with petroleum, which exhibits a varying ratio of territorial to international freshwater consumption, depending on the origin of demand. For example, although the United States and China have similar demand associated with the petroleum sector, international freshwater consumption is three times higher for the former than the latter. Based on mapping patterns of freshwater consumption associated with energy sectors at subnational scales, our analysis also reveals concordance between pressure on freshwater resources associated with energy production and freshwater scarcity in a number of river basins globally. These energy-driven pressures on freshwater resources in areas distant from the origin of energy demand complicate the design of policy to ensure security of fresh water and energy supply. Although much of the debate around energy is focused on greenhouse gas emissions, our findings highlight the need to consider the full range of consequences of energy production when designing policy.

  4. Augmented video viewing: transforming video consumption into an active experience

    OpenAIRE

    WIJNANTS, Maarten; Leën, Jeroen; QUAX, Peter; LAMOTTE, Wim

    2014-01-01

    Traditional video productions fail to cater to the interactivity standards that the current generation of digitally native customers have become accustomed to. This paper therefore advertises the \\activation" of the video consumption process. In particular, it proposes to enhance HTML5 video playback with interactive features in order to transform video viewing into a dynamic pastime. The objective is to enable the authoring of more captivating and rewarding video experiences for end-users. T...

  5. Systemic and intensifying drought induces collapse and replacement of native fishes: a time-series approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruhi, A.; Olden, J. D.; Sabo, J. L.

    2015-12-01

    In the American Southwest, hydrologic drought has become a new normal as a result of increasing human appropriation of freshwater resources and increased aridity associated with global warming. Although drought has often been touted to threaten freshwater biodiversity, connecting drought to extinction risk of highly-imperiled faunas remains a challenge. Here we combine time-series methods from signal processing and econometrics to analyze a spatially comprehensive and long-term dataset to link discharge variation and community abundance of fish across the American Southwest. This novel time series framework identifies ongoing trends in daily discharge anomalies across the Southwest, quantifies the effect of the historical hydrologic drivers on fish community abundance, and allows us to simulate species trajectories and range-wide risk of decline (quasiextinction) under scenarios of future climate. Spectral anomalies are declining over the last 30 years in at least a quarter of the stream gaging stations across the American Southwest and these anomalies are robust predictors of historical abundance of native and non-native fishes. Quasiextinction probabilities are high (>50 %) for nearly ¾ of the native species across several large river basins in the same region; and the negative trend in annual anomalies increases quasiextinction risk for native but reduces this risk for non-native fishes. These findings suggest that ongoing drought is causing range-wide collapse and replacement of native fish faunas, and that this homogenization of western fish faunas will continue given the prevailing negative trend in discharge anomalies. Additionally, this combination of methods can be applied elsewhere as long as environmental and biological long-term time-series data are available. Collectively, these methods allow identifying the link between hydroclimatic forcing and ecological responses and thus may help anticipating the potential impacts of ongoing and future hydrologic

  6. Computed Quality Assessment of MPEG4-compressed DICOM Video Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frankewitsch, Thomas; Söhnlein, Sven; Müller, Marcel; Prokosch, Hans-Ulrich

    2005-01-01

    Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) has become one of the most popular standards in medicine. This standard specifies the exact procedures in which digital images are exchanged between devices, either using a network or storage medium. Sources for images vary; therefore there exist definitions for the exchange for CR, CT, NMR, angiography, sonography and so on. With its spreading, with the increasing amount of sources included, data volume is increasing, too. This affects storage and traffic. While for long-time storage data compression is generally not accepted at the moment, there are many situations where data compression is possible: Telemedicine for educational purposes (e.g. students at home using low speed internet connections), presentations with standard-resolution video projectors, or even the supply on wards combined receiving written findings. DICOM comprises compression: for still image there is JPEG, for video MPEG-2 is adopted. Within the last years MPEG-2 has been evolved to MPEG-4, which squeezes data even better, but the risk of significant errors increases, too. Within the last years effects of compression have been analyzed for entertainment movies, but these are not comparable to videos of physical examinations (e.g. echocardiography). In medical videos an individual image plays a more important role. Erroneous single images affect total quality even more. Additionally, the effect of compression can not be generalized from one test series to all videos. The result depends strongly on the source. Some investigations have been presented, where different MPEG-4 algorithms compressed videos have been compared and rated manually. But they describe only the results in an elected testbed. In this paper some methods derived from video rating are presented and discussed for an automatically created quality control for the compression of medical videos, primary stored in DICOM containers.

  7. Wnt signaling and polarity in freshwater sponges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Windsor Reid, Pamela J; Matveev, Eugueni; McClymont, Alexandra; Posfai, Dora; Hill, April L; Leys, Sally P

    2018-02-02

    The Wnt signaling pathway is uniquely metazoan and used in many processes during development, including the formation of polarity and body axes. In sponges, one of the earliest diverging animal groups, Wnt pathway genes have diverse expression patterns in different groups including along the anterior-posterior axis of two sponge larvae, and in the osculum and ostia of others. We studied the function of Wnt signaling and body polarity formation through expression, knockdown, and larval manipulation in several freshwater sponge species. Sponge Wnts fall into sponge-specific and sponge-class specific subfamilies of Wnt proteins. Notably Wnt genes were not found in transcriptomes of the glass sponge Aphrocallistes vastus. Wnt and its signaling genes were expressed in archaeocytes of the mesohyl throughout developing freshwater sponges. Osculum formation was enhanced by GSK3 knockdown, and Wnt antagonists inhibited both osculum development and regeneration. Using dye tracking we found that the posterior poles of freshwater sponge larvae give rise to tissue that will form the osculum following metamorphosis. Together the data indicate that while components of canonical Wnt signaling may be used in development and maintenance of osculum tissue, it is likely that Wnt signaling itself occurs between individual cells rather than whole tissues or structures in freshwater sponges.

  8. Beyond the Letter of the Law: Accessibility, Universal Design, and Human-Centered Design in Video Tutorials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amanda S. Clossen

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available This article demonstrates how Universal and Human-Centered Design approaches can be applied to the process of library video tutorial creation in order to enhance accessibility. A series of questions that creators should consider in order to focus their design process is discussed. These questions break down various physical and cognitive limitations that users encounter, providing a framework for future video creation that is not dependent on specific software. By approaching accommodations more holistically, videos are created with accessibility in mind from their conception. Working toward the ideal of a video tutorial that is accessible to every user leads to the creation of more clearly worded, effective learning objects that are much more inclusive, making instructional concepts available to users of all abilities.

  9. CEPF Western Ghats Special Series: Freshwater fish fauna of Krishna River at Wai, northern Western Ghats, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S.S. Kharat

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Freshwater fish fauna of the Krishna River at Wai, and the Dhom reservoir upstream of Wai, was studied. Fifty one species belonging to 14 families and 33 genera were recorded; 13 endemic to the Western Ghats and two to the Krishna River system. Moderate to rare populations were found for six globally threatened species: Gonoproktopterus curmuca, Labeo potail, Schismatorhynchos nukta, Tor khudree, T. mussullah and Parapsilorhynchus discophorus. Fish in this area are under threat due to two introduced species and five transplanted species, and due to other anthropogenic activities such as overfishing and organic and inorganic pollution of the river. Site based conservation action plans are needed for conservation of rare and threatened fish in this area.

  10. First-Year Students’ Research Challenges: Does Watching Videos on Common Struggles affect Students’ Research Self-Efficacy?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Savannah L. Kelly

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Objective – The purpose of this quantitative study was to measure the impact of providing research struggle videos on first-year students’ research self-efficacy. The three-part video series explicated and briefly addressed common first-year roadblocks related to searching, evaluating, and caring about sources. The null hypothesis tested was that students would have similar research self-efficacy scores, regardless of exposure to the video series. Methods – The study was a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group design. The population included all 22 sections (N = 359 of First-Year Writing affiliated with the FASTrack Learning Community at the University of Mississippi. Of 22 sections, 12 (N = 212 served as the intervention group exposed to the videos, while the other 10 (N = 147 served as the control group. A research self-efficacy pretest – posttest measure was administered to all students. In addition, all 22 sections, regardless of control or intervention status, received a face-to-face one-shot library instruction session. Results – As a whole, this study failed to reject the null hypothesis. Students exposed to the research struggle videos reported similar research self-efficacy scores as students who were not exposed to the videos. A significant difference, however, did exist between all students’ pretest and posttest scores, suggesting that something else, possibly the in-person library session, did have an impact on students’ research self-efficacy. Conclusion – Although students’ research self-efficacy may have increased due to the presence of an in-person library session, this current research was most interested in evaluating the effect of providing supplemental instruction via struggle videos for first-year students. As this was not substantiated, it is recommended that researchers review the findings and limitations of this current study in order to identify more effective approaches in providing

  11. Multi-Task Video Captioning with Video and Entailment Generation

    OpenAIRE

    Pasunuru, Ramakanth; Bansal, Mohit

    2017-01-01

    Video captioning, the task of describing the content of a video, has seen some promising improvements in recent years with sequence-to-sequence models, but accurately learning the temporal and logical dynamics involved in the task still remains a challenge, especially given the lack of sufficient annotated data. We improve video captioning by sharing knowledge with two related directed-generation tasks: a temporally-directed unsupervised video prediction task to learn richer context-aware vid...

  12. Video Quality Prediction Models Based on Video Content Dynamics for H.264 Video over UMTS Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asiya Khan

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to present video quality prediction models for objective non-intrusive, prediction of H.264 encoded video for all content types combining parameters both in the physical and application layer over Universal Mobile Telecommunication Systems (UMTS networks. In order to characterize the Quality of Service (QoS level, a learning model based on Adaptive Neural Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS and a second model based on non-linear regression analysis is proposed to predict the video quality in terms of the Mean Opinion Score (MOS. The objective of the paper is two-fold. First, to find the impact of QoS parameters on end-to-end video quality for H.264 encoded video. Second, to develop learning models based on ANFIS and non-linear regression analysis to predict video quality over UMTS networks by considering the impact of radio link loss models. The loss models considered are 2-state Markov models. Both the models are trained with a combination of physical and application layer parameters and validated with unseen dataset. Preliminary results show that good prediction accuracy was obtained from both the models. The work should help in the development of a reference-free video prediction model and QoS control methods for video over UMTS networks.

  13. Streaming Video--The Wave of the Video Future!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Laura

    2004-01-01

    Videos and DVDs give the teachers more flexibility than slide projectors, filmstrips, and 16mm films but teachers and students are excited about a new technology called streaming. Streaming allows the educators to view videos on demand via the Internet, which works through the transfer of digital media like video, and voice data that is received…

  14. Why are freshwater fish so threatened?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Closs, Gerard P.; Angermeier, Paul; Darwall, William R.T.; Balcombe, Stephen R.

    2015-01-01

    The huge diversity of freshwater fishes is concentrated into an area of habitat that covers only about 1% of the Earth's surface, and much of this limited area has already been extensively impacted and intensively managed to meet human needs (Dudgeon et al., 2006). As outlined in Chapter 1, the number and proportions of threatened species tend to rise wherever fish diversity coincides with dense human populations, intensive resource use and development pressure. Of particular concern is the substantial proportion of the global diversity of freshwater fishes concentrated within the Mekong and Amazon Basins and west-central Africa (Berra, 2001; Abell et al., 2008; Dudgeon, 2011; Chapter 1) with extensive exploitation of water resources planned to accelerate in future years (Dudgeon, 2011; Chapter 1). If current trends continue, and the social, political and economic models that have been used to develop industrialised regions of the world over the past two centuries prevail, then the future of a significant proportion of global diversity of freshwater fish species is clearly uncertain.

  15. A video authentication technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, C.S.

    1987-01-01

    Unattended video surveillance systems are particularly vulnerable to the substitution of false video images into the cable that connects the camera to the video recorder. New technology has made it practical to insert a solid state video memory into the video cable, freeze a video image from the camera, and hold this image as long as desired. Various techniques, such as line supervision and sync detection, have been used to detect video cable tampering. The video authentication technique described in this paper uses the actual video image from the camera as the basis for detecting any image substitution made during the transmission of the video image to the recorder. The technique, designed for unattended video systems, can be used for any video transmission system where a two-way digital data link can be established. The technique uses similar microprocessor circuitry at the video camera and at the video recorder to select sample points in the video image for comparison. The gray scale value of these points is compared at the recorder controller and if the values agree within limits, the image is authenticated. If a significantly different image was substituted, the comparison would fail at a number of points and the video image would not be authenticated. The video authentication system can run as a stand-alone system or at the request of another system

  16. Origin and evolutionary history of freshwater Rhodophyta: further insights based on phylogenomic evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nan, Fangru; Feng, Jia; Lv, Junping; Liu, Qi; Fang, Kunpeng; Gong, Chaoyan; Xie, Shulian

    2017-06-07

    Freshwater representatives of Rhodophyta were sampled and the complete chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes were determined. Characteristics of the chloroplast and mitochondrial genomes were analyzed and phylogenetic relationship of marine and freshwater Rhodophyta were reconstructed based on the organelle genomes. The freshwater member Compsopogon caeruleus was determined for the largest chloroplast genome among multicellular Rhodophyta up to now. Expansion and subsequent reduction of both the genome size and GC content were observed in the Rhodophyta except for the freshwater Compsopogon caeruleus. It was inferred that the freshwater members of Rhodophyta occurred through diverse origins based on evidence of genome size, GC-content, phylogenomic analysis and divergence time estimation. The freshwater species Compsopogon caeruleus and Hildenbrandia rivularis originated and evolved independently at the inland water, whereas the Bangia atropurpurea, Batrachospermum arcuatum and Thorea hispida are derived from the marine relatives. The typical freshwater representatives Thoreales and Batrachospermales are probably derived from the marine relative Palmaria palmata at approximately 415-484 MYA. The origin and evolutionary history of freshwater Rhodophyta needs to be testified with more organelle genome sequences and wider global sampling.

  17. Spontaneous Brain Activity Did Not Show the Effect of Violent Video Games on Aggression: A Resting-State fMRI Study

    OpenAIRE

    Wei Pan; Wei Pan; Wei Pan; Xuemei Gao; Shuo Shi; Fuqu Liu; Chao Li

    2018-01-01

    A great many of empirical researches have proved that longtime exposure to violent video game can lead to a series of negative effects. Although research has focused on the neural basis of the correlation between violent video game and aggression, little is known whether the spontaneous brain activity is associated with violent video game exposure. To address this question, we measured the spontaneous brain activity using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We used the...

  18. Freshwater savings from marine protein consumption

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gephart, Jessica A; Pace, Michael L; D’Odorico, Paolo

    2014-01-01

    Marine fisheries provide an essential source of protein for many people around the world. Unlike alternative terrestrial sources of protein, marine fish production requires little to no freshwater inputs. Consuming marine fish protein instead of terrestrial protein therefore represents freshwater savings (equivalent to an avoided water cost) and contributes to a low water footprint diet. These water savings are realized by the producers of alternative protein sources, rather than the consumers of marine protein. This study quantifies freshwater savings from marine fish consumption around the world by estimating the water footprint of replacing marine fish with terrestrial protein based on current consumption patterns. An estimated 7 600 km 3  yr −1 of water is used for human food production. Replacing marine protein with terrestrial protein would require an additional 350 km 3  yr −1 of water, meaning that marine protein provides current water savings of 4.6%. The importance of these freshwater savings is highly uneven around the globe, with savings ranging from as little as 0 to as much as 50%. The largest savings as a per cent of current water footprints occur in Asia, Oceania, and several coastal African nations. The greatest national water savings from marine fish protein occur in Southeast Asia and the United States. As the human population increases, future water savings from marine fish consumption will be increasingly important to food and water security and depend on sustainable harvest of capture fisheries and low water footprint growth of marine aquaculture. (paper)

  19. The LivePhoto Physics videos and video analysis site

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbott, David

    2009-09-01

    The LivePhoto site is similar to an archive of short films for video analysis. Some videos have Flash tools for analyzing the video embedded in the movie. Most of the videos address mechanics topics with titles like Rolling Pencil (check this one out for pedagogy and content knowledge—nicely done!), Juggler, Yo-yo, Puck and Bar (this one is an inelastic collision with rotation), but there are a few titles in other areas (E&M, waves, thermo, etc.).

  20. Systems-level modeling the effects of arsenic exposure with sequential pulsed and fluctuating patterns for tilapia and freshwater clam

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, W.-Y.; Tsai, J.-W.; Ju, Y.-R.; Liao, C.-M.

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this paper was to use quantitative systems-level approach employing biotic ligand model based threshold damage model to examine physiological responses of tilapia and freshwater clam to sequential pulsed and fluctuating arsenic concentrations. We tested present model and triggering mechanisms by carrying out a series of modeling experiments where we used periodic pulses and sine-wave as featured exposures. Our results indicate that changes in the dominant frequencies and pulse timing can shift the safe rate distributions for tilapia, but not for that of freshwater clam. We found that tilapia increase bioenergetic costs to maintain the acclimation during pulsed and sine-wave exposures. Our ability to predict the consequences of physiological variation under time-varying exposure patterns has also implications for optimizing species growing, cultivation strategies, and risk assessment in realistic situations. - Systems-level modeling the pulsed and fluctuating arsenic exposures.

  1. Systems-level modeling the effects of arsenic exposure with sequential pulsed and fluctuating patterns for tilapia and freshwater clam

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, W.-Y. [Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan (China); Tsai, J.-W. [Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Ecology, China Medical University, Taichung 40402, Taiwan (China); Ju, Y.-R. [Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan (China); Liao, C.-M., E-mail: cmliao@ntu.edu.t [Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan (China)

    2010-05-15

    The purpose of this paper was to use quantitative systems-level approach employing biotic ligand model based threshold damage model to examine physiological responses of tilapia and freshwater clam to sequential pulsed and fluctuating arsenic concentrations. We tested present model and triggering mechanisms by carrying out a series of modeling experiments where we used periodic pulses and sine-wave as featured exposures. Our results indicate that changes in the dominant frequencies and pulse timing can shift the safe rate distributions for tilapia, but not for that of freshwater clam. We found that tilapia increase bioenergetic costs to maintain the acclimation during pulsed and sine-wave exposures. Our ability to predict the consequences of physiological variation under time-varying exposure patterns has also implications for optimizing species growing, cultivation strategies, and risk assessment in realistic situations. - Systems-level modeling the pulsed and fluctuating arsenic exposures.

  2. “Is Your Man Stepping Out?” An online pilot study to evaluate acceptability of a guide-enhanced HIV prevention soap opera video series and feasibility of recruitment by Facebook© advertising

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Rachel; Lacroix, Lorraine J.; Nolte, Kerry

    2015-01-01

    Love, Sex, and Choices (LSC) is a 12-episode soap opera video series developed to reduce HIV risk among at-risk Black urban women. We added a video guide commentator to offer insights at critical dramatic moments. An online pilot study evaluated acceptability of the Guide Enhanced LSC (GELSC) and feasibility of Facebook© advertising, streaming to smartphones, and retention. Facebook© ads targeted high HIV-prevalence areas. In 30 days, Facebook© ads generated 230 screening interviews; 84 were high risk, 40 watched GELSC, and 39 followed up at 30 days. Recruitment of high-risk participants was 10 per week compared to 7 per week in previous field recruitment. Half the sample was Black; 12% were Latina. Findings suggest GELSC influenced sex scripts and behaviors. It was feasible to recruit young urban women from a large geographic area via Facebook© and to retain the sample. We extended the reach to at-risk women by streaming to mobile devices. PMID:26066692

  3. Ranking Highlights in Personal Videos by Analyzing Edited Videos.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Min; Farhadi, Ali; Chen, Tseng-Hung; Seitz, Steve

    2016-11-01

    We present a fully automatic system for ranking domain-specific highlights in unconstrained personal videos by analyzing online edited videos. A novel latent linear ranking model is proposed to handle noisy training data harvested online. Specifically, given a targeted domain such as "surfing," our system mines the YouTube database to find pairs of raw and their corresponding edited videos. Leveraging the assumption that an edited video is more likely to contain highlights than the trimmed parts of the raw video, we obtain pair-wise ranking constraints to train our model. The learning task is challenging due to the amount of noise and variation in the mined data. Hence, a latent loss function is incorporated to mitigate the issues caused by the noise. We efficiently learn the latent model on a large number of videos (about 870 min in total) using a novel EM-like procedure. Our latent ranking model outperforms its classification counterpart and is fairly competitive compared with a fully supervised ranking system that requires labels from Amazon Mechanical Turk. We further show that a state-of-the-art audio feature mel-frequency cepstral coefficients is inferior to a state-of-the-art visual feature. By combining both audio-visual features, we obtain the best performance in dog activity, surfing, skating, and viral video domains. Finally, we show that impressive highlights can be detected without additional human supervision for seven domains (i.e., skating, surfing, skiing, gymnastics, parkour, dog activity, and viral video) in unconstrained personal videos.

  4. Video processing for human perceptual visual quality-oriented video coding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Hyungsuk; Kim, Wonha

    2013-04-01

    We have developed a video processing method that achieves human perceptual visual quality-oriented video coding. The patterns of moving objects are modeled by considering the limited human capacity for spatial-temporal resolution and the visual sensory memory together, and an online moving pattern classifier is devised by using the Hedge algorithm. The moving pattern classifier is embedded in the existing visual saliency with the purpose of providing a human perceptual video quality saliency model. In order to apply the developed saliency model to video coding, the conventional foveation filtering method is extended. The proposed foveation filter can smooth and enhance the video signals locally, in conformance with the developed saliency model, without causing any artifacts. The performance evaluation results confirm that the proposed video processing method shows reliable improvements in the perceptual quality for various sequences and at various bandwidths, compared to existing saliency-based video coding methods.

  5. No Reference Video-Quality-Assessment Model for Monitoring Video Quality of IPTV Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamagishi, Kazuhisa; Okamoto, Jun; Hayashi, Takanori; Takahashi, Akira

    Service providers should monitor the quality of experience of a communication service in real time to confirm its status. To do this, we previously proposed a packet-layer model that can be used for monitoring the average video quality of typical Internet protocol television content using parameters derived from transmitted packet headers. However, it is difficult to monitor the video quality per user using the average video quality because video quality depends on the video content. To accurately monitor the video quality per user, a model that can be used for estimating the video quality per video content rather than the average video quality should be developed. Therefore, to take into account the impact of video content on video quality, we propose a model that calculates the difference in video quality between the video quality of the estimation-target video and the average video quality estimated using a packet-layer model. We first conducted extensive subjective quality assessments for different codecs and video sequences. We then model their characteristics based on parameters related to compression and packet loss. Finally, we verify the performance of the proposed model by applying it to unknown data sets different from the training data sets used for developing the model.

  6. Sulfate reduction and methanogenesis at a freshwater

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Iversen, Vibeke Margrethe Nyvang; Andersen, Martin Søgaard; Jakobsen, Rasmus

    The freshwater-seawater interface was studied in a ~9-m thick anaerobic aquifer located in marine sand and gravel with thin peat lenses. Very limited amounts of iron-oxides are present. Consequently, the dominating redox processes are sulfate reduction and methanogenesis, and the groundwater...... is enriched in dissolved sulfide, methane and bicarbonate. Under normal conditions the seawater-freshwater interface is found at a depth of 4 m at the coastline and reaches the bottom of the aquifer 40 m inland. However, occasional flooding of the area occurs, introducing sulfate to the aquifer. Groundwater...... chemistry was studied in a 120 m transect perpendicular to the coast. Cores were taken for radiotracer rate measurements of sulfate reduction and methanogenesis. In the saline part of the aquifer 35 m inland, sulfate reduction was the dominant process with rates of 0.1-10 mM/year. In the freshwater part 100...

  7. Methane emissions from a freshwater marsh in response to experimentally simulated global warming and nitrogen enrichment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Flury, Sabine; McGinnis, Daniel Frank; Gessner, Mark O.

    2010-01-01

    We determined methane (CH4) emissions in a field enclosure experiment in a littoral freshwater marsh under the influence of experimentally simulated warming and enhanced nitrogen deposition. Methane emissions by ebullition from the marsh composed of Phragmites australis were measured with funnel ...... to the atmosphere, even when they occupy only relatively small littoral areas. More detailed investigations are clearly needed to assess whether global warming and nitrogen deposition can have climate feedbacks by altering methane fluxes from these wetlands.  ......We determined methane (CH4) emissions in a field enclosure experiment in a littoral freshwater marsh under the influence of experimentally simulated warming and enhanced nitrogen deposition. Methane emissions by ebullition from the marsh composed of Phragmites australis were measured with funnel...... traps deployed in a series of enclosures for two 3 week periods. Diffusive fluxes were estimated on the basis of measured CH4 concentrations and application of Fick's law. Neither diffusive nor ebullitive fluxes of methane were significantly affected by warming or nitrate enrichment, possibly because...

  8. The potential of freshwater macroalgae as a biofuels feedstock and the influence of nutrient availability on freshwater macroalgal biomass production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yun, Jin-Ho

    Extensive efforts have been made to evaluate the potential of microalgae as a biofuel feedstock during the past 4-5 decades. However, filamentous freshwater macroalgae have numerous characteristics that favor their potential use as an alternative algal feedstock for biofuels production. Freshwater macroalgae exhibit high rates of areal productivity, and their tendency to form dense floating mats on the water surface imply significant reductions in harvesting and dewater costs compared to microalgae. In Chapter 1, I reviewed the published literature on the elemental composition and energy content of five genera of freshwater macroalgae. This review suggested that freshwater macroalgae compare favorably with traditional bio-based energy sources, including terrestrial residues, wood, and coal. In addition, I performed a semi-continuous culture experiment using the common Chlorophyte genus Oedogonium to investigate whether nutrient availability can influence its higher heating value (HHV), productivity, and proximate analysis. The experimental study suggested that the most nutrient-limited growth conditions resulted in a significant increase in the HHV of the Oedogonium biomass (14.4 MJ/kg to 16.1 MJ/kg). Although there was no significant difference in productivity between the treatments, the average dry weight productivity of Oedogonium (3.37 g/m2/day) was found to be much higher than is achievable with common terrestrial plant crops. Although filamentous freshwater macroalgae, therefore, have significant potential as a renewable source of bioenergy, the ultimate success of freshwater macroalgae as a biofuel feedstock will depend upon the ability to produce biomass at the commercial-scale in a cost-effective and sustainable manner. Aquatic ecology can play an important role to achieve the scale-up of algal crop production by informing the supply rates of nutrients to the cultivation systems, and by helping to create adaptive production systems that are resilient to

  9. Physics and Video Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allain, Rhett

    2016-05-01

    We currently live in a world filled with videos. There are videos on YouTube, feature movies and even videos recorded with our own cameras and smartphones. These videos present an excellent opportunity to not only explore physical concepts, but also inspire others to investigate physics ideas. With video analysis, we can explore the fantasy world in science-fiction films. We can also look at online videos to determine if they are genuine or fake. Video analysis can be used in the introductory physics lab and it can even be used to explore the make-believe physics embedded in video games. This book covers the basic ideas behind video analysis along with the fundamental physics principles used in video analysis. The book also includes several examples of the unique situations in which video analysis can be used.

  10. Astronomy4Kids: Utilizing online video forums to teach basic planetary concepts to children (pre-K to 2nd-grade)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearson, Richard L.

    2016-10-01

    We have developed Astronomy4Kids to help cultivate the next generation of scientists by using technology to reach every interested child in both formal and informal learning environments. This online video series fills the void of effective STEM education tools for children under the age of 8. Our first collection of videos discuss many planetary topics, including the following: planet and moon formation theories, solar and lunar eclipses, and the seasonal effect of the Earth's tilt. As education and outreach become a larger focus of groups such as AAS and NASA, it is imperative to include programs such as Astronomy4Kids to extend these initiatives to younger age groups.Traditionally, this age group has been viewed as too young to be introduced to physics and astronomy concepts. However, child development research is consistently demonstrating the amazing plasticity of a young child's mind: the younger one is introduced to a complex concept, the easier it is to grasp later on. Following the philosophies of Fred Rogers, we present children with a real, relatable, instructor allowing them to focus on the concepts being presented.The format of Astronomy4Kids includes short instruction video clips that usually include a hands-on activity that is easily reproduced at home or in the classroom. This permits flexibility in how the video series is utilized. Within formal classroom or after-school situations, teachers and instructors can lead the discussion and activity with help from the video and supplemental materials (e.g. worksheets, concept outlines, etc.). Informal environments permit the viewer to complete the tasks on their own or simply enjoy the presentation. The video series can be found on YouTube (under "Astronomy 4 Kids") or Facebook (at www.facebook.com/astronomy4kids); we have also expanded to Instagram (www.instragram.com/astronomy4kids) and Pinterest (www.pinterest.com/astronomy4kids).

  11. Recent changes in the freshwater composition east of Greenland

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Steur, L.; Pickart, R.S.; Torres, D.J.; Valdimarsson, H.

    2015-01-01

    Results from three hydrographic surveys across the East Greenland Current between 2011 and 2013 are presented with focus on the freshwater sources. End-member analysis using salinity, d18O, and nutrient data shows that while meteoric water dominated the freshwater content, a significant amount of

  12. Video games

    OpenAIRE

    Kolář, Vojtěch

    2012-01-01

    This thesis is based on a detailed analysis of various topics related to the question of whether video games can be art. In the first place it analyzes the current academic discussion on this subject and confronts different opinions of both supporters and objectors of the idea, that video games can be a full-fledged art form. The second point of this paper is to analyze the properties, that are inherent to video games, in order to find the reason, why cultural elite considers video games as i...

  13. Video-Assisted Thyroidectomy for Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Celestino Pio Lombardi

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. The results of video-assisted thyroidectomy (VAT were evaluated in a large series of patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC, especially in terms of completeness of the surgical resection and short-to-medium term recurrence. Methods. The medical records of all patients who underwent video-assisted thyroidectomy for PTC between June 1998 and May 2009 were reviewed. Results. Three hundred fifty-nine patients were included. One hundred twenty-six patients underwent concomitant central neck node removal. Final histology showed 285 pT1, 26 pT2, and 48 pT3 PTC. Lymph node metastases were found in 27 cases. Follow-up was completed in 315 patients. Mean postoperative serum thyroglobulin level off levothyroxine was 5.4 ng/mL. Post operative ultrasonography showed no residual thyroid tissue in all the patients. Mean post-operative 131I uptake was 1.7%. One patient developed lateral neck recurrence. No other recurrence was observed.

  14. Extinction rates in North American freshwater fishes, 1900-2010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burkhead, Noel M.

    2012-01-01

    Widespread evidence shows that the modern rates of extinction in many plants and animals exceed background rates in the fossil record. In the present article, I investigate this issue with regard to North American freshwater fishes. From 1898 to 2006, 57 taxa became extinct, and three distinct populations were extirpated from the continent. Since 1989, the numbers of extinct North American fishes have increased by 25%. From the end of the nineteenth century to the present, modern extinctions varied by decade but significantly increased after 1950 (post-1950s mean = 7.5 extinct taxa per decade). In the twentieth century, freshwater fishes had the highest extinction rate worldwide among vertebrates. The modern extinction rate for North American freshwater fishes is conservatively estimated to be 877 times greater than the background extinction rate for freshwater fishes (one extinction every 3 million years). Reasonable estimates project that future increases in extinctions will range from 53 to 86 species by 2050.

  15. Analysis of consumer behavior in decision making of purchasing ornamental freshwater fish (case of study at ornamental freshwater fish market at Peta Street, Bandung)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gumilar, I.; Rizal, A.; Sriati; Setiawan Putra, R.

    2018-04-01

    This research aim was to analyzed process of decision making of purchasing ornamental freshwater fish at Peta Street, Bandung City and Analyzed what factors are driving consumers to buy freshwater fish Peta Street. The method used in this research is case study with rating scale and rank spearman analysis. The sampling technique is the accidental random sampling method consist of 30 respondents. The consumer’s decision making process consist of five stages, namely the recognition of needs, information searching, alternative evaluation, process of purchasing, and the evaluation of results. The results showed that at the stage of recognition of needs the motivation of purchasing freshwater fish because respondents are very fond of ornamental freshwater fish, at the stage of information search, the information sources are from the print media and friends or neighborhood. At the stage of alternative evaluation, the reason consumers buy ornamental freshwater fish because the quality of good products. The stage of purchasing decision process consumers bought 1-5 fish with frequency of purchase 1 time per month. The evaluation of results of post-purchasing consumers feel very satisfied with the fish products and the price is very affordable. To observe the factors that influence purchasing motivation of consumers, spearman rank test is the method. The results showed that the quality and price of the product are the factors that most influence the purchase decision of ornamental freshwater fish with the range of student-t value 3,968 and 2,107.

  16. Freshwater Treatment and Test Facility

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Freshwater Treatment and Test Facility, located at SANGB, has direct year-round access to water from Lake St. Clair and has a State of Michigan approved National...

  17. An Experimental Investigation of Hydraulic Fracturing in Shale Considering Anisotropy and Using Freshwater and Supercritical CO2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianming He

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The process of hydraulic fracturing makes use of a liquid to fracture reservoir rocks for the exploitation of unconventional resources. Hence, it is vital to understand the processes that produce the fracture networks that occur during hydraulic fracturing. A shale reservoir is one of the largest unconventional resources and it displays obvious anisotropic characteristics due to its inherent sedimentary structures. The viscosity and flow ability of the fracturing fluid plays an important role in this process. We conducted a series of hydraulic fracturing tests on shale cores (from the southern Sichuan Basin using freshwater and supercritical CO2 (SCO2 as fracturing fluids to investigate the different modes of fracture propagation. The pump pressure curves that we obtained during the fracturing experiment show how the shale responded to each of the fracturing fluids. We examined the influence of the anisotropic characteristics on the propagation of hydraulic fractures by conducting a series of hydraulic fracturing experiments on the shale cores using different bedding orientations. The bedding orientation of the shale had a profound influence on the fracture propagation when using either freshwater or a SCO2 fluid. The breakdown pressure of the shale core was affected not only by the bedding orientation but also by the fracturing fluid. A macroscopic observation of the fractures revealed different fracture geometries and propagation patterns. The results demonstrated that the anisotropic structures and the fracturing fluids could influence the path of the hydraulic fracture.

  18. I'm Not Afraid: Zombies, Video Games, and Life after Death

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roselló, Jarod

    2017-01-01

    My daughter has always been drawn to the frightening and the spooky, with a special interest in zombies. When she was four years old, she and I played a zombie video game together which instigated a series of zombie-related events. This article is a collection of metonymic moments rendered in comics and writing, that revisits these events as…

  19. Pesticides in Brazilian freshwaters: a critical review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albuquerque, A F; Ribeiro, J S; Kummrow, F; Nogueira, A J A; Montagner, C C; Umbuzeiro, G A

    2016-07-13

    The widespread use of pesticides in agriculture can lead to water contamination and cause adverse effects on non-target organisms. Brazil has been the world's top pesticide market consumer since 2008, with 381 approved pesticides for crop use. This study provides a comprehensive literature review on the occurrence of pesticide residues in Brazilian freshwaters. We searched for information in official agency records and peer-reviewed scientific literature. Risk quotients were calculated to assess the potential risk posed to aquatic life by the individual pesticides based on their levels of water contamination. Studies about the occurrence of pesticides in freshwaters in Brazil are scarce and concentrated in few sampling sites in 5 of the 27 states. Herbicides (21) accounted for the majority of the substances investigated, followed by fungicides (11), insecticides (10) and plant growth regulators (1). Insecticides are the class of major concern. Brazil would benefit from the implementation of a nationwide pesticide freshwater monitoring program to support preventive, remediation and enforcement actions.

  20. Relacije umetnosti i video igara / Relations of Art and Video Games

    OpenAIRE

    Manojlo Maravić

    2012-01-01

    When discussing the art of video games, three different contexts need to be considered: the 'high' art (video games and the art); commercial video games (video games as the art) and the fan art. Video games are a legitimate artistic medium subject to modifications and recontextualisations in the process of creating a specific experience of the player/user/audience and political action by referring to particular social problems. They represent a high technological medium that increases, with p...

  1. Integration of Video-Based Demonstrations to Prepare Students for the Organic Chemistry Laboratory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nadelson, Louis S.; Scaggs, Jonathan; Sheffield, Colin; McDougal, Owen M.

    2015-01-01

    Consistent, high-quality introductions to organic chemistry laboratory techniques effectively and efficiently support student learning in the organic chemistry laboratory. In this work, we developed and deployed a series of instructional videos to communicate core laboratory techniques and concepts. Using a quasi-experimental design, we tested the…

  2. Rare Disease Video Portal

    OpenAIRE

    Sánchez Bocanegra, Carlos Luis

    2011-01-01

    Rare Disease Video Portal (RD Video) is a portal web where contains videos from Youtube including all details from 12 channels of Youtube. Rare Disease Video Portal (RD Video) es un portal web que contiene los vídeos de Youtube incluyendo todos los detalles de 12 canales de Youtube. Rare Disease Video Portal (RD Video) és un portal web que conté els vídeos de Youtube i que inclou tots els detalls de 12 Canals de Youtube.

  3. Excessive Video Game Use, Sleep Deprivation, and Poor Work Performance Among U.S. Marines Treated in a Military Mental Health Clinic: A Case Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eickhoff, Erin; Yung, Kathryn; Davis, Diane L; Bishop, Frank; Klam, Warren P; Doan, Andrew P

    2015-07-01

    Excessive use of video games may be associated with sleep deprivation, resulting in poor job performance and atypical mood disorders. Three active duty service members in the U.S. Marine Corps were offered mental health evaluation for sleep disturbance and symptoms of blunted affect, low mood, poor concentration, inability to focus, irritability, and drowsiness. All three patients reported insomnia as their primary complaint. When asked about online video games and sleep hygiene practices, all three patients reported playing video games from 30 hours to more than 60 hours per week in addition to maintaining a 40-hour or more workweek. Our patients endorsed sacrificing sleep to maintain their video gaming schedules without insight into the subsequent sleep deprivation. During the initial interviews, they exhibited blunted affects and depressed moods, but appeared to be activated with enthusiasm and joy when discussing their video gaming with the clinical provider. Our article illustrates the importance of asking about online video gaming in patients presenting with sleep disturbances, poor work performance, and depressive symptoms. Because excessive video gaming is becoming more prevalent worldwide, military mental health providers should ask about video gaming when patients report problems with sleep. Reprint & Copyright © 2015 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

  4. Medical students' perceptions of video-linked lectures and video-streaming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen Mattick

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Video-linked lectures allow healthcare students across multiple sites, and between university and hospital bases, to come together for the purposes of shared teaching. Recording and streaming video-linked lectures allows students to view them at a later date and provides an additional resource to support student learning. As part of a UK Higher Education Academy-funded Pathfinder project, this study explored medical students' perceptions of video-linked lectures and video-streaming, and their impact on learning. The methodology involved semi-structured interviews with 20 undergraduate medical students across four sites and five year groups. Several key themes emerged from the analysis. Students generally preferred live lectures at the home site and saw interaction between sites as a major challenge. Students reported that their attendance at live lectures was not affected by the availability of streamed lectures and tended to be influenced more by the topic and speaker than the technical arrangements. These findings will inform other educators interested in employing similar video technologies in their teaching.Keywords: video-linked lecture; video-streaming; student perceptions; decisionmaking; cross-campus teaching.

  5. Automated Indexing and Search of Video Data in Large Collections with inVideo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuangbao Paul Wang

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we present a novel system, inVideo, for automatically indexing and searching videos based on the keywords spoken in the audio track and the visual content of the video frames. Using the highly efficient video indexing engine we developed, inVideo is able to analyze videos using machine learning and pattern recognition without the need for initial viewing by a human. The time-stamped commenting and tagging features refine the accuracy of search results. The cloud-based implementation makes it possible to conduct elastic search, augmented search, and data analytics. Our research shows that inVideo presents an efficient tool in processing and analyzing videos and increasing interactions in video-based online learning environment. Data from a cybersecurity program with more than 500 students show that applying inVideo to current video material, interactions between student-student and student-faculty increased significantly across 24 sections program-wide.

  6. Cable Bacteria in Freshwater Sediments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Risgaard-Petersen, Nils; Kristiansen, Michael; Frederiksen, Rasmus

    2015-01-01

    In marine sediments cathodic oxygen reduction at the sediment surface can be coupled to anodic sulfide oxidation in deeper anoxic layers through electrical currents mediated by filamentous, multicellular bacteria of the Desulfobulbaceae family, the so-called cable bacteria. Until now, cable...... bacteria have only been reported from marine environments. In this study, we demonstrate that cable bacteria also occur in freshwater sediments. In a first step, homogenized sediment collected from the freshwater stream Giber Å, Denmark, was incubated in the laboratory. After 2 weeks, pH signatures...... marine cable bacteria, with the genus Desulfobulbus as the closest cultured lineage. The results of the present study indicate that electric currents mediated by cable bacteria could be important for the biogeochemistry in many more environments than anticipated thus far and suggest a common evolutionary...

  7. NEI You Tube Videos: Amblyopia

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... YouTube Videos » NEI YouTube Videos: Amblyopia Listen NEI YouTube Videos YouTube Videos Home Age-Related Macular Degeneration ... Retinopathy of Prematurity Science Spanish Videos Webinars NEI YouTube Videos: Amblyopia Embedded video for NEI YouTube Videos: ...

  8. New Zealand Freshwater Management: Changing Policy for a Changing World

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rouse, H. L.; Norton, N.

    2014-12-01

    Fresh water is essential to New Zealand's economic, environmental, cultural and social well-being. In line with global trends, New Zealand's freshwater resources are under pressure from increased abstraction and changes in land-use which contribute contaminants to our freshwater systems. Recent central government policy reform introduces greater national direction and guidance, to bring about a step-change in freshwater management. An existing national policy for freshwater management introduced in 2011 requires regional authorities to produce freshwater management plans containing clear freshwater objectives (measurable statements about the desired environmental state for water bodies) and associated limits to resource use (such as environmental flows and quantity allocation limits, and loads of contaminants to be discharged). These plans must integrate water quantity and quality management, consider climate change, and incorporate tangata whenua (New Zealand māori) roles and interests. In recent (2014) national policy amendments, the regional authorities are also required to implement national 'bottom-line' standards for certain attributes of the system to be managed; undertake accounting for all water takes and all sources of contaminants; and to develop and implement their plans in a collaborative way with communities. This rapid change in national policy has necessitated a new way of working for authorities tasked with implementation; many obstacles lie in their path. The scientific methods required to help set water quantity limits are well established, but water quality methods are less so. Collaborative processes have well documented benefits but also raise many challenges, particularly for the communication of complex and often uncertain scientific information. This paper provides background on the national policy changes and offers some early lessons learned by the regional authorities implementing collaborative freshwater management in New Zealand.

  9. Stormwater runoff drives viral community composition changes in inland freshwaters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williamson, Kurt E.; Harris, Jamie V.; Green, Jasmin C.; Rahman, Faraz; Chambers, Randolph M.

    2014-01-01

    Storm events impact freshwater microbial communities by transporting terrestrial viruses and other microbes to freshwater systems, and by potentially resuspending microbes from bottom sediments. The magnitude of these impacts on freshwater ecosystems is unknown and largely unexplored. Field studies carried out at two discrete sites in coastal Virginia (USA) were used to characterize the viral load carried by runoff and to test the hypothesis that terrestrial viruses introduced through stormwater runoff change the composition of freshwater microbial communities. Field data gathered from an agricultural watershed indicated that primary runoff can contain viral densities approximating those of receiving waters. Furthermore, viruses attached to suspended colloids made up a large fraction of the total load, particularly in early stages of the storm. At a second field site (stormwater retention pond), RAPD-PCR profiling showed that the viral community of the pond changed dramatically over the course of two intense storms while relatively little change was observed over similar time scales in the absence of disturbance. Comparisons of planktonic and particle-associated viral communities revealed two completely distinct communities, suggesting that particle-associated viruses represent a potentially large and overlooked portion of aquatic viral abundance and diversity. Our findings show that stormwater runoff can quickly change the composition of freshwater microbial communities. Based on these findings, increased storms in the coastal mid-Atlantic region predicted by most climate change models will likely have important impacts on the structure and function of local freshwater microbial communities. PMID:24672520

  10. Guerrilla Video: A New Protocol for Producing Classroom Video

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fadde, Peter; Rich, Peter

    2010-01-01

    Contemporary changes in pedagogy point to the need for a higher level of video production value in most classroom video, replacing the default video protocol of an unattended camera in the back of the classroom. The rich and complex environment of today's classroom can be captured more fully using the higher level, but still easily manageable,…

  11. Ammonium transformation in a nitrogen-rich tidal freshwater marsh

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gribsholt, B.; Andersson, M.; Boschker, H.T.S.

    2006-01-01

    The fate and transport of watershed-derived ammonium in a tidal freshwater marsh fringing the nutrient rich Scheldt River, Belgium, was quantified in a whole ecosystem 15N labeling experiment. In late summer (September) we added 15N-NH4+ to the flood water entering a 3477 m2 tidal freshwater marsh...

  12. Information to help reduce environmental impacts from freshwater oil spills

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fritz, D.E.; Steen, A.E.

    1995-01-01

    The American Petroleum Institute (API) has been working since 1990 to provide information to help the response community minimize the impact of spills to pared jointly with the US inland freshwater. Projects have included a manual, pre National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to give guidance on the cleanup techniques that will minimize environmental impacts on spills in freshwater habitats. Nearing completion are a literature review and annotated bibliography of the environmental and human health effects of oil spilled in freshwater habitats. The use of chemical treating agents for freshwater spill applications is being studied with input from other industry and government groups. A project has begun, with funding from API, the Louisiana Applied Oil Spill Research and Development Program, NOAA, the Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC), and the US Department of Energy, to evaluate in situ burning of oil spilled in marshes

  13. Genome-Wide DNA Methylation Profiling Reveals Epigenetic Adaptation of Stickleback to Marine and Freshwater Conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Artemov, Artem V; Mugue, Nikolai S; Rastorguev, Sergey M; Zhenilo, Svetlana; Mazur, Alexander M; Tsygankova, Svetlana V; Boulygina, Eugenia S; Kaplun, Daria; Nedoluzhko, Artem V; Medvedeva, Yulia A; Prokhortchouk, Egor B

    2017-09-01

    The three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) represents a convenient model to study microevolution-adaptation to a freshwater environment. Although genetic adaptations to freshwater environments are well-studied, epigenetic adaptations have attracted little attention. In this work, we investigated the role of DNA methylation in the adaptation of the marine stickleback population to freshwater conditions. DNA methylation profiling was performed in marine and freshwater populations of sticklebacks, as well as in marine sticklebacks placed into a freshwater environment and freshwater sticklebacks placed into seawater. We showed that the DNA methylation profile after placing a marine stickleback into fresh water partially converged to that of a freshwater stickleback. For six genes including ATP4A ion pump and NELL1, believed to be involved in skeletal ossification, we demonstrated similar changes in DNA methylation in both evolutionary and short-term adaptation. This suggested that an immediate epigenetic response to freshwater conditions can be maintained in freshwater population. Interestingly, we observed enhanced epigenetic plasticity in freshwater sticklebacks that may serve as a compensatory regulatory mechanism for the lack of genetic variation in the freshwater population. For the first time, we demonstrated that genes encoding ion channels KCND3, CACNA1FB, and ATP4A were differentially methylated between the marine and the freshwater populations. Other genes encoding ion channels were previously reported to be under selection in freshwater populations. Nevertheless, the genes that harbor genetic and epigenetic changes were not the same, suggesting that epigenetic adaptation is a complementary mechanism to selection of genetic variants favorable for freshwater environment. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. Gene Expression in the Three-Spined Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) of Marine and Freshwater Ecotypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rastorguev, S M; Nedoluzhko, A V; Gruzdeva, N M; Boulygina, E S; Tsygankova, S V; Oshchepkov, D Y; Mazur, A M; Prokhortchouk, E B; Skryabin, K G

    2018-01-01

    Three-spine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) is a well-known model organism that is routinely used to explore microevolution processes and speciation, and the number of studies related to this fish has been growing recently. The main reason for the increased interest is the processes of freshwater adaptation taking place in natural populations of this species. Freshwater three-spined stickleback populations form when marine water three-spined sticklebacks fish start spending their entire lifecycle in freshwater lakes and streams. To boot, these freshwater populations acquire novel biological traits during their adaptation to a freshwater environment. The processes taking place in these populations are of great interest to evolutionary biologists. Here, we present differential gene expression profiling in G. aculeatus gills, which was performed in marine and freshwater populations of sticklebacks. In total, 2,982 differentially expressed genes between marine and freshwater populations were discovered. We assumed that differentially expressed genes were distributed not randomly along stickleback chromosomes and that they are regularly observed in the "divergence islands" that are responsible for stickleback freshwater adaptation.

  15. Video Comparator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rose, R.P.

    1978-01-01

    The Video Comparator is a comparative gage that uses electronic images from two sources, a standard and an unknown. Two matched video cameras are used to obtain the electronic images. The video signals are mixed and displayed on a single video receiver (CRT). The video system is manufactured by ITP of Chatsworth, CA and is a Tele-Microscope II, Model 148. One of the cameras is mounted on a toolmaker's microscope stand and produces a 250X image of a cast. The other camera is mounted on a stand and produces an image of a 250X template. The two video images are mixed in a control box provided by ITP and displayed on a CRT. The template or the cast can be moved to align the desired features. Vertical reference lines are provided on the CRT, and a feature on the cast can be aligned with a line on the CRT screen. The stage containing the casts can be moved using a Boeckleler micrometer equipped with a digital readout, and a second feature aligned with the reference line and the distance moved obtained from the digital display

  16. A video event trigger for high frame rate, high resolution video technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Glenn L.

    1991-12-01

    When video replaces film the digitized video data accumulates very rapidly, leading to a difficult and costly data storage problem. One solution exists for cases when the video images represent continuously repetitive 'static scenes' containing negligible activity, occasionally interrupted by short events of interest. Minutes or hours of redundant video frames can be ignored, and not stored, until activity begins. A new, highly parallel digital state machine generates a digital trigger signal at the onset of a video event. High capacity random access memory storage coupled with newly available fuzzy logic devices permits the monitoring of a video image stream for long term or short term changes caused by spatial translation, dilation, appearance, disappearance, or color change in a video object. Pretrigger and post-trigger storage techniques are then adaptable for archiving the digital stream from only the significant video images.

  17. Learning Science Through Digital Video: Views on Watching and Creating Videos

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wade, P.; Courtney, A. R.

    2013-12-01

    In science, the use of digital video to document phenomena, experiments and demonstrations has rapidly increased during the last decade. The use of digital video for science education also has become common with the wide availability of video over the internet. However, as with using any technology as a teaching tool, some questions should be asked: What science is being learned from watching a YouTube clip of a volcanic eruption or an informational video on hydroelectric power generation? What are student preferences (e.g. multimedia versus traditional mode of delivery) with regard to their learning? This study describes 1) the efficacy of watching digital video in the science classroom to enhance student learning, 2) student preferences of instruction with regard to multimedia versus traditional delivery modes, and 3) the use of creating digital video as a project-based educational strategy to enhance learning. Undergraduate non-science majors were the primary focus group in this study. Students were asked to view video segments and respond to a survey focused on what they learned from the segments. Additionally, they were asked about their preference for instruction (e.g. text only, lecture-PowerPoint style delivery, or multimedia-video). A majority of students indicated that well-made video, accompanied with scientific explanations or demonstration of the phenomena was most useful and preferred over text-only or lecture instruction for learning scientific information while video-only delivery with little or no explanation was deemed not very useful in learning science concepts. The use of student generated video projects as learning vehicles for the creators and other class members as viewers also will be discussed.

  18. The effectiveness of surrogate taxa to conserve freshwater biodiversity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, David R.; Underwood, Zachary E.; Rahel, Frank J.; Walters, Annika W.

    2018-01-01

    Establishing protected areas has long been an effective conservation strategy, and is often based on more readily surveyed species. The potential of any freshwater taxa to be a surrogate of other aquatic groups has not been fully explored. We compiled occurrence data on 72 species of freshwater fish, amphibians, mussels, and aquatic reptiles for the Great Plains, Wyoming. We used hierarchical Bayesian multi-species mixture models and MaxEnt models to describe species distributions, and program Zonation to identify conservation priority areas for each aquatic group. The landscape-scale factors that best characterized aquatic species distributions differed among groups. There was low agreement and congruence among taxa-specific conservation priorities (<20%), meaning that no surrogate priority areas would include or protect the best habitats of other aquatic taxa. We found that common, wide-ranging aquatic species were included in taxa-specific priority areas, but rare freshwater species were not included. Thus, the development of conservation priorities based on a single freshwater aquatic group would not protect all species in the other aquatic groups.

  19. Freshwater exposure pathways in the Nordic countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tveten, U.

    1984-06-01

    The report relates to a subproject under a Nordic project called ''Large reactor accidents - consequences and mitigating actions''. The report summarizes information available, primarily in the Nordic countries, on freshwater exposure pathways. Experimental and theoretical data concerning the deposition and run-off of the nuclides *sp90*Sr and*Sp137*Cs is presented. Internal exposure via drinking water and freshwater fish is dealt with, as well as external exposure due to swimming, boating, contact with fishing utensils and use of beach areas. In addition is exposure via irrigated agricultural products considered. (RF)

  20. Hydrogeology and geochemistry of the freshwater lens on Roi Namur atoll, the Republic of the Marshall Islands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swarzenski, P. W.

    2015-12-01

    More than 90% of the world's ~400 larger atoll islands are located in the Pacific and Indian Oceans and are inhabited by ~ 3/4 million people. As ground elevations of these atolls rarely exceed a few meters above mean sea level, atoll communities must rely precariously on finite resources, including fresh water and land. When demand for water exceeds precipitation rates, fresh groundwater may provide an additional, albeit also limited resource. The shape and size of this freshwater lens is controlled by precipitation, infiltration, discharge, and groundwater pumping, as well as hydrogeologic characteristics of the aquifer, and climate. Small atoll islands like Roi Namur on Kwajalein perhaps best illustrate the strong interdependence of the islet's depositional history and geochemical transformations that occur within the shallow aquifer and its host rock. This study utilized electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) to define the position of the freshwater lens above underlying seawater and to examine scales of freshwater /saltwater mixing. Time series Rn-222 measurements were used to evaluate groundwater discharge rates to the coastal waters, and a suite of groundwater geochemical tracers, including select nutrients, trace elements, and water isotopes, were used to develop a better understanding of how the fresh water lens will likely to respond to external perturbations, such as managed recharge, and the inevitability of future marine over wash events that will be become more frequent and severe under expected sea level rise.

  1. Biota connect aquatic habitats throughout freshwater ecosystem mosaics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schofield, Kate A.; Alexander, Laurie C.; Ridley, Caroline E.; Vanderhoof, Melanie; Fritz, Ken M.; Autrey, Bradley; DeMeester, Julie; Kepner, William G.; Lane, Charles R.; Leibowitz, Scott; Pollard, Amina I.

    2018-01-01

    Freshwater ecosystems are linked at various spatial and temporal scales by movements of biota adapted to life in water. We review the literature on movements of aquatic organisms that connect different types of freshwater habitats, focusing on linkages from streams and wetlands to downstream waters. Here, streams, wetlands, rivers, lakes, ponds, and other freshwater habitats are viewed as dynamic freshwater ecosystem mosaics (FEMs) that collectively provide the resources needed to sustain aquatic life. Based on existing evidence, it is clear that biotic linkages throughout FEMs have important consequences for biological integrity and biodiversity. All aquatic organisms move within and among FEM components, but differ in the mode, frequency, distance, and timing of their movements. These movements allow biota to recolonize habitats, avoid inbreeding, escape stressors, locate mates, and acquire resources. Cumulatively, these individual movements connect populations within and among FEMs and contribute to local and regional diversity, resilience to disturbance, and persistence of aquatic species in the face of environmental change. Thus, the biological connections established by movement of biota among streams, wetlands, and downstream waters are critical to the ecological integrity of these systems. Future research will help advance our understanding of the movements that link FEMs and their cumulative effects on downstream waters.

  2. Video Design Games

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Smith, Rachel Charlotte; Christensen, Kasper Skov; Iversen, Ole Sejer

    We introduce Video Design Games to train educators in teaching design. The Video Design Game is a workshop format consisting of three rounds in which participants observe, reflect and generalize based on video snippets from their own practice. The paper reports on a Video Design Game workshop...... in which 25 educators as part of a digital fabrication and design program were able to critically reflect on their teaching practice....

  3. Bistability of mangrove forests and competition with freshwater plants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Jiang; Fuller, Douglas O; Teh, Su Yean; Zhai, Lu; Koh, Hock Lye; DeAngelis, Donald L.; Sternberg, L.D.S.L.

    2015-01-01

    Halophytic communities such as mangrove forests and buttonwood hammocks tend to border freshwater plant communities as sharp ecotones. Most studies attribute this purely to underlying physical templates, such as groundwater salinity gradients caused by tidal flux and topography. However, a few recent studies hypothesize that self-reinforcing feedback between vegetation and vadose zone salinity are also involved and create a bistable situation in which either halophytic dominated habitat or freshwater plant communities may dominate as alternative stable states. Here, we revisit the bistability hypothesis and demonstrate the mechanisms that result in bistability. We demonstrate with remote sensing imagery the sharp boundaries between freshwater hardwood hammock communities in southern Florida and halophytic communities such as buttonwood hammocks and mangroves. We further document from the literature how transpiration of mangroves and freshwater plants respond differently to vadose zone salinity, thus altering the salinity through feedback. Using mathematical models, we show how the self-reinforcing feedback, together with physical template, controls the ecotones between halophytic and freshwater communities. Regions of bistability along environmental gradients of salinity have the potential for large-scale vegetation shifts following pulse disturbances such as hurricane tidal surges in Florida, or tsunamis in other regions. The size of the region of bistability can be large for low-lying coastal habitat due to the saline water table, which extends inland due to salinity intrusion. We suggest coupling ecological and hydrologic processes as a framework for future studies.

  4. Flip Video for Dummies

    CERN Document Server

    Hutsko, Joe

    2010-01-01

    The full-color guide to shooting great video with the Flip Video camera. The inexpensive Flip Video camera is currently one of the hottest must-have gadgets. It's portable and connects easily to any computer to transfer video you shoot onto your PC or Mac. Although the Flip Video camera comes with a quick-start guide, it lacks a how-to manual, and this full-color book fills that void! Packed with full-color screen shots throughout, Flip Video For Dummies shows you how to shoot the best possible footage in a variety of situations. You'll learn how to transfer video to your computer and then edi

  5. Development and Validation of a Video Measure for Assessing Women’s Risk Perception for Alcohol-Related Sexual Assault

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parks, Kathleen A.; Levonyan-Radloff, Kristine; Dearing, Ronda L.; Hequembourg, Amy; Testa, Maria

    2016-01-01

    Objective Using an iterative process, a series of three video scenarios were developed for use as a standardized measure for assessing women’s perception of risks for alcohol-related sexual assault (SA). The videos included ambiguous and clear behavioral and environmental risk cues. Method Focus group discussions with young, female heavy drinkers (N = 42) were used to develop three videos at different risk levels (low, moderate, and high) in Study 1. Realism, reliability, and validity of the videos were assessed using multiple methods in Studies 2 and 3. One hundred-four women were used to compare differences in risk perception across the video risk level in Study 2. In Study 3 (N = 60), we assessed women’s perceptions of the low and high risk videos under conditions of no alcohol and alcohol. Results The realism and reliability of the videos were good. Women who viewed the low risk video compared to women who viewed the moderate and high risk videos perceived less risk for SA. We found an interaction between alcohol and risk perception such that, women in the alcohol condition were less likely to perceive risk when watching the high risk video. Conclusions As the video risk level increased, women’s perception of risk increased. These findings provide convergent evidence for the validity of the video measure. Given the limited number of standardized scenarios for assessing risk perception for sexual assault, our findings suggest that these videos may provide a needed standardized measure. PMID:27747131

  6. Potential impacts of alien freshwater crayfish in South Africa | de ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The habitat preferences and life history characteristics of four alien species of freshwater crayfish (Cherax tenuimanus, C. destructor, C. quadricarinatus and Procambarus clarkii) are reviewed. The potential impact of these species on South African freshwater ecosystems is assessed and the desirability of allowing their ...

  7. Snail abundance in freshwater canals in the eastern province of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ksu-network

    2012-07-19

    Jul 19, 2012 ... Recent Advances in Freshwater Biology. New Delhi. Anmol. Publication. Vol. 2. pp. 187-202. Al-Akel and Suliman. 12261. Supian Z, Ikhwanuddin AM (2002). Population dynamics of freshwater mollusks (Gastropod: Melanoides Tuberculatus) in crocker range park, Sabah. ASEAN Rev. Biodiv. Environ.

  8. A Search for Freshwater in the Saline Aquifers of Coastal Bangladesh

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, C.; Hornberger, G. M.

    2017-12-01

    Can we locate pockets of freshwater amidst brackish groundwater in remote villages in Bangladesh? This study explores what we can infer about local groundwater-surface water (GW-SW) interactions in the polders of coastal Bangladesh. In this underdeveloped region, the shallow groundwater is primarily brackish with unpredictable apportioning of freshwater pockets. We use transects of piezometers, cores, electromagnetic induction, and water chemistry surveys to explore two sources of potential fresh groundwater: (1) tidal channel-aquifer exchange and (2) meteoric recharge. Freshwater is difficult to find due to disparate subsurface lithology, asymmetrical tidal dynamics, extreme seasonal fluctuations in rainfall, and limited field data. Observations suggest substantial lateral variability in shallow subsurface conductivity profiles as well as tidal pressure signals in piezometers. Nevertheless, active exchange of freshwater may be limited due to low permeability of banks and surface sediments limits. Small scale heterogeneity in delta formation likely caused much of the groundwater salinity variation. Without adequate ground truthing of groundwater quality, the ability to deduce the exact location of freshwater pockets may be restricted.

  9. Hierarchical video summarization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ratakonda, Krishna; Sezan, M. Ibrahim; Crinon, Regis J.

    1998-12-01

    We address the problem of key-frame summarization of vide in the absence of any a priori information about its content. This is a common problem that is encountered in home videos. We propose a hierarchical key-frame summarization algorithm where a coarse-to-fine key-frame summary is generated. A hierarchical key-frame summary facilitates multi-level browsing where the user can quickly discover the content of the video by accessing its coarsest but most compact summary and then view a desired segment of the video with increasingly more detail. At the finest level, the summary is generated on the basis of color features of video frames, using an extension of a recently proposed key-frame extraction algorithm. The finest level key-frames are recursively clustered using a novel pairwise K-means clustering approach with temporal consecutiveness constraint. We also address summarization of MPEG-2 compressed video without fully decoding the bitstream. We also propose efficient mechanisms that facilitate decoding the video when the hierarchical summary is utilized in browsing and playback of video segments starting at selected key-frames.

  10. Multiple invasions into freshwater by pufferfishes (teleostei: tetraodontidae: a mitogenomic perspective.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusuke Yamanoue

    Full Text Available Pufferfishes of the Family Tetraodontidae are the most speciose group in the Order Tetraodontiformes and mainly inhabit coastal waters along continents. Although no members of other tetraodontiform families have fully discarded their marine lives, approximately 30 tetraodontid species spend their entire lives in freshwaters in disjunct tropical regions of South America, Central Africa, and Southeast Asia. To investigate the interrelationships of tetraodontid pufferfishes and thereby elucidate the evolutionary origins of their freshwater habitats, we performed phylogenetic analysis based on whole mitochondrial genome sequences from 50 tetraodontid species and closely related species (including 31 newly determined sequences. The resulting phylogenies reveal that the family is composed of four major lineages and that freshwater species from the different continents are independently nested in two of the four lineages. A monophyletic origin of the use of freshwater habitats was statistically rejected, and ancestral habitat reconstruction on the resulting tree demonstrates that tetraodontids independently entered freshwater habitats in different continents at least three times. Relaxed molecular-clock Bayesian divergence time estimation suggests that the timing of these invasions differs between continents, occurring at 0-10 million years ago (MA in South America, 17-38 MA in Central Africa, and 48-78 MA in Southeast Asia. These timings are congruent with geological events that could facilitate adaptation to freshwater habitats in each continent.

  11. A Randomized Controlled Trial of Video Education versus Skill Demonstration: Which Is More Effective in Teaching Sterile Surgical Technique?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pilieci, Stephanie N; Salim, Saad Y; Heffernan, Daithi S; Itani, Kamal M F; Khadaroo, Rachel G

    2018-04-01

    Video education has many advantages over traditional education including efficiency, convenience, and individualized learning. Learning sterile surgical technique (SST) is imperative for medical students, because proper technique helps prevent surgical site infections (SSIs). We hypothesize that video education is at least as effective as traditional skill demonstration in teaching first-year medical students SST. A video series was created to demonstrate SST ( https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcRU-gvOmxE2mwMWkowouBkxGXkLZ8Uis ). A randomized controlled trial was designed to assess which education method best teaches SST: video education or skill demonstration. First-year medical students (n = 129) were consented and randomly assigned into two groups: those who attended a skill demonstration (control group; n = 70) and those who watched the video series (experimental group; n = 59). The control group attended a pre-existing 90-minute nurse educator-led skill demonstration. Participants then completed a 30-item multiple choice quiz to test their knowledge. Each group then received the alternate education method and completed a 23-item follow-up survey to determine their preferred method. Seven 2- to 6-minute videos (30 minutes total) were created on surgical attire, scrubbing, gowning and gloving, and maintaining sterility. The experimental group (n = 51) scored higher on the quiz compared with the control group (n = 63) (88% ± 1% versus 72% ± 1%; p < 0.0001). Students preferred the videos when it came to convenience, accessibility, efficiency, and review, and preferred the skill demonstration when it came to knowledge retention, preparedness, and ease of completion. Video education is superior to traditional skill demonstration in providing medical students with knowledge of SST. Students identified strengths to each method of teaching. Video education can augment medical students' knowledge prior to their operating room

  12. Rate control scheme for consistent video quality in scalable video codec.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seo, Chan-Won; Han, Jong-Ki; Nguyen, Truong Q

    2011-08-01

    Multimedia data delivered to mobile devices over wireless channels or the Internet are complicated by bandwidth fluctuation and the variety of mobile devices. Scalable video coding has been developed as an extension of H.264/AVC to solve this problem. Since scalable video codec provides various scalabilities to adapt the bitstream for the channel conditions and terminal types, scalable codec is one of the useful codecs for wired or wireless multimedia communication systems, such as IPTV and streaming services. In such scalable multimedia communication systems, video quality fluctuation degrades the visual perception significantly. It is important to efficiently use the target bits in order to maintain a consistent video quality or achieve a small distortion variation throughout the whole video sequence. The scheme proposed in this paper provides a useful function to control video quality in applications supporting scalability, whereas conventional schemes have been proposed to control video quality in the H.264 and MPEG-4 systems. The proposed algorithm decides the quantization parameter of the enhancement layer to maintain a consistent video quality throughout the entire sequence. The video quality of the enhancement layer is controlled based on a closed-form formula which utilizes the residual data and quantization error of the base layer. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm controls the frame quality of the enhancement layer in a simple operation, where the parameter decision algorithm is applied to each frame.

  13. Fostering science communication and outreach through video production in Dartmouth's IGERT Polar Environmental Change graduate program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammond Wagner, C. R.; McDavid, L. A.; Virginia, R. A.

    2013-12-01

    Dartmouth's NSF-supported IGERT Polar Environmental Change graduate program has focused on using video media to foster interdisciplinary thinking and to improve student skills in science communication and public outreach. Researchers, educators, and funding organizations alike recognize the value of video media for making research results more accessible and relevant to diverse audiences and across cultures. We present an affordable equipment set and the basic video training needed as well as available Dartmouth institutional support systems for students to produce outreach videos on climate change and its associated impacts on people. We highlight and discuss the successes and challenges of producing three types of video products created by graduate and undergraduate students affiliated with the Dartmouth IGERT. The video projects created include 1) graduate student profile videos, 2) a series of short student-created educational videos for Greenlandic high school students, and 3) an outreach video about women in science based on the experiences of women students conducting research during the IGERT field seminar at Summit Station and Kangerlussuaq, Greenland. The 'Science in Greenland--It's a Girl Thing' video was featured on The New York Times Dot Earth blog and the Huffington Post Green blog among others and received international recognition. While producing these videos, students 1) identified an audience and created story lines, 2) worked in front of and behind the camera, 3) utilized low-cost digital editing applications, and 4) shared the videos on multiple platforms from social media to live presentations. The three video projects were designed to reach different audiences, and presented unique challenges for content presentation and dissemination. Based on student and faculty assessment, we conclude that the video projects improved student science communication skills and increased public knowledge of polar science and the effects of climate change.

  14. Turtles: Freshwater

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibbons, J. Whitfield; Lovich, Jeffrey E.; Bowden, R.M.

    2017-01-01

    With their iconic shells, turtles are morphologically distinct in being the only extant or extinct vertebrate animals to have their shoulders and hips inside their rib cages. By the time an asteroid hit the earth 65.5 million years ago, causing the extinction of dinosaurs, turtles were already an ancient lineage that was 70% through their evolutionary history to date. The remarkable evolutionary success of turtles over 220 million years is due to a combination of both conservative and effective life history traits and an essentially unchanging morphology that withstood the test of time. However, the life history traits of many species make them particularly susceptible to overharvest and habitat destruction in the modern world, and a majority of the world’s species face serious conservation challenges with several extinctions documented in modern times. The global plight of turtles is underscored by the fact that the percentage of imperiled species exceeds that of even the critically endangered primates.Freshwater turtles, with over 260 recognized species, have become a focus on a worldwide scale for many conservation issues. This article is a synthesis of a diverse body of information on the general biology of freshwater turtles, with particular emphasis on the extensive research on ecology, life history, and behavior that has been accomplished in the last half century. Much of the research has been applicable to the aforementioned conservation challenges. The studies presented include a combination of laboratory and field experiments and observational studies on this intriguing group of animals.

  15. Part Two: Learning Science Through Digital Video: Student Views on Watching and Creating Videos

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wade, P.; Courtney, A. R.

    2014-12-01

    The use of digital video for science education has become common with the wide availability of video imagery. This study continues research into aspects of using digital video as a primary teaching tool to enhance student learning in undergraduate science courses. Two survey instruments were administered to undergraduate non-science majors. Survey One focused on: a) What science is being learned from watching science videos such as a "YouTube" clip of a volcanic eruption or an informational video on geologic time and b) What are student preferences with regard to their learning (e.g. using video versus traditional modes of delivery)? Survey Two addressed students' perspectives on the storytelling aspect of the video with respect to: a) sustaining interest, b) providing science information, c) style of video and d) quality of the video. Undergraduate non-science majors were the primary focus group in this study. Students were asked to view video segments and respond to a survey focused on what they learned from the segments. The storytelling aspect of each video was also addressed by students. Students watched 15-20 shorter (3-15 minute science videos) created within the last four years. Initial results of this research support that shorter video segments were preferred and the storytelling quality of each video related to student learning.

  16. 77 FR 48102 - Closed Captioning and Video Description of Video Programming

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-13

    ... Captioning and Video Description of Video Programming AGENCY: Federal Communications Commission. [[Page 48103... show that providing captions on their programming would be economically burdensome. DATES: Effective...) establishing requirements for closed captioning on video programming to ensure access by persons with hearing...

  17. Low-complexity JPEG-based progressive video codec for wireless video transmission

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ukhanova, Ann; Forchhammer, Søren

    2010-01-01

    This paper discusses the question of video codec enhancement for wireless video transmission of high definition video data taking into account constraints on memory and complexity. Starting from parameter adjustment for JPEG2000 compression algorithm used for wireless transmission and achieving...

  18. Invasive alien freshwater fishes in the Wilderness Lakes System, a ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Invasive alien freshwater fishes in the Wilderness Lakes System, a wetland of international importance in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. ... A total of 87 893 fish comprising 16 species were caught. In addition to confirming the ... Key words: freshwater fish, invasive alien fishes, estuary, RAMSAR site, diversity.

  19. Environmental parameters series. 3. Concentration factors of radionuclides in freshwater organisms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-03-01

    This report outlines recent research activities of Radioactive Waste Management Center. Aiming to estimate the radiation dose of man exposed to radioactive materials in an environment, construction of a calculation model on the transfer of radionuclide in the environment was attempted. This issue, Environmental parameter series No.3 includes six reports on the factors related to environmental concentration for radionuclides. The title of the reports are as follows; Factors modifying the concentration factor (CF), Evaluation of accumulation of radionuclides in brackish water organisms, Dose assessment, CF derived from Japanese limnological data, Data table of CF and Metabolic parameters in relation to bioaccumulation of elements by organisms. In addition to collect and arrange the existing data, CF was calculated based on the concentration of stable elements in various lakes and rivers in Japan. (M.N.)

  20. Effective Educational Videos: Principles and Guidelines for Maximizing Student Learning from Video Content

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brame, Cynthia J.

    2016-01-01

    Educational videos have become an important part of higher education, providing an important content-delivery tool in many flipped, blended, and online classes. Effective use of video as an educational tool is enhanced when instructors consider three elements: how to manage cognitive load of the video; how to maximize student engagement with the video; and how to promote active learning from the video. This essay reviews literature relevant to each of these principles and suggests practical ways instructors can use these principles when using video as an educational tool. PMID:27789532

  1. Changes of freshwater-lens thickness in basaltic island aquifers overlain by thick coastal sediments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rotzoll, Kolja; Oki, Delwyn S.; El-Kadi, Aly I.

    2010-01-01

    Freshwater-lens thickness and long-term changes in freshwater volume in coastal aquifers are commonly assessed through repeated measurement of salinity profiles from monitor wells that penetrate into underlying salt water. In Hawaii, the thickest measured freshwater lens is currently 262 m in dike-free, volcanic-rock aquifers that are overlain by thick coastal sediments. The midpoint depth (depth where salinity is 50% salt water) between freshwater and salt water can serve as an indicator for freshwater thickness. Most measured midpoints have risen over the past 40 years, indicating a shrinking lens. The mean rate of rise of the midpoint from 1999–2009 varied locally, with faster rates in highly developed areas (1.0 m/year) and slower rates in less developed areas (0.5 m/year). The thinning of the freshwater lenses is the result of long-term groundwater withdrawal and reduced recharge. Freshwater/salt-water interface locations predicted from measured water levels and the Ghyben-Herzberg principle may be deeper than measured midpoints during some periods and shallower during other periods, although depths may differ up to 100 m in some cases. Moreover, changes in the midpoint are slower than changes in water level. Thus, water levels may not be a reliable indicator of the amount of freshwater in a coastal aquifer.

  2. Content validation of an interprofessional learning video peer assessment tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nisbet, Gillian; Jorm, Christine; Roberts, Chris; Gordon, Christopher J; Chen, Timothy F

    2017-12-16

    Large scale models of interprofessional learning (IPL) where outcomes are assessed are rare within health professional curricula. To date, there is sparse research describing robust assessment strategies to support such activities. We describe the development of an IPL assessment task based on peer rating of a student generated video evidencing collaborative interprofessional practice. We provide content validation evidence of an assessment rubric in the context of large scale IPL. Two established approaches to scale development in an educational setting were combined. A literature review was undertaken to develop a conceptual model of the relevant domains and issues pertaining to assessment of student generated videos within IPL. Starting with a prototype rubric developed from the literature, a series of staff and student workshops were undertaken to integrate expert opinion and user perspectives. Participants assessed five-minute videos produced in a prior pilot IPL activity. Outcomes from each workshop informed the next version of the rubric until agreement was reached on anchoring statements and criteria. At this point the rubric was declared fit to be used in the upcoming mandatory large scale IPL activity. The assessment rubric consisted of four domains: patient issues, interprofessional negotiation; interprofessional management plan in action; and effective use of video medium to engage audience. The first three domains reflected topic content relevant to the underlying construct of interprofessional collaborative practice. The fourth domain was consistent with the broader video assessment literature calling for greater emphasis on creativity in education. We have provided evidence for the content validity of a video-based peer assessment task portraying interprofessional collaborative practice in the context of large-scale IPL activities for healthcare professional students. Further research is needed to establish the reliability of such a scale.

  3. Video-assisted functional assessment of index pollicisation in congenital anomalies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mas, Virginie; Ilharreborde, Brice; Mallet, Cindy; Mazda, Keyvan; Simon, Anne-Laure; Jehanno, Pascal

    2016-08-01

    Functional results of index pollicisation are usually assessed by the clinical score of Percival. This score is based on elementary hand movements and does not reflect the function of the neo thumb in daily life activities. The aim of this study was to develop a new video-assisted scoring system based on daily life activities to assess index pollicisation functional outcomes. Twenty-two consecutive children, operated between 1998 and 2012, were examined with a mean of 77 months after surgery. The mean age at surgery was 34 months. Post-operative results were evaluated by a new video-assisted 14-point scoring system consisting of seven basic tasks that are frequently used in daily activities. The series of tasks was performed both on the request of the examiner and in real-life conditions with the use of a hidden camera. Each video recording was examined by three different examiners. Each examiner rated the video recordings three times, with an interval of one week between examinations. Inter- and intra-observer agreements were calculated. Inter- and intra-observer agreements were excellent both on request (κ = 0.87 [0.84-0.97] for inter-observer agreement and 0.92 [0.82-0.98] for intra-observer agreement) and on hidden camera (κ = 0.83 [0.78-0.91] for inter-observer agreement and 0.89 [0.83-0.96] for intra-observer agreement). The results were significantly better on request than on hidden camera (p = 0.045). The correlation between the video-assisted scoring system and the Percival score was poor. The video-assisted scoring system is a reliable tool to assess index pollicisation functional outcomes. The scoring system on hidden camera is more representative of the neo thumb use in daily life complex movements. Level IV.

  4. Multiple drivers of decline in the global status of freshwater crayfish (Decapoda:Astacidea)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nadia I. Richman; Monika Böhm; Susan B. Adams; Fernando Alvarez; Elizabeth A. Bergey; John J. S. Bunn; Quinton Burnham; Jay Cordeiro; Jason Coughran; Keith A. Crandall; Kathryn L. Dawkins; Robert J. DiStefano; Niall E. Doran; Lennart Edsman; Arnold G. Eversole; Leopold Füreder; James M. Furse; Francesca Gherardi; Premek Hamr; David M. Holdich; Pierre Horwitz; Kerrylyn Johnston; Clive M. Jones; Julia P. G. Jones; Robert L. Jones; Thomas G. Jones; Tadashi Kawai; Susan Lawler; Marilu López-Mejía; Rebecca M. Miller; Carlos Pedraza-Lara; Julian D. Reynolds; Alastair M. M. Richardson; Mark B. Schultz; Guenter A. Schuster; Peter J. Sibley; Catherine Souty-Grosset; Christopher A. Taylor; Roger F. Thoma; Jerry Walls; Todd S. Walsh; Ben Cohen

    2015-01-01

    Rates of biodiversity loss are higher in freshwater ecosystems than in most terrestrial or marine ecosystems, making freshwater conservation a priority. However, prioritization methods are impeded by insufficient knowledge on the distribution and conservation status of freshwater taxa, particularly invertebrates. We evaluated the extinction risk of the world’s 590...

  5. Identifying national freshwater ecosystem priority areas

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Nel, JL

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available This presentation highlights the use of systematic conservation planning to identify priority areas for managing the health of freshwater ecosystems and their associated biodiversity and ecosystem services....

  6. Extensive behavioural divergence following colonisation of the freshwater environment in threespine sticklebacks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carole Di-Poi

    Full Text Available Colonisation of novel environments means facing new ecological challenges often resulting in the evolution of striking divergence in phenotypes. However, little is known about behavioural divergence following colonisation, despite the predicted importance of the role of behavioural phenotype-environment associations in adaptive divergence. We studied the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus, a model system for postglacial colonisation of freshwater habitats largely differing in ecological conditions from the ones faced by the descendants of the marine ancestor. We found that common-environment reared freshwater juveniles were less social, more active and more aggressive than their marine counterparts. This behavioural divergence could represent the result of natural selection that acted on individuals following freshwater colonisation, with predation as a key selection agent. Alternatively, the behavioural profile of freshwater juveniles could represent the characteristics of individuals that preferentially invaded freshwater after the glacial retreat, drawn from the standing variation present in the marine population.

  7. Bacon Brains: Video Games for Teaching the Science of Addiction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Epstein, Joel; Noel, Jeffrey; Finnegan, Megan; Watkins, Kate

    2016-01-01

    Researchers have developed many different computerized interventions designed to teach students about the dangers of substance use. Following in this tradition, we produced a series of video games called Bacon Brains . However, unlike many other programs, ours focused on the "Science of Addiction," providing lessons on how alcohol and other drugs affect the brain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of our games in teaching students our science-based curriculum. We enrolled over 200 students and randomly assigned them to play our games or a different series of NIDA-produced games. Of the students in the Bacon Brains conditions, half were instructed to play collaboratively and the other half was told to play competitively. Results indicate significantly greater knowledge gains among students in Bacon Brains compared to the existing games (5.01 mean knowledge score difference; [F(1,242)=9.588, p=.002]). Girls demonstrated knowledge gains in both collaborative and competitive conditions, but boys demonstrated similar gains only in the competitive condition. Based on our outcomes, we conclude that video games can serve as an effective method of science instruction. We further discuss the importance of considering gender differences in light of differential response to collaborative vs. competitive learning environments.

  8. Performance Analysis of Video Transmission Using Sequential Distortion Minimization Method for Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Novita Astin

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents about the transmission of Digital Video Broadcasting system with streaming video resolution 640x480 on different IQ rate and modulation. In the video transmission, distortion often occurs, so the received video has bad quality. Key frames selection algorithm is flexibel on a change of video, but on these methods, the temporal information of a video sequence is omitted. To minimize distortion between the original video and received video, we aimed at adding methodology using sequential distortion minimization algorithm. Its aim was to create a new video, better than original video without significant loss of content between the original video and received video, fixed sequentially. The reliability of video transmission was observed based on a constellation diagram, with the best result on IQ rate 2 Mhz and modulation 8 QAM. The best video transmission was also investigated using SEDIM (Sequential Distortion Minimization Method and without SEDIM. The experimental result showed that the PSNR (Peak Signal to Noise Ratio average of video transmission using SEDIM was an increase from 19,855 dB to 48,386 dB and SSIM (Structural Similarity average increase 10,49%. The experimental results and comparison of proposed method obtained a good performance. USRP board was used as RF front-end on 2,2 GHz.

  9. Occurrence of digenean larvae in freshwater snails in the Ruvu ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Occurrence of digenean larvae in freshwater snails in the Ruvu basin, Tanzania. G Nkwengulila, ESP Kigadye. Abstract. A survey was carried out on digenean larvae infecting freshwater snails in five habitats in Dar es Salaam, Ruvu and Morogoro. 9424 snails belonging to 12 species from five families were examined for ...

  10. Short Communications: First record of freshwater fish on the Cape ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    During a non-exhaustive survey of freshwater bodies on five islands of the archipelago, the first presence of a freshwater fish was recorded. Using barcoding sequences, the species was identified as the guppy (Poecilia reticulata), a highly invasive species alien to the Cape Verdean Islands. Key words: Cape Verde, guppy, ...

  11. 2H and 18O Freshwater Isoscapes of Scotland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meier-Augenstein, Wolfram; Hoogewerff, Jurian; Kemp, Helen; Frew, Danny

    2013-04-01

    Scotland's freshwater lochs and reservoirs provide a vital resource for sustaining biodiversity, agriculture, food production as well as for human consumption. Regular monitoring of freshwaters by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) fulfils legislative requirements with regards to water quality but new scientific methods involving stable isotope analysis present an opportunity combining these mandatory monitoring schemes with fundamental research to inform and deliver on current and nascent government policies [1] through gaining a greater understanding of Scottish waters and their importance in the context of climate change, environmental sustainability and food security. For example, 2H and 18O isoscapes of Scottish freshwater could be used to underpin research and its applications in: • Climate change - Using longitudinal changes in the characteristic isotope composition of freshwater lochs and reservoirs as proxy, isoscapes will provide a means to assess if and how changes in temperature and weather patterns might impact on precipitation patterns and amount. • Scottish branding - Location specific stable isotope signatures of Scottish freshwater have the potential to be used as a tool for provenancing and thus protecting premium Scottish produce such as Scottish beef, Scottish soft fruit and Scottish Whisky. During 2011 and 2012, with the support of SEPA more than 110 samples from freshwater lochs and reservoirs were collected from 127 different locations across Scotland including the Highlands and Islands. Here we present the results of this sampling and analysis exercise isotope analyses in form of 2H and 18O isoscapes with an unprecedented grid resolution of 26.5 × 26.5 km (or 16.4 × 16.4 miles). [1] Adaptation Framework - Adapting Our Ways: Managing Scotland's Climate Risk (2009): Scotland's Biodiversity: It's in Your Hands - A strategy for the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity in Scotland (2005); Recipe For Success - Scotland

  12. High Definition Video Streaming Using H.264 Video Compression

    OpenAIRE

    Bechqito, Yassine

    2009-01-01

    This thesis presents high definition video streaming using H.264 codec implementation. The experiment carried out in this study was done for an offline streaming video but a model for live high definition streaming is introduced, as well. Prior to the actual experiment, this study describes digital media streaming. Also, the different technologies involved in video streaming are covered. These include streaming architecture and a brief overview on H.264 codec as well as high definition t...

  13. Non-parallel divergence across freshwater and marine three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pujolar, J M; Ferchaud, A L; Bekkevold, D; Hansen, M M

    2017-07-01

    This work investigated whether multiple freshwater populations of three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus in different freshwater catchments in the Jutland Peninsula, Denmark, derived from the same marine populations show repeated adaptive responses. A total of 327 G. aculeatus collected at 13 sampling locations were screened for genetic variation using a combination of 70 genes putatively under selection and 26 neutral genes along with a marker linked to the ectodysplasin gene (eda), which is strongly correlated with plate armour morphs in the species. A highly significant genetic differentiation was found that was higher among different freshwater samples than between marine-freshwater samples. Tests for selection between marine and freshwater populations showed a very low degree of parallelism and no single nucleotide polymorphism was detected as outlier in all freshwater-marine pairwise comparisons, including the eda. This suggests that G. aculeatus is not necessarily the prime example of parallel local adaptation suggested in much of the literature and that important exceptions exist (i.e. the Jutland Peninsula). While marine populations in the results described here showed a high phenotype-genotype correlation at eda, a low association was found for most of the freshwater populations. The most extreme case was found in the freshwater Lake Hald where all low-plated phenotypes were either homozygotes for the allele supposed to be associated with completely plated morphs or heterozygotes, but none were homozygotes for the putative low-plated allele. Re-examination of data from seven G. aculeatus studies agrees in showing a high but partial association between phenotype-genotype at eda in G. aculeatus freshwater populations and that mismatches occur everywhere in the European regions studied (higher in some areas, i.e. Denmark). This is independent of the eda marker used. © 2017 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

  14. Sources, variability and fate of freshwater in the Bellingshausen Sea, Antarctica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Regan, Heather C.; Holland, Paul R.; Meredith, Michael P.; Pike, Jennifer

    2018-03-01

    During the second half of the twentieth century, the Antarctic Peninsula was subjected to a rapid increase in air temperatures. This was accompanied by a reduction in sea ice extent, increased precipitation and a dramatic retreat of glaciers associated with an increase in heat flux from deep ocean water masses. Isotopic tracers have been used previously to investigate the relative importance of the different freshwater sources to the adjacent Bellingshausen Sea (BS), but the data coverage is strongly biased toward summer. Here we use a regional model to investigate the ocean's response to the observed changes in its different freshwater inputs (sea ice melt/freeze, precipitation, evaporation, iceberg/glacier melt, and ice shelf melt). The model successfully recreates BS water masses and performs well against available freshwater data. By tracing the sources and pathways of the individual components of the freshwater budget, we find that sea ice dominates seasonal changes in the total freshwater content and flux, but all sources make a comparable contribution to the annual-mean. Interannual variability is dominated by sea ice and precipitation. Decadal trends in the salinity and stratification of the ocean are investigated, and a 20-year surface freshening from 1992 to 2011 is found to be predominantly driven by decreasing autumn sea ice growth. These findings will help to elucidate the role of freshwater in driving circulation and water column structure changes in this climatically-sensitive region.

  15. Effects of pollution on freshwater fish

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKim, J.M.; Anderson, R.L.; Benoit, D.A.; Spehar, R.L.; Stokes, G.N.

    1976-01-01

    Studies of the effects of pollution on freshwater fish are reviewed. Subjects include: inorganic industrial pollutants, man-made disturbances and radioactive pollutants. Topics include uptake distribution, retention, mortality, and lethal doses

  16. Online video examination

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Qvist, Palle

    have large influence on their own teaching, learning and curriculum. The programme offers streamed videos in combination with other learning resources. It is a concept which offers video as pure presentation - video lectures - but also as an instructional tool which gives the students the possibility...... to construct their knowledge, collaboration and communication. In its first years the programme has used Skype video communication for collaboration and communication within and between groups, group members and their facilitators. Also exams have been mediated with the help of Skype and have for all students......, examiners and external examiners been a challenge and opportunity and has brought new knowledge and experience. This paper brings results from a questionnaire focusing on how the students experience the video examination....

  17. Innovative Solution to Video Enhancement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-01-01

    Through a licensing agreement, Intergraph Government Solutions adapted a technology originally developed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center for enhanced video imaging by developing its Video Analyst(TM) System. Marshall's scientists developed the Video Image Stabilization and Registration (VISAR) technology to help FBI agents analyze video footage of the deadly 1996 Olympic Summer Games bombing in Atlanta, Georgia. VISAR technology enhanced nighttime videotapes made with hand-held camcorders, revealing important details about the explosion. Intergraph's Video Analyst System is a simple, effective, and affordable tool for video enhancement and analysis. The benefits associated with the Video Analyst System include support of full-resolution digital video, frame-by-frame analysis, and the ability to store analog video in digital format. Up to 12 hours of digital video can be stored and maintained for reliable footage analysis. The system also includes state-of-the-art features such as stabilization, image enhancement, and convolution to help improve the visibility of subjects in the video without altering underlying footage. Adaptable to many uses, Intergraph#s Video Analyst System meets the stringent demands of the law enforcement industry in the areas of surveillance, crime scene footage, sting operations, and dash-mounted video cameras.

  18. The Implications of Ranaviruses to European farmed and wild freshwater fish

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Ann Britt Bang

    The present thesis explores the implications of ranaviruses to European farmed and wild freshwater fish. The work presented was carried out as a part of the EU project “Risk assessment of new and emerging systemic iridoviral diseases for European fish and aquatic ecosystems” which was initiated...... in 2005 as a reaction to the speculation that ranaviruses might pose a serious threat to both farmed and wild-living freshwater fish and amphibians within the European community. In the present thesis, the purpose is to determine the implications of ranaviruses to European freshwater farmed and wild......-living fish. The following specific objectives are addressed: Objective 1: To determine the susceptibility of selected European freshwater fish to a panel of ranaviruses Objective 2: To determine whether ornamental fish are susceptible to or can be carriers of ranaviruses Objective 3: To develop a model...

  19. Nontarget analysis of polar contaminants in freshwater sediments influenced by pharmaceutical industry using ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Terzic, Senka, E-mail: terzic@irb.h [Division of Marine and Environmental Research, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, 10000 Zagreb (Croatia); Ahel, Marijan [Division of Marine and Environmental Research, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, 10000 Zagreb (Croatia)

    2011-02-15

    A comprehensive analytical procedure for a reliable identification of nontarget polar contaminants in aquatic sediments was developed, based on the application of ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled to hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (QTOFMS). The procedure was applied for the analysis of freshwater sediment that was highly impacted by wastewater discharges from the pharmaceutical industry. A number of different contaminants were successfully identified owing to the high mass accuracy of the QTOFMS system, used in combination with high chromatographic resolution of UHPLC. The major compounds, identified in investigated sediment, included a series of polypropylene glycols (n = 3-16), alkylbenzene sulfonate and benzalkonium surfactants as well as a number of various pharmaceuticals (chlorthalidone, warfarin, terbinafine, torsemide, zolpidem and macrolide antibiotics). The particular advantage of the applied technique is its capability to detect less known pharmaceutical intermediates and/or transformation products, which have not been previously reported in freshwater sediments. - Research highlights: UHPLC-QTOFMS coupling was applied for nontarget analysis of polar contaminants. Wide spectrum of polar contaminants was identified in polluted sediments. Pharmaceuticals and their intermediates were present in high concentrations. - Comprehensive analysis of freshwater sediments by UPLC/QTOF indicated importance of pharmaceutically-derived polar contaminants.

  20. Successful enrichment of the ubiquitous freshwater acI Actinobacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Sarahi L; McMahon, Katherine D; Grossart, Hans-Peter; Warnecke, Falk

    2014-02-01

    Actinobacteria of the acI lineage are often the numerically dominant bacterial phylum in surface freshwaters, where they can account for > 50% of total bacteria. Despite their abundance, there are no described isolates. In an effort to obtain enrichment of these ubiquitous freshwater Actinobacteria, diluted freshwater samples from Lake Grosse Fuchskuhle, Germany, were incubated in 96-well culture plates. With this method, a successful enrichment containing high abundances of a member of the lineage acI was established. Phylogenetic classification showed that the acI Actinobacteria of the enrichment belonged to the acI-B2 tribe, which seems to prefer acidic lakes. This enrichment grows to low cell densities and thus the oligotrophic nature of acI-B2 was confirmed. © 2013 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Between butch/femme: On the performance of race, gender, and sexuality in a YouTube web series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Day, Faithe

    2017-11-27

    Drawing on a legacy of Black television and film production, Black web series remediate earlier media forms in order to usher in a twenty-first-century revival of indie Black cultural production. Specifically, video sharing and social media platforms operate as a sphere in which content creators and users are afforded unique opportunities to engage with video content and each other on a variety of levels. Focusing on the YouTube media sphere, one can also observe the myriad ways in which the performance of race, gender, and sexuality influences the types of discourse that circulate within these sites. In watching and analyzing Black queer web series on YouTube, I examine how the performance of gender and sexuality by Black queer women within and outside of web series are policed and protected by both community insiders and outsiders. Utilizing an ethnographic framework, which includes a critical discourse analysis of the YouTube comments for the series Between Women, as well as a textual analysis of series content, this project draws conclusions about the role that the politics of pleasure, performance, and the public sphere play in the recognition and/or refusal of queer sexuality within Black communities.

  2. XbD Video 2, Taxonomy of Experience (ToE) [Online

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2013-01-01

    This is the second video in the Experience-based Designing series: It describes the Taxonomy of Experience, a structural way of looking at human experiences of almost any kind.This hierarchical model is useful to researchers and decision makers as a general method or tool for guiding the collection......, processing and categorisation of field data about an everyday experience. Researchers using this model often referred to the process as 'doing a ToE'...

  3. Industrial-Strength Streaming Video.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avgerakis, George; Waring, Becky

    1997-01-01

    Corporate training, financial services, entertainment, and education are among the top applications for streaming video servers, which send video to the desktop without downloading the whole file to the hard disk, saving time and eliminating copyrights questions. Examines streaming video technology, lists ten tips for better net video, and ranks…

  4. Spontaneous Brain Activity Did Not Show the Effect of Violent Video Games on Aggression: A Resting-State fMRI Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Wei; Gao, Xuemei; Shi, Shuo; Liu, Fuqu; Li, Chao

    2018-01-01

    A great many of empirical researches have proved that longtime exposure to violent video game can lead to a series of negative effects. Although research has focused on the neural basis of the correlation between violent video game and aggression, little is known whether the spontaneous brain activity is associated with violent video game exposure. To address this question, we measured the spontaneous brain activity using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We used the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and fractional ALFF (fALFF) to quantify spontaneous brain activity. The results showed there is no significant difference in ALFF, or fALFF, between violent video game group and the control part, indicating that long time exposure to violent video games won’t significantly influence spontaneous brain activity, especially the core brain regions such as execution control, moral judgment and short-term memory. This implies the adverse impact of violent video games is exaggerated. PMID:29375416

  5. Spontaneous Brain Activity Did Not Show the Effect of Violent Video Games on Aggression: A Resting-State fMRI Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Wei; Gao, Xuemei; Shi, Shuo; Liu, Fuqu; Li, Chao

    2017-01-01

    A great many of empirical researches have proved that longtime exposure to violent video game can lead to a series of negative effects. Although research has focused on the neural basis of the correlation between violent video game and aggression, little is known whether the spontaneous brain activity is associated with violent video game exposure. To address this question, we measured the spontaneous brain activity using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We used the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and fractional ALFF (fALFF) to quantify spontaneous brain activity. The results showed there is no significant difference in ALFF, or fALFF, between violent video game group and the control part, indicating that long time exposure to violent video games won't significantly influence spontaneous brain activity, especially the core brain regions such as execution control, moral judgment and short-term memory. This implies the adverse impact of violent video games is exaggerated.

  6. Spontaneous Brain Activity Did Not Show the Effect of Violent Video Games on Aggression: A Resting-State fMRI Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Pan

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available A great many of empirical researches have proved that longtime exposure to violent video game can lead to a series of negative effects. Although research has focused on the neural basis of the correlation between violent video game and aggression, little is known whether the spontaneous brain activity is associated with violent video game exposure. To address this question, we measured the spontaneous brain activity using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI. We used the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF and fractional ALFF (fALFF to quantify spontaneous brain activity. The results showed there is no significant difference in ALFF, or fALFF, between violent video game group and the control part, indicating that long time exposure to violent video games won’t significantly influence spontaneous brain activity, especially the core brain regions such as execution control, moral judgment and short-term memory. This implies the adverse impact of violent video games is exaggerated.

  7. Video modeling by experts with video feedback to enhance gymnastics skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyer, Eva; Miltenberger, Raymond G; Batsche, Catherine; Fogel, Victoria

    2009-01-01

    The effects of combining video modeling by experts with video feedback were analyzed with 4 female competitive gymnasts (7 to 10 years old) in a multiple baseline design across behaviors. During the intervention, after the gymnast performed a specific gymnastics skill, she viewed a video segment showing an expert gymnast performing the same skill and then viewed a video replay of her own performance of the skill. The results showed that all gymnasts demonstrated improved performance across three gymnastics skills following exposure to the intervention.

  8. A Novel Quantum Video Steganography Protocol with Large Payload Based on MCQI Quantum Video

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qu, Zhiguo; Chen, Siyi; Ji, Sai

    2017-11-01

    As one of important multimedia forms in quantum network, quantum video attracts more and more attention of experts and scholars in the world. A secure quantum video steganography protocol with large payload based on the video strip encoding method called as MCQI (Multi-Channel Quantum Images) is proposed in this paper. The new protocol randomly embeds the secret information with the form of quantum video into quantum carrier video on the basis of unique features of video frames. It exploits to embed quantum video as secret information for covert communication. As a result, its capacity are greatly expanded compared with the previous quantum steganography achievements. Meanwhile, the new protocol also achieves good security and imperceptibility by virtue of the randomization of embedding positions and efficient use of redundant frames. Furthermore, the receiver enables to extract secret information from stego video without retaining the original carrier video, and restore the original quantum video as a follow. The simulation and experiment results prove that the algorithm not only has good imperceptibility, high security, but also has large payload.

  9. Fish and mussels: importance of fish for freshwater mussel conservation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ronaldo Sousa

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Co-extinctions have received trivial consideration in discussions about the global conservation crisis, even though recent studies have emphasised their importance. This situation is even more pronounced in freshwater ecosystems where this phenomenon is largely unrecognized. In this presentation we explore the role of fish for freshwater mussels’ conservation. Freshwater mussels’ need fish as a host to complete their life cycle and given this premise is expected that changes in the fish community due to species extinctions or additions may have great effects. We reviewed the published information and we found: 1 that most of the studies were published in the last few years; 2 that most of the studies were performed in North America (69%, which is probably due to the high number of endemic threatened species in this continent; 3 that most of the mussel species that are specialists in fish hosting are listed as vulnerable or endangered (55%; 4 most studies were performed in laboratory (83% and 5 that the majority of studies were focused on life cycle or on identifying suitable fish hosts of freshwater mussel species with few studies focusing on threats. Since the interaction between fish and freshwater mussels can be easily disrupted and serious threats to this interaction have arisen (e.g. loss and fragmentation of habitat, changes in river flow, climate change, introduction of invasive species, pollution a more holistic approach is needed to find the best management strategies to conserve these animals. In addition, more field studies are required and more information on African, South American and Asian species is essential. Neglect the possible fundamental role of fish in the decline or extinction of freshwater mussels may impair the success of any measure devoted to their conservation; therefore, this issue cannot be ignored.

  10. Social Properties of Mobile Video

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, April Slayden; O'Hara, Kenton; Vorbau, Alex

    Mobile video is now an everyday possibility with a wide array of commercially available devices, services, and content. These new technologies have created dramatic shifts in the way video-based media can be produced, consumed, and delivered by people beyond the familiar behaviors associated with fixed TV and video technologies. Such technology revolutions change the way users behave and change their expectations in regards to their mobile video experiences. Building upon earlier studies of mobile video, this paper reports on a study using diary techniques and ethnographic interviews to better understand how people are using commercially available mobile video technologies in their everyday lives. Drawing on reported episodes of mobile video behavior, the study identifies the social motivations and values underpinning these behaviors that help characterize mobile video consumption beyond the simplistic notion of viewing video only to kill time. This paper also discusses the significance of user-generated content and the usage of video in social communities through the description of two mobile video technology services that allow users to create and share content. Implications for adoption and design of mobile video technologies and services are discussed as well.

  11. Video Podcasts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nortvig, Anne Mette; Sørensen, Birgitte Holm

    2016-01-01

    This project’s aim was to support and facilitate master’s students’ preparation and collaboration by making video podcasts of short lectures available on YouTube prior to students’ first face-to-face seminar. The empirical material stems from group interviews, from statistical data created through...... YouTube analytics and from surveys answered by students after the seminar. The project sought to explore how video podcasts support learning and reflection online and how students use and reflect on the integration of online activities in the videos. Findings showed that students engaged actively...

  12. Video games.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Funk, Jeanne B

    2005-06-01

    The video game industry insists that it is doing everything possible to provide information about the content of games so that parents can make informed choices; however, surveys indicate that ratings may not reflect consumer views of the nature of the content. This article describes some of the currently popular video games, as well as developments that are on the horizon, and discusses the status of research on the positive and negative impacts of playing video games. Recommendations are made to help parents ensure that children play games that are consistent with their values.

  13. Video steganography based on bit-plane decomposition of wavelet-transformed video

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noda, Hideki; Furuta, Tomofumi; Niimi, Michiharu; Kawaguchi, Eiji

    2004-06-01

    This paper presents a steganography method using lossy compressed video which provides a natural way to send a large amount of secret data. The proposed method is based on wavelet compression for video data and bit-plane complexity segmentation (BPCS) steganography. BPCS steganography makes use of bit-plane decomposition and the characteristics of the human vision system, where noise-like regions in bit-planes of a dummy image are replaced with secret data without deteriorating image quality. In wavelet-based video compression methods such as 3-D set partitioning in hierarchical trees (SPIHT) algorithm and Motion-JPEG2000, wavelet coefficients in discrete wavelet transformed video are quantized into a bit-plane structure and therefore BPCS steganography can be applied in the wavelet domain. 3-D SPIHT-BPCS steganography and Motion-JPEG2000-BPCS steganography are presented and tested, which are the integration of 3-D SPIHT video coding and BPCS steganography, and that of Motion-JPEG2000 and BPCS, respectively. Experimental results show that 3-D SPIHT-BPCS is superior to Motion-JPEG2000-BPCS with regard to embedding performance. In 3-D SPIHT-BPCS steganography, embedding rates of around 28% of the compressed video size are achieved for twelve bit representation of wavelet coefficients with no noticeable degradation in video quality.

  14. Statistical Analysis of Video Frame Size Distribution Originating from Scalable Video Codec (SVC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sima Ahmadpour

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Designing an effective and high performance network requires an accurate characterization and modeling of network traffic. The modeling of video frame sizes is normally applied in simulation studies and mathematical analysis and generating streams for testing and compliance purposes. Besides, video traffic assumed as a major source of multimedia traffic in future heterogeneous network. Therefore, the statistical distribution of video data can be used as the inputs for performance modeling of networks. The finding of this paper comprises the theoretical definition of distribution which seems to be relevant to the video trace in terms of its statistical properties and finds the best distribution using both the graphical method and the hypothesis test. The data set used in this article consists of layered video traces generating from Scalable Video Codec (SVC video compression technique of three different movies.

  15. Robust Adaptable Video Copy Detection

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Assent, Ira; Kremer, Hardy

    2009-01-01

    in contrast). Our query processing combines filtering and indexing structures for efficient multistep computation of video copies under this model. We show that our model successfully identifies altered video copies and does so more reliably than existing models.......Video copy detection should be capable of identifying video copies subject to alterations e.g. in video contrast or frame rates. We propose a video copy detection scheme that allows for adaptable detection of videos that are altered temporally (e.g. frame rate change) and/or visually (e.g. change...

  16. Assessing and managing freshwater ecosystems vulnerable to global change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Angeler, David G.; Allen, Craig R.; Birge, Hannah E.; Drakare, Stina; McKie, Brendan G.; Johnson, Richard K.

    2014-01-01

    Freshwater ecosystems are important for global biodiversity and provide essential ecosystem services. There is consensus in the scientific literature that freshwater ecosystems are vulnerable to the impacts of environmental change, which may trigger irreversible regime shifts upon which biodiversity and ecosystem services may be lost. There are profound uncertainties regarding the management and assessment of the vulnerability of freshwater ecosystems to environmental change. Quantitative approaches are needed to reduce this uncertainty. We describe available statistical and modeling approaches along with case studies that demonstrate how resilience theory can be applied to aid decision-making in natural resources management. We highlight especially how long-term monitoring efforts combined with ecological theory can provide a novel nexus between ecological impact assessment and management, and the quantification of systemic vulnerability and thus the resilience of ecosystems to environmental change.

  17. Cadillac Desert: Water and the Transformation of Nature. A Discussion and Viewer's Guide to the PBS Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDowell, Ceasar L.; Reisner, Marc; Bonk, Laura; Wisehart, Bob

    Cadillac Desert is a four-part Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) video series on the remaking of America's West through startling feats of engineering and the consequences that this manipulation of water and nature has wrought. This guide is meant to serve as a resource for discussing the issues raised in the series. The first part of the guide…

  18. Development of P4140 video data wall projector; Video data wall projector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Watanabe, H.; Inoue, H. [Toshiba Corp., Tokyo (Japan)

    1998-12-01

    The P4140 is a 3 cathode-ray tube (CRT) video data wall projector for super video graphics array (SVGA) signals. It is used as an image display unit, providing a large screen when several sets are put together. A high-quality picture has been realized by higher resolution and improved color uniformity technology. A new convergence adjustment system has also been developed through the optimal combination of digital and analog technologies. This video data wall installation has been greatly enhanced by the automation of cubes and cube performance settings. The P4140 video data wall projector can be used for displaying not only data but video as well. (author)

  19. Biota: Providing often-overlooked connections among freshwater systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mushet, David M.; Christensen, Jay R.; Bennett, Michah; Alexander, Laurie C.

    2017-01-01

    When we think about connections in and among aquatic systems, we typically envision clear headwater streams flowing into downstream rivers, river floodwaters spilling out onto adjacent floodplains, or groundwater connecting wetlands to lakes and streams. However, there is another layer of connectivity moving materials among freshwater systems, one with connections that are not always tied to downgradient flows of surface waters and groundwater. These movements are those of organisms, key components of virtually every freshwater system on the planet. In their movements across the landscape, biota connect aquatic systems in often-overlooked ways.

  20. Measurements of spatial population synchrony: influence of time series transformations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chevalier, Mathieu; Laffaille, Pascal; Ferdy, Jean-Baptiste; Grenouillet, Gaël

    2015-09-01

    Two mechanisms have been proposed to explain spatial population synchrony: dispersal among populations, and the spatial correlation of density-independent factors (the "Moran effect"). To identify which of these two mechanisms is driving spatial population synchrony, time series transformations (TSTs) of abundance data have been used to remove the signature of one mechanism, and highlight the effect of the other. However, several issues with TSTs remain, and to date no consensus has emerged about how population time series should be handled in synchrony studies. Here, by using 3131 time series involving 34 fish species found in French rivers, we computed several metrics commonly used in synchrony studies to determine whether a large-scale climatic factor (temperature) influenced fish population dynamics at the regional scale, and to test the effect of three commonly used TSTs (detrending, prewhitening and a combination of both) on these metrics. We also tested whether the influence of TSTs on time series and population synchrony levels was related to the features of the time series using both empirical and simulated time series. For several species, and regardless of the TST used, we evidenced a Moran effect on freshwater fish populations. However, these results were globally biased downward by TSTs which reduced our ability to detect significant signals. Depending on the species and the features of the time series, we found that TSTs could lead to contradictory results, regardless of the metric considered. Finally, we suggest guidelines on how population time series should be processed in synchrony studies.

  1. 78 FR 52192 - Final Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criteria For Ammonia-Freshwater 2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-22

    ... ambient water quality criteria for the protection of aquatic life from effects of ammonia in freshwater... ammonia to freshwater aquatic life. On December 30, 2009, EPA published draft national recommended water... freshwater are intended to protect aquatic life and do not address human health toxicity data. The water...

  2. Advanced video coding systems

    CERN Document Server

    Gao, Wen

    2015-01-01

    This comprehensive and accessible text/reference presents an overview of the state of the art in video coding technology. Specifically, the book introduces the tools of the AVS2 standard, describing how AVS2 can help to achieve a significant improvement in coding efficiency for future video networks and applications by incorporating smarter coding tools such as scene video coding. Topics and features: introduces the basic concepts in video coding, and presents a short history of video coding technology and standards; reviews the coding framework, main coding tools, and syntax structure of AV

  3. Intelligent video surveillance systems

    CERN Document Server

    Dufour, Jean-Yves

    2012-01-01

    Belonging to the wider academic field of computer vision, video analytics has aroused a phenomenal surge of interest since the current millennium. Video analytics is intended to solve the problem of the incapability of exploiting video streams in real time for the purpose of detection or anticipation. It involves analyzing the videos using algorithms that detect and track objects of interest over time and that indicate the presence of events or suspect behavior involving these objects.The aims of this book are to highlight the operational attempts of video analytics, to identify possi

  4. Video Vectorization via Tetrahedral Remeshing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Chuan; Zhu, Jie; Guo, Yanwen; Wang, Wenping

    2017-02-09

    We present a video vectorization method that generates a video in vector representation from an input video in raster representation. A vector-based video representation offers the benefits of vector graphics, such as compactness and scalability. The vector video we generate is represented by a simplified tetrahedral control mesh over the spatial-temporal video volume, with color attributes defined at the mesh vertices. We present novel techniques for simplification and subdivision of a tetrahedral mesh to achieve high simplification ratio while preserving features and ensuring color fidelity. From an input raster video, our method is capable of generating a compact video in vector representation that allows a faithful reconstruction with low reconstruction errors.

  5. Using Video Games to Support Pre-Service Elementary Teachers Learning of Basic Physics Principles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Janice; Barnett, Michael

    2011-08-01

    The purpose of this work is to share our findings in using video gaming technology to facilitate the understanding of basic electromagnetism with pre-service elementary teachers. To this end we explored the impact of using a game called Supercharged! on pre-service teachers' understanding of electromagnetic concepts compared to students who conducted a more traditional inquiry oriented investigation of the same concepts. This study was a part of a larger design experiment examining the pedagogical potential of Supercharged! the control group learned through a series of guided inquiry methods while the experimental group played Supercharged! during the laboratory sections of the science course. There was significant difference F(2,134) = 4.8, p video games can lead to positive learning outcomes, as demonstrated by the increase in test scores from pre- to post-assessment. Additionally, this study also suggests that a complementary approach, in which video games and hands-on activities are integrated, with each activity informing the other, could be a very powerful technique for supporting student scientific understanding. Further, our findings suggest that video game designers should embed meta-cognitive activities such as reflective opportunities into educational video games to provide scaffolds for students and to reinforce that they are engaged in an educational learning experience.

  6. Key roles for freshwater Actinobacteria revealed by deep metagenomic sequencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghai, Rohit; Mizuno, Carolina Megumi; Picazo, Antonio; Camacho, Antonio; Rodriguez-Valera, Francisco

    2014-12-01

    Freshwater ecosystems are critical but fragile environments directly affecting society and its welfare. However, our understanding of genuinely freshwater microbial communities, constrained by our capacity to manipulate its prokaryotic participants in axenic cultures, remains very rudimentary. Even the most abundant components, freshwater Actinobacteria, remain largely unknown. Here, applying deep metagenomic sequencing to the microbial community of a freshwater reservoir, we were able to circumvent this traditional bottleneck and reconstruct de novo seven distinct streamlined actinobacterial genomes. These genomes represent three new groups of photoheterotrophic, planktonic Actinobacteria. We describe for the first time genomes of two novel clades, acMicro (Micrococcineae, related to Luna2,) and acAMD (Actinomycetales, related to acTH1). Besides, an aggregate of contigs belonged to a new branch of the Acidimicrobiales. All are estimated to have small genomes (approximately 1.2 Mb), and their GC content varied from 40 to 61%. One of the Micrococcineae genomes encodes a proteorhodopsin, a rhodopsin type reported for the first time in Actinobacteria. The remarkable potential capacity of some of these genomes to transform recalcitrant plant detrital material, particularly lignin-derived compounds, suggests close linkages between the terrestrial and aquatic realms. Moreover, abundances of Actinobacteria correlate inversely to those of Cyanobacteria that are responsible for prolonged and frequently irretrievable damage to freshwater ecosystems. This suggests that they might serve as sentinels of impending ecological catastrophes. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. 'Comparable to MTV - but better': The impact of The Chart Show on British music video culture, 1986-1998

    OpenAIRE

    Smith, Justin

    2017-01-01

    Open access article The Chart Show was a weekly UK TV programme showcasing music videos from the Media Research Information Bureau (MRIB) Network Chart and a range of independent and specialist pop music charts. It began broadcasting on Friday evenings on Channel 4 in April 1986 and ran for three series until September 1988. Its production company, Video Visuals, subsequently found a new home for The Chart Show with Yorkshire Television on ITV, where it went out on Saturday mornings betwee...

  8. Oil spills into freshwater environments-literature review of fate and effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taylor, E.; Owens, E.; Craig, A.; Steen, A.; Fritz, D.

    1993-01-01

    A literature search (1984--1992) was performed to summarize the environmental and human health effects of inlands spills. Over 100 major spills that affected freshwater environments were reported through the Emergency Response Notification System (ERNS) in 1991--1992 alone. Spills from pipelines outnumber all other sources combined. The oil types involved are about equally distributed between non-persistent oils and crude. Small rivers, streams, and creeks are the habitats into which most freshwater spills occur. Cleanup of stranded oil, rather than protection or recovery of floating oil, is the norm in most situations because stranding on river and lake banks often occurs before response is possible. The prediction of spill movement commonly is simpler for freshwater spills because freshwater bodies are relatively small and commonly have strong uni-directional flow; however, fast flow in rivers and streams and turnover in cooling lakes serve to distribute oil throughout the water column. Impacts to the environment, through food web structures or groundwater, may persist for months following a spill but seldom persist for years, unlike marine coastal impacts. Chronic impacts of oil spills into freshwater are rarely documented and these impacts are difficult to separate from effects of other hydrocarbons in the environment

  9. CONDUCCIÓN ANESTÉSICA DE LA REVASCULARIZACIÓN MIOCÁRDICA VIDEO-ASISTIDA. INFORME DE CINCO CASOS / Anesthetic conduction of video-assisted myocardial revascularization. Report of five cases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth Rodríguez Rosales

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available The advantages of video-assisted cardiac surgery are very necessary for high-risk patients, but subjecting them to possible complications is a big responsibility and a challenge for the cardiovascular anesthesiologist. This article presents the first five cases of video-assisted coronary artery bypass grafting in the country, and describes the anesthetic techniques and results. Also, the advantages of this surgical technique are discussed: less invasive, less postoperative pain, less duration of postoperative intubation and ventilation, minimal risk of infection and bleeding, reduced need for transfusions, and better healing and aesthetics of the wound. It was concluded that although this series is small, we consider it a good option for patients with ischemic heart disease and a single-vessel (anterior descending artery revascularization criterion, not accessible to intervention.

  10. Low-latency video transmission over high-speed WPANs based on low-power video compression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Belyaev, Evgeny; Turlikov, Andrey; Ukhanova, Ann

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents latency-constrained video transmission over high-speed wireless personal area networks (WPANs). Low-power video compression is proposed as an alternative to uncompressed video transmission. A video source rate control based on MINMAX quality criteria is introduced. Practical...

  11. Video Self-Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buggey, Tom; Ogle, Lindsey

    2012-01-01

    Video self-modeling (VSM) first appeared on the psychology and education stage in the early 1970s. The practical applications of VSM were limited by lack of access to tools for editing video, which is necessary for almost all self-modeling videos. Thus, VSM remained in the research domain until the advent of camcorders and VCR/DVD players and,…

  12. Video dosimetry: evaluation of X-radiation dose by video fluoroscopic image

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nova, Joao Luiz Leocadio da; Lopes, Ricardo Tadeu

    1996-01-01

    A new methodology to evaluate the entrance surface dose on patients under radiodiagnosis is presented. A phantom is used in video fluoroscopic procedures in on line video signal system. The images are obtained from a Siemens Polymat 50 and are digitalized. The results show that the entrance surface dose can be obtained in real time from video imaging

  13. Decadal phytoplankton dynamics in response to episodic climatic disturbances in a subtropical deep freshwater ecosystem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ko, Chia-Ying; Lai, Chao-Chen; Hsu, Huang-Hsiung; Shiah, Fuh-Kwo

    2017-02-01

    Information of the decadal timescale effects of episodic climatic disturbances (i.e., typhoons) on phytoplankton in freshwater ecosystems have received less attention and fewer seasonal evaluations partly due to the lack of long-term time-series monitoring data in typhoon prevailing areas. Through field observations of a total 36 typhoon cases in a subtropical deep freshwater ecosystem in the period of 2005-2014, we quantified phytoplankton biomass, production and growth rate in response to meteorological and hydrological changes in the weeks before, during and after typhoons between summer and autumn, and also investigated the effects of typhoon characteristics on the aforementioned phytoplankton responses. The results showed that phytoplankton exposed to typhoon disturbances generally exhibited an increasing trend over the weeks before, during and after typhoons in summer but varied in autumn. The correlations and multivariate regressions showed different contributions of meteorological and hydrological variables to individual phytoplankton responses before, during and after typhoons between seasons. The post-typhoon weeks (i.e., within two weeks after a typhoon had passed) were especially important for the timeline of phytoplankton increases and with a detectable seasonal variation that the chlorophyll a concentration significantly increased in autumn whereas both primary production and growth rate were associated with significant changes in summer. Additionally, phytoplankton responses during the post-typhoon weeks were significantly different between discrete or continuous types of typhoon events. Our work illustrated the fact that typhoons did influence phytoplankton responses in the subtropical deep freshwater ecosystem and typhoon passages in summer and autumn affected the phytoplankton dynamics differently. Nevertheless, sustained and systematic monitoring in order to advance our understanding of the role of typhoons between seasons in the modulation of

  14. A randomized controlled trial of soap opera videos streamed to smartphones to reduce risk of sexually transmitted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in young urban African American women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Rachel; Hoover, Donald R; Lacroix, Lorraine J

    2013-01-01

    Love, Sex, and Choices (LSC) is a soap opera video series created to reduce HIV sex risk in women. LSC was compared to text messages in a randomized trial in 238 high-risk mostly Black young urban women. 117 received 12-weekly LSC videos, 121 received 12-weekly HIV prevention messages on smartphones. Changes in unprotected sex with high risk partners were compared by mixed models. Unprotected sex with high risk men significantly declined over 6 months post-intervention for both arms, from 21-22 acts to 5-6 (p video over the text arm, though this difference was not statistically significant. However, the LSC was highly popular and viewers wanted the series to continue. This is the first study to report streaming soap opera video episodes to reduce HIV risk on smartphones. LSC holds promise as an Internet intervention that could be scaled-up and combined with HIV testing. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Video game training does not enhance cognitive ability: A comprehensive meta-analytic investigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sala, Giovanni; Tatlidil, K Semir; Gobet, Fernand

    2018-02-01

    As a result of considerable potential scientific and societal implications, the possibility of enhancing cognitive ability by training has been one of the most influential topics of cognitive psychology in the last two decades. However, substantial research into the psychology of expertise and a recent series of meta-analytic reviews have suggested that various types of cognitive training (e.g., working memory training) benefit performance only in the trained tasks. The lack of skill generalization from one domain to different ones-that is, far transfer-has been documented in various fields of research such as working memory training, music, brain training, and chess. Video game training is another activity that has been claimed by many researchers to foster a broad range of cognitive abilities such as visual processing, attention, spatial ability, and cognitive control. We tested these claims with three random-effects meta-analytic models. The first meta-analysis (k = 310) examined the correlation between video game skill and cognitive ability. The second meta-analysis (k = 315) dealt with the differences between video game players and nonplayers in cognitive ability. The third meta-analysis (k = 359) investigated the effects of video game training on participants' cognitive ability. Small or null overall effect sizes were found in all three models. These outcomes show that overall cognitive ability and video game skill are only weakly related. Importantly, we found no evidence of a causal relationship between playing video games and enhanced cognitive ability. Video game training thus represents no exception to the general difficulty of obtaining far transfer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  16. Akademisk video

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frølunde, Lisbeth

    2017-01-01

    Dette kapitel har fokus på metodiske problemstillinger, der opstår i forhold til at bruge (digital) video i forbindelse med forskningskommunikation, ikke mindst online. Video har længe været benyttet i forskningen til dataindsamling og forskningskommunikation. Med digitaliseringen og internettet ...

  17. VBR video traffic models

    CERN Document Server

    Tanwir, Savera

    2014-01-01

    There has been a phenomenal growth in video applications over the past few years. An accurate traffic model of Variable Bit Rate (VBR) video is necessary for performance evaluation of a network design and for generating synthetic traffic that can be used for benchmarking a network. A large number of models for VBR video traffic have been proposed in the literature for different types of video in the past 20 years. Here, the authors have classified and surveyed these models and have also evaluated the models for H.264 AVC and MVC encoded video and discussed their findings.

  18. Homogenization patterns of the world's freshwater fish faunas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villéger, Sébastien; Blanchet, Simon; Beauchard, Olivier; Oberdorff, Thierry; Brosse, Sébastien

    2011-11-01

    The world is currently undergoing an unprecedented decline in biodiversity, which is mainly attributable to human activities. For instance, nonnative species introduction, combined with the extirpation of native species, affects biodiversity patterns, notably by increasing the similarity among species assemblages. This biodiversity change, called taxonomic homogenization, has rarely been assessed at the world scale. Here, we fill this gap by assessing the current homogenization status of one of the most diverse vertebrate groups (i.e., freshwater fishes) at global and regional scales. We demonstrate that current homogenization of the freshwater fish faunas is still low at the world scale (0.5%) but reaches substantial levels (up to 10%) in some highly invaded river basins from the Nearctic and Palearctic realms. In these realms experiencing high changes, nonnative species introductions rather than native species extirpations drive taxonomic homogenization. Our results suggest that the "Homogocene era" is not yet the case for freshwater fish fauna at the worldwide scale. However, the distressingly high level of homogenization noted for some biogeographical realms stresses the need for further understanding of the ecological consequences of homogenization processes.

  19. Predator-induced reduction of freshwater carbon dioxide emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atwood, Trisha B.; Hammill, Edd; Greig, Hamish S.; Kratina, Pavel; Shurin, Jonathan B.; Srivastava, Diane S.; Richardson, John S.

    2013-03-01

    Predators can influence the exchange of carbon dioxide between ecosystems and the atmosphere by altering ecosystem processes such as decomposition and primary production, according to food web theory. Empirical knowledge of such an effect in freshwater systems is limited, but it has been suggested that predators in odd-numbered food chains suppress freshwater carbon dioxide emissions, and predators in even-numbered food chains enhance emissions. Here, we report experiments in three-tier food chains in experimental ponds, streams and bromeliads in Canada and Costa Rica in the presence or absence of fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and invertebrate (Hesperoperla pacifica and Mecistogaster modesta) predators. We monitored carbon dioxide fluxes along with prey and primary producer biomass. We found substantially reduced carbon dioxide emissions in the presence of predators in all systems, despite differences in predator type, hydrology, climatic region, ecological zone and level of in situ primary production. We also observed lower amounts of prey biomass and higher amounts of algal and detrital biomass in the presence of predators. We conclude that predators have the potential to markedly influence carbon dioxide dynamics in freshwater systems.

  20. Video Games as a Multifaceted Medium: A Review of Quantitative Social Science Research on Video Games and a Typology of Video Game Research Approaches

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James D. Ivory

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Although there is a vast and useful body of quantitative social science research dealing with the social role and impact of video games, it is difficult to compare studies dealing with various dimensions of video games because they are informed by different perspectives and assumptions, employ different methodologies, and address different problems. Studies focusing on different social dimensions of video games can produce varied findings about games’ social function that are often difficult to reconcile— or even contradictory. Research is also often categorized by topic area, rendering a comprehensive view of video games’ social role across topic areas difficult. This interpretive review presents a novel typology of four identified approaches that categorize much of the quantitative social science video game research conducted to date: “video games as stimulus,” “video games as avocation,” “video games as skill,” and “video games as social environment.” This typology is useful because it provides an organizational structure within which the large and growing number of studies on video games can be categorized, guiding comparisons between studies on different research topics and aiding a more comprehensive understanding of video games’ social role. Categorizing the different approaches to video game research provides a useful heuristic for those critiquing and expanding that research, as well as an understandable entry point for scholars new to video game research. Further, and perhaps more importantly, the typology indicates when topics should be explored using different approaches than usual to shed new light on the topic areas. Lastly, the typology exposes the conceptual disconnects between the different approaches to video game research, allowing researchers to consider new ways to bridge gaps between the different approaches’ strengths and limitations with novel methods.

  1. Freshwater availability and coastal wetland foundation species: ecological transitions along a rainfall gradient

    Science.gov (United States)

    Osland, Michael J.; Enwright, Nicholas M.; Stagg, Camille L.

    2014-01-01

    Climate gradient-focused ecological research can provide a foundation for better understanding critical ecological transition points and nonlinear climate-ecological relationships, which is information that can be used to better understand, predict, and manage ecological responses to climate change. In this study, we examined the influence of freshwater availability upon the coverage of foundation plant species in coastal wetlands along a northwestern Gulf of Mexico rainfall gradient. Our research addresses the following three questions: (1) what are the region-scale relationships between measures of freshwater availability (e.g., rainfall, aridity, freshwater inflow, salinity) and the relative abundance of foundation plant species in tidal wetlands; (2) How vulnerable are foundation plant species in tidal wetlands to future changes in freshwater availability; and (3) What is the potential future relative abundance of tidal wetland foundation plant species under alternative climate change scenarios? We developed simple freshwater availability-based models to predict the relative abundance (i.e., coverage) of tidal wetland foundation plant species using climate data (1970-2000), estuarine freshwater inflow-focused data, and coastal wetland habitat data. Our results identify regional ecological thresholds and nonlinear relationships between measures of freshwater availability and the relative abundance of foundation plant species in tidal wetlands. In drier coastal zones, relatively small changes in rainfall could produce comparatively large landscape-scale changes in foundation plant species abundance which would affect some ecosystem good and services. Whereas a drier future would result in a decrease in the coverage of foundation plant species, a wetter future would result in an increase in foundation plant species coverage. In many ways, the freshwater-dependent coastal wetland ecological transitions we observed are analogous to those present in dryland

  2. Selecting reliable and robust freshwater macroalgae for biomass applications.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecca J Lawton

    Full Text Available Intensive cultivation of freshwater macroalgae is likely to increase with the development of an algal biofuels industry and algal bioremediation. However, target freshwater macroalgae species suitable for large-scale intensive cultivation have not yet been identified. Therefore, as a first step to identifying target species, we compared the productivity, growth and biochemical composition of three species representative of key freshwater macroalgae genera across a range of cultivation conditions. We then selected a primary target species and assessed its competitive ability against other species over a range of stocking densities. Oedogonium had the highest productivity (8.0 g ash free dry weight m⁻² day⁻¹, lowest ash content (3-8%, lowest water content (fresh weigh: dry weight ratio of 3.4, highest carbon content (45% and highest bioenergy potential (higher heating value 20 MJ/kg compared to Cladophora and Spirogyra. The higher productivity of Oedogonium relative to Cladophora and Spirogyra was consistent when algae were cultured with and without the addition of CO₂ across three aeration treatments. Therefore, Oedogonium was selected as our primary target species. The competitive ability of Oedogonium was assessed by growing it in bi-cultures and polycultures with Cladophora and Spirogyra over a range of stocking densities. Cultures were initially stocked with equal proportions of each species, but after three weeks of growth the proportion of Oedogonium had increased to at least 96% (±7 S.E. in Oedogonium-Spirogyra bi-cultures, 86% (±16 S.E. in Oedogonium-Cladophora bi-cultures and 82% (±18 S.E. in polycultures. The high productivity, bioenergy potential and competitive dominance of Oedogonium make this species an ideal freshwater macroalgal target for large-scale production and a valuable biomass source for bioenergy applications. These results demonstrate that freshwater macroalgae are thus far an under-utilised feedstock with

  3. Radionuclide transfer to freshwater biota species: review of Russian language studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fesenko, S.; Fesenko, J.; Sanzharova, N.; Karpenko, E.; Titov, I.

    2011-01-01

    Around 130 publications reporting studies on radionuclide transfer to freshwater biota species conducted in the former USSR were reviewed to provide the concentration ratio values. None of these studies were available up to now in the English language reviews or publications. The values derived have been compared with the CR values used for freshwater systems in the International reviews. For some radionuclides reviewed in this paper, the data are in good agreement with the mean CR values presented earlier, however for some of them, in particular, for 241 Am (bivalve molluscs, gastropods and pelagic fish), 60 Co (gastropods, benthic fish and insect larvae), 90 Sr and 137 Cs (benthic fish and zooplankton), the mean values given here are substantially different from those presented earlier. The data reported in this paper for thirty five radionuclides and eleven groups of freshwater species markedly improve the extent of available data for evaluation of radiation impact on freshwater species. - Research highlights: → The paper provides information on concentration ratios to freshwater biota species for 35 radionuclides. Many of the data are for 90 Sr and 137 Cs. → For the majority of radionuclides reviewed in this paper, the CR values are in good agreement with those given in the recent International reviews. → For 241 Am (bivalve molluscs, gastropods and pelagic fish), 60 Co (gastropods, benthic fish and insect larvae), 90 Sr and 137 Cs (benthic fish and zooplankton), the mean values based on review of the Russian language publications are substantially different from those presented in the International reviews. → Information presented in the paper significantly increases the availability of data on radionuclide accumulation in freshwater species.

  4. Short-term change detection for UAV video

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saur, Günter; Krüger, Wolfgang

    2012-11-01

    In the last years, there has been an increased use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for video reconnaissance and surveillance. An important application in this context is change detection in UAV video data. Here we address short-term change detection, in which the time between observations ranges from several minutes to a few hours. We distinguish this task from video motion detection (shorter time scale) and from long-term change detection, based on time series of still images taken between several days, weeks, or even years. Examples for relevant changes we are looking for are recently parked or moved vehicles. As a pre-requisite, a precise image-to-image registration is needed. Images are selected on the basis of the geo-coordinates of the sensor's footprint and with respect to a certain minimal overlap. The automatic imagebased fine-registration adjusts the image pair to a common geometry by using a robust matching approach to handle outliers. The change detection algorithm has to distinguish between relevant and non-relevant changes. Examples for non-relevant changes are stereo disparity at 3D structures of the scene, changed length of shadows, and compression or transmission artifacts. To detect changes in image pairs we analyzed image differencing, local image correlation, and a transformation-based approach (multivariate alteration detection). As input we used color and gradient magnitude images. To cope with local misalignment of image structures we extended the approaches by a local neighborhood search. The algorithms are applied to several examples covering both urban and rural scenes. The local neighborhood search in combination with intensity and gradient magnitude differencing clearly improved the results. Extended image differencing performed better than both the correlation based approach and the multivariate alternation detection. The algorithms are adapted to be used in semi-automatic workflows for the ABUL video exploitation system of Fraunhofer

  5. Tributyltin-resistant bacteria from estuarine and freshwater sediments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wuertz, S; Miller, C E; Pfister, R M; Cooney, J J

    1991-01-01

    Resistance to tributyltin (TBT) was examined in populations from TBT-polluted sediments and nonpolluted sediments from an estuary and from fresh water as well as in pure cultures isolated from those sediments. The 50% effective concentrations (EC50s) for populations were higher at a TBT-polluted freshwater site than at a site without TBT, suggesting that TBT selected for a TBT-resistant population. In contrast, EC50s were significantly lower for populations from a TBT-contaminated estuarine site than for those from a site without TBT, suggesting that other factors in addition to TBT determine whether populations become resistant. EC50s for populations from TBT-contaminated freshwater sediments were nearly 30 times higher than those for populations from TBT-contaminated estuarine sediments. We defined a TBT-resistant bacterium as one which grows on trypticase soy agar containing 8.4 microM TBT, a concentration which prevented the growth of 90% of the culturable bacteria from these sediments. The toxicity of TBT in laboratory media was influenced markedly by the composition of the medium and whether it was liquid or solid. Ten TBT-resistant isolates from estuarine sediments and 19 from freshwater sediments were identified to the genus level. Two isolates, each a Bacillus sp., may be the first gram-positive bacteria isolated from fresh water in the presence of a high concentration of TBT. There was a high incidence of resistance to heavy metals: metal resistance indices were 0.76 for estuarine isolates and 0.68 for freshwater isolates.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) PMID:1746939

  6. The effects of scene characteristics, resolution, and compression on the ability to recognize objects in video

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dumke, Joel; Ford, Carolyn G.; Stange, Irena W.

    2011-03-01

    Public safety practitioners increasingly use video for object recognition tasks. These end users need guidance regarding how to identify the level of video quality necessary for their application. The quality of video used in public safety applications must be evaluated in terms of its usability for specific tasks performed by the end user. The Public Safety Communication Research (PSCR) project performed a subjective test as one of the first in a series to explore visual intelligibility in video-a user's ability to recognize an object in a video stream given various conditions. The test sought to measure the effects on visual intelligibility of three scene parameters (target size, scene motion, scene lighting), several compression rates, and two resolutions (VGA (640x480) and CIF (352x288)). Seven similarly sized objects were used as targets in nine sets of near-identical source scenes, where each set was created using a different combination of the parameters under study. Viewers were asked to identify the objects via multiple choice questions. Objective measurements were performed on each of the scenes, and the ability of the measurement to predict visual intelligibility was studied.

  7. Analysis of the Arctic system for freshwater cycle intensification: Observations and expectations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rawlins, M.A.; Steele, M.; Holland, M.M.; Adam, J.C.; Cherry, J.E.; Francis, J.A.; Groisman, P.Y.; Hinzman, L.D.; Huntington, T.G.; Kane, D.L.; Kimball, J.S.; Kwok, R.; Lammers, R.B.; Lee, C.M.; Lettenmaier, D.P.; McDonald, K.C.; Podest, E.; Pundsack, J.W.; Rudels, B.; Serreze, Mark C.; Shiklomanov, A.; Skagseth, O.; Troy, T.J.; Vorosmarty, C.J.; Wensnahan, M.; Wood, E.F.; Woodgate, R.; Yang, D.; Zhang, K.; Zhang, T.

    2010-01-01

    Hydrologic cycle intensification is an expected manifestation of a warming climate. Although positive trends in several global average quantities have been reported, no previous studies have documented broad intensification across elements of the Arctic freshwater cycle (FWC). In this study, the authors examine the character and quantitative significance of changes in annual precipitation, evapotranspiration, and river discharge across the terrestrial pan-Arctic over the past several decades from observations and a suite of coupled general circulation models (GCMs). Trends in freshwater flux and storage derived from observations across the Arctic Ocean and surrounding seas are also described. With few exceptions, precipitation, evapotranspiration, and river discharge fluxes from observations and the GCMs exhibit positive trends. Significant positive trends above the 90% confidence level, however, are not present for all of the observations. Greater confidence in the GCM trends arises through lower interannual variability relative to trend magnitude. Put another way, intrinsic variability in the observations tends to limit confidence in trend robustness. Ocean fluxes are less certain, primarily because of the lack of long-term observations. Where available, salinity and volume flux data suggest some decrease in saltwater inflow to the Barents Sea (i.e., a decrease in freshwater outflow) in recent decades. A decline in freshwater storage across the central Arctic Ocean and suggestions that large-scale circulation plays a dominant role in freshwater trends raise questions as to whether Arctic Ocean freshwater flows are intensifying. Although oceanic fluxes of freshwater are highly variable and consistent trends are difficult to verify, the other components of the Arctic FWC do show consistent positive trends over recent decades. The broad-scale increases provide evidence that the Arctic FWC is experiencing intensification. Efforts that aim to develop an adequate

  8. Inactivation of Paragonimus westermani metacercariae in soy sauce-marinated and frozen freshwater crabs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Tae Im; Oh, Se-Ra; Dai, Fuhong; Yang, Hyun-Jong; Ha, Sang-Do; Hong, Sung-Jong

    2017-03-01

    Soy sauce-marinated freshwater crabs (Eriocheir japonicus) are a source of human paragonimiasis. The viability of Paragonimus westermani metacercariae (PwMc) in marinated crabs was investigated in an experimental setting. The PwMc collected from freshwater crayfish were inoculated into freshwater crabs, which were then frozen or marinated in soy sauce. All PwMc in the freshwater crabs were inactivated after freezing for 48 h at -20 °C and after freezing for 12 h at -40 °C. After marinating for 32 days, the survival rate of PwMc in 5% NaCl soy sauce was 50%, in 7.5% NaCl soy sauce it was 33.3%, and in 10.0% NaCl soy sauce it was 31.3%. When marinated for 64 days, all PwMc were inactivated in all experimental groups. These results revealed that freezing and soy sauce marination were detrimental to the survival of PwMc in freshwater crabs. Specifically, freezing crabs for more than 48 h or soaking them in soy sauce containing at least 5.0% NaCl for 64 days can inactivate PwMc. These results can inform the production of the traditional Korean soy sauce-marinated freshwater crabs known as gejang.

  9. Graphite Based Electrode for ECG Monitoring: Evaluation under Freshwater and Saltwater Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tharoeun Thap

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available We proposed new electrodes that are applicable for electrocardiogram (ECG monitoring under freshwater- and saltwater-immersion conditions. Our proposed electrodes are made of graphite pencil lead (GPL, a general-purpose writing pencil. We have fabricated two types of electrode: a pencil lead solid type (PLS electrode and a pencil lead powder type (PLP electrode. In order to assess the qualities of the PLS and PLP electrodes, we compared their performance with that of a commercial Ag/AgCl electrode, under a total of seven different conditions: dry, freshwater immersion with/without movement, post-freshwater wet condition, saltwater immersion with/without movement, and post-saltwater wet condition. In both dry and post-freshwater wet conditions, all ECG-recorded PQRST waves were clearly discernible, with all types of electrodes, Ag/AgCl, PLS, and PLP. On the other hand, under the freshwater- and saltwater-immersion conditions with/without movement, as well as post-saltwater wet conditions, we found that the proposed PLS and PLP electrodes provided better ECG waveform quality, with significant statistical differences compared with the quality provided by Ag/AgCl electrodes.

  10. Digital Video in Research

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frølunde, Lisbeth

    2012-01-01

    Is video becoming “the new black” in academia, if so, what are the challenges? The integration of video in research methodology (for collection, analysis) is well-known, but the use of “academic video” for dissemination is relatively new (Eriksson and Sørensen). The focus of this paper is academic......). In the video, I appear (along with other researchers) and two Danish film directors, and excerpts from their film. My challenges included how to edit the academic video and organize the collaborative effort. I consider video editing as a semiotic, transformative process of “reassembling” voices....... In the discussion, I review academic video in terms of relevance and implications for research practice. The theoretical background is social constructivist, combining social semiotics (Kress, van Leeuwen, McCloud), visual anthropology (Banks, Pink) and dialogic theory (Bakhtin). The Bakhtinian notion of “voices...

  11. The development of a GIS atlas of southern African freshwater fish ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The development of a GIS atlas of southern African freshwater fish. LEP Scott, PH Skelton, AJ Booth, L Verheust. Abstract. A geographic information systems (GIS) based atlas of southern African freshwater fish has been developed for the SADC countries. The JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology, in collaboration with ALCOM, ...

  12. NEI You Tube Videos: Amblyopia

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... search for current job openings visit HHS USAJobs Home >> NEI YouTube Videos >> NEI YouTube Videos: Amblyopia Listen NEI YouTube Videos YouTube Videos Home Age-Related Macular Degeneration Amblyopia Animations Blindness Cataract ...

  13. Talking Video in 'Everyday Life'

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    McIlvenny, Paul

    For better or worse, video technologies have made their way into many domains of social life, for example in the domain of therapeutics. Techniques such as Marte Meo, Video Interaction Guidance (ViG), Video-Enhanced Reflection on Communication, Video Home Training and Video intervention....../prevention (VIP) all promote the use of video as a therapeutic tool. This paper focuses on media therapeutics and the various in situ uses of video technologies in the mass media for therapeutic purposes. Reality TV parenting programmes such as Supernanny, Little Angels, The House of Tiny Tearaways, Honey, We...... observation and instruction (directives) relayed across different spaces; 2) the use of recorded video by participants to visualise, spatialise and localise talk and action that is distant in time and/or space; 3) the translating, stretching and cutting of social experience in and through the situated use...

  14. Freshwater Ecosystem Service Flow Model To Evaluate Regional Water Security: A Case Study In Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, D.; Li, S.

    2016-12-01

    Freshwater service, as the most important support ecosystem service, is essential to human survival and development. Many studies have evidenced the spatial differences in the supply and demand of ecosystem services and raised the concept of ecosystem service flow. However, rather few studies quantitatively characterize the freshwater service flow. This paper aims to quantify the effect of freshwater ecosystem service flow on downstream areas in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region, China over 2000, 2005 and 2010. We computed the freshwater ecosystem service provision with InVEST model. We calculated freshwater ecosystem service consumption with water quota method. We simulated the freshwater ecosystem service flow using our simplified flow model and assessed the regional water security with the improved freshwater security index. The freshwater provision service mainly depends on climatic factors that cannot be influenced by management, while the freshwater consumption service is constrained by human activities. Furthermore, the decrease of water quota for agricultural, domestic and industrial water counteracts the impact of increasing freshwater demand. The analysis of freshwater ecosystem service flow reveals that the majority area of the BTH (69.2%) is affected by upstream freshwater. If freshwater ecosystem service flow is considered, the water safety areas of the whole BTH account for 66.9%, 66.1%, 71.3%, which increase 6.4%, 6.8% and 5.7% in 2000, 2005 and 2010, respectively. These results highlight the need to understand the teleconnections between distant freshwater ecosystem service provision and local freshwater ecosystem service use. This approach therefore helps managers choose specific management and investment strategies for critical upstream freshwater provisions across different regions.

  15. Video Classification and Adaptive QoP/QoS Control for Multiresolution Video Applications on IPTV

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huang Shyh-Fang

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available With the development of heterogeneous networks and video coding standards, multiresolution video applications over networks become important. It is critical to ensure the service quality of the network for time-sensitive video services. Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WIMAX is a good candidate for delivering video signals because through WIMAX the delivery quality based on the quality-of-service (QoS setting can be guaranteed. The selection of suitable QoS parameters is, however, not trivial for service users. Instead, what a video service user really concerns with is the video quality of presentation (QoP which includes the video resolution, the fidelity, and the frame rate. In this paper, we present a quality control mechanism in multiresolution video coding structures over WIMAX networks and also investigate the relationship between QoP and QoS in end-to-end connections. Consequently, the video presentation quality can be simply mapped to the network requirements by a mapping table, and then the end-to-end QoS is achieved. We performed experiments with multiresolution MPEG coding over WIMAX networks. In addition to the QoP parameters, the video characteristics, such as, the picture activity and the video mobility, also affect the QoS significantly.

  16. Patterns of Freshwater Species Richness, Endemism, and Vulnerability in California.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeanette K Howard

    Full Text Available The ranges and abundances of species that depend on freshwater habitats are declining worldwide. Efforts to counteract those trends are often hampered by a lack of information about species distribution and conservation status and are often strongly biased toward a few well-studied groups. We identified the 3,906 vascular plants, macroinvertebrates, and vertebrates native to California, USA, that depend on fresh water for at least one stage of their life history. We evaluated the conservation status for these taxa using existing government and non-governmental organization assessments (e.g., endangered species act, NatureServe, created a spatial database of locality observations or distribution information from ~400 data sources, and mapped patterns of richness, endemism, and vulnerability. Although nearly half of all taxa with conservation status (n = 1,939 are vulnerable to extinction, only 114 (6% of those vulnerable taxa have a legal mandate for protection in the form of formal inclusion on a state or federal endangered species list. Endemic taxa are at greater risk than non-endemics, with 90% of the 927 endemic taxa vulnerable to extinction. Records with spatial data were available for a total of 2,276 species (61%. The patterns of species richness differ depending on the taxonomic group analyzed, but are similar across taxonomic level. No particular taxonomic group represents an umbrella for all species, but hotspots of high richness for listed species cover 40% of the hotspots for all other species and 58% of the hotspots for vulnerable freshwater species. By mapping freshwater species hotspots we show locations that represent the top priority for conservation action in the state. This study identifies opportunities to fill gaps in the evaluation of conservation status for freshwater taxa in California, to address the lack of occurrence information for nearly 40% of freshwater taxa and nearly 40% of watersheds in the state, and to

  17. NEI You Tube Videos: Amblyopia

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... search for current job openings visit HHS USAJobs Home » NEI YouTube Videos » NEI YouTube Videos: Amblyopia Listen NEI YouTube Videos YouTube Videos Home Age-Related Macular Degeneration Amblyopia Animations Blindness Cataract ...

  18. Education Agendas and Resistance with the Teaching and Learning of Freshwater and Extreme Freshwater Events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sammel, Alison; McMartin, Dena; Arbuthnott, Katherine

    2018-01-01

    Despite the essentiality of freshwater to all life on the planet, the populous has inadequate understandings of water. Formal education plays a key role in shaping how individuals and communities make sense of water, its accessibility, management, consumption, and hazards. This article seeks to bring attention to the infuence of cultural framings…

  19. Biogenic silica in tidal freshwater marsh sediments and vegetation (Schelde estuary, Belgium)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Struyf, E.; van Damme, S.; Gribsholt, B.; Middelburg, J.J.; Meire, P.

    2005-01-01

    To date, estuarine ecosystem research has mostly neglected silica cycling in freshwater intertidal marshes. However, tidal marshes can store large amounts of biogenic silica (BSi) in vegetation and sediment. BSi content of the typical freshwater marsh plants Phragmites australis, Impatiens

  20. Airborne Video Surveillance

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Blask, Steven

    2002-01-01

    The DARPA Airborne Video Surveillance (AVS) program was established to develop and promote technologies to make airborne video more useful, providing capabilities that achieve a UAV force multiplier...

  1. Video stimuli reduce object-directed imitation accuracy: a novel two-person motion-tracking approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reader, Arran T; Holmes, Nicholas P

    2015-01-01

    Imitation is an important form of social behavior, and research has aimed to discover and explain the neural and kinematic aspects of imitation. However, much of this research has featured single participants imitating in response to pre-recorded video stimuli. This is in spite of findings that show reduced neural activation to video vs. real life movement stimuli, particularly in the motor cortex. We investigated the degree to which video stimuli may affect the imitation process using a novel motion tracking paradigm with high spatial and temporal resolution. We recorded 14 positions on the hands, arms, and heads of two individuals in an imitation experiment. One individual freely moved within given parameters (moving balls across a series of pegs) and a second participant imitated. This task was performed with either simple (one ball) or complex (three balls) movement difficulty, and either face-to-face or via a live video projection. After an exploratory analysis, three dependent variables were chosen for examination: 3D grip position, joint angles in the arm, and grip aperture. A cross-correlation and multivariate analysis revealed that object-directed imitation task accuracy (as represented by grip position) was reduced in video compared to face-to-face feedback, and in complex compared to simple difficulty. This was most prevalent in the left-right and forward-back motions, relevant to the imitator sitting face-to-face with the actor or with a live projected video of the same actor. The results suggest that for tasks which require object-directed imitation, video stimuli may not be an ecologically valid way to present task materials. However, no similar effects were found in the joint angle and grip aperture variables, suggesting that there are limits to the influence of video stimuli on imitation. The implications of these results are discussed with regards to previous findings, and with suggestions for future experimentation.

  2. Effects of salinity on freshwater fishes in coastal plain drainages in the southeastern U.S.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Mark S.; Meador, Michael R.

    1994-01-01

    This review focuses on the influence of salinity on freshwater fishes in coastal rivers and estuaries of the southeastern U.S. Influences of salinity on freshwater fish species can be explained partly through responses evidenced by behavior, physiology, growth, reproduction, and food habits during all aspects of life history. Factors influencing the rate of salinity change affect the community structure and dynamics of freshwater fishes in brackish environments. Our understanding of the relation between salinity and the life history of freshwater fishes is limited because little ecological research has been conducted in low-salinity habitats that we consider an “interface” between freshwater streams and the estuary proper. Much of the available data are descriptive in nature and describe best general patterns, but more specific studies are required to better determine the influence of salinity on freshwater fishes. Improved understanding of the influence of human-induced changes on the productivity and viability of these important systems will require a new research focus.

  3. Salinity tolerances and use of saline environments by freshwater turtles: implications of sea level rise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agha, Mickey; Ennen, Joshua R; Bower, Deborah S; Nowakowski, A Justin; Sweat, Sarah C; Todd, Brian D

    2018-03-25

    The projected rise in global mean sea levels places many freshwater turtle species at risk of saltwater intrusion into freshwater habitats. Freshwater turtles are disproportionately more threatened than other taxa; thus, understanding the role of salinity in determining their contemporary distribution and evolution should be a research priority. Freshwater turtles are a slowly evolving lineage; however, they can adapt physiologically or behaviourally to various levels of salinity and, therefore, temporarily occur in marine or brackish environments. Here, we provide the first comprehensive global review on freshwater turtle use and tolerance of brackish water ecosystems. We link together current knowledge of geographic occurrence, salinity tolerance, phylogenetic relationships, and physiological and behavioural mechanisms to generate a baseline understanding of the response of freshwater turtles to changing saline environments. We also review the potential origins of salinity tolerance in freshwater turtles. Finally, we integrate 2100 sea level rise (SLR) projections, species distribution maps, literature gathered on brackish water use, and a phylogeny to predict the exposure of freshwater turtles to projected SLR globally. From our synthesis of published literature and available data, we build a framework for spatial and phylogenetic conservation prioritization of coastal freshwater turtles. Based on our literature review, 70 species (∼30% of coastal freshwater turtle species) from 10 of the 11 freshwater turtle families have been reported in brackish water ecosystems. Most anecdotal records, observations, and descriptions do not imply long-term salinity tolerance among freshwater turtles. Rather, experiments show that some species exhibit potential for adaptation and plasticity in physiological, behavioural, and life-history traits that enable them to endure varying periods (e.g. days or months) and levels of saltwater exposure. Species that specialize on

  4. Reflections on academic video

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thommy Eriksson

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available As academics we study, research and teach audiovisual media, yet rarely disseminate and mediate through it. Today, developments in production technologies have enabled academic researchers to create videos and mediate audiovisually. In academia it is taken for granted that everyone can write a text. Is it now time to assume that everyone can make a video essay? Using the online journal of academic videos Audiovisual Thinking and the videos published in it as a case study, this article seeks to reflect on the emergence and legacy of academic audiovisual dissemination. Anchoring academic video and audiovisual dissemination of knowledge in two critical traditions, documentary theory and semiotics, we will argue that academic video is in fact already present in a variety of academic disciplines, and that academic audiovisual essays are bringing trends and developments that have long been part of academic discourse to their logical conclusion.

  5. Nontarget analysis of polar contaminants in freshwater sediments influenced by pharmaceutical industry using ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Terzic, Senka; Ahel, Marijan

    2011-01-01

    A comprehensive analytical procedure for a reliable identification of nontarget polar contaminants in aquatic sediments was developed, based on the application of ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography (UHPLC) coupled to hybrid quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (QTOFMS). The procedure was applied for the analysis of freshwater sediment that was highly impacted by wastewater discharges from the pharmaceutical industry. A number of different contaminants were successfully identified owing to the high mass accuracy of the QTOFMS system, used in combination with high chromatographic resolution of UHPLC. The major compounds, identified in investigated sediment, included a series of polypropylene glycols (n = 3-16), alkylbenzene sulfonate and benzalkonium surfactants as well as a number of various pharmaceuticals (chlorthalidone, warfarin, terbinafine, torsemide, zolpidem and macrolide antibiotics). The particular advantage of the applied technique is its capability to detect less known pharmaceutical intermediates and/or transformation products, which have not been previously reported in freshwater sediments. - Research highlights: → UHPLC-QTOFMS coupling was applied for nontarget analysis of polar contaminants. → Wide spectrum of polar contaminants was identified in polluted sediments. → Pharmaceuticals and their intermediates were present in high concentrations. - Comprehensive analysis of freshwater sediments by UPLC/QTOF indicated importance of pharmaceutically-derived polar contaminants.

  6. The effect of Congo River freshwater discharge on Eastern Equatorial Atlantic climate variability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Materia, Stefano [Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici, Bologna (Italy); Gualdi, Silvio; Navarra, Antonio [Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici, Bologna (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Bologna (Italy); Terray, Laurent [Sciences de l' Univers au CERFACS, URA1875 CERFACS/CNRS, Toulouse (France)

    2012-11-15

    The surface ocean explains a considerable part of the inter-annual Tropical Atlantic variability. The present work makes use of observational datasets to investigate the effect of freshwater flow on sea surface salinity (SSS) and temperature (SST) in the Gulf of Guinea. In particular, the Congo River discharges a huge amount of freshwater into the ocean, affecting SSS in the Eastern Equatorial Atlantic (EEA) and stratifying the surface layers. The hypothesis is that an excess of river runoff emphasize stratification, influencing the ocean temperature. In fact, our findings show that SSTs in the Gulf of Guinea are warmer in summers following an anomalously high Congo spring discharge. Vice versa, when the river discharges low freshwater, a cold anomaly appears in the Gulf. The response of SST is not linear: temperature anomalies are considerable and long-lasting in the event of large freshwater flow, while in dry years they are less remarkable, although still significant. An excess of freshwater seems able to form a barrier layer, which inhibits vertical mixing and the entrainment of the cold thermocline water into the surface. Other processes may contribute to SST variability, among which the net input of atmospheric freshwater falling over EEA. Likewise the case of continental runoff from Congo River, warm anomalies occur after anomalously rainy seasons and low temperatures follow dry seasons, confirming the effect of freshwater on SST. However, the two sources of freshwater anomaly are not in phase, so that it is possible to split between atypical SST following continental freshwater anomalies and rainfall anomalies. Also, variations in air-sea fluxes can produce heating and cooling of the Gulf of Guinea. Nevertheless, atypical SSTs cannot be ascribed to fluxes, since the temperature variation induced by them is not sufficient to explain the SST anomalies appearing in the Gulf after anomalous peak discharges. The interaction processes between river runoff, sea

  7. Informal Physics Learning from Video Games: A Case Study Using Gameplay Videos

    Science.gov (United States)

    Croxton, DeVaughn; Kortemeyer, Gerd

    2018-01-01

    Researching informal gameplay can be challenging, since as soon as a formal study design is imposed, it becomes neither casual nor self-motivated. As a case study of a non-invasive design, we analyze publicly posted gameplay videos to assess the effectiveness of a physics educational video game on special relativity. These videos offer unique…

  8. Radionuclide transfer to freshwater biota species: review of Russian language studies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fesenko, S., E-mail: s.fesenko@iaea.or [International Atomic Energy Agency, NAAL, 1400 Vienna (Austria); Fesenko, J.; Sanzharova, N.; Karpenko, E.; Titov, I. [Russian Institute of Agricultural Radiology and Radioecology, 249020 Obninsk (Russian Federation)

    2011-01-15

    Around 130 publications reporting studies on radionuclide transfer to freshwater biota species conducted in the former USSR were reviewed to provide the concentration ratio values. None of these studies were available up to now in the English language reviews or publications. The values derived have been compared with the CR values used for freshwater systems in the International reviews. For some radionuclides reviewed in this paper, the data are in good agreement with the mean CR values presented earlier, however for some of them, in particular, for {sup 241}Am (bivalve molluscs, gastropods and pelagic fish), {sup 60}Co (gastropods, benthic fish and insect larvae), {sup 90}Sr and {sup 137}Cs (benthic fish and zooplankton), the mean values given here are substantially different from those presented earlier. The data reported in this paper for thirty five radionuclides and eleven groups of freshwater species markedly improve the extent of available data for evaluation of radiation impact on freshwater species. - Research highlights: {yields} The paper provides information on concentration ratios to freshwater biota species for 35 radionuclides. Many of the data are for {sup 90}Sr and {sup 137}Cs. {yields} For the majority of radionuclides reviewed in this paper, the CR values are in good agreement with those given in the recent International reviews. {yields} For {sup 241}Am (bivalve molluscs, gastropods and pelagic fish), {sup 60}Co (gastropods, benthic fish and insect larvae), {sup 90}Sr and {sup 137}Cs (benthic fish and zooplankton), the mean values based on review of the Russian language publications are substantially different from those presented in the International reviews. {yields} Information presented in the paper significantly increases the availability of data on radionuclide accumulation in freshwater species.

  9. A method of intentional movement estimation of oblique small-UAV videos stabilized based on homography model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Shiyi; Mai, Ying; Zhao, Hongying; Gao, Pengqi

    2013-05-01

    The airborne video streams of small-UAVs are commonly plagued with distractive jittery and shaking motions, disorienting rotations, noisy and distorted images and other unwanted movements. These problems collectively make it very difficult for observers to obtain useful information from the video. Due to the small payload of small-UAVs, it is a priority to improve the image quality by means of electronic image stabilization. But when small-UAV makes a turn, affected by the flight characteristics of it, the video is easy to become oblique. This brings a lot of difficulties to electronic image stabilization technology. Homography model performed well in the oblique image motion estimation, while bringing great challenges to intentional motion estimation. Therefore, in this paper, we focus on solve the problem of the video stabilized when small-UAVs banking and turning. We attend to the small-UAVs fly along with an arc of a fixed turning radius. For this reason, after a series of experimental analysis on the flight characteristics and the path how small-UAVs turned, we presented a new method to estimate the intentional motion in which the path of the frame center was used to fit the video moving track. Meanwhile, the image sequences dynamic mosaic was done to make up for the limited field of view. At last, the proposed algorithm was carried out and validated by actual airborne videos. The results show that the proposed method is effective to stabilize the oblique video of small-UAVs.

  10. A new video programme

    CERN Multimedia

    CERN video productions

    2011-01-01

    "What's new @ CERN?", a new monthly video programme, will be broadcast on the Monday of every month on webcast.cern.ch. Aimed at the general public, the programme will cover the latest CERN news, with guests and explanatory features. Tune in on Monday 3 October at 4 pm (CET) to see the programme in English, and then at 4:20 pm (CET) for the French version.   var flash_video_player=get_video_player_path(); insert_player_for_external('Video/Public/Movies/2011/CERN-MOVIE-2011-129/CERN-MOVIE-2011-129-0753-kbps-640x360-25-fps-audio-64-kbps-44-kHz-stereo', 'mms://mediastream.cern.ch/MediaArchive/Video/Public/Movies/2011/CERN-MOVIE-2011-129/CERN-MOVIE-2011-129-Multirate-200-to-753-kbps-640x360-25-fps.wmv', 'false', 480, 360, 'https://mediastream.cern.ch/MediaArchive/Video/Public/Movies/2011/CERN-MOVIE-2011-129/CERN-MOVIE-2011-129-posterframe-640x360-at-10-percent.jpg', '1383406', true, 'Video/Public/Movies/2011/CERN-MOVIE-2011-129/CERN-MOVIE-2011-129-0600-kbps-maxH-360-25-fps-...

  11. Standard methods for sampling freshwater fishes: opportunities for international collaboration

    OpenAIRE

    Bonar, Scott A.; Mercado-Silva, Norman; Hubert, Wayne A.; Beard, T. Douglas; Dave, Göran; Kubečka, Jan; Graeb, Brian D.S.; Lester, Nigel P.; Porath, Mark; Winfield, Ian J.

    2017-01-01

    With publication of Standard Methods for Sampling North American Freshwater Fishes in 2009, the American Fisheries Society (AFS) recommended standard procedures for North America. To explore interest in standardizing at intercontinental scales, a symposium attended by international specialists in freshwater fish sampling was convened at the 145th Annual AFS Meeting in Portland, Oregon, in August 2015. Participants represented all continents except Australia and Antarctica and were employed by...

  12. Genetic calibration of species diversity among North America's freshwater fishes

    OpenAIRE

    April, Julien; Mayden, Richard L.; Hanner, Robert H.; Bernatchez, Louis

    2011-01-01

    Freshwater ecosystems are being heavily exploited and degraded by human activities all over the world, including in North America, where fishes and fisheries are strongly affected. Despite centuries of taxonomic inquiry, problems inherent to species identification continue to hamper the conservation of North American freshwater fishes. Indeed, nearly 10% of species diversity is thought to remain undescribed. To provide an independent calibration of taxonomic uncertainty and to establish a mor...

  13. Freshwater biodiversity and aquatic insect diversification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dijkstra, Klaas-Douwe B; Monaghan, Michael T; Pauls, Steffen U

    2014-01-01

    Inland waters cover less than 1% of Earth's surface but harbor more than 6% of all insect species: Nearly 100,000 species from 12 orders spend one or more life stages in freshwater. Little is known about how this remarkable diversity arose, although allopatric speciation and ecological adaptation are thought to be primary mechanisms. Freshwater habitats are highly susceptible to environmental change and exhibit marked ecological gradients. Standing waters appear to harbor more dispersive species than running waters, but there is little understanding of how this fundamental ecological difference has affected diversification. In contrast to the lack of evolutionary studies, the ecology and habitat preferences of aquatic insects have been intensively studied, in part because of their widespread use as bioindicators. The combination of phylogenetics with the extensive ecological data provides a promising avenue for future research, making aquatic insects highly suitable models for the study of ecological diversification.

  14. Freshwater fishes of Tsitsikamma National Park

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I.A. Russell

    2002-12-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to determine the distribution and relative abundance of freshwater fishes in the Tsitsikamma National Park. Fish assemblages in six river systems were sampled in 2001, with a total of 323 fish from eight species recorded. Indigenous fish collected included four freshwater species (Pseudobarbus afer, Pseudobarbus tenuis, Sandelia capensis, Anguilla mossambica, three estuarine species (Monodactylus falciformis, Caffrogobius gilchristi, Myxus capensis, and one alien (Micropterus salmoides. One additional indigenous species (Galaxias zebratus and two aliens (Salmo trutta, Oncorhynchus mykiss could potentially occur within the park. The topography and locality of the park presents a unique opportunity to meaningfully conserve the endangered P. tenuis as well as other fish characteristic of the eastern reaches of the Cape Floristic Region. Management action is required to minimise opportunities for further establishment and spread of alien fish species and to conserve indigenous fish assemblages within the park.

  15. Dissolved organic carbon in the freshwater tidal reaches of the Schelde estuary

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Muylaert, K.; Dasseville, R.; De Brabandere, Loreto

    2005-01-01

    To unravel the factors that regulate DOC dynamics in the freshwater tidal reaches of the Schelde estuary, DOC concentration and biodegradability were monitored in the upper Schelde estuary and its major tributaries. Although the Schelde estuary possesses a densely populated and industrialized...... catchment, our data suggest that the bulk of DOC in the freshwater tidal reaches is not derived from waste water. This was concluded from the low biodegradability of DOC (on average 9%), DOC concentrations that are close to the mean for European rivers (4.61 mg/l) and the absence of an inverse relationship....../l), these blooms did not appear to produce large quantities of DOC in the freshwater tidal reaches as DOC concentrations were low when phytoplankton biomass was high. The fact that DOC concentrations were high in winter and decreased in summer suggests a predominantly terrestrial source of DOC in the freshwater...

  16. Self-Recognition in Live Videos by Young Children: Does Video Training Help?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demir, Defne; Skouteris, Helen

    2010-01-01

    The overall aim of the experiment reported here was to establish whether self-recognition in live video can be facilitated when live video training is provided to children aged 2-2.5 years. While the majority of children failed the test of live self-recognition prior to video training, more than half exhibited live self-recognition post video…

  17. Assessment of human-natural system characteristics influencing global freshwater supply vulnerability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Padowski, Julie C.; Gorelick, Steven M.; Thompson, Barton H.; Rozelle, Scott; Fendorf, Scott

    2015-10-01

    Global freshwater vulnerability is a product of environmental and human dimensions, however, it is rarely assessed as such. Our approach identifies freshwater vulnerability using four broad categories: endowment, demand, infrastructure, and institutions, to capture impacts on natural and managed water systems within the coupled human-hydrologic environment. These categories are represented by 19 different endogenous and exogenous characteristics affecting water supply vulnerability. By evaluating 119 lower per capita income countries (Yemen and Djibouti nearly as vulnerable. Surprising similarities in vulnerability were also found among geographically disparate nations such as Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Guatemala. Determining shared patterns of freshwater vulnerability provides insights into why water supply vulnerabilities are manifested in human-water systems at the national scale.

  18. Branchial ionocyte organization and ion-transport protein expression in juvenile alewives acclimated to freshwater or seawater

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christensen, A.K.; Hiroi, J.; Schultz, E.T.; McCormick, S.D.

    2012-01-01

    The alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) is a clupeid that undergoes larval and juvenile development in freshwater preceding marine habitation. The purpose of this study was to investigate osmoregulatory mechanisms in alewives that permit homeostasis in different salinities. To this end, we measured physiological, branchial biochemical and cellular responses in juvenile alewives acclimated to freshwater (0.5p.p.t.) or seawater (35.0p.p.t.). Plasma chloride concentration was higher in seawater-acclimated than freshwater-acclimated individuals (141mmoll -1 vs 134mmoll -1), but the hematocrit remained unchanged. In seawateracclimated individuals, branchial Na +/K +-ATPase (NKA) activity was higher by 75%. Western blot analysis indicated that the abundance of the NKA subunit and a Na+/K+/2Cl- cotransporter (NKCC1) were greater in seawater-acclimated individuals by 40% and 200%, respectively. NKA and NKCC1 were localized on the basolateral surface and tubular network of ionocytes in both acclimation groups. Immunohistochemical labeling for the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) was restricted to the apical crypt of ionocytes in seawater-acclimated individuals, whereas sodium/hydrogen exchanger 3 (NHE3) labeling was present on the apical surface of ionocytes in both acclimation groups. Ionocytes were concentrated on the trailing edge of the gill filament, evenly distributed along the proximal 75% of the filamental axis and reduced distally. Ionocyte size and number on the gill filament were not affected by salinity; however, the number of lamellar ionocytes was significantly lower in seawater-acclimated fish. Confocal z-series reconstructions revealed that mature ionocytes in seawater-acclimated alewives occurred in multicellular complexes. These complexes might reduce paracellular Na + resistance, hence facilitating Na+ extrusion in hypo-osmoregulating juvenile alewives after seaward migration. ?? 2012. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

  19. Marine and freshwater toxins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hungerford, James M

    2006-01-01

    In a very busy and exciting year, 2005 included First Action approval of a much needed official method for paralytic shellfish toxins and multiple international toxin symposia highlighted by groundbreaking research. These are the first-year milestones and activities of the Marine and Freshwater Toxins Task Force and Analytical Community. Inaugurated in 2004 and described in detail in last year's General Referee Report (1) this international toxins group has grown to 150 members from many regions and countries. Perhaps most important they are now making important and global contributions to food safety and to providing alternatives to animal-based assays. Official Method 2005.06 was first approved in late 2004 by the Task Force and subsequently Official First Action in 2005 (2) by the Methods Committee on Natural Toxins and Food Allergens and the Official Methods Board. This nonproprietary method (3) is a precolumn oxidation, liquid chromatographic method that makes good use of fluorescence detection to provide high sensitivity detection of the saxitoxins. It has also proven to be rugged enough for regulatory use and the highest level of validation. As pointed out in the report of method principle investigator and Study Director James Lawrence, approval of 2005.06 now provides the first official alternative to the mouse bioassay after many decades of shellfish monitoring. This past year in April 2005 the group also held their first international conference, "Marine and Freshwater Toxins Analysis: Ist Joint Symposium and AOAC Task Force Meeting," in Baiona, Spain. The 4-day conference consisted of research and stakeholder presentations and symposium-integrated subgroup sessions on ciguatoxins, saxitoxin assays and liquid chromatography (LC) methods for saxitoxins and domoic acids, okadaiates and azaspiracids, and yessotoxins. Many of these subgroups were recently formed in 2005 and are working towards their goals of producing officially validated analytical methods

  20. Video Toroid Cavity Imager

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gerald, Rex E. II; Sanchez, Jairo; Rathke, Jerome W.

    2004-08-10

    A video toroid cavity imager for in situ measurement of electrochemical properties of an electrolytic material sample includes a cylindrical toroid cavity resonator containing the sample and employs NMR and video imaging for providing high-resolution spectral and visual information of molecular characteristics of the sample on a real-time basis. A large magnetic field is applied to the sample under controlled temperature and pressure conditions to simultaneously provide NMR spectroscopy and video imaging capabilities for investigating electrochemical transformations of materials or the evolution of long-range molecular aggregation during cooling of hydrocarbon melts. The video toroid cavity imager includes a miniature commercial video camera with an adjustable lens, a modified compression coin cell imager with a fiat circular principal detector element, and a sample mounted on a transparent circular glass disk, and provides NMR information as well as a video image of a sample, such as a polymer film, with micrometer resolution.

  1. [BIODIVERSITY OF ACANTHOCEPHALANS (ACANTHOCEPHALA) IN FRESHWATER FISHES OF ASIATIC SUB-ARCTIC REGION].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atrashkevich, G I; Mikhailova, E I; Orlovskaya, O M; Pospekhov, V V

    2016-01-01

    The analysis of taxonomical and ecological diversity of acanthocephalans in fishes of Asiatic sub-Arctic region freshwaters, summarizing changes in modern views on species composition, life cycles, and ecology of background groups of these parasites is given. A priority role of studies provided by O. N. Bauer and his scientific school in organization and development of these aspects of acanthocephalology is demonstrated. Special attention is paid to the assessment of acanthocephalan biodiversity of the genus Neoechinorhynchus, the background group of freshwater fish parasites of the Asiatic sub-Arctic region, and an original key for their species is given. The distribution of acanthocephalans of the genus Acanthocephalus in northeastern Asia is analyzed and prospective study of this parasite group, evolutionary associated with freshwater isopods of the genus Asellus as intermediate hosts, is outlined. The absence of documented evidences on intermediate hosts of other background parasites of freshwater fishes in the region, acanthocephalans of the genus Metechinorhynchus, is revealed. It is assumed that subsequent taxonomic revisions based both on morphological and molecular genetic studies are necessary for the reliable revealing of species composition in each genus of the background acanthocephalans from freshwater fishes of Northern Asia. Theoretical significance of the study of acanthocephalan life cycles and revealing their natural intermediate hosts for the reliable estimation of structural and functional organization of their host-parasite systems in different parts of the range is substantiated and the possibility of the distribution of taxonomic conclusions in new territories is analyzed. A brief annotated taxonomical list of freshwater acanthocephalans of the Asiatic sub-Arctic region is given.

  2. A Framework for Video Modeling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Petkovic, M.; Jonker, Willem

    In recent years, research in video databases has increased greatly, but relatively little work has been done in the area of semantic content-based retrieval. In this paper, we present a framework for video modelling with emphasis on semantic content of video data. The video data model presented

  3. Video library for video imaging detection at intersection stop lines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    The objective of this activity was to record video that could be used for controlled : evaluation of video image vehicle detection system (VIVDS) products and software upgrades to : existing products based on a list of conditions that might be diffic...

  4. Deep video deblurring

    KAUST Repository

    Su, Shuochen

    2016-11-25

    Motion blur from camera shake is a major problem in videos captured by hand-held devices. Unlike single-image deblurring, video-based approaches can take advantage of the abundant information that exists across neighboring frames. As a result the best performing methods rely on aligning nearby frames. However, aligning images is a computationally expensive and fragile procedure, and methods that aggregate information must therefore be able to identify which regions have been accurately aligned and which have not, a task which requires high level scene understanding. In this work, we introduce a deep learning solution to video deblurring, where a CNN is trained end-to-end to learn how to accumulate information across frames. To train this network, we collected a dataset of real videos recorded with a high framerate camera, which we use to generate synthetic motion blur for supervision. We show that the features learned from this dataset extend to deblurring motion blur that arises due to camera shake in a wide range of videos, and compare the quality of results to a number of other baselines.

  5. Video and accelerometer-based motion analysis for automated surgical skills assessment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zia, Aneeq; Sharma, Yachna; Bettadapura, Vinay; Sarin, Eric L; Essa, Irfan

    2018-03-01

    Basic surgical skills of suturing and knot tying are an essential part of medical training. Having an automated system for surgical skills assessment could help save experts time and improve training efficiency. There have been some recent attempts at automated surgical skills assessment using either video analysis or acceleration data. In this paper, we present a novel approach for automated assessment of OSATS-like surgical skills and provide an analysis of different features on multi-modal data (video and accelerometer data). We conduct a large study for basic surgical skill assessment on a dataset that contained video and accelerometer data for suturing and knot-tying tasks. We introduce "entropy-based" features-approximate entropy and cross-approximate entropy, which quantify the amount of predictability and regularity of fluctuations in time series data. The proposed features are compared to existing methods of Sequential Motion Texture, Discrete Cosine Transform and Discrete Fourier Transform, for surgical skills assessment. We report average performance of different features across all applicable OSATS-like criteria for suturing and knot-tying tasks. Our analysis shows that the proposed entropy-based features outperform previous state-of-the-art methods using video data, achieving average classification accuracies of 95.1 and 92.2% for suturing and knot tying, respectively. For accelerometer data, our method performs better for suturing achieving 86.8% average accuracy. We also show that fusion of video and acceleration features can improve overall performance for skill assessment. Automated surgical skills assessment can be achieved with high accuracy using the proposed entropy features. Such a system can significantly improve the efficiency of surgical training in medical schools and teaching hospitals.

  6. Overwintering of sea trout (Salmo trutta) in freshwater

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, Dennis; Koed, Anders; Nielsen, Christian

    2007-01-01

    Brown trout (Salmo trutta) show large phenotypic plasticity. Juveniles may reside in their native freshwater habitat until maturation or migrate into the ocean as 1- to 3-year-old smolts. Sea-going fish (sea trout) reside at sea for 2-3 years until migrating back to their native stream for reprod......Brown trout (Salmo trutta) show large phenotypic plasticity. Juveniles may reside in their native freshwater habitat until maturation or migrate into the ocean as 1- to 3-year-old smolts. Sea-going fish (sea trout) reside at sea for 2-3 years until migrating back to their native stream...... for reproduction. However, immature fish may leave the ocean during their first or second winter at sea and overwinter in freshwater. The question is why does this occur? We tested the hypothesis that hypo-osmoregulatory capacity is compromised by low temperature in two coastal sea trout populations, one...... representing high salinity and the other, low salinity. Immature sea-run trout were caught in lower parts of two rivers during winter and acclimated to laboratory conditions. Subgroups were challenged with high salinity or low water temperature or both, and their osmoregulatory performance was investigated...

  7. Magnetic resonance imaging of live freshwater mussels (Unionidae)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael, Holliman F.; Davis, Denise; Bogan, Arthur E.; Kwak, Thomas J.; Cope, W. Gregory; Levine, Jay F.

    2008-01-01

    We examined the soft tissues of live freshwater mussels, Eastern elliptio Elliptio complanata, via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), acquiring data with a widely available human whole-body MRI system. Anatomical features depicted in the profile images included the foot, stomach, intestine, anterior and posterior adductor muscles, and pericardial cavity. Noteworthy observations on soft tissue morphology included a concentration of lipids at the most posterior aspect of the foot, the presence of hemolymph-filled fissures in the posterior adductor muscle, the presence of a relatively large hemolymph-filled sinus adjacent to the posterior adductor muscle (at the ventral-anterior aspect), and segmentation of the intestine (a diagnostic description not reported previously in Unionidae). Relatively little is known about the basic biology and ecological physiology of freshwater mussels. Traditional approaches for studying anatomy and tissue processes, and for measuring sub-lethal physiological stress, are destructive or invasive. Our study, the first to evaluate freshwater mussel soft tissues by MRI, clarifies the body plan of unionid mussels and demonstrates the efficacy of this technology for in vivoevaluation of the structure, function, and integrity of mussel soft tissues.

  8. The Children's Video Marketplace.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ducey, Richard V.

    This report examines a growing submarket, the children's video marketplace, which comprises broadcast, cable, and video programming for children 2 to 11 years old. A description of the tremendous growth in the availability and distribution of children's programming is presented, the economics of the children's video marketplace are briefly…

  9. Toward enhancing the distributed video coder under a multiview video codec framework

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Shih-Chieh; Chen, Jiann-Jone; Tsai, Yao-Hong; Chen, Chin-Hua

    2016-11-01

    The advance of video coding technology enables multiview video (MVV) or three-dimensional television (3-D TV) display for users with or without glasses. For mobile devices or wireless applications, a distributed video coder (DVC) can be utilized to shift the encoder complexity to decoder under the MVV coding framework, denoted as multiview distributed video coding (MDVC). We proposed to exploit both inter- and intraview video correlations to enhance side information (SI) and improve the MDVC performance: (1) based on the multiview motion estimation (MVME) framework, a categorized block matching prediction with fidelity weights (COMPETE) was proposed to yield a high quality SI frame for better DVC reconstructed images. (2) The block transform coefficient properties, i.e., DCs and ACs, were exploited to design the priority rate control for the turbo code, such that the DVC decoding can be carried out with fewest parity bits. In comparison, the proposed COMPETE method demonstrated lower time complexity, while presenting better reconstructed video quality. Simulations show that the proposed COMPETE can reduce the time complexity of MVME to 1.29 to 2.56 times smaller, as compared to previous hybrid MVME methods, while the image peak signal to noise ratios (PSNRs) of a decoded video can be improved 0.2 to 3.5 dB, as compared to H.264/AVC intracoding.

  10. An ultrasonic method for separation of epiphytic microbes from freshwater submerged macrophytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Xianlei; Gao, Guang; Yang, Jing; Tang, Xiangming; Dai, Jiangyu; Chen, Dan; Song, Yuzhi

    2014-07-01

    Epiphytic microbes are common inhabitants of freshwater submerged macrophytes, which play an important role in aquatic ecosystems. An important precondition for studying the epiphytic microbes is having an effective method of separating the attached microbes from the host macrophytes. We developed an ultrasound-based method for separating epiphytic microbes from freshwater submerged macrophytes, optimized the conditions of ultrasonic separation with an orthogonal experimental design, and compared the optimized ultrasonic method with manual separation. This method can be particularly useful for freshwater submerged macrophytes having a complex morphology. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. NEI You Tube Videos: Amblyopia

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Amaurosis Low Vision Refractive Errors Retinopathy of Prematurity Science Spanish Videos Webinars NEI YouTube Videos: Amblyopia Embedded video for NEI YouTube Videos: Amblyopia NEI Home Contact Us A-Z Site Map NEI on Social Media Information in Spanish (Información en español) Website, ...

  12. Camera network video summarization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panda, Rameswar; Roy-Chowdhury, Amit K.

    2017-05-01

    Networks of vision sensors are deployed in many settings, ranging from security needs to disaster response to environmental monitoring. Many of these setups have hundreds of cameras and tens of thousands of hours of video. The difficulty of analyzing such a massive volume of video data is apparent whenever there is an incident that requires foraging through vast video archives to identify events of interest. As a result, video summarization, that automatically extract a brief yet informative summary of these videos, has attracted intense attention in the recent years. Much progress has been made in developing a variety of ways to summarize a single video in form of a key sequence or video skim. However, generating a summary from a set of videos captured in a multi-camera network still remains as a novel and largely under-addressed problem. In this paper, with the aim of summarizing videos in a camera network, we introduce a novel representative selection approach via joint embedding and capped l21-norm minimization. The objective function is two-fold. The first is to capture the structural relationships of data points in a camera network via an embedding, which helps in characterizing the outliers and also in extracting a diverse set of representatives. The second is to use a capped l21-norm to model the sparsity and to suppress the influence of data outliers in representative selection. We propose to jointly optimize both of the objectives, such that embedding can not only characterize the structure, but also indicate the requirements of sparse representative selection. Extensive experiments on standard multi-camera datasets well demonstrate the efficacy of our method over state-of-the-art methods.

  13. 2008 NWFSC Tidal Freshwater Genetics Results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    David Teel

    2009-05-01

    Genetic Analysis of Juvenile Chinook Salmon for inclusion in 'Ecology of Juvenile Salmon in Shallow Tidal Freshwater Habitats in the Vicinity of the Sandy River Delta, Lower Columbia River, 2008. Annual Report to Bonneville Power Administration, Contract DE-AC05-76RL01830.'

  14. Video-conferencing Telehealth Linkage attempts to Schools to Facilitate Mental Health Consultation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLennan, John D

    2018-04-01

    Telehealth to schools may be a strategic approach to expand child mental health service delivery, however, there are only a few published examples. This report describes video-conferencing telehealth linkage attempts to schools to facilitate mental health consultation. A series of synchronous video-conferencing linkage strategies were attempted to connect a mental health consultation service to multiple schools in a Canadian setting. Consultation to support the implementation of the Daily Report Card, for students with attentional and behavioural problems, was the core content of this pilot linkage attempt. Synchronous video conference consultations were successfully delivered to six elementary schools across three school districts. Two of three linkage strategies were functional. One used existing health centre-based telehealth units to connect to school-based dedicated tablets with a video collaboration app and reliance on existing school Wi-Fi. A second used existing laptops in both the health and school system linked through a communication platform. A third connection, using 3G/4G hotspots to obviate the need to access school Wi-Fi, was deemed too expensive in this setting. The potential to use existing computer hardware to connect mental health providers and schools could facilitate scale-up. However, it is unknown whether mental health systems and school sectors will invest in such linkages and reorganize core mental health services to be delivered in this way.

  15. The energy expenditure of an activity-promoting video game compared to sedentary video games and TV watching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitre, Naim; Foster, Randal C; Lanningham-Foster, Lorraine; Levine, James A

    2011-01-01

    In the present study we investigated the effect of television watching and the use of activity-promoting video games on energy expenditure in obese and lean children. Energy expenditure and physical activity were measured while participants were watching television, playing a video game on a traditional sedentary video game console, and while playing the same video game on an activity-promoting video game console. Energy expenditure was significantly greater than television watching and playing video games on a sedentary video game console when children played the video game on the activity-promoting console. When examining movement with accelerometry, children moved significantly more when playing the video game on the Nintendo Wii console. Activity-promoting video games have shown to increase movement, and be an important tool to raise energy expenditure by 50% when compared to sedentary activities of daily living.

  16. Fast compressed domain motion detection in H.264 video streams for video surveillance applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Szczerba, Krzysztof; Forchhammer, Søren; Støttrup-Andersen, Jesper

    2009-01-01

    This paper presents a novel approach to fast motion detection in H.264/MPEG-4 advanced video coding (AVC) compressed video streams for IP video surveillance systems. The goal is to develop algorithms which may be useful in a real-life industrial perspective by facilitating the processing of large...... on motion vectors embedded in the video stream without requiring a full decoding and reconstruction of video frames. To improve the robustness to noise, a confidence measure based on temporal and spatial clues is introduced to increase the probability of correct detection. The algorithm was tested on indoor...

  17. Teaching Youth Media: A Critical Guide to Literacy, Video Production, & Social Change. The Series on School Reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodman, Steven

    This book explores the power of using media education to help urban teenagers develop their critical thinking and literacy skills. Drawing on 20 years of experience working with inner-city youth at the Educational Video Center (EVC) in New York City, the author looks at both the problems and possibilities of this model of media education.…

  18. Sound for digital video

    CERN Document Server

    Holman, Tomlinson

    2013-01-01

    Achieve professional quality sound on a limited budget! Harness all new, Hollywood style audio techniques to bring your independent film and video productions to the next level.In Sound for Digital Video, Second Edition industry experts Tomlinson Holman and Arthur Baum give you the tools and knowledge to apply recent advances in audio capture, video recording, editing workflow, and mixing to your own film or video with stunning results. This fresh edition is chockfull of techniques, tricks, and workflow secrets that you can apply to your own projects from preproduction

  19. Fast evolution from precast bricks: genomics of young freshwater populations of threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadezhda V Terekhanova

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Adaptation is driven by natural selection; however, many adaptations are caused by weak selection acting over large timescales, complicating its study. Therefore, it is rarely possible to study selection comprehensively in natural environments. The threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus is a well-studied model organism with a short generation time, small genome size, and many genetic and genomic tools available. Within this originally marine species, populations have recurrently adapted to freshwater all over its range. This evolution involved extensive parallelism: pre-existing alleles that adapt sticklebacks to freshwater habitats, but are also present at low frequencies in marine populations, have been recruited repeatedly. While a number of genomic regions responsible for this adaptation have been identified, the details of selection remain poorly understood. Using whole-genome resequencing, we compare pooled genomic samples from marine and freshwater populations of the White Sea basin, and identify 19 short genomic regions that are highly divergent between them, including three known inversions. 17 of these regions overlap protein-coding genes, including a number of genes with predicted functions that are relevant for adaptation to the freshwater environment. We then analyze four additional independently derived young freshwater populations of known ages, two natural and two artificially established, and use the observed shifts of allelic frequencies to estimate the strength of positive selection. Adaptation turns out to be quite rapid, indicating strong selection acting simultaneously at multiple regions of the genome, with selection coefficients of up to 0.27. High divergence between marine and freshwater genotypes, lack of reduction in polymorphism in regions responsible for adaptation, and high frequencies of freshwater alleles observed even in young freshwater populations are all consistent with rapid assembly of G. aculeatus

  20. Fast evolution from precast bricks: genomics of young freshwater populations of threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terekhanova, Nadezhda V; Logacheva, Maria D; Penin, Aleksey A; Neretina, Tatiana V; Barmintseva, Anna E; Bazykin, Georgii A; Kondrashov, Alexey S; Mugue, Nikolai S

    2014-10-01

    Adaptation is driven by natural selection; however, many adaptations are caused by weak selection acting over large timescales, complicating its study. Therefore, it is rarely possible to study selection comprehensively in natural environments. The threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) is a well-studied model organism with a short generation time, small genome size, and many genetic and genomic tools available. Within this originally marine species, populations have recurrently adapted to freshwater all over its range. This evolution involved extensive parallelism: pre-existing alleles that adapt sticklebacks to freshwater habitats, but are also present at low frequencies in marine populations, have been recruited repeatedly. While a number of genomic regions responsible for this adaptation have been identified, the details of selection remain poorly understood. Using whole-genome resequencing, we compare pooled genomic samples from marine and freshwater populations of the White Sea basin, and identify 19 short genomic regions that are highly divergent between them, including three known inversions. 17 of these regions overlap protein-coding genes, including a number of genes with predicted functions that are relevant for adaptation to the freshwater environment. We then analyze four additional independently derived young freshwater populations of known ages, two natural and two artificially established, and use the observed shifts of allelic frequencies to estimate the strength of positive selection. Adaptation turns out to be quite rapid, indicating strong selection acting simultaneously at multiple regions of the genome, with selection coefficients of up to 0.27. High divergence between marine and freshwater genotypes, lack of reduction in polymorphism in regions responsible for adaptation, and high frequencies of freshwater alleles observed even in young freshwater populations are all consistent with rapid assembly of G. aculeatus freshwater genotypes

  1. Value-chain analysis of freshwater apple snail (Pila globosa used for on-farm feeds in the freshwater prawn farming sector in Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S.A.A. Nahid

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Growth of the freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii sector in Bangladesh since 1970s has been supported by natural availability of freshwater apple snail (Pila globosa, used for on-farm prawn feeds. The present study identified the current configuration of the value-chain benefits and constraints of freshwater apple snail in south-western Bangladesh in August 2011, based upon Rapid Market Appraisal (RMA approach. The site of snail collection was Chanda Beel in Gopalganj district, while trading, processing and final consumption was represented by Rayer Mahal Bazar in Khulna district. There were seven different nodes recognized throughout the value chain. Snail marketing was identified as a seasonal business and took place during June to November each year. Between 1995 and 2011 the price of whole snail, meat and shell has increased by 800%, 325% and 315%, respectively. The abundance of snail had been reduced and its demand has increased due to the expansion of the prawn farming industry. Prawn farmers preferred snail meat due to its’ low cost (US$ 0.21 kg-1 as a source of protein compared to commercial prawn feed (US$ 0.41 kg-1. Snail harvesting and processing were considered as additional livelihood options for the poor, where 60% of the labour involved in snail harvesting were women, and 95% the de-shelling workforce. Induced breeding in captivity and sustainable management in nature as well as development of commercial production of apple snails might reduce the pressure on ecosystems and positively contributed to the continued expansion of freshwater prawn farming in Bangladesh.

  2. Mobile Video in Everyday Social Interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reponen, Erika; Lehikoinen, Jaakko; Impiö, Jussi

    Video recording has become a spontaneous everyday activity for many people, thanks to the video capabilities of modern mobile phones. Internet connectivity of mobile phones enables fluent sharing of captured material even real-time, which makes video an up-and-coming everyday interaction medium. In this article we discuss the effect of the video camera in the social environment, everyday life situations, mainly based on a study where four groups of people used digital video cameras in their normal settings. We also reflect on another study of ours, relating to real-time mobile video communication and discuss future views. The aim of our research is to understand the possibilities in the domain of mobile video. Live and delayed sharing seem to have their special characteristics, live video being used as a virtual window between places whereas delayed video usage has more scope for good-quality content. While this novel way of interacting via mobile video enables new social patterns, it also raises new concerns for privacy and trust between participating persons in all roles, largely due to the widely spreading possibilities of videos. Video in a social situation affects cameramen (who record), targets (who are recorded), passers-by (who are unintentionally in the situation), and the audience (who follow the videos or recording situations) but also the other way around, the participants affect the video by their varying and evolving personal and communicational motivations for recording.

  3. Effect of sustainability information on consumers' liking of freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simoes, Julia Siqueira; Mársico, Eliane Teixeira; da Cruz, Adriano Gomes; de Freitas, Mônica Queiroz; Doro, Laís Higino; Conte-Junior, Carlos Adam

    2015-12-01

    This research aimed to investigate whether consumer acceptance is affected by information on sustainable practices on the product label. Hedonic evaluations of freshwater prawns were performed by 80 consumers under three aspects: the blind condition - consumers taste samples without information; expected - without tasting samples, consumers evaluated the message 'Freshwater prawns were grown using sustainable practices, reducing environmental impacts caused by traditional breeding'; informed - in which prawns were tasted and the card evaluated. For the entire consumer group, it was observed that the message about sustainability on packaging increased freshwater prawn acceptability (8.25, expected condition (E) versus 6.75, blind condition (B)). High scores were observed under all three test conditions, ranging from 6 (like slightly) to 9 (like extremely), on a 9-point scale. It can be concluded that the use of sustainable information can influence consumers' perception and increase their preference toward freshwater prawns, and even increase the sensory attributes of the product. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

  4. Gamifying Video Object Segmentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spampinato, Concetto; Palazzo, Simone; Giordano, Daniela

    2017-10-01

    Video object segmentation can be considered as one of the most challenging computer vision problems. Indeed, so far, no existing solution is able to effectively deal with the peculiarities of real-world videos, especially in cases of articulated motion and object occlusions; limitations that appear more evident when we compare the performance of automated methods with the human one. However, manually segmenting objects in videos is largely impractical as it requires a lot of time and concentration. To address this problem, in this paper we propose an interactive video object segmentation method, which exploits, on one hand, the capability of humans to identify correctly objects in visual scenes, and on the other hand, the collective human brainpower to solve challenging and large-scale tasks. In particular, our method relies on a game with a purpose to collect human inputs on object locations, followed by an accurate segmentation phase achieved by optimizing an energy function encoding spatial and temporal constraints between object regions as well as human-provided location priors. Performance analysis carried out on complex video benchmarks, and exploiting data provided by over 60 users, demonstrated that our method shows a better trade-off between annotation times and segmentation accuracy than interactive video annotation and automated video object segmentation approaches.

  5. Effects of pollution on freshwater fish

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKim, J.M.; Christensen, G.M.; Tucker, J.H.; Benoit, D.A.; Lewis, M.J.

    1974-01-01

    Various aspects of pollution effects on fishes are reviewed under the following headings: methodology; water quality; pesticide pollutants; industrial pollutants; domestic pollutants; radioactive pollutants; and other pollutants. A table is presented to show acute and chronic toxicity of inorganic and organic pollutants to freshwater fish. (U.S.)

  6. Ammonia-oxidizing Bacteria and Archaea in the Rhizosphere of Freshwater Macrophytes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Herrmann, Martina; Schramm, Andreas

    2007-01-01

    AMMONIA-OXIDIZING ARCHAEA AND BACTERIA IN THE RHIZOSPHERE OF FRESHWATER MACROPHYTES Martina Herrmann and Andreas Schramm Department of Biological Sciences, Microbiology, University of Aarhus, Denmark Aquatic macrophytes such as Littorella uniflora and Lobelia dortmanna release oxygen from...... their roots and thereby stimulate nitrification and coupled nitrification-denitrification in their rhizosphere. However, oxygen release and inorganic nitrogen concentrations differ markedly between macrophyte species. We therefore propose (i) that the rhizosphere of freshwater macrophytes harbours a species......-specific microbial community distinct from that of unvegetated sediment and (ii) that aquatic macrophytes have an impact on abundance and activity of nitrifying and denitrifying bacteria in freshwater sediment. The goal of this study was to test these hypotheses for the key functional group for coupled nitrification...

  7. Gulf-Wide Information System, Environmental Sensitivity Index Freshwater Fish Database, Geographic NAD83, LDWF (2001) [esi_freshwater_fish_LDWF_2001

    Data.gov (United States)

    Louisiana Geographic Information Center — This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for freshwater (inland) fish species in coastal Louisiana. Vector polygons represent water-bodies and other...

  8. Characterization of a Freshwater Crab Sudanonautes aubryi ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SARAH

    2014-01-31

    Jan 31, 2014 ... 2Faculty of Sciences and Techniques, University Marien Ngouabi - PoB 69 Congo Brazzaville ... to collect and realize a biometric characterization of this common freshwater ... information, which will be used by conservation.

  9. The First Detailed 2H and 18O Isoscapes of Freshwater in Scotland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meier-Augenstein, W.; Hoogewerff, J.; Kemp, H. F.; Frew, D.

    2012-04-01

    Scotland's freshwater lochs and reservoirs provide a vital resource for sustaining biodiversity, agriculture, food production as well as for human consumption. Regular monitoring of freshwater quality by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) fulfils the legislative requirements but new scientific methods involving stable isotope analysis present an opportunity for delivering on current and nascent government policies [1] and gaining a greater understanding of Scottish waters and their importance in the context of climate change, environmental sustainability and the aforementioned functions. In brief, 2H and 18O isoscapes of Scottish freshwater could be used to support fundamental and applied research in: • Climate change - These first ever isoscapes will provide a baseline against which future environmental impact can be assessed due to changes in the characteristic isotope composition of freshwater lochs and reservoirs. • Scottish branding - Location specific stable isotope signatures of Scottish freshwater have the potential to be used as a tool for provenancing and thus protecting premium Scottish produce such as Scottish beef, Scottish berries and Scottish Whisky. During 2011, freshwater samples were collected with the support of SEPA from more than 80 freshwater lochs and reservoirs across Scotland. Here we present the result of the 2H and 18O stable isotope analyses of these water samples together with the first isoscapes generated based on these data. [1] Adaptation Framework - Adapting Our Ways: Managing Scotland's Climate Risk (2009): Scotland's Biodiversity: It's in Your Hands - A strategy for the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity in Scotland (2005); Recipe For Success - Scotland's National Food and Drink Policy (2009); Scottish Planning Policy Environmental Report (2009); Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) 15 Planning for Rural Development (2005); National Planning Policy Guideline (NPPG) 14: Natural Heritage (1999).

  10. Mobile-Cloud Assisted Video Summarization Framework for Efficient Management of Remote Sensing Data Generated by Wireless Capsule Sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irfan Mehmood

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE has great advantages over traditional endoscopy because it is portable and easy to use, especially in remote monitoring health-services. However, during the WCE process, the large amount of captured video data demands a significant deal of computation to analyze and retrieve informative video frames. In order to facilitate efficient WCE data collection and browsing task, we present a resource- and bandwidth-aware WCE video summarization framework that extracts the representative keyframes of the WCE video contents by removing redundant and non-informative frames. For redundancy elimination, we use Jeffrey-divergence between color histograms and inter-frame Boolean series-based correlation of color channels. To remove non-informative frames, multi-fractal texture features are extracted to assist the classification using an ensemble-based classifier. Owing to the limited WCE resources, it is impossible for the WCE system to perform computationally intensive video summarization tasks. To resolve computational challenges, mobile-cloud architecture is incorporated, which provides resizable computing capacities by adaptively offloading video summarization tasks between the client and the cloud server. The qualitative and quantitative results are encouraging and show that the proposed framework saves information transmission cost and bandwidth, as well as the valuable time of data analysts in browsing remote sensing data.

  11. Mobile-cloud assisted video summarization framework for efficient management of remote sensing data generated by wireless capsule sensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehmood, Irfan; Sajjad, Muhammad; Baik, Sung Wook

    2014-09-15

    Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) has great advantages over traditional endoscopy because it is portable and easy to use, especially in remote monitoring health-services. However, during the WCE process, the large amount of captured video data demands a significant deal of computation to analyze and retrieve informative video frames. In order to facilitate efficient WCE data collection and browsing task, we present a resource- and bandwidth-aware WCE video summarization framework that extracts the representative keyframes of the WCE video contents by removing redundant and non-informative frames. For redundancy elimination, we use Jeffrey-divergence between color histograms and inter-frame Boolean series-based correlation of color channels. To remove non-informative frames, multi-fractal texture features are extracted to assist the classification using an ensemble-based classifier. Owing to the limited WCE resources, it is impossible for the WCE system to perform computationally intensive video summarization tasks. To resolve computational challenges, mobile-cloud architecture is incorporated, which provides resizable computing capacities by adaptively offloading video summarization tasks between the client and the cloud server. The qualitative and quantitative results are encouraging and show that the proposed framework saves information transmission cost and bandwidth, as well as the valuable time of data analysts in browsing remote sensing data.

  12. Mobile-Cloud Assisted Video Summarization Framework for Efficient Management of Remote Sensing Data Generated by Wireless Capsule Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehmood, Irfan; Sajjad, Muhammad; Baik, Sung Wook

    2014-01-01

    Wireless capsule endoscopy (WCE) has great advantages over traditional endoscopy because it is portable and easy to use, especially in remote monitoring health-services. However, during the WCE process, the large amount of captured video data demands a significant deal of computation to analyze and retrieve informative video frames. In order to facilitate efficient WCE data collection and browsing task, we present a resource- and bandwidth-aware WCE video summarization framework that extracts the representative keyframes of the WCE video contents by removing redundant and non-informative frames. For redundancy elimination, we use Jeffrey-divergence between color histograms and inter-frame Boolean series-based correlation of color channels. To remove non-informative frames, multi-fractal texture features are extracted to assist the classification using an ensemble-based classifier. Owing to the limited WCE resources, it is impossible for the WCE system to perform computationally intensive video summarization tasks. To resolve computational challenges, mobile-cloud architecture is incorporated, which provides resizable computing capacities by adaptively offloading video summarization tasks between the client and the cloud server. The qualitative and quantitative results are encouraging and show that the proposed framework saves information transmission cost and bandwidth, as well as the valuable time of data analysts in browsing remote sensing data. PMID:25225874

  13. The functional response of a freshwater benthic community to cadmium pollution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faupel, Michael; Ristau, Kai; Traunspurger, Walter

    2012-01-01

    Theory predicts that in freshwater communities under chemical stress secondary production will decrease while the rate of biomass turnover (P/B) will increase. However, this concept has never been tested on organisms of smaller size (bacteria, protozoans, small metazoans), although they form the basis of the heterotrophic food web. The present work describes the results of a 7-month microcosm study, in which the effects of low and high toxic stress on an entire sediment community were examined, with cadmium (Cd) as the model pollutant (50 and 400 mg Cd kg −1 dry sediment). While metazoans and protozoans generally followed the expected trend, in bacteria both production and P/B decreased under Cd stress. These observations provide new insights into the functioning of freshwater ecosystems and demonstrate the functional consequences of toxicants on biological systems. - Highlights: ► Secondary production of freshwater organisms was estimated under cadmium stress. ► Cadmium generally decreased the production of all taxa. ► The corresponding P/B ratio increased for some taxa. ► Secondary production provides insight into the functioning of polluted ecosystems. - Cadmium alters the biomass turnover rate of a freshwater community.

  14. Adaptive management in the context of barriers in European freshwater ecosystems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birnie-Gauvin, Kim; Tummers, Jeroen S; Lucas, Martyn C; Aarestrup, Kim

    2017-12-15

    Many natural habitats have been modified to accommodate for the presence of humans and their needs. Infrastructures - such as hydroelectric dams, weirs, culverts and bridges - are now a common occurrence in streams and rivers across the world. As a result, freshwater ecosystems have been altered extensively, affecting both biological and geomorphological components of the habitats. Many fish species rely on these freshwater ecosystems to complete their lifecycles, and the presence of barriers has been shown to reduce their ability to migrate and sustain healthy populations. In the long run, barriers may have severe repercussions on population densities and dynamics of aquatic animal species. There is currently an urgent need to address these issues with adequate conservation approaches. Adaptive management provides a relevant approach to managing barriers in freshwater ecosystems as it addresses the uncertainties of dealing with natural systems, and accommodates for future unexpected events, though this approach may not be suitable in all instances. A literature search on this subject yielded virtually no output. Hence, we propose a step-by-step guide for implementing adaptive management, which could be used to manage freshwater barriers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Conservation status of the freshwater mussels of the United States and Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    James D. Williams; Melvin L. Warren; Kevin S. Cummings; John L. Harris; Richard J. Neves

    1992-01-01

    The American Fisheries Society (AFS) herein provides a list of all native freshwater mussels (families Margaritiferidae and Unionidae) in the United States and Canada. This report also provides state and provincial distributions; a comprehensive review of the conservation status of all taxa; and references on biology, conservation, and distribution of freshwater...

  16. Phylogeography of an island endemic: the Puerto Rican freshwater crab, Epilobocera sinuatifrons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benjamin D. Cook; Catherine M. Pringle; Jane M. Hughes

    2008-01-01

    The endemic Puerto Rican crab, Epilobocera sinuatifrons (Pseudothelphusidae), has a freshwater-dependant life-history strategy, although the species has some capabilities for terrestrial movement as adults. In contrast to all other freshwater decapods on the island (e.g., caridean shrimp), E. sinuatifrons does not undertake amphidromous migration, and is restricted to...

  17. Dose-Time Effect of Crude Oil and Hydro-test Effluent on Freshwater ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This work was undertaken to investigate the dose-time effect of crude oil and hydro-test effluent on freshwater and brackish water habitats. The species used for the acute toxicity were freshwater fish, Tilapia guineenis (fry) and a brackish water shrimp, Palaemonetes africanus. Test results indicated that the brackish water ...

  18. CAGE BREEDING OF WARM WATER FRESHWATER FISH SPECIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roman Safner

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available In the 1970s, Croatia became actively involved in the contemporary trend of breeding fish in floating cages. In addition to various species of marine fishes, breeding was attempted with trout, carp, catfish, cisco and salmon. Of the above freshwater fish species, specific standards were established only for the cage breeding of rainbow trout. Cage breeding of the remaining species remained at the level of occasional attempts, with more of an experimental than a commercial character. The regular attempts to master this technique for cage breeding of warm water freshwater fish species were aimed at achieving the known benefits of such breeding, such as simplicity of implementing technological measures, easier establishment of the breeding system, simpler manipulation, the possibility of denser colonies per unit volume with a high level of production, easier adaptations to market conditions and fewer initial structural investments. Despite the many advantages, the main reasons for the lack of greater implementation of the cage breeding technology for warm water species of freshwater fish include problems in obtaining the appropriate category and quantity of healthy fry, the specificity and applicability of physical and chemical properties of the recipients and human error. In evaluating the advantages and disadvantages, the final decision on the justification of cage breeding for individual warm water freshwater species must be based on both biological and economic factors. Based on the knowledge of cage breeding acquired to date, the rule for virtually all intensive breeding systems is that it is only recommended for those species with high market demand and a high market price. The technology that demands nutrition with highly concentrated feed and other production expenditures is costly, and is therefore not profitable with less expensive fish species. Furthermore, production must be market oriented, i.e. the appropriate market research measures

  19. Effects of Pollution on Freshwater Invertebrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buikema, A. L., Jr.; Herricks, E. E.

    1978-01-01

    Presents a literature review of the effects of pollution on freshwater invertebrates, covering publications of 1976-77. Some of the areas covered are: (1) toxicant effects on invertebrates; (2) microcosm and community effects, and (3) biological control of aquatic life. A list of 123 references is also presented. (HM)

  20. Persistent organochlorine pesticide residues in freshwater systems ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DRINIE

    determined in water and sediment samples of freshwater systems in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa that ... The organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in water and sediments ...... Test Methods For Evaluating Solid Waste (3rd edn.) ...

  1. SIRSALE: integrated video database management tools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunie, Lionel; Favory, Loic; Gelas, J. P.; Lefevre, Laurent; Mostefaoui, Ahmed; Nait-Abdesselam, F.

    2002-07-01

    Video databases became an active field of research during the last decade. The main objective in such systems is to provide users with capabilities to friendly search, access and playback distributed stored video data in the same way as they do for traditional distributed databases. Hence, such systems need to deal with hard issues : (a) video documents generate huge volumes of data and are time sensitive (streams must be delivered at a specific bitrate), (b) contents of video data are very hard to be automatically extracted and need to be humanly annotated. To cope with these issues, many approaches have been proposed in the literature including data models, query languages, video indexing etc. In this paper, we present SIRSALE : a set of video databases management tools that allow users to manipulate video documents and streams stored in large distributed repositories. All the proposed tools are based on generic models that can be customized for specific applications using ad-hoc adaptation modules. More precisely, SIRSALE allows users to : (a) browse video documents by structures (sequences, scenes, shots) and (b) query the video database content by using a graphical tool, adapted to the nature of the target video documents. This paper also presents an annotating interface which allows archivists to describe the content of video documents. All these tools are coupled to a video player integrating remote VCR functionalities and are based on active network technology. So, we present how dedicated active services allow an optimized video transport for video streams (with Tamanoir active nodes). We then describe experiments of using SIRSALE on an archive of news video and soccer matches. The system has been demonstrated to professionals with a positive feedback. Finally, we discuss open issues and present some perspectives.

  2. Practical aids for freshwater spill response

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steen, A.E.; Walker, A.H.

    1993-01-01

    The current research program at API is focused on the environmental and human health effects from oil spills in freshwater habitats. Components of the program include lessons learned from spill response, development of decision-making protocols for the use of chemicals during initial response operations, preparation of a manual for spill response and contingency planning, and a review of the literature on environmental and human health effects from inland spills. API has reviewed past inland spill responses to identify lessons learned. A survey questionnaire has been developed to collect information from freshwater spill responders on their successes and difficulties in response operations. The questionnaire is tailored to focus on the impact to the operations from the absence of technical/scientific data on environmental effects or operation effectiveness/efficiency as well as to identify situations in which the use of particular response or cleanup options is likely to be effective. The questionnaires will be available at the Conference. Published case studies also will be examined for lessons-learned information. The results will be used to identify and prioritize API research needs in freshwater spill response. General concerns about the effectiveness of the toxicity associated with chemicals in spill response has prevented their use in fresh water. API has begun a detailed survey and interview process with state and federal regulatory personnel to identify their concerns and decision criteria to evaluate the use of chemicals in initial spill response. Ten classes of chemicals were identified for consideration: dispersants, shoreline cleaners, shoreline protection agents, herding agents, solidifiers, demulsifiers, emulsion inhibitors, foaming agents, oxidizing agents, and burning agents

  3. Medical video server construction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dańda, Jacek; Juszkiewicz, Krzysztof; Leszczuk, Mikołaj; Loziak, Krzysztof; Papir, Zdzisław; Sikora, Marek; Watza, Rafal

    2003-01-01

    The paper discusses two implementation options for a Digital Video Library, a repository used for archiving, accessing, and browsing of video medical records. Two crucial issues to be decided on are a video compression format and a video streaming platform. The paper presents numerous decision factors that have to be taken into account. The compression formats being compared are DICOM as a format representative for medical applications, both MPEGs, and several new formats targeted for an IP networking. The comparison includes transmission rates supported, compression rates, and at least options for controlling a compression process. The second part of the paper presents the ISDN technique as a solution for provisioning of tele-consultation services between medical parties that are accessing resources uploaded to a digital video library. There are several backbone techniques (like corporate LANs/WANs, leased lines or even radio/satellite links) available, however, the availability of network resources for hospitals was the prevailing choice criterion pointing to ISDN solutions. Another way to provide access to the Digital Video Library is based on radio frequency domain solutions. The paper describes possibilities of both, wireless and cellular network's data transmission service to be used as a medical video server transport layer. For the cellular net-work based solution two communication techniques are used: Circuit Switched Data and Packet Switched Data.

  4. Image processing of integrated video image obtained with a charged-particle imaging video monitor system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iida, Takao; Nakajima, Takehiro

    1988-01-01

    A new type of charged-particle imaging video monitor system was constructed for video imaging of the distributions of alpha-emitting and low-energy beta-emitting nuclides. The system can display not only the scintillation image due to radiation on the video monitor but also the integrated video image becoming gradually clearer on another video monitor. The distortion of the image is about 5% and the spatial resolution is about 2 line pairs (lp)mm -1 . The integrated image is transferred to a personal computer and image processing is performed qualitatively and quantitatively. (author)

  5. NEI You Tube Videos: Amblyopia

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... YouTube Videos: Amblyopia Embedded video for NEI YouTube Videos: Amblyopia ... *PDF files require the free Adobe® Reader® software for viewing. This website is maintained by the ...

  6. Effect of chronic selenium exposure on the freshwater bivalve Corbicula fluminea

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fournier, E.; Adam, C.; Massabuau, J.C.; Garnier-Laplace, J. [CEA Cadarache (DEI/SECRE/LRE), Laboratory of Radioecology and Ecotoxicology, Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety, 13 - Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France)

    2004-07-01

    Selenium is essential for most of living organisms. In oxic to moderately oxic fresh-waters, Se exists predominantly in the (+VI) and (+IV) oxidation states as selenate (SeO{sub 4}{sup 2-}) and selenite (SeO{sub 3}{sup 2-}) respectively, whereas in the biota it is incorporated as Se(-II) into seleno-proteins or amino-acids, or as elemental selenium Se(0). At low concentrations, it acts against oxidative damages mainly as the glutathione peroxidase seleno-dependant, but it may be toxic at higher levels (for example, by replacing sulphur in important biomolecules). In filter feeders, such as the freshwater bivalve Corbicula fluminea, selected as biological model, the ventilation activity is a primary limiting step that controls the water influx and therefore the delivery of contaminants. Consequently, a series of short-term experiments were performed to study the effects of different dissolved Se concentrations and forms (selenite; selenate; selenomethionine) on the ventilation activity of Corbicula fluminea and Se tissular distribution. The modification of the ventilation activity of the Se-exposed groups, in comparison to this of reference groups (not exposed to Se) varied greatly according to the form and the concentrations of the Se used. Se concentrations in tissues indicated that selenite was the less bioavailable form whereas selenomethionine displayed the opposite trend. On the basis of this set of experiments, a limited number of conditions have been selected to provide highly contrasting ventilation flow rates and selenium bioaccumulation levels, in order to study the effects of long term exposures, i) at the molecular level, by measuring bio-markers of oxidative stress (forms of glutathione, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, superoxide dismutase, catalase, and bio-marker of genotoxicity (comet assay), ii) at the (sub)cellular level by analysing Se micro-localisation in target organs and iii) at the individual level by monitoring the variation

  7. Exotic freshwater planarians currently known from Japan

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sluys, R.; Kawakatsu, M.; Yamamoto, K.

    2010-01-01

    Biogeographical and taxonomic information on the four non-indigenous freshwater planarians of Japan is reviewed, viz. Dugesia austroasiatica Kawakatsu, 1985, Girardia tigrina (Girard, 1850), G. dorotocephala (Woodworth, 1897), and Rhodax evelinae? Marcus, 1947. The occurrence of Girardia

  8. Smart Streaming for Online Video Services

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Liang; Zhou, Yipeng; Chiu, Dah Ming

    2013-01-01

    Bandwidth consumption is a significant concern for online video service providers. Practical video streaming systems usually use some form of HTTP streaming (progressive download) to let users download the video at a faster rate than the video bitrate. Since users may quit before viewing the complete video, however, much of the downloaded video will be "wasted". To the extent that users' departure behavior can be predicted, we develop smart streaming that can be used to improve user QoE with ...

  9. Dinoflagellates associated with freshwater sponges from the ancient lake baikal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Annenkova, Natalia V; Lavrov, Dennis V; Belikov, Sergey I

    2011-04-01

    Dinoflagellates are a diverse group of protists that are common in both marine and freshwater environments. While the biology of marine dinoflagellates has been the focus of several recent studies, their freshwater relatives remain little-investigated. In the present study we explore the diversity of dinoflagellates in Lake Baikal by identifying and analyzing dinoflagellate sequences for 18S rDNA and ITS-2 from total DNA extracted from three species of endemic Baikalian sponges (Baikalospongia intermedia,Baikalospongia rectaand Lubomirskia incrustans). Phylogenetic analyses of these sequences revealed extensive dinoflagellate diversity in Lake Baikal. We found two groups of sequences clustering within the order Suessiales, known for its symbiotic relationships with various invertebrates. Thus they may be regarded as potential symbionts of Baikalian sponges. In addition,Gyrodinium helveticum, representatives from the genus Gymnodinium, dinoflagellates close to the family Pfiesteriaceae, and a few dinoflagellates without definite affiliation were detected. No pronounced difference in the distribution of dinoflagellates among the studied sponges was found, except for the absence of the Piscinoodinium-like dinoflagellates inL. incrustans. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of the diversity of dinoflagellates in freshwater sponges, the first systematic investigation of dinoflagellate molecular diversity in Lake Baikal and the first finding of members of the order Suessiales as symbionts of freshwater invertebrates. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  10. Video outside versus video inside the web: do media setting and image size have an impact on the emotion-evoking potential of video?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verleur, R.; Verhagen, Pleunes Willem; Crawford, Margaret; Simonson, Michael; Lamboy, Carmen

    2001-01-01

    To explore the educational potential of video-evoked affective responses in a Web-based environment, the question was raised whether video in a Web-based environment is experienced differently from video in a traditional context. An experiment was conducted that studied the affect-evoking power of

  11. Video games: good, bad, or other?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prot, Sara; McDonald, Katelyn A; Anderson, Craig A; Gentile, Douglas A

    2012-06-01

    Video games are a pervasive pastime among children and adolescents. The growing popularity of video games has instigated a debate among parents, researchers, video game producers, and policymakers concerning potential harmful and helpful effects of video games on children. This article provides an overview of research findings on the positive and negative effects of video games, thus providing an empirical answer to the question, are video games good or bad? The article also provides some guidelines to help pediatricians, parents, and other caregivers protect children from negative effects and to maximize positive effects of video games. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Tracking animals in freshwater with electronic tags: past, present and future

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooke, Steven J.; Midwood, Jonathan D.; Thiem, Jason D.; Klimley, Peter; Lucas, Martyn C.; Thorstad, Eva B.; Eiler, John; Holbrook, Chris; Ebner, Brendan C.

    2013-01-01

    Considerable technical developments over the past half century have enabled widespread application of electronic tags to the study of animals in the wild, including in freshwater environments. We review the constraints associated with freshwater telemetry and biologging and the technical developments relevant to their use. Technical constraints for tracking animals are often influenced by the characteristics of the animals being studied and the environment they inhabit. Collectively, they influence which and how technologies can be used and their relative effectiveness. Although radio telemetry has historically been the most commonly used technology in freshwater, passive integrated transponder (PIT) technology, acoustic telemetry and biologgers are becoming more popular. Most telemetry studies have focused on fish, although an increasing number have focused on other taxa, such as turtles, crustaceans and molluscs. Key technical developments for freshwater systems include: miniaturization of tags for tracking small-size life stages and species, fixed stations and coded tags for tracking large samples of animals over long distances and large temporal scales, inexpensive PIT systems that enable mass tagging to yield population- and community-level relevant sample sizes, incorporation of sensors into electronic tags, validation of tag attachment procedures with a focus on maintaining animal welfare, incorporation of different techniques (for example, genetics, stable isotopes) and peripheral technologies (for example, geographic information systems, hydroacoustics), development of novel analytical techniques, and extensive international collaboration. Innovations are still needed in tag miniaturization, data analysis and visualization, and in tracking animals over larger spatial scales (for example, pelagic areas of lakes) and in challenging environments (for example, large dynamic floodplain systems, under ice). There seems to be a particular need for adapting

  13. Blind prediction of natural video quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saad, Michele A; Bovik, Alan C; Charrier, Christophe

    2014-03-01

    We propose a blind (no reference or NR) video quality evaluation model that is nondistortion specific. The approach relies on a spatio-temporal model of video scenes in the discrete cosine transform domain, and on a model that characterizes the type of motion occurring in the scenes, to predict video quality. We use the models to define video statistics and perceptual features that are the basis of a video quality assessment (VQA) algorithm that does not require the presence of a pristine video to compare against in order to predict a perceptual quality score. The contributions of this paper are threefold. 1) We propose a spatio-temporal natural scene statistics (NSS) model for videos. 2) We propose a motion model that quantifies motion coherency in video scenes. 3) We show that the proposed NSS and motion coherency models are appropriate for quality assessment of videos, and we utilize them to design a blind VQA algorithm that correlates highly with human judgments of quality. The proposed algorithm, called video BLIINDS, is tested on the LIVE VQA database and on the EPFL-PoliMi video database and shown to perform close to the level of top performing reduced and full reference VQA algorithms.

  14. Hierarchical event selection for video storyboards with a case study on snooker video visualization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parry, Matthew L; Legg, Philip A; Chung, David H S; Griffiths, Iwan W; Chen, Min

    2011-12-01

    Video storyboard, which is a form of video visualization, summarizes the major events in a video using illustrative visualization. There are three main technical challenges in creating a video storyboard, (a) event classification, (b) event selection and (c) event illustration. Among these challenges, (a) is highly application-dependent and requires a significant amount of application specific semantics to be encoded in a system or manually specified by users. This paper focuses on challenges (b) and (c). In particular, we present a framework for hierarchical event representation, and an importance-based selection algorithm for supporting the creation of a video storyboard from a video. We consider the storyboard to be an event summarization for the whole video, whilst each individual illustration on the board is also an event summarization but for a smaller time window. We utilized a 3D visualization template for depicting and annotating events in illustrations. To demonstrate the concepts and algorithms developed, we use Snooker video visualization as a case study, because it has a concrete and agreeable set of semantic definitions for events and can make use of existing techniques of event detection and 3D reconstruction in a reliable manner. Nevertheless, most of our concepts and algorithms developed for challenges (b) and (c) can be applied to other application areas. © 2010 IEEE

  15. Intelligent keyframe extraction for video printing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Tong

    2004-10-01

    Nowadays most digital cameras have the functionality of taking short video clips, with the length of video ranging from several seconds to a couple of minutes. The purpose of this research is to develop an algorithm which extracts an optimal set of keyframes from each short video clip so that the user could obtain proper video frames to print out. In current video printing systems, keyframes are normally obtained by evenly sampling the video clip over time. Such an approach, however, may not reflect highlights or regions of interest in the video. Keyframes derived in this way may also be improper for video printing in terms of either content or image quality. In this paper, we present an intelligent keyframe extraction approach to derive an improved keyframe set by performing semantic analysis of the video content. For a video clip, a number of video and audio features are analyzed to first generate a candidate keyframe set. These features include accumulative color histogram and color layout differences, camera motion estimation, moving object tracking, face detection and audio event detection. Then, the candidate keyframes are clustered and evaluated to obtain a final keyframe set. The objective is to automatically generate a limited number of keyframes to show different views of the scene; to show different people and their actions in the scene; and to tell the story in the video shot. Moreover, frame extraction for video printing, which is a rather subjective problem, is considered in this work for the first time, and a semi-automatic approach is proposed.

  16. Macular hole formation, progression, and surgical repair: case series of serial optical coherence tomography and time lapse morphing video study

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    Background To use a new medium to dynamically visualize serial optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans in order to illustrate and elucidate the pathogenesis of idiopathic macular hole formation, progression, and surgical closure. Case Presentations Two patients at the onset of symptoms with early stage macular holes and one patient following repair were followed with serial OCTs. Images centered at the fovea and at the same orientation were digitally exported and morphed into an Audiovisual Interleaving (avi) movie format. Morphing videos from serial OCTs allowed the OCTs to be viewed dynamically. The videos supported anterior-posterior vitreofoveal traction as the initial event in macular hole formation. Progression of the macular hole occurred with increased cystic thickening of the fovea without evidence of further vitreofoveal traction. During cyst formation, the macular hole enlarged as the edges of the hole became elevated from the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) with an increase in subretinal fluid. Surgical repair of a macular hole revealed initial closure of the macular hole with subsequent reabsorption of the sub-retinal fluid and restoration of the foveal contour. Conclusions Morphing videos from serial OCTs are a useful tool and helped illustrate and support anterior-posterior vitreofoveal traction with subsequent retinal hydration as the pathogenesis of idiopathic macular holes. PMID:20849638

  17. Vegetable oil sources in diets for freshwater angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare, Cichlidae: growth and thermal tolerance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.K. Ikeda

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available The influence of fatty acid composition of the diets on the productive performance and on cold and heat tolerance of juvenile freshwater angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare, in three different phases, was studied. Phase I studied the productive performance of freshwater angelfish in a completely randomized experimental design with four treatments, canola, linseed, olive and soybean oils and four replicates during 50 days using 192 fish in 16 aquaria. Phase II studied the cold tolerance of juvenile freshwater angelfish using 72 juvenile freshwater angelfish, coming from phase I and maintained in 12 aquaria climatized chamber. The temperature was reduced 1ºC per day, until the observation of 100% fish mortality. Phase III, it was studied the heat tolerance of juvenile freshwater angelfish employing an identical procedure to phase II, but with a daily increase of 1ºC. Significant differences (P>0.05 were not observed for any parameters evaluated. Thus, it was concluded that the type of vegetable oil (canola, linseed, olive and soybean used as a diet supplement did not affect the productive performance, nor the tolerance to cold and heat, of juvenile freshwater angelfish.

  18. [Colonic polyps diagnosis by conventional video colonoscopes and chromoscopy with indigo carmine dye solution].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakao, Frank Shigueo; Araújo, Isabella Saraiva; Ornellas, Laura Cotta; Cury, Marcelo de Sousa; Ferrari, Angelo Paulo

    2002-01-01

    Magnification colonoscopy and contrast chromoscopy with indigo carmine dye solution have been used to differentiate neoplastic polyps (adenomas and adenocarcinomas) from non-neoplastic (hyperplastic, inflammatory, juvenile) in an attempt to obviate endoscopic polypectomy. On the other hand, little published information exists concerning conventional video colonoscopes and chromoscopy for polyp histology prediction. Aim - To assess usefullness of conventional video colonoscopes and contrast chromoscopy with indigo carmine solution for differential diagnosis of colon polyps. In a routine colonoscopy series, we performed chromoscopy with conventional video colonoscopes before endoscopic excision of detected polyps. If a sulcus pattern was observed on the surface of the lesion, it was classified as neoplastic. Polyps were classified as non-neoplastic if no sulcus was detected on its surface. These observations were then compared with histology. In the study period (18 months), we detected 133 polyps in 53 patients. We were able to compare results of histology and chromoscopy in 126 lesions. The sensitivity, specificity, diagnostic accuracy, negative predictive value, and positive predictive value were 56,4%, 79,2%, 65,1%, 52,8%, and 81,5%, respectively. On the base of the presented data, we concluded that conventional video colonoscopes and contrast chromoscopy with indigo carmine solution is not a good technique for differential diagnosis of colon polyps.

  19. Methane emission from tidal freshwater marshes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van der Nat, F.J.; Middelburg, J.J.

    2000-01-01

    In two tidal freshwater marshes, methane emission, production and accumulation in the pore-water have been studied. The two sites differ in their dominant vegetation, i.e., reed and bulrush, and in their heights above sea level. The reed site was elevated in relation to the bulrush site and had

  20. Herbivory on freshwater and marine macrophytes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bakker, Elisabeth S.; Wood, Kevin A.; Pagès, Jordi F.; Veen, G.F.; Christianen, Marjolijn J.A.; Santamaría, Luis; Nolet, Bart A.; Hilt, Sabine

    2016-01-01

    Until the 1990s, herbivory on aquatic vascular plants was considered to be of minor importance, and the predominant view was that freshwater and marine macrophytes did not take part in the food web: their primary fate was the detritivorous pathway. In the last 25 years, a substantial body of

  1. Adaptive management in the context of barriers in European freshwater ecosystems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Birnie-Gauvin, Kim; Tummers, Jeroen S.; Lucas, Martyn C.

    2017-01-01

    Many natural habitats have been modified to accommodate for the presence of humans and their needs. Infrastructures e such as hydroelectric dams, weirs, culverts and bridges e are now a common occurrence in streams and rivers across the world. As a result, freshwater ecosystems have been altered...... extensively, affecting both biological and geomorphological components of the habitats. Many fish species rely on these freshwater ecosystems to complete their lifecycles, and the presence of barriers has been shown to reduce their ability to migrate and sustain healthy populations. In the long run, barriers...... may have severe repercussions on population densities and dynamics of aquatic animal species. There is currently an urgent need to address these issues with adequate conservation approaches. Adaptive management provides a relevant approach to managing barriers in freshwater ecosystems as it addresses...

  2. Chernobyl radiocesium in freshwater fish: Long-term dynamics and sources of variation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sundbom, M [Uppsala Univ., Dept. of Limnology, Uppsala (Sweden)

    2002-04-01

    The aim of this thesis was to investigate both the long-term temporal pattern and sources of individual variation for radiocesium in freshwater fish. The basis for the study is time series of {sup 137}Cs activity concentrations in fish from three lakes in the area North-west of Uppsala, Sweden that received considerable amounts of {sup 137}Cs from Chernobyl in may 1986. The lakes were Lake Ekholmssjoen, Lake Flatsjoen and Lake Siggeforasjoen, all small forest lakes, but with different morphometrical and chemical characteristics. The data were collected regularly, usually several times per year, during 1986-2000, using consistent methods. More than 7600 fish individuals from 7 species covering wide size ranges and feeding habits were analysed for {sup 137}Cs. For each fish was the length, weight, sex, and often the stomach contend recorded. The evaluation on long-term trends were based on data from all three lakes, while the study on sources of variation evaluated data from Lake Flatsjoen only. (au)

  3. Chernobyl radiocesium in freshwater fish: Long-term dynamics and sources of variation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sundbom, M.

    2002-01-01

    The aim of this thesis was to investigate both the long-term temporal pattern and sources of individual variation for radiocesium in freshwater fish. The basis for the study is time series of 137 Cs activity concentrations in fish from three lakes in the area North-west of Uppsala, Sweden that received considerable amounts of 137 Cs from Chernobyl in may 1986. The lakes were Lake Ekholmssjoen, Lake Flatsjoen and Lake Siggeforasjoen, all small forest lakes, but with different morphometrical and chemical characteristics. The data were collected regularly, usually several times per year, during 1986-2000, using consistent methods. More than 7600 fish individuals from 7 species covering wide size ranges and feeding habits were analysed for 137 Cs. For each fish was the length, weight, sex, and often the stomach contend recorded. The evaluation on long-term trends were based on data from all three lakes, while the study on sources of variation evaluated data from Lake Flatsjoen only. (au)

  4. Don't Just Sit There - Do Something!: Engaging and Empowering U.S. Adults Through Short, Funny, Internet Videos About Climate Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Portlock, J.; Laird, H.

    2015-12-01

    Communitopia, a 501(c)3 organization, uses humor, new media, and the short video format to engage and empower audiences and improve climate literacy. Our main project, the Don't Just Sit There - Do Something! video series (http://djst.tv), takes the complex subject of climate science, breaks it down into digestible nuggets of short, funny video, and couples it with easy actions viewers can take to make a difference. The series has 25 episodes so far, and more than 80,000 views on YouTube. We are reaching our target audience of high-school-age and adult viewers in the United States (94% of viewers are known to fit this demographic). Don't Just Sit There - Do Something! uses a strategic model for breaking through the fear and dread around climate change in the general population. It uses humor, positivity and brevity to frame the issue, and gives the audience simple actions designed to empower in each self-contained episode. We approach each piece of the climate puzzle with scientific rigor, and cite all our sources. Our approach is light-hearted and fun, because it is a more productive way to have a conversation about tough issues than scolding and guilt. The series is ongoing, and we are always focused on climate change. To determine the efficacy of our approach and efforts, we measure video views and other metrics through our YouTube channel, compile feedback and comments through YouTube and other social media outlets, and track actions taken through web metrics (click-through rates). We are also currently working with the Behavioral and Community Health Sciences Department at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health to evaluate the videos' impact. From August-October 2015, we are using an online survey to evaluate the Don't Just Sit There - Do Something! series. We will assess viewers' climate change education and awareness, commitment to support action steps that alleviate climate change, and inclination to support policy action before and

  5. Cadmium as toxicant in Freshwater Cyprinid, Labeo rohita

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Sajo

    2012-04-24

    Apr 24, 2012 ... urbanization, expansion of industrial activity, industrial wasteful effluents .... blood capillaries, and sinusoids were randomly distri- buted. ..... cholinesterase activity of freshwater fish, Oreochromis mossambicus. Peters. Asia.

  6. Bryozoans are returning home: recolonization of freshwater ecosystems inferred from phylogenetic relationships.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koletić, Nikola; Novosel, Maja; Rajević, Nives; Franjević, Damjan

    2015-01-01

    Bryozoans are aquatic invertebrates that inhabit all types of aquatic ecosystems. They are small animals that form large colonies by asexual budding. Colonies can reach the size of several tens of centimeters, while individual units within a colony are the size of a few millimeters. Each individual within a colony works as a separate zooid and is genetically identical to each other individual within the same colony. Most freshwater species of bryozoans belong to the Phylactolaemata class, while several species that tolerate brackish water belong to the Gymnolaemata class. Tissue samples for this study were collected in the rivers of Adriatic and Danube basin and in the wetland areas in the continental part of Croatia (Europe). Freshwater and brackish taxons of bryozoans were genetically analyzed for the purpose of creating phylogenetic relationships between freshwater and brackish taxons of the Phylactolaemata and Gymnolaemata classes and determining the role of brackish species in colonizing freshwater and marine ecosystems. Phylogenetic relationships inferred on the genes for 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA, COI, and ITS2 region confirmed Phylactolaemata bryozoans as radix bryozoan group. Phylogenetic analysis proved Phylactolaemata bryozoan's close relations with taxons from Phoronida phylum as well as the separation of the Lophopodidae family from other families within the Plumatellida genus. Comparative analysis of existing knowledge about the phylogeny of bryozoans and the expansion of known evolutionary hypotheses is proposed with the model of settlement of marine and freshwater ecosystems by the bryozoans group during their evolutionary past. In this case study, brackish bryozoan taxons represent a link for this ecological phylogenetic hypothesis. Comparison of brackish bryozoan species Lophopus crystallinus and Conopeum seurati confirmed a dual colonization of freshwater ecosystems throughout evolution of this group of animals.

  7. When and how? Freshwater mussel recolonization in Lake Orta

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicoletta Riccardi

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Thanks to a video posted on a social network, live mussels of Unio elongatulus, have been recorded from Lake Orta (Italy over one century after the last (and only report. With its long and well documented history of pollution, Lake Orta offers the opportunity to document the post-extirpation recovery of freshwater unionid mussels. This case evidences that recovery/recolonization is possible despite a high devastation in the past, and permits to evaluate how fast recolonization may occur, in which way, and in what conditions.  The answer to the 'how fast' was sought by estimating the age of the larger and seemingly older individuals of the population. To address the 'in which way' we compared the haplotypes of Lake Orta specimens of Unio elongatulus (the only species present with those of surrounding populations. We concluded that, since Lake Orta lacks a direct connection with the putative source populations, colonizing mussels were almost certainly transported by fish carrying glochidia that were used for lake restocking after liming. Data from the long-term monitoring of water chemistry and sediments have allowed defining what conditions proved to be suitable for survival making possible the start of mussels recovery. But not only water and sediment quality matters for mussels recovery, which was delayed by nearly ten years after the reappearance of fish. This delay reflects the need of the whole trophic chain to be reestablished to allow the survival of the suitable and healthy host-fish populations necessary for mussels reproduction.

  8. Video game addiction: The push to pathologize video games

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Rune Kristian Lundedal; Ferguson, Christopher; Bean, Anthony

    2017-01-01

    With proposals to include “gaming disorder” in both the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) and International Compendium of Diseases (ICD), the concept of video game addiction has gained traction. However, many aspects of this concept remain controversial. At present, little clarity has been...... achieved regarding diagnostic criteria and appropriate symptoms. It is unclear if symptoms that involve problematic video gaming behavior should be reified as a new disorder, or are the expression of underlying mental conditions. Nonetheless, the recent proposals around gaming disorder from respected...... and necessity of the overarching construct. This raises multiple concerns. First, the current approaches to understanding “gaming addiction” are rooted in substance abuse research and approaches do not necessarily translate to media consumption. Second, some research has indicated that “video game addiction...

  9. Multimodal Feature Learning for Video Captioning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sujin Lee

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Video captioning refers to the task of generating a natural language sentence that explains the content of the input video clips. This study proposes a deep neural network model for effective video captioning. Apart from visual features, the proposed model learns additionally semantic features that describe the video content effectively. In our model, visual features of the input video are extracted using convolutional neural networks such as C3D and ResNet, while semantic features are obtained using recurrent neural networks such as LSTM. In addition, our model includes an attention-based caption generation network to generate the correct natural language captions based on the multimodal video feature sequences. Various experiments, conducted with the two large benchmark datasets, Microsoft Video Description (MSVD and Microsoft Research Video-to-Text (MSR-VTT, demonstrate the performance of the proposed model.

  10. Simulations of freshwater lens recharge and salt/freshwater interfaces using the HYDRUS and SWI2 packages for MODFLOW

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Szymkiewicz Adam

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents an evaluation of the combined use of the HYDRUS and SWI2 packages for MODFLOW as a potential tool for modeling recharge in coastal aquifers subject to saltwater intrusion. The HYDRUS package for MODFLOW solves numerically the one-dimensional form of the Richards equation describing water flow in variablysaturated media. The code computes groundwater recharge to or capillary rise from the groundwater table while considering weather, vegetation, and soil hydraulic property data. The SWI2 package represents in a simplified way variable-density flow associated with saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers. Combining these two packages within the MODFLOW framework provides a more accurate description of vadose zone processes in subsurface systems with shallow aquifers, which strongly depend upon infiltration. The two packages were applied to a two-dimensional problem of recharge of a freshwater lens in a sandy peninsula, which is a typical geomorphologic form along the Baltic and the North Sea coasts, among other places. Results highlighted the sensitivity of calculated recharge rates to the temporal resolution of weather data. Using daily values of precipitation and potential evapotranspiration produced average recharge rates more than 20% larger than those obtained with weekly or monthly averaged weather data, leading to different trends in the evolution of freshwater-saltwater interfaces. Root water uptake significantly influenced both the recharge rate and the position of the freshwater-saltwater interface. The results were less sensitive to changes in soil hydraulic parameters, which in our study were found to affect average yearly recharge rates by up to 13%.

  11. Video game use and cognitive performance: does it vary with the presence of problematic video game use?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collins, Emily; Freeman, Jonathan

    2014-03-01

    Action video game players have been found to outperform nonplayers on a variety of cognitive tasks. However, several failures to replicate these video game player advantages have indicated that this relationship may not be straightforward. Moreover, despite the discovery that problematic video game players do not appear to demonstrate the same superior performance as nonproblematic video game players in relation to multiple object tracking paradigms, this has not been investigated for other tasks. Consequently, this study compared gamers and nongamers in task switching ability, visual short-term memory, mental rotation, enumeration, and flanker interference, as well as investigated the influence of self-reported problematic video game use. A total of 66 participants completed the experiment, 26 of whom played action video games, including 20 problematic players. The results revealed no significant effect of playing action video games, nor any influence of problematic video game play. This indicates that the previously reported cognitive advantages in video game players may be restricted to specific task features or samples. Furthermore, problematic video game play may not have a detrimental effect on cognitive performance, although this is difficult to ascertain considering the lack of video game player advantage. More research is therefore sorely needed.

  12. Video frame processor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joshi, V.M.; Agashe, Alok; Bairi, B.R.

    1993-01-01

    This report provides technical description regarding the Video Frame Processor (VFP) developed at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. The instrument provides capture of video images available in CCIR format. Two memory planes each with a capacity of 512 x 512 x 8 bit data enable storage of two video image frames. The stored image can be processed on-line and on-line image subtraction can also be carried out for image comparisons. The VFP is a PC Add-on board and is I/O mapped within the host IBM PC/AT compatible computer. (author). 9 refs., 4 figs., 19 photographs

  13. Visual Analytics and Storytelling through Video

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wong, Pak C.; Perrine, Kenneth A.; Mackey, Patrick S.; Foote, Harlan P.; Thomas, Jim

    2005-10-31

    This paper supplements a video clip submitted to the Video Track of IEEE Symposium on Information Visualization 2005. The original video submission applies a two-way storytelling approach to demonstrate the visual analytics capabilities of a new visualization technique. The paper presents our video production philosophy, describes the plot of the video, explains the rationale behind the plot, and finally, shares our production experiences with our readers.

  14. NEI You Tube Videos: Amblyopia

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... questions Clinical Studies Publications Catalog Photos and Images Spanish Language Information Grants and Funding Extramural Research Division ... Low Vision Refractive Errors Retinopathy of Prematurity Science Spanish Videos Webinars NEI YouTube Videos: Amblyopia Embedded video ...

  15. Interactive Video, The Next Step

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strong, L. R.; Wold-Brennon, R.; Cooper, S. K.; Brinkhuis, D.

    2012-12-01

    Video has the ingredients to reach us emotionally - with amazing images, enthusiastic interviews, music, and video game-like animations-- and it's emotion that motivates us to learn more about our new interest. However, watching video is usually passive. New web-based technology is expanding and enhancing the video experience, creating opportunities to use video with more direct interaction. This talk will look at an Educaton and Outreach team's experience producing video-centric curriculum using innovative interactive media tools from TED-Ed and FlixMaster. The Consortium for Ocean Leadership's Deep Earth Academy has partnered with the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI) to send educators and a video producer aboard three deep sea research expeditions to the Juan de Fuca plate to install and service sub-seafloor observatories. This collaboration between teachers, students, scientists and media producers has proved a productive confluence, providing new ways of understanding both ground-breaking science and the process of science itself - by experimenting with new ways to use multimedia during ocean-going expeditions and developing curriculum and other projects post-cruise.

  16. Real-time video quality monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Tao; Narvekar, Niranjan; Wang, Beibei; Ding, Ran; Zou, Dekun; Cash, Glenn; Bhagavathy, Sitaram; Bloom, Jeffrey

    2011-12-01

    The ITU-T Recommendation G.1070 is a standardized opinion model for video telephony applications that uses video bitrate, frame rate, and packet-loss rate to measure the video quality. However, this model was original designed as an offline quality planning tool. It cannot be directly used for quality monitoring since the above three input parameters are not readily available within a network or at the decoder. And there is a great room for the performance improvement of this quality metric. In this article, we present a real-time video quality monitoring solution based on this Recommendation. We first propose a scheme to efficiently estimate the three parameters from video bitstreams, so that it can be used as a real-time video quality monitoring tool. Furthermore, an enhanced algorithm based on the G.1070 model that provides more accurate quality prediction is proposed. Finally, to use this metric in real-world applications, we present an example emerging application of real-time quality measurement to the management of transmitted videos, especially those delivered to mobile devices.

  17. Collaborative Video Search Combining Video Retrieval with Human-Based Visual Inspection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hudelist, M.A.; Cobârzan, C.; Beecks, C.; van de Werken, Rob; Kletz, S.; Hürst, W.O.; Schoeffmann, K.

    2016-01-01

    We propose a novel video browsing approach that aims at optimally integrating traditional, machine-based retrieval methods with an interface design optimized for human browsing performance. Advanced video retrieval and filtering (e.g., via color and motion signatures, and visual concepts) on a

  18. 76 FR 55585 - Video Description: Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-08

    ... of Video Programming Report and Order (15 F.C.C.R. 15,230 (2000)), recon. granted in part and denied... dialogue, makes video programming more accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired. The... networks, and multichannel video programming distributor systems (``MVPDs'') with more than 50,000...

  19. Perceptual video quality assessment in H.264 video coding standard using objective modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karthikeyan, Ramasamy; Sainarayanan, Gopalakrishnan; Deepa, Subramaniam Nachimuthu

    2014-01-01

    Since usage of digital video is wide spread nowadays, quality considerations have become essential, and industry demand for video quality measurement is rising. This proposal provides a method of perceptual quality assessment in H.264 standard encoder using objective modeling. For this purpose, quality impairments are calculated and a model is developed to compute the perceptual video quality metric based on no reference method. Because of the shuttle difference between the original video and the encoded video the quality of the encoded picture gets degraded, this quality difference is introduced by the encoding process like Intra and Inter prediction. The proposed model takes into account of the artifacts introduced by these spatial and temporal activities in the hybrid block based coding methods and an objective modeling of these artifacts into subjective quality estimation is proposed. The proposed model calculates the objective quality metric using subjective impairments; blockiness, blur and jerkiness compared to the existing bitrate only calculation defined in the ITU G 1070 model. The accuracy of the proposed perceptual video quality metrics is compared against popular full reference objective methods as defined by VQEG.

  20. Comparison of the Effects of Continuous Video Modeling, Video Prompting, and Video Modeling on Task Completion by Young Adults with Moderate Intellectual Disability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mechling, Linda C.; Ayres, Kevin M.; Bryant, Kathryn J.; Foster, Ashley L.

    2014-01-01

    This study compared the effects of three procedures (video prompting: VP, video modeling: VM, and continuous video modeling: CVM) on task completion by three high school students with moderate intellectual disability. The comparison was made across three sets of fundamentally different tasks (putting away household items in clusters of two items;…

  1. Video Games and Learning: Teaching and Participatory Culture in the Digital Age. Technology, Education--Connections (the TEC Series)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Squire, Kurt

    2011-01-01

    Can we learn socially and academically valuable concepts and skills from video games? How can we best teach the "gamer generation?" This accessible book describes how educators and curriculum designers can harness the participatory nature of digital media and play. The author presents a comprehensive model of games and learning that integrates…

  2. Experimental study of a sustainable hybrid system for thermoelectric generation and freshwater production

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Souza, Gabriel Fernandes; Tan, Lippong; Singh, Baljit; Ding, Lai Chet; Date, Abhijit

    2017-04-01

    The paper presents a sustainable hybrid system, which is capable of generating electricity and producing freshwater from seawater using low grade heat source. This proposed system uses low grade heat that can be supplied from solar radiation, industrial waste heat or any other waste heat sources where the temperature is less than 150°C. The concept behind this system uses the Seebeck effect for thermoelectricity generation via incorporating the low boiling point of seawater under sub-atmospheric ambient pressure. A lab-test prototype of the proposed system was built and experimentally tested in RMIT University. The prototype utilised four commercial available thermoelectric generators (Bi2Te3) and a vacuum vessel to achieve the simultaneous production of electricity and freshwater. The temperature profiles, thermoelectric powers and freshwater productions were determined at several levels of salinity to study the influence of different salt concentrations. The theoretical description of system design and experimental results were analysed and discussed in detailed. The experiment results showed that 0.75W of thermoelectricity and 404g of freshwater were produced using inputs of 150W of simulated waste heat and 500g of 3% saline water. The proposed hybrid concept has demonstrated the potential to become the future sustainable system for electricity and freshwater productions.

  3. Future Freshwater Stress on Small Islands: Population, Aridity and Global Warming Targets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karnauskas, K. B.; Schleussner, C. F.; Donnelly, J. P.; Anchukaitis, K. J.

    2017-12-01

    Small island developing states (SIDS) face multiple threats from anthropogenic climate change, including potential changes in freshwater resource availability. Future freshwater stress, including geographic and seasonal variability, has important implications for climate change adaptation scenarios for vulnerable human populations living on islands across the world ocean. Due to a mismatch in spatial scale between SIDS landforms and the horizontal resolution of global climate models (GCMs), SIDS are mostly unaccounted for in GCMs that are used to make future projections of global climate change and its regional impacts. Specific approaches are required to address this gap between broad-scale model projections and regional, policy-relevant outcomes. Here we apply a recently developed methodology to project future changes in aridity in combination with population projections associated with different shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) to evaluate overall changes in freshwater stress in SIDS at warming levels of 1.5°C and 2°C above pre-industrial levels. By accounting for evaporative demand a posteriori, we reveal a robust yet spatially variable tendency towards increasing aridity for 16 million people living on islands by mid-century. Although about half of the islands are projected to experience increased rainfall—predominantly in the deep tropics—projected changes in evaporation are more uniform, shifting the global distribution of changes in island freshwater balance towards greater aridity. In many cases, the magnitude of projected drying is comparable to the amplitude of the estimated observed interannual variability, with important consequences for extreme events. While we find that future population growth will dominate changes in projected freshwater stress especially towards the end of the century, projected changes in aridity are found to compound freshwater stress for the vast majority of SIDS. Particularly across the Caribbean region, a

  4. Heliozoa from Nigeria | Wujek | Tropical Freshwater Biology

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A total of seven scaled protistans were observed from four freshwater sites in Nigeria. They include the holiozoan genera Acanthocystis, Polyplacocystis, Pterocystis, and Raphidiophrys. All are new records for Africa. KEY WORDS: Heliozoa, Protozoa, Acanthocystis, Polyplacocystis, Pterocystis, Raphidiophrys Tropical ...

  5. Evaluation of stream water quality data generated from MODIS images in modeling total suspended solid emission to a freshwater lake.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayana, Essayas K; Worqlul, Abeyou W; Steenhuis, Tammo S

    2015-08-01

    Modeling of suspended sediment emission into freshwater lakes is challenging due to data gaps in developing countries. Existing models simulate sediment concentration at a gauging station upstream and none of these studies had modeled total suspended solids (TSS) emissions by inflowing rivers to freshwater lakes as there are no TSS measurements at the river mouth in the upper Blue Nile basin. In this study a 10year TSS time series data generated from remotely sensed MODIS/Terra images using established empirical relationship is applied to calibrate and validate a hydrology model for Lake Tana in Upper Blue Nile Basin. The result showed that at a monthly time scale TSS at the river mouth can be replicated with Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NS) of 0.34 for calibration and 0.21 for validation periods. Percent bias (PBIAS) and ratio of the root-mean-square error to the standard deviation of measured data (RSR) are all within range. Given the inaccessibility and costliness to measure TSS at river mouths to a lake the results found here are considered useful for suspended sediment budget studies in water bodies of the basin. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Social video content delivery

    CERN Document Server

    Wang, Zhi; Zhu, Wenwu

    2016-01-01

    This brief presents new architecture and strategies for distribution of social video content. A primary framework for socially-aware video delivery and a thorough overview of the possible approaches is provided. The book identifies the unique characteristics of socially-aware video access and social content propagation, revealing the design and integration of individual modules that are aimed at enhancing user experience in the social network context. The change in video content generation, propagation, and consumption for online social networks, has significantly challenged the traditional video delivery paradigm. Given the massive amount of user-generated content shared in online social networks, users are now engaged as active participants in the social ecosystem rather than as passive receivers of media content. This revolution is being driven further by the deep penetration of 3G/4G wireless networks and smart mobile devices that are seamlessly integrated with online social networking and media-sharing s...

  7. Children's Video Games as Interactive Racialization

    OpenAIRE

    Martin, Cathlena

    2008-01-01

    Cathlena Martin explores in her paper "Children's Video Games as Interactive Racialization" selected children's video games. Martin argues that children's video games often act as reinforcement for the games' television and film counterparts and their racializing characteristics and features. In Martin's analysis the video games discussed represent media through which to analyze racial identities and ideologies. In making the case for positive female minority leads in children's video games, ...

  8. Subjective Video Quality Assessment in H.264/AVC Video Coding Standard

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z. Miličević

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper seeks to provide an approach for subjective video quality assessment in the H.264/AVC standard. For this purpose a special software program for the subjective assessment of quality of all the tested video sequences is developed. It was developed in accordance with recommendation ITU-T P.910, since it is suitable for the testing of multimedia applications. The obtained results show that in the proposed selective intra prediction and optimized inter prediction algorithm there is a small difference in picture quality (signal-to-noise ratio between decoded original and modified video sequences.

  9. Illusory control, gambling, and video gaming: an investigation of regular gamblers and video game players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Daniel L; Ejova, Anastasia; Delfabbro, Paul H

    2012-09-01

    There is a paucity of empirical research examining the possible association between gambling and video game play. In two studies, we examined the association between video game playing, erroneous gambling cognitions, and risky gambling behaviour. One hundred and fifteen participants, including 65 electronic gambling machine (EGM) players and 50 regular video game players, were administered a questionnaire that examined video game play, gambling involvement, problem gambling, and beliefs about gambling. We then assessed each groups' performance on a computerised gambling task that involved real money. A post-game survey examined perceptions of the skill and chance involved in the gambling task. The results showed that video game playing itself was not significantly associated with gambling involvement or problem gambling status. However, among those persons who both gambled and played video games, video game playing was uniquely and significantly positively associated with the perception of direct control over chance-based gambling events. Further research is needed to better understand the nature of this association, as it may assist in understanding the impact of emerging digital gambling technologies.

  10. Filling gaps in a large reserve network to address freshwater conservation needs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hermoso, Virgilio; Filipe, Ana Filipa; Segurado, Pedro; Beja, Pedro

    2015-09-15

    Freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity are among the most threatened at global scale, but efforts for their conservation have been mostly peripheral to terrestrial conservation. For example, Natura 2000, the world's largest network of protected areas, fails to cover adequately the distribution of rare and endangered aquatic species, and lacks of appropriate spatial design to make conservation for freshwater biodiversity effective. Here, we develop a framework to identify a complementary set of priority areas and enhance the conservation opportunities of Natura 2000 for freshwater biodiversity, using the Iberian Peninsula as a case study. We use a systematic planning approach to identify a minimum set of additional areas that would help i) adequately represent all freshwater fish, amphibians and aquatic reptiles at three different target levels, ii) account for key ecological processes derived from riverscape connectivity, and iii) minimize the impact of threats, both within protected areas and propagated from upstream unprotected areas. Addressing all these goals would need an increase in area between 7 and 46%, depending on the conservation target used and strength of connectivity required. These new priority areas correspond to subcatchments inhabited by endangered and range restricted species, as well as additional subcatchments required to improve connectivity among existing protected areas and to increase protection against upstream threats. Our study should help guide future revisions of the design of Natura 2000, while providing a framework to address deficiencies in reserve networks for adequately protecting freshwater biodiversity elsewhere. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Quantifying the effect of catchment land-use and water nutrient concentrations on freshwater river and stream biodiversity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Weijters, M.J.; Janse, J.H.; Alkemade, J.R.M.; Verhoeven, J.T.A.

    2009-01-01

    A major threat to freshwater taxon diversity is the alteration of natural catchment Land use into agriculture, industry or urban areas and the associated eutrophication of the water. In order to stop freshwater biodiversity loss, it is essential to quantify the relationships between freshwater

  12. Marine nutrient contributions to tidal creeks in Virginia: spawning marine fish as nutrient vectors to freshwater ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macavoy, S. E.; Garman, G. C.

    2006-12-01

    Coastal freshwater streams are typically viewed as conduits for the transport of sediment and nutrients to the coasts. Some coastal streams however experience seasonal migrations of anadromous fish returning to the freshwater to spawn. The fish may be vectors for the delivery of marine nutrients to nutrient poor freshwater in the form of excreted waste and post-spawning carcasses. Nutrients derived from marine sources are 13C, 15N and 34S enriched relative to nutrients in freshwater. Here we examine sediment, particulate organic matter (POM), invertebrates and fish in two tidal freshwater tributaries of the James River USA. The d15N of POM became elevated (from 3.8 to 6.5%), coincident with the arrival of anadromous river herring (Alosa sp), indicating a pulse of marine nitrogen. However, the elevated 15N was not observed in sediment samples or among invertebrates, which did not experience a seasonal isotopic shift (there were significant differences however among the guilds of invertebrate). Anadromous Alosa aestivalis captured within the tidal freshwater were 13C and 34S enriched (-19.3 and 17.2%, respectively) relative to resident freshwater fishes (-26.4 and 3.6% respectively) captured within 2 weeks of the Alosa. Although it is likely that marine derived nitrogen was detected in the tidal freshwater, it was not in sufficient abundance to change the isotope signature of most ecosystem components.

  13. Video-Based Big Data Analytics in Cyberlearning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shuangbao; Kelly, William

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we present a novel system, inVideo, for video data analytics, and its use in transforming linear videos into interactive learning objects. InVideo is able to analyze video content automatically without the need for initial viewing by a human. Using a highly efficient video indexing engine we developed, the system is able to analyze…

  14. Web Audio/Video Streaming Tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guruvadoo, Eranna K.

    2003-01-01

    In order to promote NASA-wide educational outreach program to educate and inform the public of space exploration, NASA, at Kennedy Space Center, is seeking efficient ways to add more contents to the web by streaming audio/video files. This project proposes a high level overview of a framework for the creation, management, and scheduling of audio/video assets over the web. To support short-term goals, the prototype of a web-based tool is designed and demonstrated to automate the process of streaming audio/video files. The tool provides web-enabled users interfaces to manage video assets, create publishable schedules of video assets for streaming, and schedule the streaming events. These operations are performed on user-defined and system-derived metadata of audio/video assets stored in a relational database while the assets reside on separate repository. The prototype tool is designed using ColdFusion 5.0.

  15. Zebra mussel adhesion: structure of the byssal adhesive apparatus in the freshwater mussel, Dreissena polymorpha.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farsad, Nikrooz; Sone, Eli D

    2012-03-01

    The freshwater zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) owes a large part of its success as an invasive species to its ability to attach to a wide variety of substrates. As in marine mussels, this attachment is achieved by a proteinaceous byssus, a series of threads joined at a stem that connect the mussel to adhesive plaques secreted onto the substrate. Although the zebra mussel byssus is superficially similar to marine mussels, significant structural and compositional differences suggest that further investigation of the adhesion mechanisms in this freshwater species is warranted. Here we present an ultrastructural examination of the zebra mussel byssus, with emphasis on interfaces that are critical to its adhesive function. By examining the attached plaques, we show that adhesion is mediated by a uniform electron dense layer on the underside of the plaque. This layer is only 10-20 nm thick and makes direct and continuous contact with the substrate. The plaque itself is fibrous, and curiously can exhibit either a dense or porous morphology. In zebra mussels, a graded interface between the animal and the substrate mussels is achieved by interdigitation of uniform threads with the stem, in contrast to marine mussels, where the threads themselves are non-uniform. Our observations of several novel aspects of zebra mussel byssal ultrastructure may have important implications not only for preventing biofouling by the zebra mussel, but for the development of new bioadhesives as well. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Current status of parasitic ciliates Chilodonella spp. (Phyllopharyngea: Chilodonellidae) in freshwater fish aquaculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bastos Gomes, G; Jerry, D R; Miller, T L; Hutson, K S

    2017-05-01

    Freshwater fish farming contributes to more than two-thirds of global aquaculture production. Parasitic ciliates are one of the largest causes of production loss in freshwater farmed fishes, with species from the genus Chilodonella being particularly problematic. While Chilodonella spp. include 'free-living' fauna, some species are involved in mortality events of fish, particularly in high-density aquaculture. Indeed, chilodonellosis causes major productivity losses in over 16 species of farmed freshwater fishes in more than 14 countries. Traditionally, Chilodonella species are identified based on morphological features; however, the genus comprises yet uncharacterized cryptic species, which indicates the necessity for molecular diagnostic methods. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the biology, ecology and geographic distribution of harmful Chilodonella spp. and examines pathological signs, diagnostic methods and treatments. Recent advances in molecular diagnostics and the ability to culture Chilodonella spp. in vitro will enable the development of preventative management practices and sustained freshwater fish aquaculture production. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. The Implications of Ranaviruses to European farmed and wild freshwater fish

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Ann Britt Bang

    The present thesis explores the implications of ranaviruses to European farmed and wild freshwater fish. The work presented was carried out as a part of the EU project “Risk assessment of new and emerging systemic iridoviral diseases for European fish and aquatic ecosystems” which was initiated...... in 2005 as a reaction to the speculation that ranaviruses might pose a serious threat to both farmed and wild-living freshwater fish and amphibians within the European community. In the present thesis, the purpose is to determine the implications of ranaviruses to European freshwater farmed and wild...... describing the risk of introduction and spread of exotic ranaviruses in European wild and farmed aquatic ecosystems Objectives 1 and 2 have been addressed by experimental trials involving bath challenges of both European farmed and wild fish species and ornamental fish species. The results showed that some...

  18. Robust video object cosegmentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Wenguan; Shen, Jianbing; Li, Xuelong; Porikli, Fatih

    2015-10-01

    With ever-increasing volumes of video data, automatic extraction of salient object regions became even more significant for visual analytic solutions. This surge has also opened up opportunities for taking advantage of collective cues encapsulated in multiple videos in a cooperative manner. However, it also brings up major challenges, such as handling of drastic appearance, motion pattern, and pose variations, of foreground objects as well as indiscriminate backgrounds. Here, we present a cosegmentation framework to discover and segment out common object regions across multiple frames and multiple videos in a joint fashion. We incorporate three types of cues, i.e., intraframe saliency, interframe consistency, and across-video similarity into an energy optimization framework that does not make restrictive assumptions on foreground appearance and motion model, and does not require objects to be visible in all frames. We also introduce a spatio-temporal scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) flow descriptor to integrate across-video correspondence from the conventional SIFT-flow into interframe motion flow from optical flow. This novel spatio-temporal SIFT flow generates reliable estimations of common foregrounds over the entire video data set. Experimental results show that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art on a new extensive data set (ViCoSeg).

  19. Cultured branchial epithelia from freshwater fish gills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood; PÄRt

    1997-01-01

    We have developed a method for the primary culture of gill epithelial cells from freshwater rainbow trout on permeable supports, polyethylene terephthalate membranes ('filter inserts'). Primary cultures of gill cells (6-9 days in Leibowitz L-15 culture medium plus foetal bovine serum and glutamine) are trypsinized and the cells seeded onto the inserts. After 6 days of growth with L-15 medium on both surfaces (approximately isotonic to trout plasma), the cells form a tight epithelium as judged from a progressive rise in transepithelial resistance which reaches a stable plateau for a further 6 days, as long as L-15 exposure is continued on both surfaces. The cultured epithelium (approximately 8 µm thick) typically consists of 2-4 overlapping cell layers organized as in the lamellae in vivo, with large intercellular spaces, multiple desmosomes and putative tight junctions. The cells appear to be exclusively pavement-type cells with an apical surface glycocalyx, an abundance of rough endoplasmic reticulum, no selective DASPEI staining and relatively few mitochondria. Transepithelial resistance (approximately 3.5 k cm2), permeability to a paracellular marker (polyethylene glycol-4000; 0.17x10(-6) cm s-1) and unidirectional flux of Na+ and Cl- (approximately 300 nmol cm-2 h-1) all appear realistic because they compare well with in vivo values; net fluxes of Na+ and Cl- are zero. The preparation acidifies the apical medium, which accumulates a greater concentration of ammonia. Upon exposure to apical freshwater, resistance increases six- to elevenfold and a basolateral-negative transepithelial potential (TEP) develops as in vivo. These responses occur even when mannitol is used to prevent changes in apical osmotic pressure. Net Na+ and Cl- loss rates are low over the first 12 h (-125 nmol cm-2 h-1) but increase substantially by 48 h. The elevated resistance and negative TEP gradually attenuate but remain significantly higher than pre-exposure values after 48 h of apical

  20. Mechanisms of video-game epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fylan, F; Harding, G F; Edson, A S; Webb, R M

    1999-01-01

    We aimed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying video-game epilepsy by comparing the flicker- and spatial-frequency ranges over which photic and pattern stimulation elicited photoparoxysmal responses in two different populations: (a) 25 patients with a history of seizures experienced while playing video games; and (b) 25 age- and medication-matched controls with a history of photosensitive epilepsy, but no history of video-game seizures. Abnormality ranges were determined by measuring photoparoxysmal EEG abnormalities as a function of the flicker frequency of patterned and diffuse intermittent photic stimulation (IPS) and the spatial frequency of patterns on a raster display. There was no significant difference between the groups in respect of the abnormality ranges elicited by patterned or diffuse IPS or by spatial patterns. When the groups were compared at one specific IPS frequency (-50 Hz), however, the flicker frequency of European television displays, the video-game patients were significantly more likely to be sensitive. The results suggest that video-game seizures are a manifestation of photosensitive epilepsy. The increased sensitivity of video-game patients to IPS at 50 Hz indicates that display flicker may underlie video-game seizures. The similarity in photic- and pattern-stimulation ranges over which abnormalities are elicited in video-game patients and controls suggests that all patients with photosensitive epilepsy may be predisposed toward video-game-induced seizures. Photosensitivity screening should therefore include assessment by using both IPS at 50 Hz and patterns displayed on a television or monitor with a 50-Hz frame rate.

  1. Study on Waste Heat Utilization Device of High-Temperature Freshwater in the Modern Marine Diesel Engine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shuaijun; Liu, Chentao; Zhou, Yao

    2018-01-01

    Based on using the waste heat recycling from high temperature freshwater in marine diesel engine to heat fuel oil tank, lubrication oil tank and settling tank and so on to achieve energy saving, improve fuel efficiency as the goal, study on waste heat utilization device of high-temperature freshwater in the modern marine diesel engine to make the combustion chamber effectively cooled by high-temperature freshwater and the inner liner freshwater temperature heat is effectively utilized and so on to improve the overall efficiency of the power plant of the ship and the diesel optimum working condition.

  2. Video game induced knuckle pad.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rushing, Mary E; Sheehan, Daniel J; Davis, Loretta S

    2006-01-01

    Controversy and concern surround the video game playing fascination of children. Scientific reports have explored the negative effects of video games on youth, with a growing number recognizing the actual physical implications of this activity. We offer another reason to discourage children's focus on video games: knuckle pads. A 13-year-old black boy presented with an asymptomatic, slightly hyperpigmented plaque over his right second distal interphalangeal joint. A punch biopsy specimen confirmed knuckle pad as the diagnosis, and a traumatic etiology from video game playing was suspected. Knuckle pads can be painful, cosmetically unappealing, and refractory to treatment. They can now be recognized as yet another potential adverse consequence of chronic video game playing.

  3. Genetic calibration of species diversity among North America's freshwater fishes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    April, Julien; Mayden, Richard L; Hanner, Robert H; Bernatchez, Louis

    2011-06-28

    Freshwater ecosystems are being heavily exploited and degraded by human activities all over the world, including in North America, where fishes and fisheries are strongly affected. Despite centuries of taxonomic inquiry, problems inherent to species identification continue to hamper the conservation of North American freshwater fishes. Indeed, nearly 10% of species diversity is thought to remain undescribed. To provide an independent calibration of taxonomic uncertainty and to establish a more accessible molecular identification key for its application, we generated a standard reference library of mtDNA sequences (DNA barcodes) derived from expert-identified museum specimens for 752 North American freshwater fish species. This study demonstrates that 90% of known species can be delineated using barcodes. Moreover, it reveals numerous genetic discontinuities indicative of independently evolving lineages within described species, which points to the presence of morphologically cryptic diversity. From the 752 species analyzed, our survey flagged 138 named species that represent as many as 347 candidate species, which suggests a 28% increase in species diversity. In contrast, several species of parasitic and nonparasitic lampreys lack such discontinuity and may represent alternative life history strategies within single species. Therefore, it appears that the current North American freshwater fish taxonomy at the species level significantly conceals diversity in some groups, although artificially creating diversity in others. In addition to providing an easily accessible digital identification system, this study identifies 151 fish species for which taxonomic revision is required.

  4. Establishing a database of radionuclide transfer parameters for freshwater wildlife

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yankovich, T.; Beresford, N.A.; Fesenko, S.; Fesenko, J.; Phaneuf, M.; Dagher, E.; Outola, I.; Andersson, P.; Thiessen, K.; Ryan, J.; Wood, M.D.; Bollhöfer, A.

    2013-01-01

    Environmental assessments to evaluate potentials risks to humans and wildlife often involve modelling to predict contaminant exposure through key pathways. Such models require input of parameter values, including concentration ratios, to estimate contaminant concentrations in biota based on measurements or estimates of concentrations in environmental media, such as water. Due to the diversity of species and the range in physicochemical conditions in natural ecosystems, concentration ratios can vary by orders of magnitude, even within similar species. Therefore, to improve model input parameter values for application in aquatic systems, freshwater concentration ratios were collated or calculated from national grey literature, Russian language publications, and refereed papers. Collated data were then input into an international database that is being established by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The freshwater database enables entry of information for all radionuclides listed in ICRP (1983), in addition to the corresponding stable elements, and comprises a total of more than 16,500 concentration ratio (CR wo-water ) values. Although data were available for all broad wildlife groups (with the exception of birds), data were sparse for many organism types. For example, zooplankton, crustaceans, insects and insect larvae, amphibians, and mammals, for which there were CR wo-water values for less than eight elements. Coverage was most comprehensive for fish, vascular plants, and molluscs. To our knowledge, the freshwater database that has now been established represents the most comprehensive set of CR wo-water values for freshwater species currently available for use in radiological environmental assessments

  5. Monitoring endangered freshwater biodiversity using environmental DNA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, Philip Francis; Kielgast, Jos; Iversen, Lars Lønsmann

    2012-01-01

    Freshwater ecosystems are among the most endangered habitats on Earth, with thousands of animal species known to be threatened or already extinct. Reliable monitoring of threatened organisms is crucial for data-driven conservation actions but remains a challenge owing to nonstandardized methods t...

  6. Homogenization patterns of the world’s freshwater fish faunas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Villéger, Sébastien; Blanchet, Simon; Beauchard, Olivier; Oberdorff, Thierry; Brosse, Sébastien

    2011-01-01

    The world is currently undergoing an unprecedented decline in biodiversity, which is mainly attributable to human activities. For instance, nonnative species introduction, combined with the extirpation of native species, affects biodiversity patterns, notably by increasing the similarity among species assemblages. This biodiversity change, called taxonomic homogenization, has rarely been assessed at the world scale. Here, we fill this gap by assessing the current homogenization status of one of the most diverse vertebrate groups (i.e., freshwater fishes) at global and regional scales. We demonstrate that current homogenization of the freshwater fish faunas is still low at the world scale (0.5%) but reaches substantial levels (up to 10%) in some highly invaded river basins from the Nearctic and Palearctic realms. In these realms experiencing high changes, nonnative species introductions rather than native species extirpations drive taxonomic homogenization. Our results suggest that the “Homogocene era” is not yet the case for freshwater fish fauna at the worldwide scale. However, the distressingly high level of homogenization noted for some biogeographical realms stresses the need for further understanding of the ecological consequences of homogenization processes. PMID:22025692

  7. Explosive diversification following a benthic to pelagic shift in freshwater fishes

    OpenAIRE

    Hollingsworth, Phillip R; Simons, Andrew M; Fordyce, James A; Hulsey, C Darrin

    2013-01-01

    Background Interspecific divergence along a benthic to pelagic habitat axis is ubiquitous in freshwater fishes inhabiting lentic environments. In this study, we examined the influence of this habitat axis on the macroevolution of a diverse, lotic radiation using mtDNA and nDNA phylogenies for eastern North America’s most species-rich freshwater fish clade, the open posterior myodome (OPM) cyprinids. We used ancestral state reconstruction to identify the earliest benthic to pelagic transition ...

  8. 3D video

    CERN Document Server

    Lucas, Laurent; Loscos, Céline

    2013-01-01

    While 3D vision has existed for many years, the use of 3D cameras and video-based modeling by the film industry has induced an explosion of interest for 3D acquisition technology, 3D content and 3D displays. As such, 3D video has become one of the new technology trends of this century.The chapters in this book cover a large spectrum of areas connected to 3D video, which are presented both theoretically and technologically, while taking into account both physiological and perceptual aspects. Stepping away from traditional 3D vision, the authors, all currently involved in these areas, provide th

  9. Collaborative Video Sketching

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henningsen, Birgitte; Gundersen, Peter Bukovica; Hautopp, Heidi

    2017-01-01

    This paper introduces to what we define as a collaborative video sketching process. This process links various sketching techniques with digital storytelling approaches and creative reflection processes in video productions. Traditionally, sketching has been used by designers across various...... findings: 1) They are based on a collaborative approach. 2) The sketches act as a mean to externalizing hypotheses and assumptions among the participants. Based on our analysis we present an overview of factors involved in collaborative video sketching and shows how the factors relate to steps, where...... the participants: shape, record, review and edit their work, leading the participants to new insights about their work....

  10. Learning to Swim Using Video Modelling and Video Feedback within a Self-Management Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lao, So-An; Furlonger, Brett E.; Moore, Dennis W.; Busacca, Margherita

    2016-01-01

    Although many adults who cannot swim are primarily interested in learning by direct coaching there are options that have a focus on self-directed learning. As an alternative a self-management program combined with video modelling, video feedback and high quality and affordable video technology was used to assess its effectiveness to assisting an…

  11. Video Quality Prediction over Wireless 4G

    KAUST Repository

    Lau, Chun Pong

    2013-04-14

    In this paper, we study the problem of video quality prediction over the wireless 4G network. Video transmission data is collected from a real 4G SCM testbed for investigating factors that affect video quality. After feature transformation and selection on video and network parameters, video quality is predicted by solving as regression problem. Experimental results show that the dominated factor on video quality is the channel attenuation and video quality can be well estimated by our models with small errors.

  12. Video Quality Prediction over Wireless 4G

    KAUST Repository

    Lau, Chun Pong; Zhang, Xiangliang; Shihada, Basem

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, we study the problem of video quality prediction over the wireless 4G network. Video transmission data is collected from a real 4G SCM testbed for investigating factors that affect video quality. After feature transformation and selection on video and network parameters, video quality is predicted by solving as regression problem. Experimental results show that the dominated factor on video quality is the channel attenuation and video quality can be well estimated by our models with small errors.

  13. The Video Generation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Provenzo, Eugene F., Jr.

    1992-01-01

    Video games are neither neutral nor harmless but represent very specific social and symbolic constructs. Research on the social content of today's video games reveals that sex bias and gender stereotyping are widely evident throughout the Nintendo games. Violence and aggression also pervade the great majority of the games. (MLF)

  14. Intelligent control for scalable video processing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wüst, C.C.

    2006-01-01

    In this thesis we study a problem related to cost-effective video processing in software by consumer electronics devices, such as digital TVs. Video processing is the task of transforming an input video signal into an output video signal, for example to improve the quality of the signal. This

  15. Luminescence properties of a nanoporous freshwater diatom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goswami, Bondita; Choudhury, Amarjyoti; Buragohain, Alak K

    2012-01-01

    Freshwater diatom frustules show special optical properties. In this paper we observed luminescence properties of the freshwater diatom Cyclotella meneghiniana. To confirm the morphological properties we present scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies were carried out to visualize the structural properties of the frustules, confirming that silica present in diatom frustules crystallizes in an α-quartz structure. Study of the optical properties of the silica frustules of diatoms using ultra-violet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy confirmed that the diatom C. meneghiniana shows luminescence in the blue region of the electromagnetic spectrum when irradiated with UV light. This property of diatoms can be exploited to obtain many applications in day-to-day life. Also, using time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy (TRPL) it was confirmed that this species of diatom shows bi-exponential decay. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  16. Video personalization for usage environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tseng, Belle L.; Lin, Ching-Yung; Smith, John R.

    2002-07-01

    A video personalization and summarization system is designed and implemented incorporating usage environment to dynamically generate a personalized video summary. The personalization system adopts the three-tier server-middleware-client architecture in order to select, adapt, and deliver rich media content to the user. The server stores the content sources along with their corresponding MPEG-7 metadata descriptions. Our semantic metadata is provided through the use of the VideoAnnEx MPEG-7 Video Annotation Tool. When the user initiates a request for content, the client communicates the MPEG-21 usage environment description along with the user query to the middleware. The middleware is powered by the personalization engine and the content adaptation engine. Our personalization engine includes the VideoSue Summarization on Usage Environment engine that selects the optimal set of desired contents according to user preferences. Afterwards, the adaptation engine performs the required transformations and compositions of the selected contents for the specific usage environment using our VideoEd Editing and Composition Tool. Finally, two personalization and summarization systems are demonstrated for the IBM Websphere Portal Server and for the pervasive PDA devices.

  17. Video Golf

    Science.gov (United States)

    1995-01-01

    George Nauck of ENCORE!!! invented and markets the Advanced Range Performance (ARPM) Video Golf System for measuring the result of a golf swing. After Nauck requested their assistance, Marshall Space Flight Center scientists suggested video and image processing/computing technology, and provided leads on commercial companies that dealt with the pertinent technologies. Nauck contracted with Applied Research Inc. to develop a prototype. The system employs an elevated camera, which sits behind the tee and follows the flight of the ball down range, catching the point of impact and subsequent roll. Instant replay of the video on a PC monitor at the tee allows measurement of the carry and roll. The unit measures distance and deviation from the target line, as well as distance from the target when one is selected. The information serves as an immediate basis for making adjustments or as a record of skill level progress for golfers.

  18. Natural and anthropogenic factors affecting freshwater lenses in coastal dunes of the Adriatic coast

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cozzolino, Davide; Greggio, Nicolas; Antonellini, Marco; Giambastiani, Beatrice Maria Sole

    2017-08-01

    This study characterizes the near-shore portion of the shallow coastal aquifer included in the Ravenna area (Northern Italy) with special attention to the roles of coastal dunes as freshwater reservoirs and their buffer on groundwater salinity. The paper focuses on the presence and evolution of freshwater lenses below coastal dunes and highlights the existing differences between preserved natural dunes and dunes strongly affected by human intervention. The influence that multiple natural and anthropogenic factors, such as land cover, local drainage network, and beach erosion have on the presence, size and evolution of the freshwater lenses in the aquifer is quantified and discussed. The methodology includes multiple seasonal monitoring and sampling campaigns of physical (water level, salinity, and temperature) and chemical (major cations and anions) groundwater parameters. Results indicate that freshwater lenses, where existing, are limited in thickness (about 1-2 m). Proximity to drainage ditches as well as limited dune elevation and size do not allow the formation and permanent storage of large freshwater lenses in the aquifer below the dunes. The pine forest land cover, that replaced the typical bush or sand cover, intensifies evapotranspiration reducing net infiltration and freshwater storage. The cation species distribution in the water shows that a freshening process is ongoing in preserved natural sites with stable or advancing beaches, whereas a salinization process is ongoing in anthropogenic-impacted areas with strongly-fragmented dune systems. Currently, the thin freshwater lenses in the shallow Ravenna coastal aquifer are limited in space and have no relevance for irrigation or any other human activity. The dune-beach system, however, is the recharge zone of the coastal aquifer and its protection is important to reduce water and soil salinization, which in turn control the health of the whole coastal ecosystem.

  19. The Energy Expenditure of an Activity-Promoting Video Game compared to Sedentary Video Games and TV Watching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitre, Naim; Foster, Randal C; Lanningham-Foster, Lorraine; Levine, James A.

    2014-01-01

    Background Screen time continues to be a major contributing factor to sedentariness in children. There have been more creative approaches to increase physical over the last few years. One approach has been through the use of video games. In the present study we investigated the effect of television watching and the use of activity-promoting video games on energy expenditure and movement in lean and obese children. Our primary hypothesis was that energy expenditure and movement decreases while watching television, in lean and obese children. Our secondary hypothesis was that energy expenditure and movement increases when playing the same game with an activity-promoting video game console compared to a sedentary video game console, in lean and obese children. Methods Eleven boys (10 ± 1 year) and eight girls (9 ± 1 year) ranging in BMI from 14–29 kg/m2 (eleven lean and eight overweight or obese) were recruited. Energy expenditure and physical activity were measured while participants were watching television, playing a video game on a traditional sedentary video game console, and while playing the same video game on an activity-promoting video game (Nintendo Wii) console. Results Energy expenditure was significantly greater than television watching and playing video games on a sedentary video game console when children played the video game on the activity-promoting console(125.3 ± 38.2 Kcal/hr vs. 79.7 ± 20.1 and 79.4 ±15.7, Pvideo games on a sedentary video game console is not different. Activity-promoting video games have shown to increase movement, and be an important tool to raise energy expenditure by 50% when compared to sedentary activities of daily living. PMID:22145458

  20. Diavideos: a diabetes health video portal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez-Bocanegra, C L; Rivero-Rodriguez, A; Fernández-Luque, L; Sevillano, J L

    2013-01-01

    Diavideos is a web platform that collects trustworthy diabetes health videos from YouTube and offers them in a easy way. YouTube is a big repository of health videos, but good content is sometimes mixed with misleading and harmful videos such as promoting anorexia [1]. Diavideos is a web portal that provides easy access to a repository of trustworthy diabetes videos. This poster describes Diavideos and explains the crawling method used to retrieve these videos from trusted channels.

  1. Making Sense of Video Analytics: Lessons Learned from Clickstream Interactions, Attitudes, and Learning Outcome in a Video-Assisted Course

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michail N. Giannakos

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Online video lectures have been considered an instructional media for various pedagogic approaches, such as the flipped classroom and open online courses. In comparison to other instructional media, online video affords the opportunity for recording student clickstream patterns within a video lecture. Video analytics within lecture videos may provide insights into student learning performance and inform the improvement of video-assisted teaching tactics. Nevertheless, video analytics are not accessible to learning stakeholders, such as researchers and educators, mainly because online video platforms do not broadly share the interactions of the users with their systems. For this purpose, we have designed an open-access video analytics system for use in a video-assisted course. In this paper, we present a longitudinal study, which provides valuable insights through the lens of the collected video analytics. In particular, we found that there is a relationship between video navigation (repeated views and the level of cognition/thinking required for a specific video segment. Our results indicated that learning performance progress was slightly improved and stabilized after the third week of the video-assisted course. We also found that attitudes regarding easiness, usability, usefulness, and acceptance of this type of course remained at the same levels throughout the course. Finally, we triangulate analytics from diverse sources, discuss them, and provide the lessons learned for further development and refinement of video-assisted courses and practices.

  2. Robust Watermarking of Video Streams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Polyák

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available In the past few years there has been an explosion in the use of digital video data. Many people have personal computers at home, and with the help of the Internet users can easily share video files on their computer. This makes possible the unauthorized use of digital media, and without adequate protection systems the authors and distributors have no means to prevent it.Digital watermarking techniques can help these systems to be more effective by embedding secret data right into the video stream. This makes minor changes in the frames of the video, but these changes are almost imperceptible to the human visual system. The embedded information can involve copyright data, access control etc. A robust watermark is resistant to various distortions of the video, so it cannot be removed without affecting the quality of the host medium. In this paper I propose a video watermarking scheme that fulfills the requirements of a robust watermark. 

  3. The freshwater balance of polar regions in transient simulations from 1500 to 2100 AD using a comprehensive coupled climate model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lehner, Flavio; Raible, Christoph C.; Hofer, Dominik; Stocker, Thomas F. [University of Bern, Climate and Environmental Physics, Physics Institute, and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, Bern (Switzerland)

    2012-07-15

    The ocean and sea ice in both polar regions are important reservoirs of freshwater within the climate system. While the response of these reservoirs to future climate change has been studied intensively, the sensitivity of the polar freshwater balance to natural forcing variations during preindustrial times has received less attention. Using an ensemble of transient simulations from 1500 to 2100 AD we put present-day and future states of the polar freshwater balance in the context of low frequency variability of the past five centuries. This is done by focusing on different multi-decadal periods of characteristic external forcing. In the Arctic, freshwater is shifted from the ocean to sea ice during the Maunder Minimum while the total amount of freshwater within the Arctic domain remains unchanged. In contrast, the subsequent Dalton Minimum does not leave an imprint on the slow-reacting reservoirs of the ocean and sea ice, but triggers a drop in the import of freshwater through the atmosphere. During the twentieth and twenty-first century the build-up of freshwater in the Arctic Ocean leads to a strengthening of the liquid export. The Arctic freshwater balance is shifted towards being a large source of freshwater to the North Atlantic ocean. The Antarctic freshwater cycle, on the other hand, appears to be insensitive to preindustrial variations in external forcing. In line with the rising temperature during the industrial era the freshwater budget becomes increasingly unbalanced and strengthens the high latitude's Southern Ocean as a source of liquid freshwater to lower latitude oceans. (orig.)

  4. Seeing is believing: video classification for computed tomographic colonography using multiple-instance learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shijun; McKenna, Matthew T; Nguyen, Tan B; Burns, Joseph E; Petrick, Nicholas; Sahiner, Berkman; Summers, Ronald M

    2012-05-01

    In this paper, we present development and testing results for a novel colonic polyp classification method for use as part of a computed tomographic colonography (CTC) computer-aided detection (CAD) system. Inspired by the interpretative methodology of radiologists using 3-D fly-through mode in CTC reading, we have developed an algorithm which utilizes sequences of images (referred to here as videos) for classification of CAD marks. For each CAD mark, we created a video composed of a series of intraluminal, volume-rendered images visualizing the detection from multiple viewpoints. We then framed the video classification question as a multiple-instance learning (MIL) problem. Since a positive (negative) bag may contain negative (positive) instances, which in our case depends on the viewing angles and camera distance to the target, we developed a novel MIL paradigm to accommodate this class of problems. We solved the new MIL problem by maximizing a L2-norm soft margin using semidefinite programming, which can optimize relevant parameters automatically. We tested our method by analyzing a CTC data set obtained from 50 patients from three medical centers. Our proposed method showed significantly better performance compared with several traditional MIL methods.

  5. Species persistence: a re-look at the freshwater fish fauna of Chennai, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.D.M. Knight

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Loss of habitat is one of the prime reasons for species extinction. It is generally established that certain classes of animals are more prone to extinction than others due to their restricted use of available habitats. Freshwater fish are among these sensitive animals. While local extinctions have rendered some species rare throughout their geographical range, many others have demonstrated higher levels of persistence. This paper focuses on a recent in-depth study of the primary freshwater fishes in and around Chennai. The study that spanned a period of two years recorded a total of 75 species of primary freshwater fish, of which 17 are new reports.

  6. Video genre classification using multimodal features

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Sung Ho; Bae, Tae Meon; Choo, Jin Ho; Ro, Yong Man

    2003-12-01

    We propose a video genre classification method using multimodal features. The proposed method is applied for the preprocessing of automatic video summarization or the retrieval and classification of broadcasting video contents. Through a statistical analysis of low-level and middle-level audio-visual features in video, the proposed method can achieve good performance in classifying several broadcasting genres such as cartoon, drama, music video, news, and sports. In this paper, we adopt MPEG-7 audio-visual descriptors as multimodal features of video contents and evaluate the performance of the classification by feeding the features into a decision tree-based classifier which is trained by CART. The experimental results show that the proposed method can recognize several broadcasting video genres with a high accuracy and the classification performance with multimodal features is superior to the one with unimodal features in the genre classification.

  7. Telemetry and Communication IP Video Player

    Science.gov (United States)

    OFarrell, Zachary L.

    2011-01-01

    Aegis Video Player is the name of the video over IP system for the Telemetry and Communications group of the Launch Services Program. Aegis' purpose is to display video streamed over a network connection to be viewed during launches. To accomplish this task, a VLC ActiveX plug-in was used in C# to provide the basic capabilities of video streaming. The program was then customized to be used during launches. The VLC plug-in can be configured programmatically to display a single stream, but for this project multiple streams needed to be accessed. To accomplish this, an easy to use, informative menu system was added to the program to enable users to quickly switch between videos. Other features were added to make the player more useful, such as watching multiple videos and watching a video in full screen.

  8. Video Game Accessibility: A Legal Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George Powers

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Video game accessibility may not seem of significance to some, and it may sound trivial to anyone who does not play video games. This assumption is false. With the digitalization of our culture, video games are an ever increasing part of our life. They contribute to peer to peer interactions, education, music and the arts. A video game can be created by hundreds of musicians and artists, and they can have production budgets that exceed modern blockbuster films. Inaccessible video games are analogous to movie theaters without closed captioning or accessible facilities. The movement to have accessible video games is small, unorganized and misdirected. Just like the other battles to make society accessible were accomplished through legislation and law, the battle for video game accessibility must be focused toward the law and not the market.

  9. An Energy-Efficient and High-Quality Video Transmission Architecture in Wireless Video-Based Sensor Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yasaman Samei

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Technological progress in the fields of Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS and wireless communications and also the availability of CMOS cameras, microphones and small-scale array sensors, which may ubiquitously capture multimedia content from the field, have fostered the development of low-cost limited resources Wireless Video-based Sensor Networks (WVSN. With regards to the constraints of videobased sensor nodes and wireless sensor networks, a supporting video stream is not easy to implement with the present sensor network protocols. In this paper, a thorough architecture is presented for video transmission over WVSN called Energy-efficient and high-Quality Video transmission Architecture (EQV-Architecture. This architecture influences three layers of communication protocol stack and considers wireless video sensor nodes constraints like limited process and energy resources while video quality is preserved in the receiver side. Application, transport, and network layers are the layers in which the compression protocol, transport protocol, and routing protocol are proposed respectively, also a dropping scheme is presented in network layer. Simulation results over various environments with dissimilar conditions revealed the effectiveness of the architecture in improving the lifetime of the network as well as preserving the video quality.

  10. An Energy-Efficient and High-Quality Video Transmission Architecture in Wireless Video-Based Sensor Networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aghdasi, Hadi S; Abbaspour, Maghsoud; Moghadam, Mohsen Ebrahimi; Samei, Yasaman

    2008-08-04

    Technological progress in the fields of Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and wireless communications and also the availability of CMOS cameras, microphones and small-scale array sensors, which may ubiquitously capture multimedia content from the field, have fostered the development of low-cost limited resources Wireless Video-based Sensor Networks (WVSN). With regards to the constraints of videobased sensor nodes and wireless sensor networks, a supporting video stream is not easy to implement with the present sensor network protocols. In this paper, a thorough architecture is presented for video transmission over WVSN called Energy-efficient and high-Quality Video transmission Architecture (EQV-Architecture). This architecture influences three layers of communication protocol stack and considers wireless video sensor nodes constraints like limited process and energy resources while video quality is preserved in the receiver side. Application, transport, and network layers are the layers in which the compression protocol, transport protocol, and routing protocol are proposed respectively, also a dropping scheme is presented in network layer. Simulation results over various environments with dissimilar conditions revealed the effectiveness of the architecture in improving the lifetime of the network as well as preserving the video quality.

  11. Macrophytes: Freshwater Forests of Lakes and Rivers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDermid, Karla J.; Naiman, Robert J.

    1983-01-01

    Physical, chemical, and biological effects on macrophytes (aquatic plants) on the freshwater ecosystem are discussed. Research questions and issues related to these organisms are also discussed, including adaptations for survival in a wet environment, ecological consequences of large-scale macrophyte eradication, seasonal changes in plant…

  12. Benthic freshwater nematode community dynamics under conditions ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Studies of the influence of fish aquaculture on benthic freshwater nematode assemblages are scarce, but could provide a way of gauging environmental effects. The abundance and diversity of nematode assemblages in response to Oreochromis niloticus aquaculture were investigated in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, Egypt, ...

  13. Home Video Telemetry vs inpatient telemetry: A comparative study looking at video quality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sutapa Biswas

    Full Text Available Objective: To compare the quality of home video recording with inpatient telemetry (IPT to evaluate our current Home Video Telemetry (HVT practice. Method: To assess our HVT practice, a retrospective comparison of the video quality against IPT was conducted with the latter as the gold standard. A pilot study had been conducted in 2008 on 5 patients.Patients (n = 28 were included in each group over a period of one year.The data was collected from referral spreadsheets, King’s EPR and telemetry archive.Scoring of the events captured was by consensus using two scorers.The variables compared included: visibility of the body part of interest, visibility of eyes, time of event, illumination, contrast, sound quality and picture clarity when amplified to 200%.Statistical evaluation was carried out using Shapiro–Wilk and Chi-square tests. The P-value of ⩽0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Significant differences were demonstrated in lighting and contrast between the two groups (HVT performed better in both.Amplified picture quality was slightly better in the HVT group. Conclusion: Video quality of HVT is comparable to IPT, even surpassing IPT in certain aspects such as the level of illumination and contrast. Results were reconfirmed in a larger sample of patients with more variables. Significance: Despite the user and environmental variability in HVT, it looks promising and can be seriously considered as a preferable alternative for patients who may require investigation at locations remote from an EEG laboratory. Keywords: Home Video Telemetry, EEG, Home video monitoring, Video quality

  14. Assessing exposure risks for freshwater tilapia species posed by mercury and methylmercury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Yi-Hsien; Lin, Yi-Jun; You, Shu-Han; Yang, Ying-Fei; How, Chun Ming; Tseng, Yi-Ting; Chen, Wei-Yu; Liao, Chung-Min

    2016-08-01

    Waterborne and dietborne exposures of freshwater fish to mercury (Hg) in the forms of inorganic (Hg(II)) and organic (methylmercury or MeHg) affect their growth, development, and reproduction. However, an integrated mechanistic risk model framework to predict the impact of Hg(II)/MeHg on freshwater fish is lacking. Here, we integrated biokinetic, physiological and biogeographic data to calibrate and then establish key risk indices-hazardous quotient and exceedance risk-for freshwater tilapia species across geographic ranges of several major rivers in Taiwan. We found that Hg(II) burden was highest in kidney followed by gill, intestine, liver, blood, and muscle. Our results showed that Hg was less likely to pose mortality risk (mortality rate less than 5 %) for freshwater tilapia species. However, Hg is likely to pose the potential hazard to aquatic environments constrained by safety levels for aquatic organisms. Sensitivity analysis showed that amount of Hg accumulated in tilapia was most influenced by sediment uptake rate. Our approach opens up new possibilities for predicting future fish population health with the impacts of continued Hg exposure to provide information on which fish are deemed safe for human consumption.

  15. Sexist games=sexist gamers? A longitudinal study on the relationship between video game use and sexist attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breuer, Johannes; Kowert, Rachel; Festl, Ruth; Quandt, Thorsten

    2015-04-01

    From the oversexualized characters in fighting games, such as Dead or Alive or Ninja Gaiden, to the overuse of the damsel in distress trope in popular titles, such as the Super Mario series, the under- and misrepresentation of females in video games has been well documented in several content analyses. Cultivation theory suggests that long-term exposure to media content can affect perceptions of social realities in a way that they become more similar to the representations in the media and, in turn, impact one's beliefs and attitudes. Previous studies on video games and cultivation have often been cross-sectional or experimental, and the limited longitudinal work in this area has only considered time intervals of up to 1 month. Additionally, previous work in this area has focused on the effects of violent content and relied on self-selected or convenience samples composed mostly of adolescents or college students. Enlisting a 3 year longitudinal design, the present study assessed the relationship between video game use and sexist attitudes, using data from a representative sample of German players aged 14 and older (N=824). Controlling for age and education, it was found that sexist attitudes--measured with a brief scale assessing beliefs about gender roles in society--were not related to the amount of daily video game use or preference for specific genres for both female and male players. Implications for research on sexism in video games and cultivation effects of video games in general are discussed.

  16. DISTRIBUTION OF HEAVY METALS AMONG THE COMPONENTS OF FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS (REVIEW)

    OpenAIRE

    N. Kolesnyk

    2014-01-01

    Purpose. To review scientific sources on the distribution of heavy metals among the components of freshwater ecosystems. Findings. The review of the works of many scientists showed that heavy metals are widespread in the biotic and abiotic components of freshwater ecosystems. The article highlights the distribution of heavy metals in water, bottom sediments, natural food base, fish organs and tissues. It has been shown that as a result of global pollution of the ecosystem, the majority of...

  17. Impacts of Freshwater Impoundment in the West Loch of Pearl Harbor

    Science.gov (United States)

    1993-05-01

    absence of applicable non-point standards, the "Yellow Book" criteria for freshwater aquatic life or domestic water supply could be applied to evaluate the...Waimalu, Waipahu, Wahiawa, and Ewa water use districts and contains the largest groundwater body on Oahu, supplying more than 50 percent of the island’s...irrigation; desalt existing brackish water supplies, and; 3 create a freshwater impoundment in West Loch. 6I I I The Board of Water Supply (BWS) and

  18. Putting Your Camp on Video.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Michael

    1997-01-01

    Creating a video to use in marketing camp involves selecting a format, writing the script, determining the video's length, obtaining release forms from campers who appear in the video, determining strategies for filming, choosing a narrator, and renting a studio and a mixing engineer (videotape editor). Includes distribution tips. (LP)

  19. Human activities cause distinct dissolved organic matter composition across freshwater ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Clayton J.; Frost, Paul C.; Morales-Williams, Ana M.; Larson, James H.; Richardson, William B.; Chiandet, Aisha S.; Xenopoulos, Marguerite A.

    2016-01-01

    Dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition in freshwater ecosystems is influenced by interactions between physical, chemical, and biological processes that are controlled, at one level, by watershed landscape, hydrology, and their connections. Against this environmental template, humans may strongly influence DOM composition. Yet, we lack a comprehensive understanding of DOM composition variation across freshwater ecosystems differentially affected by human activity. Using optical properties, we described DOM variation across five ecosystem groups of the Laurentian Great Lakes Region: large lakes, Kawartha Lakes, Experimental Lakes Area, urban stormwater ponds, and rivers (n = 184 sites). We determined how between ecosystem variation in DOM composition related to watershed size, land use and cover, water quality measures (conductivity, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nutrient concentration, chlorophyll a), and human population density. The five freshwater ecosystem groups had distinctive DOM composition from each other. These significant differences were not explained completely through differences in watershed size nor spatial autocorrelation. Instead, multivariate partial least squares regression showed that DOM composition was related to differences in human impact across freshwater ecosystems. In particular, urban/developed watersheds with higher human population densities had a unique DOM composition with a clear anthropogenic influence that was distinct from DOM composition in natural land cover and/or agricultural watersheds. This nonagricultural, human developed impact on aquatic DOM was most evident through increased levels of a microbial, humic-like parallel factor analysis component (C6). Lotic and lentic ecosystems with low human population densities had DOM compositions more typical of clear water to humic-rich freshwater ecosystems but C6 was only present at trace to background levels. Consequently, humans are strongly altering the quality of DOM in

  20. Prevalence of Clonorchis sinensis infection in freshwater fishes in northeastern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Y; Chang, Q C; Zhang, Y; Na, L; Wang, W T; Xu, W W; Gao, D Z; Liu, Z X; Wang, C R; Zhu, X Q

    2014-08-29

    The prevalence of Clonorchis sinensis infection in freshwater fishes was surveyed in Heilongjiang Province, northeastern China, between August 2011 and September 2013. Thirteen species of freshwater fish (n=3221) and one species of shrimp (n=93) were collected from Songhua river, Nenjiang river and other lakes or ponds in 37 sites of 15 representative cities in Heilongjiang Province. They were individually examined by digestion technique, and the C. sinensis metacercariae were identified morphologically followed by confirmation using sequences of the second internal transcribed spacer of ribosomal DNA. Ten of the 13 examined species of freshwater fishes were infected with C. sinensis metacercariae, while all shrimps were negative. The overall prevalence of C. sinensis infection in 3221 examined freshwater fishes was 19.96%, with 42.57% (272/639) in Pseudorasbora parva, 22.55% (83/368) in Hemicculter leuciclus, 20.44% (121/592) in Carassius auratus, 17.71% (68/384) in Saurogobio dabryi, 10.85% (23/212) in Rhodeus ocellatus, 10.54% (48/455) in Phoxinus lagowskii, 8.20% (21/256) in Perccottus glehnii, 6.25% (5/80) in Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, 4.55% (1/22) in Xenocypris davidi, and 1.49% (1/67) in Cyprinus carpio. The average infection intensity in P. parva was 103.3 encysted metacercariae per gram of fish meat in Zhaoyuan city. The average prevalence of C. sinensis infection in Songhua river, Nenjiang river and lakes or ponds were 31.96% (503/1574), 11.30% (102/903) and 7.93% (59/744), respectively. The prevalence of C. sinensis infection in Zhaoyuan city (43.68%) was the highest among all sampling locations. These results revealed a high-prevalence of C. sinensis infection in freshwater fishes in Heilongjiang Province, northeastern China, posing significant public health concern. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.