A New Vision for Distance Learning and Continuing Medical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harden, Ronald M.

2005-01-01

Increasing demands on continuing medical education (CME) are taking place at a time of significant developments in educational thinking and new learning technologies. Such developments allow today's CME providers to better meet the CRISIS criteria for effective continuing education: convenience, relevance, individualization, self-assessment,…

Comparing the Differences in Access to Professional Development for General Education and Special Education Teachers and the Subsequent Impact on Instructional Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Slater, Lori L.

2017-01-01

The demands on schools, teachers, and students continue to increase as greater accountability measures are put into place at all levels. For teachers to meet these increased demands, it is important that they be provided opportunities to improve and enhance their content knowledge and pedagogy. One way to ensure the provision of these…

International red meat trade.

PubMed

Brester, Gary W; Marsh, John M; Plain, Ronald L

2003-07-01

The maturation of the US beef and pork markets and increasing consumer demands for convenience, safety, and nutrition suggests that the beef and pork industries must focus on product development and promotion. New marketing arrangements are developing that help coordinate production with consumer demands. The relative high levels of incomes in the United States are likely to increase the demands for branded products rather than increase total per capita consumption. Foreign markets represent the greatest opportunity for increased demand for commodity beef and pork products. Increasing incomes in developing countries will likely allow consumers to increase consumption of animal-source proteins. Real prices of beef and pork have declined substantially because of sagging domestic demand and increasing farm-level production technologies. Increasing US beef and pork exports have obviated some of the price declines. Pork attained a net export position from a quantity perspective in 1995. The United States continues to be a net importer of beef on a quantity basis but is close to becoming a net exporter in terms of value. By-products continue to play a critical role in determining the red meat trade balance and producer prices. The United States, however, must continue to become cost, price, and quality competitive with other suppliers and must secure additional market access if it is to sustain recent trade trends. Several trade tensions remain in the red meat industry. For example, mandated COOL will undoubtedly have domestic and international effects on the beef and pork sectors. Domestically, uncertainty regarding consumer demand responses or quality perceptions regarding product origin, as well as added processor-retailer costs will be nontrivial. How these factors balance out in terms of benefits versus costs to the industry is uncertain. From an international perspective, some beef and pork export suppliers to the United States could view required labeling as a trade restriction, which could ultimately impact future US red meat exports. Conversely, some countries may view such labeling requirements as an opportunity to brand high-quality products. The US lamb meat industry has experienced declining real prices, domestic production, and demand. The cessation of wool incentive payments, increased environmental regulations, and competition by imports have significantly affected the industry. Import suppliers have capitalized on product quality in this niche market. Trade restrictions initially imposed in 1999 by the US Government were ruled illegal by the WTO. The US Government responded by providing financial assistance to lamb producers. Product quality improvements and promotion aimed at the domestic market, however, will be critical factors in shaping the economic viability of the US lamb meat industry.

Extending the capabilities of an individual tree growth simulator to model non-traditional loblolly pine plantation systems for multiple products

Treesearch

Ralph L. Amateis; Harold E. Burkhart

2012-01-01

Demand for traditional wood products from southern forests continues to increase even as demand for woody biomass for uses such as biofuels is on the rise. How to manage the plantation resource to meet demand for multiple products from a shrinking land base is of critical importance. Nontraditional plantation systems comprised of two populations planted on the same...

Continuing professional development and ICT: target practice.

PubMed

Eaton, K A; Reynolds, P A

2008-07-26

Ever-increasing needs and demands by dentists and all other members of the dental team for education and training at all levels - undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing - are straining the resources of existing providers of such education. At the same time, there are ever-increasing opportunities to develop online delivery and the use of a range of information and communication technology (ICT) systems and services further, in all aspects of dental education. This paper reviews recent developments that have led to an increased demand for dental postgraduate programmes and continuing professional development (CPD) courses in the United Kingdom and then discusses how ICT has and will impact on teaching practice. Examples include the use of teaching and learning resources in a virtual learning environment (VLE) and the increasing use of blended learning. The paper then explores the need for both teachers and students to adapt to the new environment to ensure they can benefit to the maximum and that teaching and learning practices are changed accordingly.

The Continuing Growth of Hunger, Homelessness, and Poverty in America's Cities: 1987. A 26-City Survey.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reyes, Lilia M.; Waxman, Laura DeKoven

This survey assesses the status of hunger, homelessness, and poverty in cities in the United States during 1987. The findings include the following: (1) the number of the homeless and the poor had increased and was expected to continue to increase; (2) the demand for emergency food assistance and emergency shelter assistance had increased and was…

Translations on Eastern Europe Political, Sociological, and Military Affairs No. 1388

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-05-11

Leninism teaches us and as has been shown by many, many facts and practices, the quantity and numerical increase of communists do not always... increasing its ranks with new, pure blood. Therefore, it has demanded and continues to demand that the qual- ity of admittances shall in no way be affected...in thinking about and working in a systematic and programmed manner for an increase in its ranks. The point is that the requirements and norms of

A Nation of Opportunity: Building America's 21st Century Workforce.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Alliance of Business, Inc., Washington, DC.

Advances in information technology (IT) are reshaping the U.S. labor market. The demand for workers who can read and understand complex material, think analytically, and use technology efficiently will continue to increase. Congress established the 21st Century Workforce Commission to assess current and future demand for IT workers and the…

Forecasting domestic water demand in the Haihe river basin under changing environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xiao-Jun; Zhang, Jian-Yun; Shahid, Shamsuddin; Xie, Yu-Xuan; Zhang, Xu

2018-02-01

A statistical model has been developed for forecasting domestic water demand in Haihe river basin of China due to population growth, technological advances and climate change. Historical records of domestic water use, climate, population and urbanization are used for the development of model. An ensemble of seven general circulation models (GCMs) namely, BCC-CSM1-1, BNU-ESM, CNRM-CM5, GISS-E2-R, MIROC-ESM, PI-ESM-LR, MRI-CGCM3 were used for the projection of climate and the changes in water demand in the Haihe River basin under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 4.5. The results showed that domestic water demand in different sub-basins of the Haihe river basin will gradually increase due to continuous increase of population and rise in temperature. It is projected to increase maximum 136.22 × 108 m3 by GCM BNU-ESM and the minimum 107.25 × 108 m3 by CNRM-CM5 in 2030. In spite of uncertainty in projection, it can be remarked that climate change and population growth would cause increase in water demand and consequently, reduce the gap between water supply and demand, which eventually aggravate the condition of existing water stress in the basin. Water demand management should be emphasized for adaptation to ever increasing water demand and mitigation of the impacts of environmental changes.

Individual differences in orexin 1 receptor modulation of motivation for the opioid remifentanil

PubMed Central

Porter-Stransky, Kirsten A.; Bentzley, Brandon S.; Aston-Jones, Gary

2015-01-01

Orexin-1 receptors (Ox1Rs) have been implicated in the motivation for drugs of abuse. Here, we utilized a within-session behavioral-economic threshold procedure to screen for individual differences in economic demand for the ultra-short acting opioid remifentanil and to test whether antagonism of Ox1Rs reduces remifentanil demand. The behavioral-economic procedure revealed robust individual differences in free consumption of remifentanil (Q0 parameter; hedonic set point). Rats with low baseline Q0 (low takers) displayed high demand elasticity (α parameter; reduced responding as drug price increased indicating low motivation for drug), whereas subjects with a higher Q0 (high takers) exhibit low demand elasticity (low α) by continuing to self-administer remifentanil despite increased cost (reflecting higher motivation for drug). In a punished responding paradigm utilizing footshock, subjects that were classified as high takers at baseline withstood twice as much shock as low takers to continue self-administering remifentanil. Interestingly, Ox1R antagonism with SB-334867 reduced Q0 and increased α in low takers but not in high takers. Similarly, the Ox1R antagonist attenuated cue-, but not drug-, induced reinstatement of remifentanil seeking in low takers, but had no significant effect on reinstatement of drug seeking in high takers. Together, these data reveal a novel role of orexins in demand for remifentanil: Ox1Rs modulate demand in low takers but not in individuals that exhibit addictive-like behaviors (high takers). Finally, the behavioral assays in this study can serve as a novel laboratory model for studying individual differences in opioid use disorders. PMID:26598295

Mastering the broadband challenge: next-generation SONET in a packet world

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farhi, Eyal

2001-10-01

The continuing liberalization of the world's telecommunications markets and the progressive convergence of voice, data, video and Internet communication are prompting telecommunication service providers to both expand and enhance their service capabilities. As bandwidth-hungry applications proliferate, and the demand for data and data services grows, the requirement for broadband communications appears to be insatiable. To provide the expected level of service in this environment of rapidly increasing demand, telcos and service providers must invest in an expanded network. However, to remain competitive and profitable, they must also continue to leverage their existing infrastructure investment. This paper will examine the current challenges network operators are facing today with the deployment of broadband technologies as they strive to maintain existing infrastructure investments while providing new services to their customers and developing added value network operations. This paper will explore various broadband technologies (optical/wireless) that operate on the primary SDH/SONET standards, their topologies and inherent benefits, which provide operators with solutions to the broadband challenge. New customer demands, such as high-speed Data transmissions (increased Internet use), coupled with operators' continuous need for network optimization, have thrown a wrench into daily operations. Therefore, the need to modernize existing networks has become paramount.

World Food Prospects for the 1990s.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tarrant, John R.

1990-01-01

Addresses world hunger issues and the increasing world population. Sees continued imbalance between supply and demand. Points out Europe and the United States are dealing with surplus production, whereas developing nations continue to import needed food. Argues solving hunger problems requires eliminating poverty through development programs.…

Driving forces behind the Chinese public's demand for improved environmental safety.

PubMed

Wen, Ting; Wang, Jigan; Ma, Zongwei; Bi, Jun

2017-12-15

Over the past decades, the public demand for improved environmental safety keeps increasing in China. This study aims to assess the driving forces behind the increasing public demand for improved environmental safety using a provincial and multi-year (1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2014) panel data and the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) model. The potential driving forces investigated included population size, income levels, degrees of urbanization, and educational levels. Results show that population size and educational level are positively (P<0.01) associated with public demand for improved environmental safety. No significant impact on demand was found due to the degree of urbanization. For the impact due to income level, an inverted U-shaped curve effect with the turning point of ~140,000 CNY GDP per capita is indicated. Since per capita GDP of 2015 in China was approximately 50,000 CNY and far from the turning point, the public demand for improved environmental safety will continue rising in the near future. To meet the increasing public demand for improved environmental safety, proactive and risk prevention based environmental management systems coupled with effective environmental risk communication should be established. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Barriers to Online Postsecondary Education Crumble: Enrollment in Traditional Face-to-Face Courses Declines as Enrollment in Online Courses Increases

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gray, Dahli

2013-01-01

Contrary to expectations, total postsecondary enrollment in the United States (US) declined in Fall 2011. In fact, it continues to decline while online enrollment continues to increase. Students can more easily cross geographic boundaries as online access causes barriers to postsecondary education to crumble, and more than 50% of the demand for…

Europe's Skill Challenge: Lagging Skill Demand Increases Risks of Skill Mismatch. Briefing Note

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cedefop - European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, 2012

2012-01-01

The main findings of Cedefop's latest skill demand and supply forecast for the European Union (EU) for 2010-20, indicate that although further economic troubles will affect the projected number of job opportunities, the major trends, including a shift to more skill-intensive jobs and more jobs in services, will continue. Between 2008 and 2010…

Improving Cultural Intelligence through Experiential Learning in Nontraditional Adult Students at a Private Mid-Atlantic University MBA Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weed Harnisch, Ashley Sue

2014-01-01

The demand for culturally competent employees continues to increase both domestically in the United States and abroad. Educational institutions must be aware of the demand and make accommodations for this shift in employee requirements as well as the growing business needs of multinational corporations. Study abroad programs often emerge as the…

Why Can't We Have It All? The Conflict between the Principalship and Motherhood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jordan, Jacqueline S.

2012-01-01

Being a principal in today's high-stakes environment is a highly demanding job. Much has been written about the stress principals now face in responding to the increased demands and pressures associated with the role. Districts nationwide continue go to great lengths to find administrators of the highest caliber capable of meeting these…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Khin, J.A.

This paper reports that a booming demand for petroleum, especially from newly industrialized economies, has activated increased E and P projects in the region. The outlook is for continually increasing activity, not only in the traditional producing countries, but also in newcomers such as Myanmar and Vietnam.

Twin Cities Metro Freight Initiative : Performance Management Framework

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-10-31

As the demand for freight and passenger transportation continues to increase faster than our ability to manage current transportation facilities or provide new ones, we can expect increased congestion and lower mobility, as well as degradation of saf...

The Booming Economy and Food Insecure Families: A Puzzling Paradox. Family Review.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindjord, Denise

2000-01-01

Discusses the continued incidence of food insecurity and hunger among American families despite a booming economy, and discusses the impact of malnutrition on children's development. Describes increases in demands for emergency food, suggesting changes in the Food Stamp Program. Identifies continued earnings inequalities. (KB)

Randomized, multicenter study: on-demand versus continuous maintenance treatment with esomeprazole in patients with non-erosive gastroesophageal reflux disease.

PubMed

Bayerdörffer, Ekkehard; Bigard, Marc-Andre; Weiss, Werner; Mearin, Fermín; Rodrigo, Luis; Dominguez Muñoz, Juan Enrique; Grundling, Hennie; Persson, Tore; Svedberg, Lars-Erik; Keeling, Nanna; Eklund, Stefan

2016-04-14

Most patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease experience symptomatic relapse after stopping acid-suppressive medication. The aim of this study was to compare willingness to continue treatment with esomeprazole on-demand versus continuous maintenance therapy for symptom control in patients with non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) after 6 months. This multicenter, open-label, randomized, parallel-group study enrolled adults with NERD who were heartburn-free after 4 weeks' treatment with esomeprazole 20 mg daily. Patients received esomeprazole 20 mg daily continuously or on-demand for 6 months. The primary variable was discontinuation due to unsatisfactory treatment. On-demand treatment was considered non-inferior if the upper limit of the one-sided 95 % confidence interval (CI) for the difference between treatments was <10 %. Of 877 patients enrolled, 598 were randomized to maintenance treatment (continuous: n = 297; on-demand: n = 301). Discontinuation due to unsatisfactory treatment was 6.3 % for on-demand and 9.8 % for continuous treatment (difference -3.5 % [90 % CI: -7.1 %, 0.2 %]). In total, 82.1 and 86.2 % of patients taking on-demand and continuous therapy, respectively, were satisfied with the treatment of heartburn and regurgitation symptoms, a secondary variable (P = NS). Mean study drug consumption was 0.41 and 0.91 tablets/day, respectively. Overall, 5 % of the on-demand group developed reflux esophagitis versus none in the continuous group (P < 0.0001). The Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale Reflux dimension was also improved for continuous versus on-demand treatment. Esomeprazole was well tolerated. In terms of willingness to continue treatment, on-demand treatment with esomeprazole 20 mg was non-inferior to continuous maintenance treatment and reduced medication usage in patients with NERD who had achieved symptom control with initial esomeprazole treatment. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT02670642 ; Date of registration: December 2015.

Poor impulse control predicts inelastic demand for nicotine but not alcohol in rats.

PubMed

Diergaarde, Leontien; van Mourik, Yvar; Pattij, Tommy; Schoffelmeer, Anton N M; De Vries, Taco J

2012-05-01

Tobacco and alcohol dependence are characterized by continued use despite deleterious health, social and occupational consequences, implying that addicted individuals pay a high price for their use. In behavioral economic terms, such persistent consumption despite increased costs can be conceptualized as inelastic demand. Recent animal studies demonstrated that high-impulsive individuals are more willing to work for nicotine or cocaine infusions than their low-impulsive counterparts, indicating that this trait might be causally related to inelastic drug demand. By employing progressive ratio schedules of reinforcement combined with a behavioral economics approach of analysis, we determined whether trait impulsivity is associated with an insensitivity of nicotine or alcohol consumption to price increments. Rats were trained on a delayed discounting task, measuring impulsive choice. Hereafter, high- and low-impulsive rats were selected and trained to nose poke for intravenous nicotine or oral alcohol. Upon stable self-administration on a continuous reinforcement schedule, the price (i.e. response requirement) was increased. Demand curves, depicting the relationship between price and consumption, were produced using Hursh's exponential demand equation. Similar to human observations, nicotine and alcohol consumption in rats fitted this equation, thereby demonstrating the validity of our model. Moreover, high-impulsive rats displayed inelastic nicotine demand, as their nicotine consumption was less sensitive to price increments as compared with that in low-impulsive rats. Impulsive choice was not related to differences in alcohol demand elasticity. Our model seems well suited for studying nicotine and alcohol demand in rats and, as such, might contribute to our understanding of tobacco and alcohol dependence. © 2011 The Authors, Addiction Biology © 2011 Society for the Study of Addiction.

The nursing shortage: dynamics and solutions. Reflections on a recurring theme.

PubMed

Abdellah, F G

1990-09-01

The passage of individual state nurse practice acts in the 1900s sharpened and focused attention on the practice and function of professional nurses. However, this had little effect on increasing the demand for nurses. In the 1930s student nurses were in ample supply. They staffed units in hospitals, and seniors served as charge or head nurses. It was World War II when one finally began to see the theme of nursing shortage emerge with a vengeance. The demand far exceeded the supply, creating a severe imbalance. The intervening next 4 decades brought forth many excellent models to minimize the shortage. Even the federal government contributed to the nursing shortage by offering opportunities for better-educated practitioners, teachers, and supervisors. Thus, as the nurse became better prepared, the demand for services increased. Several milestone studies are referenced during the 1970s and 1980s that attempted to balance the nursing shortage equation. The US objectives for the year 2000 provide specific guidelines as to what demands will be placed upon the nurse practitioner and educator. Can we meet those demands? Yes--with the full utilization of information technology to prepare the student and nurse practitioner to take advantage of this enormous information explosion. Will the nursing shortage continue to be a recurring theme? Yes! As nurses become better educated and ready for practice and patient-client problem solving, and as they provide strong voices in health policy formulation, the demands for their services will continue to far exceed the supply.

Manipulating perceptual parameters in a continuous performance task.

PubMed

Shalev, Nir; Humphreys, Glyn; Demeyere, Nele

2018-02-01

Sustained attention (SA) is among the most studied faculties of human cognition, and thought to be crucial for many aspects of behavior. Measuring SA often relies on performance on a continuous, low-demanding task. Such continuous performance tasks (CPTs) have many variations, and sustained attention is typically estimated based on variability in reaction times. While relying on reaction times may be useful in some cases, it can pose a challenge when working with clinical populations. To increase interpersonal variability in task parameters that do not rely on speed, researchers have increased demands for memory and response inhibition. These approaches, however, may be confounded when used to assess populations that suffer from multiple cognitive deficits. In the current study, we propose a new approach for increasing task variability by increasing the attentional demands. In order to do so, we created a new variation of a CPT - a masked version, where inattention is more likely to cause misidentifying a target. After establishing that masking indeed decreases target detection, we further investigated which task parameter may influence response biases. To do so, we contrasted two versions of the CPT with different target/distractor ratio. We then established how perceptual parameters can be controlled independently in a CPT. Following the experimental manipulations, we tested the MCCPT with aging controls and chronic stroke patients to assure the task can be used with target populations. The results confirm the MCCPT as a task providing high sensitivity without relying on reaction speed, and feasible for patients.

ESTIMATION OF WATER DEMANDS USING DEFICIT ANALYSIS

EPA Science Inventory

Competition for water among governmental entities with common river systems has become increasingly fierce. The competition will no doubt become even more fierce as populations continue to grow and become increasingly dispersed. One of the major issues involved in water resource ...

Lean Manufacturing Improves Emergency Department Throughput and Patient Satisfaction.

PubMed

Kane, Marlena; Chui, Kristen; Rimicci, Janet; Callagy, Patrice; Hereford, James; Shen, Sam; Norris, Robert; Pickham, David

2015-09-01

A multidisciplinary team led by nursing leadership and physicians developed a plan to meet increasing demand and improve the patient experience in the ED without expanding the department's current resources. The approach included Lean tools and engaged frontline staff and physicians. Applying Lean management principles resulted in quicker service, improved patient satisfaction, increased capacity, and reduced resource utilization. Incorporating continuous daily management is necessary for sustainment of continuous improvement activities.

New strategies for providing hormonal contraception in developing countries.

PubMed

Townsend, John W; Sitruk-Ware, Regine; Williams, Katherine; Askew, Ian; Brill, Klaus

2011-05-01

Even with progress in increasing access to effective contraception over the past decades, and the growing range of contraceptive methods available on the market, women in developing countries continue to report an unmet need for family planning. This constraint continues to challenge reproductive health policies and programs, while the momentum of population growth and the young age structure in developing countries leads to larger numbers of potential contraceptive users and increasing global demand in contraceptive markets. Of late, there is a renewed focus on increasing access to long-acting hormonal methods to effectively meet this need, establishing and effectively implementing new service delivery strategies. A number of processes have profoundly affected the procurement and use of hormonal contraceptive methods in developing countries: a supportive policy environment, evidence-based practices and an increasing diversity of delivery strategies play a significant part in increasing number of contraceptive users and the demand for hormonal contraception. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Moderating Role of Self-Regulated Learning in Job Characteristics and Attitudes towards Web-Based Continuing Learning in the Airlines Workplace

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Xiao-fan; Liang, Jyh-Chong; Tsai, Chin-Chung; Hu, Qintai

2018-01-01

With the increasing importance of adult and continuing education, the present study aimed to examine the factors that influence continuing web-based learning at work. Three questionnaires were utilised to investigate the association of the job characteristics from Karasek et al.'s (1998) job demand-control-support model and the self-regulated…

China's emergence as the world's leading iron-ore-consuming country

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kirk, W.S.

2004-01-01

China has become the leading iron ore consuming nation, and, based on recent steel production capacity increases and plans for more, its consumption will almost certainly to continue to grow. China's iron ore industry, however, faces a number of problems. China's iron ore is low-grade, expensive to process, and its mines are being depleted. For many Chinese steelmakers, particularly in the coastal regions, the delivered cost of domestic iron ore, is more than the delivered cost of foreign ore. Thus China's iron ore imports are expected to increase. As China's growth continues, it will almost certainly surpass Japan to become the leading iron ore importing country as well. Without China's increasing appetite for iron ore, the world iron ore market would be flat or declining. China's recent imports largely offset the slump in demand in North America and Europe. China is regarded by the iron ore industry as the growth sector for the next decade. Although Chinese imports are expected to continue their rapid increase and imports in other Asian countries are expected to continue growing, there appears to be enough greenfield and expansion projects to meet future demand for iron ore worldwide. Present suppliers of iron ore, Australia, Brazil, India, and South Africa, will probably be the chief beneficiaries of China's increasing consumption of iron ore. How long China can continue its extraordinary growth is the primary issue for the future of the iron ore industry. Based on the number and size of planned blast furnaces it appears that China's growth could continue for several more years. ?? 2004 Taylor and Francis.

Weedy (red) rice: An emerging constraint to global rice production

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Ongoing increases in the human population necessitate that rice will continue to be an essential aspect of food security for the 21st century. While production must increase in the coming decades to meet demand, such increases will be accompanied by diminished natural resources and rising productio...

Rice Water use efficiency and yield under continuous and intermittent irrigation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, rice (Oryza sativa L.) is predominantly grown using continuous fl ood irrigation, which requires large quantities of fresh water. Due to increasing scarcity and demand for water, modern agricultural systems need to produce more food with less water. Th e ...

A Standardized Approach to Assessing Physician Expectations and Perceptions of Continuing Medical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shewchuk, Richard M.; Schmidt, Hilary J.; Benarous, Alexandra; Bennett, Nancy L.; Abdolrasulnia, Maziar; Casebeer, Linda L.

2007-01-01

Introduction: Rapidly expanding science and mandates for maintaining credentials place increasing demands on continuing medical education (CME) activities to provide information that is current and relevant to patient care. Quality may be seen as the perceived level of service measured against consumer expectations. Standard tools have not been…

Marketing as a Tool for Maximizing the Utilization of Findings from Outcome Evaluation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bond, Susan B.; Waltz, Carolyn F.

Decreased resources, increased accountability demands, and the need for economic survival have made the evaluation of the outcomes of continuing education efforts in nursing a salient need. Economic survival, in particular, is largely dependent upon the skill of the continuing educator in achieving the desirable balance between organizational and…

Effective connectivity of ascending and descending frontal-thalamic pathways during sustained attention: Complex brain network interactions in adolescence

PubMed Central

Jagtap, Pranav; Diwadkar, Vaibhav A.

2016-01-01

Frontal-thalamic interactions are crucial for bottom-up gating and top-down control, yet have not been well studied from brain network perspectives. We applied network modeling of fMRI signals (Dynamic Causal Modeling; DCM) to investigate frontal-thalamic interactions during an attention task with parametrically varying levels of demand. fMRI was collected while subjects participated in a sustained continuous performance task with low and high attention demands. 162 competing model architectures were employed in DCM to evaluate hypotheses on bilateral frontal-thalamic connections and their modulation by attention demand, selected at a second level using Bayesian Model Selection. The model architecture evinced significant contextual modulation by attention of ascending (thalamus → dPFC) and descending (dPFC → thalamus) pathways. However, modulation of these pathways was asymmetric: While positive modulation of the ascending pathway was comparable across attention demand, modulation of the descending pathway was significantly greater when attention demands were increased. Increased modulation of the (dPFC → thalamus) pathway in response to increased attention demand constitutes novel evidence of attention-related gain in the connectivity of the descending attention pathway. By comparison demand-independent modulation of the ascending (thalamus → dPFC) pathway suggests unbiased thalamic inputs to the cortex in the context of the paradigm. PMID:27145923

Biodegradation of pulp and paper mill effluent using anaerobic followed by aerobic digestion.

PubMed

Bishnoi, Narsi R; Khumukcham, R K; Kumar, Rajender

2006-05-01

An experimental study was carried to find out the degradability of black liquor of pulp and paper mill wastewater for biomethanogenesis in continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) and followed by activated sludge process (ASP). Continuous stirred tank reactor was used in present study for anaerobic digestion of black liquor, while completely mixed activated sludge system was used for aerobic digestion. A maximum methane production was found up to 430 ml/day, chemical oxygen demand was reduced up to 64% and total volatile fatty acid increased up to 1500 mg/l from 975 mg/l at 7.3 pH, 37 degrees C temperature and 8 days hydraulic retention time during anaerobic digestion. In activated sludge process (aerobic digestion) chemical oxygen demand and biological oxygen demand reduction were 81% and 86% respectively at 72 hr hydraulic retention time.

The impact of nursing education and job characteristics on nurse's perceptions of their family nursing practice skills.

PubMed

Svavarsdottir, Erla Kolbrun; Sigurdardottir, Anna Olafia; Konradsdottir, Elisabet; Tryggvadottir, Gudny Bergthora

2018-04-25

Implementing family system nursing in clinical settings is on the rise. However, little is known about the impact of graduate school education as well as continuing education in family systems nursing (FSN) on nurses' perceptions of their family nursing practice. To evaluate the level of nursing education, having taken a continuing hospital educational course in family system nursing (FN-ETI programme), and the impact of job characteristics on nurses' perceptions of their family nursing practice skills. Participants were 436 nurses with either a BSc degree or graduate degree in nursing. The Job Demand, Control and Support model guided the study (R. Karasek and T. Theorell, 1992, Healthy Work: Stress, Productivity, and the Reconstruction of Working Life, Basic Books, New York, NY). Scores for the characteristics of job demands and job control were created to categorise participants into four job types: high strain (high demand, low control), passive (low demand, low control), low strain (low demand, high control) and active (high demand, high control). Nurses with a graduate education who had taken the FN-ETI programme scored significantly higher on the Family Nursing Practice Scale than nurses with an undergraduate education. Nurses who were characterised as low strain or active scored significantly higher on the Family Nursing Practice Scale than the nurses who were characterised as high strain. Further, the interaction of education by job type was significant regarding family nursing practice skills. Hierarchical regression revealed 25% of the variance in family nursing practice skills was explained by job control, family policy on the unit, graduate education and employment on the following divisions: Maternal-Child, Emergency, Mental Health or Internal Medicine. Graduate education plus continuing education in FSN can offer nurses increased job opportunities more control over one's work as well as increased skills working with families in clinical settings. © 2018 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Global Grazing Systems: Their Continuing Importance in Meeting Global Demand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, K. F.; D'Odorico, P.

2014-12-01

Animal production exerts significant demand on land, water and food resources and is an extensive means by which humans modify natural systems. Demand for animal source foods has more than tripled over the past 50 years due to population growth and dietary change. To meet this demand, livestock intensification (e.g. concentrated animal feeding operations) has increased and with it the water, nitrogen and carbon footprints of animal production. However, grass-fed systems continue to contribute significantly to overall animal production. To date, little is known about the contributions of grass- and grain-fed systems to animal calorie production, how this has changed through time and to what extent these two systems are sensitive to climate. Using a calorie-based approach we hypothesize that grain-fed systems are increasing in importance (with serious implications for water and nutrient demand) and that rangeland productivity is correlated with rainfall. Our findings show that grass-fed systems made up the majority of animal calorie production since 1960 years but that the relative contribution of grain-fed system has increased (from 27% to 49%). This rapid transition towards grain-fed animal production is largely a result of changing diets demand, as we found the growth of grass-fed production only kept pace with population growth. On a regional scale, we find that Asia has been the major contributor to the increase in grass-fed animal calorie production and that Africa has undergone the most drastic transition from grass-fed to grain-fed dependence. Finally, as expected we see a positive relationship between rangeland productivity and precipitation and a shift from dairy- to meat-dominated production going from drier to wetter climates. This study represents a new means of analyzing the food security of animal products and an important step in understanding the historic trends of animal production, their relation to climate, their prospects for the future and their implications for freshwater resources and nutrient cycling.

Public employees leadership institute.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-08-01

Public agencies in Iowa are continually challenged with reduced staff levels, reduced budgets, and increased expectations for services provided. Responding to these demands requires a well-informed and coordinated team that includes professionals, su...

The Spatial Effect of Socio-Economic Demographics on Transit Ridership: a Case Study in New York

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2018-03-01

Demand for vehicle and public transportation systems continues to increase in and around major urban centers. This increase is especially pronounced during the morning and evening commutes and is further complicated by the complex spatial interaction...

Determining Regional Sensitivity to Energy-Related Water Withdrawals in Minnesota

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCulloch, A.; Brauman, K. A.

2015-12-01

Minnesota has abundant freshwater resources, yet concerns about water-impacts of energy and mining development are increasing. Statewide, total annual water withdrawals have increased, and, in some watersheds, withdrawals make up a large fraction of available water. The energy and mining sectors play a critical role in determining water availability, as water is used to irrigate biofuel feedstock crops, cool thermoelectric plants, and process and transport fuels and iron ore. We evaluated the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Water and Reporting System (MPARS) dataset (1988-2014) to identify regions where energy and mining-related water withdrawals are high or where they are increasing. The energy and mining sectors account for over 65 percent of total water extractions in Minnesota, but this percentage is greater in some regions. In certain southern and northeastern Minnesota watersheds, these extractions account for 90 percent of total water demand. Sensitivity to these demands is not dependent on total water demand alone, and is also not uniform among watersheds. We identified and evaluated factors influencing sensitivity, including population, extraction type (surface water or groundwater), percentage of increased demand, and whether withdrawals are consumptive or not. We determined that southern Minnesota is particularly sensitive to increased water demands, because of growing biofuel and sand extraction industries (the products of which are used in hydraulic fracturing). In the last ten years, ethanol production in Minnesota has increased by 440 percent, and over fifteen refineries (each with a capacity over 1.1 billion gallons), have been built. These users primarily extract from surface water bodies within a few watersheds, compromising local supplies. As these energy-related industries continue to grow, so will the demand for freshwater resources. Determining regional sensitivity to increased demands will allow policy-makers to manage the increased competition for Minnesota's future water supplies.

Effects of Nurses' Perceptions of Actual and Demanded Competence on Turnover Intentions.

PubMed

Takase, Miyuki; Yamamoto, Masako; Sato, Yoko; Imai, Takiko; Kawamoto, Mitsuko

2017-10-01

With the growing focus on continuous professional development, demands placed on nurses to uphold nursing competence have been increasing. This study examined how nurses with different lengths of clinical experience perceived the relationship between their actual competence and the competence they felt was demanded of them, and how this relationship was related to their turnover intentions. Survey questionnaires were distributed to 1,377 nurses, of whom 765 returned usable completed forms. The results showed that across all the groups of clinical experience, nurses perceived the demanded competence levels to be higher than their actual competence levels. However, turnover intentions were not related to nurses' perceptions of demanded competence and were negatively related to perceptions of actual competence. The levels of competence demanded should not be considered as threats for nurses. Improving nurses' competence may reduce their turnover intentions.

Global food demand and the sustainable intensification of agriculture.

PubMed

Tilman, David; Balzer, Christian; Hill, Jason; Befort, Belinda L

2011-12-13

Global food demand is increasing rapidly, as are the environmental impacts of agricultural expansion. Here, we project global demand for crop production in 2050 and evaluate the environmental impacts of alternative ways that this demand might be met. We find that per capita demand for crops, when measured as caloric or protein content of all crops combined, has been a similarly increasing function of per capita real income since 1960. This relationship forecasts a 100-110% increase in global crop demand from 2005 to 2050. Quantitative assessments show that the environmental impacts of meeting this demand depend on how global agriculture expands. If current trends of greater agricultural intensification in richer nations and greater land clearing (extensification) in poorer nations were to continue, ~1 billion ha of land would be cleared globally by 2050, with CO(2)-C equivalent greenhouse gas emissions reaching ~3 Gt y(-1) and N use ~250 Mt y(-1) by then. In contrast, if 2050 crop demand was met by moderate intensification focused on existing croplands of underyielding nations, adaptation and transfer of high-yielding technologies to these croplands, and global technological improvements, our analyses forecast land clearing of only ~0.2 billion ha, greenhouse gas emissions of ~1 Gt y(-1), and global N use of ~225 Mt y(-1). Efficient management practices could substantially lower nitrogen use. Attainment of high yields on existing croplands of underyielding nations is of great importance if global crop demand is to be met with minimal environmental impacts.

Livestock production: recent trends, future prospects

PubMed Central

Thornton, Philip K.

2010-01-01

The livestock sector globally is highly dynamic. In developing countries, it is evolving in response to rapidly increasing demand for livestock products. In developed countries, demand for livestock products is stagnating, while many production systems are increasing their efficiency and environmental sustainability. Historical changes in the demand for livestock products have been largely driven by human population growth, income growth and urbanization and the production response in different livestock systems has been associated with science and technology as well as increases in animal numbers. In the future, production will increasingly be affected by competition for natural resources, particularly land and water, competition between food and feed and by the need to operate in a carbon-constrained economy. Developments in breeding, nutrition and animal health will continue to contribute to increasing potential production and further efficiency and genetic gains. Livestock production is likely to be increasingly affected by carbon constraints and environmental and animal welfare legislation. Demand for livestock products in the future could be heavily moderated by socio-economic factors such as human health concerns and changing socio-cultural values. There is considerable uncertainty as to how these factors will play out in different regions of the world in the coming decades. PMID:20713389

Leadership Practices of a Principal in a High School with a High Teacher Retention Rate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Branch, Ronald A., II

2013-01-01

As political and societal expectations for our nation's public school system continue to increase, leaders of local school systems are ever mindful of the demands for continual improvement. The cornerstone for this improvement is the classroom teacher. Research has supported the idea that teacher experience is influential in the effectiveness of…

Future land-use related water demand in California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilson, Tamara; Sleeter, Benjamin M.; Cameron, D. Richard

2016-01-01

Water shortages in California are a growing concern amidst ongoing drought, earlier spring snowmelt, projected future climate warming, and currently mandated water use restrictions. Increases in population and land use in coming decades will place additional pressure on already limited available water supplies. We used a state-and-transition simulation model to project future changes in developed (municipal and industrial) and agricultural land use to estimate associated water use demand from 2012 to 2062. Under current efficiency rates, total water use was projected to increase 1.8 billion cubic meters(+4.1%) driven primarily by urbanization and shifts to more water intensive crops. Only if currently mandated 25% reductions in municipal water use are continuously implemented would water demand in 2062 balance to water use levels in 2012. This is the first modeling effort of its kind to examine regional land-use related water demand incorporating historical trends of both developed and agricultural land uses.

Resource use and the environment

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The human population will increase 50% by 2100 and the demand for resources and resulting negative environmental impacts will increase in the future if humans continue to use resources anywhere near the current rate. Producing enough food for the future is a daunting task, but to do so without deple...

Veneer recovery from peeler-grade Douglas-fir logs in western Washington.

Treesearch

E.H. Clarke; A.C. Knauss

1957-01-01

As Douglas-fir plywood production continues to expand, increased demands will be made for all grades of peelable Douglas-fir logs. Thus, it becomes increasingly important to know the veneer-grade recovery expected so that timber and logs can be more accurately appraised.

Is follow-up capacity the current NHS bottleneck?

PubMed

Allder, Steven; Walley, Paul; Silvester, Kate

2011-02-01

Capacity and demand theory suggests that the presence of a queue is not necessarily an indication of a shortage of capacity in a system. It is much more likely that either there is a demand and capacity variation that creates queues or there is a delay designed into the system. A shortage of capacity is only really indicated where a backlog is not stable and continues to grow. In this article, data are taken from one NHS trust that provides evidence for a continually growing backlog for follow-up outpatient services. It is believed that these data are representative of most locations within the NHS in England and therefore suggest an immediate shortage in effective follow-up capacity. To avoid compromise to patient care, the problem will have to be addressed before the situation becomes unmanageable. The paper highlights options to reduce or deflect demand or to increase effective capacity.

Veneer recovery from peeler-grade Douglas-fir logs in southwestern Oregon.

Treesearch

E.H. Clarke; A.C. Knauss

1957-01-01

With the continued expansion of Douglas-fir plywood production, demand will increase for all grades of peelable logs to supply the industry. Thus, it becomes increasingly important to know the veneer-grade recovery expected so that timber and log values can be more accurately appraised.

A Methodology for Enhancing Mobile Learning through Content Semantics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dimitrios, Glaroudis; Athanasios, Manitsaris; Isabella, Kotini

2013-01-01

Mobile learning is becoming increasingly popular. Educational web sites can be used as supporting learning tools for students who wish to supplement their knowledge without restrictions of time and place. The continuously increasing demand for enhanced remote and mobile services, as well as the difficulty in easily incorporating current learning…

Visual Object Pattern Separation Varies in Older Adults

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holden, Heather M.; Toner, Chelsea; Pirogovsky, Eva; Kirwan, C. Brock; Gilbert, Paul E.

2013-01-01

Young and nondemented older adults completed a visual object continuous recognition memory task in which some stimuli (lures) were similar but not identical to previously presented objects. The lures were hypothesized to result in increased interference and increased pattern separation demand. To examine variability in object pattern separation…

Looking for America's energy solutions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

DiBona, C.J.

The United States has had to rely on imported oil in recent years. Neither increased coal production in the future nor increased use of nuclear energy will change this situation. Actually, all the projections regarding energy use over the next 25 years assume both increased production of these two sources of fuel as well as continued reliance on imported oil. Imported oil then will be a major factor in meeting the future demands of the industrial sector, which consumed 38.3 percent of U.S. total energy in 1975. Oil imports will also be necessary to meet the demands of the household/commercialmore » sector, which in 1975 accounted for 35.4 percent of the energy consumed in this country, and of the transportation sector, which used 26.1 percent of the energy. Conservation measures have been practiced, but this will not resolve the problem of increased reliance on imported oil over the next two decades. This country will need to continue its efforts in the research and development of alternate energy sources. It will also have to increase its production of all domestic energy supplies. (MCW)« less

Increasing the visibility of watershed management as a land management profession

Treesearch

Daniel G. Neary; Peter F. Ffolliott; Kenneth N. Brooks

2000-01-01

Population increases will continue to severely pressure water resources in the 21st century. Consequently, the importance of watershed management will increase. The potential demand in the next century for information on, and individuals skilled in, watershed management raises several important issues: the need for watershed management to have a central voice to gain...

The Right to Education: What Kind of Management? Studies and Surveys in Comparative Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haag, Daniel

Changes in the management of education can increase the efficiency of educational systems, freeing resources that can be used to increase the availability of education, according to this book. The reader's attention is first drawn to the worldwide crisis facing education--while the demand for education continues to increase, budgets are reaching…

Contingent and Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty: Motivations and Incentives to Teach Distance Education Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chapman, Diane D.

2011-01-01

The number of distance education (DE) offerings, including programs and courses, continue to grow in higher education. The current economic hardships have only increased the demand. However, with this increase comes the urgent need to maintain a reliable and consistent DE faculty. This need is complicated by the increasing reliance on contingent…

Motivations and Perceived Benefits of Older Learners in a Public Continuing Education Program: Influence of Gender, Income, and Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Narushima, Miya; Liu, Jian; Diestelkamp, Naomi

2013-01-01

The demographic shift towards an older population combined with the increasing demand for self-reliance and community-based care for the elderly calls for a thorough examination of continuing education programs in local communities as a viable means of promoting successful and active aging. This study examined patterns of older adults' motivations…

Solar Power. Policy Overview and Good Practices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cox, Sadie; Walters, Terri; Esterly, Sean

2015-05-01

As global electricity demand increases, governments are designing and implementing policies to scale up and catalyze renewable energy, which now meets 22% of global electricity demand (REN21 2014). Solar technologies are a critical component of this expanded deployment, and they have experienced unprecedented growth in recent years. As presented in Figure 1, solar prices have decreased significantly over the last decade (REN21 2014) and in 2013, new capacity installation of solar electricity from photovoltaics (PV) 1 surpassed all other renewable energy technologies worldwide—excluding hydropower—with 39 gigawatts installed that year. Concentrating solar thermal power,2 although it still represents a fairly nascentmore » market, also continues to expand as installed capacity increased by 36% in 2013 compared to 2012. In addition to meeting energy demand in an increasingly cost-effective manner, solar deployment can also support critical economic, social, and environmental development goals (Flavin and Hull Aeck, n.d.).« less

NAPS as an Alertness Management Strategy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosekind, Mark R.; Smith, Roy M.; Miller, Donna L.; Co, Elizabeth L.; Gregory, Kevin B.; Gander, Philippa H.; Lebacqz, J. Victor

2001-01-01

Today, 24-hour operations are necessary to meet the demands of our society and the requirements of our industrialized global economy. These around-the-clock demands pose unique physiological challenges for the humans who remain central to safe and productive operations. Optimal alertness and performance are critical factors that are increasingly challenged by unusual, extended, or changing work/rest schedules. Technological advancements and automated systems can exacerbate the challenges faced by the human factor in these environments. Shift work, transportation demands, and continuous operations engender sleep loss and circadian disruption. Both of these physiological factors can lead to increased sleepiness, decreased performance, and a reduced margin of safety. These factors can increase vulnerability to incidents and accidents in operational settings. The consequences can have both societal effects (e.g., major destructive accidents such as Three Mile Island, Exxon Valdez, Bhopal) and personal effects (e.g., an accident driving home after a night shift).

Economic drivers of mineral supply

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wagner, Lorie A.; Sullivan, Daniel E.; Sznopek, John L.

2003-01-01

The debate over the adequacy of future supplies of mineral resources continues in light of the growing use of mineral-based materials in the United States. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quantity of new materials utilized each year has dramatically increased from 161 million tons2 in 1900 to 3.2 billion tons in 2000. Of all the materials used during the 20th century in the United States, more than half were used in the last 25 years. With the Earth?s endowment of natural resources remaining constant, and increased demand for resources, economic theory states that as depletion approaches, prices rise. This study shows that many economic drivers (conditions that create an economic incentive for producers to act in a particular way) such as the impact of globalization, technological improvements, productivity increases, and efficient materials usage are at work simultaneously to impact minerals markets and supply. As a result of these economic drivers, the historical price trend of mineral prices3 in constant dollars has declined as demand has risen. When price is measured by the cost in human effort, the price trend also has been almost steadily downward. Although the United States economy continues its increasing mineral consumption trend, the supply of minerals has been able to keep pace. This study shows that in general supply has grown faster than demand, causing a declining trend in mineral prices.

Corrosion Assessment Guidance for High Strength Steels (Phase 1)

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-08-01

The continuing worldwide demand for natural gas presents major challenges to pipeline operators. There is increasing need to construct long distance, high capacity transmission pipelines, particularly in the more remote areas of Arctic North America,...

Agricultural impacts: Europe's diminishing bread basket

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meinke, Holger

2014-07-01

Global demand for wheat is projected to increase significantly with continuing population growth. Currently, Europe reliably produces about 29% of global wheat supply. However, this might be under threat from climate change if adaptive measures are not taken now.

Organic watermelon production systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The increasing perception by consumers that organic food tastes better and is healthier continues to expand the demand for organically produced crops. Research investigating certified organic production requires a systems approach to determine the optimum combination of individual components to max...

[Total hip replacement in the G-DRG-system].

PubMed

Kaufmann, M M; Franz, D; Lassahn, C; Siebert, C H

2007-01-01

Due to the continuing increase in life expectancy, the ageing process of the German population in general and the high demands placed on activity levels and quality of life today, the demand for primary and secondary joint replacement surgery continues to increase. To distribute the economic and medical resources properly, while still making technical and surgical innovations available to a broad public, hospitals must be able to adequately finance these procedures with the help of the proper diagnosis related groups. The development of the German DRG-system over the past years, as well as the new calculation for the year 2006 are to be reviewed and analysed in this article with this in mind. An improvement in the degree of differentiation between the individual procedures can be documented. Whether or not these changes will ensure the long-term financial survival of the German health care system will remain to be seen.

Special issue: Application of biotechnology for biofuels: transforming biomass to biofuels

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mittal, Ashutosh; Decker, Stephen R.

2013-02-19

Rising energy prices and depleting reserves of fossil fuels continue to renew interest in the conversion of biomass to biofuels production. Biofuels derived from renewable feedstocks are environmentally friendly fuels and have the potential to meet more than a quarter of world demand for transportation fuels by 2050. Moreover, biofuels are expected to reduce reliance on imported petroleum, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and stimulate regional economies by creating jobs and increasing demand and prices for bioproducts.

Facing Water Scarcity in Jordan: Reuse, Demand Reduction, Energy and Transboundary Approaches to Assure Future Water Supplies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scott, C. A.; El-Naser, H.; Hagan, R. E.; Hijazi, A.

2001-05-01

Jordan is extremely water-scarce with just 170 cubic meters per capita per year to meet domestic, industrial, agricultural, tourism, and environmental demands for water. Given the natural climatological conditions, demographic pressure, and transboundary nature of water resources, all renewable water resources of suitable quality are being exploited and some non-renewable aquifers are being depleted. The heavy exploitation of water resources has contributed to declines in the level of the Dead Sea. Rapid growth in demand, particularly for higher quality water for domestic, industrial and tourism uses, is significantly increasing pressure on agricultural and environmental uses of water, both of which must continue to adapt to reduced volumes and lower quality water. The agricultural sector has begun to respond by improving irrigation efficiency and increasing the use of recycled water. Total demand for water still exceeds renewable supplies while inadequate treatment of sewage used for irrigation creates potential environmental and health risks and presents agricultural marketing challenges that undermine the competitiveness of exports. The adaptive capability of the natural environment may already be past sustainable limits with groundwater discharge oasis wetlands that have been seriously affected. Development of new water resources is extremely expensive in Jordan with an average investment cost of US\\$ 4-5 per cubic meter. Integrated water resources management (IWRM) that incorporates factors external to the 'water sector' as conventionally defined will help to assure sustainable future water supplies in Jordan. This paper examines four IWRM approaches of relevance to Jordan: water reuse, demand management, energy-water linkages, and transboundary water management. While progress in Jordan has been made, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation continues to be concerned about the acute water scarcity the country faces as well as the need to continue working with concerned stakeholders to assure future water supplies.

Space Cooling in North America: Market Overview and Future Impacts

DOE PAGES

Baxter, Van D; Khowailed, Gannate; Sikes, Karen; ...

2015-01-01

The North American space cooling market, particularly in the United States, is experiencing shifts in regulatory regimes, population patterns, economic conditions, and consumer preferences-all catalyzed further by rapid technological innovation. Taken together these factors may result in a slight reduction in air conditioning shipments in the short term, however the longer term trends indicate a continuing increase in the number of air conditioning systems in the U.S. markets. These increases will be greatest in the warmer and more humid (e.g. higher load demand) regions. This will result in increasing pressure on the U.S. electricity supply system to meet the energymore » peak and consumption demands for building space cooling.« less

Improving Science Achievement through Changes in Education Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owens, Tara M.

2009-01-01

Concerns over science education in the United States continue to grow due to the increasing global demands and competitiveness for careers in science and technology. This author contends that educators in the United States must look for ways to increase science proficiency and overall science literacy. Research about how students learn science…

Wisconsin State Forests Continuous Forest Inventory: A look at the first year

Treesearch

Randall S. Morin; Teague Prichard; Vern Everson; Jim Westfall; Charles Scott

2009-01-01

The demand for timely, consistent, and reliable forest inventory and monitoring information for Wisconsin's state forests has increased significantly. A wide range of publics and partners, including businesses, organizations, and citizens alike are well aware of the benefits of sustainable forestry and are working together to increase knowledge through an annual...

Comparing Factors of Bachelor's Degree Attainment for First and Continuing Generation Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoffman, Holly Gilbertson

2014-01-01

Colleges and universities have recently been under great pressure to increase institutional graduation rates, due to a surge in consumer demand for accountability and the use of graduation rates to deter nine effectiveness and funding. Many colleges may choose to achieve higher graduation rates by simply increasing selectivity. However, this…

Assessing the Relationship between Servant Leadership and Effective Teaching in a Private University Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobs, Karen

2011-01-01

To address the competition for students, the demand for increasing student enrollments and the pressure for student satisfaction, teaching effectiveness has become an increasingly common discussion on university campuses. The competition for students among universities requires a new approach to teaching. As university campuses continue to compete…

Pathways to the Geosciences Summer High School Program: A Ten-Year Evaluation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carrick, Tina L.; Miller, Kate C.; Hagedorn, Eric A.; Smith-Konter, Bridget R.; Velasco, Aaron A.

2016-01-01

The high demand for scientists and engineers in the workforce means that there is a continuing need for more strategies to increase student completion in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. The challenge lies in finding and enacting effective strategies to increase students' completion of STEM degrees and in recruiting…

Tier-2 Optimisation for Computational Density/Diversity and Big Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fay, R. B.; Bland, J.

2014-06-01

As the number of cores on chip continues to trend upwards and new CPU architectures emerge, increasing CPU density and diversity presents multiple challenges to site administrators. These include scheduling for massively multi-core systems (potentially including Graphical Processing Units (GPU), integrated and dedicated) and Many Integrated Core (MIC)) to ensure a balanced throughput of jobs while preserving overall cluster throughput, as well as the increasing complexity of developing for these heterogeneous platforms, and the challenge in managing this more complex mix of resources. In addition, meeting data demands as both dataset sizes increase and as the rate of demand scales with increased computational power requires additional performance from the associated storage elements. In this report, we evaluate one emerging technology, Solid State Drive (SSD) caching for RAID controllers, with consideration to its potential to assist in meeting evolving demand. We also briefly consider the broader developing trends outlined above in order to identify issues that may develop and assess what actions should be taken in the immediate term to address those.

Community Development in Ireland.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Anna

2003-01-01

In the last decade, community development in Ireland has emphasized social and economic inclusion, regeneration, and civic participation. Continuing challenges include designation of diverse community representatives, demand for increased administrative efficiency, and management of mandates and accountability. There are more community development…

The future of rare earth elements—will these high-tech industry elements continue in short supply?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Long, Keith R.

2011-01-01

* REE will continue to find increasing use due to their unique properties. * There is a realistic possibility around 2015-2016 of sufficient REE capacity to meet demand under conditions of healthy price competition. * REE supplies will be tight and prices high for a few years. * There is significant downside risk that newly developed mines will not perform as planned.

Maintaining professional resilience through group restorative supervision.

PubMed

Wallbank, Sonya

2013-08-01

Restorative clinical supervision has been delivered to over 2,500 professionals and has shown to be highly effective in reducing burnout, stress and increasing compassion satisfaction. Demand for the programme has shown that a sustainable model of implementation is needed for organisations who may not be able to invest in continued individual sessions. Following the initial six sessions, group restorative supervision has been developed and this paper reports on the programme's success in maintaining and continuing to improve compassion satisfaction, stress and burnout through the process of restorative group supervision. This means that organisations can continue to maintain the programme once the initial training has been completed and have confidence within the restorative group supervision to support professionals in managing the emotional demands of their role. The restorative groups have also had inadvertent positive benefits in workplace functioning. The paper outlines how professionals have been able to use this learning to support them in being more effective.

General practitioner workforce planning: assessment of four policy directions.

PubMed

Teljeur, Conor; Thomas, Stephen; O'Kelly, Fergus D; O'Dowd, Tom

2010-06-02

Estimating the supply of GPs into the future is important in forecasting shortages. The lengthy training process for medicine means that adjusting supply to meet demand in a timely fashion is problematic. This study uses Ireland as a case study to determine the future demand and supply of GPs and to assess the potential impact of several possible interventions to address future shortages. Demand was estimated by applying GP visit rates by age and sex to national population projections. Supply was modelled using a range of parameters derived from two national surveys of GPs. A stochastic modelling approach was adopted to determine the probable future supply of GPs. Four policy interventions were tested: increasing vocational training places; recruiting GPs from abroad; incentivising later retirement; increasing nurse substitution to enable practice nurses to deliver more services. Relative to most other European countries, Ireland has few GPs per capita. Ireland has an ageing population and demand is estimated to increase by 19% by 2021. Without intervention, the supply of GPs will be 5.7% less than required in 2021. Increasing training places will enable supply to meet demand but only after 2019. Recruiting GPs from overseas will enable supply to meet demand continuously if the number recruited is approximately 0.8 per cent of the current workforce per annum. Later retirement has only a short-term impact. Nurse substitution can enable supply to meet demand but only if large numbers of practice nurses are recruited and allowed to deliver a wide range of GP services. A significant shortfall in GP supply is predicted for Ireland unless recruitment is increased. The shortfall will have numerous knock-on effects including price increases, longer waiting lists and an increased burden on hospitals. Increasing training places will not provide an adequate response to future shortages. Foreign recruitment has ethical considerations but may provide a rapid and effective response. Increased nurse substitution appears to offer the best long-term prospects of addressing GP shortages and presents the opportunity to reshape general practice to meet the demands of the future.

Effective connectivity of ascending and descending frontalthalamic pathways during sustained attention: Complex brain network interactions in adolescence.

PubMed

Jagtap, Pranav; Diwadkar, Vaibhav A

2016-07-01

Frontal-thalamic interactions are crucial for bottom-up gating and top-down control, yet have not been well studied from brain network perspectives. We applied network modeling of fMRI signals [dynamic causal modeling (DCM)] to investigate frontal-thalamic interactions during an attention task with parametrically varying levels of demand. fMRI was collected while subjects participated in a sustained continuous performance task with low and high attention demands. 162 competing model architectures were employed in DCM to evaluate hypotheses on bilateral frontal-thalamic connections and their modulation by attention demand, selected at a second level using Bayesian model selection. The model architecture evinced significant contextual modulation by attention of ascending (thalamus → dPFC) and descending (dPFC → thalamus) pathways. However, modulation of these pathways was asymmetric: while positive modulation of the ascending pathway was comparable across attention demand, modulation of the descending pathway was significantly greater when attention demands were increased. Increased modulation of the (dPFC → thalamus) pathway in response to increased attention demand constitutes novel evidence of attention-related gain in the connectivity of the descending attention pathway. By comparison demand-independent modulation of the ascending (thalamus → dPFC) pathway suggests unbiased thalamic inputs to the cortex in the context of the paradigm. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2557-2570, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Low Power Operation of Temperature-Modulated Metal Oxide Semiconductor Gas Sensors.

PubMed

Burgués, Javier; Marco, Santiago

2018-01-25

Mobile applications based on gas sensing present new opportunities for low-cost air quality monitoring, safety, and healthcare. Metal oxide semiconductor (MOX) gas sensors represent the most prominent technology for integration into portable devices, such as smartphones and wearables. Traditionally, MOX sensors have been continuously powered to increase the stability of the sensing layer. However, continuous power is not feasible in many battery-operated applications due to power consumption limitations or the intended intermittent device operation. This work benchmarks two low-power, duty-cycling, and on-demand modes against the continuous power one. The duty-cycling mode periodically turns the sensors on and off and represents a trade-off between power consumption and stability. On-demand operation achieves the lowest power consumption by powering the sensors only while taking a measurement. Twelve thermally modulated SB-500-12 (FIS Inc. Jacksonville, FL, USA) sensors were exposed to low concentrations of carbon monoxide (0-9 ppm) with environmental conditions, such as ambient humidity (15-75% relative humidity) and temperature (21-27 °C), varying within the indicated ranges. Partial Least Squares (PLS) models were built using calibration data, and the prediction error in external validation samples was evaluated during the two weeks following calibration. We found that on-demand operation produced a deformation of the sensor conductance patterns, which led to an increase in the prediction error by almost a factor of 5 as compared to continuous operation (2.2 versus 0.45 ppm). Applying a 10% duty-cycling operation of 10-min periods reduced this prediction error to a factor of 2 (0.9 versus 0.45 ppm). The proposed duty-cycling powering scheme saved up to 90% energy as compared to the continuous operating mode. This low-power mode may be advantageous for applications that do not require continuous and periodic measurements, and which can tolerate slightly higher prediction errors.

Advances in the development of bacterial vector technology.

PubMed

Kochi, Sims K; Killeen, Kevin P; Ryan, Una S

2003-02-01

The demand for new and improved vaccines against human diseases has continued unabated over the past century. While the need continues for traditional vaccines in areas such as infectious diseases, there is an increasing demand for new therapies in nontraditional areas, such as cancer treatment, bioterrorism and food safety. Prompted by these changes, there has been a renewed interest in the application and development of live, attenuated bacteria expressing foreign antigens as vaccines. The application of bacterial vector vaccines to human maladies has been studied most extensively in attenuted strains of Salmonella. Live, attenuated strains of Shigella, Listeria monocytogenes, Mycobacterium bovis-BCG and Vibrio cholerae provide unique alternatives in terms of antigen delivery and immune presentation, however and also show promise as potentially useful bacterial vectors.

The dedicated education unit: a practice and education partnership.

PubMed

Miller, Terry W

2005-01-01

Both educational institutions and health care agencies have a propensity to look to the past for solutions to their present and projected problems, such as the nursing shortage. One problem that continually surfaces and has become one of two primary limitations on expanding nursing school enrollments is finding and sustaining quality clinical experiences in acute care settings. The demand for these clinical sites continues to grow and the consequent need for effective clinical partnerships grows with it. The Dedicated Education Unit is a creative strategy for addressing the confluence of highly sophisticated marketing efforts promoting the profession of nursing as a whole, the high demand job market for nurses, and the increase in nursing school enrollments at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Capacity market design and renewable energy: Performance incentives, qualifying capacity, and demand curves

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Byers, Conleigh; Levin, Todd; Botterud, Audun

A review of capacity markets in the United States in the context of increasing levels of variable renewable energy finds substantial differences with respect to incentives for operational performance, methods to calculate qualifying capacity for variable renewable energy and energy storage, and demand curves for capacity. The review also reveals large differences in historical capacity market clearing prices. The authors conclude that electricity market design must continue to evolve to achieve cost-effective policies for resource adequacy.

Water resources of the Indianapolis area, Indiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Roberts, Claude Martin; Widman, L.E.; Brown, P.N.

1955-01-01

Difficulties in supplying water have occurred and will continue to occur from time to time when demands on ground-water sources are excessively heavy for long periods of time and locally where pumped wells are too closely spaced. Under such conditions ground-water levels decline rapidly and remain depressed for some time. Such a condition may constitute what could be called a water shortage. As the demand for water increases there is need for conservation and wise use of available surface and ground-water supplies. 

Methane Hydrates: More Than a Viable Aviation Fuel Feedstock Option

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hendricks, Robert C.

2007-01-01

Demand for hydrocarbon fuels is steadily increasing, and greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise unabated with the energy demand. Alternate fuels will be coming on line to meet that demand. This report examines the recovering of methane from methane hydrates for fuel to meet this demand rather than permitting its natural release into the environment, which will be detrimental to the planet. Some background on the nature, vast sizes, and stability of sedimentary and permafrost formations of hydrates are discussed. A few examples of the severe problems associated with methane recovery from these hydrates are presented along with the potential impact on the environment and coastal waters. Future availability of methane from hydrates may become an attractive option for aviation fueling, and so future aircraft design associated with methane fueling is considered.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kim, Joyce Jihyun; Yin, Rongxin; Kiliccote, Sila

Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR), an XML-based information exchange model, is used to facilitate continuous price-responsive operation and demand response participation for large commercial buildings in New York who are subject to the default day-ahead hourly pricing. We summarize the existing demand response programs in New York and discuss OpenADR communication, prioritization of demand response signals, and control methods. Building energy simulation models are developed and field tests are conducted to evaluate continuous energy management and demand response capabilities of two commercial buildings in New York City. Preliminary results reveal that providing machine-readable prices to commercial buildings can facilitate bothmore » demand response participation and continuous energy cost savings. Hence, efforts should be made to develop more sophisticated algorithms for building control systems to minimize customer's utility bill based on price and reliability information from the electricity grid.« less

The hospital nursing shortage. A paradox of increasing supply and increasing vacancy rates.

PubMed Central

Aiken, L H

1989-01-01

A serious shortage of nurses has developed since 1984 despite a growing number of employed nurses and a substantial decline in the number of hospital inpatient days. The evidence suggests that the shortage is the result of an increased demand for nurses, not a decline in supply. The increased demand in large part has resulted from the substitution of registered nurses for licensed practical nurses, aides, and other patient services personnel. The substitution was feasible because nurses' wages have been depressed compared with those of other hospital employees. The shortage is likely to abate if nurses' wages increase, making substitution more costly. Even in the absence of continuing wage increases, hospitals could ease the shortage by restructuring patient services and enabling nurses to spend a greater portion of their time in direct patient care. PMID:2669349

Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions of the Internet and Online Courses: The Case of an American Pacific Island University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Inoue-Smith, Yukiko

2014-01-01

Offerings of online courses continue to increase in higher education settings, as institutions attempt to meet students' (and faculty members') increasing demands for online access. How do pre-service teachers perceive online education? This paper reports the results of a questionnaire-based survey addressing this issue. The questionnaire focused…

Evaluating the use of enhanced oak seedlings for increased survival and growth: first-year survival

Treesearch

Joshua L. Moree; Andrew W. Ezell; John D. Hodges; Andrew J. Londo; K. David Godwin

2010-01-01

Oaks (Quercus spp.) are very important in the southern landscape for timber production and wildlife habitat. More landowners are attempting to establish oak plantations as the demand for wood products and wildlife habitat continues to increase. These attempts are not always successful with early growth and survival becoming major concerns. In this...

An Examination of the Predictive Relationship between Mode of Instruction and Student Success in Introductory Biology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hauser, Lynette Kathleen

2013-01-01

Community colleges continue to increase online course offerings as these institutions strive to offer open access, cost effective education to a growing student population. With an increased student demand for online learning, community colleges should explore the possibility of offering all courses in the online environment, including science…

3D structural panels : a literature review

Treesearch

John F. Hunt

2004-01-01

The world population has surpassed the 6 billion mark and many of these people live in rapidly developing countries that are and will continue to place increasing pressure on the world's natural fiber resources. The total demand for raw material from the forest for housing, packaging, and for office and home furnishings, to name a few; are increasing. Traditional...

Environmental Benefits of Restoring Sediment Continuity to the Kansas River

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

CHL CHETN-XIV-50 June 2016 12 Bonner, T. H., and G. R. Wilde. 2002. Effects of turbidity on prey consumption by prairie stream fishes ...increased turbidity can also impact heat distribution and cause increased temperature variability. High biological oxygen demand related to algae...populations can drastically reduce dissolved oxygen concentrations, leading to an increased risk of fish kills (Miranda et al. 2001). Fish species

Time-dependent correlation of cerebral blood flow with oxygen metabolism in activated human visual cortex as measured by fMRI.

PubMed

Lin, Ai-Ling; Fox, Peter T; Yang, Yihong; Lu, Hanzhang; Tan, Li-Hai; Gao, Jia-Hong

2009-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between relative cerebral blood flow (delta CBF) and relative cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (delta CMRO(2)) during continuous visual stimulation (21 min at 8 Hz) with fMRI biophysical models by simultaneously measuring of BOLD, CBF and CBV fMRI signals. The delta CMRO(2) was determined by both a newly calibrated single-compartment model (SCM) and a multi-compartment model (MCM) and was in agreement between these two models (P>0.5). The duration-varying delta CBF and delta CMRO(2) showed a negative correlation with time (r=-0.97, P<0.001); i.e., delta CBF declines while delta CMRO(2) increases during continuous stimulation. This study also illustrated that without properly calibrating the critical parameters employed in the SCM, an incorrect and even an opposite appearance of the flow-metabolism relationship during prolonged visual stimulation (positively linear coupling) can result. The time-dependent negative correlation between flow and metabolism demonstrated in this fMRI study is consistent with a previous PET observation and further supports the view that the increase in CBF is driven by factors other than oxygen demand and the energy demands will eventually require increased aerobic metabolism as stimulation continues.

Algae Assessment of Threats to Freshwater Ecosystems: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities

EPA Science Inventory

As human populations continue to grow, the demands for freshwater resources and ecosystem services are increasing along with concomitant threats to their quality and sustainability. Algal communities in streams, lakes, and wetlands offer powerful insight into assessing and managi...

A guide to transportation funding options : a web site development project, final report, June 30, 2008.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2008-06-01

As our nations transportation demand continues to grow due to population increases and an expanded : economy, elected officials at all levels of government are faced with difficult decisions regarding : mechanisms to adequately fund the maintenanc...

Tomorrow's Jobs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Today's Education, 1972

1972-01-01

Synopsis of Department of Labor projections for coming decade shows continuing growth in professional, service, clerical, sales employment, slower growth rate for craftsmen, mechanics, managers and proprietors with relatively same demand for semi-skilled, laborers and farmers. By 1980 labor force and job seekers will increase approximately 17…

0-6811 : reducing lane and shoulder width to permit an additional lane on a freeway.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-03-01

This research identified the operational and : safety implications of using reduced lane and : shoulder widths for a variety of freeway : configurations. As demand on Texas freeways : continues to increase, it is important to better : understand the ...

An anticipatory integrated assessment of regional acidification: The RAINS-Asia model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Amann, M.; Carmichael, G.R.; Foell, W.

1996-12-31

Across large parts of Asia, air pollution problems are becoming more and more evident. Rainfall in some areas, including China, Japan, and Thailand, has been measured to be 10 times more acidic than unpolluted rain. Increasing evidence of acidification damage to ecosystems such as surface waters, soils, and economically important crops, is beginning to appear. In addition, urban air quality in many areas of the region continues to decrease. Current economic forecasts predict continued rapid economic growth in the region, which will bring with it increasing emissions of air pollutants, especially sulfur. The total primary energy demand in Asia currentlymore » doubles every twelve years (as compared to a world average of every 28 years). Coal is expected to continue to be the dominant energy source, with coal demand projected to increase by 65 percent per year, a rate that outpaces regional economic growth. If current trends in economic development and energy use in Asia continue, emissions of sulfur dioxide, one of the key components in acid rain, will more than triple within the next 30 years. Many ecosystems will be unable to continue to absorb these increased levels of pollution without harmful effects, thus creating a potential danger for irreversible environmental damage in many areas. In view of the potential environmental consequences of projected growth in Asian energy consumption, emissions, and air pollution, the World Bank, together with the Asian Development Bank, have funded a project to develop and implement an integrated assessment model for the acid deposition phenomenon in Asia. The Regional Air Pollution INformation and Simulation model for Asia (RAINS-Asia) is a software tool to help decision makers assess and project future trends in emissions, transport, and deposition of air pollutants, and their potential environmental effects.« less

Energy Efficient Materials Manufacturing from Secondary Resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Apelian, Diran; Mishra, Brajendra

Rare earths metals, including yttrium and scandium, are being increasingly used in clean energy technologies, colored phosphors, lasers and high intensity magnets. There are important defense applications such as fighter jet engines, missile guidance systems and space based satellite and communication systems, based on these metals. The commitment to clean energy technologies by various governments, as well as the projected growth in power and transportation sectors across the globe will certainly escalate the demand for rare earth metals and compounds. This demand implies that to ensure unhindered technological innovation, it is essential to possess secure supply chains for rare earth elements. The United States continues to be one of the largest consumers and importer of rare earths and the trend is expected to continue as the demand increases. In order to ensure secure rare earth supply and attenuate supply-demand imbalances post 2014, it is not only necessary to encourage and support exploration of newer reserves, build a rare earth stockpile, but it is also of utmost importance to look at opportunities to recycle and reuse Rare Earth Elements (REE) from secondary sources, such as post-consumer and manufacturing process wastes. This research describes the technological developments made to convert these valuable resources into functional manufactured materials for lighting industry, automotive and petroleum refining catalysts, and high density permanent magnets. In addition, production of rhenium from advanced aerospace alloys is also discussed from the perspective that it can be recovered for introduction in turbine alloys.

The relationships among nurses' job characteristics and attitudes toward web-based continuing learning.

PubMed

Chiu, Yen-Lin; Tsai, Chin-Chung; Fan Chiang, Chih-Yun

2013-04-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between job characteristics (job demands, job control and social support) and nurses' attitudes toward web-based continuing learning. A total of 221 in-service nurses from hospitals in Taiwan were surveyed. The Attitudes toward Web-based Continuing Learning Survey (AWCL) was employed as the outcome variables, and the Chinese version Job Characteristic Questionnaire (C-JCQ) was administered to assess the predictors for explaining the nurses' attitudes toward web-based continuing learning. To examine the relationships among these variables, hierarchical regression was conducted. The results of the regression analysis revealed that job control and social support positively associated with nurses' attitudes toward web-based continuing learning. However, the relationship of job demands to such learning was not significant. Moreover, a significant demands×job control interaction was found, but the job demands×social support interaction had no significant relationships with attitudes toward web-based continuing learning. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The job market in diagnostic radiology 1999: updated findings from a help wanted index of job advertisements.

PubMed

Covey, A M; Sunshine, J; Forman, H P

2000-10-01

The purpose of this article is to report 1999 data on the job market in diagnostic radiology detected using a help wanted index of job advertisements and to profile trends in practice type, location, and subspecialty using our previously published data as a basis for comparison. Each advertised job for a diagnostic radiologist in the American Journal of Roentgenology and RADIOLOGY: between January 1991 and December 1999 was coded by practice type, location, and subspecialty. In 1999, 3926 positions were advertised for diagnostic radiologists, representing a 75% increase from 1998. Private practice jobs, which represented 53% of advertisements from 1991 through 1994 and 64% of ads from 1995 through 1998, increased to 66% of ads in 1999. Geographic trends in 1999 were characterized by a relative increase of jobs in the Midwest and California and a decrease in percentage (but increase in total number of ads) in the Northeast and Southwest. The demand for subspecialists continued in 1999, with only 34% of ads placed for general radiologists. A relative increase in demand for neuroradiologists, mammographers, and abdominal imagers was also seen in 1999 in comparison with previously published data from 1995 through 1998. The demand for diagnostic radiologists continues to rise, with more ads placed in 1999 than any other year from 1991 through 1998. Using a help wanted index of job advertisements, we have created an indicator of changes in the diagnostic radiology job market with specific reference to practice type, geographic location, and subspecialty training.

Global energy demand to 2060

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Starr, C.

The projection of global energy demand to the year 2060 is of particular interest because of its relevance to the current greenhouse concerns. The long-term growth of global energy demand in the time scale of climatic change has received relatively little attention in the public discussion of national policy alternatives. The sociological, political, and economic issues have rarely been mentioned in this context. This study emphasizes that the two major driving forces are global population growth and economic growth (gross national product per capita), as would be expected. The modest annual increases assumed in this study result in a yearmore » 2060 annual energy use of >4 times the total global current use (year 1986) if present trends continue, and >2 times with extreme efficiency improvements in energy use. Even assuming a zero per capita growth for energy and economics, the population increase by the year 2060 results in a 1.5 times increase in total annual energy use.« less

Industry trends point toward bright future

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kliewer, G.

Examination of the trends for the past 5 yr shows increasing soundness in the international petroleum industry. U.S. figures alone have a mixed complexion, with imports, exports, crude prices, and demand rising steadily. U.S. crude oil production, however, increased through 1970, but leveled off last year. Decreases occurred during 1971 in the number of rigs working, gas producers, and wildcats drilled. Trends in Free World drilling and production (outside the U.S. and Canada) have been upward and are expected to continue expanding generally through the year 2000. World petroleum demand, the key to this activity, has risen steadily, and allmore » forecasts predict increases of around 3.5% a yr for the next 15 yr. Included in this outlook is a booming natural gas use, which comes as a result of worldwide emphasis on clean-burning, nonpolluting fuels. Competition among energy sources may not materialize. Instead, a mix of all available energy sources will be needed to meet the demand. Tabular data provide complete details.« less

Using scientific evidence to improve information practice.

PubMed

Bradley, J; Marshall, J G

1995-09-01

The recent policy statement of the Medical Library Association (MLA) takes the position that scientific evidence is the basis for improving the quality of library and information sciences now and in the future. Research activity is seen as the foundation of an evolving knowledge base for the profession--a knowledge base that will set health sciences librarians apart from others in an increasingly competitive world of information service providers. The statement represents the culmination of many years of activity by association members, during which the role of research in health information practice has been debated. Over a similar time period, the quality movement, with its increasing demand for the collection and use of data, has been growing. Developments such as total quality management (TQM) and continuous quality improvement (CQI) reinforce the centrality of research with its increasing demand for the collection and use of data, has been growing. Developments such as total quality management (TQM) and continuous quality improvement (CQI) reinforce the centrality of research and its relationship to efficient and effective information practice as envisioned in the MLA policy statement.

Piped water consumption in Ghana: A case study of temporal and spatial patterns of clean water demand relative to alternative water sources in rural small towns.

PubMed

Kulinkina, Alexandra V; Kosinski, Karen C; Liss, Alexander; Adjei, Michael N; Ayamgah, Gilbert A; Webb, Patrick; Gute, David M; Plummer, Jeanine D; Naumova, Elena N

2016-07-15

Continuous access to adequate quantities of safe water is essential for human health and socioeconomic development. Piped water systems (PWSs) are an increasingly common type of water supply in rural African small towns. We assessed temporal and spatial patterns in water consumption from public standpipes of four PWSs in Ghana in order to assess clean water demand relative to other available water sources. Low water consumption was evident in all study towns, which manifested temporally and spatially. Temporal variability in water consumption that is negatively correlated with rainfall is an indicator of rainwater preference when it is available. Furthermore, our findings show that standpipes in close proximity to alternative water sources such as streams and hand-dug wells suffer further reductions in water consumption. Qualitative data suggest that consumer demand in the study towns appears to be driven more by water quantity, accessibility, and perceived aesthetic water quality, as compared to microbiological water quality or price. In settings with chronic under-utilization of improved water sources, increasing water demand through household connections, improving water quality with respect to taste and appropriateness for laundry, and educating residents about health benefits of using piped water should be prioritized. Continued consumer demand and sufficient revenue generation are important attributes of a water service that ensure its function over time. Our findings suggest that analyzing water consumption of existing metered PWSs in combination with qualitative approaches may enable more efficient planning of community-based water supplies and support sustainable development. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

US energy industry financial developments, 1993 first quarter

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1993-06-25

Net income for 259 energy companies-- including, 20 major US petroleum companies-- rose 38 percent between the first quarter of 1992 and the first quarter of 1993. An increased level of economic activity, along with colder weather, helped lift the demand for natural gas. crude oil, coal, and electricity. The sharp rise in the domestic price of natural gas at the wellhead relative to the year-ago quarter was the most significant development in US energy during the first quarter. As a consequence of higher natural gas prices, the upstream segment of the petroleum industry reported large gains in income, whilemore » downstream income rose due to higher refined product demand. Increased economic activity and higher weather-related natural gas demand also led to improvements in income for the rate-regulated energy segment. However, declining domestic oil production continued to restrain upstream petroleum industry earnings growth, despite a moderate rise in crude oil prices.« less

The National Security Strategy of the United Kingdom: Security in an Interdependent World

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-01

and gas becomes increasingly concentrated, much of it in regions with potential for political instability. Increasing urbanisation will put much...trend towards urbanisation is set to continue, with the proportion of the global population living in cities rising from under 50% in 2000 to over...growing and increasingly urbanised global population will increase demand for food and water, at the same time as climate change and other trends put

Job Prospects for Mechanical Engineers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basta, Nicholas

1986-01-01

Discusses the career outlook for mechanical engineers. Explains that the number of bachelor degrees awarded yearly has reached a plateau, but salaries continue to rise. Suggests that the largest increase in demand for mechanical engineers will come from industries involved in automation, particularly those developing robotics. (TW)

Coordinated Transformation among Community Colleges Lacking a State System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell, James Thad

2016-01-01

Community colleges face many challenges in the face of demands for increased student success. Institutions continually seek scalable interventions and initiatives focused on improving student achievement. Effectively implementing sustainable change that moves the needle of student success remains elusive. Facilitating systemic, scalable change…

Global and time-resolved monitoring of crop photosynthesis with chlorophyll fluorescence

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Global monitoring of agricultural productivity is critical in a world under a continuous increase of food demand. Here we have used new spaceborne retrievals of chlorophyll fluorescence, an emission quantity intrinsically linked to photosynthesis, to derive spatially explicit photosynthetic uptake r...

Toward Sustainable Water Resource Management: Challenges and Opportunities

EPA Science Inventory

The United States has derived significant economic benefit from an abundant and high-quality water supply. The ability of the nation to continue this pace into the future is uncertain because of a number of significant challenges. These include increasing water demand because of ...

Successful organic dairy systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Demand for organic dairy products has continually increased and at times outpaced supply for a number of years. This has created favorable milk pricing for certified organic dairy farmers, as the stability of organic milk prices has provided organic dairy farmers with a security not found in the con...

The evolution of commercial launch vehicles : fourth quarter 2001 Quarterly Launch Report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-01-01

Launch vehicle performance continues to constantly improve, in large part to meet the demands of an increasing number of larger satellites. Current vehicles are very likely to be changed from last year's versions and are certainly not the same as one...

Organic weed control in certified organic watermelon production

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The increasing perception by consumers that organic food tastes better and is healthier continues to expand the demand for organically produced crops. Field research was conducted in southeast Oklahoma to determine the impact of organic production systems on weed control and watermelon (Citrullus l...

Drought and the water-energy nexus in Texas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Scanlon, Bridget R.; Duncan, Ian; Reedy, Robert C.

2013-12-01

Texas experienced the most extreme drought on record in 2011 with up to 100 days of triple digit temperatures resulting in record electricity demand and historically low reservoir levels. We quantified water and electricity demand and supply for each power plant during the drought relative to 2010 (baseline). Drought raised electricity demands/generation by 6%, increasing water demands/consumption for electricity by 9%. Reductions in monitored reservoir storage <50% of capacity in 2011 would suggest drought vulnerability, but data show that the power plants were flexible enough at the plant level to adapt by switching to less water-intensive technologies. Natural gas, now ˜50% of power generation in Texas, enhances drought resilience by increasing the flexibility of power plant generators, including gas combustion turbines to complement increasing wind generation and combined cycle generators with ˜30% of cooling water requirements of traditional steam turbine plants. These reductions in water use are projected to continue to 2030 with increased use of natural gas and renewables. Although water use for gas production is controversial, these data show that water saved by using natural gas combined cycle plants relative to coal steam turbine plants is 25-50 times greater than the amount of water used in hydraulic fracturing to extract the gas.

Assessing the interplay between the shoulders and low back during manual patient handling techniques in a nursing setting.

PubMed

Belbeck, Alicia; Cudlip, Alan C; Dickerson, Clark R

2014-01-01

The purpose of this research was to quantify shoulder demands during freestyle manual patient handling (MPH) tasks and determine whether approaches intended to prevent low back injury increased shoulder demands. Twenty females completed 5 MPH tasks found commonly in hospital settings before and after a training session using current workplace MPH guidelines. Most normalized muscle activity indices and ratings of perceived exertion decreased following training at both the low back and shoulders, but were more pronounced at the low back. There was little evidence to suggest that mechanical demands were transferred from the low back to the shoulders following the training session. The study generally supports continued use of the recommended MPH techniques, but indicates that several tasks generate high muscular demands and should be avoided if possible.

Radiation Protection Enrollments and Degrees. Enrollments--Fall 1973. Degrees Granted July 1965-June 1973.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Atomic Energy Commission, Washington, DC. Div. of Labor Relations.

The demand for radiation protection personnel has increased during the past several years and can be expected to continue to increase for several years to come. This document gives the results of the latest survey of institutions offering degree programs in this field. Such a small segment of the total college enrollment is represented in health…

75 FR 82073 - Notice of Intent To Prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-12-29

... increasing from 210,227 inmates at the end of fiscal year 2010 to over 226,000 inmates by the end of fiscal year 2013. As such, the demand for bedspace within the federal prison system continues to grow at a... over the past two decades. While the BOP is no longer experiencing the dramatic population increases of...

The Future of Newsprint; 1970-2000. Report R-16.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baran, Paul

A panel of 37 experts predicted trends in the use of newsprint by the year 2000. The panelists agreed that as a result of increasing education, worldwide demand for newsprint will continue to increase, with consumption exceeding 35 million short tons a year in 2000, compared with 10 million in 1950 and 22 million in 1970. The type of paper desired…

Asian American and Pacific Islander Students and the Institutions that Serve Them

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Teranishi, Robert T.

2012-01-01

As the global work environment continues to evolve, the United States needs to increase its human capital in order remain economically competitive. Whether the nation can meet the demands of the global economy and maintain its standing as a global leader will be tied inextricably to its ability to increase the proportion of Americans with advanced…

How major restaurant chains plan their menus: the role of profit, demand, and health.

PubMed

Glanz, Karen; Resnicow, Ken; Seymour, Jennifer; Hoy, Kathy; Stewart, Hayden; Lyons, Mark; Goldberg, Jeanne

2007-05-01

Increased away-from-home eating is associated with lower diet quality, and may contribute to the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity. Healthier food choices in restaurants may help mitigate the rise in obesity and improve diet quality. This study sought to understand the views of executives at major U.S. restaurant chains regarding the process, motivation for, and challenges of offering healthier options on their menus. The Healthy Menu Study used in-depth structured telephone interviews with 41 senior menu development and marketing executives at leading casual dining and fast-food restaurant chains. The interview guide covered menu trends, influences on introduction and continuation of new menu items, and barriers to adding healthy foods. Data analysis included tabulation of responses, identification of themes, and examination of subgroup differences. Growing sales and increasing profits are the most important considerations, mentioned by 61% of respondents; health and nutrition were noted as important by 21%. Restaurants may try to avoid losing groups with a "health seeker" by offering healthier foods (low in fat and calories, more fruits and vegetables) (27% of chains), but operators believe demand for healthier foods is not widespread. Additional obstacles to including healthier menu items are short shelf life of produce (46%), increased preparation time, low sales, and high labor costs. Not surprisingly, profit margins are the primary determinants of why restaurants do or do not add and continue to serve healthier food options. Without an increase in consumer demand, it is unlikely the restaurant industry will increase their offering of healthy food choices. Insight into the restaurant industry perspective is important for developing promising strategies to encourage healthier eating patterns.

Exploring the leadership role of the clinical nurse specialist on an inpatient palliative care consulting team.

PubMed

Stilos, Kalli; Daines, Pat

2013-03-01

Demand for palliative care services in Canada will increase owing to an aging population and the evolving role of palliative care in non-malignant illness. Increasing healthcare demands continue to shape the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) role, especially in the area of palliative care. Clinical nurse specialists bring specialized knowledge, skills and leadership to the clinical setting to enhance patient and family care. This paper highlights the clinical leadership role of the CNS as triage leader for a hospital-based palliative care consulting team. Changes to the team's referral and triage processes are emphasized as key improvements to team efficiency and timely access to care for patients and families.

The Supply and Demand of the Cardiovascular Workforce

PubMed Central

Narang, Akhil; Sinha, Shashank S.; Rajagopalan, Bharath; Ijioma, Nkechinyere N.; Jayaram, Natalie; Kithcart, Aaron P.; Tanguturi, Varsha K.; Cullen, Michael W.

2017-01-01

As the burden of cardiovascular disease in the United States continues to increase, uncertainty remains on how well-equipped the cardiovascular workforce is to meet the challenges that lie ahead. In a time when health care is rapidly shifting, numerous factors affect the supply and demand of the cardiovascular workforce. This Council Commentary critically examines several factors that influence the cardiovascular workforce. These include current workforce demographics and projections, evolving health care and practice environments, and the increasing burden of cardiovascular disease. Finally, we propose 3 strategies to optimize the workforce. These focus on cardiovascular disease prevention, the effective utilization of the cardiovascular care team, and alterations to the training pathway for cardiologists. PMID:27712782

On Some Aspects of Energy Conservation in Industries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rai, Keerti; Seksena, S. B. L.; Thakur, A. N.

2016-06-01

Energy demand has increased continuously due to advancement in technology and living standards of a large section of people resulting in a wide gap between supply and demand. One of the approaches to reduce this gap would be the adoption of measures of energy conservation in general and the efficient use of energy particularly in motor. This paper presents a review of the research activity in the field of efficiency optimization of three-phase induction motor drive. The approach is analyzed and the better option of energy conservation are identified.

The Benefits of Improving Indoor Environmental Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lamping, Jerry

2012-01-01

As school funding levels nationwide continue to plummet amid public demands for increased student performance, an expanding body of research in the field of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is providing greater statistical validity about the relationship between environmental conditions in school facilities and student achievement. Since the…

Examination of State-of-the-Art Rehabilitation Technologies for the Nation’s Water Infrastructure

EPA Science Inventory

The average rate of water and wastewater system rehabilitation is not adequate to keep pace with increasing needs, quality demands, and continually deteriorating systems. Rehabilitation technologies in use today are generally effective, but there is still considerable room for i...

Family Caregiver Identity: A Literature Review

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eifert, Elise K.; Adams, Rebecca; Dudley, William; Perko, Michael

2015-01-01

Background: Despite the multitude of available resources, family caregivers of those with chronic disease continually underutilize support services to cope with the demands of caregiving. Several studies have linked self-identification as a caregiver to the increased likelihood of support service use. Purpose: The present study reviewed the…

Veneer recovery from peeler-grade Douglas-fir logs in northwestern Oregon.

Treesearch

E.H. Clarke; A.C. Knauss

1957-01-01

Continued expansion of Douglas-fir plywood production develops a greater demand for all grades of peelable logs to supply the industry. Thus, it becomes increasingly important to know the veneer-grade recovery expected so that timber and log values can be more accurately appraised.

Minerals

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Over the past two decades, the aquaculture industry has expanded rapidly throughout the world and is expected to continue to grow in the years to come due to the high cost of harvesting fish from the oceans, the un-sustainability of ocean fishing methods, and the increased demand for fish as a resul...

Job Prospects for Industrial Engineers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basta, Nicholas

1986-01-01

Because of the impetus on how to improve productivity in companies, the demand for graduating industrial engineers continues to be strong from a variety of sources. Starting salary offers for graduates have been averaging $26,784. Enrollments in industrial engineering programs are increasing (with 3,923 graduates in 1984). (JN)

Ageing and transport : mobility needs and safety issues : highlights

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-12-02

Over the next 30 years, the significant increase in the adult population aged 65 or more will place new and growing demands on transport systems in OECD Member countries. On the whole, older people who drive will prefer to continue doing so for as lo...

Continuous and pulsed ultrasound-assisted extractions of antioxidants from pomegranate peel

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

There is a great demand for developing efficient extraction methods in order to reduce extraction time and increase the yield and activity of functional antioxidants. The yields, activities, and extraction kinetics of antioxidants from dry peel of pomegranate marc were studied using ultrasound assis...

Continuous and pulsed ultrasound-assisted extractions of antioxidants from pomegranate peel

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

There is a great demand for developing efficient extraction methods in order to reduce extraction time and increase the yield and activity of functional antioxidants. The yields, activities, and extraction kinetics of antioxidants from dry peel of pomegranate marc were studied using ultrasound-assis...

Developing consistent time series landsat data products

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Landsat series satellite has provided earth observation data record continuously since early 1970s. There are increasing demands on having a consistent time series of Landsat data products. In this presentation, I will summarize the work supported by the USGS Landsat Science Team project from 20...

Genetics, breeding and selection of rootstocks for Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Limited availability of arable land and high market demand for off-season vegetables often leads to continuous cultivation and cultivation under unfavorable conditions such as too cold, wet, dry, or under low-light winter greenhouses. Successive cropping can increase salinity, the incidence of vege...

Perseverative Cognition as an Explanatory Mechanism in the Relation Between Job Demands and Sleep Quality.

PubMed

Van Laethem, Michelle; Beckers, Debby G J; Geurts, Sabine A E; Garefelt, Johanna; Magnusson Hanson, Linda L; Leineweber, Constanze

2018-04-01

The aim of this longitudinal three-wave study was to examine (i) reciprocal associations among job demands, work-related perseverative cognition (PC), and sleep quality; (ii) PC as a mediator in-between job demands and sleep quality; and (iii) continuous high job demands in relation to sleep quality and work-related PC over time. A representative sample of the Swedish working population was approached in 2010, 2012, and 2014, and 2316 respondents were included in this longitudinal full-panel survey study. Structural equation modelling was performed to analyse the temporal relations between job demands, work-related PC, and sleep quality. Additionally, a subsample (N = 1149) consisting of individuals who reported the same level of exposure to job demands during all three waves (i.e. stable high, stable moderate, or stable low job demands) was examined in relation to PC and sleep quality over time. Analyses showed that job demands, PC, and poor sleep quality were positively and reciprocally related. Work-related PC mediated the normal and reversed, direct across-wave relations between job demands and sleep quality. Individuals with continuous high job demands reported significantly lower sleep quality and higher work-related PC, compared to individuals with continuous moderate/low job demands. This study substantiated reciprocal relations between job demands, work-related PC, and sleep quality and supported work-related PC as an underlying mechanism of the reciprocal job demands-sleep relationship. Moreover, this study showed that chronically high job demands are a risk factor for low sleep quality.

2014 Wind Technologies Market Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wiser, Ryan; Bolinger, Mark; Barbose, Galen

Wind power capacity additions in the United States rebounded in 2014, and continued growth through 2016 is anticipated. Recent and projected near-term growth is supported by the industry’s primary federal incentive—the production tax credit (PTC)—which is available for projects that began construction by the end of 2014. Wind additions are also being driven by recent improvements in the cost and performance of wind power technologies, which have resulted in the lowest power sales prices ever seen in the U.S. wind sector. Growing corporate demand for wind energy and state-level policies play important roles as well. Expectations for continued technological advancementsmore » and cost reductions may further boost future growth. At the same time, the prospects for growth beyond 2016 are uncertain. The PTC has expired, and its renewal remains in question. Continued low natural gas prices, modest electricity demand growth, and limited near-term demand from state renewables portfolio standards (RPS) have also put a damper on growth expectations. These trends, in combination with increasingly global supply chains, have limited the growth of domestic manufacturing of wind equipment. What they mean for wind power additions through the end of the decade and beyond will be dictated in part by future natural gas prices, fossil plant retirements, and policy decisions.« less

Association between perceived present working conditions and demands versus attitude to early retirement among construction workers.

PubMed

Jebens, Einar; Medbø, Jon I; Knutsen, Oddvar; Mamen, Asgeir; Veiersted, Kaj Bo

2014-01-01

Early retirement is an increasing problem in the construction industry. There is limited information about causes leading employees to leave working life early. We have compared construction workers present situation with their perception of future demands at work to avoid early retirement. All 87 employees in a medium-sized Norwegian construction company participated in the study. All were men and answered questionnaires on health and pain, work ability, mechanical exposure, psychosocial conditions, and demands regarding future working conditions. Most workers showed good work ability, irrespective of age. Many reported high levels of mechanical exposure at work. The level of musculoskeletal pain was higher in the middle-aged (30-50 year old) age groups and seniors aged over 50 years than among the youngest workers less than 30 years of age. All workers reported that good health was important for continued working. Most workers stated that future work must not be too physically demanding. Many workers reported relatively low job satisfaction; consequently an interesting job was rated as important for continuing work. Good social conditions were a high priority. According to the examined construction workers, good health and reduced levels of mechanical exposure at work are essential to avoid early retirement.

A Classification of Genre Families in University Student Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gardner, Sheena; Nesi, Hilary

2013-01-01

As demand for English-medium higher education continues to grow internationally and participation in higher education increases, the need for a better understanding of academic writing is pressing. Prior university wide taxonomies of student writing have relied on intuition, the opinions of faculty, or data from course documentation and task…

An Exploration of Burnout among Online University Professors

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCann, Jack Thomas; Holt, Roger

2009-01-01

Stress and burnout have emerged as a serious concern for today's higher education instructors. As the growth in distance education continues, the demands on online academics will increase, potentially leading to the burnout. This study examined the correlation between years of online work experience, gender, educational level, academic training,…

Using ROI to Demonstrate Performance Value in the Public Sector

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips, Jack J.; Phillips, Patti

2009-01-01

The demand for accountability through measurement continues to increase. Although much progress has been made, it remains an issue that challenges even the most sophisticated and progressive performance improvement function. This article provides an overview of best practices in the return-on-investment process and describes how applying these…

Pruning Allegheny hardwoods

Treesearch

W. D. Zeedyk; A. F. Hough

1958-01-01

The continuing heavy demand for high-quality Allegheny hardwoods, particularly black cherry and sugar maple, impresses on us the need for more information responses of hardwoods to pruning. Pruning may have beneficial effects: it may increase quality without sacrificing growth. Or it may have detrimental effects: it may cause dieback of cambium, decay, staining and...

Evaluate the Role of Evapotranspiration Remote Sensing Data in Improving Hydrological Modeling Predictability

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

As the global demands for the use of freshwater resources continues to rise, it has become increasingly important to insure the sustainability of this resources. This is accomplished through the use of management strategies that often utilize monitoring and the use of hydrological models. However, m...

Organic rice production: minimizing exposure to grain arsenic

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The market demand for organically produced rice continues to increase in the USA. In 2011, some 23,000 acres of organic rice were produced with a $35 million value. Research is needed to optimize organic production practices to strengthen this developing market. In addition, there has been concern ...

Inspiring Educators to Teach Wind Energy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perez, Gustavo

2013-01-01

The need to teach students about alternative energy will continue to gain importance given the increasing growth and demands of the renewable energy industry. This article describes an activity focused on wind energy that the author introduced at the Annual STEM Symposium sponsored by Texas's Region One Education Service Center that can be…

Feeding Practices and Fish Health

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Over the past three decades, the aquaculture industry has expanded rapidly throughout the world and is expected to continue to grow in the years to come due to the unpredictability and high cost of harvesting fish from the oceans as well as the increased demand for fish as a result of rapid populati...

Improved harvesting systems for wet sites

Treesearch

Bryce J. Stokes; Alvin Schilling

1997-01-01

Environmentally acceptable and economical forest operations are needed for sustainable management of forest resources. Improved methods for harvesting and transporting timber are especially needed for wet sites. As the demand for hardwood lumber continues to increase, improved and alternative methods are needed to ensure acceptance of timber harvesting for the wet site...

Rhode Island Public Library Trustees Handbook. Revised

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iacono, Frank P., Comp.

2006-01-01

Since the Office of Library and Information Services published the first Rhode Island trustees manual in 1980, Rhode Island public libraries have continued to respond to an ever increasing demand for service. In so doing, they consistently have taken advantage of new opportunities to provide this service more efficiently and effectively via…

Interim Guidelines for Growing Longleaf Seedlings in Containers

Treesearch

James P. Barnett; Mark J. Hainds; George A. Hernandez

2002-01-01

The demand for container longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) planting stock continues to increase each year. A problem facing both producers and users of container seedlings is the lack of target seedling specifications. Outplanting and evaluating performance of seedlings with a range of physiological and morphological characteristics, over a...

Post-Implementation Insights about a Hybrid Degree Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Toth, Meredith; Foulger, Teresa S.; Amrein-Beardsley, Audrey

2008-01-01

Researchers and practitioners in the field of online learning continue to debate how to best leverage the convenience of online delivery while maintaining or increasing the quality and effectiveness of course content and delivery. While students demand the flexibility and convenience that distance education offerings provide, instructors and…

Critical Issues in the Delivery of Local Government Services in Rural America.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doeksen, Gerald A.; Peterson, Janet

Technological changes, an increase in demand for quality community services, and environmental controls have created conditions of continual change in the delivery of rural services. This report summarizes economic theory on community service delivery, reviews economic literature on specific community services, and identifies research gaps and…

Organic rice disease management using genetic resistance, cover crop and organic fertilizer

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The strong market demand for organic rice has driven the continued increase of organic rice production in the US. However, growers still lack effective tools to manage narrow brown leaf spot (NBLS) caused by Cercospora janseana and brown spot caused by Cochliobolus miyabeanus, two common diseases af...

Designing a Responsive E-Learning Infrastructure: Systemic Change in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chow, Anthony S.; Croxton, Rebecca A.

2017-01-01

As university administrators respond to increasing demands of the educational market to offer greater opportunities for online learning, their capacity to create an economically stable, sustainable, yet rich teaching and learning environment deserves immediate and continued attention. A university-wide study involving 130 participants examined the…

You Can't Teach Me: Exploring Academic Resistance to Teaching Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deaker, Lynley; Stein, Sarah J.; Spiller, Dorothy

2016-01-01

Societal, governmental, and research expectations of universities in contemporary western society have led to increasing calls for teacher professionalism and accountability as well as research excellence and research-informed teaching. Consequently, demands on academic staff development continually emerge, which academics may view as oppressive.…

Esperanto and Older People.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gal, Ilona

1978-01-01

Research has indicated that the elderly retain the ability to learn, and specifically to learn new languages. Furthermore, the increasingly greater proportion of old people in the population demands that their need for continued intellectual stimulation be met. In the absence of explicit motives for learning an ethnic language, Esperanto is a good…

Associations of maternal nutrition during pregnancy and postpartum with maternal cognition and caregiving

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Brain function depends on a continuous supply of nutrients, including micronutrients and fatty acids. Pregnancy and postpartum (pp) are periods of increased nutrient demands, during which optimal maternal cognition is important to prepare for a healthy birth and care for a young infant. However, few...

Workforce: Wyoming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, 2006

2006-01-01

From 2002 to 2012, the economy in Wyoming and the nation will continue generating jobs for workers at all levels of education and training, but there will be an increasing demand for employees with at least some postsecondary education, preferably a bachelor's degree. Nationwide, during a decade that will witness large numbers of baby boomers…

Ecological consequences of elevated total dissolved solids associated with fossil fuel extraction in the United States

EPA Science Inventory

Fossil fuel burning is considered a major contributor to global climate change. The outlook for production and consumption of fossil fuels int he US indicates continued growth to support growing energy demands. For example, coal-generated electricity is projected ot increase from...

Can We Sustainably Harvest Ivory?

PubMed

Lusseau, David; Lee, Phyllis C

2016-11-07

Despite the 1989 ivory trade ban, elephants continue to be killed to harvest their tusks for ivory. Since 2008, this poaching has increased to unprecedented levels driven by consumer demand for ivory products. CITES is now considering the development of a legal ivory trade [1, 2]. The proposal relies on three assumptions: (1) harvest regulation will cease all illegal activities, (2) defined sustainable quotas can be enforced, and (3) we can define meaningful sustainable quotas that come close to the current demand. We know that regulation of harvest does not stop illegal takes. Despite whaling regulation after World War II, illegal whaling continued for decades [3]. The introduction of wolf culls in the US actually increased poaching activities [4], and one-off ivory sales in 1999 and 2008 did nothing to halt elephant poaching. Governance issues over the ivory supply chains, including stockpiling, make enforcing quotas challenging, if not impossible [5, 6]. We have not yet adequately assessed what could be a sustainable ivory yield. To do so, we develop a compartmental model composed of a two-sex age-structured demographic model and an ivory production and harvest model. We applied several offtake and quota strategies to define how much ivory could be sustainably harvested. We found that the sustainability space is very small. Only 100 to 150 kg of ivory could be removed from a reference population of 1,360 elephants, levels well below the current demand. Our study shows that lifting the ivory ban will not address the current poaching challenge. We should instead focus on reducing consumer demand. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Locum tenens and telepsychiatry: trends in psychiatric care.

PubMed

Thiele, Jonathan S; Doarn, Charles R; Shore, Jay H

2015-06-01

There is a national shortage of psychiatrists, and according to nationally available data, it is projected to get worse. Locum tenens psychiatry and telepsychiatry are two ways to fill the shortages of psychiatric providers that exist in many areas in the United States. Employment and salary data in these areas can be used to illuminate current trends and anticipate future solutions to the problem of increasing demand for, and decreasing supply of, psychiatrists in the United States. A search was conducted of the literature and relevant Web sites, including PubMed, Google Scholar, and www.google.com , as well as information obtained from locum tenens and telepsychiatry organizations. There is a dearth of data on the use of locum tenens in the field of psychiatry, with little available prior to 2000 and few published studies since then. The majority of the data available are survey data from commercial entities. These data show trends toward increasing demand for psychiatry along with increasing salaries and indicate the utilization of telepsychiatry and locum tenens telepsychiatry is increasing. The published academic data that are available show that although locum tenens psychiatry is slightly inferior to routine psychiatric care, telepsychiatry is generally equivalent to face-to-face care. One can anticipate that as the national shortage of psychiatrists is expected to accelerate, use of both locum tenens and telepsychiatry may also continue to increase. Telepsychiatry offers several possible advantages, including lower cost, longer-term services, quality of care, and models that can extend psychiatric services. If current trends continue, systems that demand face-to-face psychiatry may find themselves paying higher fees for locum tenens psychiatrists, whereas others may employ psychiatrists more efficiently with telepsychiatry.

Recent patterns of crop yield growth and stagnation.

PubMed

Ray, Deepak K; Ramankutty, Navin; Mueller, Nathaniel D; West, Paul C; Foley, Jonathan A

2012-01-01

In the coming decades, continued population growth, rising meat and dairy consumption and expanding biofuel use will dramatically increase the pressure on global agriculture. Even as we face these future burdens, there have been scattered reports of yield stagnation in the world's major cereal crops, including maize, rice and wheat. Here we study data from ∼2.5 million census observations across the globe extending over the period 1961-2008. We examined the trends in crop yields for four key global crops: maize, rice, wheat and soybeans. Although yields continue to increase in many areas, we find that across 24-39% of maize-, rice-, wheat- and soybean-growing areas, yields either never improve, stagnate or collapse. This result underscores the challenge of meeting increasing global agricultural demands. New investments in underperforming regions, as well as strategies to continue increasing yields in the high-performing areas, are required.

Modelling a demand driven biogas system for production of electricity at peak demand and for production of biomethane at other times.

PubMed

O'Shea, R; Wall, D; Murphy, J D

2016-09-01

Four feedstocks were assessed for use in a demand driven biogas system. Biomethane potential (BMP) assays were conducted for grass silage, food waste, Laminaria digitata and dairy cow slurry. Semi-continuous trials were undertaken for all feedstocks, assessing biogas and biomethane production. Three kinetic models of the semi-continuous trials were compared. A first order model most accurately correlated with gas production in the pulse fed semi-continuous system. This model was developed for production of electricity on demand, and biomethane upgrading. The model examined a theoretical grass silage digester that would produce 435kWe in a continuous fed system. Adaptation to demand driven biogas required 187min to produce sufficient methane to run a 2MWe combined heat and power (CHP) unit for 60min. The upgrading system was dispatched 71min following CHP shutdown. Of the biogas produced 21% was used in the CHP and 79% was used in the upgrading system. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Western water and climate change.

PubMed

Dettinger, Michael; Udall, Bradley; Georgakakos, Aris

2015-12-01

The western United States is a region long defined by water challenges. Climate change adds to those historical challenges, but does not, for the most part, introduce entirely new challenges; rather climate change is likely to stress water supplies and resources already in many cases stretched to, or beyond, natural limits. Projections are for continued and, likely, increased warming trends across the region, with a near certainty of continuing changes in seasonality of snowmelt and streamflows, and a strong potential for attendant increases in evaporative demands. Projections of future precipitation are less conclusive, although likely the northern-most West will see precipitation increases while the southernmost West sees declines. However, most of the region lies in a broad area where some climate models project precipitation increases while others project declines, so that only increases in precipitation uncertainties can be projected with any confidence. Changes in annual and seasonal hydrographs are likely to challenge water managers, users, and attempts to protect or restore environmental flows, even where annual volumes change little. Other impacts from climate change (e.g., floods and water-quality changes) are poorly understood and will likely be location dependent. In this context, four iconic river basins offer glimpses into specific challenges that climate change may bring to the West. The Colorado River is a system in which overuse and growing demands are projected to be even more challenging than climate-change-induced flow reductions. The Rio Grande offers the best example of how climate-change-induced flow declines might sink a major system into permanent drought. The Klamath is currently projected to face the more benign precipitation future, but fisheries and irrigation management may face dire straits due to warming air temperatures, rising irrigation demands, and warming waters in a basin already hobbled by tensions between endangered fisheries and agricultural demands. Finally, California's Bay-Delta system is a remarkably localized and severe weakness at the heart of the region's trillion-dollar economy. It is threatened by the full range of potential climate-change impacts expected across the West, along with major vulnerabilities to increased flooding and rising sea levels.

Temperature is a potent driver of regional forest drought stress, disturbance, and tree mortality (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, P.; Allen, C. D.; Macalady, A.; Griffin, D.; Woodhouse, C. A.; Meko, D. M.; Swetnam, T. W.; Rauscher, S.; Seager, R.; Grissino-Mayer, H.; Dean, J.; Cook, E. R.; Gangodagamage, C.; Cai, M.; McDowell, N. G.

2013-12-01

I present a forest drought-stress index (FDSI) for the Southwestern United States using a comprehensive set of regional tree-ring records for AD 1000-2007. Comparing the last century of FDSI data to observed climate records, regional FDSI appears approximately equally influenced by warm-season atmospheric moisture demand (mostly controlled by temperature) and cold-season precipitation, together explaining an astounding 82% of southwestern FDSI variability. When atmospheric moisture demand intensifies, so does forest drought stress. Importantly, intensified moisture demand is not only associated with decreased tree growth; it is also associated with increased mortality. In particular, among a suite of drought-related climate variables, warm-season moisture demand has been the best predictor of annual forest area burned by stand-replacing wildfires since at least 1984. Further, the relationship between moisture demand and burned area is exponential, where incremental increases in moisture demand correspond to increasingly large influences on area burned. Using climate observations to update FDSI through 2013, I show that the current Southwestern drought-stress event, which began in 2000, is the most severe in over 400 years, but not as severe as those that occurred during the infamous 'Megadroughts' of AD 1000-1600. Like the Megadroughts of the past, the current drought will come to an end, but unlike the Megadroughts of the past, the current drought and those that will follow will be superimposed upon a warming-induced trend toward increased moisture demand and intensified forest drought stress, disturbance, and mortality. If atmospheric moisture demand continues increasing as projected by climate models, then mean annual Southwestern US climate by the 2050s will be less suitable for forest growth and survival than it was during the worst years of last millennium's Megadroughts. An intense La-Niña driven drought anomaly superimposed upon mean conditions in the 2050s would lead to forest drought stress, mortality, and wildfire conditions that are far more disastrous than those observed thusfar. These results foreshadow 21st-century transitions of Southwestern forests, and probably forests elsewhere, toward distributions unfamiliar to modern civilization.

To Investigate the Influence of Building Envelope and Natural Ventilation on Thermal Heat Balance in Office Buildings in Warm and Humid Climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kini, Pradeep G.; Garg, Naresh Kumar; Kamath, Kiran

2017-07-01

India’s commercial building sector is witnessing robust growth. India continues to be a key growth market among global corporates and this is reflective in the steady growth in demand for prime office space. A recent trend that has been noted is the increase in demand for office spaces not just in major cities but also in smaller tier II and Tier III cities. Growth in the commercial building sector projects a rising trend of energy intensive mechanical systems in office buildings in India. The air conditioning market in India is growing at 25% annually. This is due to the ever increasing demand to maintain thermal comfort in tropical regions. Air conditioning is one of the most energy intensive technologies which are used in buildings. As a result India is witnessing significant spike in energy demand and further widening the demand supply gap. Challenge in India is to identify passive measures in building envelope design in office buildings to reduce the cooling loads and conserve energy. This paper investigates the overall heat gain through building envelope components and natural ventilation in warm and humid climate region through experimental and simulation methods towards improved thermal environmental performance.

Hierarchical prediction of industrial water demand based on refined Laspeyres decomposition analysis.

PubMed

Shang, Yizi; Lu, Shibao; Gong, Jiaguo; Shang, Ling; Li, Xiaofei; Wei, Yongping; Shi, Hongwang

2017-12-01

A recent study decomposed the changes in industrial water use into three hierarchies (output, technology, and structure) using a refined Laspeyres decomposition model, and found monotonous and exclusive trends in the output and technology hierarchies. Based on that research, this study proposes a hierarchical prediction approach to forecast future industrial water demand. Three water demand scenarios (high, medium, and low) were then established based on potential future industrial structural adjustments, and used to predict water demand for the structural hierarchy. The predictive results of this approach were compared with results from a grey prediction model (GPM (1, 1)). The comparison shows that the results of the two approaches were basically identical, differing by less than 10%. Taking Tianjin, China, as a case, and using data from 2003-2012, this study predicts that industrial water demand will continuously increase, reaching 580 million m 3 , 776.4 million m 3 , and approximately 1.09 billion m 3 by the years 2015, 2020 and 2025 respectively. It is concluded that Tianjin will soon face another water crisis if no immediate measures are taken. This study recommends that Tianjin adjust its industrial structure with water savings as the main objective, and actively seek new sources of water to increase its supply.

California's Drought - Stress test for the future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lund, J. R.

2014-12-01

The current California drought is in its third dry years, with this year being the third driest years in a 106-year record. This drought occurs at a time when urban, agricultural, and environmental water demands have never been greater. This drought has revealed the importance of more quantitative evaluation and methods for water assessment and management. All areas of water and environmental management are likely to become increasingly stressed, and have essentially drought-like conditions, in the future, as California's urban, agricultural, and environmental demands continue to expand and as the climate changes. In the historical past, droughts have pre-viewed stresses developing in the future and helped focus policy-makers, the public, and stakeholders on preparing for these developing future conditions. Multi-decade water management strategies are often galvinized by drought. Irrigation was galvanized by California droughts in the 1800s, reservoir systems by the 1928-32 drought, urban water conservation by the 1976-77 drought, and water markets by the 1988-92 drought. With each drought, demands for tighter accounting, rights, and management have increased. This talk reviews the prospects and challenges for increased development and use of water data and systems analysis in the service of human and environmental water demands in California's highly decentralized water management system, and the prospects if these challenges are not more successfully addressed.

Monitoring of pre-frontal oxygen status in helicopter pilots using near-infrared spectrophotometers

PubMed Central

Kikukawa, Azusa; Kobayashi, Asao; Miyamoto, Yoshinori

2008-01-01

Background There are few in-flight studies of cognition-related cerebral oxygen status in helicopter pilots. Methods Four male helicopter pilots volunteered for nine sorties during visual flight in a BK117 and UH-60J. The pilots' pre-frontal oxy-hemoglobin (O2Hb) and deoxy-hemoglobin (HHb) concentration were continuously monitored from the right/left sections of the forehead using near-infrared spectrophotometers with a consideration of motion artifacts. Results The concentration of O2Hb progressively increased (13.98 μmol•L-1 as a maximum increased concentration) in both the right/left sections of the forehead from the basal level during the heightened cognitive demand of helicopter flight. There was comparatively little change (4.32 μmol•L-1 as a maximum increased concentration) in HHb concentration during measurement of helicopter flight. HHb changes were apparently not affected by a heightened cognitive demand of helicopter pilots. Conclusion These results demonstrate that near-infrared spectroscopy, especially O2Hb measurements, provides a sensitive method for the monitoring of cognitive demand (maneuvers) in helicopter pilots. PMID:18616829

Professional challenges and opportunities in clinical microbiology and infectious diseases in Europe.

PubMed

Read, Robert C; Cornaglia, Giuseppe; Kahlmeter, Gunnar

2011-05-01

The two closely linked specialties of clinical microbiology and infectious diseases face important challenges. We report the consensus of clinical microbiologists and infectious disease physicians assembled by the European Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Both specialties have different training requirements in different European countries and are not universally recognised as professions. The specialties are rapidly evolving as they adapt to the changing demands within hospital practice, including the need to deal with emerging infections, rapidly increasing internationalisation, and immigration. Clinical microbiology needs to develop and master technological advances such as laboratory automation and an avalanche of new methods for rapid diagnostics. Simultaneously, the pressure for concentration, amalgamation, and out-sourcing of laboratory services is ever-increasing. Infectious disease physicians have to meet the professional challenge of subspecialisation and the continual need to find new niches for their skills. Despite these challenges, each of these specialties continues to thrive in Europe and will enjoy important opportunities over the next few years. The recently formed European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in Stockholm, Sweden, will increase demands in areas of surveillance of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance on both specialties. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The changing flow of management information systems in long-term care facilities.

PubMed

Stokes, D F

1997-08-01

Over the past three decades, the long-term care community has seen continual increases in the complexity and sophistication of management information systems. These changes have been brought about by the ever-increasing demands on owners and managers to provide accurate and timely data to both regulators and financial investors. The evolution of these systems has increased rapidly in recent years as the nation attempts to reinvent the funding mechanisms for long-term care.

Anonymous HIV testing: the impact of availability on demand in Arizona.

PubMed Central

Hirano, D; Gellert, G A; Fleming, K; Boyd, D; Englender, S J; Hawks, H

1994-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of anonymous testing availability on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) test demand in Arizona. Testing patterns before and after the introduction of anonymous testing were compared. Client knowledge of new test policy and delay in testing until an anonymous option was available were assessed. Test numbers among men who have sex with men showed a statistically significant increase after introduction of an anonymous testing option. Arizona continues to maintain anonymous testing availability. Public health agencies should consider how test policy may influence people's HIV test decisions. PMID:7998649

Geriatric restorative care - the need, the demand and the challenges

PubMed Central

Nadig, Roopa R; Usha, G; Kumar, Vinod; Rao, Raghoothama; Bugalia, Anupriya

2011-01-01

Increased life expectancy is causing an explosion of the aging population that will continue now and in the foreseeable future. Improved quality of life at old age will demand tooth retention and consequently the need for restorative care. Retaining teeth disease free and maintaining them amidst multitude of risk factors associated with old age, is a multi- faceted challenge. This review article discusses the etiology of various dental diseases seen in older dentate population and their management keeping in mind the special needs of these matured people, so as to render a professional service that is sensitive and caring. PMID:22025819

JPRS Report, East Europe

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-12-20

building, the striking architec- tural element of which is a huge glassed-in can. Of course, the can is not supposed to represent a can of Coca - Cola ...store signs and advertising posters looks like a boom town—a prosperous city. This is where the minds of CSSR economic theory and practice are...posefully continued in a manner appropriate to the increasing demands in harmony with the likewise increasing opportunities provided by socialist

A Multi-Case Study of Student Interactions with Educational Robots and Impact on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Learning and Attitudes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holmquist, Stephanie Kaye

2014-01-01

The demand for STEM trained workers continues to increase not only in the United States, but globally. Reports have indicated that the United States is not doing a good job encouraging students to pursue STEM oriented degrees. In particular, it has become increasingly important to emphasize STEM connections at an early level in order to encourage…

Supply and demand of some critical metals and present status of their recycling in WEEE.

PubMed

Zhang, Shengen; Ding, Yunji; Liu, Bo; Chang, Chein-Chi

2017-07-01

New development and technological innovations make electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) more functional by using an increasing number of metals, particularly the critical metals (e.g. rare and precious metals) with specialized properties. As millions of people in emerging economies adopt a modern lifestyle, the demand for critical metals is soaring. However, the increasing demand causes the crisis of their supply because of their simple deficiency in the Earth's crust or geopolitical constraints which might create political issues for their supply. This paper focuses on the sustainable supply of typical critical metals (indium, rare earth elements (REEs), lithium, cobalt and precious metals) through recycling waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). To illuminate this issue, the production, consumption, expected future demand, current recycling situation of critical metals, WEEE management and their recycling have been reviewed. We find that the demand of indium, REEs, lithium and cobalt in EEE will continuously increasing, while precious metals are decreasing because of new substitutions with less or even without precious metals. Although the generation of WEEE in 2014 was about 41.9 million tons (Mt), just about 15% (6.5 Mt) was treated environmentally. The inefficient collection of WEEE is the main obstacle to relieving the supply risk of critical metals. Furthermore, due to the widespread use in low concentrations, such as indium, their recycling is not just technological problem, but economic feasibility is. Finally, relevant recommendations are point out to address these issues. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Sushi Science Module in Food Production Systems and Aquatic Resource Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Livengood, Elisa J.; Chapman, Frank A.

2009-01-01

No other food industry depends so heavily on a wild caught resource than those associated with aquatic food products. Domestication of fish, shellfish, and other aquatic resources production has lagged behind other terrestrial livestock products; however, demand for these aquatic natural resources has continued to increase dramatically. Teaching…

A Psychosociocultural Framework of College Persistence Wellness for Students on Academic Probation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, Leya

2013-01-01

Background: There is increased need for a college educated workforce that is prepared to enter high-demand, technical fields (e.g., science, technology, engineering, math, medicine). Universities continue to be held accountable for improving student retention and degree completion. This study sought to understand the cognitive and noncognitive…

A Quality Scorecard for the Administration of Online Education Programs: A Delphi Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shelton, Kaye

2010-01-01

As the demands for public accountability increase for the higher education industry, institutions are seeking methods for continuous improvement in order to demonstrate quality within programs and processes, including those provided through online education. Because of the rapid growth of online education programs, institutions are further called…

Communities of Practice as Agents of Future Faculty Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stark, Audriana M.; Smith, Gary A.

2016-01-01

The need for faculty development continues to increase despite the limited resources of many developers to serve growing demands. To address this conundrum, we explore existing literature about communities of practice (CoPs) in higher education and case studies of CoPs at our institution as an avenue to extend and supplement future professional…

PISA 2003 Australia: ICT Use Familiarity at School and Home. ACER Research Monograph Number 62

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomson, Sue; De Bortoli, Lisa

2007-01-01

As countries continue to invest in information and communication technologies (ICT) and they become even more common in the workplace, there is an increasing demand for schools to produce technologically literate students. This report presents results from the "Programme for International Student Assessment" (PISA) 2003, and examines how…

Distance Education for Physicians: Adaptation of a Canadian Experience to Uruguay

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Llambi, Laura; Margolis, Alvaro; Toews, John; Dapueto, Juan; Esteves, Elba; Martinez, Elisa; Forster, Thais; Lopez, Antonio; Lockyer, Jocelyn

2008-01-01

Introduction: The production of online high-quality continuing professional development is a complex process that demands familiarity with effective program and content design. Collaboration and sharing across nations would appear to be a reasonable way to improve quality, increase access, and reduce costs. Methods: In this case report, the…

Preservice Teachers' Multicultural Attitudes: Urban and Suburban Field Contexts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cho, Su-Je; Cicchelli, Terry

2012-01-01

Public schools are continually pressed to meet the demands of an increase of a culturally and linguistically diverse population, compounded by the pressures exerted by the No Child Left Behind legislation and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. Indicated is a need for multicultural understandings in courses and field…

Do E-Learning Tools Make a Difference? Results from a Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Desplaces, David; Blair, Carrie A.; Salvaggio, Trent

2015-01-01

Even as academics continue to debate whether distance education techniques are successful, the market demands increased distance education programs and a growing number of corporations are using e-learning to train their employees. We propose and examine a model comparing outcomes in 3 different pedagogical classroom settings: traditional,…

Background Study on Employment and Labour Market in the Czech Republic.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Munich, Daniel; Jurajda, Stepan; Cihak, Martin

The current recession in the Czech Republic is driven by aggregate demand, unsustainable growth of wages, weak enforcement of the legal system, non-operational bankruptcy law, and poor corporate governance. The wage dispersion has been growing continuously, and wage setting has become increasingly more responsive to market forces. Education has…

Ultra-Compact Neuroprocessor for Automotive Diagnostic and Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tawel, R.; Aranki, N.; Feldkamp, L. A.; Marko, K. A.

1998-01-01

Demands on the performance of vehicle control and diagnostic systems are steadily increasing as a consequence of stiff global competition and government mandates. In the United States, light trucks and passenger cars are required both to meet strict emission standards and to perform continuous diagnostics of all emissions systems operating in the vehicle.

The Development of a Peer Assisted Learning Model for the Clinical Education of Physiotherapy Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sevenhuysen, Samantha L.; Nickson, Wendy; Farlie, Melanie K.; Raitman, Lyn; Keating, Jennifer L.; Molloy, Elizabeth; Skinner, Elizabeth; Maloney, Stephen; Haines, Terry P.

2013-01-01

Demand for clinical placements in physiotherapy education continues to outstrip supply. Peer assisted learning, in various formats, has been trialled to increase training capacity and facilitate student learning during clinical education. There are no documented examples of measurable or repeatable peer assisted learning models to aid clinicians…

Examining the effects of a signless roadway : holographic traffic control devices and their potential for replacing traditional post-mounted traffic control devices.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-08-01

In recent years, there has been an ever-increasing demand for the integration of technology into vehicles. As the expansion of in-vehicle technology continues, obvious concerns exist with the number of potential distractors added into the driving env...

Something new - the Native Plants Journal

Treesearch

R. Kasten Dumroese

2002-01-01

The demand for native plants continues to increase, but published information on how to propagate natives is extremely limited. The Native Plants Journal, a full-color publication produced as a cooperative between the University of Idaho and the USDA Forest Service, provides a forum for sharing practical information about growing and planting native plants.

Managing Reward in Developing Economies: The Challenge for Multinational Corporations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Opute, John

2010-01-01

Reward has been, and continues to be, subject to significant changes in developing economies; the industrial relations model prevalent being driven by the complex socio-economic and cultural paradigms and the increasing demands of globalisation. The issue of reward in developing economies is therefore central and dependent on numerous contextual…

Faculty Perceptions of Student Performance in the Online Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amro, Hanan; Maxwell, Gerri M.; Kupczynski, Lori

2013-01-01

With continually increasing enrollment, and colleges and universities struggling to meet the demand, leaders in education are turning to the web instruction to deliver instruction to students. In order to meet the needs of these online students, institutions of higher education need more data concerning the factors that influence students'…

A Snapshot of Online Learners: E-Readiness, E-Satisfaction and Expectations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ilgaz, Hale; Gülbahar, Yasemin

2015-01-01

The popularity of online programs that educational institutions offer is continuously increasing at varying degrees, with the major demand coming from adult learners who have no opportunity to access traditional education. These adult learners have to be sufficiently ready and competent for online learning, and have their own varied expectations…

Australian Universities 1964-1969; Third Report of the Australian Universities Commission.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Australian Universities Commission.

This document is an English-language abstract (approximately 1,500 words) of a report on Australian universities between 1964-66, and recommendations for 1967-69. Developments during 1965-66 included the creation of four new universities. The demand for higher education is continually increasing. The capital grants recommended by the commission…

The Analysis of Teaching Effectiveness Evaluation Programs in Geography Departments in the United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Brian J.

2012-01-01

Teaching evaluation systems are an important part of the total evaluation of faculty in geography departments in the United States. As demands for accountability for teaching effectiveness continue to emerge from many groups, it has become increasingly important for geography departments to develop systems that not only provide teaching…

Multiple Case Study of Event Management Curricula and Industry Professionals' Expectations of New Graduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitney, Premila A.

2016-01-01

The event management segment of the hospitality industry has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. As a result, demand for qualified event management professionals continues to increase. To help prepare qualified professionals for the event management industry, higher education institutions in the United States are now offering…

Rethinking Online Education: The Impact of Synchronous Telecommunication Interactions on Student Success

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hibbard, Joshua A.

2013-01-01

Higher education leaders in the 21st century are faced with challenges of affordability, accessibility, and increased demand for postsecondary education. The recent growth of online educational programs in the United States provides institutions with potential solutions to these challenges; yet, persistence rates continue to lag behind traditional…

Nevada Photo-Based Inventory Pilot (NPIP) photo sampling procedures

Treesearch

Tracey S. Frescino; Gretchen G. Moisen; Kevin A. Megown; Val J. Nelson; Elizabeth A. Freeman; Paul L. Patterson; Mark Finco; James Menlove

2009-01-01

The Forest Inventory and Analysis program (FIA) of the U.S. Forest Service monitors status and trends in forested ecoregions nationwide. The complex nature of this broad-scale, strategic-level inventory demands constant evolution and evaluation of methods to get the best information possible while continuously increasing efficiency. In 2004, the "Nevada Photo-...

77 FR 49856 - Environmental Impact Statement for the Salinas to San Luis Obispo Portion of the Coast Corridor...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-17

... likely to worsen, making travel times unreliable. In addition, space constraints limit the potential to... activity is expected to generate increased travel demand. By 2040, statewide population is expected to grow... continuing transportation challenges as evidenced by the following: Constrained Travel Options--While the...

Growth Infusion: Embedding Staff Development in a Culture of Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, Betty J.

2017-01-01

To address increasing accountability demands, instructional leaders must find ways to expand the current reality of faculty development to create a culture where continuous growth and learning are the standard for professional behavior. Growth Infusion is a framework for creating such a culture. The framework is a result of an extensive search for…

Corn grain yield response to stover removal under variable nitrogen, irrigation, and carbon amendments

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Demand for corn (Zea mays L.) stover either for livestock or cellulosic ethanol production have increased the importance of determining stover removal effects on biomass production. The objectives of this study was to evaluate yield response and N use from continuous stover removal under two irriga...

A Research Synthesis of the Evaluation Capacity Building Literature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Labin, Susan N.; Duffy, Jennifer L.; Meyers, Duncan C.; Wandersman, Abraham; Lesesne, Catherine A.

2012-01-01

The continuously growing demand for program results has produced an increased need for evaluation capacity building (ECB). The "Integrative ECB Model" was developed to integrate concepts from existing ECB theory literature and to structure a synthesis of the empirical ECB literature. The study used a broad-based research synthesis method with…

Biocontrol of E. coli O157:H7 in organic soil using essential oils

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil can be a significant source of preharvest contamination of produce by pathogens. Demand for natural pesticides such as essential oils for organic farming continues to increase. Antimicrobial activity of essential oils in vitro has been well documented, but there is no information about their ef...

Antimicrobial activity of essential oils against E. coli O157:H7 in organic soil

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil can be a significant source of preharvest contamination of produce by pathogens. Demand for natural pesticides such as essential oils for organic farming continues to increase. Antimicrobial activity of essential oils in vitro has been well documented, but there is no information about their ef...

What the Marketplace Wants from Business Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Arjay

There has been a continuous improvement in the capabilities of business school graduates over the past 20 years. However, more "feedback" is needed to let business schools know how their graduates are doing in the marketplace. The demand for management talent will become increasingly greater for 4 main reasons: 1) corporations have doubled in size…

Climate Impacts on Agriculture in the United States: The Value of Past Observations

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Climate impacts on agriculture cause variations in crop yields and lead to lack of stability in grain production. This will become more critical as the world population continues to increase and demands more food. There have been many studies that have shown the impact of climate on agricultural pro...

Guidelines for a More Reality Based Teacher Preparation Program for the Future.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cherniack, Mark; And Others

1974-01-01

It is important to consider the following trends when planning inservice and preservice programs: (a) multiple crisis potential (food, energy, environment, water, war and peace issues, etc.); (b) declining birth rate resulting in smaller numbers of humans in traditional school-age brackets; and (c) increasing demand for continuing education.…

Conceptualizing the dynamics of a drought affected agricultural community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuil, Linda; Carr, Gemma; Viglione, Alberto; Bloeschl, Guenter

2015-04-01

Climate and especially water availability and variability play an important role in the development of our societies. This can be seen through the vast investments that are made in reaching water security and the economic impact regions experience when the rains fail. However, the limit of available fresh water is increasingly felt as our population increases and the demand for water continues to rise. But how do we as society respond? Are periods of drought making us more resilient? The answer to this question is sought through the development of a stylized model that is built within the spirit of the Easter Island model by Brander and Taylor and aimed at capturing the essence of the dynamics of water supply and demand. By explicitly incorporating feedbacks, but keeping the framework simple, the model seeks to understand qualitative behavior of our socio-hydrological system as opposed to predicting exact pathways. The model shows that carrying capacity dynamics are a determining factor for continued growth. Future work will explore the underlying relationships further, among others, through examination of case studies.

Starting a sleep center.

PubMed

Epstein, Lawrence J; Valentine, Paul S

2010-05-01

The demand for sleep medicine services has grown tremendously during the last decade and will likely continue. To date, growth in demand has been met by growth in the number of new sleep centers. The need for more new centers will be dependent on market drivers that include increasing regulatory requirements, personnel shortages, integration of home sleep testing, changes in reimbursement, a shift in emphasis from diagnostics to treatment, and an increased consumer focus on sleep. The decision to open a new center should be based on understanding the market dynamics, completing a market analysis, and developing a business plan. The business plan should include an overview of the facility, a personnel and organizational structure, an evaluation of the business environment, a financial plan, a description of services provided, and a strategy for obtaining, managing, and extending a referral base. Implementation of the business plan and successful operation require ongoing planning and monitoring of operational parameters. The need for new sleep centers will likely continue, but the shifting market dynamics indicate a greater need for understanding the marketplace and careful planning.

7 CFR 987.11 - Trade demand.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Trade demand. 987.11 Section 987.11 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements... RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Order Regulating Handling Definitions § 987.11 Trade demand. Trade demand means...

7 CFR 987.11 - Trade demand.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Trade demand. 987.11 Section 987.11 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING AGREEMENTS... RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Order Regulating Handling Definitions § 987.11 Trade demand. Trade demand means...

7 CFR 987.11 - Trade demand.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Trade demand. 987.11 Section 987.11 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements... RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Order Regulating Handling Definitions § 987.11 Trade demand. Trade demand means...

7 CFR 987.11 - Trade demand.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Trade demand. 987.11 Section 987.11 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING AGREEMENTS... RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Order Regulating Handling Definitions § 987.11 Trade demand. Trade demand means...

Integrated modelling to assess long-term water supply capacity of a meso-scale Mediterranean catchment.

PubMed

Collet, Lila; Ruelland, Denis; Borrell-Estupina, Valérie; Dezetter, Alain; Servat, Eric

2013-09-01

Assessing water supply capacity is crucial to meet stakeholders' needs, notably in the Mediterranean region. This region has been identified as a climate change hot spot, and as a region where water demand is continuously increasing due to population growth and the expansion of irrigated areas. The Hérault River catchment (2500 km(2), France) is a typical example and a negative trend in discharge has been observed since the 1960s. In this context, local stakeholders need first to understand the processes controlling the evolution of water resources and demands in the past to latter evaluate future water supply capacity and anticipate the tensions users could be confronted to in the future. A modelling framework is proposed at a 10-day time step to assess whether water resources have been able to meet water demands over the last 50 years. Water supply was evaluated using hydrological modelling and a dam management model. Water demand dynamics were estimated for the domestic and agricultural sectors. A water supply capacity index is computed to assess the extent and the frequency to which water demand has been satisfied at the sub-basin scale. Simulated runoff dynamics were in good agreement with observations over the calibration and validation periods. Domestic water demand has increased considerably since the 1980s and is characterized by a seasonal peak in summer. Agricultural demand has increased in the downstream sub-basins and decreased upstream where irrigated areas have decreased. As a result, although most water demands were satisfied between 1961 and 1980, irrigation requirements in summer have sometimes not been satisfied since the 1980s. This work is the first step toward evaluating possible future changes in water allocation capacity in the catchment, using future climate change, dam management and water use scenarios. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Entre Reproduction et Mobilisation: les Rapports de Genre EN Formation Continue EN France et AU Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fourner, Christine; Béret, Pierre; Doray, Pierre; Bélanger, Paul

2009-01-01

REPRODUCTION OR MOBILISATION? GENDER PROPORTIONS IN CONTINUING EDUCATION IN FRANCE AND CANADA - Initial education provisions for women have evolved greatly over the past 40 years. But what about their situation within adult education and training? This article, comparing Canada and France, shows that, while it is well known that more women than men participate in adult education, their greater presence in professional training courses is a new development. The analysis highlights certain particular findings, such as the growing demand for continuing education in Canada and the increased rate of participation by full-time employees in France. In both countries, a number of social factors continue to influence women's participation.

Principles and Guidelines for Duty and Rest Scheduling in Commercial Aviation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dinges, David F.; Graeber, R. Curtis; Rosekind, Mark R.; Samel, Alexander

1996-01-01

The aviation industry requires 24-hour activities to meet operational demands. Growth in global long-haul, regional, overnight cargo, and short-haul domestic operations will continue to increase these round-the-clock requirements. Flight crews must be available to support 24-hour-a-day operations to meet these industry demands. Both domestic and international aviation can also require crossing multiple time zones. Therefore, shift work, night work, irregular work schedules, unpredictable work schedules, and dm zone changes will continue to be commonplace components of the aviation industry. These factors pose known challenges to human physiology, and because they result in performance-impairing fatigue, they pose a risk to safety. It is critical to acknowledge and, whenever possible, incorporate scientific information on fatigue, human sleep, and circadian physiology into 24-hour aviation operations. Utilization of such scientific information can help promote crew performance and alertness during flight operations and thereby maintain and improve the safety margin.

Water use trends and demand projections in the Northwest Florida Water Management District

USGS Publications Warehouse

Marella, R.L.; Mokray, M.F.; Hallock-Solomon, Michael

1998-01-01

The Northwest Florida Water Management District is located in the western panhandle of Florida and encompasses about 11,200 square miles. In 1995, the District had an estimated population of 1.13 million, an increase of about 47 percent from the 1975 population of 0.77 million. Over 50 percent of the resident population lives within 10 miles of the coast. In addition, hundreds of thousands of visitors come to the coastal areas of the panhandle during the summer months for recreation or vacation purposes. Water withdrawn to meet demands for public supply, domestic self-supplied, commercial-industrial, agricultural irrigation, and recreational irrigation purposes in the District increased 18 percent (52 million gallons per day) between 1970 and 1995. The greatest increases were for public supply and domestic self-supplied (99 percent increase) and for agricultural irrigation (60 percent increase) between 1970 and 1995. In 1995, approximately 70 percent of the water withdrawn was from ground-water sources, with the majority of this from the Floridan aquifer system. The increasing water demands have affected water levels in the Floridan aquifer system, especially along the coastal areas. The Northwest Florida Water Management District is mandated under the Florida Statutes (Chapter 373) to protect and manage the water resources in this area of the State. The mandate requires that current and future water demands be met, while water resources and water-dependent natural systems are sustained. For this project, curve fitting and extrapolation were used to project most of the variables (population, population served by public supply, and water use) to the years 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020. This mathematical method involves fitting a curve to historical population or water-use data and then extending this curve to arrive at future values. The population within the region is projected to reach 1,596,888 by the year 2020, an increase of 41 percent between 1995 and 2020. Most of the population in this region will continue to reside in the urban areas of Pensacola and Tallahassee, and along the coastal areas. The population served by public water supply is projected to reach 1,353,836 by the year 2020, an increase of nearly 46 percent between 1995 and 2020. Total water demand for the Northwest Florida Water Management District is projected to reach 940.2 million gallons per day in 2000, 1,003.1 million gallons per day in 2010, and 1,059.1 million gallons per day in 2020. Excluding water withdrawn for power generation from these totals, water demands will increase 34 percent between 1995 and 2020, and 58 percent between 1970 and 2020. Specifically, public supply demands are projected to increase 74.1 million gallons per day (53 percent) and domestic self-supplied and small public supply systems demands are projected to increase 9.1 million gallons per day (28 percent) between 1995 and 2020. Commercial- industrial self-supplied demands are projected to increase about 16.9 million gallons per day (13 percent) between 1995 and 2020. Agricultural and recreational irrigation demands combined are projected to increase 16.8 million gallons per day (48 percent) between 1995 and 2020. Water demands for power generation are projected to increase about 53.9 million gallons per day (10 percent) between 1995 and 2020. Although power generation water use shows a projected increase during this time, plant capacities are not expected to change dramatically.

Land use and water use in the Antelope Valley, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Templin, William E.; Phillips, Steven P.; Cherry, Daniel E.; DeBortoli, Myrna L.; Haltom, T.C.; McPherson, Kelly R.; Mrozek, C.A.

1995-01-01

Urban land use and water use in the Antelope Valley, California, have increased significantly since development of the valley began in the late 1800's.. Ground water has been a major source of water in this area because of limited local surface-water resources. Ground-water pumpage is reported to have increased from about 29,000 acre-feet in 1919 to about 400,000 acre-feet in the 1950's. Completion of the California Aqueduct to this area in the early 1970's conveyed water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, about 400 miles to the north. Declines in groundwater levels and increased costs of electrical power in the 1970's resulted in a reduction in the quantity of ground water that was pumped annually for irrigation uses. Total annual reported ground-water pumpage decreased to a low of about 53,200 acre-feet in 1983 and increased to about 91,700 acre-feet in 1991 as a result of rapid urban development and the 1987-92 drought. This increased urban development, in combination with several years of drought, renewed concern about a possible return to extensive depletion of ground-water storage and increased land subsidence.Increased water demands are expected to continue as a result of increased urban development. Water-demand forecasts in 1980 for the Antelope Valley indicated that total annual water demand by 2020 was expected to be about 250,000 acre-feet, with agricultural demand being about 65 percent of this total. In 1990, total water demand was projected to be about 175,000 acre-feet by 2010; however, agricultural water demand was expected to account for only 37 percent of the total demand. New and existing land- and water-use data were collected and compiled during 1992-93 to identify present and historical land and water uses. In 1993, preliminary forecasts for total water demand by 2010 ranged from about 127,500 to 329,000 acre-feet. These wide-ranging estimates indicate that forecasts can change with time as factors that affect water demand change and different forecasting methods are used. The forecasts using the MWD_MAIN (Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Municipal and Industrial Needs) water-demand forecasting system yielded the largest estimates of water demand. These forecasts were based on projections of population growth and other socioeconomic variables. Initial forecasts using the MWD_MAIN forecasting system commonly are considered "interim" or preliminary. Available historical and future socioeconomic data required for the forecasting system are limited for this area. Decisions on local water-resources demand management may be made by members of the Antelope Valley Water Group and other interested parties based on this report, other studies, their best judgement, and cumulative knowledge of local conditions. Potential water-resource management actions in the Antelope Valley include (1) increasing artificial ground-water recharge when excess local runoff (or imported water supplies) are available; (2) implementing water-conservation best-management practices; and (3) optimizing ground-water pumpage throughout the basin.

Gemstones

USGS Publications Warehouse

Olson, D.W.

2000-01-01

Part of the 1999 Industrial Minerals Review. A review of the state of the gemstone industry worldwide in 1999 is presented. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the estimated value of natural gemstones produced from U.S. deposits in 1999 was $13.5 million. The estimated value of U.S. apparent consumption of gemstones in 1999 was $6.88 billion, an increase of 9 percent from 1998. World demand for gem diamonds is expected to continue to increase with the increase in populations and personal incomes in industrialized nations.

Ambulatory Healthcare Utilization in the United States: A System Dynamics Approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Diaz, Rafael; Behr, Joshua G.; Tulpule, Mandar

2011-01-01

Ambulatory health care needs within the United States are served by a wide range of hospitals, clinics, and private practices. The Emergency Department (ED) functions as an important point of supply for ambulatory healthcare services. Growth in our aging populations as well as changes stemming from broader healthcare reform are expected to continue trend in congestion and increasing demand for ED services. While congestion is, in part, a manifestation of unmatched demand, the state of the alignment between the demand for, and supply of, emergency department services affects quality of care and profitability. The central focus of this research is to provide an explanation of the salient factors at play within the dynamic demand-supply tensions within which ambulatory care is provided within an Emergency Department. A System Dynamics (SO) simulation model is used to capture the complexities among the intricate balance and conditional effects at play within the demand-supply emergency department environment. Conceptual clarification of the forces driving the elements within the system , quantifying these elements, and empirically capturing the interaction among these elements provides actionable knowledge for operational and strategic decision-making.

Critical Care Pharmacist Market Perceptions: Comparison of Critical Care Program Directors and Directors of Pharmacy

PubMed Central

Hager, David R.; Persaud, Rosemary A.; Naseman, Ryan W.; Choudhary, Kavish; Carter, Kristen E.; Hansen, Amanda

2017-01-01

Background: While hospital beds continue to decline as patients previously treated as inpatients are stabilized in ambulatory settings, the number of critical care beds available in the United States continues to rise. Growth in pharmacy student graduation, postgraduate year 2 critical care (PGY2 CC) residency programs, and positions has also increased. There is a perception that the critical care trained pharmacist market is saturated, yet this has not been evaluated since the rise in pharmacy graduates and residency programs. Purpose: To describe the current perception of critical care residency program directors (CC RPDs) and directors of pharmacy (DOPs) on the critical care pharmacist job market and to evaluate critical care postresidency placement and anticipated changes in PGY2 CC programs. Methods: Two electronic surveys were distributed from October 2015 to November 2015 through Vizient/University HealthSystem Consortium, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), Society of Critical Care Medicine, and American College of Clinical Pharmacy listservs to target 2 groups of respondents: CC RPDs and DOPs. Questions were based on the ASHP Pharmacy Forecast and the Pharmacy Workforce Center’s Aggregate Demand Index and were intended to identify perceptions of the critical care market of the 2 groups. Results: Of 116 CC RPDs, there were 66 respondents (56.9% response rate). Respondents have observed an increase in applicants; however, they do not anticipate increasing the number of positions in the next 5 years. The overall perception is that there is a balance in supply and demand in the critical care trained pharmacist market. A total of 82 DOPs responded to the survey. Turnover of critical care pharmacists within respondent organizations is expected to be low. Although a majority of DOPs plan to expand residency training positions, only 9% expect to increase positions in critical care PGY2 training. Overall, DOP respondents indicated a balance of supply and demand in the critical care trained pharmacist market. In comparing RPD and DOP perceptions of the demand for critical care pharmacists, DOPs perceived demand to be higher than RPDs (mean, 3.2 vs 2.8; P = .032). Conclusion: Although there is a perception of the oversupply of critical care trained pharmacists, a survey of DOPs and CC RPDs found a market with positions available, rapid hiring, stable salaries, and plans for expanded hiring of critical care trained pharmacists. PMID:28804148

Critical Care Pharmacist Market Perceptions: Comparison of Critical Care Program Directors and Directors of Pharmacy.

PubMed

Hager, David R; Persaud, Rosemary A; Naseman, Ryan W; Choudhary, Kavish; Carter, Kristen E; Hansen, Amanda

2017-05-01

Background: While hospital beds continue to decline as patients previously treated as inpatients are stabilized in ambulatory settings, the number of critical care beds available in the United States continues to rise. Growth in pharmacy student graduation, postgraduate year 2 critical care (PGY2 CC) residency programs, and positions has also increased. There is a perception that the critical care trained pharmacist market is saturated, yet this has not been evaluated since the rise in pharmacy graduates and residency programs. Purpose: To describe the current perception of critical care residency program directors (CC RPDs) and directors of pharmacy (DOPs) on the critical care pharmacist job market and to evaluate critical care postresidency placement and anticipated changes in PGY2 CC programs. Methods: Two electronic surveys were distributed from October 2015 to November 2015 through Vizient/University HealthSystem Consortium, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), Society of Critical Care Medicine, and American College of Clinical Pharmacy listservs to target 2 groups of respondents: CC RPDs and DOPs. Questions were based on the ASHP Pharmacy Forecast and the Pharmacy Workforce Center's Aggregate Demand Index and were intended to identify perceptions of the critical care market of the 2 groups. Results: Of 116 CC RPDs, there were 66 respondents (56.9% response rate). Respondents have observed an increase in applicants; however, they do not anticipate increasing the number of positions in the next 5 years. The overall perception is that there is a balance in supply and demand in the critical care trained pharmacist market. A total of 82 DOPs responded to the survey. Turnover of critical care pharmacists within respondent organizations is expected to be low. Although a majority of DOPs plan to expand residency training positions, only 9% expect to increase positions in critical care PGY2 training. Overall, DOP respondents indicated a balance of supply and demand in the critical care trained pharmacist market. In comparing RPD and DOP perceptions of the demand for critical care pharmacists, DOPs perceived demand to be higher than RPDs (mean, 3.2 vs 2.8; P = .032). Conclusion: Although there is a perception of the oversupply of critical care trained pharmacists, a survey of DOPs and CC RPDs found a market with positions available, rapid hiring, stable salaries, and plans for expanded hiring of critical care trained pharmacists.

Estimated Use of Water in the Upper Duck River Watershed, Central Tennessee, and Water-Demand Projections through 2030

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hutson, Susan S.

2008-01-01

Future municipal water demand was estimated for the Bedford, Coffee, Marshall, and Maury-southern Williamson water-service areas in the upper Duck River watershed in central Tennessee through 2030. The Duck River, a primary source of municipal water, provided a total of 24.3 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) or 92 percent of the total water use in the study area during 2000. Municipal water use increased 46 percent from 1981 to 2000 (from 18.0 to 26.3 Mgal/d). Water demand for municipal use is expected to continue to increase through 2030 because of the recent intensive and anticipated growth in the residential and commercial sectors. Constant-rate models were used to estimate future municipal water demand. Data on residential and nonresidential billing accounts and estimates of public use and losses were used to calibrate the models. Two watershed scenarios for each water-supply system that depends on the Duck River for supply were simulated. Scenario 1 considered monthly water demand during typical weather conditions as represented by monthly per account use during 2003 and a rate of growth in customer accounts from 1999 to 2003. Results showed that total municipal water use could increase about 104 percent to 51 Mgal/d by 2030, residential water use could increase about 140 percent to 24 Mgal/d, nonresidential water use could increase about 110 percent to 17 Mgal/d, and public use and losses could increase about 83 percent to 11 Mgal/d. Scenario 2 considered monthly water demand during drought conditions as represented by monthly per account use during 2000 and recent growth in customer accounts from 1999 to 2003 or, for selected water-supply systems, an increasing rate of growth. Results showed that total municipal water use could increase about 120 percent to 55 Mgal/d, residential water use could increase about 160 percent to 26 Mgal/d, nonresidential water use could increase about 122 percent to 18 Mgal/d, and public use and losses could double and increase to 12 Mgal/d. For both scenarios the model assumed that the Duck River would supply all future surface-water needs in the study area, that ground-water resources would be sufficient to meet growing demands of the water-supply systems that depend on ground water, and that the amount of surface water sold to water-supply systems primarily dependent on ground water would remain the same through 2030.

Patient cost sharing and medical expenditures for the Elderly.

PubMed

Fukushima, Kazuya; Mizuoka, Sou; Yamamoto, Shunsuke; Iizuka, Toshiaki

2016-01-01

Despite the rapidly aging population, relatively little is known about how cost sharing affects the elderly's medical spending. Exploiting longitudinal claims data and the drastic reduction of coinsurance from 30% to 10% at age 70 in Japan, we find that the elderly's demand responses are heterogeneous in ways that have not been previously reported. Outpatient services by orthopedic and eye specialties, which will continue to increase in an aging society, are particularly price responsive and account for a large share of the spending increase. Lower cost sharing increases demand for brand-name drugs but not for generics. These high price elasticities may call for different cost-sharing rules for these services. Patient health status also matters: receiving medical services appears more discretionary for the healthy than the sick in the outpatient setting. Finally, we found no evidence that additional medical spending improved short-term health outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Genetically engineering milk.

PubMed

Whitelaw, C Bruce A; Joshi, Akshay; Kumar, Satish; Lillico, Simon G; Proudfoot, Chris

2016-02-01

It has been thirty years since the first genetically engineered animal with altered milk composition was reported. During the intervening years, the world population has increased from 5bn to 7bn people. An increasing demand for protein in the human diet has followed this population expansion, putting huge stress on the food supply chain. Many solutions to the grand challenge of food security for all have been proposed and are currently under investigation and study. Amongst these, genetics still has an important role to play, aiming to continually enable the selection of livestock with enhanced traits. Part of the geneticist's tool box is the technology of genetic engineering. In this Invited Review, we indicate that this technology has come a long way, we focus on the genetic engineering of dairy animals and we argue that the new strategies for precision breeding demand proper evaluation as to how they could contribute to the essential increases in agricultural productivity our society must achieve.

Postharvest and sensory evaluation of selected ‘Hass’-‘Bacon’ avocado hybrids grown in East-Central Florida

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is a high-value fruit that continues to increase in consumer demand. A population of ‘Hass’-‘Bacon’ hybrids was planted at USDA-ARS, Fort Pierce as part of a study to find selections with good horticultural and postharvest quality traits for Florida. Extensive pheno...

Proceedings: Learning and the Learners. The Second Annual Tennessee Symposium on Higher Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hollis, Coy, Ed.; And Others

Three concerns were the focusing points for the conference: (1) the impact the continuing change in the student population has on the faculty; (2) the implications for higher education and society in general with respect to increasing demands for the credentialing of professional competency; and (3) the ways in which higher education can respond…

University Academics at a Crossroads? Continuity and Transformation in Danish University Reform

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krejsler, John B.; Carney, Stephen

2009-01-01

Within an overall policy script aimed at creating fewer "world-class" institutions, Danish universities are currently being remade to better serve the world of work and employment, the demands of high-technology industry, and the needs of society, which are increasingly described and defined in terms of appeals to "relevance to the…

A risk-based approach to wildland fire budgetary planning

Treesearch

Matthew P. Thompson; David E. Calkin; Mark A. Finney; Krista M. Gebert; Michael S. Hand

2013-01-01

The financial impact of wildfire management within the USDA Forest Service challenges the ability of the agency to meet societal demands and maintain forest health. The extent of this financial crisis has been attributed to historical and continuing fire management practices, changing climatic conditions, and increasing human development in fire-prone areas, as well as...

Addressing the STEM Workforce Challenge: Missouri. BHEF Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Business-Higher Education Forum (NJ1), 2012

2012-01-01

While states and the federal government have put efforts in place to increase the size of the workforce trained in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to meet innovation demands, there continues to be a nationwide shortage of students who are interested in and prepared for such careers. Missouri is no exception to this problem, one…

Reconsidering Social Science Theories in Natural Resource Management Continuing Professional Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stummann, C. B.; Gamborg, C.

2014-01-01

Over 25 years ago, the "wicked problems" concept was introduced into forestry to describe the increasingly complex work situations faced by many natural resource management (NRM) professionals and at the same time the demand and frequency of public involvement in NRM issues also grew. Research on the impact of these changes for NRM…

POULTRY-RELATED MICROBIOME CHANGES FROM EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT TO FINAL PRODUCT: A SINGLE PASTURED-RAISED FLOCK FARM-TO-FORK ANALYSIS

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Background: While conventionally grown poultry continues to dominate the U.S. poultry industry, there is an increasing demand for locally-grown, “all natural” alternatives. Unfortunately, limited research has been done on this type of poultry management practice, and thus many of these management e...

Ready to Succeed: All Students Prepared for College and Work

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ACT, Inc., 2006

2006-01-01

The nation's social and economic future depends on the ability to increase the percentage of students who leave high school ready for college and work. The workplace is changing and demanding a higher level of skills than ever before. Though more and more young adults realize the importance of higher education and aspire to continue their…

Why Special Education? Exploring the Influence of Motivation on Choosing Special Education as a Career

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bremer, Cheryl L.

2012-01-01

Teacher shortage in special education has been an ongoing dilemma considered critical and severe. The demand for fully qualified special education teachers continues to rise due to various federal mandates as well as an increase in the number of students requiring special education services. The supply of fully qualified special education teachers…

The Seven Springs Experimental Grassland watersheds

Treesearch

Gerald J. Gottfried; Peter F. Ffolliott

2012-01-01

Water is a critical resource in the Southwestern United States. The demands for reliable regional water sources have always been present but are increasing as the human population continues to grow, especially in the Metro-Phoenix Area, which once supported Sonoran Desert ecosystems. While much of the land has been converted from farming to houses and other urban...

Impacts of Latino Culture on the Leadership Styles of Latino Community College Administrators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aguinaga, Jose Alberto

2012-01-01

The researcher for this mixed-methods study investigated if the leadership skills of Latino community college administrators were influenced by their Latino culture. Per the U.S. Census, the increasing number of Latino students entering higher education will continue to expand in the 21st century. Meeting the demand of a changing student body…

The Impact of a Professional Selling Course on Student Perceptions: A before and after Look

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Garth; Gulati, Rajesh; Bristow, Dennis N.; Schneider, Kenneth; Amyx, Douglas

2014-01-01

For decades, (going back to the 1950s) the negative attitudes students hold towards salespeople and sales careers have been of concern to university educators and to employers seeking to recruit well-trained sales people. While the increasing demand for university educated salespeople continues to grow, employers are struggling to meet that…

Assessment, Knowledge, and Customer Service: Contextualizing Faculty Work at For-Profit Colleges and Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lechuga, Vicente M.

2008-01-01

As the labor market continues to demand more workers with postsecondary credentials, for-profit colleges and universities offer the training, degrees, and credentials that students seek to remain viable in an increasingly competitive job market. This study seeks to provide a new perspective on for-profit institutions by focusing on the roles and…

The Implications for Teaching and Learning of New Informatics Developments. I.E.T. Papers on Broadcasting No. 233.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bates, A. W.

By the year 2000, European higher education institutions must achieve the following aims: resolve the conflict between the social demand for education and costs of higher education without lowering standards; provide continuing education to cope with rapid technological change and increased leisure and/or unemployment; build even closer links…

Delivery of Open, Distance, and E-Learning in Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nyerere, Jackline Anyona; Gravenir, Frederick Q.; Mse, Godfrey S.

2012-01-01

The increased demand and need for continuous learning have led to the introduction of open, distance, and e-learning (ODeL) in Kenya. Provision of this mode of education has, however, been faced with various challenges, among them infrastructural ones. This study was a survey conducted in two public universities offering major components of ODeL,…

Influence of C4 Vegetation on 13CO2 Descrimination and Isoforcing in the Upper Midwest, United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Agricultural crops with a C4 photosynthetic 3 pathway rapidly expanded across North America as early as 800 A.D. Their distribution continues to expand globally as demands for food and biofuel production increase. These systems are highly productive, having a significant impact on carbon and water e...

Chapter 9: Wood Energy

Treesearch

Francisco X. Aguilar; Karen Abt; Branko Glavonjic; Eugene Lopatin; Warren  Mabee

2016-01-01

The availabilty of information on wood energy continues to improve, particularly for commoditized woodfuels.  Wood energy consumption and production vary in the UNECE region because demand is strngly affected by weather and the prices of competing energy sources.  There has been an increase in wood energy in the power-and-heat sector in the EU28 and North American...

Managing Southern Forests for Wildlife and Fish A Proceedings

Treesearch

James G. Dickson; O. Eugene Maughan; [Editors

1987-01-01

Southern forests are very productive for wildlife as well as wood fiber. User recreation demands for game and nongame wildlife and fish continue to increase as human populations grow in the sunbelt. The main determinant of wildlife populations is suitability of forest habitat and the primary manipulator of the habitat is the forester. Forestry decisions and...

Everybody's Children: Child Care as a Public Problem.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gormley, William T., Jr.

In the face of social changes that are increasing the demand for available, affordable, quality child care, it is difficult to continue to think of child care as a purely private issue. This book presents an analysis of the state of American child care. It evaluates child care policies and the national attention given to young children and their…

An Investigation of the Factors That Influence Faculty and Student Acceptance of Mobile Learning in Online Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marrs, Kathleen

2013-01-01

Technology acceptance in education has been and continues to be a central concern for researchers, application and platform developers, and educators. Rapid advancements in miniaturization along with the availability of fast, reliable, and affordable networks have sparked an increasing demand by students for better ways to complement their mobile…

Early Childhood Care and Education in Greece: Some Facts on Research and Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Petrogiannis, Konstantinos

2010-01-01

Despite the increasing demand for early child care and education (ECCE) services in Greece, the availability of such services continues to be rather limited compared to other European countries. In accordance, the relevant research, especially for children under 3 years of age, is almost nonexistent. This article discusses in brief some findings…

Influence of C4 vegetation on 13CO2 discrimination and isoforcing in the upper Midwest, United States

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Agricultural crops with a C4 photosynthetic pathway rapidly expanded across North America as early as 800 A.D. Their distribution continues to expand globally as demands for food and biofuel production increase. These systems are highly productive, having a significant impact on carbon and water exc...

Science-Based Advances in the Social Domain of Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bryan, Tanis

2005-01-01

Over the past 20 years, teachers have been under continuous pressure to increase students' academic achievement gains. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), the latest effort in the 20+-year-old school reform movement, is a federal mandate that demands in part that school districts implement science-based instructional strategies to ensure…

Psychosocial Support for Children Orphaned by HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chitiyo, Jonathan; Chitiyo, Argnue; Chitiyo, Morgan

2016-01-01

Healthy psychosocial development during childhood is a key determinant to the future well-being of all individuals. In many areas of Africa, demand for psychosocial support continues to grow in response to the increasing number of children left orphaned as a result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. These orphans face various challenges and yet, in most…

Participation in Job-Related Training in European Countries: The Impact of Skill Supply and Demand Characteristics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saar, Ellu; Räis, Mari Liis

2017-01-01

Ageing populations and accelerating economic change make it increasingly important to update the skill levels of populations over the whole life course. Adult education is believed to allow adults' skills to adapt continuously to constantly changing economic requirements. Both research into adult education, and discussions on lifelong learning…

Getting "Entangled": A Focus on the Hotel and Hospitality Curriculum Implementation in Public Universities in Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mukolwe, Eunice; Cheloti, Isabela Mapelu

2016-01-01

Universities play a critical role in achieving Kenya Vision 2030 and the sustainable development goals. The demand for university education in Kenya has significantly increased and continues to swell. Many secondary school graduates and the working class look for opportunities to pursue university education, yet the process of curriculum…

Laboratory-and mill-scale study of surfactant spray flotation deinking

Treesearch

Greg Delozier; Yulin Zhao; Yulin Deng; David White; Junyong Zhu; Mark Prein

2005-01-01

As the cost of quality waste paper continues to escalate in response to an increased global demand for this finite resource, loss of saleable fiber within flotation rejects becomes both environmentally and economically unacceptable. The ability of surfactant spray technology to reduce fiber loss without detriment to pulp brightness gains has been demonstrated during...

Association of Pre-Service Teachers' Performance, Personality, and Beliefs with Teacher Self-Efficacy at Program Completion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jamil, Faiza M.; Downer, Jason T.; Pianta, Robert C.

2012-01-01

With teacher turnover costing the U.S. as much as $7 billion per year (National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, 2007), and the continuing demand for qualified teachers, it is imperative for schools to increase retention rates among their faculty (Ingersoll & Smith, 2003). Retention efforts are especially important among novice…

Knowledge Management in Public Health: Examining the Role of a Web-Based Reporting System for Tobacco Control

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gottlieb, Amy Sue

2009-01-01

The importance and use of data and information to make sound programmatic decisions are receiving increased attention as state and federal funding for public health programs grows tighter and as demands for accountability continue. This dissertation provides insight into fundamental questions regarding the utilization of a Web-based reporting…

Human Resource Executives' Perceptions and Measurement of the Strategic Impact of Work/Life Initiatives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morris, Michael Lane; Heames, Joyce Thompson; McMillan, Heather S.

2011-01-01

Given the stresses associated with today's demanding workplaces, work/life (w/l) initiatives continue to grow in importance as an organizational development (OD) intervention. In a period of increasing accountability, it is important for scholars and practitioners to demonstrate how OD interventions, like w/l initiatives, can be used as a…

Instructional Design, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Online Learning: What's Being Done?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pearson, Laurie A.

2014-01-01

It is now estimated that 1 in 88 children have autism. As children diagnosed with this disorder continues to increase, so does the demand for appropriate educational programs that meet the diverse needs of the students on the autism spectrum. Results of this basic qualitative study, which included 15 instructional designers who create online…

Current Trends in Communication Graduate Degrees: Survey of Communications, Advertising, PR, and IMC Graduate Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quesenberry, Keith A.; Coolsen, Michael K.; Wilkerson, Kristen

2015-01-01

A survey of 61 master's degree advertising programs reveals significant trends in program titles, curriculum design, course delivery, and students served. The results provide insight for current and planned master's degree programs as research predicts a continued increase in demand for master's education over the next decade. Survey results are…

Tree seedling reponses to wastewater irrigation on a reforested old field in southern Michigan.

Treesearch

D.G. Brockway

1982-01-01

In recent years, the number of municipal wastewater irrigation projects utilizing forest ecosystems for nutrient recycling and groundwater recharge has continued to grow. Land managers involved with these projects have, in the same time period, increased their demand for scientific data which better defines the capabilities and limitations of various forest species-...

The High Impact of Education Abroad: College Students' Engagement in International Experiences and the Development of Intercultural Competencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stebleton, Michael J.; Soria, Krista M.; Cherney, Blythe T.

2013-01-01

Study abroad opportunities continue to be a popular choice for U.S. college students looking to expand their undergraduate education. In response to the increasing demand for international opportunities, campuses have diversified their study abroad program models. On many campuses, students not only have opportunities to study abroad during…

Nevada Photo-Based Inventory Pilot (NPIP) resource estimates (2004-2005)

Treesearch

Tracey S. Frescino; Gretchen G. Moisen; Paul L. Patterson; Elizabeth A. Freeman; James Menlove

2016-01-01

The complex nature of broad-scale, strategic-level inventories, such as the Forest Inventory and Analysis program (FIA) of the USDA Forest Service, demands constant evolution and evaluation of methods to get the best information possible while continuously increasing efficiency. The State of Nevada is predominantly comprised of nonforested Federal lands with a small...

Statewide Data on Supply and Demand of Principals after Policy Changes to Principal Preparation in Illinois

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haller, Alicia; Hunt, Erika

2016-01-01

Research has demonstrated that principals have a powerful impact on school improvement and student learning. Principals play a vital role in recruiting, developing, and retaining effective teachers; creating a school-wide culture of learning; and implementing a continuous improvement plan aimed at increasing student achievement. Leithwood, Louis,…

Reduced-impact logging and temporal activity of understorey bats in lowland Amazonia

Treesearch

Ivan Castro Arellano; Steven J. Presley; Michael R. Willig; Joseph M. Wunderle; Luiz N. Saldanha

2009-01-01

Because global timber demands continue to threaten tropical rain forests, identification of sustainable use forest management protocols that meet human needs while preserving biodiversity is critical. Reduced-impact logging (RIL) protocols are increasingly common in the tropics and may be a viable option for sustainable forest use; however, few studies have documented...

Blogging as Community of Practice: Lessons for Academic Development?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guerin, Cally; Carter, Susan; Aitchison, Claire

2015-01-01

As practices and expectations around doctoral writing continue to change, so too do the demands on academic developers and learning advisors. Social media is increasingly playing a role in doctoral education, just as it is in higher education more generally. This paper explores a blog initiated in 2012 to inform and support doctoral writing; since…

Exploring Students' Ideas about Risks and Benefits of Nuclear Power Using Risk Perception Theories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kilinc, Ahmet; Boyes, Edward; Stanisstreet, Martin

2013-01-01

Due to increased energy demand, Turkey is continuing to explore the possibilities of introducing nuclear power. Gaining acceptance from local populations, however, may be problematic because nuclear power has a negative image and risk perceptions are complicated by a range of psychological and cultural factors. In this study, we explore the views…

Linguistic Demands of the Oral Directions for Administering the WISC-IV and WISC-V

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cormier, Damien C.; Wang, Kun; Kennedy, Kathleen E.

2016-01-01

As the diversity of the school-age population in Canada continues to increase, it is important for school psychologists to consider the potential influence of culture and language when assessing the cognitive abilities of students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. The purpose of this study is to examine the linguistic demand…

Tillage and residue management effects on soil carbon and nitrogen under irrigated continuous corn

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Demand for corn (Zea mays L.) stover as forage or as a cellulosic biofuel has increased the importance of determining the effects of residue removal on biomass production and the soil resource. Objectives were to evaluate grain yield, soil organic carbon (SOC), and total soil N (0 to 150 cm) in a t...

Hard Times Hit Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McNeil, Michele

2008-01-01

Hard-to-grasp dollar amounts are forcing real cuts in K-12 education at a time when the cost of fueling buses and providing school lunches is increasing and the demands of the federal No Child Left Behind Act still loom larger over states and districts. "One of the real challenges is to continue progress in light of the economy," said…

Factors Impacting Academic Yearly Progress Success in Mathematics Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Lauren

2010-01-01

The demands of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) increase each year, requiring all students to be proficient in mathematics by 2014. The county in this project study will not meet requirements of NCLB by 2014 if current trends continue. The guiding research question for this project study investigated the most effective way to meet the needs of all…

Demand assessment and price-elasticity estimation of quality-improved primary health care in Palestine: a contribution from the contingent valuation method.

PubMed

Mataria, Awad; Luchini, Stéphane; Daoud, Yousef; Moatti, Jean-Paul

2007-10-01

This paper proposes a new methodology to assess demand and price-elasticity for health care, based on patients' stated willingness to pay (WTP) values for certain aspects of health care quality improvements. A conceptual analysis of how respondents consider contingent valuation (CV) questions allowed us to specify a probability density function of stated WTP values, and consequently, to model a demand function for quality-improved health care, using a parametric survival approach. The model was empirically estimated using a CV study intended to assess patients' values for improving the quality of primary health care (PHC) services in Palestine. A random sample of 499 individuals was interviewed following medical consultation in four PHC centers. Quality was assessed using a multi-attribute approach; and respondents valued seven specific quality improvements using a decomposed valuation scenario and a payment card elicitation technique. Our results suggest an inelastic demand at low user fees levels, and when the price-increase is accompanied with substantial quality-improvements. Nevertheless, demand becomes more and more elastic if user fees continue to rise. On the other hand, patients' reactions to price-increase turn out to depend on their level of income. Our results can be used to design successful health care financing strategies that include a consideration of patients' preferences and financial capacities. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Demand Creation for Polio Vaccine in Persistently Poor-Performing Communities of Northern Nigeria: 2013-2014.

PubMed

Warigon, Charity; Mkanda, Pascal; Muhammed, Ado; Etsano, Andrew; Korir, Charles; Bawa, Samuel; Gali, Emmanuel; Nsubuga, Peter; Erbeto, Tesfaya B; Gerlong, George; Banda, Richard; Yehualashet, Yared G; Vaz, Rui G

2016-05-01

Poliomyelitis remains a global threat despite availability of oral polio vaccine (OPV), proven to reduce the burden of the paralyzing disease. In Nigeria, children continue to miss the opportunity to be fully vaccinated, owing to factors such as unmet health needs and low uptake in security-compromised and underserved communities. We describe the implementation and evaluation of several activities to create demand for polio vaccination in persistently poor-performing local government areas (LGAs). We assessed the impact of various polio-related interventions, to measure the contribution of demand creation activities in 77 LGAs at very high risk for polio, located across 10 states in northern Nigeria. Interventions included provision of commodities along with the polio vaccine. There was an increasing trend in the number of children reached by different demand creation interventions. A total of 4 819 847 children were vaccinated at health camps alone. There was a reduction in the number of wards in which >10% of children were missed by supplementary immunization activities due to noncompliance with vaccination recommendations, a rise in the proportion of children who received ≥4 OPV doses, and a decrease in the proportion of children who were underimmunized or unimmunized. Demand creation interventions increased the uptake of polio vaccines in persistently poor-performing high-risk communities in northern Nigeria during September 2013-November 2014. © 2016 World Health Organization; licensee Oxford Journals.

Interaction of Airspace Partitions and Traffic Flow Management Delay

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Palopo, Kee; Chatterji, Gano B.; Lee, Hak-Tae

2010-01-01

To ensure that air traffic demand does not exceed airport and airspace capacities, traffic management restrictions, such as delaying aircraft on the ground, assigning them different routes and metering them in the airspace, are implemented. To reduce the delays resulting from these restrictions, revising the partitioning of airspace has been proposed to distribute capacity to yield a more efficient airspace configuration. The capacity of an airspace partition, commonly referred to as a sector, is limited by the number of flights that an air traffic controller can safely manage within the sector. Where viable, re-partitioning of the airspace distributes the flights over more efficient sectors and reduces individual sector demand. This increases the overall airspace efficiency, but requires additional resources in some sectors in terms of controllers and equipment, which is undesirable. This study examines the tradeoff of the number of sectors designed for a specified amount of traffic in a clear-weather day and the delays needed for accommodating the traffic demand. Results show that most of the delays are caused by airport arrival and departure capacity constraints. Some delays caused by airspace capacity constraints can be eliminated by re-partitioning the airspace. Analyses show that about 360 high-altitude sectors, which are approximately today s operational number of sectors of 373, are adequate for delays to be driven solely by airport capacity constraints for the current daily air traffic demand. For a marginal increase of 15 seconds of average delay, the number of sectors can be reduced to 283. In addition, simulations of traffic growths of 15% and 20% with forecasted airport capacities in the years 2018 and 2025 show that delays will continue to be governed by airport capacities. In clear-weather days, for small increases in traffic demand, increasing sector capacities will have almost no effect on delays.

Comparative life cycle assessment of biogas plant configurations for a demand oriented biogas supply for flexible power generation.

PubMed

Hahn, Henning; Hartmann, Kilian; Bühle, Lutz; Wachendorf, Michael

2015-03-01

The environmental performance of biogas plant configurations for a demand - oriented biogas supply for flexible power generation is comparatively assessed in this study. Those configurations indicate an increased energy demand to operate the operational enhancements compared to conventional biogas plants supplying biogas for baseload power generation. However, findings show that in contrast to an alternative supply of power generators with natural gas, biogas supplied on demand by adapted biogas plant configurations saves greenhouse gas emissions by 54-65 g CO(2-eq) MJ(-1) and primary energy by about 1.17 MJ MJ(-1). In this regard, configurations with flexible biogas production profit from reduced biogas storage requirements and achieve higher savings compared to configurations with continuous biogas production. Using thicker biogas storage sheeting material reduces the methane permeability of up to 6m(3) d(-1) which equals a reduction of 8% of the configuration's total methane emissions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mercury - Its occurrence and economic trends

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bailey, Edgar H.; Smith, Roscoe M.

1964-01-01

price will be a predictable increase in production. If the price averages $300 a flask for 1 year or more, annual production may increase to a rate of 30,000-35,000 flasks in 1966 or 1967. If the price averages $400 a flask, production may increase to 45,000-50,000 flasks a year after a timelag of two or three years. New ore bodies would have to be found however, to attain these rates of production, and the mining of lower grade ores would be needed to sustain them for more than a few years. By 1966 the U.S. economy will require at least 67 000 flasks, and the domestic demand for mercury thereafter will continue to increase. The probability that domestic mines will continue to supply a fourth or more of the domestic consumption is dependent upon the price of mercury for the next few years. The outlook for the long-term supply is reassuring, but it is dependent, not only upon price, but upon continued progress in new techniques of discovery.

Transvenous demand Pacemaker Treatment for intermittent complete Heart Block in a Cat.

PubMed

Forterre, S; Nürnberg, J H; Forterre, F; Skrodzki, M; Lange, P E

2001-11-01

A 13-year-old male neutered domestic shorthaired cat had repeated syncopal episodes over a 6 month period, which had variable duration and continued to increase in frequency. Intermittent ventricular asystole, due to complete heart block, and hyperthyroidism were documented. As the syncopal episodes did not respond to a 4-week medical treatment and symptoms became severe, a transvenous ventricular demand pacemaker system (VVIM) was implanted via the external jugular vein. The unipolar lead was tunneled subcutaneously and connected with the generator in a preformed ventral abdominal muscle pocket. During follow up of 18-months there were no recurrences of the syncopal episodes.

Estimates of future water demand for selected water-service areas in the Upper Duck River basin, central Tennessee; with a section on Methodology used to develop population forecasts for Bedford, Marshall, and Maury counties, Tennessee, from 1993 through 2050

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hutson, S.S.; Schwarz, G.E.

1996-01-01

Estimates of future water demand were determined for selected water-service areas in the upper Duck River basin in central Tennessee through the year 2050. The Duck River is the principal source of publicly-supplied water in the study area providing a total of 15.6 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) in 1993 to the cities of Columbia, Lewisburg, Shelbyville, part of southern Williamson County, and several smaller communities. Municipal water use increased 19 percent from 1980 to 1993 (from 14.5 to 17.2 Mgal/d). Based on certain assumptions about socioeconomic conditions and future development in the basin, water demand should continue to increase through 2050. Projections of municipal water demand for the study area from 1993 to 2015 were made using econometric and single- coefficient (unit-use) requirement models of the per capita type. The models are part of the Institute for Water Resources-Municipal and Industrial Needs System, IWR-MAIN. Socioeconomic data for 1993 were utilized to calibrate the models. Projections of water demand in the study area from 2015 to 2050 were made using a single- coefficient requirement model. A gross per capita use value (unit-requirement) was estimated for each water-service area based on the results generated by IWR-MAIN for year 2015. The gross per capita estimate for 2015 was applied to population projections for year 2050 to calculate water demand. Population was projected using the log-linear form of the Box-Cox regression model. Water demand was simulated for two scenarios. The scenarios were suggested by various planning agencies associated with the study area. The first scenario reflects a steady growth pattern based on present demographic and socioeconomic conditions in the Bedford, Marshall, and Maury/southern Williamson water-service areas. The second scenario considers steady growth in the Bedford and Marshall water-service areas and additional industrial and residential development in the Maury/southern Williamson water-service area beginning in 2000. For the study area, water demand for scenario one shows an increase of 121 percent (from 17.2 to 38 Mgal/d) from 1993 to 2050. In scenario two, simulated water demand increases 150 percent (17.2 to 43 Mgal/d) from 1993 to 2050.

Quantifying movement demands of AFL football using GPS tracking.

PubMed

Wisbey, Ben; Montgomery, Paul G; Pyne, David B; Rattray, Ben

2010-09-01

Global positioning system (GPS) monitoring of movement patterns is widespread in elite football including the Australian Football League (AFL). However documented analysis of this activity is lacking. We quantified the movement patterns of AFL football and differences between nomadic (midfield), forward and defender playing positions, and determined whether the physical demands have increased over a four season period. Selected premiership games were monitored during the 2005 (n=80 game files), 2006 (n=244), 2007 (n=632) and 2008 (n=793) AFL seasons. Players were fitted with a shoulder harness containing a GPS unit. GPS data were downloaded after games and the following measures extracted: total distance (km), time in various speed zones, maximum speed, number of surges, accelerations, longest continuous efforts and a derived exertion index representing playing intensity. In 2008 nomadic players covered per game 3.4% more total distance (km), had 4.8% less playing time (min), a 17% higher exertion index (per min), and 23% more time running >18kmh(-1) than forwards and defenders (all p<0.05). Physical demands were substantially higher in the 2008 season compared with 2005: an 8.4% increase in mean speed, a 14% increase in intensity (exertion index) and a 9.0% decrease in playing time (all p<0.05). Nomadic players in AFL work substantially harder than forwards and defenders in covering more ground and at higher running intensities. Increases in the physical demands of AFL football were evident between 2005 and 2008. The increasing speed of the game has implications for game authorities, players and coaching staff.

I-deas TMG to NX Space Systems Thermal Model Conversion and Computational Performance Comparison

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Somawardhana, Ruwan

2011-01-01

CAD/CAE packages change on a continuous basis as the power of the tools increase to meet demands. End -users must adapt to new products as they come to market and replace legacy packages. CAE modeling has continued to evolve and is constantly becoming more detailed and complex. Though this comes at the cost of increased computing requirements Parallel processing coupled with appropriate hardware can minimize computation time. Users of Maya Thermal Model Generator (TMG) are faced with transitioning from NX I -deas to NX Space Systems Thermal (SST). It is important to understand what differences there are when changing software packages We are looking for consistency in results.

Accelerating plant breeding.

PubMed

De La Fuente, Gerald N; Frei, Ursula K; Lübberstedt, Thomas

2013-12-01

The growing demand for food with limited arable land available necessitates that the yield of major food crops continues to increase over time. Advances in marker technology, predictive statistics, and breeding methodology have allowed for continued increases in crop performance through genetic improvement. However, one major bottleneck is the generation time of plants, which is biologically limited and has not been improved since the introduction of doubled haploid technology. In this opinion article, we propose to implement in vitro nurseries, which could substantially shorten generation time through rapid cycles of meiosis and mitosis. This could prove a useful tool for speeding up future breeding programs with the aim of sustainable food production. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Buying on margin, selling short in an agent-based market model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ting; Li, Honggang

2013-09-01

Credit trading, or leverage trading, which includes buying on margin and selling short, plays an important role in financial markets, where agents tend to increase their leverages for increased profits. This paper presents an agent-based asset market model to study the effect of the permissive leverage level on traders’ wealth and overall market indicators. In this model, heterogeneous agents can assume fundamental value-converging expectations or trend-persistence expectations, and their effective demands of assets depend both on demand willingness and wealth constraints, where leverage can relieve the wealth constraints to some extent. The asset market price is determined by a market maker, who watches the market excess demand, and is influenced by noise factors. By simulations, we examine market results for different leverage ratios. At the individual level, we focus on how the leverage ratio influences agents’ wealth accumulation. At the market level, we focus on how the leverage ratio influences changes in the asset price, volatility, and trading volume. Qualitatively, our model provides some meaningful results supported by empirical facts. More importantly, we find a continuous phase transition as we increase the leverage threshold, which may provide a further prospective of credit trading.

Global pulses scenario: status and outlook.

PubMed

Joshi, P K; Rao, P Parthasarathy

2017-03-01

Although pulse production grew significantly by 1.3% between 1980 and 2013, its per capita availability remained stagnant at around 6.5 kg/capita/year. In 1961, its availability was 9.3 kg/capita/year. One consequence of slower growth in its production is rising pulse prices, which are twice that of cereals. The declining availability of pulses also triggered a boom in its trade, with 19% of the global pulse production traded in 2011 compared with 7% in 1980. In absolute terms, there has been a more than fourfold increase in pulse trade, compared with an only 1.5-fold increase for cereals. To meet the export demand, pulse production diversified, with developed countries emerging as the main exporters while developing countries were the main importers. The exceptions were Southeastern Asia (Myanmar) and Eastern Africa, which also emerged as important exporters. Projections using an International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade indicate that the demand for pulses will continue to grow in the short-to-medium term in developing counties owing to growing population, rising per capita incomes among the lower-income groups, and increasing demand for snack/processed foods due to growing urbanization. © 2016 New York Academy of Sciences.

World Food Security and Insecurity, 1984-2000.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Farrell, Kenneth R.

Effective economic demand, rather than resource constraints, will continue to be the dominant limiting factor in improving the security of world food supplies between now and the year 2000. The global demand for food will continue to grow but the rate of growth is declining in virtually all regions, easing the pressure on agricultural resources.…

Demand for University Continuing Education in Canada: Who Participates and Why?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adamuti-Trache, Maria; Schuetze, Hans G.

2009-01-01

The demand for and participation in continuing education by Canadian university graduates who completed bachelor and/or first professional degrees in 1995 are analyzed in this article. Within five years of completing their first degree, in addition to participating in graduate programs, a large number of those graduates participated in non-degree…

Wood energy markets, 2010-2011

Treesearch

Francisco Aguilar; Christopher Gaston; Rens Hartkamp; Warren Mabee; Kenneth Skog

2011-01-01

Global wood energy markets continue to grow, driven primarily by demand in the EU and its commitment to meet 20% of energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020. Large investments in industrial pellet-production capacity have been made under expectations of a continuously growing demand, mainly from the EU. Concern about how energy and climate-change policies may...

The Effects of Continuous Vs. Intermittent Self-Monitoring on the Duration and Magnitude of Behavior Change.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schayer, Laurel L.; Schroeder, Harold E.

Continuous self-monitoring (CSM) was compared with a demand characteristics control condition (non self-monitoring), with intermittent self-monitoring (ISM) and with another control condition. It was predicted that both self-monitoring conditions would produce effects over and above the demand characteristics inherent in the self-monitoring…

The Toxicology Education Summit: Building the Future of Toxicology Through Education

PubMed Central

Barchowsky, Aaron; Buckley, Lorrene A.; Carlson, Gary P.; Fitsanakis, Vanessa A.; Ford, Sue M.; Genter, Mary Beth; Germolec, Dori R.; Leavens, Teresa L.; Lehman-McKeeman, Lois D.; Safe, Stephen H.; Sulentic, Courtney E. W.; Eidemiller, Betty J.

2012-01-01

Toxicology and careers in toxicology, as well as many other scientific disciplines, are undergoing rapid and dramatic changes as new discoveries, technologies, and hazards advance at a blinding rate. There are new and ever increasing demands on toxicologists to keep pace with expanding global economies, highly fluid policy debates, and increasingly complex global threats to public health. These demands must be met with new paradigms for multidisciplinary, technologically complex, and collaborative approaches that require advanced and continuing education in toxicology and associated disciplines. This requires paradigm shifts in educational programs that support recruitment, development, and training of the modern toxicologist, as well as continued education and retraining of the midcareer professional to keep pace and sustain careers in industry, government, and academia. The Society of Toxicology convened the Toxicology Educational Summit to discuss the state of toxicology education and to strategically address educational needs and the sustained advancement of toxicology as a profession. The Summit focused on core issues of: building for the future of toxicology through educational programs; defining education and training needs; developing the “Total Toxicologist”; continued training and retraining toxicologists to sustain their careers; and, finally, supporting toxicology education and professional development. This report summarizes the outcomes of the Summit, presents examples of successful programs that advance toxicology education, and concludes with strategies that will insure the future of toxicology through advanced educational initiatives. PMID:22461448

The Toxicology Education Summit: building the future of toxicology through education.

PubMed

Barchowsky, Aaron; Buckley, Lorrene A; Carlson, Gary P; Fitsanakis, Vanessa A; Ford, Sue M; Genter, Mary Beth; Germolec, Dori R; Leavens, Teresa L; Lehman-McKeeman, Lois D; Safe, Stephen H; Sulentic, Courtney E W; Eidemiller, Betty J

2012-06-01

Toxicology and careers in toxicology, as well as many other scientific disciplines, are undergoing rapid and dramatic changes as new discoveries, technologies, and hazards advance at a blinding rate. There are new and ever increasing demands on toxicologists to keep pace with expanding global economies, highly fluid policy debates, and increasingly complex global threats to public health. These demands must be met with new paradigms for multidisciplinary, technologically complex, and collaborative approaches that require advanced and continuing education in toxicology and associated disciplines. This requires paradigm shifts in educational programs that support recruitment, development, and training of the modern toxicologist, as well as continued education and retraining of the midcareer professional to keep pace and sustain careers in industry, government, and academia. The Society of Toxicology convened the Toxicology Educational Summit to discuss the state of toxicology education and to strategically address educational needs and the sustained advancement of toxicology as a profession. The Summit focused on core issues of: building for the future of toxicology through educational programs; defining education and training needs; developing the "Total Toxicologist"; continued training and retraining toxicologists to sustain their careers; and, finally, supporting toxicology education and professional development. This report summarizes the outcomes of the Summit, presents examples of successful programs that advance toxicology education, and concludes with strategies that will insure the future of toxicology through advanced educational initiatives.

Phase Synchronization of Hemodynamic Variables at Rest and after Deep Breathing Measured during the Course of Pregnancy

PubMed Central

Papousek, Ilona; Roessler, Andreas; Hinghofer-Szalkay, Helmut; Lang, Uwe; Kolovetsiou-Kreiner, Vassiliki

2013-01-01

Background The autonomic nervous system plays a central role in the functioning of systems critical for the homeostasis maintenance. However, its role in the cardiovascular adaptation to pregnancy-related demands is poorly understood. We explored the maternal cardiovascular systems throughout pregnancy to quantify pregnancy-related autonomic nervous system adaptations. Methodology Continuous monitoring of heart rate (R-R interval; derived from the 3-lead electrocardiography), blood pressure, and thoracic impedance was carried out in thirty-six women at six time-points throughout pregnancy. In order to quantify in addition to the longitudinal effects on baseline levels throughout gestation the immediate adaptive heart rate and blood pressure changes at each time point, a simple reflex test, deep breathing, was applied. Consequently, heart rate variability and blood pressure variability in the low (LF) and high (HF) frequency range, respiration and baroreceptor sensitivity were analyzed in resting conditions and after deep breathing. The adjustment of the rhythms of the R-R interval, blood pressure and respiration partitioned for the sympathetic and the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system were quantified by the phase synchronization index γ, which has been adopted from the analysis of weakly coupled chaotic oscillators. Results Heart rate and LF/HF ratio increased throughout pregnancy and these effects were accompanied by a continuous loss of baroreceptor sensitivity. The increases in heart rate and LF/HF ratio levels were associated with an increasing decline in the ability to flexibly respond to additional demands (i.e., diminished adaptive responses to deep breathing). The phase synchronization index γ showed that the observed effects could be explained by a decreased coupling of respiration and the cardiovascular system (HF components of heart rate and blood pressure). Conclusions/Significance The findings suggest that during the course of pregnancy the individual systems become increasingly independent to meet the increasing demands placed on the maternal cardiovascular and respiratory system. PMID:23577144

3D Biofabrication Strategies for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine

PubMed Central

Bajaj, Piyush; Schweller, Ryan M.; Khademhosseini, Ali; West, Jennifer L.; Bashir, Rashid

2014-01-01

Over the past several decades, there has been an ever-increasing demand for organ transplants. However, there is a severe shortage of donor organs, and as a result of the increasing demand, the gap between supply and demand continues to widen. A potential solution to this problem is to grow or fabricate organs using biomaterial scaffolds and a person’s own cells. Although the realization of this solution has been limited, the development of new biofabrication approaches has made it more realistic. This review provides an overview of natural and synthetic biomaterials that have been used for organ/tissue development. It then discusses past and current biofabrication techniques, with a brief explanation of the state of the art. Finally, the review highlights the need for combining vascularization strategies with current biofabrication techniques. Given the multitude of applications of biofabrication technologies, from organ/tissue development to drug discovery/screening to development of complex in vitro models of human diseases, these manufacturing technologies can have a significant impact on the future of medicine and health care. PMID:24905875

Mediterranean California’s water use future under multiple scenarios of developed and agricultural land use change

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilson, Tamara; Sleeter, Benjamin M.; Cameron, D. Richard

2017-01-01

With growing demand and highly variable inter-annual water supplies, California’s water use future is fraught with uncertainty. Climate change projections, anticipated population growth, and continued agricultural intensification, will likely stress existing water supplies in coming decades. Using a state-and-transition simulation modeling approach, we examine a broad suite of spatially explicit future land use scenarios and their associated county-level water use demand out to 2062. We examined a range of potential water demand futures sampled from a 20-year record of historical (1992–2012) data to develop a suite of potential future land change scenarios, including low/high change scenarios for urbanization and agriculture as well as “lowest of the low” and “highest of the high” anthropogenic use. Future water demand decreased 8.3 billion cubic meters (Bm3) in the lowest of the low scenario and decreased 0.8 Bm3 in the low agriculture scenario. The greatest increased water demand was projected for the highest of the high land use scenario (+9.4 Bm3), high agricultural expansion (+4.6 Bm3), and high urbanization (+2.1 Bm3) scenarios. Overall, these scenarios show agricultural land use decisions will likely drive future demand more than increasing municipal and industrial uses, yet improved efficiencies across all sectors could lead to potential water use savings. Results provide water managers with information on diverging land use and water use futures, based on historical, observed land change trends and water use histories.

Mediterranean California’s water use future under multiple scenarios of developed and agricultural land use change

PubMed Central

Sleeter, Benjamin M.; Cameron, D. Richard

2017-01-01

With growing demand and highly variable inter-annual water supplies, California’s water use future is fraught with uncertainty. Climate change projections, anticipated population growth, and continued agricultural intensification, will likely stress existing water supplies in coming decades. Using a state-and-transition simulation modeling approach, we examine a broad suite of spatially explicit future land use scenarios and their associated county-level water use demand out to 2062. We examined a range of potential water demand futures sampled from a 20-year record of historical (1992–2012) data to develop a suite of potential future land change scenarios, including low/high change scenarios for urbanization and agriculture as well as “lowest of the low” and “highest of the high” anthropogenic use. Future water demand decreased 8.3 billion cubic meters (Bm3) in the lowest of the low scenario and decreased 0.8 Bm3 in the low agriculture scenario. The greatest increased water demand was projected for the highest of the high land use scenario (+9.4 Bm3), high agricultural expansion (+4.6 Bm3), and high urbanization (+2.1 Bm3) scenarios. Overall, these scenarios show agricultural land use decisions will likely drive future demand more than increasing municipal and industrial uses, yet improved efficiencies across all sectors could lead to potential water use savings. Results provide water managers with information on diverging land use and water use futures, based on historical, observed land change trends and water use histories. PMID:29088254

Analysing water use patterns for demand management: the case of the city of Masvingo, Zimbabwe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dube, Emmanuel; van der Zaag, Pieter

Water use in urban centres is dynamic, fluctuates, differs between high and low-income users, and tends to increase over time. Supply infrastructure can often hardly keep pace with increased water consumption. Given (a) the high cost of infrastructure development, (b) the recent emphasis on demand management, and (c) the social obligation to provide water services to the poor, urban water providers are faced with an important choice: whether to go the demand management route, or to continue constructing new infrastructure. This paper sheds light on some of the possibilities and constraints of both choices by providing a case study of the city of Masvingo in Zimbabwe. The paper analyses water use patterns in this city with a population of 70,000, located in a drought prone region of average rainfall of 600 mm/a. Water consumption has reached the limits of the water supply capacity. The paper first looks at the long-term water use pattern of the city as a whole and the factors that have caused the observed pattern using multiple linear regression. The paper then analyses the patterns of water use of rich and poor households, and attempts to assess the (im)possibilities of influencing these by means of an appropriate tariff structure. In projecting future demand, the paper then considers a number of interventions that could influence demand, which include leakage control, pressure management, awareness campaigns, free technical advice to water users, as well as a new tariff structure. It also discusses when new supply infrastructure should be available, depending on the various demand management measures taken.

Soil 4 Youth: Charting New Territory in Canadian High School Soil Science Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krzic, Maja; Wilson, Julie; Basiliko, Nathan; Bedard-Haughn, Angela; Humphreys, Elyn; Dyanatkar, Saeed; Hazlett, Paul; Strivelli, Rachel; Crowley, Chris; Dampier, Lesley

2014-01-01

As global issues continue to place increasing demands on soil resources, the need to provide soil science education to the next generation of soil scientists and the general public is becoming more imminent. In many countries around the world, including Canada, soil is either not included in the high school curriculum or it is not covered in…

Legislatures Open Amid Fiscal Surge: Precollegiate Education Vies with Health Care as a Top Budget Issue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnston, Robert C.

2006-01-01

The favorable revenue forecasts greeting state lawmakers as they begin convening for the 2006 legislative season are tempered by the spiraling costs for Medicaid, high energy prices, and increased demands from K-12 and higher education. Continuing a trend that began three years ago, fiscal officers in 42 states told the National Conference of…

An Examination of Factors Impacting the Career Decisions of Black Women in Management Positions at US Institutions of Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McKinsey-Mabry, Kimberly

2011-01-01

Research during the last decade indicates that while Black women have been graduating from college and entering the academic workforce at increasing rates, they continue to be underrepresented in managerial and administrative positions at institutions of higher education. As colleges and universities in the United States face demands to meet the…

The Blue Blazer Club: Masculine Hegemony in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Fields

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Page, Melanie C.; Bailey, Lucy E.; Van Delinder, Jean

2009-01-01

The under-representation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields is of continuing concern, as is the lack of women in senior positions and leadership roles. During a time of increasing demand for science and engineering enterprise, the lack of women and minorities in these academic disciplines needs to be addressed by…

A Combined 16S Microbiome and Culture-Based Analysis of Foodborne Pathogens Throughout the Entire Lifecycle of A Single Pastured-Raised Broiler Flock

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

While conventionally grown poultry continues to dominate the U.S. poultry industry, there is an increasing demand for locally-grown, “all natural” alternatives. Unfortunately, limited research has been done on this type of poultry management practice, and thus many of these management effects on th...

The great lakes silviculture summit: an introduction and organizing framework

Treesearch

Brian Palik; Louise Levy; Thomas Crow

2004-01-01

In recent years, institutional commitment to silviculture as a research discipline has decreased in the Great Lakes region and elsewhere. Ironically, at the same time, the various demands placed on silviculture by users of research have increased greatly and continue to do so today. There remains the need to produce more and better quality wood and fiber, a need...

Model of the Students' Key Competences Development through Interactive Whiteboard in the Subject of Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brecka, Peter; Valentová, Monika

2017-01-01

The basis of the submitted study are the continuously rising demands to alter the curricula with the aim to develop students' key competences in order to increase their professional versatility. The lack of scientific research and discussions show that little investigation has been done on the issue of development of key competences. Therefore,…

Proof in the Pattern: Librarians Follow the Corporate Sector toward More Data-Driven Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nicholson, Scott

2006-01-01

As demands on libraries continue to grow, outpacing budget increases, more librarians are forced to make difficult decisions about what materials and services stay and go. Charles R. McClure has written that many librarians use an "adhocracy" method to make these decisions, relying on no data or simple aggregates in determining a course of action.…

Local Adaptation and Institutionalization of an Accreditation Standard: A Community College's Development and Use of Student Learning Outcomes through Shared Governance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moss, Denise

2013-01-01

Since the early 2000's, California community college educators have experienced an intense increase in public demand for performance measures and continuous improvement in the form of outputs. One source of external pressure is the regional accrediting organizations, for California community colleges it is the Accrediting Commission for Community…

Can It Be Done Better for Less: A Model for Effective Applied Behavior Analysis Training in School Districts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thomas, C. A.

2005-01-01

At a time when special education budgets are constrained and the demand for behavior analysis services continue to increase within school settings a clear implemental system to train the trainers is not only necessary but essential. This paper discusses one possible system for making behavior analysis services and behavior analysis training…

Improving a Family's Overall Quality of Life through Parent Training in Pivotal Response Treatment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buckley, Trevor W.; Ente, Angela P.; Ruef, Michael B.

2014-01-01

As the diagnoses of autism in young children continually increase, the need for families to have access to research-based treatment models that are effective and efficient has become clear. Current research demonstrates the demand for parent-delivered behavioral interventions. The aim of this single-case study, conducted as part of an integrated…

Building A High Quality Oncology Nursing Workforce Through Lifelong Learning: The De Souza Model.

PubMed

Esplen, Mary Jane; Wong, Jiahui; Green, Esther; Richards, Joy; Li, Jane

2018-01-05

AbstractCancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Along with increased new cases, cancer care has become increasingly complex due to advances in diagnostics and treatments, greater survival, and new models of palliative care. Nurses are a critical resource for cancer patients and their families. Their roles and responsibilities are expanding across the cancer care continuum, calling for specialized training and support. Formal education prepares nurses for entry level of practice, however, it does not provide the specialized competencies required for quality care of cancer patients. There is urgent need to align the educational system to the demands of the health care system, ease transition from formal academic systems to care settings, and to instill a philosophy of lifelong learning. We describe a model of education developed by de Souza Institute in Canada, based on the Novice to Expert specialty training framework, and its success in offering structured oncology continuing education training to nurses, from undergraduate levels to continued career development in the clinical setting. This model may have global relevance, given the challenge in managing the demand for high quality care in all disease areas and in keeping pace with the emerging advances in technologies.

Implications For the Forest Products Industry

Treesearch

Richard A. Kluender

2001-01-01

Major changes have occurred in the Arkansas timber economy in the last 25 years.Global and domestic demand for forest products continues to expand,doubling every 42 years. Additionally,the U.S. per capita consumption rate of forest products is over three times the world average. Production continues to expand to meet rising global demand,but timber supplies have not...

What Professionalism Skills Should Be Taught in Community College Health Fields?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fields, Kellee M.; Pretlow, Joshua, III.

2015-01-01

The United States Department of Labor predicts the demand in healthcare sector careers to soar as patient demographics continue to change with the aging population of adults (Henderson, 2012). To meet this demand, community colleges will continue to play a vital role in the education of healthcare occupations, as nearly 60% of all healthcare…

Biocatalysis in the Pharmaceutical Industry: The Need for Speed

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

The use of biocatalysis in the pharmaceutical industry continues to expand as a result of increased access to enzymes and the ability to engineer those enzymes to meet the demands of industrial processes. However, we are still just scratching the surface of potential biocatalytic applications. The time pressures present in pharmaceutical process development are incompatible with the long lead times required for engineering a suitable biocatalyst. Dramatic increases in the speed of protein engineering are needed to deliver on the ever increasing opportunities for industrial biocatalytic processes. PMID:28523096

Biocatalysis in the Pharmaceutical Industry: The Need for Speed.

PubMed

Truppo, Matthew D

2017-05-11

The use of biocatalysis in the pharmaceutical industry continues to expand as a result of increased access to enzymes and the ability to engineer those enzymes to meet the demands of industrial processes. However, we are still just scratching the surface of potential biocatalytic applications. The time pressures present in pharmaceutical process development are incompatible with the long lead times required for engineering a suitable biocatalyst. Dramatic increases in the speed of protein engineering are needed to deliver on the ever increasing opportunities for industrial biocatalytic processes.

Future water demand in California under a broad range of land use scenarios

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, T. S.; Sleeter, B. M.; Cameron, D. R.

2016-12-01

California continues to be gripped by the most severe drought on record. Most general circulation models agree the state will continue to warm this century and research suggests persistent, long-term droughts may become the new normal, exacerbating an already uncertain water supply future. Population increases and agricultural intensification will likely stress existing, highly variable inter-annual water supplies even further in coming decades. Using the Land Use and Carbon Scenario Simulator (LUCAS) model, we explore a wide range of potential water demand futures from 2012 to 2062 based on 8 alternative, spatially-explicit (1 km) land use scenarios and land-use related water demand. Scenarios include low and high rates for urbanization, agricultural expansion, and agricultural contraction as well as lowest and highest rates for the combined suite of anthropogenic land uses. Land change values were sampled from county-level historical (1991-2012) land change data and county-level average water use data for urban areas (i.e. municipal and industrial) and annual and perennial cropland. We modeled 100 Monte Carlo simulations for each scenario to better characterize and capture model uncertainty and a range of potential future outcomes. Results show water demand in Mediterranean California was lowest in the low anthropogenic change scenario, dropping an average 2.7 million acre feet (MAF) by 2062. The highest water demand was seen in the high urbanization (+3.2 MAF), high agricultural expansion (+4.1 MAF), and the high anthropogenic (+4.3 MAF) scenarios. Results provide water managers and policy makers with information on diverging land use and water use futures, based on observed land change and water use trends, helping better inform land and resource management decisions.

Differential impact of continuous theta-burst stimulation over left and right DLPFC on planning.

PubMed

Kaller, Christoph P; Heinze, Katharina; Frenkel, Annekathrein; Läppchen, Claus H; Unterrainer, Josef M; Weiller, Cornelius; Lange, Rüdiger; Rahm, Benjamin

2013-01-01

Most neuroimaging studies on planning report bilateral activations of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Recently, these concurrent activations of left and right dlPFC have been shown to double dissociate with different cognitive demands imposed by the planning task: Higher demands on the extraction of task-relevant information led to stronger activation in left dlPFC, whereas higher demands on the integration of interdependent information into a coherent action sequence entailed stronger activation of right dlPFC. Here, we used continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) to investigate the supposed causal structure-function mapping underlying this double dissociation. Two groups of healthy subjects (left-lateralized stimulation, n = 26; right-lateralized stimulation, n = 26) were tested within-subject on a variant of the Tower of London task following either real cTBS over dlPFC or sham stimulation over posterior parietal cortex. Results revealed that, irrespective of specific task demands, cTBS over left and right dlPFC was associated with a global decrease and increase, respectively, in initial planning times compared to sham stimulation. Moreover, no interaction between task demands and stimulation type (real vs. sham) and/or stimulation side (left vs. right hemisphere) were found. Together, against expectations from previous neuroimaging data, lateralized cTBS did not lead to planning-parameter specific changes in performance, but instead revealed a global asymmetric pattern of faster versus slower task processing after left versus right cTBS. This global asymmetry in the absence of any task-parameter specific impact of cTBS suggests that different levels of information processing may span colocalized, but independent axes of functional lateralization in the dlPFC. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Mathematical Model and Artificial Intelligent Techniques Applied to a Milk Industry through DSM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babu, P. Ravi; Divya, V. P. Sree

2011-08-01

The resources for electrical energy are depleting and hence the gap between the supply and the demand is continuously increasing. Under such circumstances, the option left is optimal utilization of available energy resources. The main objective of this chapter is to discuss about the Peak load management and overcome the problems associated with it in processing industries such as Milk industry with the help of DSM techniques. The chapter presents a generalized mathematical model for minimizing the total operating cost of the industry subject to the constraints. The work presented in this chapter also deals with the results of application of Neural Network, Fuzzy Logic and Demand Side Management (DSM) techniques applied to a medium scale milk industrial consumer in India to achieve the improvement in load factor, reduction in Maximum Demand (MD) and also the consumer gets saving in the energy bill.

Performance of a novel two-phase continuously fed leach bed reactor for demand-based biogas production from maize silage.

PubMed

Linke, Bernd; Rodríguez-Abalde, Ángela; Jost, Carsten; Krieg, Andreas

2015-02-01

This study investigated the potential of producing biogas on demand from maize silage using a novel two-phase continuously fed leach bed reactor (LBR) which is connected to an anaerobic filter (AF). Six different feeding patterns, each for 1week, were studied at a weekly average of a volatile solids (VS) loading rate of 4.5 g L(-1) d(-1) and a temperature of 38°C. Methane production from the LBR and AF responded directly proportional to the VS load from the different daily feeding and resulted in an increase up to 50-60% per day, compared to constant feeding each day. The feeding patterns had no impact on VS methane yield which corresponded on average to 330 L kg(-1). In spite of some daily shock loadings, carried out during the different feeding patterns study, the reactor performance was not affected. A robust and reliable biogas production from stalky biomass was demonstrated. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A rational approach to estimating the surgical demand elasticity needed to guide manpower reallocation during contagious outbreaks.

PubMed

Tsao, Hsiao-Mei; Sun, Ying-Chou; Liou, Der-Ming

2015-01-01

Emerging infectious diseases continue to pose serious threats to global public health. So far, however, few published study has addressed the need for manpower reallocation needed in hospitals when such a serious contagious outbreak occurs. To quantify the demand elasticity of the major surgery types in order to guide future manpower reallocation during contagious outbreaks. Based on a nationwide research database in Taiwan, we extracted the monthly volumes of major surgery types for the period 1998-2003, which covered the SARS period, in order to carry out a time series analysis. The demand elasticity of each surgery type was then estimated by autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) analysis. During the study period, the surgical volumes of most selected surgery types either increased or remained steady. We categorized these surgery types into low-, moderate- and high-elastic groups according to their demand elasticity. Appendectomy, 'open reduction of fracture with internal fixation' and 'free skin graft' were in the low demand elasticity group. Transurethral prostatectomy and extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) were in the high demand elasticity group. The manpower of the departments carrying out the surgeries with low demand elasticity should be maintained during outbreaks. In contrast, departments in charge of surgeries mainly with high demand elasticity, like urology departments, may be in a position to have part of their staff reallocated. Taking advantage of the demand variation during the SARS period in 2003, we adopted the concept of demand elasticity and used a time series approach to figure out an effective index of demand elasticity for various types of surgery that could be used as a rational reference to carry out manpower reallocation during contagious outbreak situations.

A Rational Approach to Estimating the Surgical Demand Elasticity Needed to Guide Manpower Reallocation during Contagious Outbreaks

PubMed Central

Tsao, Hsiao-Mei; Sun, Ying-Chou; Liou, Der-Ming

2015-01-01

Background Emerging infectious diseases continue to pose serious threats to global public health. So far, however, few published study has addressed the need for manpower reallocation needed in hospitals when such a serious contagious outbreak occurs. Aim To quantify the demand elasticity of the major surgery types in order to guide future manpower reallocation during contagious outbreaks. Materials and Methods Based on a nationwide research database in Taiwan, we extracted the monthly volumes of major surgery types for the period 1998–2003, which covered the SARS period, in order to carry out a time series analysis. The demand elasticity of each surgery type was then estimated by autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) analysis. Results During the study period, the surgical volumes of most selected surgery types either increased or remained steady. We categorized these surgery types into low-, moderate- and high-elastic groups according to their demand elasticity. Appendectomy, ‘open reduction of fracture with internal fixation’ and ‘free skin graft’ were in the low demand elasticity group. Transurethral prostatectomy and extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL) were in the high demand elasticity group. The manpower of the departments carrying out the surgeries with low demand elasticity should be maintained during outbreaks. In contrast, departments in charge of surgeries mainly with high demand elasticity, like urology departments, may be in a position to have part of their staff reallocated. Conclusions Taking advantage of the demand variation during the SARS period in 2003, we adopted the concept of demand elasticity and used a time series approach to figure out an effective index of demand elasticity for various types of surgery that could be used as a rational reference to carry out manpower reallocation during contagious outbreak situations. PMID:25837596

Demand Creation for Polio Vaccine in Persistently Poor-Performing Communities of Northern Nigeria: 2013–2014

PubMed Central

Warigon, Charity; Mkanda, Pascal; Muhammed, Ado; Etsano, Andrew; Korir, Charles; Bawa, Samuel; Gali, Emmanuel; Nsubuga, Peter; Erbeto, Tesfaya B.; Gerlong, George; Banda, Richard; Yehualashet, Yared G.; Vaz, Rui G.

2016-01-01

Introduction. Poliomyelitis remains a global threat despite availability of oral polio vaccine (OPV), proven to reduce the burden of the paralyzing disease. In Nigeria, children continue to miss the opportunity to be fully vaccinated, owing to factors such as unmet health needs and low uptake in security-compromised and underserved communities. We describe the implementation and evaluation of several activities to create demand for polio vaccination in persistently poor-performing local government areas (LGAs). Methods. We assessed the impact of various polio-related interventions, to measure the contribution of demand creation activities in 77 LGAs at very high risk for polio, located across 10 states in northern Nigeria. Interventions included provision of commodities along with the polio vaccine. Results. There was an increasing trend in the number of children reached by different demand creation interventions. A total of 4 819 847 children were vaccinated at health camps alone. There was a reduction in the number of wards in which >10% of children were missed by supplementary immunization activities due to noncompliance with vaccination recommendations, a rise in the proportion of children who received ≥4 OPV doses, and a decrease in the proportion of children who were underimmunized or unimmunized. Conclusions. Demand creation interventions increased the uptake of polio vaccines in persistently poor-performing high-risk communities in northern Nigeria during September 2013–November 2014. PMID:26908717

Estimating the total energy demand for supra-maximal exercise using the VO2-power regression from an incremental exercise test.

PubMed

Aisbett, B; Le Rossignol, P

2003-09-01

The VO2-power regression and estimated total energy demand for a 6-minute supra-maximal exercise test was predicted from a continuous incremental exercise test. Sub-maximal VO2-power co-ordinates were established from the last 40 seconds (s) of 150-second exercise stages. The precision of the estimated total energy demand was determined using the 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of the estimated total energy demand. The linearity of the individual VO2-power regression equations was determined using Pearson's correlation coefficient. The mean 95% CI of the estimated total energy demand was 5.9 +/- 2.5 mL O2 Eq x kg(-1) x min(-1), and the mean correlation coefficient was 0.9942 +/- 0.0042. The current study contends that the sub-maximal VO2-power co-ordinates from a continuous incremental exercise test can be used to estimate supra-maximal energy demand without compromising the precision of the accumulated oxygen deficit (AOD) method.

A Human Serum-Based Enzyme-Free Continuous Glucose Monitoring Technique Using a Needle-Type Bio-Layer Interference Sensor.

PubMed

Seo, Dongmin; Paek, Sung-Ho; Oh, Sangwoo; Seo, Sungkyu; Paek, Se-Hwan

2016-09-24

The incidence of diabetes is continually increasing, and by 2030, it is expected to have increased by 69% and 20% in underdeveloped and developed countries, respectively. Therefore, glucose sensors are likely to remain in high demand in medical device markets. For the current study, we developed a needle-type bio-layer interference (BLI) sensor that can continuously monitor glucose levels. Using dialysis procedures, we were able to obtain hypoglycemic samples from commercial human serum. These dialysis-derived samples, alongside samples of normal human serum were used to evaluate the utility of the sensor for the detection of the clinical interest range of glucose concentrations (70-200 mg/dL), revealing high system performance for a wide glycemic state range (45-500 mg/dL). Reversibility and reproducibility were also tested over a range of time spans. Combined with existing BLI system technology, this sensor holds great promise for use as a wearable online continuous glucose monitoring system for patients in a hospital setting.

Engineering hurdles in contact and intraocular lens lathe design: the view ahead

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bradley, Norman D.; Keller, John R.; Ball, Gary A.

1994-05-01

Current trends in and intraocular lens design suggest ever- increasing demand for aspheric lens geometries - multisurface and/or toric surfaces - in a variety of new materials. As computer numeric controls (CNC) lathes and mills continue to evolve with he ophthalmic market, engineering hurdles present themselves to designers: Can hardware based upon single-point diamond turning accommodate the demands of software-driven designs? What are the limits of CNC resolution and repeatability in high-throughput production? What are the controlling factors in lathed, polish-free surface production? Emerging technologies in the lathed biomedical optics field are discussed along with their limitations, including refined diamond tooling, vibrational control, automation, and advanced motion control systems.

Remote sensing based water-use efficiency evaluation in sub-surface irrigated wine grape vines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zúñiga, Carlos Espinoza; Khot, Lav R.; Jacoby, Pete; Sankaran, Sindhuja

2016-05-01

Increased water demands have forced agriculture industry to investigate better irrigation management strategies in crop production. Efficient irrigation systems, improved irrigation scheduling, and selection of crop varieties with better water-use efficiencies can aid towards conserving water. In an ongoing experiment carried on in Red Mountain American Viticulture area near Benton City, Washington, subsurface drip irrigation treatments at 30, 60 and 90 cm depth, and 15, 30 and 60% irrigation were applied to satisfy evapotranspiration demand using pulse and continuous irrigation. These treatments were compared to continuous surface irrigation applied at 100% evapotranspiration demand. Thermal infrared and multispectral images were acquired using unmanned aerial vehicle during the growing season. Obtained results indicated no difference in yield among treatments (p<0.05), however there was statistical difference in leaf temperature comparing surface and subsurface irrigation (p<0.05). Normalized vegetation index obtained from the analysis of multispectral images showed statistical difference among treatments when surface and subsurface irrigation methods were compared. Similar differences in vegetation index values were observed, when irrigation rates were compared. Obtained results show the applicability of aerial thermal infrared and multispectral images to characterize plant responses to different irrigation treatments and use of such information in irrigation scheduling or high-throughput selection of water-use efficient crop varieties in plant breeding.

China's transportation energy consumption and CO2 emissions from a global perspective

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yin, Xiang; Chen, Wenying; Eom, Jiyong

2015-07-01

ABSTRACT Rapidly growing energy demand from China's transportation sector in the last two decades have raised concerns over national energy security, local air pollution, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and there is broad consensus that China's transportation sector will continue to grow in the coming decades. This paper explores the future development of China's transportation sector in terms of service demands, final energy consumption, and CO2 emissions, and their interactions with global climate policy. This study develops a detailed China transportation energy model that is nested in an integrated assessment model—Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM)—to evaluate the long-term energy consumptionmore » and CO2 emissions of China's transportation sector from a global perspective. The analysis suggests that, without major policy intervention, future transportation energy consumption and CO2 emissions will continue to rapidly increase and the transportation sector will remain heavily reliant on fossil fuels. Although carbon price policies may significantly reduce the sector's energy consumption and CO2 emissions, the associated changes in service demands and modal split will be modest, particularly in the passenger transport sector. The analysis also suggests that it is more difficult to decarbonize the transportation sector than other sectors of the economy, primarily owing to its heavy reliance on petroleum products.« less

Climate Forecasts and Water Resource Management: Applications for a Developing Country

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, C.; Rogers, P.

2002-05-01

While the quantity of water on the planet earth is relatively constant, the demand for water is continuously increasing. Population growth leads to linear increases in water demand, and economic growth leads to further demand growth. Strzepek et al. calculate that with a United Nations mean population estimate of 8.5 billion people by 2025 and globally balanced economic growth, water use could increase by 70% over that time (Strzepek et al., 1995). For developing nations especially, supplying water for this growing demand requires the construction of new water supply infrastructure. The prospect of designing and constructing long life-span infrastructure is clouded by the uncertainty of future climate. The availability of future water resources is highly dependent on future climate. With realization of the nonstationarity of climate, responsible design emphasizes resiliency and robustness of water resource systems (IPCC, 1995; Gleick et al., 1999). Resilient systems feature multiple sources and complex transport and distribution systems, and so come at a high economic and environmental price. A less capital-intense alternative to creating resilient and robust water resource systems is the use of seasonal climate forecasts. Such forecasts provide adequate lead time and accuracy to allow water managers and water-based sectors such as agriculture or hydropower to optimize decisions for the expected water supply. This study will assess the use of seasonal climate forecasts from regional climate models as a method to improve water resource management in systems with limited water supply infrastructure

Impulsivity and Alcohol Demand in relation to Combined Alcohol and Caffeine Use

PubMed Central

Amlung, Michael; Few, Lauren R.; Howland, Jonathan; Rohsenow, Damaris J.; Metrik, Jane; MacKillop, James

2014-01-01

Problematic alcohol use among college students continues to be a prominent concern in the United States, including the growing trend of consuming caffeine with alcoholic beverages (CABs). Epidemiologically, CAB use is associated with incremental risks from drinking, although these relationships could be due to common predisposing factors rather than specifically due to CABs. This study investigated the relationship between CAB use, alcohol misuse, and person-level characteristics including impulsive personality traits, delayed reward discounting, and behavioral economic demand for alcohol use. Participants were 273 regularly drinking undergraduate students. Frequency of CAB use was assessed over the past month. A multidimensional assessment of impulsivity included the UPPS-P questionnaire and a validated, questionnaire-based measure of delayed reward discounting. Demand was assessed via a hypothetical alcohol purchase task. Frequency of CAB consumption was significantly higher in males compared to females and was also associated with higher impulsivity on the majority of the UPPS-P subscales, steeper delayed reward discounting, and greater demand for alcohol. Significant correlations between CAB use and both alcohol demand and lack of premeditation remained present after including level of alcohol misuse in partial correlations. In a hierarchical linear regression incorporating demographic, demand, and impulsivity variables, CAB frequency continued to be a significant predictor of hazardous alcohol use. These results suggest that although there are significant associations between CAB consumption and gender, impulsivity, and alcohol demand, CAB use continues to be associated with alcohol misuse after controlling for these variables. PMID:24364537

Health care costs: the other point of view.

PubMed

Beck, D F; Dempsey, J

1990-12-01

Health care delivery in America is not efficient. Hospitals are not efficient and many are still wasteful. Some of the most blatant wastes in hospitals are staffing patterns that developed during the years of cost reports. Spending patterns become the norm, rather than excess, when they continue unabated for years. There are many reasons for cost increases in health care and specifically in hospitals. However, it is difficult to make these reasons add up to the total cost increase. No one has the answers; observation can only be made of what has been occurring and what continues to occur. Whatever the reason for the increase in health care costs, the consumer will bear the burden because of the circular flow of income and expenditures between the business sector and the household sector. Increased health care costs are passed on to the consumer in the form of increased expenditures for household goods and services or taxes. Ford Motor Company President Mr. Peterson says that $1,500 of every new automobile represents employee health care costs. The American consumer created the demand for health care services, and only the consumer can control the demand. One solution would be to let the consumer bear health care costs directly and remove the inefficiencies created by third party insurance carriers. This hypothesizes that the health care consumer is the most efficient shopper for health care services, and that third party insurance carriers are an important source of inefficiency in the health care delivery system. Many other solutions have been proposed by the government and by the insurance and health care industries, but most have only increased the cost of health care. Perhaps some day the health care industry will learn how to control the dynamics of this four-party purchasing decision. Until then, costs will continue to grow dramatically, and the executives of the industries who compete in the two-party purchasing system will wonder why the process is so complicated.

Optimal Multi-scale Demand-side Management for Continuous Power-Intensive Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mitra, Sumit

With the advent of deregulation in electricity markets and an increasing share of intermittent power generation sources, the profitability of industrial consumers that operate power-intensive processes has become directly linked to the variability in energy prices. Thus, for industrial consumers that are able to adjust to the fluctuations, time-sensitive electricity prices (as part of so-called Demand-Side Management (DSM) in the smart grid) offer potential economical incentives. In this thesis, we introduce optimization models and decomposition strategies for the multi-scale Demand-Side Management of continuous power-intensive processes. On an operational level, we derive a mode formulation for scheduling under time-sensitive electricity prices. The formulation is applied to air separation plants and cement plants to minimize the operating cost. We also describe how a mode formulation can be used for industrial combined heat and power plants that are co-located at integrated chemical sites to increase operating profit by adjusting their steam and electricity production according to their inherent flexibility. Furthermore, a robust optimization formulation is developed to address the uncertainty in electricity prices by accounting for correlations and multiple ranges in the realization of the random variables. On a strategic level, we introduce a multi-scale model that provides an understanding of the value of flexibility of the current plant configuration and the value of additional flexibility in terms of retrofits for Demand-Side Management under product demand uncertainty. The integration of multiple time scales leads to large-scale two-stage stochastic programming problems, for which we need to apply decomposition strategies in order to obtain a good solution within a reasonable amount of time. Hence, we describe two decomposition schemes that can be applied to solve two-stage stochastic programming problems: First, a hybrid bi-level decomposition scheme with novel Lagrangean-type and subset-type cuts to strengthen the relaxation. Second, an enhanced cross-decomposition scheme that integrates Benders decomposition and Lagrangean decomposition on a scenario basis. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our developed methodology, we provide several industrial case studies throughout the thesis.

10 CFR 609.15 - Default, demand, payment, and collateral liquidation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Default, demand, payment, and collateral liquidation. 609.15 Section 609.15 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (CONTINUED) ASSISTANCE REGULATIONS LOAN GUARANTEES FOR PROJECTS THAT EMPLOY INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES § 609.15 Default, demand, payment, and collateral liquidation...

10 CFR 611.111 - Default, demand, payment, and collateral liquidation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 10 Energy 4 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Default, demand, payment, and collateral liquidation. 611.111 Section 611.111 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (CONTINUED) ASSISTANCE REGULATIONS ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY VEHICLES MANUFACTURER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Direct Loan Program § 611.111 Default, demand, payment, and...

Postharvest and sensory evaluation of selected ‘Hass’x‘Bacon’ and ‘Bacon’x ‘Hass’ avocado hybrids grown in East-Central Florida

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is a high-value fruit that continues to increase in consumer demand. A population of ‘Hass’-‘Bacon’ hybrids was planted at USDA-ARS, Fort Pierce as part of a study to find selections with good horticultural and postharvest quality traits for Florida. Extensive phenot...

Dampers, reclaimers and pumps - oh my!

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Johnson, D.; Wyatt, E.

1997-07-01

Residential energy retrofitters often hear much hype about new products designed to increased the efficiency of domestic water heating. This article examines how much energy these devices really save and how they save it. Topics covered include the following: nonelectronic flue dampers; recovering heat from wastewater; water that`s neither hear not there, the demand pump which improves continuous recirculation of water; cost savings. 1 fig.

Abu Ghraib Dairy, Abu Ghraib, Iraq

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-14

products, especially milk. Traditionally, a young population consumes a large amount of dairy products, such as milk, yogurt , and processed cheese...security situation and electrical capacity in Iraq continue to improve, there will be a further increase in the demand for milk, yogurt , and cheese. Dairy...based products, such as bottled milk, yogurt , cheese, cream, and butter. The State Company for Dairy Products is a holding company with three

Abu Ghraib Dairy, Abu Ghraib, Iraq

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-01-14

especially milk. Traditionally, a young population consumes a large amount of dairy products, such as milk, yogurt , and processed cheese. However...and electrical capacity in Iraq continue to improve, there will be a further increase in the demand for milk, yogurt , and cheese. Dairy products...such as bottled milk, yogurt , cheese, cream, and butter. The State Company for Dairy Products is a holding company with three factories/plants

Finance issue brief: long-term care insurance: year end report-2002.

PubMed

Tanner, Rachel

2002-12-31

A 1996 federal law made it more attractive for states to consider long-term care insurance, and states have responded by implementing policies to make the purchase of these long-term care coverage more affordable and consumer-friendly. At present, policy makers continue to debate the future role of private long-term care insurance in subsidizing the increasing demand for long-term care services.

Finance issue brief: long-term care insurance: year end report-2003.

PubMed

Tanner, Rachel C

2003-12-31

A 1996 federal law made it more attractive for states to consider long-term care insurance, and states have responded by implementing policies to make the purchase of these long-term care coverage more affordable and consumer-friendly. At present, policymakers continue to debate the future role of private long-term care insurance in subsidizing the increasing demand for long-term care services.

Analysis and Representation of Miscellaneous Electric Loads in NEMS

EIA Publications

2017-01-01

Miscellaneous Electric Loads (MELs) comprise a growing portion of delivered energy consumption in residential and commercial buildings. Miscellaneous end uses—including televisions, personal computers, security systems, data center servers, and many other devices—have continued to penetrate into building-related market segments. Part of this proliferation of devices and equipment can be attributed to increased service demand for entertainment, computing, and convenience appliances.

Changes and Trends in the Pallet Industry: Recovery and Recycling

Treesearch

Robert J. Bush; Philip A. Araman

1998-01-01

In the first article of this three-part series we described trends in the use of new wood materials for pallets and containers. These trends support the belief that new pallet production in recent years has been level or perhaps slightly decreasing while the demand for pallets continues to grow. This gap has resulted, in part, from increased recovery of used pallets...

Dietitians. Careers. The revolution continues.

PubMed

1991-09-18

Freelance consulting and specialty diversification are vital today as the demand for dietetic services increases. In fact, the common bond between the members of your profession that we've profiled here is that none of them is tied down to one segment or one company. The dietitians described in our third annual compendium have risen to the challenge and met the needs of a changing society and a changing profession.

Shortage of cardiothoracic surgeons is likely by 2020.

PubMed

Grover, Atul; Gorman, Karyn; Dall, Timothy M; Jonas, Richard; Lytle, Bruce; Shemin, Richard; Wood, Douglas; Kron, Irving

2009-08-11

Even as the burden of cardiovascular disease in the United States is increasing as the population grows and ages, the number of active cardiothoracic surgeons has fallen for the first time in 20 years. Meanwhile, the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease continues to evolve amid uncertain changes in technology. This study evaluates current and future requirements for cardiothoracic surgeons in light of decreasing rates of coronary artery bypass grafting procedures. Projections of supply and demand for cardiothoracic surgeons are based on analysis of population, physician office, hospital, and physician data sets to estimate current patterns of healthcare use and delivery. Using a simulation model, we project the future supply of cardiothoracic surgeons under alternative assumptions about the number of new fellows trained each year. Future demand is modeled, taking into account patient demographics, under current and alternative use rates that include the elimination of open revascularization. By 2025, the demand for cardiothoracic surgeons could increase by 46% on the basis of population growth and aging if current healthcare use and service delivery patterns continue. Even with complete elimination of coronary artery bypass grafting, there is a projected shortfall of cardiothoracic surgeons because the active supply is projected to decrease 21% over the same time period as a result of retirement and declining entrants. The United States is facing a shortage of cardiothoracic surgeons within the next 10 years, which could diminish quality of care if non-board-certified physicians expand their role in cardiothoracic surgery or if patients must delay appropriate care because of a shortage of well-trained surgeons.

Understanding Activity Engagement Across Weekdays and Weekend Days: A Multivariate Multiple Discrete-Continuous Modeling Approach

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Garikapati, Venu; Astroza, Sebastian; Bhat, Prerna C.

This paper is motivated by the increasing recognition that modeling activity-travel demand for a single day of the week, as is done in virtually all travel forecasting models, may be inadequate in capturing underlying processes that govern activity-travel scheduling behavior. The considerable variability in daily travel suggests that there are important complementary relationships and competing tradeoffs involved in scheduling and allocating time to various activities across days of the week. Both limited survey data availability and methodological challenges in modeling week-long activity-travel schedules have precluded the development of multi-day activity-travel demand models. With passive and technology-based data collection methods increasinglymore » in vogue, the collection of multi-day travel data may become increasingly commonplace in the years ahead. This paper addresses the methodological challenge associated with modeling multi-day activity-travel demand by formulating a multivariate multiple discrete-continuous probit (MDCP) model system. The comprehensive framework ties together two MDCP model components, one corresponding to weekday time allocation and the other to weekend activity-time allocation. By tying the two MDCP components together, the model system also captures relationships in activity-time allocation between weekdays on the one hand and weekend days on the other. Model estimation on a week-long travel diary data set from the United Kingdom shows that there are significant inter-relationships between weekdays and weekend days in activity-travel scheduling behavior. The model system presented in this paper may serve as a higher-level multi-day activity scheduler in conjunction with existing daily activity-based travel models.« less

Managing water with better institutions: Building flexibility, innovation and lessons of best practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Msangi, S.

2014-12-01

Changing socio-economic conditions and global environmental change continue to put pressure on critical natural resources necessary for sustaining ecosystems and human well-being - including water. Increasing variability in water availability, deepening droughts and continuing demands and consumptive use have posed problems for resource managers and policy makers in many regions. While in some regions it is still possible to enhance supply, such as in under-exploited water basins in Africa - the majority of the world's heaviest water users are facing situations that call for more demand-side adjustments. This necessitates a change from engineering-focused solutions to more economic ones, especially where the costs of increasing supply (such as through de-salinization) are prohibitively expensive, or have unacceptable consequences for environmental sustainability. Despite many years and decades of studying water resource management problems, there is still too little guidance as to what institutional best-practices should be followed. Water resources tend to touch on a number of areas managed by different government departments and ministries (agriculture, aquaculture & fisheries, industry, natural resources, etc) - but there is still no common understanding of what the best governance arrangements are that lead to improved sectoral performance (however that is measured). Given the continuing efforts to invest in water resources management and development by major multi-lateral organizations such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank - this kind of institutional guidance is critical, if countries are to make the most of these investments. In this presentation, we review a number of cases in which previously supply-side oriented approaches have to be dealt with from the demand side, and why institutional flexibility and innovation is so important. We draw from examples of community-based groundwater management in India, groundwater overdraft management in China and the US, and try and synthesize some key priorities for further research and policy dialogue that are needed to enhance the sustainability of water resources in critical basins.

Future requirements for and supply of ophthalmologists for an aging population in Singapore.

PubMed

Ansah, John P; De Korne, Dirk; Bayer, Steffen; Pan, Chong; Jayabaskar, Thiyagarajan; Matchar, David B; Lew, Nicola; Phua, Andrew; Koh, Victoria; Lamoureux, Ecosse; Quek, Desmond

2015-11-17

Singapore's population, as that of many other countries, is aging; this is likely to lead to an increase in eye diseases and the demand for eye care. Since ophthalmologist training is long and expensive, early planning is essential. This paper forecasts workforce and training requirements for Singapore up to the year 2040 under several plausible future scenarios. The Singapore Eye Care Workforce Model was created as a continuous time compartment model with explicit workforce stocks using system dynamics. The model has three modules: prevalence of eye disease, demand, and workforce requirements. The model is used to simulate the prevalence of eye diseases, patient visits, and workforce requirements for the public sector under different scenarios in order to determine training requirements. Four scenarios were constructed. Under the baseline business-as-usual scenario, the required number of ophthalmologists is projected to increase by 117% from 2015 to 2040. Under the current policy scenario (assuming an increase of service uptake due to increased awareness, availability, and accessibility of eye care services), the increase will be 175%, while under the new model of care scenario (considering the additional effect of providing some services by non-ophthalmologists) the increase will only be 150%. The moderated workload scenario (assuming in addition a reduction of the clinical workload) projects an increase in the required number of ophthalmologists of 192% by 2040. Considering the uncertainties in the projected demand for eye care services, under the business-as-usual scenario, a residency intake of 8-22 residents per year is required, 17-21 under the current policy scenario, 14-18 under the new model of care scenario, and, under the moderated workload scenario, an intake of 18-23 residents per year is required. The results show that under all scenarios considered, Singapore's aging and growing population will result in an almost doubling of the number of Singaporeans with eye conditions, a significant increase in public sector eye care demand and, consequently, a greater requirement for ophthalmologists.

Response of Bean (Vicia faba L.) Plants to Low Sink Demand by Measuring the Gas Exchange Rates and Chlorophyll a Fluorescence Kinetics

PubMed Central

Liu, Guo-Tian; Xu, Hong-Guo; Wang, Li-Jun; Li, Shao-Hua

2013-01-01

Background The decline of photosynthesis in plants under low sink demand is well known. Previous studies focused on the relationship between stomatal conductance (g s) and net photosynthetic rate (P n). These studies investigated the effect of changes in Photosystem II (PSII) function on the P n decline under low sink demand. However, little is known about its effects on different limiting steps of electron transport chain in PSII under this condition. Methodology/Principal Finding Two-month-old bean plants were processed by removing pods and flowers (low sink demand). On the 1st day after low sink demand treatment, a decline of P n was accompanied by a decrease in g s and internal-to-ambient CO2 concentration ratio (C i/C a). From the 3rd to 9th day, P n and g s declined continuously while C i/C a ratio remained stable in the treatment. Moreover, these values were lower than that of control. Wk (a parameter reflecting the damage to oxygen evolving complex of the donor side of PSII) values in the treatment were significantly higher than their corresponding control values. However, RCQA (a parameter reflecting the number of active RCs per excited cross-section of PSII) values in the treatment were significantly lower than control from the 5th day. From the 11th to 21st day, P n and g s of the treatment continued to decline and were lower than control. This was accompanied by a decrease of RCQA, and an increase of Wk. Furthermore, the quantum yield parameters φ Po, φ Eo and ψ Eo in the treatment were lower than in control; however, C i/C a values in the treatment gradually increased and were significantly higher than control on the 21st day. Conclusions Stomatal limitation during the early stage, whereas a combination of stomatal and non-stomatal limitation during the middle stage might be responsible for the reduction of P n under low sink demand. Non-stomatal limitation during the late stages after the removal of the sink of roots and pods may also cause P n reduction. The non-stomatal limitation was associated with the inhibition of PSII electron transport chain. Our data suggests that the donor side of PSII was the most sensitive to low sink demand followed by the reaction center of PSII. The acceptor side of PSII may be the least sensitive. PMID:24324626

Some Basic Determinants of Medical Care and Health Policy

PubMed Central

Somers, Anne R.

1966-01-01

Long-term trends in our economy and social structure are radically affecting the supply and demand for health services. Population increases, both generally and in the over-65-years-of-age bracket, growing ratio of nonwhites to whites, increasing proportion of women, increasing urbanization, industrialization, educational levels and per capita income are only some of the major factors affecting the demand for health services. Major developments in the science, technology and organization of medical care are and will continue breaking traditional patterns in rendering such care, and definitely point in the direction of multidisciplinary and institutional makeup in the delivery of health services. Changes in the financing of medical care are bringing in a foray of public programs sponsored by all levels of the government, contributing to the unique American pluralistic health care economy with its “mix” of public and private activities. Questions, intended to point up some of the more far-reaching issues, are appended to each section of the paper. PMID:5971547

Has the increase in private health insurance uptake affected the Victorian public hospital surgical waiting list?

PubMed

Hanning, Brian

2002-01-01

It was anticipated that increase uptake of Private Health Insurance (PHI) would reduce demand on public sector surgical waiting lists. The best measure of changed demand is the comparison of the actual cases added to that projected given previous trends in PHI uptake. Detailed Victorian data is available up to 2000-1. The total waiting list has varied little, reflecting significant decreases in both in patients added to and removed. There was a marked increase in private sector elective surgery cases coinciding with the fall in additions to the public sector waiting list and in public sector elective surgical cases. The June 2001 Victorian surgical waiting list would have been 69,599 not 41,838 if the PHI uptake rate had continued to fall in line with pre-1999 trends, and that of June 2002 about 100,000 compared to 40,458 in March 2002. Limited data from other states suggests the Victorian trends are representative of all Australia.

ZERODUR expanding capabilities and capacity for future spaceborne and ground-based telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Westerhoff, Thomas; Werner, Thomas

2017-09-01

The glass ceramic ZERODUR is well known for its extremely low coefficient of thermal expansion making it one of the key materials for ultra-precision application such as IC and LCD Lithography, High-end Metrology, Aviation and space borne or ground based Astronomy. The steady growth of demand for more precision in those applications together with a growing number of precision systems and components is requesting the ability to on hand increase precision in manufacturing. Additionally, there is a need to increase production capacity of ZERODUR CNC machined products in parallel. This paper reports on the measures SCHOTT is realizing to feed the continuously increasing demand on high precision material and components. Next to a second melting tank additional capacity is going to be installed along the entire value stream of ZERODUR production. Features of new CNC machining capabilities in the two and four meter class will be reported allowing to provide tighter tolerance on mirror surface figure together with reduced sub surface damage in order to accelerate the polishing time. Examples are discussed such as the 4 m class secondary and tertiary mirrors for the ESO E-ELT. The new equipment will enable SCHOTT to light weight 4 m class mirror substrates for future space optics demand.

A Review on Landfill Management in the Utilization of Plastic Waste as an Alternative Fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hidayah, Nurul; Syafrudin

2018-02-01

Wastes from landfills originate from many spheres of life. These are produces as a result of human activities either domestically or industrially. The global plastic production increased over years due to the vast applications of plastics in many sectors. The continuous demand of plastics caused the plastic wastes accumulation in the landfill consumed a lot of spaces that contributed to the environmental. In addition, economic growth and development also increased our demand and dependency on plastics which leads to its accumulation in landfills imposing risk on human health, animals and cause environmental pollution problems such as ground water contamination, sanitary related issues, etc. The management and disposal of plastic waste have become a major concern, especially in developing cities. The idea of waste to energy recovery is one of the promising techniques used for managing the waste of plastic. Hence, this paper aims review at utilizing of plastic as an alternative fuel.

Wake Turbulence: An Obstacle to Increased Air Traffic Capacity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

Wingtip vortices were first described by British aerodynamicist F.W. Lanchester in 1907. A product of lift on a finite-span wing, these counterrotating masses of air trail behind an aircraft, gradually diffusing while convecting downward and moving about under mutual induction and the influence of wind and stratification. Should a smaller aircraft happen to be following the first aircraft, it could be buffeted and even flipped if it flew into the vortex, with dangerous consequences. Given the amount of air traffic in 1907, the wake vortex hazard was not initially much of a concern. The demand for air transportation continues to increase, and it is estimated that demand could double or even triple by 2025. One factor in the capacity of the air transportation system is wake turbulence and the consequent separation distances that must be maintained between aircraft to ensure safety.

Solar public engagement: the prospective study on FELDA community in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jamiah Tun Jamil, Siti; Azfahani Ahmad, Nur

2017-05-01

Malaysia Energy Outlook 2016 has highlighted that Malaysia's electricity generation mix has always been highly dependent on fossil fuels. There is a concern on energy security for Malaysia recently, since the depletion of fossil fuel occurs and its effect increases the price of electricity tariff. Nevertheless, the energy demand continues to increase, which make the non-fossil renewable energy sources is back on demand. Malaysia's highest potential for renewable energy comes from solar energy and the large roofs of rural houses offer potential to contribute solar electricity for the people. Indeed, the engagement of solar energy to the public is very important in allowing this energy to be accepted by the locals. The paper will review the related literature on public engagement for solar energy project. This paper also tries to prospect the potential of implementing solar electricity for a well-known rural organization in Malaysia, known as FELDA.

49 CFR 1018.20 - Written demand for payment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 8 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Written demand for payment. 1018.20 Section 1018.20 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS DEBT COLLECTION Administrative Collection of Claims § 1018.20 Written demand for...

Historical view and future demand for knee arthroplasty in Sweden

PubMed Central

Rolfson, Ola; W-Dahl, Annette; Garellick, Göran; Sundberg, Martin; Kärrholm, Johan; Robertsson, Otto

2015-01-01

Background and purpose The incidence of knee osteoarthritis will most likely increase. We analyzed historical trends in the incidence of knee arthroplasty in Sweden between 1975 and 2013, in order to be able to provide projections of future demand. Patients and methods We obtained information on all knee arthroplasties in Sweden in the period 1975–2013 from the Swedish Knee Arthroplasty Register, and used public domain data from Statistics Sweden on the evolution of and forecasts for the Swedish population. We forecast the incidence, presuming the existence of a maximum incidence. Results We found that the incidence of knee arthroplasty will continue to increase until a projected upper incidence level of about 469 total knee replacements per 105 Swedish residents aged 40 years and older is reached around the year 2130. In 2020, the estimated incidence of total knee arthroplasties per 105 Swedish residents aged 40 years and older will be 334 (95% prediction interval (PI): 281–374) and in 2030 it will be 382 (PI: 308–441). Using officially forecast population growth data, around 17,500 operations would be expected to be performed in 2020 and around 21,700 would be expected to be performed in 2030. Interpretation Today’s levels of knee arthroplasty are well below the expected maximum incidence, and we expect a continued annual increase in the total number of knee arthroplasties performed. PMID:25806653

Energy technologies and the environment: Environmental information handbook

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1988-10-01

This revision of Energy Technologies and the Environment reflects the changes in energy supply and demand, focus of environmental concern, and emphasis of energy research and development that have occurred since publication of the earlier edition in 1980. The increase in availability of oil and natural gas, at least for the near term, is responsible in part for a reduced emphasis on development of replacement fuels and technologies. Trends in energy development also have been influenced by an increased reliance on private industry initiatives, and a correspondingly reduced government involvement, in demonstrating more developed technologies. Environmental concerns related to acidmore » rain and waste management continue to increase the demand for development of innovative energy systems. The basic criteria for including a technology in this report are that (1) the technology is a major current or potential future energy supply and (2) significant changes in employing or understanding the technology have occurred since publication of the 1980 edition. Coal is seen to be a continuing major source of energy supply, and thus chapters pertaining to the principal coal technologies have been revised from the 1980 edition (those on coal mining and preparation, conventional coal-fired power plants, fluidized-bed combustion, coal gasification, and coal liquefaction) or added as necessary to include emerging technologies (those on oil shale, combined-cycle power plants, coal-liquid mixtures, and fuel cells).« less

Ciliary muscle contraction force and trapezius muscle activity during manual tracking of a moving visual target.

PubMed

Domkin, Dmitry; Forsman, Mikael; Richter, Hans O

2016-06-01

Previous studies have shown an association of visual demands during near work and increased activity of the trapezius muscle. Those studies were conducted under stationary postural conditions with fixed gaze and artificial visual load. The present study investigated the relationship between ciliary muscle contraction force and trapezius muscle activity across individuals during performance of a natural dynamic motor task under free gaze conditions. Participants (N=11) tracked a moving visual target with a digital pen on a computer screen. Tracking performance, eye refraction and trapezius muscle activity were continuously measured. Ciliary muscle contraction force was computed from eye accommodative response. There was a significant Pearson correlation between ciliary muscle contraction force and trapezius muscle activity on the tracking side (0.78, p<0.01) and passive side (0.64, p<0.05). The study supports the hypothesis that high visual demands, leading to an increased ciliary muscle contraction during continuous eye-hand coordination, may increase trapezius muscle tension and thus contribute to the development of musculoskeletal complaints in the neck-shoulder area. Further experimental studies are required to clarify whether the relationship is valid within each individual or may represent a general personal trait, when individuals with higher eye accommodative response tend to have higher trapezius muscle activity. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Promoting healthy food consumption: a review of state-level policies to improve access to fruits and vegetables.

PubMed

Hood, Carlyn; Martinez-Donate, Ana; Meinen, Amy

2012-12-01

Research indicates poor nutrition is a leading determinant of the development of chronic disease, and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption is one method for decreasing obesity. Many policies have focused on increasing the demand for fruits and vegetables through price reductions and coupons. However, without ensuring a stable supply, increased demand can continue to raise prices, crowding out individuals who may otherwise have purchased fruits and vegetables and ultimately leading to continued disparities in access. This paper presents a review of selected state-level policy options recently proposed or implemented in states across the United States, and provides an evidence-based lens through which food access policy can be shaped in the Midwest. This review and potential framework uses Wisconsin to illustrate the feasibility of different state-level decisions and their potential impact on particular populations. Future supply-side policies to consider include expanding Electronic Benefit Transfer to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC),program and farmers markets, incentivizing the purchase of locally grown produce, assisting local specialty farmers directly, and/or establishing a state-level food policy council. This review reveals that a food policy council would create a more sustainable policy analysis process to better ensure future policy adoption is truly comprehensive, encompassing the production, distribution and purchase of locally grown fruits and vegetables.

A two-phase model of resource allocation in visual working memory.

PubMed

Ye, Chaoxiong; Hu, Zhonghua; Li, Hong; Ristaniemi, Tapani; Liu, Qiang; Liu, Taosheng

2017-10-01

Two broad theories of visual working memory (VWM) storage have emerged from current research, a discrete slot-based theory and a continuous resource theory. However, neither the discrete slot-based theory or continuous resource theory clearly stipulates how the mental commodity for VWM (discrete slot or continuous resource) is allocated. Allocation may be based on the number of items via stimulus-driven factors, or it may be based on task demands via voluntary control. Previous studies have obtained conflicting results regarding the automaticity versus controllability of such allocation. In the current study, we propose a two-phase allocation model, in which the mental commodity could be allocated only by stimulus-driven factors in the early consolidation phase. However, when there is sufficient time to complete the early phase, allocation can enter the late consolidation phase, where it can be flexibly and voluntarily controlled according to task demands. In an orientation recall task, we instructed participants to store either fewer items at high-precision or more items at low-precision. In 3 experiments, we systematically manipulated memory set size and exposure duration. We did not find an effect of task demands when the set size was high and exposure duration was short. However, when we either decreased the set size or increased the exposure duration, we found a trade-off between the number and precision of VWM representations. These results can be explained by a two-phase model, which can also account for previous conflicting findings in the literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Demand Continues to Exceed Supply of Courses in Los Rios Colleges: Fall 2004. Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beachler, Judith

2005-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the number of college applicants who remained on wait lists in Fall 2002 through Fall 2004. It shows that demand continues to exceed the supply of courses offered by colleges in the Los Rios Community College District - American River College, Cosumnes River College, Folsom Lake College and Sacramento City…

Pediatric Orthopaedic Workforce in 2014: Current Workforce and Projections for the Future.

PubMed

Sawyer, Jeffrey R; Jones, Kerwyn C; Copley, Lawson A; Chambers, Stephanie

2017-01-01

The changing nature of the United States (US) health care system has prompted debate concerning the physician supply. The basic questions are: do we have an adequate number of surgeons to meet current demands and are we training the correct number of surgeons to meet future demands? The purpose of this analysis was to characterize the current pediatric orthopaedic workforce in terms of supply and demand, both present and future. Databases were searched (POSNA, SF Match, KID, MGMA) to determine the current pediatric orthopaedic workforce and workforce distribution, as well as pediatric orthopaedic demand. The number of active Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America (POSNA) members increased over the past 20 years, from 410 in 1993 to 653 in 2014 (155% increase); however, the density of POSNA members is not equally distributed, but correlates to population density. The number of estimated pediatric discharges, orthopaedic and nonorthopaedic, has remained relatively stable from 6,348,537 in 1997 to 5,850,184 in 2012. Between 2003 and 2013, the number of pediatric orthopaedic fellows graduating from Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and non-Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education programs increased from 39 to 50 (29%), with a peak of 67 fellows (71%) in 2009. Although predicting the exact need for pediatric orthopaedic surgeons (POS) is impossible because of the complex interplay among macroeconomic, governmental, insurance, and local factors, some trends were identified: the supply of POS has increased, which may offset the expected numbers of experienced surgeons who will be leaving the workforce in the next 10 to 15 years; macroeconomic factors influencing demand for physician services, driven by gross domestic product and population growth, are expected to be stable in the near future; expansion of the scope of practice for POS is expected to continue; and further similar assessments are warranted. Level II-economic and decision analysis.

Opportunities and challenges of sustainable agricultural development in China.

PubMed

Zhao, Jingzhu; Luo, Qishan; Deng, Hongbing; Yan, Yan

2008-02-27

This paper introduces the concepts and aims of sustainable agriculture in China. Sustainable agricultural development comprises sustainability of agricultural production, sustainability of the rural economy, ecological and environmental sustainability within agricultural systems and sustainability of rural society. China's prime aim is to ensure current and future food security. Based on projections of China's population, its economy, societal factors and agricultural resources and inputs between 2000 and 2050, total grain supply and demand has been predicted and the state of food security analysed. Total and per capita demand for grain will increase continuously. Total demand will reach 648 Mt in 2020 and 700 Mt in 2050, while total grain yield of cultivated land will reach 470 Mt in 2010, 585 Mt in 2030 and 656 Mt in 2050. The per capita grain production will be around 360kg in the period 2000-2030 and reach 470kg in 2050. When productivities of cultivated land and other agricultural resources are all taken into consideration, China's food self-sufficiency ratio will increase from 94.4% in 2000 to 101.3% in 2030, suggesting that China will meet its future demand for food and need for food security. Despite this positive assessment, the country's sustainable agricultural development has encountered many obstacles. These include: agricultural water-use shortage; cultivated land loss; inappropriate usage of fertilizers and pesticides, and environmental degradation.

Comment on mRNA-Sequencing Analysis Reveals Transcriptional Changes in Root of Maize Seedlings Treated with Two Increasing Concentrations of a New Biostimulant.

PubMed

da Silva, Ronivaldo Rodrigues

2018-02-28

Overpopulation is already a reality, and the need for alternative technologies to meet a continuously increasing food demand has been much discussed around the world. In addition, soil decreasing fertility and desertification are obstacles that we will need to be overcome to increase crop productivity with a much-reduced dependence upon inorganic fertilizers. In this context, protein hydrolysates has emerged as an important strategy to reduce the use of inorganic fertilizers, whose applications as biostimulants for plant growth have shown very promising results.

Lessons from the other side: what can we learn from the private sector?

PubMed

Clarke, D

1999-01-01

Business has reacted in an impressive manner to increasing globalisation, short-term stock market pressure for performance, emerging industries and new technologies. While the private sector has become increasingly competitive, the public sector has not adopted this commercial rigour. Funding pressures on health services will continue, as will increasing consumer and staff demands and the blurring of public and private health care provision. As a result, there are lessons and techniques the public and private health sectors should learn from each other. I have drawn the issues that follow from my experience in the steel and food industries.

Forecasting fluid milk and cheese demands for the next decade.

PubMed

Schmit, T M; Kaiser, H M

2006-12-01

Predictions of future market demands and farm prices for dairy products are important determinants in developing marketing strategies and farm-production planning decisions. The objective of this report was to use current aggregate forecast data, combined with existing econometric models of demand and supply, to forecast retail demands for fluid milk and cheese and the supply and price of farm milk over the next decade. In doing so, we can investigate whether projections of population and consumer food-spending patterns will extend or alter current consumption trends and examine the implications of future generic advertising strategies for dairy products. To conduct the forecast simulations and appropriately allocate the farm milk supply to various uses, we used a partial equilibrium model of the US domestic dairy sector that segmented the industry into retail, wholesale, and farm markets. Model simulation results indicated that declines in retail per capita demand would persist but at a reduced rate from years past and that retail per capita demand for cheese would continue to grow and strengthen over the next decade. These predictions rely on expected changes in the size of populations of various ages, races, and ethnicities and on existing patterns of spending on food at home and away from home. The combined effect of these forecasted changes in demand levels was reflected in annualized growth in the total farm-milk supply that was similar to growth realized during the past few years. Although we expect nominal farm milk prices to increase over the next decade, we expect real prices (relative to assumed growth in feed costs) to remain relatively stable and show no increase until the end of the forecast period. Supplemental industry model simulations also suggested that net losses in producer revenues would result if only nominal levels of generic advertising spending were maintained in forthcoming years. In fact, if real generic advertising expenditures are increased relative to 2005 levels, returns to the investment in generic advertising can be improved. Specifically, each additional real dollar invested in generic advertising for fluid milk and cheese products over the forecast period would result in an additional 5.61 dollars in producer revenues.

Marketing alternatives for hospitals to the nursing crisis.

PubMed

Goldman, R L; Bates, D P; Bradbury, M; Breaux, D K; Caron, M; Gerardo, C; Copoulos, S; Hansen, L L; Oien, S M; Semones, C

1990-01-01

The current nursing shortage problem as defined in this article, is the result of a supply and demand imbalance. The demand for nurses is growing at a faster rate than the supply. If strategies are not implemented to correct this imbalance the demand for nurses will continue to surpass the supply, negatively affecting access to and delivery of quality patient care. Factors contributing to the increased demand for nurses and the dwindling supply must be examined if solutions to the problem are to be found and implemented. Factors contributing to the growing demand for nurses include the decreasing use of ancillary personnel by hospitals in an effort to tighten their budgets; the impact of Medicare's prospective payment system on hospital lengths of stay; the increase in patient acuity with advances in medical technology; and alternative health care opportunities pulling nurses away from the hospital setting. The supply of RNs is shrinking in relation to demand because of low retention rates; declining nursing school enrollment; non-competitive wages; poor working conditions; alternative career opportunities for women; and the lack of power and support within the nursing profession. An active marketing approach that relies on this assessment of contributing factors has been formulated in an attempt to resolve the problem and meet the increasing demand. Recommendations have been made and ranked in the order of their priority and pros and cons established for each. The strategies developed have been divided into four basic marketing categories of product, price, place, and promotion. If the problem is to be resolved these strategies must be marketed to hospitals, their administrators, nurses, other allied health professionals, third party payors, educators, and the general public. The nursing profession itself must find the unity and strength within its own group of professionals to build political and economic powers to enhance their product. Nursing is at a crossroad. Much depends on how we cope with the current shortage and its related issues. Nurses have the opportunity to shape their future. Hopefully, with proactive strategies, the profession will transform from a passive role to an active, vital force of the health care environment. The authors believe that through our marketing approaches this can be accomplished.

Impulsivity and alcohol demand in relation to combined alcohol and caffeine use.

PubMed

Amlung, Michael; Few, Lauren R; Howland, Jonathan; Rohsenow, Damaris J; Metrik, Jane; MacKillop, James

2013-12-01

Problematic alcohol use among college students continues to be a prominent concern in the United States, including the growing trend of consuming caffeinated alcoholic beverages (CABs). Epidemiologically, CAB use is associated with incremental risks from drinking, although these relationships could be due to common predisposing factors rather than specifically due to CABs. This study investigated the relationship between CAB use, alcohol misuse, and person-level characteristics, including impulsive personality traits, delayed reward discounting, and behavioral economic demand for alcohol use. Participants were 273 regularly drinking undergraduate students. Frequency of CAB use was assessed over the past month. A multidimensional assessment of impulsivity included the UPPS-P questionnaire, which measures positive and negative urgency, premeditation (lack thereof), perseverance (lack thereof), and sensation seeking (Lynam, Smith, Whiteside, & Cyders, 2007), and a validated questionnaire-based measure of delayed reward discounting. Demand was assessed via a hypothetical alcohol purchase task. Frequency of CAB consumption was significantly higher in men than in women and was also associated with higher impulsivity on the majority of the UPPS-P subscales, steeper delayed reward discounting, and greater demand for alcohol. Significant correlations between CAB use and both alcohol demand and lack of premeditation remained present after including level of alcohol misuse in partial correlations. In a hierarchical linear regression incorporating demographic, demand, and impulsivity variables, CAB frequency continued to be a significant predictor of hazardous alcohol use. These results suggest that although there are significant associations between CAB consumption and gender, impulsivity, and alcohol demand, CAB use continues to be associated with alcohol misuse after controlling for these variables.

Potential environmental benefits from woodfuel transitions in Haiti: Geospatial scenarios to 2027

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghilardi, Adrian; Tarter, Andrew; Bailis, Robert

2018-03-01

Woodfuels constitute nearly 80% of Haiti’s primary energy supply. Forests are severely degraded and the nation has long been considered an archetypal case of woodfuel-driven deforestation. However, there is little empirical evidence that woodfuel demand directly contributes to deforestation, but may contribute to degradation. We use MoFuSS (Modeling Fuelwood Sustainability Scenarios), a dynamic landscape model, to assess whether current woodfuel demand is as impactful as it is often depicted by simulating changes in land cover that would result if current demand continues unabated. We also simulate several near-term interventions focused on woodfuel demand reduction to analyze the land cover impacts of different energy trajectories. We find that current demand may contribute to moderate levels of degradation, but it is not as severe as is typically portrayed. Under a business-as-usual scenario, the simulated regenerative capacity of woody biomass is insufficient to meet Haiti’s increasing demand for wood energy and, as a result, between 2017 and 2027 stocks of above-ground (woody) biomass could decline by 4% ± 1%. This is an annual loss of 302 ± 29 kton of wood and would emit 555 ± 54 kton CO2 yr-1. Aggressive interventions to reduce woodfuel demand could slow or even reverse woodfuel-driven degradation, allowing woody biomass to recover in some regions. We discuss the policy implications and propose steps to reduce uncertainty and validate the model.

Vulnerability of supply basins to demand from multiple cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Padowski, J. C.; Gorelick, S.

2013-12-01

Humans have appropriated more than half of the world's available water resources, and continued population growth and climate change threaten to put increasing pressure on remaining supplies. Many cities have constructed infrastructure to collect, transport from and store water at distant locations. Supply basins can become vulnerable if there are multiple users depending on the same supply system or network. Basin vulnerability assessments often only report the impacts of local demands on system health, but rarely account future stress from multi-urban demands. This study presents a global assessment of urban impacts on supply basins. Specifically, hydrologic and regulatory information are used to quantify the level of supply basin stress created by demand from multiple cities. The aim is to identify at-risk basins. This study focuses on large urban areas (generally over 1 million people) that use surface water (n=412). The stress on supply water basins by urban demand was based on three parameters: 1) the number of cities using a basin for water supply, 2) the number of alternative urban sources (e.g. lakes, reservoirs, rivers) within the supply basin, and 3) the percent of available surface water in each basin that is required to meet the total of urban and environmental demands. The degree of management within each basin is assessed using information on federal water policies and local basin management plans.

Improving energy efficiency in the transportation sector

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Plotkin, S.E.

1994-12-31

A primary characteristic of transportation in the United States is its high per capita energy consumption. The average US citizen consumes nearly five times as much energy for transportation as the average Japanese and nearly three times as much as the average citizen of France, Britain, or West Germany. The energy efficiency of US transportation has improved substantially over the past two decades (both absolutely and in comparison to Europe), and US travel volume has grown more slowly than in most of the developed world. However, the United States still consumes more than one-third of the world`s transport energy. Also,more » 96 percent of US transport energy is in the form of oil products. This is more oil than the United States produces, despite its position as one of the world`s largest oil producers. With current problems and expectation of continued growth in travel and energy use, Congress has increasingly turned to transportation energy conservation - in the form of improvements in the technical efficiency of travel, increases in load factors, reductions in travel demand, shifting to alternative fuels, and shifts to more efficient travel modes - as an important policy goal. For example, the Clean Air Amendments of 1990 incorporate transportation demand management as a critical tool in reducing urban air pollution. Legislation proposed in the 102d Congress sought rigorous new automobile and light truck fuel economy standards. With continued increases in U.S. oil imports, urban traffic congestion, and greenhouse gas emissions, and the failure of many urban areas to meet air quality standards, strong congressional interest in new energy conservation initiates is likely to continue.« less

Technology for hearing loss--as We Know it, and as We Dream it.

PubMed

Clark, Jackie L; Swanepoel, De Wet

2014-09-01

Worldwide demand for accessible hearing health technology continues to increase while the numbers of hearing healthcare specialists are grossly inadequate to meet this demand. Proliferation of innovative technology and the advent of greater access to global connectivity are providing an opportunity to identify and harness new resources that may change current audiological service delivery methods to maximize access, efficiency and impact. By searching through the most current literature and engaging in discussions with industry experts, it is possible to identify avenues that could increase services to those who have hearing loss with innovative healthcare technology. This article aims to review the current state as well as future trends of hearing health technology by addressing: Technology as We Know it; and Technology as We Dream it. Some of the newer technologies we have recently witnessed include: micro processors; personalized computing devices (e.g. smartphones); web-based applications; an expanding clinical repertoire with integrated test equipment; and globalization of telecommunications that opens the door to telehealth; and self-fitting of hearing aids. Yet, innovation continues scaffolding on recent successes with innovations for hearing healthcare expected to increase into the future. As technology and connectivity continue to evolve so should the practice of audiology adapt to the global needs by capitalizing on these advances to optimize service delivery access and sustainability. Capital investment in equipment will be dramatically reduced with smaller, lighter, less costly and more portable equipment. Individuals who live in remote regions with little or no hearing healthcare access can undergo valid assessments by a professional via telehealth. Web-based applications allow clinicians to expand their repertoire and reach of services.

32 CFR 537.19 - Demands arising from maritime claims.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Demands arising from maritime claims. 537.19 Section 537.19 National Defense Department of Defense (Continued) DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY CLAIMS AND ACCOUNTS CLAIMS ON BEHALF OF THE UNITED STATES § 537.19 Demands arising from maritime claims. (a) It is...

Training Design Conception and Reflexive Practice: How to Answer Teachers' Questions?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clottu, Régine

2017-01-01

This research studies the practices related to the conception of training "on demand" in the field of continuous training of teachers. Training "on demand" adapts itself to the problems of professionals. The analysis of the demand faces the complexity of the different contexts as well as the diversity of professionals'…

Energetic demands of immature sea otters from birth to weaning: implications for maternal costs, reproductive behavior and population-level trends

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thometz, N.M.; Tinker, M.T.; Staedler, M.M.; Mayer, K.A.; Williams, T.M.

2014-01-01

Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) have the highest mass-specific metabolic rate of any marine mammal, which is superimposed on the inherently high costs of reproduction and lactation in adult females. These combined energetic demands have been implicated in the poor body condition and increased mortality of female sea otters nearing the end of lactation along the central California coast. However, the cost of lactation is unknown and currently cannot be directly measured for this marine species in the wild. Here, we quantified the energetic demands of immature sea otters across five developmental stages as a means of assessing the underlying energetic challenges associated with pup rearing that may contribute to poor maternal condition. Activity-specific metabolic rates, daily activity budgets and field metabolic rates (FMR) were determined for each developmental stage. Mean FMR of pre-molt pups was 2.29±0.81 MJ day−1 and increased to 6.16±2.46 and 7.41±3.17 MJ day−1 in post-molt pups and dependent immature animals, respectively. Consequently, daily energy demands of adult females increase 17% by 3 weeks postpartum and continue increasing to 96% above pre-pregnancy levels by the average age of weaning. Our results suggest that the energetics of pup rearing superimposed on small body size, marine living and limited on-board energetic reserves conspire to make female sea otters exceptionally vulnerable to energetic shortfalls. By controlling individual fitness, maternal behavior and pup provisioning strategies, this underlying metabolic challenge appears to be a major factor influencing current population trends in southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis).

Continued growth expected for wood energy despite turbulence of the economic crisis : wood energy markets, 2008-2009

Treesearch

Rens Hartkamp; Bengt Hillring; Warren Mabee; Olle Olsson; Kenneth Skog; Henry Spelter; Johan Vinterback; Antje Wahl

2009-01-01

The economic crisis has not reduced the demand for wood energy, which is expected to continue to grow. The downturn in sawmill production caused a shortage of raw material supply for wood pellet producers. With decreased demand for pulpwood-quality roundwood for wood and paper products in 2009, some pulpwood is being converted into wood energy. Economies of scale are...

U.S. Hardwood Product Exports to Canada and a Look at U.S. Hardwood Resources

Treesearch

Philip A. Araman

1998-01-01

Canada became the largest market for primary product hardwood exports in 1987 after slipping to No. 3 in 1986. Preferences for fine hardwoods and limited Canadian supplies of species such as oak should assure continued strong demands for U.S. hardwoods. Another reason for continued strong demand is that some Canadian firms process U.S. lumber and logs for export. This...

Influences of Work-Life Support of Officers’ Organizational Commitment and Negative Work-Family Spillover

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-04-01

demands of work and family life is a promising intervention for improving Soldier experiences and increasing retention in the Army. This research...When Soldiers leave military service, the loss decreases the personnel available for operational missions. Consequently, a continued concern of the ...Army is to understand processes leading to Soldier retention and attrition. Given the large body of research showing that employees’ organizational

Military Training: DOD’s Annual Sustainable Ranges Report Addressed Statutory Reporting Requirements

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-06-01

electromagnetic spectrum, (5) continued growth in domestic use of Unmanned Aerial Systems, (6) early coordination with renewable energy industry, and (7...unclassified b. ABSTRACT unclassified c. THIS PAGE unclassified Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98) Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18 United States Government...challenges; (4) manage increasing military demand for range space; (5) address effects from new energy infrastructure and renewable energy effects; (6

Science You Can Use Bulletin: Coming to a landscape near you: Natural resource changes in the Interior West

Treesearch

Frank Sturges; Linda Joyce; Tom Brown; Curt Flather; Miranda Mockrin; Matt Reeves

2013-01-01

In the coming decades, population growth, economic growth, and associated land-use changes - in concert with climate change - will influence forests and rangelands in the Interior West. Society’s demand for ecosystem goods and services continues to increase as human and biophysical change alter the productive capacity of these lands. The 2010 RPA Assessment uses...

Turning the Digital Divide into Digital Dividends through Free Content and Open Networks: WikiEducator Learning4Content (L4C) Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schlicht, Patricia

2013-01-01

In today's world where tuition fees continue to rise rapidly and the demand for higher education increases in both the developing and developed world, it is important to find additional and alternative learning pathways that learners can afford. Traditional education as we have known it has begun to change, allowing for new parallel learning…

The Army’s Operational Energy Challenge

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-01

battery chargers . Solar Hybrid—a system capable of providing up to 10 kilowatts of power continuously while reducing gen- erator running time by 20...granted. Army vehicles consume unprecedented amounts of fuel for mobility and onboard power. Average fuel demand per soldier has increased from about 1... electric power. This depen- dence translates to a vulnerability as fuel and water com- pose the vast majority of resupply volume, which, in turn

Analysis of Tests of Subsurface Injection, Storage, and Recovery of Freshwater in Lancaster, Antelope Valley, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Phillips, Steven P.; Carlson, Carl S.; Metzger, Loren F.; Howle, James F.; Galloway, Devin L.; Sneed, Michelle; Ikehara, Marti E.; Hudnut, Kenneth W.; King, Nancy E.

2003-01-01

Ground-water levels in Lancaster, California, declined more than 200 feet during the 20th century, resulting in reduced ground-water supplies and more than 6 feet of land subsidence. Facing continuing population growth, water managers are seeking solutions to these problems. Injection of imported, treated fresh water into the aquifer system when it is most available and least expensive, for later use during high-demand periods, is being evaluated as part of a management solution. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency, monitored a pilot injection program, analyzed the hydraulic and subsidence-related effects of injection, and developed a simulation/optimization model to help evaluate the effectiveness of using existing and proposed wells in an injection program for halting the decline of ground-water levels and avoiding future land subsidence while meeting increasing ground-water demand. A variety of methods were used to measure aquifer-system response to injection. Water levels were measured continuously in nested (multi-depth) piezometers and monitoring wells and periodically in other wells that were within several miles of the injection site. Microgravity surveys were done to estimate changes in the elevation of the water table in the absence of wells and to estimate specific yield. Aquifer-system deformation was measured directly and continuously using a dual borehole extensometer and indirectly using continuous Global Positioning System (GPS), first-order spirit leveling, and an array of tiltmeters. The injected water and extracted water were sampled periodically and analyzed for constituents, including chloride and trihalomethanes. Measured injection rates of about 750 gallons per minute (gal/min) per well at the injection site during a 5-month period showed that injection at or above the average extraction rates at that site (about 800 gal/min) was hydraulically feasible. Analyses of these data took many forms. Coupled measurements of gravity and water-level change were used to estimate the specific yield near the injection wells, which, in turn, was used to estimate areal water-table changes from distributed measurements of gravity change. Values of the skeletal components of aquifer-system storage, which are key subsidence-related characteristics of the system, were derived from continuous measurements of water levels and aquifer-system deformation. A numerical model of ground-water flow was developed for the area surrounding Lancaster and used to estimate horizontal and vertical hydraulic conductivities. A chemical mass balance was done to estimate the recovery of injected water. The ground-water-flow model was used to project changes in ground-water levels for 10 years into the future, assuming no injection, no change in pumping distribution, and forecasted increases in ground-water demand. Simulated ground-water levels decreased throughout the Lancaster area, suggesting that land subsidence would continue as would the depletion of ground-water supplies and an associated loss of well production capacity. A simulation/optimization model was developed to help identify optimal injection and extraction rates for 16 existing and 13 proposed wells to avoid future land subsidence and to minimize loss of well production capacity while meeting increasing ground-water demands. Results of model simulations suggest that these objectives can be met with phased installation of the proposed wells during the 10-year period. Water quality was not considered in the optimization, but chemical-mass-balance results indicate that a sustained injection program likely would have residual effects on the chemistry of ground water.

Will generalist physician supply meet demands of an increasing and aging population?

PubMed

Colwill, Jack M; Cultice, James M; Kruse, Robin L

2008-01-01

We predict that population growth and aging will increase family physicians' and general internists' workloads by 29 percent between 2005 and 2025. We expect a 13 percent increased workload for care of children by pediatricians and family physicians. However, the supply of generalists for adult care, adjusted for age and sex, will increase 7 percent, or only 2 percent if the number of graduates continues to decline through 2008. We expect deficits of 35,000-44,000 adult care generalists, although the supply for care of children should be adequate. These forces threaten the nation's foundation of primary care for adults.

Financing care for the uninsured: the dilemma vexes New Jersey hospitals and payers.

PubMed

Wells, E V

1996-05-01

New Jersey's diverse constituencies and special interest groups don't usually agree on a public policy issue. However, almost everyone in the public policy arena agrees that hospitals should treat people who show up in emergency departments with problems requiring medical attention. For over a decade, Garden State policymakers, payers, and providers have faced the dilemma of excess demand on hospitals that treat the uninsured. This demand has risen due to increasing health care costs, development of costly technology, state deregulation of hospital payments, and employers' reluctance to insure workers and their families coupled with a mobile workforce holding part-time and seasonal jobs. The fiscal solvency of inner-city hospitals is threatened yet the problem continues to elude resolution.

Future reticle demand and next-generation lithography technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behringer, Uwe F. W.; Ehrlich, Christian; Fortange, Olaf

1999-04-01

Mask technology has often been considered an enabling for semiconductor fabrication. But today photomasks have evolved to a bottle neck in the every increasing integration process of semiconductor circuits. Regarding to the 1997 SIA roadmap there are very stringent requirements for mask making. Even with the momentary weak Asian market the worldwide demand for reticles will continue to grow. The anticipation of larger reticles has been discussed over years. What ever the reason for the need of larger reticles, the move to the 230 mm X 230 mm reticle size will provide size will provide unique challenges to both the mask equipment manufacturers and mask fabricator. Next Generation Lithography together with their mask techniques are in development and try to come into the market.

A Multiple Items EPQ/EOQ Model for a Vendor and Multiple Buyers System with Considering Continuous and Discrete Demand Simultaneously

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jonrinaldi; Rahman, T.; Henmaidi; Wirdianto, E.; Zhang, D. Z.

2018-03-01

This paper proposed a mathematical model for multiple items Economic Production and Order Quantity (EPQ/EOQ) with considering continuous and discrete demand simultaneously in a system consisting of a vendor and multiple buyers. This model is used to investigate the optimal production lot size of the vendor and the number of shipments policy of orders to multiple buyers. The model considers the multiple buyers’ holding cost as well as transportation cost, which minimize the total production and inventory costs of the system. The continuous demand from any other customers can be fulfilled anytime by the vendor while the discrete demand from multiple buyers can be fulfilled by the vendor using the multiple delivery policy with a number of shipments of items in the production cycle time. A mathematical model is developed to illustrate the system based on EPQ and EOQ model. Solution procedures are proposed to solve the model using a Mixed Integer Non Linear Programming (MINLP) and algorithm methods. Then, the numerical example is provided to illustrate the system and results are discussed.

EFP Delphi study on the trends in Periodontology and Periodontics in Europe for the year 2025.

PubMed

Madianos, Phoebus; Papaioannou, William; Herrera, David; Sanz, Mariano; Baeumer, Amelie; Bogren, Anna; Bouchard, Philippe; Chomyszyn-Gajewska, Maria; Demirel, Korkud; Gaspersic, Rok; Giurgiu, Marina; Graziani, Filippo; Jepsen, Karin; Jepsen, Sören; O Brien, Tiernan; Polyzois, Ioannis; Preshaw, Philip M; Rakic, Mia; Reners, Michele; Rincic, Nives; Stavropoulos, Andreas; Sütcü, Serdar; Verner, Christian; Llodra, Juan Carlos

2016-06-01

The aim was to assess the potential trends in Periodontology and Periodontics in Europe that might be anticipated by the year 2025, using the Delphi method. The expert opinion of 120 experts was sought through the use of an open-ended questionnaire, developed by an advisory group, containing 40 questions concerning the various trends in periodontology. The experts (113 responders) expect a stabilization of the prevalence of periodontitis, both for the chronic as well as the aggressive cases, but an increase in implant-related diseases up to the year 2025. Concurrently, the importance of implants is seen to be increasing. They foresee an increased demand for postgraduate periodontology and implantology training. This is mirrored in an increase in publications for implant dentistry and increase in demand and need for training. Concerning the patients, better-informed individuals seeking more routine check-ups are expected. A continued need for specialized periodontists, but also well trained dental practitioners is foreseen for next decade in Europe. Apart from periodontology they will be increasingly exposed to and trained in implant dentistry. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A forecast of typhoid conjugate vaccine introduction and demand in typhoid endemic low- and middle-income countries to support vaccine introduction policy and decisions.

PubMed

Mogasale, Vittal; Ramani, Enusa; Park, Il Yeon; Lee, Jung Seok

2017-09-02

A Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) is expected to acquire WHO prequalification soon, which will pave the way for its use in many low- and middle-income countries where typhoid fever is endemic. Thus it is critical to forecast future vaccine demand to ensure supply meets demand, and to facilitate vaccine policy and introduction planning. We forecasted introduction dates for countries based on specific criteria and estimated vaccine demand by year for defined vaccination strategies in 2 scenarios: rapid vaccine introduction and slow vaccine introduction. In the rapid introduction scenario, we forecasted 17 countries and India introducing TCV in the first 5 y of the vaccine's availability while in the slow introduction scenario we forecasted 4 countries and India introducing TCV in the same time period. If the vaccine is targeting infants in high-risk populations as a routine single dose, the vaccine demand peaks around 40 million doses per year under the rapid introduction scenario. Similarly, if the vaccine is targeting infants in the general population as a routine single dose, the vaccine demand increases to 160 million doses per year under the rapid introduction scenario. The demand forecast projected here is an upper bound estimate of vaccine demand, where actual demand depends on various factors such as country priorities, actual vaccine introduction, vaccination strategies, Gavi financing, costs, and overall product profile. Considering the potential role of TCV in typhoid control globally; manufacturers, policymakers, donors and financing bodies should work together to ensure vaccine access through sufficient production capacity, early WHO prequalification of the vaccine, continued Gavi financing and supportive policy.

A forecast of typhoid conjugate vaccine introduction and demand in typhoid endemic low- and middle-income countries to support vaccine introduction policy and decisions

PubMed Central

Ramani, Enusa; Park, Il Yeon; Lee, Jung Seok

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT A Typhoid Conjugate Vaccine (TCV) is expected to acquire WHO prequalification soon, which will pave the way for its use in many low- and middle-income countries where typhoid fever is endemic. Thus it is critical to forecast future vaccine demand to ensure supply meets demand, and to facilitate vaccine policy and introduction planning. We forecasted introduction dates for countries based on specific criteria and estimated vaccine demand by year for defined vaccination strategies in 2 scenarios: rapid vaccine introduction and slow vaccine introduction. In the rapid introduction scenario, we forecasted 17 countries and India introducing TCV in the first 5 y of the vaccine's availability while in the slow introduction scenario we forecasted 4 countries and India introducing TCV in the same time period. If the vaccine is targeting infants in high-risk populations as a routine single dose, the vaccine demand peaks around 40 million doses per year under the rapid introduction scenario. Similarly, if the vaccine is targeting infants in the general population as a routine single dose, the vaccine demand increases to 160 million doses per year under the rapid introduction scenario. The demand forecast projected here is an upper bound estimate of vaccine demand, where actual demand depends on various factors such as country priorities, actual vaccine introduction, vaccination strategies, Gavi financing, costs, and overall product profile. Considering the potential role of TCV in typhoid control globally; manufacturers, policymakers, donors and financing bodies should work together to ensure vaccine access through sufficient production capacity, early WHO prequalification of the vaccine, continued Gavi financing and supportive policy. PMID:28604164

Benefits of High Strength Microalloyed Rebar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wright, Michael

The amount of reinforcing bar (or "rebar") currently produced globally is estimated at over 400 million tons per year. With global infra-structure demands increasing, this production level is forecasted for continued expansion. Product requirements along with production levels are ever increasing, but as an industry there is minimal to no effort being put forth to produce a better product. Rather, rebar is being commoditized to a point where price is the only real consideration taken into account when purchasing rebar for major projects. This "pricing only" mentality results in a product that barely meets minimum standards.

Mineral resource of the month: Iron and steel

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fenton, Michael D.

2014-01-01

Since 2008, steelmaking capacity has greatly exceeded apparent steel consumption, primarily as a result of China’s rapid economic expansion and rapidly increasing capacity. This has resulted in an influx of steel products into the United States and other steelmaking countries that already have excess capacity. Demand by China’s steelmakers has also driven unprecedented increases in the prices of iron ore and metallurgical coal. In the short term, steelmaking capacity, globally and especially in China, is expected to continue to exceed steel consumption, with steel prices and production costs remaining stable.

Reduced effects of tendon vibration with increased task demand during active, cyclical ankle movements

PubMed Central

Floyd, Lisa M.; Holmes, Taylor C.; Dean, Jesse C.

2013-01-01

Tendon vibration can alter proprioceptive feedback, one source of sensory information which humans can use to produce accurate movements. However, the effects of tendon vibration during functional movement vary depending on the task. For example, ankle tendon vibration has considerably smaller effects during walking than standing posture. The purpose of this study was to test whether the effects of ankle tendon vibration are predictably influenced by the mechanical demands of a task, as quantified by peak velocity. Twelve participants performed symmetric, cyclical ankle plantarflexion/dorsiflexion movements while lying prone with their ankle motion unconstrained. The prescribed movement period (1s, 3s) and peak-to-peak amplitude (10°, 15°, 20°) were varied across trials; shorter movement periods or larger amplitudes increased the peak velocity. In some trials, vibration was continuously and simultaneously applied to the right ankle plantarflexor and dorsiflexor tendons, while the left ankle tendons were never vibrated. The vibration frequency (40, 80, 120, 160 Hz) was varied across trials. During trials without vibration, participants accurately matched the movement of their ankles. The application of 80 Hz vibration to the right ankle tendons significantly reduced the amplitude of right ankle movement. However, the effect of vibration was smaller during more mechanically demanding (i.e. higher peak velocity) movements. Higher vibration frequencies had larger effects on movement accuracy, possibly due to parallel increases in vibration amplitude. These results demonstrate that the effects of ankle tendon vibration are dependent on the mechanical demand of the task being performed, but cannot definitively identify the underlying physiological mechanism. PMID:24136344

Lessons learned: role of influenza vaccine production, distribution, supply, and demand--what it means for the provider.

PubMed

Orenstein, Walter A; Schaffner, William

2008-07-01

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been increasing the size of the population for whom influenza vaccine is recommended to reduce the substantial and persistent annual health burden of influenza. Realization of current and future public health influenza immunization goals requires assuring vaccine supply will be adequate to meet demand. This has posed distinct challenges for the many stakeholders in the influenza vaccine program--government agencies, federal, state, and local policymakers, vaccine manufacturers and distributors, and the medical community--each of whom must make critical decisions in a constantly shifting environment. Factors such as the yearly changes in influenza virus strains, the complicated vaccine production and distribution process, revisions in vaccination recommendations, and changing demographics can all affect the delicate balance between supply and demand. While vaccine shortages and delays have been well-publicized concerns in the recent past, there has been a marked increase in supply in the past several years, with substantial growth in supply expected in the future. The primary issue today is to strengthen the demand for the influenza vaccine, which would in turn help ensure the continued availability of the vaccine to reduce disease burden. A number of strategies are discussed, including increased efforts to publicize and fully implement current CDC recommendations and to offer influenza vaccine beyond the typical vaccination season of October and November, because in the great majority of years, vaccination into January and beyond will still provide health benefits.

Smart Buildings and Demand Response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiliccote, Sila; Piette, Mary Ann; Ghatikar, Girish

2011-11-01

Advances in communications and control technology, the strengthening of the Internet, and the growing appreciation of the urgency to reduce demand side energy use are motivating the development of improvements in both energy efficiency and demand response (DR) systems in buildings. This paper provides a framework linking continuous energy management and continuous communications for automated demand response (Auto-DR) in various times scales. We provide a set of concepts for monitoring and controls linked to standards and procedures such as Open Automation Demand Response Communication Standards (OpenADR). Basic building energy science and control issues in this approach begin with key building components, systems, end-uses and whole building energy performance metrics. The paper presents a framework about when energy is used, levels of services by energy using systems, granularity of control, and speed of telemetry. DR, when defined as a discrete event, requires a different set of building service levels than daily operations. We provide examples of lessons from DR case studies and links to energy efficiency.

Dendrophenology: Inferring the response of North American eastern deciduous forests to an earlier spring from tree rings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elmore, A. J.; Nelson, D. M.; Craine, J. M.

2016-12-01

There is wide agreement that anthropogenic climate warming has influenced the phenology of forests during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. A critical question for predicting the magnitude of future warming under different emissions scenarios is the degree to which forest productivity responds to longer growing seasons in the face of concurrent changes in other drivers of productivity. Longer growing seasons can lead to increased photosynthesis and productivity, which would represent a negative feedback to rising CO2 and consequently warming. Alternatively, increased demand for soil resources due to a longer photosynthetically active period in conjunction with other global change factors might exacerbate resource limitation, restricting forest productivity response to a longer growing season. In this case, increased spring-time productivity has the potential to increase plant N limitation by increasing plant demand for N more than N supplies, or increasing early-season ecosystem N losses. Long-term direct measurements are not yet available to specifically address this question, but advances in remote sensing and dendroecological methods present opportunities to acquire information retrospectively to advance understanding of how phenological changes and resource availability to trees have been affecting forest productivity. Here we show that for 222 trees representing three species in eastern North America over the past 30 years earlier spring phenology has caused declines in N availability to trees by increasing demand for N relative to supply. The observed decline in N availability is not associated with reduced wood production, suggesting that other environmental changes such as increased atmospheric CO2 and water availability have likely overwhelmed reduced N availability. Given current trajectories of environmental changes, N limitation will likely continue to increase for these forests, possibly further limiting C sequestration potential.

Application of integrated ozone and granular activated carbon for decolorization and chemical oxygen demand reduction of vinasse from alcohol distilleries.

PubMed

Hadavifar, Mojtaba; Younesi, Habibollah; Zinatizadeh, Ali Akbar; Mahdad, Faezeh; Li, Qin; Ghasemi, Zahra

2016-04-01

This study investigates the treatment of the distilleries vinasse using a hybrid process integrating ozone oxidation and granular activated carbons (GAC) in both batch and continuous operation mode. The batch-process studies have been carried out to optimize initial influent pH, GAC doses, the effect of the ozone (O3) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentrations on chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color removal of the distilleries vinasse. The continuous process was carried out on GAC and ozone treatment alone as well as the hybrid process comb both methods to investigate the synergism effectiveness of the two methods for distilleries vinasse COD reduction and color removal. In a continuous process, the Yan model described the experimental data better than the Thomas model. The efficiency of ozonation of the distilleries vinasse was more effective for color removal (74.4%) than COD removal (25%). O3/H2O2 process was not considerably more effective on COD and color removal. Moreover, O3/GAC process affected negatively on the removal efficiency by reducing COD and color from distilleries vinasse. The negative effect decreased by increasing pH value of the influent. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

World food trends and prospects to 2025

PubMed Central

Dyson, Tim

1999-01-01

This paper reviews food (especially cereal) production trends and prospects for the world and its main regions. Despite fears to the contrary, in recent years we have seen continued progress toward better methods of feeding humanity. Sub-Saharan Africa is the sole major exception. Looking to the future, this paper argues that the continuation of recent cereal yield trends should be sufficient to cope with most of the demographically driven expansion of cereal demand that will occur until the year 2025. However, because of an increasing degree of mismatch between the expansion of regional demand and the potential for supply, there will be a major expansion of world cereal (and noncereal food) trade. Other consequences for global agriculture arising from demographic growth include the need to use water much more efficiently and an even greater dependence on nitrogen fertilizers (e.g., South Asia). Farming everywhere will depend more on information-intensive agricultural management procedures. Moreover, despite continued general progress, there still will be a significant number of undernourished people in 2025. Signs of heightened harvest variability, especially in North America, are of serious concern. Thus, although future general food trends are likely to be positive, in some respects we also could be entering a more volatile world. PMID:10339520

Wood supply and demand

Treesearch

Peter J. Ince; David B. McKeever

2011-01-01

At times in history, there have been concerns that demand for wood (timber) would be greater than the ability to supply it, but that concern has recently dissipated. The wood supply and demand situation has changed because of market transitions, economic downturns, and continued forest growth. This article provides a concise overview of this change as it relates to the...

Receiver-Based Ad Hoc On Demand Multipath Routing Protocol for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

PubMed Central

Al-Nahari, Abdulaziz; Mohamad, Mohd Murtadha

2016-01-01

Decreasing the route rediscovery time process in reactive routing protocols is challenging in mobile ad hoc networks. Links between nodes are continuously established and broken because of the characteristics of the network. Finding multiple routes to increase the reliability is also important but requires a fast update, especially in high traffic load and high mobility where paths can be broken as well. The sender node keeps re-establishing path discovery to find new paths, which makes for long time delay. In this paper we propose an improved multipath routing protocol, called Receiver-based ad hoc on demand multipath routing protocol (RB-AOMDV), which takes advantage of the reliability of the state of the art ad hoc on demand multipath distance vector (AOMDV) protocol with less re-established discovery time. The receiver node assumes the role of discovering paths when finding data packets that have not been received after a period of time. Simulation results show the delay and delivery ratio performances are improved compared with AOMDV. PMID:27258013

Food Security Under Shifting Economic, Demographic, and Climatic Conditions (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naylor, R. L.

2013-12-01

Global demand for food, feed, and fuel will continue to rise in a more populous and affluent world. Meeting this demand in the future will become increasingly challenging with global climate change; when production shocks stemming from climate variability are added to the new mean climate state, food markets could become more volatile. This talk will focus on the interacting market effects of demand and supply for major food commodities, with an eye on climate-related supply trends and shocks. Lessons from historical patterns of climate variability (e.g., ENSO and its global teleconnections) will be used to infer potential food security outcomes in the event of abrupt changes in the mean climate state. Domestic food and trade policy responses to crop output and price volatility in key producing and consuming nations, such as export bans and import tariffs, will be discussed as a potentially major destabilizing force, underscoring the important influence of uncertainty in achieving--or failing to achieve--food security.

Receiver-Based Ad Hoc On Demand Multipath Routing Protocol for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks.

PubMed

Al-Nahari, Abdulaziz; Mohamad, Mohd Murtadha

2016-01-01

Decreasing the route rediscovery time process in reactive routing protocols is challenging in mobile ad hoc networks. Links between nodes are continuously established and broken because of the characteristics of the network. Finding multiple routes to increase the reliability is also important but requires a fast update, especially in high traffic load and high mobility where paths can be broken as well. The sender node keeps re-establishing path discovery to find new paths, which makes for long time delay. In this paper we propose an improved multipath routing protocol, called Receiver-based ad hoc on demand multipath routing protocol (RB-AOMDV), which takes advantage of the reliability of the state of the art ad hoc on demand multipath distance vector (AOMDV) protocol with less re-established discovery time. The receiver node assumes the role of discovering paths when finding data packets that have not been received after a period of time. Simulation results show the delay and delivery ratio performances are improved compared with AOMDV.

Climate Change and European Water Bodies, a Review of Existing Gaps and Future Research Needs: Findings of the ClimateWater Project.

PubMed

Garnier, Monica; Harper, David M; Blaskovicova, Lotta; Hancz, Gabriella; Janauer, Georg A; Jolánkai, Zsolt; Lanz, Eva; Lo Porto, Antonio; Mándoki, Monika; Pataki, Beata; Rahuel, Jean-Luc; Robinson, Victoria J; Stoate, Chris; Tóth, Eszter; Jolánkai, Géza

2015-08-01

There is general agreement among scientists that global temperatures are rising and will continue to increase in the future. It is also agreed that human activities are the most important causes of these climatic variations, and that water resources are already suffering and will continue to be greatly impaired as a consequence of these changes. In particular, it is probable that areas with limited water resources will expand and that an increase of global water demand will occur, estimated to be around 35-60% by 2025 as a consequence of population growth and the competing needs of water uses. This will cause a growing imbalance between water demand (including the needs of nature) and supply. This urgency demands that climate change impacts on water be evaluated in different sectors using a cross-cutting approach (Contestabile in Nat Clim Chang 3:11-12, 2013). These issues were examined by the EU FP7-funded Co-ordination and support action "ClimateWater" (bridging the gap between adaptation strategies of climate change impacts and European water policies). The project studied adaptation strategies to minimize the water-related consequences of climate change and assessed how these strategies should be taken into consideration by European policies. This article emphasizes that knowledge gaps still exist about the direct effects of climate change on water bodies and their indirect impacts on production areas that employ large amounts of water (e.g., agriculture). Some sectors, such as ecohydrology and alternative sewage treatment technologies, could represent a powerful tool to mitigate climate change impacts. Research needs in these still novel fields are summarized.

Levocetirizine in persistent allergic rhinitis: continuous or on-demand use? A pilot study.

PubMed

Canonica, Giorgio Walter; Fumagalli, Federica; Guerra, Laura; Baiardini, Ilaria; Compalati, Enrico; Rogkakou, Anthi; Massacane, Pierangela; Gamalero, Cinzia; Riccio, Anna Maria; Scordamaglia, Antonio; Passalacqua, Giovanni

2008-10-01

Allergic rhinitis is a high-prevalence disease that affects quality of life (QOL), sleep quality and productivity of patients. According to the ARIA initiative, it is classified as intermittent and persistent, the latter being the most troublesome. The aim of this randomized, open-label, 6-month, pilot study was to determine whether levocetirizine 5 mg administered continuously once daily in the morning was better than levocetirizine 5 mg on-demand in symptomatic subjects with persistent allergic rhinitis. Total and individual symptom scores were recorded in a diary card throughout the study. QOL, quality of sleep, nasal cytology, rate of drug intake, and safety were also assessed at pre-defined time-points. In all, adult patients (31 in each group) were enrolled, of whom 22 dropped out. Both treatment regimens considerably decreased the total and individual symptoms scores from baseline and achieved similar levels up to week 14. Continuous treatment was generally better than on-demand from week 15 onwards, reaching statistical significance from weeks 17 to 21 (from week 19 to 21 for nasal pruritus). Both regimens substantially improved QOL and sleep quality. Both treatments were well tolerated, although the on-demand group reported more adverse events. The present open label study in 62 patients indicates that levocetirizine 5 mg reliably controls persistent rhinitis over a period of 6 months, and shows a trend to be more effective in controlling the symptoms of rhinitis, improving QOL and decreasing nasal inflammation, when administered as long-term continuous therapy rather than as on-demand therapy.

A Human Serum-Based Enzyme-Free Continuous Glucose Monitoring Technique Using a Needle-Type Bio-Layer Interference Sensor

PubMed Central

Seo, Dongmin; Paek, Sung-Ho; Oh, Sangwoo; Seo, Sungkyu; Paek, Se-Hwan

2016-01-01

The incidence of diabetes is continually increasing, and by 2030, it is expected to have increased by 69% and 20% in underdeveloped and developed countries, respectively. Therefore, glucose sensors are likely to remain in high demand in medical device markets. For the current study, we developed a needle-type bio-layer interference (BLI) sensor that can continuously monitor glucose levels. Using dialysis procedures, we were able to obtain hypoglycemic samples from commercial human serum. These dialysis-derived samples, alongside samples of normal human serum were used to evaluate the utility of the sensor for the detection of the clinical interest range of glucose concentrations (70–200 mg/dL), revealing high system performance for a wide glycemic state range (45–500 mg/dL). Reversibility and reproducibility were also tested over a range of time spans. Combined with existing BLI system technology, this sensor holds great promise for use as a wearable online continuous glucose monitoring system for patients in a hospital setting. PMID:27669267

Simulated effects of ground-water management scenarios on the Santa Fe group aquifer system, Middle Rio Grande Basin, New Mexico, 2001-40

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bexfield, Laura M.; McAda, Douglas P.

2003-01-01

Future conditions in the Santa Fe Group aquifer system through 2040 were simulated using the most recent revision of the U.S. Geological Survey groundwater- flow model for the Middle Rio Grande Basin. Three simulations were performed to investigate the likely effects of different scenarios of future groundwater pumping by the City of Albuquerque on the ground-water system. For simulation I, pumping was held constant at known year-2000 rates. For simulation II, pumping was increased to simulate the use of pumping to meet all projected city water demand through 2040. For simulation III, pumpingwas reduced in accordance with a plan by the City of Albuquerque to use surfacewater to meet most of the projectedwater demand. The simulations indicate that for each of the three pumping scenarios, substantial additional watertable declines would occur in some areas of the basin through 2040. However, the reduced pumping scenario of simulation III also results in water-table rise over a broad area of the city. All three scenarios indicate that the contributions of aquifer storage and river leakage to the ground-water system would change between 2000 and 2040. Comparisons among the results for simulations I, II, and III indicate that the various pumping scenarios have substantially different effects on water-level declines in the Albuquerque area and on the contribution of each water-budget component to the total budget for the ground-water system. Between 2000 and 2040, water-level declines for continued pumping at year-2000 rates are as much as 120 feet greater than for reduced pumping; water-level declines for increased pumping to meet all projected city demand are as much as 160 feet greater. Over the same time period, reduced pumping results in retention in aquifer storage of about 1,536,000 acre-feet of ground water as compared with continued pumping at year- 2000 rates and of about 2,257,000 acre-feet as compared with increased pumping. The quantity of water retained in the Rio Grande as a result of reduced pumping and the associated decrease in induced recharge from the river is about 731,000 acre-feet as compared with continued pumping at year-2000 rates and about 872,000 acre-feet as compared with increased pumping. Reduced pumping results in slight increases in the quantity of water lost from the groundwater system to evapotranspiration and agriculturaldrain flow compared with the other pumping scenarios.

APEC's greener energy outlook

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Isa, A. M.; Samuelson, R. D.

2013-06-01

The APEC member economies combined accounts for more than 50% of the world's GDP and consume almost 60% of the world's energy. Under the 2011 Honolulu Declaration, APEC Leaders have set an aspirational goal to reduce APEC's aggregate energy intensity by 45 percent by 2035, compared to 2005 levels. This article summarises the results from an APEC-wide study on APEC energy demand and supply outlook from 2010 to 2035. Our business-as-usual projections show that by 2035, APEC energy demand will have increased by 40% of 2010 levels. We also found that historical trends for declining energy intensity will continue and that APEC will likely achieve its aspirational intensity reduction goal. However, our results also suggest that CO2 emissions will continue to rise and energy security will become less assured. Recognizing these vulnerabilities, APEC has already initiated a broad range of activities to achieve its 'green growth' objectives. While these have been fairly successful in guiding APEC economies towards a path of more sustainable development, these efforts will need to be intensified further to avoid serious environmental degradation.

[Community marketing of contraceptives].

PubMed

Urrutia, J M

1987-09-01

The 5-year-old community contraceptive distribution program developed by PROFAMILIA, Colombia's private family planning organization, has given excellent results, but several cost-effectiveness comparisons with social marketing programs have suggested that commercial distribution programs are superior. The community contraceptive distribution program has a high content of information and education activities, which produced significant increases in knowledge and use of contraception in the communities covered. It has been a fundamental support for the social marketing program, creating much of the demand for contraceptive products that the social marketing program has filled. The social marketing program has given good results in terms of volume of sales and in cost-effectiveness since 1976, prompting calls for replacement of the community contraceptive distribution program by the social marketing program in those sectors where knowledge and use of contraception have achieved acceptable levels. An experiment in the Department of Santander in 1984 and 1985 gave very favorable results, suggesting that community contraceptive distribution programs should be replaced by social marketing programs in all more developed markets. But economic problems in 1985 and the decision of manufacturers to decrease the profit margin for PROFAMILIA jeopardized the social marketing program. The community distribution program covered about 20% of the market. Reduced profits in the social marketing program threatened its continued expansion, at the same time that potential demand was growing because of increases in the fertile aged population and increased use of contraception. To meet the need, PROFAMILIA combined the community contraceptive distribution and social marketing programs into a new entity to be called community marketing. The strategy of the community marketing program will be to maintain PROFAMILIA's participation in the market and aid the growth of demand for contraceptives through educational and informational activities. The distribution scheme must continue to cover all the established points of sale in pharmacies despite the reduced profit margins.

Projections of Demand for Waterborne Transportation, Ohio River Basin, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2020, 2040. Volume 1. Study Summary.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-12-01

NOTES 3 19. KEY WORDS (Continue on revere side If n.cessary d Identify by block number) Bulk cargo Market demand analysis Commodity resource inventory...The study included a Commodity Resource Inventory, a Modal Split Analysis and a Market Demand Analysis. The work included investigation and analyses...inventory, a modal split analysis and a market demand analysis. The work included investigation and analyses of the production, transportation, and

A guide to selected non-timber forest products of the Hayfork Adaptive Management Area, Shasta-Trinity and Six Rivers National Forests, California

Treesearch

Yvonne Everett

1997-01-01

Demand for non-timber forest products (NTFPs) is increasing, and growing numbers of people are enhancing their incomes by harvesting NTFPs from the wild. If forest ecosystems are to continue to produce NTFPs in the long run, harvesters must learn how to gather them in ways that minimize harvest damage to woods and wildlife. This guide, developed in a collaborative,...

Driving Innovation in Radiology: A Summary of the 2015 Intersociety Committee Summer Conference.

PubMed

Dodd, Gerald D; Restauri, Nicole L; Kondo, Kimi L; Lewis, Petra J

2016-12-01

The membership of the Intersociety Committee convened to consider how best to continue to stimulate, nurture, and support innovation in radiologic research and education in the face of ever increasing clinical demands and financial constraints. The topic was chosen in recognition that the growth and success of radiology over the past 50-plus years have been driven by spectacular technological developments in imaging and intervention and that the future relevance of the specialty will hinge on how the specialty continues to evolve. To keep radiology a dynamic and vital component of the health care enterprise will require continued innovation in technology and the requisite education that goes with it. Copyright © 2016 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Southeast Asia's import demand for skim milk powder: Implications for US exporters.

PubMed

Davis, C G; Cessna, J G; Blayney, D P

2018-05-01

Dairy industries in Southeast Asia are small and produce less than the domestic market demands. As expenditure and population grow in Southeast Asia, it is expected that the expenditures on skim milk powder (SMP) will grow. In this study, we examined the competitiveness of US SMP in the Southeast Asian market with respect to other leading dairy exporters, including the European Union (EU-28), New Zealand, and Australia. Using monthly data from 2006 to 2015, Rotterdam models were used to estimate import demands for SMP in 4 Southeast Asian countries. In a scenario using annual averages from 2013 to 2015 as a baseline, our findings suggest that a 10% reduction in the US price of SMP would cause Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines SMP imports from the United States to increase by 3.96, 0.44, 2.68, and 1.94 kt, respectively. Under the same scenario, the value of US SMP imports would decrease for Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines by $4.12, $2.93, and $2.48 million, respectively; however, the value of US SMP to Singapore would increase by $0.20 million. Singapore and Indonesia expenditures for the US SMP are elastic, which means that as expenditure and population in Southeast Asia continue to grow, a 1% increase in SMP expenditure in Singapore and Indonesia would result in 1.25 and 1.20% increases in US SMP exports. Copyright © 2018 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluating the sustainability of an energy supply system using renewable energy sources: An energy demand assessment of South Carolina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, Cedric Fitzgerald

Sustainable energy is defined as a dynamic harmony between the equitable availability of energy-intensive goods and services to all people and the preservation of the earth for future generations. Sustainable energy development continues to be a major focus within the government and regulatory governing bodies in the electric utility industry. This is as a result of continued demand for electricity and the impact of greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generating plants on the environment by way of the greenhouse effect. A culmination of increasing concerns about climate change, the nuclear incident in Fukushima four years ago, and discussions on energy security in a world with growing energy demand have led to a movement for increasing the share of power generation from renewable energy sources. This work studies demand for electricity from primarily residential, commercial, agricultural, and industrial customers in South Carolina (SC) and its effect on the environment from coal-fired electricity generating plants. Moreover, this work studies sustainable renewable energy source-options based on the renewable resources available in the state of SC, as viable options to supplement generation from coal-fired electricity generating plants. In addition, greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants from primarily coal-fired plants will be defined and quantified. Fundamental renewable energy source options will be defined and quantified based on availability and sustainability of SC's natural resources. This work studies the environmental, economic, and technical aspects of each renewable energy source as a sustainable energy option to replace power generation from coal-fired plants. Additionally, social aspect implications will be incorporated into each of the three aspects listed above, as these aspects are explored during the research and analysis. Electricity demand data and alternative energy source-supply data in SC are carried out and are used to develop and run the Sustainable Systems Analysis Algorithm (SSAA) and the multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) decision models. The following alternative energy sources for electricity (kilo- and megawatt output) will be assessed in this paper: solar, biomass and biofuels, hydro, geothermal, onshore wind, offshore wind, tidal, and natural gas. The SSAA methodology, in conjunction with the MCDA model techniques, will be used to obtain sustainable, alternative energy source system options; the system will attempt to balance its three linked aspects (environmental, economic, and technical). The results, based on the Sustainability Directive three-dimensional vector calculations from each alternative energy source option, are presented in this paper. Moving towards sustainability is a dynamically changing process, and the SSAA methodology is a synergist for system modifications that strives for continuous improvement toward the Ideal Sustainability Directive.

Sustaining a Global Geoscience Workforce-The Case for International Collaboration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leahy, P. P.; Keane, C. M.

2013-05-01

Maintaining an adequate global supply of qualified geoscientists is a major challenge facing the profession. With global population expected to exceed 9 billion by midcentury, the demand for geoscience expertise is expected to dramatically increase if we are to provide to society the resource base, environmental quality, and resiliency to natural hazards that is required to meet future global demands. The American Geoscience Institute (AGI) has for the past 50 years tracked the supply of geoscientists and their various areas of specialty for the US. However, this is only part of the necessary workforce analysis, the demand side must also be determined. For the past several years, AGI has worked to acquire estimates for workforce demand in the United States. The analysis suggests that by 2021 there will be between 145,000 to 202,000 unfilled jobs in the US. This demand can be partially filled with an increase in graduates (which is occurring at an insufficient pace in the US to meet full demand), increased migration of geoscientists internationally to the US (a challenge since demands are increasing globally), and more career placement of bachelor degree recipients. To understand the global workforce dynamic, it is critical that accurate estimates of global geoscience supply, demand and retirement be available. Although, AGI has focused on the US situation, it has developed international collaborations to acquire workforce data. Among the organizations that have contributed are UNESCO, the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), the Young Earth-Scientists Network, and the Geological Society of Africa. Among the areas of international collaboration, the IUGS Task Group on Global Geoscience Workforce enables the IUGS to take a leadership role in raising the quality of understanding of workforce across the world. During the course of the taskforce's efforts, several key understandings have emerged. First, the general supply of geoscientists is quantifiable with the caveat that the definition of what constitutes a geoscientist does vary from country to country and region to region. Second, the flow of geoscience talent is both complex and dynamic as there are distinct sources and sinks for talent, but as economic conditions and resource demands vary, the migratory paths appear to change rapidly. Finally, the issue of a nationality of a geoscientist is a much more complex concept than it might appear. With the educational centers not always mapping to where demand is, coupled with a truly global geoscience economic enterprise, tracking geoscientists is problematic. As global demand for geoscience continues, measuring the supply and demand globally will become even more critical for geoscientists, their employers, their schools, and their societies to understand to support a healthy profession. However, in the data collection efforts, specific gaps of data are persistent, especially in Latin America where efforts have never been able to be carried beyond initial consultations, and concerns about reported numbers from less open countries expressed by ex-pats regarding what has been reported by those institutions. A truly global and open collaboration is key for the health of the profession in the 21st Century.

On-demand anakinra treatment is effective in mevalonate kinase deficiency.

PubMed

Bodar, E J; Kuijk, L M; Drenth, J P H; van der Meer, J W M; Simon, A; Frenkel, J

2011-12-01

Mevalonate kinase deficiency (MKD) is a hereditary autoinflammatory syndrome marked by recurrent attacks of fever and inflammation. Severe enzyme deficiency results in mevalonic aciduria (MA) and milder deficiency in hyperimmunoglobulin D syndrome (HIDS). Treatment remains a challenge. To observe the effect of the recombinant interleukin-1 receptor antagonist anakinra in patients with MKD. A prospective observational study was undertaken. Two patients with MA started continuous treatment with anakinra (1-2 mg/kg/day) and nine patients with HIDS chose between continuous treatment and on-demand treatment (starting at first symptoms of attack, 100 mg/day or 1 mg/kg/day for 5-7 days). Anakinra induced partial remission in one patient with MA but there was no response in the other patient with MA. In one patient with HIDS continuous treatment induced complete remission for 7 months but was stopped because of side effects. Eight patients with HIDS preferred on-demand treatment from the start. This induced a clinical response (≥50% reduction in duration) in 8 of 12 treated attacks without a change in attack frequency. Anakinra prevented fever attacks due to vaccination without inhibiting antibody induction. No major side effects were seen. On-demand treatment with anakinra in HIDS decreases the duration and severity of fever attacks. Because of the burden of daily injections and relatively long asymptomatic intervals of HIDS, all patients with HIDS preferred on-demand treatment.

Health care: economic impact of caring for geriatric patients.

PubMed

Rich, Preston B; Adams, Sasha D

2015-02-01

National health care expenditures constitute a continuously expanding component of the US economy. Health care resources are distributed unequally among the population, and geriatric patients are disproportionately represented. Characterizing this group of individuals that accounts for the largest percentage of US health spending may facilitate the introduction of targeted interventions in key high-impact areas. Changing demographics, an increasing incidence of chronic disease and progressive disability, rapid technological advances, and systemic market failures in the health care sector combine to drive cost. A multidisciplinary approach will become increasingly necessary to balance the delicate relationship between our constrained supply and increasing demand. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Trends in the energy market after World War II (WW II)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swart, K.

1992-01-01

After WW II, trends developed in the energy markets that continued virtually unbroken till 1972. The main trend was the strong growth of oil as a percentage of total energy consumed. Not only did oil monopolise the rapidly growing transportation market but it also penetrated rapidly into the stationary energy market. In the second half of the sixties, after the discovery of the Groningen Gas field, pipeline natural gas took a sizable share of the domestic and commercial energy market in Western Europe. This market was mainly fed by gas from Groningen, the North Sea and Russia. Another trend was the steady growth of electricity as a percentage of the stationary market partly based on nuclear energy. Coal was the loser. This rather steady development was upset by the first oil crisis in 1972. This crisis was a political crisis which had little to do with the physical availability of crude oil. Between 1972 and the present, periods of reasonable price stability were interrupted by violent swings in the price of oil and gas. Moreover, during this period the environmental movement became a major influence in the energy field. Notwithstanding the generally unstable market, some new trends developed after 1972 and some old ones continued. Will these trends continue long enough to be useful for making a scenario for the future? The forecaster should not assume that the development of energy consumption in the USA, Western Europe and Japan will continue to be of overwhelming importance. Developments in South East Asia and Eastern Europe should be watched very carefully. There are reasons to believe that at a certain stage in economic development, transportation demand shoots up much faster than economic growth, leading to a rapid demand growth for distillate oil. Of importance is also how will the rapidly developing countries generate their increasing demand for electricity and how will they fuel their industry? There can be little doubt that in the rich countries environmental concern will be a major influence in the energy market. But in developing countries environmental concerns take second place to economic growth. Though political influences are impossible to predict, they will continue to upset forecasts based on trends.

Sustainability assessment of regional water resources under the DPSIR framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Shikun; Wang, Yubao; Liu, Jing; Cai, Huanjie; Wu, Pute; Geng, Qingling; Xu, Lijun

2016-01-01

Fresh water is a scarce and critical resource in both natural and socioeconomic systems. Increasing populations combined with an increasing demand for water resources have led to water shortages worldwide. Current water management strategies may not be sustainable, and comprehensive action should be taken to minimize the water budget deficit. Sustainable water resources management is essential because it ensures the integration of social, economic, and environmental issues into all stages of water resources management. This paper establishes the indicators to evaluate the sustainability of water utilization based on the Drive-Pressure-Status-Impact-Response (DPSIR) model. Based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method, a comprehensive assessment of changes to the sustainability of the water resource system in the city of Bayannur was conducted using these indicators. The results indicate that there is an increase in the driving force of local water consumption due to changes in society, economic development, and the consumption structure of residents. The pressure on the water system increased, whereas the status of the water resources continued to decrease over the study period due to the increasing drive indicators. The local government adopted a series of response measures to relieve the decreasing water resources and alleviate the negative effects of the increasing driver in demand. The response measures improved the efficiency of water usage to a large extent, but the large-scale expansion in demands brought a rebounding effect, known as ;Jevons paradox; At the same time, the increasing emissions of industrial and agriculture pollutants brought huge pressures to the regional water resources environment, which caused a decrease in the sustainability of regional water resources. Changing medium and short-term factors, such as regional economic pattern, technological levels, and water utilization practices, can contribute to the sustainable utilization of regional water resources.

Satellite Supported Estimates of Human Rate of NPP Carbon Use on Land: Challenges Ahead

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Imhoff, M. L.; Bounoua, L.; Zhang, P.; Wolfe, R. E.

2010-12-01

The human demand for products of photosynthesis is a powerful measure of the aggregate impact of human action on the biosphere and indicator of societal vulnerability to climate change. We show results from several studies that use satellite and statistical data to estimate the amount of Earth’s net primary production (NPP) on land required to support regional and global use of food, fiber and NPP-based fuel products across a ten-year period. Earth’s planetary NPP ‘supply’ was estimated using AVHRR vegetation index and MODIS derived NPP products to establish a baseline extending from 1982 - 2005. NPP carbon ‘demand’ was estimated by applying biophysical models to consumption data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization to calculate the annual amount of NPP required for the products consumed. Results show that globally, humans consume more than 20% of Earth’s total net primary production on land and that both populations and per capita consumption increased between 1995 and 2005. Regionally, the NPP-carbon balance percentage varies from 6% to over 70% and locally from near 0% to over 30,000% in major urban areas. Large uncertainties exist in both supply and demand calculations but while the supply trend varies in sign demand continues to rise. Scenarios modeling the impact of per capita consumption, population growth, and technology suggest that NPP demand as percent of supply is likely to increase substantially in the next 40 years despite better harvesting and processing efficiencies.

Energy demand and population change.

PubMed

Allen, E L; Edmonds, J A

1981-09-01

During the post World War 2 years energy consumption has grown 136% while population grew about 51%; per capita consumption of energy expanded, therefore, about 60%. For a given population size, demographic changes mean an increase in energy needs; for instance the larger the group of retirement age people, the smaller their energy needs than are those for a younger group. Estimates indicate that by the year 2000 the energy impact will be toward higher per capita consumption with 60% of the population in the 19-61 age group of workers. Rising female labor force participation will increase the working group even more; it has also been found that income and energy grow at a proportional rate. The authors predict that gasoline consumption within the US will continue to rise with availability considering the larger number of female drivers and higher per capita incomes. The flow of illegal aliens (750,000/year) will have a major impact on income and will use greater amounts of energy than can be expected. A demographic change which will lower energy demands will be the slowdown of the rate of household formation caused by the falling number of young adults. The response of energy demand to price changes is small and slow but incomes play a larger role as does the number of personal automobiles and social changes affecting household formation. Households, commercial space, transportation, and industry are part of every demand analysis and population projections play a major role in determining these factors.

How long can global ecological overshoot last?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McBain, Bonnie; Lenzen, Manfred; Wackernagel, Mathis; Albrecht, Glenn

2017-08-01

The ability of the Ecological Footprint to communicate complex environmental information in a clear and accessible way is well known; however, with growing environmental complexity, we will require increasingly sophisticated environmental indicators to inform our decisions. We have developed an integrated and dynamic global model to investigate future trajectories of the Ecological Footprint. Under a range of futures and without the mitigation of human resource demand, we find that the discrepancy between global demand and renewable supply of resources is likely to increase. Continued overshoot, although possible in the short term, means the global community is increasingly exposed to risks of environmental collapse due to the approach of at least two planetary boundaries relating to land use expansion and climate change. We show that, the Ecological Footprint trajectory and the time between the commencement of ecological overshoot and ecological collapse is sensitive to global technological, economic and population policy decisions. Importantly, this work presents a tool which can be used to support transdisciplinary decision-maker collaborations examining the risk associated with alternative policy options in the face of uncertainty at multiple scales.

Enabling Higher Data Rates for Planetary Science Missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deutsch, L. J.; Townes, S. A.; Lazio, J.; Bell, D. J.; Chahat, N. E.; Kovalik, J. M.; Kuperman, I.; Sauder, J.; Liebrecht, P. E.

2017-12-01

The data rate from deep space spacecraft has increased by more than 10 orders of magnitude since the first lunar missions in the 1960s. The demand for increased data rates has stemmed from the increasing sophistication of the science questions being addressed and the concomitant increase in the complexity of the missions themselves (from fly-by to orbit to land and rove). Projections for the next few decades suggest the demand for data rates for deep space missions will continue to increase by approximately one order of magnitude every decade, driven by these same factors. Achieving higher data rates requires a partnership between the spacecraft and the ground system. We describe a series of technology developments for flight telecommunications systems, both at radio frequency (RF) and optical, to enable spacecraft to transmit and receive larger data volumes. These technology developments include deployable high gain antennas for small spacecraft, re-programmable software-defined radios, and optical communication packages designed for CubeSat form factors. The intent is that these developments would provide enhancements in capability for both spacecraft-Earth and spacecraft-spacecraft telecommunications. We also describe the future planning for NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN), which remains the prime conduit for data from all planetary science missions. Through a combination of new antennas and backends being installed over the next five years and incorporation of optical communications, the DSN aims to ensure that the historical improvements in data rates and volumes will continue for many decades. Part of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Projections of Demand for Waterborne Transportation, Ohio River Basin, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2020, 2040. Volume 10. Group VIII. Iron Ore, Steel and Iron.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-12-01

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 19. KEY WORDS (Continue on reverse aide if neceeary aod identify by block number) Bulk cargo Market demand analysis Iron Commodity resource...shown below. The study included a Commodity Resource Inventory, a Modal Split Analysis and a Market Demand Analysis. The work included investigation...resource inventory, a modal split analysis and a market demand analysis. The work included investigation and analyses of the production

Using Sorties vs. Flying Hours to Predict Aircraft Spares Demand

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-04-01

the war plans, the demand for air- craft spares was substantially less than expected. This expected demand was based on the standard U.S. Air Force...by some combination of them. The Air Force’s new war plans for tactical aircraft in the 1993 USAF War and Mobilization Plan, Volume 5 (WMP-5) have...to continue to use flying hours as the basis for predicting wartime demand from peacetime experience, the cost of the war - time spares requirement

Simulation of projected water demand and ground-water levels in the Coffee Sand and Eutaw-McShan aquifers in Union County, Mississippi, 2010 through 2050

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hutson, Susan S.; Strom, E.W.; Burt, D.E.; Mallory, M.J.

2000-01-01

Ground water from the Eutaw-McShan and the Coffee Sand aquifers is the major source of supply for residential, commercial, and industrial purposes in Union County, Mississippi. Unbiased, scientifically sound data and assessments are needed to assist agencies in better understanding and managing available water resources as continuing development and growth places more stress on available resources. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Tennessee Valley Authority, conducted an investigation using water-demand and ground-water models to evaluate the effect of future water demand on groundwater levels. Data collected for the 12 public-supply facilities and the self-supplied commercial and industrial facilities in Union County were used to construct water-demand models. The estimates of water demand to year 2050 were then input to a ground-water model based on the U.S. Geological Survey finite-difference computer code, MODFLOW. Total ground-water withdrawals for Union County in 1998 were estimated as 2.85 million gallons per day (Mgal/d). Of that amount, municipal withdrawals were 2.55 Mgal/d with about 1.50 Mgal/d (59 percent) delivered to residential users. Nonmunicipal withdrawals were 0.296 Mgal/d. About 80 percent (2.27 Mgal/d) of the total ground-water withdrawal is produced from the Eutaw-McShan aquifer and about 13 percent (0.371 Mgal/d) from the Coffee Sand aquifer. Between normal- and high-growth conditions, total water demand could increase from 72 to 131 percent (2.9 Mgal/d in 1998 to 6.7 Mgal/d in year 2050) with municipal demand increasing from 77 to 146 percent (2.6 to 6.4 Mgal/d). Increased pumping to meet the demand for water was simulated to determine the effect on water levels in the Coffee Sand and Eutaw- McShan aquifers. Under baseline-growth conditions, increased water use by year 2050 could result in an additional 65 feet of drawdown in the New Albany area below year 2000 water levels in the Coffee Sand aquifer and about 120 feet of maximum drawdown in the Eutaw-McShan aquifer. Under normal-growth conditions, increased water use could result in an additional 65 feet of drawdown in the New Albany area below year 2000 water levels in the Coffee Sand aquifer and about 135 feet of maximum drawdown in the Eutaw-McShan aquifer. Under high-growth conditions, increased water use could result in 75 feet of drawdown in the New Albany area below year 2000 water levels in the Coffee Sand aquifer and about 190 feet of maximum drawdown in the Eutaw-McShan aquifer. The resulting highgrowth projected water level for the year 2050 at the center of the drawdown cone in the New Albany area is between 450 and 500 feet above the top of the Eutaw-McShan aquifer.

A Stated Preference Investigation into the Chinese Demand for Farmed vs. Wild Bear Bile

PubMed Central

Dutton, Adam J.; Hepburn, Cameron; Macdonald, David W.

2011-01-01

Farming of animals and plants has recently been considered not merely as a more efficient and plentiful supply of their products but also as a means of protecting wild populations from that trade. Amongst these nascent farming products might be listed bear bile. Bear bile has been exploited by traditional Chinese medicinalists for millennia. Since the 1980s consumers have had the options of: illegal wild gall bladders, bile extracted from caged live bears or the acid synthesised chemically. Despite these alternatives bears continue to be harvested from the wild. In this paper we use stated preference techniques using a random sample of the Chinese population to estimate demand functions for wild bear bile with and without competition from farmed bear bile. We find a willingness to pay considerably more for wild bear bile than farmed. Wild bear bile has low own price elasticity and cross price elasticity with farmed bear bile. The ability of farmed bear bile to reduce demand for wild bear bile is at best limited and, at prevailing prices, may be close to zero or have the opposite effect. The demand functions estimated suggest that the own price elasticity of wild bear bile is lower when competing with farmed bear bile than when it is the only option available. This means that the incumbent product may actually sell more items at a higher price when competing than when alone in the market. This finding may be of broader interest to behavioural economists as we argue that one explanation may be that as product choice increases price has less impact on decision making. For the wildlife farming debate this indicates that at some prices the introduction of farmed competition might increase the demand for the wild product. PMID:21799733

Nuclear fuels policy. Report of the Atlantic Council's Nuclear Fuels Policy Working Group

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1976-01-01

This Policy Paper recommends the actions deemed necessary to assure that future U.S. and non-Communist countries' nuclear fuels supply will be adequate, considering the following: estimates of modest growth in overall energy demand, electrical energy demand, and nuclear electrical energy demand in the U.S. and abroad, predicated upon the continuing trends involving conservation of energy, increased use of electricity, and moderate economic growth (Chap. I); possibilities for the development and use of all domestic resources providing energy alternatives to imported oil and gas, consonant with current environmental, health, and safety concerns (Chap. II); assessment of the traditional energy sources whichmore » provide current alternatives to nuclear energy (Chap. II); evaluation of realistic expectations for additional future energy supplies from prospective technologies: enhanced recovery from traditional sources and development and use of oil shales and synthetic fuels from coal, fusion and solar energy (Chap. II); an accounting of established nuclear technology in use today, in particular the light water reactor, used for generating electricity (Chap. III); an estimate of future nuclear technology, in particular the prospective fast breeder (Chap. IV); current and projected nuclear fuel demand and supply in the U.S. and abroad (Chaps. V and VI); the constraints encountered today in meeting nuclear fuels demand (Chap. VII); and the major unresolved issues and options in nuclear fuels supply and use (Chap. VIII). The principal conclusions and recommendations (Chap. IX) are that the U.S. and other industrialized countries should strive for increased flexibility of primary energy fuel sources, and that a balanced energy strategy therefore depends on the secure supply of energy resources and the ability to substitute one form of fuel for another.« less

A stated preference investigation into the Chinese demand for farmed vs. wild bear bile.

PubMed

Dutton, Adam J; Hepburn, Cameron; Macdonald, David W

2011-01-01

Farming of animals and plants has recently been considered not merely as a more efficient and plentiful supply of their products but also as a means of protecting wild populations from that trade. Amongst these nascent farming products might be listed bear bile. Bear bile has been exploited by traditional Chinese medicinalists for millennia. Since the 1980s consumers have had the options of: illegal wild gall bladders, bile extracted from caged live bears or the acid synthesised chemically. Despite these alternatives bears continue to be harvested from the wild. In this paper we use stated preference techniques using a random sample of the Chinese population to estimate demand functions for wild bear bile with and without competition from farmed bear bile. We find a willingness to pay considerably more for wild bear bile than farmed. Wild bear bile has low own price elasticity and cross price elasticity with farmed bear bile. The ability of farmed bear bile to reduce demand for wild bear bile is at best limited and, at prevailing prices, may be close to zero or have the opposite effect. The demand functions estimated suggest that the own price elasticity of wild bear bile is lower when competing with farmed bear bile than when it is the only option available. This means that the incumbent product may actually sell more items at a higher price when competing than when alone in the market. This finding may be of broader interest to behavioural economists as we argue that one explanation may be that as product choice increases price has less impact on decision making. For the wildlife farming debate this indicates that at some prices the introduction of farmed competition might increase the demand for the wild product.

Attention during active visual tasks: counting, pointing, or simply looking

PubMed Central

Wilder, John D.; Schnitzer, Brian S.; Gersch, Timothy M.; Dosher, Barbara A.

2009-01-01

Visual attention and saccades are typically studied in artificial situations, with stimuli presented to the steadily fixating eye, or saccades made along specified paths. By contrast, in the real world saccadic patterns are constrained only by the demands of the motivating task. We studied attention during pauses between saccades made to perform 3 free-viewing tasks: counting dots, pointing to the same dots with a visible cursor, or simply looking at the dots using a freely-chosen path. Attention was assessed by the ability to identify the orientation of a briefly-presented Gabor probe. All primary tasks produced losses in identification performance, with counting producing the largest losses, followed by pointing and then looking-only. Looking-only resulted in a 37% increase in contrast thresholds in the orientation task. Counting produced more severe losses that were not overcome by increasing Gabor contrast. Detection or localization of the Gabor, unlike identification, were largely unaffected by any of the primary tasks. Taken together, these results show that attention is required to control saccades, even with freely-chosen paths, but the attentional demands of saccades are less than those attached to tasks such as counting, which have a significant cognitive load. Counting proved to be a highly demanding task that either exhausted momentary processing capacity (e.g., working memory or executive functions), or, alternatively, encouraged a strategy of filtering out all signals irrelevant to counting itself. The fact that the attentional demands of saccades (as well as those of detection/localization) are relatively modest makes it possible to continually adjust both the spatial and temporal pattern of saccades so as to re-allocate attentional resources as needed to handle the complex and multifaceted demands of real-world environments. PMID:18649913

7 CFR 1403.11 - Administrative appeal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION, DEPARTMENT... within 15 days of the date of CCC's initial demand letter, unless a longer period is specified in the initial demand letter. [56 FR 66956, Dec. 27, 1991] ...

Transportation for a competitive America

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-01-01

The transportation system in the United States is at a critical juncture. The system : carries more people and goods than ever before, and travel demand is certain to : continue to grow. Failure to accommodate that demand will threaten our ability to...

Analysis of carbon emission regulations in supply chains with volatile demand.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2014-07-01

This study analyzes an inventory control problem of a company in stochastic demand environment under carbon emissions : regulations. In particular, a continuous review inventory model with multiple suppliers is investigated under carbon taxing and ca...

[Profile of the Emergency demand and influence of televised soccer games on an extra-hospital center in the Tafalla health care district. Navarre, Spain].

PubMed

Pérez-Ciordia, Ignacio; Catalán Fabo, Francisca; Zalacain Nicolay, Fernando; Barriendo Antoñanzas, Maite; Solaegui Diaz de Guereñu, Ramón; Guillén Grima, Francisco

2003-01-01

The demand placed on both hospital as well as extrahospital emergency care units currently continues to increase at a growing rate. This study has a twofold objective: the quantification and study of the personal characteristics of the users who are demanding emergency care and assessing whether televised soccer games have any bearing on the utilization of emergency care services. A longitudinal descriptive study (9,723 users demanding care) and study of cases and controls (1,284 users demanding care) according to whether or not a soccer game was being televised by means of a logistic regression model. The associations were quantified by means of the odds ratio (OR). Those dealt with by telephone or in infirmaries were not included in the study. A total 10.6% of the demand involved home visits, 4.8% of this total having been sent to hospital. A total 13.3% of the demand corresponds to individuals visiting from other healthcare districts, a total of 65 being overusers of emergency care (8 or more visits). The month of August (32.3%). Sundays (44.56%) and the 12:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. timeframe (8.38%) are the times when the greatest demand for care occurs, the differences being statistically significant. Televised soccer games were associated to a 19.8% (p < 0.001) rise in demand as compared to the control period. A high degree of use of the extrahospital emergency care units has been found to exist, a major part of the demand being concentrated at highly specific points in time. A major degree of care is provided to those visiting from outside their own healthcare districts. Television soccer game broadcasts is associated with the greater utilization of the emergency care services.

Dietetics trends as reflected in various primary research projects, 1995-2011.

PubMed

Rogers, Dick

2012-03-01

At the behest of the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) Workforce Demand Task Force, a retrospective examination and reanalysis of 12 primary research projects (sponsored by CDR and/or the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics between 1995 and 2011) was undertaken to identify trends in supply of and demand for registered dietitians (RDs) and dietetic technicians, registered (DTRs). The analysis suggests that supply of RDs (and possibly DTRs) lags slightly behind demand-although, in the case of DTRs, that does not necessarily imply that demand is growing (supply was shrinking throughout most of the study period). The population of both groups is aging, and the number of RDs and DTRs reporting expected retirement in the near future is sure to affect supply/demand relationships. Neither group reflects the US population as a whole in terms of either sex or racial/ethnic diversity, and the trend lines in these areas are essentially flat. RD practice is seen to be moving incrementally toward the clinical arena, in inpatient and (increasingly) outpatient settings. The proportion of RDs in clinical long-term-care, as well as in food/nutrition management and consultation/business practice, is decreasing; a longer-term trend away from foodservice is noted. There is small growth in both the prevalence and the compensation of clinical specialists in areas like renal, pediatrics, and weight management at the expense of more general clinical practitioners. In a trend likely related to the increase in clinical practice, RD positions are gradually losing managerial responsibility. DTRs have experienced a similar phenomenon. For almost all RD positions in the clinical arena, registration as an RD is a requirement for employment, suggesting that clinical employment should continue to grow along with the increasing health care demand from an aging population. The DTR credential is not required at similarly high rates. A major supply issue is the relative shortage of DTRs in certain parts of the country, particularly the South. Major effects from the June 2009 inauguration of the Pathway III route to registration as a DTR have been noted. Copyright © 2012 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Predicting clinical image delivery time by monitoring PACS queue behavior.

PubMed

King, Nelson E; Documet, Jorge; Liu, Brent

2006-01-01

The expectation of rapid image retrieval from PACS users contributes to increased information technology (IT) infrastructure investments to increase performance as well as continuing demands upon PACS administrators to respond to "slow" system performance. The ability to provide predicted delivery times to a PACS user may curb user expectations for "fastest" response especially during peak hours. This, in turn, could result in a PACS infrastructure tailored to more realistic performance demands. A PACS with a stand-alone architecture under peak load typically holds study requests in a queue until the DICOM C-Move command can take place. We investigate the contents of a stand-alone architecture PACS RetrieveSend queue and identified parameters and behaviors that enable a more accurate prediction of delivery time. A prediction algorithm for studies delayed in a stand-alone PACS queue can be extendible to other potential bottlenecks such as long-term storage archives. Implications of a queue monitor in other PACS architectures are also discussed.

Interpreter services in an inner city teaching hospital: a 6-year experience.

PubMed

Khwaja, Nadeem; Sharma, Saroj; Wong, Julian; Murray, David; Ghosh, Jonathan; Murphy, Michael O; Halka, Anastassi T; Walker, Michael G

2006-11-01

Being able to communicate effectively with patients is essential not only from a medicolegal standpoint but more importantly from clinical governance perspectives. Issues such as informed consent and patient choice within the NHS are currently being highlighted; for these to be available to patients, their language requirements are paramount. An audit was performed by the Linkworkers office at the Central Manchester & Manchester Children's Hospital NHS (CMMC) Trust on the total number of attendances and refusals per language in the period 1998-2003. In the CMMC Trust, Urdu/Punjabi, Bengali, Cantonese, Somali, Arabic and French represent the majority of the workload, comprising almost 80% of cases in 2003. In the same year, an increase in demand for languages of Eastern European countries became evident. Finding interpreters for these languages even via agencies can be extremely difficult. If the current trend continues, requirement for these services will increase exponentially. For this demand to be met adequately these issues must be kept at the forefront of NHS planning.

Enhanced methane generation during theromophilic co-digestion of confectionary waste and grease-trap fats and oils with municipal wastewater sludge.

PubMed

Gough, Heidi L; Nelsen, Diane; Muller, Christopher; Ferguson, John

2013-02-01

Recent interest in carbon-neutral biofuels has revived interest in co-digestion for methane generation. At wastewater treatment facilities, organic wastes may be co-digested with sludge using established anaerobic digesters. However, changes to organic loadings may induce digester instability, particularly for thermophilic digesters. To examine this problem, thermophilic (55 degrees C) co-digestion was studied for two food-industry wastes in semi-continuous laboratory digesters; in addition, the wastes' biochemical methane potentials were tested. Wastes with high chemical oxygen demand (COD) content were selected as feedstocks allowing increased input of potential energy to reactors without substantially altering volumetric loadings. Methane generation increased while reactor pH and volatile solids remained stable. Lag periods observed prior to methane stimulation suggested that acclimation of the microbial community may be critical to performance during co-digestion. Chemical oxygen demand mass balances in the experimental and control reactors indicated that all of the food industry waste COD was converted to methane.

The nursing shortage continues as faculty shortage grows.

PubMed

Allen, Linda

2008-01-01

To combat the nursing shortage, efforts to promote nursing as a career have been successful. However, academic nursing institutions are not adequately prepared for this new influx of applicants. The lack of faculty to educate the growing demand for baccalaureate-prepared RNs directly impacts the nursing shortage. The nursing shortage thus directly impacts safe patient care. The main reasons for the lack of faculty to meet the demand for more nurses include the increased age of the current faculty and the declining number of years left to teach, expected increases in faculty retirements, less compensation for academic teaching than positions in clinical areas for master's-prepared nurses, and finally, not enough master's and doctoral-prepared nurses to fill the needed nurse educator positions It is in the best interest of the nursing profession to do what it does best by incorporating the nursing process to solve the faculty shortage and secure its future in order to protect the lives of patients.

The impact of the distance-dependent promotional effect on the promotion cost sharing decision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheen, Gwo-Ji; Wang, Shih-Yen; Yeh, Yingchieh

2016-02-01

This paper considers the promotion cost sharing decision between a supplier and a retailer. The customer demand is affected by both national and local promotional effects while the local promotional effect on a customer is dependent on the distance between the retailer and this customer. We propose a continuous approximation approach to modelling the sum of the customer demand in the whole market area served by the retailer. A model is provided to help managers decide on the retail price, the local advertising expenditure, the national advertising expenditure, and the supplier participation rate, with consideration of the influence of distance on the promotional effect. We also find that the supplier's promotion cost sharing rate increases as the market size increases or the influence of distance on the promotional effect decreases. A numerical example is given to show that the nature of distance-dependent promotional effect has a significant impact on the decisions and profits.

Economic Analysis Case Studies of Battery Energy Storage with SAM

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

DiOrio, Nicholas; Dobos, Aron; Janzou, Steven

2015-11-01

Interest in energy storage has continued to increase as states like California have introduced mandates and subsidies to spur adoption. This energy storage includes customer sited behind-the-meter storage coupled with photovoltaics (PV). This paper presents case study results from California and Tennessee, which were performed to assess the economic benefit of customer-installed systems. Different dispatch strategies, including manual scheduling and automated peak-shaving were explored to determine ideal ways to use the storage system to increase the system value and mitigate demand charges. Incentives, complex electric tariffs, and site specific load and PV data were used to perform detailed analysis. Themore » analysis was performed using the free, publically available System Advisor Model (SAM) tool. We find that installation of photovoltaics with a lithium-ion battery system priced at $300/kWh in Los Angeles under a high demand charge utility rate structure and dispatched using perfect day-ahead forecasting yields a positive net-present value, while all other scenarios cost the customer more than the savings accrued. Different dispatch strategies, including manual scheduling and automated peak-shaving were explored to determine ideal ways to use the storage system to increase the system value and mitigate demand charges. Incentives, complex electric tariffs, and site specific load and PV data were used to perform detailed analysis. The analysis was performed using the free, publically available System Advisor Model (SAM) tool. We find that installation of photovoltaics with a lithium-ion battery system priced at $300/kWh in Los Angeles under a high demand charge utility rate structure and dispatched using perfect day-ahead forecasting yields a positive net-present value, while all other scenarios cost the customer more than the savings accrued.« less

Increased water deficit decreases Douglas fir growth throughout western US forests.

PubMed

Restaino, Christina M; Peterson, David L; Littell, Jeremy

2016-08-23

Changes in tree growth rates can affect tree mortality and forest feedbacks to the global carbon cycle. As air temperature increases, evaporative demand also increases, increasing effective drought in forest ecosystems. Using a spatially comprehensive network of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) chronologies from 122 locations that represent distinct climate environments in the western United States, we show that increased temperature decreases growth via vapor pressure deficit (VPD) across all latitudes. Using an ensemble of global circulation models, we project an increase in both the mean VPD associated with the lowest growth extremes and the probability of exceeding these VPD values. As temperature continues to increase in future decades, we can expect deficit-related stress to increase and consequently Douglas fir growth to decrease throughout its US range.

Increased water deficit decreases Douglas fir growth throughout western US forests

USGS Publications Warehouse

Restaino, Christina M; Peterson, David L.; Littell, Jeremy

2016-01-01

Changes in tree growth rates can affect tree mortality and forest feedbacks to the global carbon cycle. As air temperature increases, evaporative demand also increases, increasing effective drought in forest ecosystems. Using a spatially comprehensive network of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) chronologies from 122 locations that experience distinctly different climate in the western United States, we show that increased temperature decreases growth via vapor pressure deficit (VPD) across all latitudes. Under an ensemble of global circulation models, we project an increase in both the mean VPD associated with the lowest growth extremes and the probability of exceeding these VPD values. As temperature continues to increase in future decades, we can expect deficit-related stress to increase and consequently Douglas-fir growth to decrease throughout its US range.

Increased water deficit decreases Douglas fir growth throughout western US forests

PubMed Central

Restaino, Christina M.; Peterson, David L.; Littell, Jeremy

2016-01-01

Changes in tree growth rates can affect tree mortality and forest feedbacks to the global carbon cycle. As air temperature increases, evaporative demand also increases, increasing effective drought in forest ecosystems. Using a spatially comprehensive network of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) chronologies from 122 locations that represent distinct climate environments in the western United States, we show that increased temperature decreases growth via vapor pressure deficit (VPD) across all latitudes. Using an ensemble of global circulation models, we project an increase in both the mean VPD associated with the lowest growth extremes and the probability of exceeding these VPD values. As temperature continues to increase in future decades, we can expect deficit-related stress to increase and consequently Douglas fir growth to decrease throughout its US range. PMID:27503880

Continuing Professional Education for Licensed Accountants in Tennessee

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lucas, Brian J.

2017-01-01

Accounting is a professional occupation that is continually evolving and requires a dedication to continuing education to meet the legal demands of new regulations and to maintain professional competency. Continuing Professional Education (CPE) is required by state boards for certified public accountants (CPA) to meet these requirements and to…

Demand thrust pumped propulsion with automatic warm gas valving

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitehead, J. C.

1992-06-01

Operation of a thrust-on-demand, monopropellant rocket propulsion system which uses lightweight low-pressure tankage, free-piston pumps, and a small high-pressure thrust chamber, is explained. The pump intake-exhaust valves use warm gas pneumatic signals to ensure that two reciprocating pumps are alternately pressurized, with overlap during switchover to permit uninterrupted propellant flow. Experiments demonstrate that the miniature pumps operate at any speed depending on downstream demand, and can deliver nearly their own mass in hydrazine per second, at 7 MPa (1000 psi). The valves, which use the alternating layers of metal and graphite to mitigate the effects of differential thermal expansion, have been warm-gas tested for thousands of cycles. For biopropellant operation, a pair of reciprocating oxidizer pumps would be slaved to the fuel pumps' pneumatic oscillator, to provide for pulsed or continuous demand-driven flow of both liquids. Mass ratios and thrust-to-weight ratios of demand-thrust pumped propulsion systems compare quite favorably to those of pressure-fed and turbo-pumped systems. Due to the relatively high densities of storable propellants, liquid mass fractions greater than 0.95 are attainable with these novel pumps, with thrust/weight ratios above 10. The high performance potential of small propulsion systems which use reciprocating pumps suggests that this technology can significantly increase the capability of many types of small spacecraft.

Impact of men's perception on family planning demand and uptake in Nigeria.

PubMed

Adanikin, Abiodun Idowu; McGrath, Nuala; Padmadas, Sabu S

2017-12-01

Evidence from the last three Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) in Nigeria shows slow progress in family planning (FP) uptake, despite programmatic interventions. While socioeconomic and religious barriers continue to exist, psychosocial factors such as negative contraceptive perceptions by male partners may influence both spousal FP demand and use. Therefore, this research investigates the influence of male partners' contraceptive perceptions on spousal FP demand and use. We analysed the couple dataset from the 2013 Nigeria DHS. One in five men held the perception that contraceptive use is women's business whereas two in five men reported that women who use family planning may become promiscuous, especially older men, those with no formal education, Muslims and residents in rural areas and northern region. Results from regression models, controlling for relevant sociodemographic characteristics, show that men's perception that contraception is women's business did not significantly influence FP demand. However, their fear that women who use family planning may become promiscuous was associated with lower odds of FP demand (AOR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.76-0.97) and increased the odds of traditional methods use (AOR: 1.34; 95% CI: 1.01-1.79). The findings direct the need to adopt targeted approach focusing on couples, and reorient policy and program efforts for FP counselling and behavioural changes in men. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Anthropogenic impacts on hydrology of Karkheh River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashraf, B.; Aghakouchak, A.; Alizadeh, A.; Mousavi Baygi, M.

2015-12-01

The Karkheh River Basin (KRB) in southwest Iran is a key region for agriculture and energy production. KRB has high human-induced water demand and suffers from low water productivity. The future of the KRB and its growth clearly relies on sustainable water resources and hence, requires a holistic, basin-wide management and monitoring of natural resources (water, soil, vegetation, livestock, etc.). The KRB has dry regions in which water scarcity is a major challenge. In this study, we investigate changes in the hydrology of the basin during the past three decades including human-induced alterations of the system. We evaluate climatic variability, agricultural water use, land cover change and agriculture production. In this reaserch, we have developed a simple indicator for quantifying human influence on the hydrologic cycle. The results show that KRB's hydrology is significantly dominated by human activities. The anthropogenic water demand has increased substantially caused by growth in agriculture industry. In fact, the main reason for water scarcity in the region appears to be due to the increased anthropogenic water demand resulting from substantial socio-economic growth in the past three decades. Our results show that continued growth in the region is not sustainable without considering major changes in water use efficiency, land cover management and water productivity.

Demands For Solar Electricity From The BRICS Countries In The Future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Y.

2015-12-01

BRICS countries are presently among the leading the economic powers globally, but their increasing demands for energy and sustainable future requires renewed technical progress on implementation of renewable energy (e.g., solar energy) and a sustainable solution rather than extracting finite natural resources. BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) face both social and environmental pressures as their economy keeps growing. The rapid development of technology in BRICS inevitably altered their culture and behavior, as reflected by education, gender equality, health, and other demographic/socio-economic indicators. These changes coupled with land use/land cover change have altered ecosystem services, as reflected by NEE (Net Ecosystem Exchange of CO2) and NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index). Global climatic changes also drives the demand for sustainable energy. With a focus on solar energy, we analyzed time series of energy consuming behaviors, government policies, and the ecosystem services. Structural equation modeling was applied to confirm the relationships among societal transition, ecosystem services, and climate change. We compared the energy consumption patterns for the five countries and forecasted the changes through 2025. We found that government policies significantly influenced energy consumption behaviors for BRICS and that solar energy usage would continue to increase to 2025 and beyond.

Developer and realtor perspectives on factors that influence development, sale, and perceived demand for activity-friendly communities.

PubMed

Carnoske, Cheryl; Hoehner, Christine; Ruthmann, Nicholas; Frank, Lawrence; Handy, Susan; Hill, James; Ryan, Sherry; Sallis, James; Glanz, Karen; Brownson, Ross

2010-03-01

Although public support for physical activity-friendly Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TNDs) appears to be growing, information is lacking on private sector perspectives and how economic factors (eg, fuel prices) might influence the development and sale of TNDs. A sample of realtors from the National Association of Realtors (n = 4950) and developers from the National Association of Home Builders (n = 162) were surveyed in early 2009 to assess factors influencing homebuyers' decisions; incentives and barriers to developing TNDs; effects of depressed housing market conditions and financing on sales; trends in buying; and energy considerations (eg, green building). Realtors believed that homebuyers continue to rank affordability, safety and school quality higher than TND amenities. Developers reported numerous barriers to TNDs, including the inability to overcome governmental/political hurdles, lack of cooperation between government agencies, and lack of market demand. Yet, realtors believed clients are increasingly influenced by gas and oil prices, and developers reported that clients are looking for energy efficient homes, reduced commute time, and walkable neighborhoods. Respondents reported consumers are more interested in living in a TND than 5 years ago. Activity-friendly TNDs appear to be increasing in demand, but developers and realtors reported significant barriers to creating these communities.

Developer and Realtor Perspectives on Factors That Influence Development, Sale, and Perceived Demand for Activity-Friendly Communities

PubMed Central

Carnoske, Cheryl; Hoehner, Christine; Ruthmann, Nicholas; Frank, Lawrence; Handy, Susan; Hill, James; Ryan, Sherry; Sallis, James; Glanz, Karen; Brownson, Ross

2013-01-01

Background Although public support for physical activity-friendly Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TNDs) appears to be growing, information is lacking on private sector perspectives and how economic factors (eg, fuel prices) might influence the development and sale of TNDs. Methods A sample of realtors from the National Association of Realtors (n = 4950) and developers from the National Association of Home Builders (n = 162) were surveyed in early 2009 to assess factors influencing homebuyers’ decisions; incentives and barriers to developing TNDs; effects of depressed housing market conditions and financing on sales; trends in buying; and energy considerations (eg, green building). Results Realtors believed that homebuyers continue to rank affordability, safety and school quality higher than TND amenities. Developers reported numerous barriers to TNDs, including the inability to overcome governmental/political hurdles, lack of cooperation between government agencies, and lack of market demand. Yet, realtors believed clients are increasingly influenced by gas and oil prices, and developers reported that clients are looking for energy efficient homes, reduced commute time, and walkable neighborhoods. Respondents reported consumers are more interested in living in a TND than 5 years ago. Conclusions Activity-friendly TNDs appear to be increasing in demand, but developers and realtors reported significant barriers to creating these communities. PMID:20440012

Providing Reliability Services through Demand Response: A Prelimnary Evaluation of the Demand Response Capabilities of Alcoa Inc.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Starke, Michael R; Kirby, Brendan J; Kueck, John D

2009-02-01

Demand response is the largest underutilized reliability resource in North America. Historic demand response programs have focused on reducing overall electricity consumption (increasing efficiency) and shaving peaks but have not typically been used for immediate reliability response. Many of these programs have been successful but demand response remains a limited resource. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) report, 'Assessment of Demand Response and Advanced Metering' (FERC 2006) found that only five percent of customers are on some form of demand response program. Collectively they represent an estimated 37,000 MW of response potential. These programs reduce overall energy consumption, lower greenmore » house gas emissions by allowing fossil fuel generators to operate at increased efficiency and reduce stress on the power system during periods of peak loading. As the country continues to restructure energy markets with sophisticated marginal cost models that attempt to minimize total energy costs, the ability of demand response to create meaningful shifts in the supply and demand equations is critical to creating a sustainable and balanced economic response to energy issues. Restructured energy market prices are set by the cost of the next incremental unit of energy, so that as additional generation is brought into the market, the cost for the entire market increases. The benefit of demand response is that it reduces overall demand and shifts the entire market to a lower pricing level. This can be very effective in mitigating price volatility or scarcity pricing as the power system responds to changing demand schedules, loss of large generators, or loss of transmission. As a global producer of alumina, primary aluminum, and fabricated aluminum products, Alcoa Inc., has the capability to provide demand response services through its manufacturing facilities and uniquely through its aluminum smelting facilities. For a typical aluminum smelter, electric power accounts for 30% to 40% of the factory cost of producing primary aluminum. In the continental United States, Alcoa Inc. currently owns and/or operates ten aluminum smelters and many associated fabricating facilities with a combined average load of over 2,600 MW. This presents Alcoa Inc. with a significant opportunity to respond in areas where economic opportunities exist to help mitigate rising energy costs by supplying demand response services into the energy system. This report is organized into seven chapters. The first chapter is the introduction and discusses the intention of this report. The second chapter contains the background. In this chapter, topics include: the motivation for Alcoa to provide demand response; ancillary service definitions; the basics behind aluminum smelting; and a discussion of suggested ancillary services that would be particularly useful for Alcoa to supply. Chapter 3 is concerned with the independent system operator, the Midwest ISO. Here the discussion examines the evolving Midwest ISO market structure including specific definitions, requirements, and necessary components to provide ancillary services. This section is followed by information concerning the Midwest ISO's classifications of demand response parties. Chapter 4 investigates the available opportunities at Alcoa's Warrick facility. Chapter 5 involves an in-depth discussion of the regulation service that Alcoa's Warrick facility can provide and the current interactions with Midwest ISO. Chapter 6 reviews future plans and expectations for Alcoa providing ancillary services into the market. Last, chapter 7, details the conclusion and recommendations of this paper.« less

Summary appraisals of the Nation's ground-water resources; Missouri Basin region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Taylor, O. James

1978-01-01

Comprehensive water-management planning in the Missouri Basin Region will require periodic or continuing inventory of precipitation, streamflow, surface-water storage, and ground water. Water demands for irrigation, industrial, public supply, and rural use are increasing rapidly. Reliance on ground-water supplies is increasing even though in many areas the ground water is still mostly undeveloped. Optimal use of water supplies will require the establishment of realistic goals and carefully conceived water-management plans, each of which will necessarily be based on an adequate baseline of hydrologic data and knowledge of the highly variable hydrologic systems in the region.

Technology advancement: a factor in increasing resource use

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wilburn, David R.; Goonan, Thomas G.; Bleiwas, Donald I.

2001-01-01

The specter of mineral resource scarcity has been repeatedly raised as a concern because ever-growing populations with seemingly insatiable appetites for minerals place claims against a finite resource endowment. This report analyzes how technology has helped to ease resource constraints, and uses case studies of aluminum, copper, potash, and sulfur minerals to identify the effects of technology on resource supply. In spite of heightened demand for and increased loss of resources to environmental policy and urbanization, mineral producers historically have been able to continually expand production and lower costs. Specific production increases for the years 1900-98 were: aluminum (3,250 percent), copper (2,465 percent), potash (3,770 percent), and sulfur (6,000 percent). For the same period, constant-dollar (1998) prices decreased: aluminum (90 percent), copper (75 percent), potash (94 percent), and sulfur (89 percent). The application of technology has made available mineral deposits that were previously overlooked or considered non-viable. Using technology, producers can meet the demand for stronger, energy-efficient, more environmentally safe products with less physical material. Technologies have been developed to increase the amount of materials recycled and remanufactured. Technology development can occur in breakthroughs, but most often advances incrementally. Technological development is driven by the profit motive.

Department of Defense Operational Energy Strategy: A Content Analysis of Energy Literature from 1973-2014

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-27

Globalization has resulted in increased demand for energy, specifically, crude oil as the primary means to power economic development. As countries continue...represent technologies that produce energy from wind, solar, biomass, hydropower, nuclear power , natural gas, and clean coal (The White House, 2011). On...dollars whereby the largest partition of that money ($11B) was appropriated for development of an electric “smart grid” to digitize power distribution and

Bacterial vaccines: old and new, veterinary and medical.

PubMed

Walker, P D

1992-01-01

Developments in veterinary and medical bacterial vaccines are outlined. In the former case, economic considerations are paramount, and cruder, less purified products of proven efficacy continue to be employed. For human use, however, safety and absence of side effects are increasingly demanded. Various examples of human and veterinary vaccines are discussed, and interaction between the two fields is illustrated by reference to the pig-bel disease in New Guinea and the possible aetiology of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

Selecting services for a service robot: evaluating the problematic activities threatening the independence of elderly persons.

PubMed

Bedaf, Sandra; Gelderblom, Gert Jan; de Witte, Luc; Syrdal, Dag; Lehmann, Hagen; Amirabdollahian, Farshid; Dautenhahn, Kerstin; Hewson, David

2013-06-01

Sustaining independent living for the elderly is desirable both for the individual as well as for societies as a whole. Substantial care interventions are provided to citizens supporting their independent living. Currently, such interventions are primarily based on human care provision, but due to demographic changes the demand for such support is continuously increasing. Assistive Robotics has the potential to answer this growing demand. The notions research towards service robots that support the independence of elderly people has been given increased attention. The challenge is to develop robots that are able to adequately support with those activities that pose the greatest problems for elderly people seeking to remain independent. In order to develop the capabilities of the Care-O-bot 3 in the ACCOMPANY project, problematic activities that may threaten continued independent living of elderly people were studied. Focus groups were conducted in the Netherlands, UK, and France and included three separate user groups: (1) elderly (N=41), (2) formal caregivers (N=40), and (3) informal caregivers (N=32). This resulted in a top 3 of problematic activity domains that received the highest priority: (1) Mobility, (2) Self-care, and (3) Social isolation. The findings inform the further development of the Care-O-bot. In the ACCOMPANY project the Care-O-bot 3 will be developed further to enable it to support independently living older persons in one of these domains.

Evaluation of measures to meet future supply demand gap in Chennai city, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lakshmanan, E.; Paul, N.

2016-12-01

Availability of water forever has daunted all the major cities of the world and the cities of India are no exception. Even with high annual average rainfall of 1200 mm the Chennai city has an availability of just 108 lpcd of water, which is much lower than 150 lpcd prescribed by the World Health Organisation. The water requirement presently is met mainly from five reservoirs and partly from groundwater pumping which has given rise to seawater intrusion. The objective of this study is to find effective measures for overcoming the chronic demand supply gap and to predict the results of such measures quantitatively by modelling with the Water Evaluation and Planning System(WEAP). The modelling of city's water demand and supply system was carried out using WEAP and calibration was done using PEST. The data required for this study was obtained from various sources as well as by field investigations. There has been a continuous decrease in the actual water supply even with high availability as predicted by the model. About 60 percent of the city's supplied water ends in sewage and after treatment is presently supplied to industries, on its reuse it is found to meet completely the city's demand alone. The modelled heavy rainfall scenario demonstrates an increase in the water availability up to 20 percent during the years of heavy rainfall. The rejuvenation of existing water bodies in the outskirts of Chennai will increase the water availability for agriculture by 60 percent and hence more groundwater can be pumped for city's water supply. With addition of a new desalination plant over the existing two, the city's water supply-demand gap can be reduced by about 80%. If all the measures are implemented the water availability will exceed the demand. Thus, the WEAP model was successfully used to suggest means for sustainable water management plans for the Chennai city.

Cereal area and nitrogen use efficiency are drivers of future nitrogen fertilizer consumption.

PubMed

Dobermann, Achim; Cassman, Kenneth G

2005-09-01

At a global scale, cereal yields and fertilizer N consumption have increased in a near-linear fashion during the past 40 years and are highly correlated with one another. However, large differences exist in historical trends of N fertilizer usage and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) among regions, countries, and crops. The reasons for these differences must be understood to estimate future N fertilizer requirements. Global nitrogen needs will depend on: (i) changes in cropped cereal area and the associated yield increases required to meet increasing cereal demand from population and income growth, and (ii) changes in NUE at the farm level. Our analysis indicates that the anticipated 38% increase in global cereal demand by 2025 can be met by a 30% increase in N use on cereals, provided that the steady decline in cereal harvest area is halted and the yield response to applied N can be increased by 20%. If losses of cereal cropping area continue at the rate of the past 20 years (-0.33% per year) and NUE cannot be increased substantially, a 60% increase in global N use on cereals would be required to meet cereal demand. Interventions to increase NUE and reduce N losses to the environment must be accomplished at the farm-or field-scale through a combination of improved technologies and carefully crafted local policies that contribute to the adoption of improved N management; uniform regional or national directives are unlikely to be effective at both sustaining yield increases and improving NUE. Examples from several countries show that increases in NUE at rates of 1% per year or more can be achieved if adequate investments are made in research and extension. Failure to arrest the decrease in cereal crop area and to improve NUE in the world's most important agricultural systems will likely cause severe damage to environmental services at local, regional, and global scales due to a large increase in reactive N load in the environment.

Cereal area and nitrogen use efficiency are drivers of future nitrogen fertilizer consumption.

PubMed

Dobermann, Achim; Cassman, Kenneth G

2005-12-01

At a global scale, cereal yields and fertilizer N consumption have increased in a near-linear fashion during the past 40 years and are highly correlated with one another. However, large differences exist in historical trends of N fertilizer usage and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) among regions, countries, and crops. The reasons for these differences must be understood to estimate future N fertilizer requirements. Global nitrogen needs will depend on: (i) changes in cropped cereal area and the associated yield increases required to meet increasing cereal demand from population and income growth, and (ii) changes in NUE at the farm level. Our analysis indicates that the anticipated 38% increase in global cereal demand by 2025 can be met by a 30% increase in N use on cereals, provided that the steady decline in cereal harvest area is halted and the yield response to applied N can be increased by 20%. If losses of cereal cropping area continue at the rate of the past 20 years (-0.33% per year) and NUE cannot be increased substantially, a 60% increase in global N use on cereals would be required to meet cereal demand. Interventions to increase NUE and reduce N losses to the environment must be accomplished at the farm- or field-scale through a combination of improved technologies and carefully crafted local policies that contribute to the adoption of improved N management; uniform regional or national directives are unlikey to be effective at both sustaining yield increases and improving NUE. Examples from several countries show that increases in NUE at rates of 1% per year or more can be achieved if adequate investments are made in research and extension. Failure to arrest the decrease in cereal crop area and to improve NUE in the world's most important agricultural systems will likely cause severe damage to environmental services at local, regional, and global scales due to a large increase in reactive N load in the environment.

Organizational Change, Leadership, and the Transformation of Continuing Professional Development: Lessons Learned From the American College of Cardiology.

PubMed

Beliveau, Mary Ellen; Warnes, Carole A; Harrington, Robert A; Nishimura, Rick A; O'Gara, Patrick T; Sibley, Janice B; Oetgen, William J

2015-01-01

There is a need for a transformational change in clinical education. In postgraduate medical education we have traditionally had a faculty-centric model. That is, faculty knew what needed to be taught and who were the best teachers to teach it. They built the agenda, and worked with staff to follow Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) accreditation criteria and manage logistics. Changes in the health care marketplace now demand a learner-centric model-one that embraces needs assessments, identification of practice gaps relative to competency, development of learning objectives, contemporary adult learning theory, novel delivery systems, and measurable outcomes. This article provides a case study of one medical specialty society's efforts to respond to this demand. © 2015 The Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on Continuing Medical Education, Association for Hospital Medical Education.

How performance-contingent reward prospect modulates cognitive control: Increased cue maintenance at the cost of decreased flexibility.

PubMed

Hefer, Carmen; Dreisbach, Gesine

2017-10-01

Growing evidence suggests that reward prospect promotes cognitive stability in terms of increased context or cue maintenance. In 3 Experiments, using different versions of the AX-continuous performance task, we investigated whether this reward effect comes at the cost of decreased cognitive flexibility. Experiment 1 shows that the reward induced increase of cue maintenance perseverates even when reward is no longer available. Experiment 2 shows that this reward effect not only survives the withdrawal of reward but also delays the adaptation to changed task conditions that make cue usage maladaptive. And finally in Experiment 3, it is shown that this reduced flexibility to adapt is observed in a more demanding modified version of the AX-continuous performance task and is even stronger under conditions of sustained reward. Taken together, all 3 Experiments thus speak to the idea that the prospect of reward increases cue maintenance and thereby cognitive stability. This increased cognitive stability however comes at the cost of decreased flexibility in terms of delayed adaptation to new reward and task conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Patient transfers in Australia: implications for nursing workload and patient outcomes.

PubMed

Blay, Nicole; Duffield, Christine M; Gallagher, Robyn

2012-04-01

To discuss the impact of patient transfers on patient outcomes and nursing workload. Many patient transfers are essential and occur in response to patients' clinical changes. However, increasingly within Australia transfers are performed in response to reductions in bed numbers, resulting in 'bed block'. A discussion of the literature related to inpatient transfers, nursing workload and patient safety. Measures to increase patient flow such as short-stay units may result in an increase in patient transfers and nursing workload. Frequent patient transfers may also increase the risk of medication incidents, health-care acquired infections and patient falls. The continuing demand for health care has led to a reactionary bed management system that, in an attempt to accommodate patients, has resulted in increased transfers between wards. This can have a negative effect on nursing workload and affect patient outcomes. High nursing workload is cited as one reason for nurses leaving the profession. Reductions in non-essential transfers may reduce nurse workload, improve patient outcomes and enhance continuity of patient care. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The Sparta aquifer in Arkansas' critical ground-water areas: Response of the aquifer to supplying future water needs

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hays, Phillip D.; Fugitt, D. Todd

1999-01-01

The Sparta aquifer is a confined aquifer of great regional importance that comprises a sequence of unconsolidated sand, silt, and clay units extending across much of eastern and southeastern Arkansas and into adjoining States. Water use from the aquifer has doubled since 1975 and continues to increase, and large water-level declines are occurring in many areas of the aquifer. To focus State attention and resources on the growing problem and to provide a mechanism for locally based education and management, the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission has designated Critical Ground-Water Areas in some counties (see page 6, ?What is a Critical Ground-Water Area??). Ground-water modeling study results show that the aquifer cannot continue to meet growing water-use demands. Dewatering of the primary producing sands is predicted to occur within 10 years in some areas if current trends continue. The predicted dewatering will cause reduced yields and damage the aquifer. Modeling also shows that a concerted ground-water conservation management plan could enable sustainable use of the aquifer. Water-conservation measures and use of alternative sources that water managers in Union County (an area of high demand and growth in Arkansas' initial five-county Critical Ground-Water Area) think to be realistic options result in considerable recovery in water levels in the aquifer during a 30-year model simulation.

Demand management: enabling patients to use medical care appropriately.

PubMed

Vickery, D M; Lynch, W D

1995-05-01

A rationale is presented for considering demand management as well as supply management (managed care) in the current debate on health care reform. Demand management is the support of individuals so that they may make rational health and medical decisions based on a consideration of benefits and risks. The concept of demand for medical services is examined within a theoretical framework of four components: morbidity, perceived need, patient preference, and nonhealth motives. Two components, perceived need and patient preference, are suggested to offer considerable potential for making utilization more appropriate and reducing costs. Current demand services and potential hazards related to their continued expansion are discussed.

Insulation Requirements of High-Voltage Power Systems in Future Spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Qureshi, A. Haq; Dayton, James A., Jr.

1995-01-01

The scope, size, and capability of the nation's space-based activities are limited by the level of electrical power available. Long-term projections show that there will be an increasing demand for electrical power in future spacecraft programs. The level of power that can be generated, conditioned, transmitted, and used will have to be considerably increased to satisfy these needs, and increased power levels will require that transmission voltages also be increased to minimize weight and resistive losses. At these projected voltages, power systems will not operate satisfactorily without the proper electrical insulation. Open or encapsulated power supplies are currently used to keep the volume and weight of space power systems low and to protect them from natural and induced environmental hazards. Circuits with open packaging are free to attain the pressure of the outer environment, whereas encapsulated circuits are imbedded in insulating materials, which are usually solids, but could be liquids or gases. Up to now, solid insulation has usually been chosen for space power systems. If the use of solid insulation is continued, when voltages increase, the amount of insulation for encapsulation also will have to increase. This increased insulation will increase weight and reduce system reliability. Therefore, non-solid insulation media must be examined to satisfy future spacecraft power and voltage demands. In this report, we assess the suitability of liquid, space vacuum, and gas insulation for space power systems.

Allergic rhinitis: continuous or on demand antihistamine therapy?

PubMed

Montoro, J; Sastre, J; Jáuregui, I; Bartra, J; Dávila, I; del Cuvillo, A; Ferrer, M; Mullol, J; Valero, A

2007-01-01

Allergic rhinitis is an inflammatory disease of the nasal mucosa, caused by an IgE-mediated reaction after exposure to the allergen to which the patient is sensitized. Histamine is the most important preformed mediator released in the early stage of the allergic reaction, and also contributes to the late phase of the latter, exhibiting proinflammatory effects. Minimal persistent inflammation is a physiopathological phenomenon induced by the presence of an inflammatory cell infiltrate, together with ICAM-1 expression in the epithelial cells of the mucosa exposed to the allergen to which they are sensitized, in the absence of clinical symptoms. This molecule is considered to be an allergic inflammatory marker. The priming effect first described by Connell in 1968 consists of the reduction in the allergen concentration required to elicit a nasal hyper-response when performing a daily nasal exposure test. This implies that with natural exposure to inhaled allergens, small amounts of environmental allergen will maintain the patient symptoms, and thus of course minimal persistent inflammation. Considering the above, it is questionable whether antihistamines should be administered on a continuous basis or upon demand. The antihistamines, and fundamentally the second-generation drugs, have been shown to exert an antiinflammatory effect, and this effect is greater when the drug is administered continuously than when administered upon demand. Likewise, a reduction in treatment cost and an improvement in quality of life among patients treated on a continuous basis has been documented. However, no studies have been specifically designed to clarify the indication of treatment on a continuous basis or upon demand, as occurs in the GINA. As a result, the individualization of treatment according to the concrete characteristics of each patient seems to be the best approach, at least for the time being.

Ecological intensification of cereal production systems: yield potential, soil quality, and precision agriculture.

PubMed

Cassman, K G

1999-05-25

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), rice (Oryza sativa L.), and maize (Zea mays L.) provide about two-thirds of all energy in human diets, and four major cropping systems in which these cereals are grown represent the foundation of human food supply. Yield per unit time and land has increased markedly during the past 30 years in these systems, a result of intensified crop management involving improved germplasm, greater inputs of fertilizer, production of two or more crops per year on the same piece of land, and irrigation. Meeting future food demand while minimizing expansion of cultivated area primarily will depend on continued intensification of these same four systems. The manner in which further intensification is achieved, however, will differ markedly from the past because the exploitable gap between average farm yields and genetic yield potential is closing. At present, the rate of increase in yield potential is much less than the expected increase in demand. Hence, average farm yields must reach 70-80% of the yield potential ceiling within 30 years in each of these major cereal systems. Achieving consistent production at these high levels without causing environmental damage requires improvements in soil quality and precise management of all production factors in time and space. The scope of the scientific challenge related to these objectives is discussed. It is concluded that major scientific breakthroughs must occur in basic plant physiology, ecophysiology, agroecology, and soil science to achieve the ecological intensification that is needed to meet the expected increase in food demand.

Meeting the challenge of food and energy security.

PubMed

Karp, Angela; Richter, Goetz M

2011-06-01

Growing crops for bioenergy or biofuels is increasingly viewed as conflicting with food production. However, energy use continues to rise and food production requires fuel inputs, which have increased with intensification. Focussing on the question of food or fuel is thus not helpful. The bigger, more pertinent, challenge is how the increasing demands for food and energy can be met in the future, particularly when water and land availability will be limited. Energy crop production systems differ greatly in environmental impact. The use of high-input food crops for liquid transport fuels (first-generation biofuels) needs to be phased out and replaced by the use of crop residues and low-input perennial crops (second/advanced-generation biofuels) with multiple environmental benefits. More research effort is needed to improve yields of biomass crops grown on lower grade land, and maximum value should be extracted through the exploitation of co-products and integrated biorefinery systems. Policy must continually emphasize the changes needed and tie incentives to improved greenhous gas reduction and environmental performance of biofuels.

State-of-the-art of alkaline rechargeable batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morioka, Y.; Narukawa, S.; Itou, T.

Alkaline rechargeable batteries represented by Ni-Cd and Ni-MH batteries are expanding their market, continuously meeting an increasing demand. Approximately 30 years have elapsed since the first sealed Ni-Cd battery was commercialized for consumer use, and the production of these alkaline batteries is still expanding. The high power performance and good cost performance of these batteries are the outstanding features, which are leading to new battery applications. Continuous R&D of many researchers and engineers has improved these features. Since first coming to the market in 1990, Ni-MH batteries have been extending their application as power sources for portable advanced information and communication equipment. Improvements in electrode materials and other components have increased the energy density of current Ni-MH batteries to values of 91 Wh/kg and 340 Wh/l. Recently, novel metallic alloys for hydrogen storage have been proposed to increase their capacity further, and further improvement in the performance of these batteries is expected.

The Performance of the NAS HSPs in 1st Half of 1994

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bergeron, Robert J.; Walter, Howard (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

During the first six months of 1994, the NAS (National Airspace System) 16-CPU Y-MP C90 Von Neumann (VN) delivered an average throughput of 4.045 GFLOPS while the ACSF (Aeronautics Consolidated Supercomputer Facility) 8-CPU Y-MP C90 Eagle averaged 1.658 GFLOPS. The VN rate represents a machine efficiency of 26.3% whereas the Eagle rate corresponds to a machine efficiency of 21.6%. VN displayed a greater efficiency than Eagle primarily because the stronger workload demand for its CPU cycles allowed it to devote more time to user programs and less time to idle. An additional factor increasing VN efficiency was the ability of the UNICOS 8.0 Operating System to deliver a larger fraction of CPU time to user programs. Although measurements indicate increasing vector length for both workloads, insufficient vector lengths continue to hinder HSP (High Speed Processor) performance. To improve HSP performance, NAS should continue to encourage the HSP users to modify their codes to increase program vector length.

From Walras’ auctioneer to continuous time double auctions: a general dynamic theory of supply and demand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donier, J.; Bouchaud, J.-P.

2016-12-01

In standard Walrasian auctions, the price of a good is defined as the point where the supply and demand curves intersect. Since both curves are generically regular, the response to small perturbations is linearly small. However, a crucial ingredient is absent of the theory, namely transactions themselves. What happens after they occur? To answer the question, we develop a dynamic theory for supply and demand based on agents with heterogeneous beliefs. When the inter-auction time is infinitely long, the Walrasian mechanism is recovered. When transactions are allowed to happen in continuous time, a peculiar property emerges: close to the price, supply and demand vanish quadratically, which we empirically confirm on the Bitcoin. This explains why price impact in financial markets is universally observed to behave as the square root of the excess volume. The consequences are important, as they imply that the very fact of clearing the market makes prices hypersensitive to small fluctuations.

A Single-use Strategy to Enable Manufacturing of Affordable Biologics.

PubMed

Jacquemart, Renaud; Vandersluis, Melissa; Zhao, Mochao; Sukhija, Karan; Sidhu, Navneet; Stout, Jim

2016-01-01

The current processing paradigm of large manufacturing facilities dedicated to single product production is no longer an effective approach for best manufacturing practices. Increasing competition for new indications and the launch of biosimilars for the monoclonal antibody market have put pressure on manufacturers to produce at lower cost. Single-use technologies and continuous upstream processes have proven to be cost-efficient options to increase biomass production but as of today the adoption has been only minimal for the purification operations, partly due to concerns related to cost and scale-up. This review summarizes how a single-use holistic process and facility strategy can overcome scale limitations and enable cost-efficient manufacturing to support the growing demand for affordable biologics. Technologies enabling high productivity, right-sized, small footprint, continuous, and automated upstream and downstream operations are evaluated in order to propose a concept for the flexible facility of the future.

Improving aircraft composite inspections using optimized reference standards

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roach, D.; Dorrell, L.; Kollgaard, J.

1998-10-01

The rapidly increasing use of composites on commercial airplanes coupled with the potential for economic savings associated with their use in aircraft structures means that the demand for composite materials technology will continue to increase. Inspecting these composite structures is a critical element in assuring this continued airworthiness. The FAA`s Airworthiness Assurance NDI Validation Center, in conjunction with the Commercial Aircraft Composite Repair committee, is developing a set of composite reference standards to be used in NDT equipment calibration for accomplishment of damage assessment and post-repair inspection of all commercial aircraft composites. In this program, a series of NDI testsmore » on a matrix of composite aircraft structures and prototype reference standards were completed in order to minimize the number of standards needed to carry out composite inspections on aircraft. Two tasks, related to composite laminates and non-metallic composite honeycomb configurations, were addressed.« less

Methodological approaches of health technology assessment.

PubMed

Goodman, C S; Ahn, R

1999-12-01

In this era of evolving health care systems throughout the world, technology remains the substance of health care. Medical informatics comprises a growing contribution to the technologies used in the delivery and management of health care. Diverse, evolving technologies include artificial neural networks, computer-assisted surgery, computer-based patient records, hospital information systems, and more. Decision-makers increasingly demand well-founded information to determine whether or how to develop these technologies, allow them on the market, acquire them, use them, pay for their use, and more. The development and wider use of health technology assessment (HTA) reflects this demand. While HTA offers systematic, well-founded approaches for determining the value of medical informatics technologies, HTA must continue to adapt and refine its methods in response to these evolving technologies. This paper provides a basic overview of HTA principles and methods.

[Dementia, end of life and euthanasia].

PubMed

Bier, J C; Salmon, E; Ivanoiu, A

2014-09-01

Among legislative criteria granting the right to practice euthanasia or assisted suicide, there are systematically four major elements. Precisely, any request must be voluntary, persistent, to be well thought and well informed. Such euthanasia raises numerous difficult questions in case of dementia. It also justifies thinking about possibilities that can offer specific arrangements of anticipated demands in such peculiar cases. Empirical experiences show us that it applies with difficulties in practice. Finally, to avoid that a big majority of these demands would find themselves not applied in practice, it would certainly be necessary to add to it structural valuation of advance care planning, and assure its recognition and development. These should not be limited to a single pathological target but would address all of us to increase advance care planning initiation, which remains the most limiting factor of such any early but continuous procedure.

Facing Global Challenges with Materials Innovation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rizzo, Fernando

2017-10-01

The path of society evolution has long been associated with a growing demand for natural resources and continuous environmental degradation. During the last decades, this pace has accelerated considerably, despite the general concern with the legacy being left for the next generations. Looking ahead, the predicted growth of the world population, and the improvement of life conditions in most regions, point to an increasing demand for energy generation, resulting in additional pressure on the Earth's sustainability. Materials have had a key role in decreasing the use of natural resources, by either improving efficiency of existing technologies or enabling the development of radical new ones. The greenhouse effect (CO2 emissions) and the energy crisis are global challenges that can benefit from the development of new materials for the successful implementation of promising technologies and for the imperative replacement of fossil fuels by renewable sources.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nagase, Hideki

For the purpose of this presentation, Asia has been broadly defined as a total of 15 countries, namely Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Myanmar, India, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand. In 1994 and the first half of 1995, the methanol industry and its derivative industries experienced hard time, because of extraordinarily high methanol prices. In spite of this circumstance, methanol demand in Asian countries has been growing steadily and remarkably, following Asian high economic growth. Most of this growth in demand has been and will continue to be met by outside supply. However,more » even with increased import of methanol from outside of Asia, as a result of this growth, Asian trade volume will be much larger in the coming years. Asian countries must turn their collective attention to making logistics and transportation for methanol and its derivatives more efficient in the Asian region to make better use of existing supply resources. The author reviews current economic growth as his main topic, and explains the forecast of the growth of methanol demand and supply in Asian countries in the near future.« less

Application of Ionic Liquids to Energy Storage and Conversion Materials and Devices.

PubMed

Watanabe, Masayoshi; Thomas, Morgan L; Zhang, Shiguo; Ueno, Kazuhide; Yasuda, Tomohiro; Dokko, Kaoru

2017-05-24

Ionic liquids (ILs) are liquids consisting entirely of ions and can be further defined as molten salts having melting points lower than 100 °C. One of the most important research areas for IL utilization is undoubtedly their energy application, especially for energy storage and conversion materials and devices, because there is a continuously increasing demand for clean and sustainable energy. In this article, various application of ILs are reviewed by focusing on their use as electrolyte materials for Li/Na ion batteries, Li-sulfur batteries, Li-oxygen batteries, and nonhumidified fuel cells and as carbon precursors for electrode catalysts of fuel cells and electrode materials for batteries and supercapacitors. Due to their characteristic properties such as nonvolatility, high thermal stability, and high ionic conductivity, ILs appear to meet the rigorous demands/criteria of these various applications. However, for further development, specific applications for which these characteristic properties become unique (i.e., not easily achieved by other materials) must be explored. Thus, through strong demands for research and consideration of ILs unique properties, we will be able to identify indispensable applications for ILs.

Optical security features for plastic card documents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hossick Schott, Joachim

1998-04-01

Print-on-demand is currently a major trend in the production of paper based documents. This fully digital production philosophy will likely have ramifications also for the secure identification document market. Here, plastic cards increasingly replace traditionally paper based security sensitive documents such as drivers licenses and passports. The information content of plastic cards can be made highly secure by using chip cards. However, printed and other optical security features will continue to play an important role, both for machine readable and visual inspection. Therefore, on-demand high resolution print technologies, laser engraving, luminescent pigments and laminated features such as holograms, kinegrams or phase gratings will have to be considered for the production of secure identification documents. Very important are also basic optical, surface and material durability properties of the laminates as well as the strength and nature of the adhesion between the layers. This presentation will address some of the specific problems encountered when optical security features such as high resolution printing and laser engraving are to be integrated in the on-demand production of secure plastic card identification documents.

Total pressing Indonesian gas development, exports

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1994-01-24

Total is on track to become Indonesia's leading gas exporter by the turn of the century. Total's aggressive development of its Mahakam Delta acreage in East Kalimantan is intended to keep pace with growing liquefied natural gas demand, mainly from Japan but also increasingly from South Korea and Taiwan. A frantic scramble is under way among natural gas suppliers in the Pacific Rim region, particularly those with current LNG export facilities, to accommodate projections of soaring natural gas demand in the region. Accordingly, Total's Indonesian gas production goal is the centerpiece of a larger strategy to become a major playermore » in the Far East Asia gas scene. Its goals also fall in line with Indonesia's. Facing flat or declining oil production while domestic oil demand continues to soar along with a rapidly growing economy, Indonesia is heeding some studies that project the country could become a net oil importer by the turn of the century. The paper describes Total's Far East strategy, the Mahakam acreage which it operates, the shift to gas development, added discoveries, future development, project spending levels, and LNG export capacity.« less

Air Traffic Management Research at NASA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farley, Todd

2012-01-01

The U.S. air transportation system is the most productive in the world, moving far more people and goods than any other. It is also the safest system in the world, thanks in part to its venerable air traffic control system. But as demand for air travel continues to grow, the air traffic control systems aging infrastructure and labor-intensive procedures are impinging on its ability to keep pace with demand. And that impinges on the growth of our economy. Part of NASA's current mission in aeronautics research is to invent new technologies and procedures for ATC that will enable our national airspace system to accommodate the increasing demand for air transportation well into the next generation while still maintaining its excellent record for safety. It is a challenging mission, as efforts to modernize have, for decades, been hamstrung by the inability to assure safety to the satisfaction of system operators, system regulators, and/or the traveling public. In this talk, we'll provide a brief history of air traffic control, focusing on the tension between efficiency and safety assurance, and we'll highlight some new NASA technologies coming down the pike.

Functional forms and price elasticities in a discrete continuous choice model of the residential water demand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vásquez Lavín, F. A.; Hernandez, J. I.; Ponce, R. D.; Orrego, S. A.

2017-07-01

During recent decades, water demand estimation has gained considerable attention from scholars. From an econometric perspective, the most used functional forms include log-log and linear specifications. Despite the advances in this field and the relevance for policymaking, little attention has been paid to the functional forms used in these estimations, and most authors have not provided justifications for their selection of functional forms. A discrete continuous choice model of the residential water demand is estimated using six functional forms (log-log, full-log, log-quadratic, semilog, linear, and Stone-Geary), and the expected consumption and price elasticity are evaluated. From a policy perspective, our results highlight the relevance of functional form selection for both the expected consumption and price elasticity.

[Continuing medical education and accreditation in occupational health: the new context].

PubMed

Franco, G; Costa, G

2008-01-01

In the future many changes will extensively affect workforce, workplace and work organization. The changes expected in the workforce will be a larger share of workers over 55 years and of women and a larger share of migrants. Two main changes will affect the workplace: the increasing percentage of jobs in the service sector and the decreasing permanent relationship of the worker with the workplace with an increase in temporary work, on-call work and work at home. The evolution of global trade is accelerating the transformation of work organization, with important changes in management systems, production and services processes and their influence on the way work is performed. Although working conditions will continue to improve overall, many matters remain to be resolved due to the increase in workers' health demands and awareness. Old diseases, such as tuberculosis, and new aspects of the more common health disorders, such as stress related-disorders, will represent a challenge for the specialist. In addition, new hazards, such as the exposure to nanoparticles or to static magnetic fields, will be conditions worthy to be considered for the possible implication to health. The workplace will represent a privileged place to promote health and well being of workers aiming at ensuring an effective healthy lifestyle, career and employment security. In this rapidly changing and demanding context, a new challenge for the occupational physicians will start with having a good understanding of the implications for adhering to the ethical principles and to values of quality, equity, relevance and cost-effectiveness and maintaining a balance among them.

Intrinsic motivation and organizational identification among on-demand workers.

PubMed

Rockmann, Kevin W; Ballinger, Gary A

2017-09-01

On-demand firms provide services for clients through a network of on-demand workers ready to complete specific tasks for a set contractual price. Given such on-demand work is defined by payment on short-term contracts with no obligation for continued employment, there is little reason to believe on-demand workers experience more than extrinsic motivation and a transactional relationship with the on-demand firm. However, using self-determination theory, we argue that to the degree that on-demand work fulfills innate psychological needs individual on-demand workers will develop intrinsic motivation, which further leads to organizational identification with the on-demand firm. Across 2 survey-based studies we find support for this path to organizational identification. This adds to the literature on motivation and identification by strengthening the link between individual needs and the individual-organizational relationship. Implications for theory and for the management of on-demand workers are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Bigger Is Not Always Better - The United States Support to Security Force Assistance

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-04-13

it was continuous and primarily sourced through the 7th SFG . However, the demands for 7th SFG manpower in other countries such as Honduras and...FSA. The actual trainers of the ESAF, USSOF, and more specifically the 7th SFG , were culturally attuned 19 Cale, "The United States Military...tour length for the trainers was no more than a year, multiple tours by the members of the 7th SFG increased and solidified the military-to-military

Cross-Country Evidence on the Impact of Shifting Economic and Strategic Landscapes on the Global Defense Industrial Base

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-11-04

aspects of the defense industrial base for US and European contractors, as demand in their domestic markets for these products lessens. Increased...Cold War, the defense industrial base in the US has witnessed many changes and continues to face new challenges. The purpose of this study is to...evaluate the evolution of the US and global defense industrial base in response to the shifting economic and strategic landscape. Specifically, it examines

Improving efficiency of polystyrene concrete production with composite binders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lesovik, R. V.; Ageeva, M. S.; Lesovik, G. A.; Sopin, D. M.; Kazlitina, O. V.; Mitrokhina, A. A.

2018-03-01

According to leading marketing researchers, the construction market in Russia and CIS will continue growing at a rapid rate; this applies not only to a large-scale major construction, but to a construction of single-family houses and small-scale industrial facilities as well. Due to this, there are increased requirements for heat insulation of the building enclosures and a significant demand for efficient walling materials with high thermal performance. All these developments led to higher requirements imposed on the equipment that produces such materials.

Improvement of Linde Kryotechnik's internal purifier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Decker, Lutz; Meier, Albert; Wilhelm, Hanspeter

2014-01-01

With the recent shortage in supply of helium, recovery solutions have experienced a new focus with a tendency to recover streams with higher impurity content. This development calls for purifier systems operating efficiently and with low impact on liquefaction capacity for helium streams with impurity levels in the percentage range. Linde Kryotechnik has answered this demand by improving the performance of its purifier technology. Since 1983, its standardized helium liquefiers of the L- and former TCF-series type contain an internal purifier which already allows efficient impurity removal with minimized space demand. Along with a line dryer to absorb humidity, it is designed to remove air impurities up to 5 mol%. However, with increasing impurity level, liquefaction capacity reduced significantly being furthermore restricted to an upper level of approx. 180 l/h and continuous purification became limited in time. With the current redesign of this purifier, the impact on liquefaction capacity is now minimized without any limitation within the capacity range of the L-series plants. Continuous purification is hence ensured beyond previous maximum impurity content. This paper provides the key design changes and the achievable performance, which has been verified in the recent L-series plants delivered to customers.

Current drivers and future directions of global livestock disease dynamics

PubMed Central

Perry, Brian D.; Grace, Delia; Sones, Keith

2013-01-01

We review the global dynamics of livestock disease over the last two decades. Our imperfect ability to detect and report disease hinders assessment of trends, but we suggest that, although endemic diseases continue their historic decline in wealthy countries, poor countries experience static or deteriorating animal health and epidemic diseases show both regression and expansion. At a mesolevel, disease is changing in terms of space and host, which is illustrated by bluetongue, Lyme disease, and West Nile virus, and it is also emerging, as illustrated by highly pathogenic avian influenza and others. Major proximate drivers of change in disease dynamics include ecosystem change, ecosystem incursion, and movements of people and animals; underlying these are demographic change and an increasing demand for livestock products. We identify three trajectories of global disease dynamics: (i) the worried well in developed countries (demanding less risk while broadening the circle of moral concern), (ii) the intensifying and market-orientated systems of many developing countries, where highly complex disease patterns create hot spots for disease shifts, and (iii) the neglected cold spots in poor countries, where rapid change in disease dynamics is less likely but smallholders and pastoralists continue to struggle with largely preventable and curable livestock diseases. PMID:21576468

Visible quality aluminum and nickel superpolish polishing technology enabling new missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrigan, Keith G.

2011-06-01

It is now well understood that with US Department of Defense (DoD) budgets shrinking and the Services and Agencies demanding new systems which can be fielded more quickly, cost and schedule are being emphasized more and more. At the same time, the US has ever growing needs for advanced capabilities to support evolving Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance objectives. In response to this market demand for ever more cost-effective, faster to market, single-channel, athermal optical systems, we have developed new metal polishing technologies which allow for short-lead, low-cost metal substrates to replace more costly, longer-lead material options. In parallel, the commercial marketplace is being driven continually to release better, faster and cheaper electronics. Growth according to Moore's law, enabled by advancements in photolithography, has produced denser memory, higher resolution displays and faster processors. While the quality of these products continues to increase, their price is falling. This seeming paradox is driven by industry advancements in manufacturing technology. The next steps on this curve can be realized via polishing technology which allows low-cost metal substrates to replace costly Silicon based optics for use in ultra-short wavelength systems.

China and the Global Uranium Market: Prospects for Peaceful Coexistence

PubMed Central

Massot, Pascale

2013-01-01

China's recent reemergence has resulted in a significant increase in the global demand of commodities and is already having major impacts on the dynamics of global commodity markets. In the case of the global uranium market, we stand at the very beginning of a period of change. However, interesting trends are already emerging. Whereas China has had many policy reversals, and some difficulties in taking control of its procurement strategy in other commodity markets, it is seemingly more successful in managing its uranium procurement strategy. Why? The argument presented here is that a mixture of domestic and international level variables has allowed China more room for maneuver in fulfilling its uranium procurement strategy. On the domestic level, a centralized industry, and, on the international level, a geographically dispersed and uncoordinated market have allowed China to forge ahead with an ambitious civilian nuclear power plan and triple its total uranium imports, all within the span of a few years. Many challenges remain, not the least that of negative public opinion, which has surged since the Fukushima disaster in 2011. Nevertheless, should uranium demand continue to grow, this paper will consider the potential for continued peaceful coexistence among uranium market participants worldwide. PMID:23606818

Technology Directions for the 21st Century. Volume 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crimi, Giles F.; Botta, Robert; Ditanna, Thomas; Verheggen, Henry; Stancati, Michael; Feingold, Harvey; Jacobs, Mark

1996-01-01

New technologies will unleash the huge capacity of fiber-optic cable to meet growing demands for bandwidth. Companies will continue to replace private networks with public network bandwidth-on-demand. Although asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) is the transmission technology favored by many, its penetration will be slower than anticipated. Hybrid networks - e.g., a mix of ATM, frame relay, and fast Ethernet - may predominate, both as interim and long-term solutions, based on factors such as availability, interoperability, and cost. Telecommunications equipment and services prices will decrease further due to increased supply and more competition. Explosive Internet growth will continue, requiring additional backbone transmission capacity and enhanced protocols, but it is not clear who will fund the upgrade. Within ten years, space-based constellations of satellites in Low Earth orbit (LEO) will serve mobile users employing small, low-power terminals. 'Little LEO's' will provide packet transmission services and geo-position determination. 'Big LEO's' will function as global cellular telephone networks, with some planning to offer video and interactive multimedia services. Geosynchronous satellites also are proposed for mobile voice grade links and high-bandwidth services. NASA may benefit from resulting cost reductions in components, space hardware, launch services, and telecommunications services.

Extreme Scale Computing to Secure the Nation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, D L; McGraw, J R; Johnson, J R

2009-11-10

Since the dawn of modern electronic computing in the mid 1940's, U.S. national security programs have been dominant users of every new generation of high-performance computer. Indeed, the first general-purpose electronic computer, ENIAC (the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), was used to calculate the expected explosive yield of early thermonuclear weapons designs. Even the U. S. numerical weather prediction program, another early application for high-performance computing, was initially funded jointly by sponsors that included the U.S. Air Force and Navy, agencies interested in accurate weather predictions to support U.S. military operations. For the decades of the cold war, national securitymore » requirements continued to drive the development of high performance computing (HPC), including advancement of the computing hardware and development of sophisticated simulation codes to support weapons and military aircraft design, numerical weather prediction as well as data-intensive applications such as cryptography and cybersecurity U.S. national security concerns continue to drive the development of high-performance computers and software in the U.S. and in fact, events following the end of the cold war have driven an increase in the growth rate of computer performance at the high-end of the market. This mainly derives from our nation's observance of a moratorium on underground nuclear testing beginning in 1992, followed by our voluntary adherence to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) beginning in 1995. The CTBT prohibits further underground nuclear tests, which in the past had been a key component of the nation's science-based program for assuring the reliability, performance and safety of U.S. nuclear weapons. In response to this change, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiated the Science-Based Stockpile Stewardship (SBSS) program in response to the Fiscal Year 1994 National Defense Authorization Act, which requires, 'in the absence of nuclear testing, a progam to: (1) Support a focused, multifaceted program to increase the understanding of the enduring stockpile; (2) Predict, detect, and evaluate potential problems of the aging of the stockpile; (3) Refurbish and re-manufacture weapons and components, as required; and (4) Maintain the science and engineering institutions needed to support the nation's nuclear deterrent, now and in the future'. This program continues to fulfill its national security mission by adding significant new capabilities for producing scientific results through large-scale computational simulation coupled with careful experimentation, including sub-critical nuclear experiments permitted under the CTBT. To develop the computational science and the computational horsepower needed to support its mission, SBSS initiated the Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative, later renamed the Advanced Simulation & Computing (ASC) program (sidebar: 'History of ASC Computing Program Computing Capability'). The modern 3D computational simulation capability of the ASC program supports the assessment and certification of the current nuclear stockpile through calibration with past underground test (UGT) data. While an impressive accomplishment, continued evolution of national security mission requirements will demand computing resources at a significantly greater scale than we have today. In particular, continued observance and potential Senate confirmation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) together with the U.S administration's promise for a significant reduction in the size of the stockpile and the inexorable aging and consequent refurbishment of the stockpile all demand increasing refinement of our computational simulation capabilities. Assessment of the present and future stockpile with increased confidence of the safety and reliability without reliance upon calibration with past or future test data is a long-term goal of the ASC program. This will be accomplished through significant increases in the scientific bases that underlie the computational tools. Computer codes must be developed that replace phenomenology with increased levels of scientific understanding together with an accompanying quantification of uncertainty. These advanced codes will place significantly higher demands on the computing infrastructure than do the current 3D ASC codes. This article discusses not only the need for a future computing capability at the exascale for the SBSS program, but also considers high performance computing requirements for broader national security questions. For example, the increasing concern over potential nuclear terrorist threats demands a capability to assess threats and potential disablement technologies as well as a rapid forensic capability for determining a nuclear weapons design from post-detonation evidence (nuclear counterterrorism).« less