Sustainable, heat-resistant and flame-retardant cellulose-based composite separator for high-performance lithium ion battery

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jianjun; Yue, Liping; Kong, Qingshan; Liu, Zhihong; Zhou, Xinhong; Zhang, Chuanjian; Xu, Quan; Zhang, Bo; Ding, Guoliang; Qin, Bingsheng; Duan, Yulong; Wang, Qingfu; Yao, Jianhua; Cui, Guanglei; Chen, Liquan

2014-01-01

A sustainable, heat-resistant and flame-retardant cellulose-based composite nonwoven has been successfully fabricated and explored its potential application for promising separator of high-performance lithium ion battery. It was demonstrated that this flame-retardant cellulose-based composite separator possessed good flame retardancy, superior heat tolerance and proper mechanical strength. As compared to the commercialized polypropylene (PP) separator, such composite separator presented improved electrolyte uptake, better interface stability and enhanced ionic conductivity. In addition, the lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2)/graphite cell using this composite separator exhibited better rate capability and cycling retention than that for PP separator owing to its facile ion transport and excellent interfacial compatibility. Furthermore, the lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4)/lithium cell with such composite separator delivered stable cycling performance and thermal dimensional stability even at an elevated temperature of 120°C. All these fascinating characteristics would boost the application of this composite separator for high-performance lithium ion battery. PMID:24488228

Limits to sustainable muscle performance: interaction between glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation.

PubMed

Conley, K E; Kemper, W F; Crowther, G J

2001-09-01

This paper proposes a mechanism responsible for setting the sustainable level of muscle performance. Our contentions are that the sustainable work rate is determined (i) at the muscle level, (ii) by the ability to maintain ATP supply and (iii) by the products of glycolysis that may inhibit the signal for oxidative phosphorylation. We argue below that no single factor 'limits' sustainable performance, but rather that the flux through and the interaction between glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation set the level of sustainable ATP supply. This argument is based on magnetic resonance spectroscopy measurements of the sources and sinks for energy in vivo in human muscle and rattlesnake tailshaker muscle during sustained contractions. These measurements show that glycolysis provides between 20% (human muscle) and 40% (tailshaker muscle) of the ATP supply during sustained contractions in these muscles. We cite evidence showing that this high glycolytic flux does not reflect an O(2) limitation or mitochondria operating at their capacity. Instead, this flux reflects a pathway independent of oxidative phosphorylation for ATP supply during aerobic exercise. The consequence of this high glycolytic flux is accumulation of H(+), which we argue inhibits the rise in the signal activating oxidative phosphorylation, thereby restricting oxidative ATP supply to below the oxidative capacity. Thus, both glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation play important roles in setting the highest steady-state ATP synthesis flux and thereby determine the sustainable level of work by exercising muscle.

Performance of primary repair on colon injuries sustained from low-versus high-energy projectiles

PubMed Central

Lazovic, Ranko; Radojevic, Nemanja; Curovic, Ivana

2017-01-01

Among various reasons, colon injuries may be caused by low- or high-energy firearm bullets, with the latter producing a temporary cavitation phenomenon. The available treatment options include primary repair and two-stage management, but recent studies have shown that primary repair can be widely used with a high success rate. This paper investigates the differences in performance of primary repair on these two types of colon injuries. Two groups of patients who sustained colon injuries due to single gunshot wounds, were retrospectively categorized based on the type of bullet. Primary colon repair was performed in all patients selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria (Stone and Fabian's criteria). An almost absolute homogeneity was attained among the groups in terms of age, latent time before surgery, and four trauma indexes. Only one patient from the low-energy firearm projectile group (4%) developed a postsurgical complication versus nine patients (25.8%) from the high-energy group, showing statistically significant difference (p = 0.03). These nine patients experienced the following postsurgical complications: pneumonia, abscess, fistula, suture leakage, and one multiorgan failure with sepsis. Previous studies concluded that one-stage primary repair is the best treatment option for colon injuries. However, terminal ballistics testing determined the projectile's path through the body and revealed that low-energy projectiles caused considerably lesser damage than their high-energy counterparts. Primary colon repair must be performed definitely for low-energy short firearm injuries but very carefully for high-energy injuries. Given these findings, we suggest that the treatment option should be determined based not only on the bullet type alone but also on other clinical findings. PMID:26874437

High sustained +Gz acceleration: physiological adaptation to high-G tolerance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Convertino, V. A.

1998-01-01

Since the early 1940s, a significant volume of research has been conducted in an effort to describe the impact of acute exposures to high-G acceleration on cardiovascular mechanisms responsible to maintaining cerebral perfusion and conscious in high performance aircraft pilots during aerial combat maneuvers. The value of understanding hemodynamic characteristics that underlie G-induced loss of consciousness has been instrumental in the evolution of optimal technology development (e.g., G-suits, positive pressure breathing, COMBAT EDGE, etc.) and pilot training (e.g., anti-G straining maneuvers). Although the emphasis of research has been placed on the development of protection against acute high +Gz acceleration effects, recent observations suggest that adaptation of cardiovascular mechanism associated with blood pressure regulation may contribute to a protective 'G-training' effect. Regular training at high G enhances G tolerance in humans, rats, guinea pigs, and dogs while prolonged layoff from exposure in high G profiles (G-layoff) can result in reduced G endurance. It seems probable that adaptations in physiological functions following chronically-repeated high G exposure (G training) or G-layoff could have significant impacts on performance during sustained high-G acceleration since protective technology such as G-suits and anit-G straining maneuvers are applied consistently during these periods of training. The purpose of this paper is to present a review of new data from three experiments that support the notion that repeated exposure on a regular basis to high sustained +Gz acceleration induces significant physiological adaptations which are associated with improved blood pressure regulation and subsequent protection of cerebral perfusion during orthostatic challenges.

Performance of primary repair on colon injuries sustained from low-versus high-energy projectiles.

PubMed

Lazovic, Ranko; Radojevic, Nemanja; Curovic, Ivana

2016-04-01

Among various reasons, colon injuries may be caused by low- or high-energy firearm bullets, with the latter producing a temporary cavitation phenomenon. The available treatment options include primary repair and two-stage management, but recent studies have shown that primary repair can be widely used with a high success rate. This paper investigates the differences in performance of primary repair on these two types of colon injuries. Two groups of patients who sustained colon injuries due to single gunshot wounds, were retrospectively categorized based on the type of bullet. Primary colon repair was performed in all patients selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria (Stone and Fabian's criteria). An almost absolute homogeneity was attained among the groups in terms of age, latent time before surgery, and four trauma indexes. Only one patient from the low-energy firearm projectile group (4%) developed a postsurgical complication versus nine patients (25.8%) from the high-energy group, showing statistically significant difference (p = 0.03). These nine patients experienced the following postsurgical complications: pneumonia, abscess, fistula, suture leakage, and one multiorgan failure with sepsis. Previous studies concluded that one-stage primary repair is the best treatment option for colon injuries. However, terminal ballistics testing determined the projectile's path through the body and revealed that low-energy projectiles caused considerably lesser damage than their high-energy counterparts. Primary colon repair must be performed definitely for low-energy short firearm injuries but very carefully for high-energy injuries. Given these findings, we suggest that the treatment option should be determined based not only on the bullet type alone but also on other clinical findings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

Campus Sustainability Initiatives and Performance: Do They Correlate?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lang, Tim

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to test the hypothesis that there are correlations between campus sustainability initiatives and environmental performance, as measured by resource consumption and waste generation performance metrics. Institutions of higher education would like to imply that their campus sustainability initiatives are good…

Ecological Regional Analysis Applied to Campus Sustainability Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Weber, Shana; Newman, Julie; Hill, Adam

2017-01-01

Purpose: Sustainability performance in higher education is often evaluated at a generalized large scale. It remains unknown to what extent campus efforts address regional sustainability needs. This study begins to address this gap by evaluating trends in performance through the lens of regional environmental characteristics.…

Performance analysis of SS7 congestion controls under sustained overload

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manfield, David R.; Millsteed, Gregory K.; Zukerman, Moshe

1994-04-01

Congestion controls are a key factor in achieving the robust performance required of common channel signaling (CCS) networks in the face of partial network failures and extreme traffic loads, especially as networks become large and carry high traffic volume. The CCITT recommendations define a number of types of congestion control, and the parameters of the controls must be well set in order to ensure their efficacy under transient and sustained signalling network overload. The objective of this paper is to present a modeling approach to the determination of the network parameters that govern the performance of the SS7 congestion controls under sustained overload. Results of the investigation by simulation are presented and discussed.

Indonesian Private University Lecturer Performance Improvement Model to Improve a Sustainable Organization Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suryaman

2018-01-01

Lecturer performance will affect the quality and carrying capacity of the sustainability of an organization, in this case the university. There are many models developed to measure the performance of teachers, but not much to discuss the influence of faculty performance itself towards sustainability of an organization. This study was conducted in…

The performance frontier: innovating for a sustainable strategy.

PubMed

Eccles, Robert G; Serafeim, George

2013-05-01

A mishmash of sustainability tactics does not add up to a sustainable strategy. Too often, companies launch sustainability programs with the hope that they'll be financially rewarded for doing good, even when those programs aren't relevant to their strategy and operations. They fail to understand the trade-offs between financial performance and performance on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. Improving one typically comes at a cost to the other. But it doesn't have to be this way. It's possible to simultaneously boost both financial and ESG performance-if you focus strategically on issues that are the most "material" to shareholder value, and you develop major innovations in products, processes, and business models that prioritize those concerns. Maps being developed by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, which rank the materiality of 43 issues for 88 industries, can provide valuable guidance. And broad initiatives undertaken by three companies-Natura, Dow Chemical, and CLP Group-demonstrate the kind of innovations that will push performance into new territory. Communicating the benefits to stakeholders is also critical, which is why integrated reports, which combine financial and ESG reporting, are now gaining in popularity.

Does Visual Performance Influence Head Impact Severity Among High School Football Athletes?

PubMed

Schmidt, Julianne D; Guskiewicz, Kevin M; Mihalik, Jason P; Blackburn, J Troy; Siegmund, Gunter P; Marshall, Stephen W

2015-11-01

To compare the odds of sustaining moderate and severe head impacts, rather than mild, between high school football players with high and low visual performance. Prospective quasi-experimental. Clinical Research Center/On-field. Thirty-seven high school varsity football players. Athletes completed the Nike SPARQ Sensory Station visual assessment before the season. Head impact biomechanics were captured at all practices and games using the Head Impact Telemetry System. Each player was classified as either a high or low performer using a median split for each of the following visual performance measures: visual clarity, contrast sensitivity, depth perception, near-far quickness, target capture, perception span, eye-hand coordination, go/no go, and reaction time. We computed the odds of sustaining moderate and severe head impacts against the reference odds of sustaining mild head impacts across groups of high and low performers for each of the visual performance measures. Players with better near-far quickness had increased odds of sustaining moderate [odds ratios (ORs), 1.27; 95% confidence intervals (CIs), 1.04-1.56] and severe head impacts (OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.05-2.01) as measured by Head Impact Technology severity profile. High and low performers were at equal odds on all other measures. Better visual performance did not reduce the odds of sustaining higher magnitude head impacts. Visual performance may play less of a role than expected for protecting against higher magnitude head impacts among high school football players. Further research is needed to determine whether visual performance influences concussion risk. Based on our results, we do not recommend using visual training programs at the high school level for the purpose of reducing the odds of sustaining higher magnitude head impacts.

High Performance Computing at NASA

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bailey, David H.; Cooper, D. M. (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

The speaker will give an overview of high performance computing in the U.S. in general and within NASA in particular, including a description of the recently signed NASA-IBM cooperative agreement. The latest performance figures of various parallel systems on the NAS Parallel Benchmarks will be presented. The speaker was one of the authors of the NAS (National Aerospace Standards) Parallel Benchmarks, which are now widely cited in the industry as a measure of sustained performance on realistic high-end scientific applications. It will be shown that significant progress has been made by the highly parallel supercomputer industry during the past year or so, with several new systems, based on high-performance RISC processors, that now deliver superior performance per dollar compared to conventional supercomputers. Various pitfalls in reporting performance will be discussed. The speaker will then conclude by assessing the general state of the high performance computing field.

High-Quality Carbohydrates and Physical Performance

PubMed Central

Kanter, Mitch

2018-01-01

While all experts agreed that protein needs for performance are likely greater than believed in past generations, particularly for strength training athletes, and that dietary fat could sustain an active person through lower-intensity training bouts, current research still points to carbohydrate as an indispensable energy source for high-intensity performance. PMID:29449746

High Performance Schools--It's a No-Brainer.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nicklas, Mike

2002-01-01

A North Carolina middle school demonstrates that high performance, sustainable school buildings cost no more to build and are more comfortable and productive learning environments than conventional buildings. (Author)

Evaluation of Process Performance for Sustainable Hard Machining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rotella, Giovanna; Umbrello, Domenico; , Oscar W. Dillon, Jr.; Jawahir, I. S.

This paper aims to evaluate the sustainability performance of machining operation of through-hardening steel, AISI 52100, taking into account the impact of the material removal process in its various aspects. Experiments were performed for dry and cryogenic cutting conditions using chamfered cubic boron nitride (CBN) tool inserts at varying cutting conditions (cutting speed and feed rate). Cutting forces, mechanical power, tool wear, white layer thickness, surface roughness and residual stresses were investigated in order to evaluate the effects of extreme in-process cooling on the machined surface. The results indicate that cryogenic cooling has the potential to be used for surface integrity enhancement for improved product life and more sustainable functional performance.

Analytic network process model for sustainable lean and green manufacturing performance indicator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aminuddin, Adam Shariff Adli; Nawawi, Mohd Kamal Mohd; Mohamed, Nik Mohd Zuki Nik

2014-09-01

Sustainable manufacturing is regarded as the most complex manufacturing paradigm to date as it holds the widest scope of requirements. In addition, its three major pillars of economic, environment and society though distinct, have some overlapping among each of its elements. Even though the concept of sustainability is not new, the development of the performance indicator still needs a lot of improvement due to its multifaceted nature, which requires integrated approach to solve the problem. This paper proposed the best combination of criteria en route a robust sustainable manufacturing performance indicator formation via Analytic Network Process (ANP). The integrated lean, green and sustainable ANP model can be used to comprehend the complex decision system of the sustainability assessment. The finding shows that green manufacturing is more sustainable than lean manufacturing. It also illustrates that procurement practice is the most important criteria in the sustainable manufacturing performance indicator.

Continuous Performance Tasks: Not Just about Sustaining Attention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roebuck, Hettie; Freigang, Claudia; Barry, Johanna G.

2016-01-01

Purpose: Continuous performance tasks (CPTs) are used to measure individual differences in sustained attention. Many different stimuli have been used as response targets without consideration of their impact on task performance. Here, we compared CPT performance in typically developing adults and children to assess the role of stimulus processing…

Greenroads : a sustainability performance metric for roadway design and construction.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-11-01

Greenroads is a performance metric for quantifying sustainable practices associated with roadway design and construction. Sustainability is defined as having seven key components: ecology, equity, economy, extent, expectations, experience and exposur...

High Performance Sustainable School Design: Roy Lee Walker Elementary, McKinney, Texas.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

SHW Group, Inc., Dallas, TX.

This document describes the sustainable features of the Roy Lee Walker Elementary School (Texas), a prototype "Eco Education" school that blends the physical environment with the student learning process while protecting the site. The document also presents the process of integrating sustainability criteria in all phases of the school's…

Interpretive Structural Model of Key Performance Indicators for Sustainable Maintenance Evaluatian in Rubber Industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amrina, E.; Yulianto, A.

2018-03-01

Sustainable maintenance is a new challenge for manufacturing companies to realize sustainable development. In this paper, an interpretive structural model is developed to evaluate sustainable maintenance in the rubber industry. The initial key performance indicators (KPIs) is identified and derived from literature and then validated by academic and industry experts. As a result, three factors of economic, social, and environmental dividing into a total of thirteen indicators are proposed as the KPIs for sustainable maintenance evaluation in rubber industry. Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) methodology is applied to develop a network structure model of the KPIs consisting of three levels. The results show the economic factor is regarded as the basic factor, the social factor as the intermediate factor, while the environmental factor indicated to be the leading factor. Two indicators of social factor i.e. labor relationship, and training and education have both high driver and dependence power, thus categorized as the unstable indicators which need further attention. All the indicators of environmental factor and one indicator of social factor are indicated as the most influencing indicator. The interpretive structural model hoped can aid the rubber companies in evaluating sustainable maintenance performance.

Sleep Loss Effects on Continuous Sustained Performance.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-11-30

Sleep loss, continuous performance, sustained performance, sleep deprivation, sleepiness, fatigue, circadian rhythm, hallucination . 20, ABSTRACT...complete the 42 hours and 9 experienced "psychological events such as hallucinations , visual illusions, and disorientation. Of the 20 subjects who... hallucinations , derealizations, and distortions (Mullaney, Kripke, and Fleck, 1981). All 20 subjects who were given either one 6-hour or six 1-hour

Assessing the Sustainability Performance of Urban Plans based on Ecosystem Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menteşe, E. Y.; Tezer, A.

2017-12-01

Aiming at efficient and mindful use of natural resources while enabling social cohesion and economic development; sustainable development is one of the most emerging phenomenon in last decade. In this regard, role of urban development is critical by means of achieving sustainability since more than half of the world's population lives in cities. However, there is no solid and widely accepted approach for sustainability assessment in land use planning because there is not enough evidence on the relation between land use plans and environmental sustainability. With the basic aim of setting up relation between environmental sustainability and urban plans, this study utilizes ecosystem services phenomenon to define sustainability performance of a land use plan. Since ecosystem services can easily be related with land cover and land use they can be used as an efficient tool to act as indicators of sustainability. Meanwhile, while urban plans can provide ecosystem services and their level of service provision can be quantified, this is not solely enough for understanding its sustainability. Because it is also known that a land use plan mostly has negative impact on sustainability. Hence, this study embraces land use plans as a source of ecosystem services and environmental impacts. The difference between these entities are assumed to be the sustainability performance of a plan. The analysis relies on four parameters: ecosystem service capacity (environmental impact capacity), areal quantity of a land cover / use function, fragmantation level of the land use / cover and weight of ecosystem services / environmental impacts. Lastly, this approach is adopted for Istanbul's environmental master plan of 2009 and actual land cover of the same period. By calculating both data's environmental performance, the change of sustainability level sourced from environmental plan is analyzed.

Integrating the analytic hierarchy process and importance-performance analysis into ISO 14001 framework for assessing campus sustainability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pramono, Susatyo N. W.; Ulkhaq, M. Mujiya; Trianto, Reza; Setiowati, Priska R.; Rasyida, Dyah R.; Setyorini, Nadia A.; Jauhari, Wakhid A.

2017-11-01

There has been an international emerging issue in the role of higher education in promoting sustainability due to numerous declarations and commitments related to the need of sustainability in higher education. As a result, there is an increasing number of higher educations that have embarked on projects and initiatives to incorporate sustainability into their systems. Higher educations could implement ISO 14001 framework that is recognized as a guide for an organization which aim to implement an environmental management system to pursue the sustainability. This research tried to attempt an extension of the previous work in assessing campus sustainability using ISO 14001 framework by integrating the analytic hierarchy process and importance-performance analysis (IPA). The inclusion of IPA is because many organizations are constrained by limitations on the resources they have so that it has to be decided how those limited resources are best deployed to attain the goals to be achieved. The self-assessment scores of ISO 14001 would the performance and the AHP result is the importance part of the IPA. A case study is conducted at the Diponegoro University, which is located in Semarang, Indonesia. The result indicates that only two main elements of ISO 14001 are located in the second quadrant of IPA, i.e. high performance and high importance. The result also could be a basis for the university to identify, prioritize, and improve the programs related to sustainability and ensure that valuable resources are allocated in the most effective areas.

Sustainability of quality improvement following removal of pay-for-performance incentives.

PubMed

Benzer, Justin K; Young, Gary J; Burgess, James F; Baker, Errol; Mohr, David C; Charns, Martin P; Kaboli, Peter J

2014-01-01

Although pay-for-performance (P4P) has become a central strategy for improving quality in US healthcare, questions persist about the effectiveness of these programs. A key question is whether quality improvement that occurs as a result of P4P programs is sustainable, particularly if incentives are removed. To investigate sustainability of performance levels following removal of performance-based incentives. Observational cohort study that capitalized on a P4P program within the Veterans Health Administration (VA) that included adoption and subsequent removal of performance-based incentives for selected inpatient quality measures. The study sample comprised 128 acute care VA hospitals where performance was assessed between 2004 and 2010. VA system managers set annual performance goals in consultation with clinical leaders, and report performance scores to medical centers on a quarterly basis. These scores inform performance-based incentives for facilities and their managers. Bonuses are distributed based on the attainment of these performance goals. Seven quality of care measures for acute coronary syndrome, heart failure, and pneumonia linked to performance-based incentives. Significant improvements in performance were observed for six of seven quality of care measures following adoption of performance-based incentives and were maintained up to the removal of the incentive; subsequently, the observed performance levels were sustained. This is a quasi-experimental study without a comparison group; causal conclusions are limited. The maintenance of performance levels after removal of a performance-based incentive has implications for the implementation of Medicare's value-based purchasing initiative and other P4P programs. Additional research is needed to better understand human and system-level factors that mediate sustainability of performance-based incentives.

E3 Success Story - Advancing Performance in Sustainability and Workforce Development

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

E3: North Carolina advances performance in sustainability and workforce development strategies for the state's manufacturers. The initiative helps communities and manufacturers address energy and sustainability challenges by leveraging expertise.

Tracking Environmental Sustainability Performance of Public Universities in Kenya

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mungai, David N.

2017-01-01

Environmental Sustainability Performance Contract (PC) targets were introduced in the 2012/13 financial year as part of the broader public sector reforms and a strategy for performance improvement in the public service that includes Kenyan public universities. However, no evaluation has been conducted to assess performance improvement and impact.…

Sustained Performance Review: A Threat to Academic Freedom?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Daniel E.

1997-01-01

Reviews the history of the tenure system and its constitutional and due process implications. Describes Florida's sustained performance review program, an evaluation of tenured faculty every seven years to encourage continuing professional development. (SK)

High Performance Education Fails in Sustainability?--A Reflection on Finnish Primary Teacher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolff, Lili-Ann; Sjöblom, Pia; Hofman-Bergholm, Maria; Palmberg, Irmeli

2017-01-01

Sustainability is internationally often emphasized as an essential aim of higher education, but more as a principle than on the practical level. This is also obvious in the academic education of primary teachers in Finland. Therefore, it is a great challenge for Finnish teachers to include sustainability in their teaching and everyday life in…

Activated microporous-mesoporous carbon derived from chestnut shell as a sustainable anode material for high performance microbial fuel cells.

PubMed

Chen, Qin; Pu, Wenhong; Hou, Huijie; Hu, Jingping; Liu, Bingchuan; Li, Jianfeng; Cheng, Kai; Huang, Long; Yuan, Xiqing; Yang, Changzhu; Yang, Jiakuan

2018-02-01

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are promising biotechnologies tool to harvest electricity by decomposing organic matter in waste water, and the anode material is a critical factor in determining the performance of MFCs. In this study, chestnut shell is proposed as a novel anode material with mesoporous and microporous structure prepared via a simple carbonization procedure followed by an activation process. The chemical activation process successfully modified the macroporous structure, created more mesoporous and microporous structure and decreased the O-content and pyridinic/pyrrolic N groups on the biomass anode, which were beneficial for improving charge transfer efficiency between the anode surface and microbial biofilm. The MFC with activated biomass anode achieved a maximum power density (23.6 W m -3 ) 2.3 times higher than carbon cloth anode (10.4 W m -3 ). This study introduces a promising and feasible strategy for the fabrication of high performance anodes for MFCs derived from cost-effective, sustainable natural materials. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sustainable Supplier Performance Evaluation and Selection with Neofuzzy TOPSIS Method

PubMed Central

Chaharsooghi, S. K.; Ashrafi, Mehdi

2014-01-01

Supplier selection plays an important role in the supply chain management and traditional criteria such as price, quality, and flexibility are considered for supplier performance evaluation in researches. In recent years sustainability has received more attention in the supply chain management literature with triple bottom line (TBL) describing the sustainability in supply chain management with social, environmental, and economic initiatives. This paper explores sustainability in supply chain management and examines the problem of identifying a new model for supplier selection based on extended model of TBL approach in supply chain by presenting fuzzy multicriteria method. Linguistic values of experts' subjective preferences are expressed with fuzzy numbers and Neofuzzy TOPSIS is proposed for finding the best solution of supplier selection problem. Numerical results show that the proposed model is efficient for integrating sustainability in supplier selection problem. The importance of using complimentary aspects of sustainability and Neofuzzy TOPSIS concept in sustainable supplier selection process is shown with sensitivity analysis. PMID:27379267

Sustainable Supplier Performance Evaluation and Selection with Neofuzzy TOPSIS Method.

PubMed

Chaharsooghi, S K; Ashrafi, Mehdi

2014-01-01

Supplier selection plays an important role in the supply chain management and traditional criteria such as price, quality, and flexibility are considered for supplier performance evaluation in researches. In recent years sustainability has received more attention in the supply chain management literature with triple bottom line (TBL) describing the sustainability in supply chain management with social, environmental, and economic initiatives. This paper explores sustainability in supply chain management and examines the problem of identifying a new model for supplier selection based on extended model of TBL approach in supply chain by presenting fuzzy multicriteria method. Linguistic values of experts' subjective preferences are expressed with fuzzy numbers and Neofuzzy TOPSIS is proposed for finding the best solution of supplier selection problem. Numerical results show that the proposed model is efficient for integrating sustainability in supplier selection problem. The importance of using complimentary aspects of sustainability and Neofuzzy TOPSIS concept in sustainable supplier selection process is shown with sensitivity analysis.

Using DEMATEL approach to develop relationships of performance indicators on sustainable service only supply chain performance measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leksono, EB; Suparno; Vanany, I.

2018-04-01

Service only supply chain (SOSC) concept is service supply chain (SSC) implementation on pure services. The globalization and stakeholder pressure makes operation of SSC should give the attention to the environment effect, community, economic and intangibility assets. SOSC performance measurement (SOSCPM) may be developed for measuring of performance for sustainability aspects and intangibility assets to meet customer satisfaction. This article discusses sustainable SOSCPM based on balanced scorecard (BSC), include sustainability aspects, intangibility and relations between perspectives and indicators. From literature review, it is found 34 performance indicators that must be confirm to expert and SC actors by survey. From survey validation using weighted average and level of consensus, it is found 29 valid indicators for processed by DEMATEL. From DEMATEL, it is found 26 indicators can be used on sustainable SOSCPM. Furthermore, innovation and growth perspective most influence to other, and customer perspective most important. Intangibility indicators incorporated on innovation and growth perspective very related with human resources. Finally, relations between perspectives and indicator used to design of BSC strategy maps.

Sustained and transient attention in the continuous performance task.

PubMed

Smid, H G O M; de Witte, M R; Homminga, I; van den Bosch, R J

2006-08-01

One of the most frequently applied methods to study abnormal cognition is the Continuous Performance Task (CPT). It is unclear, however, which cognitive functions are engaged in normal CPT performance. The aims of the present study were to identify the neurocognitive functions engaged in the main variants of the CPT and to determine to what extent these variants differentially engage these functions. We hypothesized that the main CPT versions (CPT-X, CPT-AX, CPT-Identical Pairs) can be distinguished by whether they demand sustained or transient attention and sustained or transient response preparation. Transient attention to objects like letters or digits, that is, the need to switch attention to different objects from trial to trial, impairs target detection accuracy relative to sustained attention to a single object. Transient response preparation, that is, the possibility to switch response preparation on and off from trial to trial, improves response speed relative to having to sustain response preparation across all trials. Comparison of task performance and Event-Related brain Potentials (ERPs) of healthy participants obtained in the main CPT variants confirmed these hypotheses. Behavioral and ERP measures indicated worse target detection in the CPT-AX than in the CPT-X, consistent with a higher demand on transient attention in that task. In contrast, behavioral and ERP measures indicated higher response speed in the CPT-AX than in the CPT-X, associated with more response preparation in advance of the targets. This supports the idea of increased transient response preparation in the CPT-AX. We conclude that CPTs differ along at least two task variables that each influences a different cognitive function.

The Case for High-Performance, Healthy Green Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Leesa

2011-01-01

When trying to reach their sustainability goals, schools and school districts often run into obstacles, including financing, training, and implementation tools. Last fall, the U.S. Green Building Council-Georgia (USGBC-Georgia) launched its High Performance, Healthy Schools (HPHS) Program to help Georgia schools overcome those obstacles. By…

Impact of automatic calibration techniques on HMD life cycle costs and sustainable performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Speck, Richard P.; Herz, Norman E., Jr.

2000-06-01

Automatic test and calibration has become a valuable feature in many consumer products--ranging from antilock braking systems to auto-tune TVs. This paper discusses HMDs (Helmet Mounted Displays) and how similar techniques can reduce life cycle costs and increase sustainable performance if they are integrated into a program early enough. Optical ATE (Automatic Test Equipment) is already zeroing distortion in the HMDs and thereby making binocular displays a practical reality. A suitcase sized, field portable optical ATE unit could re-zero these errors in the Ready Room to cancel the effects of aging, minor damage and component replacement. Planning on this would yield large savings through relaxed component specifications and reduced logistic costs. Yet, the sustained performance would far exceed that attained with fixed calibration strategies. Major tactical benefits can come from reducing display errors, particularly in information fusion modules and virtual `beyond visual range' operations. Some versions of the ATE described are in production and examples of high resolution optical test data will be discussed.

Towards systemic sustainable performance of TBI care systems: emergency leadership frontiers.

PubMed

Caro, Denis H J

2010-11-10

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) continue as a twenty-first century subterranean and almost invisible scourge internationally. TBI care systems provide a safety net for survival, recovery, and reintegration into social communities from this scourge, particularly in Canada, the European Union, and the USA. This paper examines the underlying issues of systemic performance and sustainability of TBI care systems, in the light of decreasing care resources and increasing demands for services. This paper reviews the extant literature on TBI care systems, systems reengineering, and emergency leadership literature. This paper presents a seven care layer paradigm, which forms the essence of systemic performance in the care of patients with TBIs. It also identifies five key strategic drivers that hold promise for the future systemic sustainability of TBI care systems. Transformational leadership and engagement from the international emergency medical community is the key to generating positive change. The sustainability/performance care framework is relevant and pertinent for consideration internationally and in the context of other emergency medical populations.

Evaluating National Environmental Sustainability: Performance Measures and Influential Factors for OECD-Member Countries featuring Canadian Performance and Policy Implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calbick, Kenneth S.

This research reviews five studies that evaluate national environmental sustainability with composite indices; performs uncertainty and sensitivity analyses of techniques for building a composite index; completes principal components factor analysis to help build subindices measuring waste and pollution, sustainable energy, sustainable food, nature conservation, and sustainable cities (Due to its current importance, the greenhouse gases (GHG) indicator is included individually as another policy measure.); analyses factors that seem to influence performance: climate, population growth, population density, economic output, technological development, industrial structure, energy prices, environmental governance, pollution abatement and control expenditures, and environmental pricing; and explores Canadian policy implications of the results. The techniques to build composite indices include performance indicator selection, missing data treatment, normalisation technique, scale-effect adjustments, weights, and aggregation method. Scale-effect adjustments and normalisation method are significant sources of uncertainty inducing 68% of the observed variation in a country's final rank at the 95% level of confidence. Choice of indicators also introduces substantial variation as well. To compensate for this variation, the current study recommends that a composite index should always be analysed with other policy subindices and individual indicators. Moreover, the connection between population and consumption indicates that per capita scale-effect adjustments should be used for certain indicators. Rather than ranking normalisation, studies should use a method that retains information from the raw indicator values. Multiple regression and cluster analyses indicate economic output, environmental governance, and energy prices are major influential factors, with energy prices the most important. It is statistically significant for five out of seven performance measures at the 95

Measuring Longitudinal Student Performance on Student Learning Outcomes in Sustainability Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jarchow, Meghann E.; Formisano, Paul; Nordyke, Shane; Sayre, Matthew

2018-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the student learning outcomes (SLOs) for a sustainability major, evaluate faculty incorporation of the SLOs into the courses in the sustainability major curriculum and measure student performance on the SLOs from entry into the major to the senior capstone course. Design/methodology/approach:…

Sustaining visual attention in the face of distraction: a novel gradual-onset continuous performance task.

PubMed

Rosenberg, Monica; Noonan, Sarah; DeGutis, Joseph; Esterman, Michael

2013-04-01

Sustained attention is a fundamental aspect of human cognition and has been widely studied in applied and clinical contexts. Despite a growing understanding of how attention varies throughout task performance, moment-to-moment fluctuations are often difficult to assess. In order to better characterize fluctuations in sustained visual attention, in the present study we employed a novel continuous performance task (CPT), the gradual-onset CPT (gradCPT). In the gradCPT, a central face stimulus gradually transitions between individuals at a constant rate (1,200 ms), and participants are instructed to respond to each male face but not to a rare target female face. In the distractor-present version, the background distractors consist of scene images, and in the distractor-absent condition, of phase-scrambled scene images. The results confirmed that the gradCPT taxes sustained attention, as vigilance decrements were observed over the task's 12-min duration: Participants made more commission errors and showed increasingly variable response latencies (RTs) over time. Participants' attentional states also fluctuated from moment to moment, with periods of higher RT variability being associated with increased likelihood of errors and greater speed-accuracy trade-offs. In addition, task performance was related to self-reported mindfulness and the propensity for attention lapses in everyday life. The gradCPT is a useful tool for studying both low- and high-frequency fluctuations in sustained visual attention and is sensitive to individual differences in attentional ability.

High skin temperature and hypohydration impair aerobic performance.

PubMed

Sawka, Michael N; Cheuvront, Samuel N; Kenefick, Robert W

2012-03-01

This paper reviews the roles of hot skin (>35°C) and body water deficits (>2% body mass; hypohydration) in impairing submaximal aerobic performance. Hot skin is associated with high skin blood flow requirements and hypohydration is associated with reduced cardiac filling, both of which act to reduce aerobic reserve. In euhydrated subjects, hot skin alone (with a modest core temperature elevation) impairs submaximal aerobic performance. Conversely, aerobic performance is sustained with core temperatures >40°C if skin temperatures are cool-warm when euhydrated. No study has demonstrated that high core temperature (∼40°C) alone, without coexisting hot skin, will impair aerobic performance. In hypohydrated subjects, aerobic performance begins to be impaired when skin temperatures exceed 27°C, and even warmer skin exacerbates the aerobic performance impairment (-1.5% for each 1°C skin temperature). We conclude that hot skin (high skin blood flow requirements from narrow skin temperature to core temperature gradients), not high core temperature, is the 'primary' factor impairing aerobic exercise performance when euhydrated and that hypohydration exacerbates this effect.

Towards systemic sustainable performance of TBI care systems: emergency leadership frontiers

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) continue as a twenty-first century subterranean and almost invisible scourge internationally. TBI care systems provide a safety net for survival, recovery, and reintegration into social communities from this scourge, particularly in Canada, the European Union, and the USA. Aims This paper examines the underlying issues of systemic performance and sustainability of TBI care systems, in the light of decreasing care resources and increasing demands for services. Methods This paper reviews the extant literature on TBI care systems, systems reengineering, and emergency leadership literature. Results This paper presents a seven care layer paradigm, which forms the essence of systemic performance in the care of patients with TBIs. It also identifies five key strategic drivers that hold promise for the future systemic sustainability of TBI care systems. Conclusions Transformational leadership and engagement from the international emergency medical community is the key to generating positive change. The sustainability/performance care framework is relevant and pertinent for consideration internationally and in the context of other emergency medical populations. PMID:21373305

A Model for Sustainable Building Energy Efficiency Retrofit (BEER) Using Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) Mechanism for Hotel Buildings in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Pengpeng

Hotel building is one of the high-energy-consuming building types, and retrofitting hotel buildings is an untapped solution to help cut carbon emissions contributing towards sustainable development. Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) has been promulgated as a market mechanism for the delivery of energy efficiency projects. EPC mechanism has been introduced into China relatively recently, and it has not been implemented successfully in building energy efficiency retrofit projects. The aim of this research is to develop a model for achieving the sustainability of Building Energy Efficiency Retrofit (BEER) in hotel buildings under the Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) mechanism. The objectives include: • To identify a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for measuring the sustainability of BEER in hotel buildings; • To identify Critical Success Factors (CSFs) under EPC mechanism that have a strong correlation with sustainable BEER project; • To develop a model explaining the relationships between the CSFs and the sustainability performance of BEER in hotel building. Literature reviews revealed the essence of sustainable BEER and EPC, which help to develop a conceptual framework for analyzing sustainable BEER under EPC mechanism in hotel buildings. 11 potential KPIs for sustainable BEER and 28 success factors of EPC were selected based on the developed framework. A questionnaire survey was conducted to ascertain the importance of selected performance indicators and success factors. Fuzzy set theory was adopted in identifying the KPIs. Six KPIs were identified from the 11 selected performance indicators. Through a questionnaire survey, out of the 28 success factors, 21 Critical Success Factors (CSFs) were also indentified. Using the factor analysis technique, the 21 identified CSFs in this study were grouped into six clusters to help explain project success of sustainable BEER. Finally, AHP/ANP approach was used in this research to develop a model to

The sustainability and performance measurement on supply chain in services industry: A literature review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leksono, Eko Budi; Suparno, Vanany, Iwan

2017-11-01

The services industry growth has been significant relation with economic growth. A new paradigm is needed for services sector development. The supply chain and performance measurement able to sustain of services industry growth. The supply chain implementation in the services industry called service supply chain (SSC). The globalization and stakeholder pressure makes operation of SSC should more attention to sustainability issue which consists of economic, social and environment simultaneously on SSC. Furthermore, services industry can develop by implementation of the sustainable SSC and its performance measurement. The sustainable SSC implementation can minimize of negative operation effect to environment and social, and maximize of profit. Sustainable service supply chain performance measurements (SSSCPM) are still less explored. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature in the field SSC, SSSC, SSC performance measurement (SSCPM) and SSSCPM for identification of the SSSCPM frameworks and indicators. Beside, the result of review able to look opportunities for develop a new framework for SSSCPM at the operational level, tactical and strategic, multiplayer and close loop, the effectiveness of the integration and development of modeling and simulation for evaluation in the future.

Client/Server data serving for high performance computing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, Chris

1994-01-01

This paper will attempt to examine the industry requirements for shared network data storage and sustained high speed (10's to 100's to thousands of megabytes per second) network data serving via the NFS and FTP protocol suite. It will discuss the current structural and architectural impediments to achieving these sorts of data rates cost effectively today on many general purpose servers and will describe and architecture and resulting product family that addresses these problems. The sustained performance levels that were achieved in the lab will be shown as well as a discussion of early customer experiences utilizing both the HIPPI-IP and ATM OC3-IP network interfaces.

Exercise science: research to sustain and enhance performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wingo, Jonathan E.

2013-05-01

Cardiovascular adjustments accompanying exercise in high ambient temperatures are likely responsible for diminished aerobic capacity and performance in such conditions. These adjustments include a phenomenon known as cardiovascular drift in which heart rate rises and stroke volume declines progressively over time during constant-rate exercise. A variety of factors modulate the magnitude of cardiovascular drift, e.g., elevated core and skin temperatures, dehydration, and exercise intensity. Regardless of the mode of manipulation, decreases in stroke volume associated with cardiovascular drift result in directionally and proportionally similar decreases in maximal aerobic capacity. Maximal aerobic capacity is determined by maximal heart rate, maximal tissue oxygen extraction, and maximal stroke volume. Because maximal heart rate and maximal tissue oxygen extraction are unaffected during exercise in the heat, decreased stroke volume associated with cardiovascular drift likely persists during maximal efforts and explains the decrease in maximal aerobic capacity. Decreased maximal aerobic capacity results in a greater perceptual and physiological strain accompanying any given level of work. Therefore, sustaining and enhancing performance involves sophisticated monitoring of physiological strain combined with development of countermeasures that mitigate the magnitude of deleterious phenomena like cardiovascular drift.

Developing sustainable transportation performance measures for ALDOT.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-06-01

Sustainable transportation is generally used to refer to transportation that contributes to the sustainable development of the community that owns and uses the system. The Transportation Research Board defines sustainability as: Sustainability is ...

Framework for Sustainability Performance Assessment for Manufacturing Processes- A Review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, K.; Sultan, I.

2017-07-01

Manufacturing industries are facing tough competition due to increasing raw material cost and depleting natural resources. There is great pressure on the industry to produce environmental friendly products using environmental friendly processes. To address these issues modern manufacturing industries are focusing on sustainable manufacturing. To develop more sustainable societies, industries need to better understand how to respond to environmental, economic and social challenges. This paper proposed some framework and tools that accelerate the transition towards a sustainable system. The developed framework will be beneficial for sustainability assessment comparing different plans alongside material properties, ultimately helping the manufacturing industries to reduce the carbon emissions and material waste, besides improving energy efficiency. It is expected that this would be highly beneficial for determination of environmental impact of a process at early design stages. Therefore, it would greatly help the manufacturing industries for selection of process plan based on sustainable indices. Overall objective of this paper would have good impact on reducing air emissions and protecting environment. We expect this work to contribute to the development of a standard reference methodology to help further sustainability in the manufacturing sector.

Sustainable design of high-performance microsized microbial fuel cell with carbon nanotube anode and air cathode.

PubMed

Mink, Justine E; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

2013-08-27

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are a promising alternative energy source that both generates electricity and cleans water. Fueled by liquid wastes such as wastewater or industrial wastes, the microbial fuel cell converts waste into energy. Microsized MFCs are essentially miniature energy harvesters that can be used to power on-chip electronics, lab-on-a-chip devices, and/or sensors. As MFCs are a relatively new technology, microsized MFCs are also an important rapid testing platform for the comparison and introduction of new conditions or materials into macroscale MFCs, especially nanoscale materials that have high potential for enhanced power production. Here we report a 75 μL microsized MFC on silicon using CMOS-compatible processes and employ a novel nanomaterial with exceptional electrochemical properties, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), as the on-chip anode. We used this device to compare the usage of the more commonly used but highly expensive anode material gold, as well as a more inexpensive substitute, nickel. This is the first anode material study done using the most sustainably designed microsized MFC to date, which utilizes ambient oxygen as the electron acceptor with an air cathode instead of the chemical ferricyanide and without a membrane. Ferricyanide is unsustainable, as the chemical must be continuously refilled, while using oxygen, naturally found in air, makes the device mobile and is a key step in commercializing this for portable technology such as lab-on-a-chip for point-of-care diagnostics. At 880 mA/m(2) and 19 mW/m(2) the MWCNT anode outperformed the others in both current and power densities with between 6 and 20 times better performance. All devices were run for over 15 days, indicating a stable and high-endurance energy harvester already capable of producing enough power for ultra-low-power electronics and able to consistently power them over time.

Target Predictability, Sustained Attention, and Response Inhibition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Leonie; Russell, Paul N.; Helton, William S.

2013-01-01

We examined whether the sustained attention to response task is a better measure of response inhibition or sustained attention. Participants performed a number detection task for 37.3 min using either a Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART; high Go low No-Go) or a more traditionally formatted vigilance task (TFT; high No-Go low Go) response…

Sustainable and Net Zero Buildings on the NREL Campus | NREL

Science.gov Websites

NREL Campus Many of the high-performance buildings on NREL's South Table Mountain campus have achieved high-performance, sustainable buildings on the South Table Mountain (STM) campus as of FY17. The campus campus also reported 100% compliance with the Guiding Principles for High Performance Sustainable

High-performance thin layer chromatography to assess pharmaceutical product quality.

PubMed

Kaale, Eliangiringa; Manyanga, Vicky; Makori, Narsis; Jenkins, David; Michael Hope, Samuel; Layloff, Thomas

2014-06-01

To assess the sustainability, robustness and economic advantages of high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) for quality control of pharmaceutical products. We compared three laboratories where three lots of cotrimoxazole tablets were assessed using different techniques for quantifying the active ingredient. The average assay relative standard deviation for the three lots was 1.2 with a range of 0.65-2.0. High-performance thin layer chromatography assessments are yielding valid results suitable for assessing product quality. The local pharmaceutical manufacturer had evolved the capacity to produce very high quality products. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Innovation in user-centered skills and performance improvement for sustainable complex service systems.

PubMed

Karwowski, Waldemar; Ahram, Tareq Z

2012-01-01

In order to leverage individual and organizational learning and to remain competitive in current turbulent markets it is important for employees, managers, planners and leaders to perform at high levels over time. Employee competence and skills are extremely important matters in view of the general shortage of talent and the mobility of employees with talent. Two factors emerged to have the greatest impact on the competitiveness of complex service systems: improving managerial and employee's knowledge attainment for skills, and improving the training and development of the workforce. This paper introduces the knowledge-based user-centered service design approach for sustainable skill and performance improvement in education, design and modeling of the next generation of complex service systems. The rest of the paper cover topics in human factors and sustainable business process modeling for the service industry, and illustrates the user-centered service system development cycle with the integration of systems engineering concepts in service systems. A roadmap for designing service systems of the future is discussed. The framework introduced in this paper is based on key user-centered design principles and systems engineering applications to support service competitiveness.

Sustainability of High-Level Isolation Capabilities among US Ebola Treatment Centers.

PubMed

Herstein, Jocelyn J; Biddinger, Paul D; Gibbs, Shawn G; Le, Aurora B; Jelden, Katelyn C; Hewlett, Angela L; Lowe, John J

2017-06-01

To identify barriers to maintaining and applying capabilities of US high-level isolation units (HLIUs) used during the Ebola virus disease outbreak, during 2016 we surveyed HLIUs. HLIUs identified sustainability challenges and reported the highly infectious diseases they would treat. HLIUs expended substantial resources in development but must strategize models of sustainability to maintain readiness.

Low-Cost, High-Performance Hall Thruster Support System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hesterman, Bryce

2015-01-01

Colorado Power Electronics (CPE) has built an innovative modular PPU for Hall thrusters, including discharge, magnet, heater and keeper supplies, and an interface module. This high-performance PPU offers resonant circuit topologies, magnetics design, modularity, and a stable and sustained operation during severe Hall effect thruster current oscillations. Laboratory testing has demonstrated discharge module efficiency of 96 percent, which is considerably higher than current state of the art.

New Whole-House Solutions Case Study: Performance and Costs of Ductless Heat Pumps in Marine Climate High-Performance Homes

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

None

2016-02-24

The Woods is a sustainable community built by Habitat for Humanity in 2013. This community comprises 30 homes that are high-performance and energy-efficient. With support from Tacoma Public Utilities and the Bonneville Power Administration, the BA-PIRC team is researching the energy performance of these homes and the ductless heat pumps they employ.

Optical interconnection networks for high-performance computing systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biberman, Aleksandr; Bergman, Keren

2012-04-01

Enabled by silicon photonic technology, optical interconnection networks have the potential to be a key disruptive technology in computing and communication industries. The enduring pursuit of performance gains in computing, combined with stringent power constraints, has fostered the ever-growing computational parallelism associated with chip multiprocessors, memory systems, high-performance computing systems and data centers. Sustaining these parallelism growths introduces unique challenges for on- and off-chip communications, shifting the focus toward novel and fundamentally different communication approaches. Chip-scale photonic interconnection networks, enabled by high-performance silicon photonic devices, offer unprecedented bandwidth scalability with reduced power consumption. We demonstrate that the silicon photonic platforms have already produced all the high-performance photonic devices required to realize these types of networks. Through extensive empirical characterization in much of our work, we demonstrate such feasibility of waveguides, modulators, switches and photodetectors. We also demonstrate systems that simultaneously combine many functionalities to achieve more complex building blocks. We propose novel silicon photonic devices, subsystems, network topologies and architectures to enable unprecedented performance of these photonic interconnection networks. Furthermore, the advantages of photonic interconnection networks extend far beyond the chip, offering advanced communication environments for memory systems, high-performance computing systems, and data centers.

ASSESSMENT OF MAXIMUM SUSTAINABLE SWIMMING PERFORMANCE IN RAINBOW TROUT (ONCORHYNCHUS MYKISS)

PubMed

Wilson; Egginton

1994-07-01

Levels of swimming activity in fishes have been divided into three categories on the basis of the time a given speed can be maintained before the onset of fatigue (Beamish, 1978): sustained (more than 200 min), prolonged (20 s to 200 min) and burst swimming (less than 20 s). The locomotory capacity of a given species reflects both its lifestyle and its body form, although definitions of performance may vary. It is generally accepted that only the aerobic ('red') muscle fibres should be active at truly sustainable swimming speeds, i.e. at speeds that can be maintained indefinitely without fatigue. However, the standard laboratory method of evaluating the maximum sustainable swimming speed (Ucrit; Brett, 1964) almost certainly entails the recruitment of at least some of the rapidly fatigable fast glycolytic ('white') fibres at sub-critical speeds and undoubtedly complicates the evaluation of maximal cardiovascular performance. It would therefore be useful to have an objective and reproducible measure of truly sustainable performance that, by definition, relies solely on aerobic muscle activity. Electromyography (EMG) has been used to examine the pattern of white muscle recruitment following thermal acclimation in striped bass, Morine saxatilis (Sisson and Sidell, 1987). We wished to incorporate this method into a study of the acclimatory responses to chronic changes in environmental temperature of the cardiovascular and locomotory systems in rainbow trout (Wilson and Egginton, 1992). The present communication presents results on the cardiovascular performance and blood chemistry, at rest and during maximal aerobic exercise, of rainbow trout acclimated to 11 °C, as a validation of the methodology currently in use with fish acclimated to seasonal temperature extremes (Taylor et al. 1992). Different acclimation temperatures are known to produce compensatory changes in the relative proportions of red and white muscle mass (Sidell and Moerland, 1989). The aim of these

The High Rise Low Cost Housing : Sustainable Neighbourhood Elements (Green Elements) in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wahi, Noraziah; Mohamad, Ismail; Mohamad Zin, Rosli; Munikanan, Vikneswaran; Junaini, Syahrizan

2018-03-01

The sustainable development is a vital measure to alleviate the greenhouse gas effect, global warming and any other environment issues. The sustainable neighbourhood concept is not new in Malaysia, However, the concept still needs attention and awareness from the stakeholders. This paper discusses on the sustainable neighbourhood elements specifically green elements application on the high rise low cost housing in Malaysia. Malaysia should have focused sustainable neighbourhood planning and design especially on the high rise low cost housing therefore the future generation can be benefited from this type development.

An Experimental Study of High Strength-High Volume Fly Ash Concrete for Sustainable Construction Industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kate, Gunavant K.; Thakare, Sunil B., Dr.

2017-08-01

Concrete is the most widely used building material in the construction of infrastructures such as buildings, bridges, highways, dams, and many other facilities. This paper reports the development, the basic idea, the main properties of high strength-high volume fly ash with application in concrete associated with the development and implementation of Sustainable Properties of High Volume Fly Ash Concrete (HVFAC) Mixtures and Early Age Shrinkage and mechanical properties of concrete for 7,28,56 and 90days. Another alternative to make environment-friendly concrete is the development of high strength-high-volume fly ash concrete which is an synthesized from materials of geological origin or by-product materials such as fly ash which is rich in silicon and aluminum. In this paper 6 concrete mixtures were produced to evaluate the effect of key parameters on the mechanical properties of concrete and its behavior. The study key parameters are; binder material content, cement replacement ratios, and the steel fibers used to High Volume Fly Ash mixtures for increasing performance of concrete.

High performance quarter-inch cartridge tape systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwarz, Ted

1993-01-01

Within the established low cost structure of Data Cartridge drive technology, it is possible to achieve nearly 1 terrabyte (10(exp 12)) of data capacity and more than 1 Gbit/sec (greater than 100 Mbytes/sec) transfer rates. The desirability to place this capability within a single cartridge will be determined by the market. The 3.5 in. or smaller form factor may suffice to serve both the current Data Cartridge market and a high performance segment. In any case, Data Cartridge Technology provides a strong sustainable technology growth path in the 21st century.

Managing School Districts for High Performance: Cases in Public Education Leadership

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Childress, Stacey, Ed.; Elmore, Richard F., Ed.; Grossman, Allen, Ed.; Johnson, Susan Moore, Ed.

2007-01-01

"Managing School Districts for High Performance" brings together more than twenty case studies and other readings that offer a powerful and transformative approach to advancing and sustaining the work of school improvement. At the center of this work is the concept of organizational coherence: aligning organizational design, human…

Search Asymmetry, Sustained Attention, and Response Inhibition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stevenson, Hugh; Russell, Paul N.; Helton, William S.

2011-01-01

In the present experiment, we used search asymmetry to test whether the sustained attention to response task is a better measure of response inhibition or sustained attention. Participants performed feature present and feature absent target detection tasks using either a sustained attention to response task (SART; high Go low No-Go) or a…

Sustainable limitation of high-frequency oscillations of elevator cabin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaytukov, Batraz

2017-10-01

In this paper, a problem of sustainable limitation of vertical high-frequency oscillations of elevator cabin in buildings with various number of storeys is considered. To solve this problem, dynamic model of the elevator movement was developed. In the course of analytical and experimental studies, the main cause for emergence of undesirable high-frequency oscillations of a cabin was defined. The amplification factor which is the function of λ and length of cable was determined. The λ parameter is variable, and length of the cable changes depending on length passed by the cabin and is an amplification factor argument. For sustainable limitation of oscillations, use of dynamic dumper of lever type is proposed. Adjustment of the dumper natural vibration frequency in such a way that it is equal to the excitation frequency allows limiting of oscillations of the cabin and the elevator machine to reasonable value irrespective to position of a moving cabin in the shaft. Using dependences and plots which were obtained in the course of scientific analysis and experimental studies, reasonability of dumper application for sustainable limitation of high-frequency influence of the elevator machine on the base and obtaining of solutions of inertial forces equilibration problem was proved.

Sustained attentional and disattentional abilities: differences between low and highly hypnotizable persons.

PubMed

Crawford, H J; Brown, A M; Moon, C E

1993-11-01

Relations between sustained attentional and disattentional abilities and hypnotic susceptibility (Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility: Form A; Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale: Form C) were examined in 38 low (0-3) and 39 highly (10-12) hypnotizable college students. Highs showed greater sustained attention on Necker cube and autokinetic movement tasks and self-reported greater absorption (Tellegen Absorption Scale) and extremely focused attentional (Differential Attentional Processes Inventory) styles. Hypnotizability was unrelated to dichotic selective attention (A. Karlin, 1979) and random number generation (C. Graham & F. J. Evans, 1977) tasks. Discriminant analysis correctly classified 74% of the lows and 69% of the highs. Results support H. J. Crawford and J. H. Gruzelier's (1992) neuropsychophysiological model of hypnosis that proposes that highly hypnotizable persons have a more efficient far frontolimbic sustained attentional and disattentional system.

Sustainable Process for the Preparation of High-Performance Thin-Film Composite Membranes using Ionic Liquids as the Reaction Medium.

PubMed

Mariën, Hanne; Bellings, Lotte; Hermans, Sanne; Vankelecom, Ivo F J

2016-05-23

A new form of interfacial polymerization to synthesize thin-film composite membranes realizes a more sustainable membrane preparation and improved nanofiltration performance. By introducing an ionic liquid (IL) as the organic reaction phase, the extremely different physicochemical properties to those of commonly used organic solvents influenced the top-layer formation in several beneficial ways. In addition to the elimination of hazardous solvents in the preparation, the m-phenylenediamine (MPD) concentration could be reduced 20-fold, and the use of surfactants and catalysts became redundant. Together with the more complete recycling of the organic phase in the water/IL system, these factors resulted in a 50 % decrease in the mass intensity of the top-layer formation. Moreover, a much thinner top layer with a high ethanol permeance of 0.61 L m(-2)  h(-1)  bar(-1) [99 % Rose Bengal (RB, 1017 Da) retention; 1 bar=0.1 MPa] was formed without the use of any additives. This EtOH permeance is 555 and 161 % higher than that for the conventional interfacial polymerization (without and with additives, respectively). In reverse osmosis, high NaCl retentions of 97 % could be obtained. Finally, the remarkable decrease in the membrane surface roughness indicates the potential for reduced fouling with this new type of membrane. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Sustained load performance of adhesive anchor systems in concrete

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Todd Marshall

Stemming from a tragic failure of an adhesive anchor system, this research project investigated the sustained load performance of adhesive anchors in concrete under different installation and in-service conditions. The literature review investigated the current state of art of adhesive anchors. Extensive discussion was devoted to the behavior of adhesive anchors in concrete as well as the many factors that can affect their short-term and sustained load strength. Existing standards and specifications for the testing, design, construction, and inspection of adhesive anchors were covered. Based on the results of the literature review and the experience of the research group, a triage was conducted on many parameters identified as possibly affecting the sustained load performance of adhesive anchors and the highest priority parameters were investigated in this project. A stress versus time-to-failure approach was used to evaluate sensitivity of three ICC-ES AC 308 approved adhesive anchor systems. Of the various parameters investigated, only elevated in-service temperature and manufacturer's cure time was shown to exhibit adverse effects on sustained loads more than that predicted by short-term tests of fully cured adhesive over a reasonable structure lifetime of 75 years. In a related study, various tests were conducted on the adhesive alone (time-temperature superposition, time-stress superposition, and dogbone tensile tests). The results of that study were used to investigate the existence of a correlation with long-term anchor pullout testing in concrete. No consistent correlations were detected for the adhesives in the study. Tests were also conducted on the effect of early-age concrete on adhesive anchor bond strength. On the basis of confined test bond-strength alone, adhesive A (vinyl ester) did not show any significant increase after 14 days (102% of 28 day strength at 14 days), and adhesive B and C (epoxies) did not show any significant increase after 7 days

Self-sustainable, high-power-density bio-solar cells for lab-on-a-chip applications.

PubMed

Liu, Lin; Choi, Seokheun

2017-11-07

A microfluidic lab-on-a-chip system that generates its own power is essential for stand-alone, independent, self-sustainable point-of-care diagnostic devices to work in limited-resource and remote regions. Miniaturized biological solar cells (or micro-BSCs) can be the most suitable power source for those lab-on-a-chip applications because the technique resembles the earth's natural ecosystem - living organisms work in conjunction with non-living components of their environment to create a self-assembling and self-maintaining system. Micro-BSCs can continuously generate electricity from microbial photosynthetic and respiratory activities over day-night cycles, offering a clean and renewable power source with self-sustaining potential. However, the promise of this technology has not been translated into practical applications because of its relatively low power (∼nW cm -2 ) and current short lifetimes (∼a couple of hours). In this work, we enabled high-performance, self-sustaining, long-life micro-BSCs by using fundamental breakthroughs of device architectures and electrode materials. A 3-D biocompatible, conductive, and porous anode demonstrated great microbial biofilm formation and a high rate of bacterial extracellular electron transfer, which led to greater power generation. Furthermore, our micro-BSCs promoted gas exchange to the bacteria through a gas-permeable PDMS membrane in a well-controlled, tightly enclosed micro-chamber, substantially enhancing sustainability. Through photosynthetic reactions of the cyanobacteria Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 without additional organic fuel, the 90 μL single-chambered bio-solar cell generated a maximum power density of 43.8 μW cm -2 and sustained consistent power production of ∼18.6 μW cm -2 during the day and ∼11.4 μW cm -2 at night for 20 days, which is the highest and longest reported success of any existing micro-scale bio-solar cells.

High-Performance High-Loading Lithium-Sulfur Batteries by Low Temperature Atomic Layer Deposition of Aluminum Oxide on Nanophase S Cathodes

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

Meng, Xiangbo; Liu, Yuzi; Cao, Yanqiang

2017-05-18

This study examines the effects of nanophase S and surface coatings via atomic layer deposition (ALD) on high-loading sulfur cathodes for developing high-performance and high-energy lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. It is first verified that ball milling is an effective and facile route for nanoengineering microsized S powders and the resultant nanoscale S particles exhibit better performance. Using these ball milled nanoscale S cathodes, it is found that ALD Al2O3 performed at 50 degrees C yields deposits that evolve with ALD cycles from dispersed nanoparticles, to porous, connected films, and finally to dense and continuous films. Moreover, this low temperature ALD processmore » suppresses S loss by sublimation. The ALD Al2O3 greatly improves sulfur cathode sustainable capacity and Coulombic efficiency. This study postulates two different mechanisms underlying the effects of ALD Al2O3 surface coatings depending on their morphology. ALD Al2O3 nanoparticles dispersed on the sulfur surface mainly function to adsorb polysulfides, thereby inhibiting S shuttling and improving sustainable capacity and Coulombic efficiency. By contrast, ALD Al2O3 films behave as a physical barrier to prevent polysulfides from contacting the liquid electrolyte and dissolving. The dispersed Al2O3 nanoparticles improve both sustainable capacity and Coulombic efficiency while the closed Al2O3 films improve Coulombic efficiency while decreasing the capacity« less

Sustaining Excellence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moorse, Rosemary; Reisenberger, Anna

This publication outlines prerequisites for success, critical factors in achieving excellence, and strategies for sustaining excellence once high levels of performance have been achieved. It considers how quality and improvement models might be used to support colleges in this work and draws on the work of 10 colleges in the United Kingdom that…

Sustained Attention to Local and Global Target Features Is Different: Performance and Tympanic Membrane Temperature

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helton, William S.; Hayrynen, Lauren; Schaeffer, David

2009-01-01

Vision researchers have investigated the differences between global and local feature perception. No one has, however, examined the role of global and local feature discrimination in sustained attention tasks. In this experiment participants performed a sustained attention task requiring either global or local letter target discriminations or…

Sustained attention performance during sleep deprivation: evidence of state instability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Doran, S. M.; Van Dongen, H. P.; Dinges, D. F.

2001-01-01

Nathaniel Kleitman was the first to observe that sleep deprivation in humans did not eliminate the ability to perform neurobehavioral functions, but it did make it difficult to maintain stable performance for more than a few minutes. To investigate variability in performance as a function of sleep deprivation, n = 13 subjects were tested every 2 hours on a 10-minute, sustained-attention, psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) throughout 88 hours of total sleep deprivation (TSD condition), and compared to a control group of n = 15 subjects who were permitted a 2-hour nap every 12 hours (NAP condition) throughout the 88-hour period. PVT reaction time means and standard deviations increased markedly among subjects and within each individual subject in the TSD condition relative to the NAP condition. TSD subjects also had increasingly greater performance variability as a function of time on task after 18 hours of wakefulness. During sleep deprivation, variability in PVT performance reflected a combination of normal timely responses, errors of omission (i.e., lapses), and errors of commission (i.e., responding when no stimulus was present). Errors of omission and errors of commission were highly intercorrelated across deprivation in the TSD condition (r = 0.85, p = 0.0001), suggesting that performance instability is more likely to include compensatory effort than a lack of motivation. The marked increases in PVT performance variability as sleep loss continued supports the "state instability" hypothesis, which posits that performance during sleep deprivation is increasingly variable due to the influence of sleep initiating mechanisms on the endogenous capacity to maintain attention and alertness, thereby creating an unstable state that fluctuates within seconds and that cannot be characterized as either fully awake or asleep.

From damselflies to pterosaurs: how burst and sustainable flight performance scale with size.

PubMed

Marden, J H

1994-04-01

Recent empirical data for short-burst lift and power production of flying animals indicate that mass-specific lift and power output scale independently (lift) or slightly positively (power) with increasing size. These results contradict previous theory, as well as simple observation, which argues for degradation of flight performance with increasing size. Here, empirical measures of lift and power during short-burst exertion are combined with empirically based estimates of maximum muscle power output in order to predict how burst and sustainable performance scale with body size. The resulting model is used to estimate performance of the largest extant flying birds and insects, along with the largest flying animals known from fossils. These estimates indicate that burst flight performance capacities of even the largest extinct fliers (estimated mass 250 kg) would allow takeoff from the ground; however, limitations on sustainable power output should constrain capacity for continuous flight at body sizes exceeding 0.003-1.0 kg, depending on relative wing length and flight muscle mass.

Mini-review: high rate algal ponds, flexible systems for sustainable wastewater treatment.

PubMed

Young, P; Taylor, M; Fallowfield, H J

2017-06-01

Over the last 20 years, there has been a growing requirement by governments around the world for organisations to adopt more sustainable practices. Wastewater treatment is no exception, with many currently used systems requiring large capital investment, land area and power consumption. High rate algal ponds offer a sustainable, efficient and lower cost option to the systems currently in use. They are shallow, mixed lagoon based systems, which aim to maximise wastewater treatment by creating optimal conditions for algal growth and oxygen production-the key processes which remove nitrogen and organic waste in HRAP systems. This design means they can treat wastewater to an acceptable quality within a fifth of time of other lagoon systems while using 50% less surface area. This smaller land requirement decreases both the construction costs and evaporative water losses, making larger volumes of treated water available for beneficial reuse. They are ideal for rural, peri-urban and remote communities as they require minimum power and little on-site management. This review will address the history of and current trends in high rate algal pond development and application; a comparison of their performance with other systems when treating various wastewaters; and discuss their potential for production of added-value products. Finally, the review will consider areas requiring further research.

A new method to assess the sustainability performance of events: Application to the 2014 World Orienteering Championship

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

Scrucca, Flavio; Severi, Claudio; Galvan, Nicola

Nowadays an increasing attention of public and private agencies to the sustainability performance of events is observed, since it is recognized as a key issue in the context of sustainable development. Assessing the sustainability performance of events involves environmental, social and economic aspects; their impacts are complex and a quantitative assessment is often difficult. This paper presents a new quali-quantitative method developed to measure the sustainability of events, taking into account all its potential impacts. The 2014 World Orienteering Championship, held in Italy, was selected to test the proposed evaluation methodology. The total carbon footprint of the event was 165.34more » tCO{sub 2}eq and the avoided emissions were estimated as being 46 tCO{sub 2}eq. The adopted quali-quantitative method resulted to be efficient in assessing the sustainability impacts and can be applied for the evaluation of similar events. - Highlights: • A quali-quantitative method to assess events' sustainability is presented. • All the methodological issues related to the method are explained. • The method is used to evaluate the sustainability of an international sports event. • The method resulted to be valid to assess the event's sustainability level. • The carbon footprint of the event has been calculated.« less

Utilizing Commercial Real Estate Owner and Investor Data to Analyze the Financial Performance of Energy Efficient, High-Performance Office Buildings

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

Cloutier, Deborah; Hosseini, Farshid; White, Andrew

Evidence has shown that owning and operating energy-efficient, high-performance, “green” properties results in multiple benefits including lower utility bills, higher rents, improved occupancy, and greater net operating income. However, it is difficult to isolate and control moderating factors to identify the specific drivers behind improved financial performance and value to investors that results from sustainability in real estate. DOE is interested in facilitating deeper investigation of the correlation between energy efficiency and financial performance, reducing data acquisition and matching challenges, and developing a stronger understanding of how sustainable design and energy efficiency impact value. DOE commissioned this pilot study tomore » test the logistical and empirical procedures required to establish a Commercial Real Estate Data Aggregation & Trends Analysis lab, determine the potential benefits available through the lab, and contribute to the existing body of evidence in this field.« less

2014 Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-30

Strategic Sourcing Initiatives, such as Blanket Purchase Agreements ( BPAs ) for office products and imaging equipment, which include sustainable...end of FY2014. Use Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiatives, such as Blanket Purchase Agreements ( BPAs ) Yes USACE is required to participate in

Evaluation of possibility to increasing sustainability of high-rise buildings through use university intellectual property

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potekhin, Igor; Mischenko, Valeryi; Mottaeva, Angela; Zheltenkov, Alexander

2018-03-01

In this article explained approach of valuation of intellectual property of Voronezh State Technical University, as her usefulness to increasing the sustainability and ecological safety of high-rise building. High-rise building is main type of buildings in modern cities. They include large volume of material mass, high volume of energy using and high volume of emissions. Using innovation solutions to improving ecology safety of high-rise buildings has large potential to city in whole. Explained in the article methods of calculation of effects helps to value sustainable solutions of present and future generations. Thus usefulness of patents express through usefulness regarding to high-rise building, including for sustainable development.

A Sustainable Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

del Monte, Betsy

2006-01-01

Many school districts and education institutions are making green facilities a greater priority. Green buildings, also called sustainable or high-performance buildings, can provide many advantages for schools and the people who use them. They cost less to operate, last longer and provide a better learning environment. Constructing sustainable…

Modeling Sustainment Investment

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-05-01

Requests Strategy Staffing Training & Process Funding sustainment capacity sustainment performance gap Bandwagon Effect R1 Limits to Growth B1...Mellon University sustainment capacity sustainment performance gap Bandwagon Effect R1 Limits to Growth B1 S Work Smarter B3 Work Bigger B2 desired... effects of decisions and • Suggests how to prevent problems before they become too expensive. Next: A sample piece of the simulation model

Incorporating sustainability into TxDOT's transportation decision making : summary of work performed, methods used, and results achieved.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-02-01

This report summarizes the work performed in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 and 2010 under TxDOT : Implementation Project 5-5541-01 Regional Workshops on Sustainability Enhancement : Tool. TxDOT Research Project 0-5541, Developing Sustainable Tra...

Challenges to achievement of metal sustainability in our high-tech society

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

Izatt, Reed M.; Izatt, Steven R.; Bruening, Ronald L.

Achievement of sustainability in metal life cycles from mining of virgin ore to consumer and industrial devices to end-of-life products requires greatly increased recycling and improved processing of metals. Electronic and other high-tech products containing precious, toxic, and specialty metals usually have short lifetimes and low recycling rates. Products containing these metals generally are incinerated, discarded as waste in landfills, or dismantled in informal recycling using crude and environmentally irresponsible procedures. Low metal recycling rates coupled with increasing demand for products containing them necessitate increased mining with attendant environmental, health, energy, water, and carbon-footprint consequences. In this tutorial review, challengesmore » to achieving metal sustainability in present high-tech society are presented; health, environmental, and economic incentives for various stakeholders to improve metal sustainability are discussed; a case for technical improvements in separations technology, especially employing molecular recognition, is given; and global consequences of continuing on the present path are examined.« less

Measuring business performance using indicators of ecologically sustainable organizations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snow, Charles G., Jr.; Snow, Charles C.

2001-02-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of ecology-based performance measures as a way of augmenting the Balanced Scorecard approach to organizational performance measurement. The Balanced Scorecard, as proposed by Kaplan and Norton, focuses on four primary dimensions; financial, internal-business-process, customer, and learning and growth perspectives. Recently, many 'green' organizational theorists have developed the concept of "Ecologically Sustainable Organizations" or ESOs, a concept rooted in open systems theory. The ESO is called upon to consider resource use and conservation as a strategy for long-term viability. This paper asserts that in order to achieve ESO status, an organization must not only measure but also reward resource conservation measures. Only by adding a fifth perspective for ecological dimensions will the entity be truly motivated toward ESO status.

The advent of canine performance science: offering a sustainable future for working dogs.

PubMed

Cobb, Mia; Branson, Nick; McGreevy, Paul; Lill, Alan; Bennett, Pauleen

2015-01-01

Working and sporting dogs provide an essential contribution to many industries worldwide. The common development, maintenance and disposal of working and sporting dogs can be considered in the same way as other animal production systems. The process of 'production' involves genetic selection, puppy rearing, recruitment and assessment, training, housing and handling, handler education, health and working life end-point management. At present, inefficiencies throughout the production process result in a high failure rate of dogs attaining operational status. This level of wastage would be condemned in other animal production industries for economic reasons and has significant implications for dog welfare, as well as public perceptions of dog-based industries. Standards of acceptable animal use are changing and some historically common uses of animals are no longer publicly acceptable, especially where harm is caused for purposes deemed trivial, or where alternatives exist. Public scrutiny of animal use appears likely to increase and extend to all roles of animals, including working and sporting dogs. Production system processes therefore need to be transparent, traceable and ethically acceptable for animal use to be sustainable into the future. Evidence-based approaches already inform best practice in fields as diverse as agriculture and human athletic performance. This article introduces the nascent discipline of canine performance science, which aims to facilitate optimal product quality and production efficiency, while also assuring evidence-based increments in dog welfare through a process of research and development. Our thesis is that the model of canine performance science offers an objective, transparent and traceable opportunity for industry development in line with community expectations and underpins a sustainable future for working dogs. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Canine Behavior. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sustainability Characterization for Additive Manufacturing

PubMed Central

Mani, Mahesh; Lyons, Kevin W; Gupta, SK

2014-01-01

Additive manufacturing (AM) has the potential to create geometrically complex parts that require a high degree of customization, using less material and producing less waste. Recent studies have shown that AM can be an economically viable option for use by the industry, yet there are some inherent challenges associated with AM for wider acceptance. The lack of standards in AM impedes its use for parts production since industries primarily depend on established standards in processes and material selection to ensure the consistency and quality. Inability to compare AM performance against traditional manufacturing methods can be a barrier for implementing AM processes. AM process sustainability has become a driver due to growing environmental concerns for manufacturing. This has reinforced the importance to understand and characterize AM processes for sustainability. Process characterization for sustainability will help close the gaps for comparing AM performance to traditional manufacturing methods. Based on a literature review, this paper first examines the potential environmental impacts of AM. A methodology for sustainability characterization of AM is then proposed to serve as a resource for the community to benchmark AM processes for sustainability. Next, research perspectives are discussed along with relevant standardization efforts. PMID:26601038

Sustainability Characterization for Additive Manufacturing.

PubMed

Mani, Mahesh; Lyons, Kevin W; Gupta, S K

2014-01-01

Additive manufacturing (AM) has the potential to create geometrically complex parts that require a high degree of customization, using less material and producing less waste. Recent studies have shown that AM can be an economically viable option for use by the industry, yet there are some inherent challenges associated with AM for wider acceptance. The lack of standards in AM impedes its use for parts production since industries primarily depend on established standards in processes and material selection to ensure the consistency and quality. Inability to compare AM performance against traditional manufacturing methods can be a barrier for implementing AM processes. AM process sustainability has become a driver due to growing environmental concerns for manufacturing. This has reinforced the importance to understand and characterize AM processes for sustainability. Process characterization for sustainability will help close the gaps for comparing AM performance to traditional manufacturing methods. Based on a literature review, this paper first examines the potential environmental impacts of AM. A methodology for sustainability characterization of AM is then proposed to serve as a resource for the community to benchmark AM processes for sustainability. Next, research perspectives are discussed along with relevant standardization efforts.

A generalized procedure for analyzing sustained and dynamic vocal fold vibrations from laryngeal high-speed videos using phonovibrograms.

PubMed

Unger, Jakob; Schuster, Maria; Hecker, Dietmar J; Schick, Bernhard; Lohscheller, Jörg

2016-01-01

This work presents a computer-based approach to analyze the two-dimensional vocal fold dynamics of endoscopic high-speed videos, and constitutes an extension and generalization of a previously proposed wavelet-based procedure. While most approaches aim for analyzing sustained phonation conditions, the proposed method allows for a clinically adequate analysis of both dynamic as well as sustained phonation paradigms. The analysis procedure is based on a spatio-temporal visualization technique, the phonovibrogram, that facilitates the documentation of the visible laryngeal dynamics. From the phonovibrogram, a low-dimensional set of features is computed using a principle component analysis strategy that quantifies the type of vibration patterns, irregularity, lateral symmetry and synchronicity, as a function of time. Two different test bench data sets are used to validate the approach: (I) 150 healthy and pathologic subjects examined during sustained phonation. (II) 20 healthy and pathologic subjects that were examined twice: during sustained phonation and a glissando from a low to a higher fundamental frequency. In order to assess the discriminative power of the extracted features, a Support Vector Machine is trained to distinguish between physiologic and pathologic vibrations. The results for sustained phonation sequences are compared to the previous approach. Finally, the classification performance of the stationary analyzing procedure is compared to the transient analysis of the glissando maneuver. For the first test bench the proposed procedure outperformed the previous approach (proposed feature set: accuracy: 91.3%, sensitivity: 80%, specificity: 97%, previous approach: accuracy: 89.3%, sensitivity: 76%, specificity: 96%). Comparing the classification performance of the second test bench further corroborates that analyzing transient paradigms provides clear additional diagnostic value (glissando maneuver: accuracy: 90%, sensitivity: 100%, specificity: 80

Pushing the Employment Agenda: Case Study Research of High Performing States in Integrated Employment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hall, Allison Cohen; Butterworth, John; Winsor, Jean; Gilmore, Dana; Metzel, Deborah

2007-01-01

Organizational variables, including policies, practices, collaborations, and funding mechanisms resulting in high performance in integrated employment, were described through case study research in 3 states. Findings address how contextual factors, system-level strategies, and goals of the system are related as well as how they sustain systems…

Sustained Attention Performance during Sleep Deprivation Associates with Instability in Behavior and Physiologic Measures at Baseline

PubMed Central

Chua, Eric Chern-Pin; Yeo, Sing-Chen; Lee, Ivan Tian-Guang; Tan, Luuan-Chin; Lau, Pauline; Cai, Shiwei; Zhang, Xiaodong; Puvanendran, Kathiravelu; Gooley, Joshua J.

2014-01-01

Study Objectives: To identify baseline behavioral and physiologic markers that associate with individual differences in sustained attention during sleep deprivation. Design: In a retrospective study, ocular, electrocardiogram, and electroencephalogram (EEG) measures were compared in subjects who were characterized as resilient (n = 15) or vulnerable (n = 15) to the effects of total sleep deprivation on sustained attention. Setting: Chronobiology and Sleep Laboratory, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore. Participants: Healthy volunteers aged 22-32 years from the general population. Interventions: Subjects were kept awake for at least 26 hours under constant environmental conditions. Every 2 hours, sustained attention was assessed using a 10-minute psychomotor vigilance task (PVT). Measurements and Results: During baseline sleep and recovery sleep, EEG slow wave activity was similar in resilient versus vulnerable subjects, suggesting that individual differences in vulnerability to sleep loss were not related to differences in homeostatic sleep regulation. Rather, irrespective of time elapsed since wake, subjects who were vulnerable to sleep deprivation exhibited slower and more variable PVT response times, lower and more variable heart rate, and higher and more variable EEG spectral power in the theta frequency band (6.0-7.5 Hz). Conclusions: Performance decrements in sustained attention during sleep deprivation associate with instability in behavioral and physiologic measures at baseline. Small individual differences in sustained attention that are present at baseline are amplified during prolonged wakefulness, thus contributing to large between-subjects differences in performance and sleepiness. Citation: Chua EC; Yeo SC; Lee IT; Tan LC; Lau P; Cai S; Zhang X; Puvanendran K; Gooley JJ. Sustained attention performance during sleep deprivation associates with instability in behavior and physiologic measures at baseline. SLEEP 2014;37(1):27-39. PMID:24470693

Sustaining School Improvement in a High-Need School: Longitudinal Analysis of Robbins Elementary School (USA) from 1993 to 2015

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okilwa, Nathern; Barnett, Bruce

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how Robbins ES has sustained high academic performance over almost 20 years despite several changes in principals. Design/methodology/approach: The paper analyzed longitudinal data based on: state-level academic and demographic data; two earlier studies of the school; and recent interviews with…

Template-free synthesis of renewable macroporous carbon via yeast cells for high-performance supercapacitor electrode materials.

PubMed

Sun, Hongmei; He, Wenhui; Zong, Chenghua; Lu, Lehui

2013-03-01

The urgent need for sustainable development has forced material scientists to explore novel materials for next-generation energy storage devices through a green and facile strategy. In this context, yeast, which is a large group of single cell fungi widely distributed in nature environments, will be an ideal candidate for developing effective electrode materials with fascinating structures for high-performance supercapacitors. With this in mind, herein, we present the first example of creating three-dimensional (3D) interpenetrating macroporous carbon materials via a template-free method, using the green, renewable, and widespread yeast cells as the precursors. Remarkably, when the as-prepared materials are used as the electrode materials for supercapacitors, they exhibit outstanding performance with high specific capacitance of 330 F g(-1) at a current density of 1 A g(-1), and good stability, even after 1000 charge/discharge cycles. The approach developed in this work provides a new view of making full use of sustainable resources endowed by nature, opening the avenue to designing and producing robust materials with great promising applications in high-performance energy-storage devices.

Site Sustainability Plan with FY2015 Performance Data

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

Nichols, Teresa A.; Lapsa, Melissa Voss; Hudey, Bryce D.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is both the largest science and energy laboratory in the US Department of Energy (DOE) complex and one of the oldest national laboratories still operating at its original site. ORNL implemented an aggressive modernization program in 2000, providing modern, energy-efficient facilities that help to support the growth of important national scientific missions while faced with the unique and challenging opportunity to integrate sustainability into legacy assets. ORNL is committed to leveraging the outcomes of DOE-sponsored research programs to maximize the efficient use of energy and natural resources across a diverse campus. ORNL leadership in conjunctionmore » with the Sustainable Campus Initiative (SCI) maintains a commitment to the integration of technical innovations into new and existing facilities, systems, and processes with a comprehensive approach to achieving DOE directives and the new Executive Order 13693. Energy efficiency, greenhouse gas reductions, climate change resiliency, and other pursuits toward integrated sustainability factor in all we do. ORNL continues to pursue and deploy innovative solutions and initiatives to advance regional, national, and worldwide sustainability and continues to transform its culture and engage employees in supporting sustainability at work, at home, and in the community.« less

A qualitative analysis of immunization programs with sustained high coverage, 2000-2005.

PubMed

Kennedy, Allison; Groom, Holly; Evans, Victoria; Fasano, Nancy

2010-01-01

Despite record-high immunization coverage nationally, there is considerable variation across state and local immunization programs, which are responsible for the implementation of vaccine recommendations in their jurisdictions. The objectives of this study were to describe activities of state and local immunization programs that sustained high coverage levels across several years and to identify common themes and practical examples for sustaining childhood vaccination coverage rates that could be applied elsewhere. We conducted 95 semi-structured key informant interviews with internal staff members and external partners at the 10 immunization programs with the highest sustained childhood immunization coverage from 2000 to 2005, as measured by the National Immunization Survey. Interview transcripts were analyzed qualitatively using a general inductive approach. Common themes across the 10 programs included maintaining a strong program infrastructure, using available data to drive planning and decision making, a commitment to building and sustaining relationships, and a focus on education and communication. Given the challenges of an increasingly complex immunization system, the lessons learned from these programs may help inform others who are working to improve childhood immunization delivery and coverage in their own programs.

Tomosyn-2 is required for normal motor performance in mice and sustains neurotransmission at motor endplates.

PubMed

Geerts, Cornelia J; Plomp, Jaap J; Koopmans, Bastijn; Loos, Maarten; van der Pijl, Elizabeth M; van der Valk, Martin A; Verhage, Matthijs; Groffen, Alexander J A

2015-07-01

Tomosyn-1 (STXBP5) is a soluble NSF attachment protein receptor complex-binding protein that inhibits vesicle fusion, but the role of tomosyn-2 (STXBP5L) in the mammalian nervous system is still unclear. Here we generated tomosyn-2 null (Tom2(KO/KO)) mice, which showed impaired motor performance. This was accompanied by synaptic changes at the neuromuscular junction, including enhanced spontaneous acetylcholine release frequency and faster depression of muscle motor endplate potentials during repetitive stimulation. The postsynaptic geometric arrangement and function of acetylcholine receptors were normal. We conclude that tomosyn-2 supports motor performance by regulation of transmitter release willingness to sustain synaptic strength during high-frequency transmission, which makes this gene a candidate for involvement in neuromuscular disorders.

Guiding Principles for Sustainable Federal Buildings

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

This page provides and overview of the memorandum of understanding (MOU) which was voluntarily committed the Agency to follow the Guiding Principles for Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings.

Progress of long pulse operation with high performance plasma in KSTAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bae, Young; Kstar Team

2015-11-01

Recent KSTAR experiments showed the sustained H-mode operation up to the pulse duration of 46 s at the plasma current of 600 kA. The long-pulse H-mode operation has been supported by long-pulse capable neutral beam injection (NBI) system with high NB current drive efficiency attributed by highly tangential injections of three beam sources. In next phase, aiming to demonstrate the long pulse stationary high performance plasma operation, we are attempting the long pulse inductive operation at the higher performance (MA plasma current, high normalized beta, and low q95) for the final goal of demonstration of ITER-like baseline scenario in KSTAR with progressive improvement of the plasma shape control and higher neutral beam injection power. This paper presents the progress of long pulse operation and the analysis of energy confinement time and non-inductive current drive in KSTAR.

Assessing sustainable remediation frameworks using sustainability principles.

PubMed

Ridsdale, D Reanne; Noble, Bram F

2016-12-15

The remediation industry has grown exponentially in recent decades. International organizations of practitioners and remediation experts have developed several frameworks for integrating sustainability into remediation projects; however, there has been limited attention to how sustainability is approached and operationalized in sustainable remediation frameworks and practices - or whether sustainability plays any meaningful role at all in sustainable remediation. This paper examines how sustainability is represented in remediation frameworks and the guidance provided for practical application. Seven broad sustainability principles and review criteria are proposed and applied to a sample of six international remediation frameworks. Not all review criteria were equally satisfied and none of the frameworks fully met all criteria; however, the best performing frameworks were those identified as sustainability remediation frameworks. Intra-generational equity was addressed by all frameworks. Integrating social, economic and biophysical components beyond triple-bottom-line indicators was explicitly addressed only by the sustainable remediation frameworks. No frameworks provided principle- or rule-based guidance for dealing with trade-offs in sustainability decisions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sustained high βN plasmas on EAST tokamak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Xiang; the EAST team

2018-05-01

Sustained high normalized beta (βN ∼ 1.9) plasmas with an ITER-like tungsten divertor have been achieved on EAST tokamak recently. The high power NBI heating system of 4.8 MW and the 4.6 GHz lower hybrid wave of 1 MW were developed and applied to produce edge and internal transport barriers in high βN discharges. The central flat q profile with q (ρ) ∼ 1 at ρ < 0.3 region and edge safety factor q95 = 4.7 is identified by the multi-channel far-infrared laser polarimeter and the EFIT code. The fraction of non-inductive current is about 40%. The relation between fishbone activity and ITB formation is observed and discussed.

High performance platinum single atom electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jing; Jiao, Menggai; Lu, Lanlu; Barkholtz, Heather M.; Li, Yuping; Wang, Ying; Jiang, Luhua; Wu, Zhijian; Liu, Di-Jia; Zhuang, Lin; Ma, Chao; Zeng, Jie; Zhang, Bingsen; Su, Dangsheng; Song, Ping; Xing, Wei; Xu, Weilin; Wang, Ying; Jiang, Zheng; Sun, Gongquan

2017-07-01

For the large-scale sustainable implementation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells in vehicles, high-performance electrocatalysts with low platinum consumption are desirable for use as cathode material during the oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells. Here we report a carbon black-supported cost-effective, efficient and durable platinum single-atom electrocatalyst with carbon monoxide/methanol tolerance for the cathodic oxygen reduction reaction. The acidic single-cell with such a catalyst as cathode delivers high performance, with power density up to 680 mW cm-2 at 80 °C with a low platinum loading of 0.09 mgPt cm-2, corresponding to a platinum utilization of 0.13 gPt kW-1 in the fuel cell. Good fuel cell durability is also observed. Theoretical calculations reveal that the main effective sites on such platinum single-atom electrocatalysts are single-pyridinic-nitrogen-atom-anchored single-platinum-atom centres, which are tolerant to carbon monoxide/methanol, but highly active for the oxygen reduction reaction.

Silicon photonics for high-performance interconnection networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biberman, Aleksandr

2011-12-01

We assert in the course of this work that silicon photonics has the potential to be a key disruptive technology in computing and communication industries. The enduring pursuit of performance gains in computing, combined with stringent power constraints, has fostered the ever-growing computational parallelism associated with chip multiprocessors, memory systems, high-performance computing systems, and data centers. Sustaining these parallelism growths introduces unique challenges for on- and off-chip communications, shifting the focus toward novel and fundamentally different communication approaches. This work showcases that chip-scale photonic interconnection networks, enabled by high-performance silicon photonic devices, enable unprecedented bandwidth scalability with reduced power consumption. We demonstrate that the silicon photonic platforms have already produced all the high-performance photonic devices required to realize these types of networks. Through extensive empirical characterization in much of this work, we demonstrate such feasibility of waveguides, modulators, switches, and photodetectors. We also demonstrate systems that simultaneously combine many functionalities to achieve more complex building blocks. Furthermore, we leverage the unique properties of available silicon photonic materials to create novel silicon photonic devices, subsystems, network topologies, and architectures to enable unprecedented performance of these photonic interconnection networks and computing systems. We show that the advantages of photonic interconnection networks extend far beyond the chip, offering advanced communication environments for memory systems, high-performance computing systems, and data centers. Furthermore, we explore the immense potential of all-optical functionalities implemented using parametric processing in the silicon platform, demonstrating unique methods that have the ability to revolutionize computation and communication. Silicon photonics

International Space Station (ISS) Crew Quarters On-Orbit Performance and Sustaining

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schlesinger, Thilini P.; Rodriquez, Branelle R.

2013-01-01

The International Space Station (ISS) Crew Quarters (CQ) is a permanent personal space for crew members to sleep, perform personal recreation and communication, as well as provide on-orbit stowage of personal belongings. The CQs provide visual, light, and acoustic isolation for the crew member. Over a 2-year period, four CQs were launched to the ISS and currently reside in Node 2. Since their deployment, all CQs have been occupied and continue to be utilized. This paper will review failures that have occurred after 4 years on-orbit, and the investigations that have resulted in successful on-orbit operations. This paper documents the on-orbit performance and sustaining activities that have been performed to maintain the integrity and utilization of the CQs.

Relative Sustainability of Natural Gas Assisted High-Octane Gasoline Blendstock Production from Biomass

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

Tan, Eric C; Zhang, Yi Min; Cai, Hao

Biomass-derived hydrocarbon fuel technologies are being developed and pursued for better economy, environment, and society benefits underpinning the sustainability of transportation energy. Increasing availability and affordability of natural gas (NG) in the US can play an important role in assisting renewable fuel technology development, primarily in terms of economic feasibility. When a biorefinery is co-processing NG with biomass, the current low cost of NG coupled with the higher NG carbon conversion efficiency potentially allow for cost competitiveness of the fuel while achieving a minimum GHG emission reduction of 50 percent or higher compared to petroleum fuel. This study evaluates themore » relative sustainability of the production of high-octane gasoline blendstock via indirect liquefaction (IDL) of biomass (and with NG co-feed) through methanol/dimethyl ether intermediates. The sustainability metrics considered in this study include minimum fuel selling price (MFSP), carbon conversion efficiency, life cycle GHG emissions, life cycle water consumption, fossil energy return on investment (EROI), GHG emission avoidance cost, and job creation. Co-processing NG can evidently improve the MFSP. Evaluation of the relative sustainability can shed light on the biomass-NG synergistic impacts and sustainability trade-offs associated with the IDL as high-octane gasoline blendstock production.« less

Sustained attention performance during sleep deprivation associates with instability in behavior and physiologic measures at baseline.

PubMed

Chua, Eric Chern-Pin; Yeo, Sing-Chen; Lee, Ivan Tian-Guang; Tan, Luuan-Chin; Lau, Pauline; Cai, Shiwei; Zhang, Xiaodong; Puvanendran, Kathiravelu; Gooley, Joshua J

2014-01-01

To identify baseline behavioral and physiologic markers that associate with individual differences in sustained attention during sleep deprivation. In a retrospective study, ocular, electrocardiogram, and electroencephalogram (EEG) measures were compared in subjects who were characterized as resilient (n = 15) or vulnerable (n = 15) to the effects of total sleep deprivation on sustained attention. Chronobiology and Sleep Laboratory, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore. Healthy volunteers aged 22-32 years from the general population. Subjects were kept awake for at least 26 hours under constant environmental conditions. Every 2 hours, sustained attention was assessed using a 10-minute psychomotor vigilance task (PVT). During baseline sleep and recovery sleep, EEG slow wave activity was similar in resilient versus vulnerable subjects, suggesting that individual differences in vulnerability to sleep loss were not related to differences in homeostatic sleep regulation. Rather, irrespective of time elapsed since wake, subjects who were vulnerable to sleep deprivation exhibited slower and more variable PVT response times, lower and more variable heart rate, and higher and more variable EEG spectral power in the theta frequency band (6.0-7.5 Hz). Performance decrements in sustained attention during sleep deprivation associate with instability in behavioral and physiologic measures at baseline. Small individual differences in sustained attention that are present at baseline are amplified during prolonged wakefulness, thus contributing to large between-subjects differences in performance and sleepiness.

An improved high-performance lithium-air battery.

PubMed

Jung, Hun-Gi; Hassoun, Jusef; Park, Jin-Bum; Sun, Yang-Kook; Scrosati, Bruno

2012-06-10

Although dominating the consumer electronics markets as the power source of choice for popular portable devices, the common lithium battery is not yet suited for use in sustainable electrified road transport. The development of advanced, higher-energy lithium batteries is essential in the rapid establishment of the electric car market. Owing to its exceptionally high energy potentiality, the lithium-air battery is a very appealing candidate for fulfilling this role. However, the performance of such batteries has been limited to only a few charge-discharge cycles with low rate capability. Here, by choosing a suitable stable electrolyte and appropriate cell design, we demonstrate a lithium-air battery capable of operating over many cycles with capacity and rate values as high as 5,000 mAh g(carbon)(-1) and 3 A g(carbon)(-1), respectively. For this battery we estimate an energy density value that is much higher than those offered by the currently available lithium-ion battery technology.

Stability of High-Performance Pt-Based Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reactions.

PubMed

Lin, Rui; Cai, Xin; Zeng, Hao; Yu, Zhuoping

2018-04-01

Due to their environmental sustainability and high efficiency, proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are expected to be an essential type of energy source for electric vehicles, energy generation, and the space industry in the coming decades. Here, the recent developments regarding shape-controlled nanostructure catalysts are reviewed, with a focus on the stability of high-performance Pt-based catalysts and related mechanisms. The catalysts, which possess great activity, are still far from meeting the requirements of their applications, due to stability issues, especially in membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). Thus, solutions toward the comprehensive performance of Pt-based catalysts are discussed here. The research trends and related theories that can promote the application of Pt-based catalysts are also provided. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Sustaining Team Performance: A Systems Model\\

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-07-31

member performance of specific behaviors" ( Nivea et al., 1978, p. 59). They have identified four major performance categories, and several performance...within the fire direction center several artillerymen work additively. The number of men in the fire direction center does not add steps to the sequence...Instructional strategies for training men of high and low aptitude. HumRRO-TR-73-10. Alexandria, VA: Human Resources Organization, April 1973. Blum, M.L. and

The High Plains Aquifer, USA: Groundwater development and sustainability

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dennehy, K.F.; Litke, D.W.; McMahon, P.B.

2002-01-01

The High Plains Aquifer, located in the United States, is one of the largest freshwater aquifers in the world and is threatened by continued decline in water levels and deteriorating water quality. Understanding the physical and cultural features of this area is essential to assessing the factors that affect this groundwater resource. About 27% of the irrigated land in the United States overlies this aquifer, which yields about 30% of the nation's groundwater used for irrigation of crops including wheat, corn, sorghum, cotton and alfalfa. In addition, the aquifer provides drinking water to 82% of the 2.3 million people who live within the aquifer boundary. The High Plains Aquifer has been significantly impacted by human activities. Groundwater withdrawals from the aquifer exceed recharge in many areas, resulting in substantial declines in groundwater level. Residents once believed that the aquifer was an unlimited resource of high-quality water, but they now face the prospect that much of the water may be gone in the near future. Also, agricultural chemicals are affecting the groundwater quality. Increasing concentrations of nitrate and salinity can first impair the use of the water for public supply and then affect its suitability for irrigation. A variety of technical and institutional measures are currently being planned and implemented across the aquifer area in an attempt to sustain this groundwater resource for future generations. However, because groundwater withdrawals remain high and water quality impairments are becoming more commonplace, the sustainability of the High Plains Aquifer is uncertain.

Continuous performance test in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder and tic disorders: the role of sustained attention.

PubMed

Lucke, Ilse M; Lin, Charlotte; Conteh, Fatmata; Federline, Amanda; Sung, Huyngmo; Specht, Matthew; Grados, Marco A

2015-10-01

Pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and tic disorders (TD) are often associated with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In order to clarify the role of attention and inhibitory control in pediatric OCD and TD, a continuous performance test (CPT) was administered to a cohort of children and adolescents with OCD alone, TD alone, and OCD+TD. A clinical cohort of 48 children and adolescents with OCD alone (n=20), TD alone (n=15), or OCD+TD (n=13) was interviewed clinically and administered the Conners Continuous Performance Test II (CPT-II). The Conners CPT-II is a 14-minute normed computerized test consisting of 6 blocks. It taps into attention, inhibitory control, and sustained attention cognitive domains. Key parameters include errors of omission (distractability), commission (inhibitory control), and variable responding over time (sustained attention). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) criteria were applied in a best-estimate process to diagnose OCD, TD, ADHD, and anxiety disorders. Children with OCD+TD had more errors of omission (p=0.03), and more hit RT block change (p=0.003) and hit SE block change (p=0.02) than subjects with OCD alone and TD alone. These deficits in sustained attention were associated with younger age and hoarding tendencies. A clinical diagnosis of ADHD in the OCD+TD group also determined worse sustained attention. A deficit in sustained attention, a core marker of ADHD, is also a marker of OCD+TD, compared to OCD alone and TD alone. Biological correlates of sustained attention may serve to uncover the pathophysiology of OCD and TD through genetic and imaging studies.

Effect of continuous positive airway pressure treatment on short-term memory performance over 24 h of sustained wakefulness in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome.

PubMed

Grenèche, Jérôme; Krieger, Jean; Bertrand, Frédéric; Erhardt, Christine; Maumy, Myriam; Tassi, Patricia

2013-10-01

Few studies have examined the impact of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy on short-term memory (STM) over sustained wakefulness in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). We have investigated if impaired STM can be reversed by CPAP treatment in a 24-h sustained wakefulness paradigm. Our follow-up study was conducted with repeated-memory tasks within 12 OSAHS patients and 10 healthy controls who underwent three 32-h sessions, one before CPAP (T0) and the second (T3) and the third (T6), after 3 and 6 months of treatment, respectively, for OSAHS patients. Each session included one night of sleep followed by 24h of sustained wakefulness, during which both groups performed STM tasks including both digit span (DS) and Sternberg tasks. Untreated OSAHS patients had no deficit in the forward DS task measuring immediate memory but were impaired in STM, especially working memory assessed by the complex Sternberg task and the backward DS. However, only performance in the latter was improved after 6 months of CPAP treatment. Because the high level of memory scanning required high speed in information processing, persistent impairment on the complex Sternberg task may be attributable to working memory slowing, possibly enhanced by sustained wakefulness. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Performance, Performance System, and High Performance System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jang, Hwan Young

2009-01-01

This article proposes needed transitions in the field of human performance technology. The following three transitions are discussed: transitioning from training to performance, transitioning from performance to performance system, and transitioning from learning organization to high performance system. A proposed framework that comprises…

High performance platinum single atom electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

PubMed Central

Liu, Jing; Jiao, Menggai; Lu, Lanlu; Barkholtz, Heather M.; Li, Yuping; Wang, Ying; Jiang, Luhua; Wu, Zhijian; Liu, Di-jia; Zhuang, Lin; Ma, Chao; Zeng, Jie; Zhang, Bingsen; Su, Dangsheng; Song, Ping; Xing, Wei; Xu, Weilin; Wang, Ying; Jiang, Zheng; Sun, Gongquan

2017-01-01

For the large-scale sustainable implementation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells in vehicles, high-performance electrocatalysts with low platinum consumption are desirable for use as cathode material during the oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells. Here we report a carbon black-supported cost-effective, efficient and durable platinum single-atom electrocatalyst with carbon monoxide/methanol tolerance for the cathodic oxygen reduction reaction. The acidic single-cell with such a catalyst as cathode delivers high performance, with power density up to 680 mW cm−2 at 80 °C with a low platinum loading of 0.09 mgPt cm−2, corresponding to a platinum utilization of 0.13 gPt kW−1 in the fuel cell. Good fuel cell durability is also observed. Theoretical calculations reveal that the main effective sites on such platinum single-atom electrocatalysts are single-pyridinic-nitrogen-atom-anchored single-platinum-atom centres, which are tolerant to carbon monoxide/methanol, but highly active for the oxygen reduction reaction. PMID:28737170

High performance platinum single atom electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

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

Liu, Jing; Jiao, Menggai; Lu, Lanlu

For the large-scale sustainable implementation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells in vehicles, high-performance electrocatalysts with low platinum consumption are desirable for use as cathode material during the oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells. Here we report a carbon black-supported cost-effective, efficient and durable platinum single-atom electrocatalyst with carbon monoxide/methanol tolerance for the cathodic oxygen reduction reaction. The acidic single-cell with such a catalyst as cathode delivers high performance, with power density up to 680 mW cm –2 at 80 °C with a low platinum loading of 0.09 mgPt cm –2, corresponding to a platinum utilization of 0.13 gPt kWmore » –1 in the fuel cell. Good fuel cell durability is also observed. As a result, theoretical calculations reveal that the main effective sites on such platinum single-atom electrocatalysts are single-pyridinic-nitrogen-atom-anchored single-platinum-atom centres, which are tolerant to carbon monoxide/methanol, but highly active for the oxygen reduction reaction.« less

High performance platinum single atom electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

DOE PAGES

Liu, Jing; Jiao, Menggai; Lu, Lanlu; ...

2017-07-24

For the large-scale sustainable implementation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells in vehicles, high-performance electrocatalysts with low platinum consumption are desirable for use as cathode material during the oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells. Here we report a carbon black-supported cost-effective, efficient and durable platinum single-atom electrocatalyst with carbon monoxide/methanol tolerance for the cathodic oxygen reduction reaction. The acidic single-cell with such a catalyst as cathode delivers high performance, with power density up to 680 mW cm –2 at 80 °C with a low platinum loading of 0.09 mgPt cm –2, corresponding to a platinum utilization of 0.13 gPt kWmore » –1 in the fuel cell. Good fuel cell durability is also observed. As a result, theoretical calculations reveal that the main effective sites on such platinum single-atom electrocatalysts are single-pyridinic-nitrogen-atom-anchored single-platinum-atom centres, which are tolerant to carbon monoxide/methanol, but highly active for the oxygen reduction reaction.« less

High-temperature sustainability of strong fiber Bragg gratings written into Sb-Ge-codoped photosensitive fiber: decay mechanisms involved during annealing.

PubMed

Shen, Yonghang; He, Jinglei; Sun, Tong; Grattan, Kenneth T V

2004-03-15

An antimony--germanium- (Sb--Ge-) codoped fiber specially designed for the fabrication of fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) with high temperature sustainability has been developed. The photosensitivity and the high-temperature sustainability of FBGs that have been written into this fiber were tested. The results obtained showed that the FBG written into this fiber has a very high temperature sustainability of 900 degrees C. A decay mechanism that involves cation hopping is presented to explain the observed high temperature sustainability of the grating written into this fiber.

A multimodal high-value curriculum affects drivers of utilization and performance on the high-value care component of the internal medicine in-training exam.

PubMed

Chau, Tom; Loertscher, Laura

2018-01-01

Background : Teaching the practice of high-value care (HVC) is an increasingly important function of graduate medical education but best practices and long-term outcomes remain unknown. Objective : Whether a multimodal curriculum designed to address specific drivers of low-value care would affect resident attitudes, skills, and performance of HVC as tested by the Internal Medicine In-Training Exam (ITE). Methods : In 2012, we performed a baseline needs assessment among internal medicine residents at a community program regarding drivers of healthcare utilization. We then created a multimodal curriculum with online interactive worksheets, lectures, and faculty buy-in to target specific skills, knowledge, and culture deficiencies. Perceived drivers of care and performance on the Internal Medicine ITE were assessed yearly through 2016. Results : Fourteen of 27 (52%) residents completed the initial needs assessment while the curriculum was eventually seen by at least 24 of 27 (89%). The ITE was taken by every resident every year. Long-term, 3-year follow-up demonstrated persistent improvement in many drivers of utilization (patient requests, reliance on subspecialists, defensive medicine, and academic curiosity) and improvement with sustained high performance on the high-value component of the ITE. Conclusion : A multimodal curriculum targeting specific drivers of low-value care can change culture and lead to sustained improvement in the practice of HVC.

High Performance Nanofiltration Membrane for Effective Removal of Perfluoroalkyl Substances at High Water Recovery.

PubMed

Boo, Chanhee; Wang, Yunkun; Zucker, Ines; Choo, Youngwoo; Osuji, Chinedum O; Elimelech, Menachem

2018-05-31

We demonstrate the fabrication of a loose, negatively charged nanofiltration (NF) membrane with tailored selectivity for the removal of perfluoroalkyl substances with reduced scaling potential. A selective polyamide layer was fabricated on top of a polyethersulfone support via interfacial polymerization of trimesoyl chloride and a mixture of piperazine and bipiperidine. Incorporating high molecular weight bipiperidine during the interfacial polymerization enables the formation of a loose, nanoporous selective layer structure. The fabricated NF membrane possessed a negative surface charge and had a pore diameter of ~1.2 nm, much larger than a widely used commercial NF membrane (i.e., NF270 with pore diameter of ~0.8 nm). We evaluated the performance of the fabricated NF membrane for the rejection of different salts (i.e., NaCl, CaCl2, and Na2SO4) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). The fabricated NF membrane exhibited a high retention of PFOA (~90%) while allowing high passage of scale-forming cations (i.e., calcium). We further performed gypsum scaling experiments to demonstrate lower scaling potential of the fabricated loose porous NF membrane compared to NF membranes having a dense selective layer under solution conditions simulating high water recovery. Our results demonstrate that properly designed NF membranes are a critical component of a high recovery NF system, which provide an efficient and sustainable solution for remediation of groundwater contaminated with perfluoroalkyl substances.

Achieving and Maintaining Existing Building Sustainability Certification at Georgetown University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Payant, Richard P.

2013-01-01

Sustainability is the promotion of high performance, healthful, energy-efficient, and environmentally stable buildings. Buildings intended for sustainable certification must meet guidelines developed by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) of the U.S. Green Building Council. The problem is that LEED certification often fails to…

Early stage design decisions: the way to achieve sustainable buildings at lower costs.

PubMed

Bragança, Luís; Vieira, Susana M; Andrade, Joana B

2014-01-01

The construction industry attempts to produce buildings with as lower environmental impact as possible. However, construction activities still greatly affect environment; therefore, it is necessary to consider a sustainable project approach based on its performance. Sustainability is an important issue to consider in design, not only due to environmental concerns but also due to economic and social matters, promoting architectural quality and economic advantages. This paper aims to identify the phases through which a design project should be developed, emphasising the importance and ability of earlier stages to influence sustainability, performance, and life cycle cost. Then, a selection of sustainability key indicators, able to be used at the design conceptual phase and able to start predicting environmental sustainability performance of buildings is presented. The output of this paper aimed to enable designers to compare and evaluate the consequences of different design solutions, based on preliminary data, and facilitate the collaboration between stakeholders and clients and eventually yield a sustainable and high performance building throughout its life cycle.

Focused process improvement events: sustainability of impact on process and performance in an academic radiology department.

PubMed

Rosenkrantz, Andrew B; Lawson, Kirk; Ally, Rosina; Chen, David; Donno, Frank; Rittberg, Steven; Rodriguez, Joan; Recht, Michael P

2015-01-01

To evaluate sustainability of impact of rapid, focused process improvement (PI) events on process and performance within an academic radiology department. Our department conducted PI during 2011 and 2012 in CT, MRI, ultrasound, breast imaging, and research billing. PI entailed participation by all stakeholders, facilitation by the department chair, collection of baseline data, meetings during several weeks, definition of performance metrics, creation of an improvement plan, and prompt implementation. We explore common themes among PI events regarding initial impact and durability of changes. We also assess performance in each area pre-PI, immediately post-PI, and at the time of the current study. All PI events achieved an immediate improvement in performance metrics, often entailing both examination volumes and on-time performance. IT-based solutions, process standardization, and redefinition of staff responsibilities were often central in these changes, and participants consistently expressed improved internal leadership and problem-solving ability. Major environmental changes commonly occurred after PI, including a natural disaster with equipment loss, a change in location or services offered, and new enterprise-wide electronic medical record system incorporating new billing and radiology informatics systems, requiring flexibility in the PI implementation plan. Only one PI team conducted regular post-PI follow-up meetings. Sustained improvement was frequently, but not universally, observed: in the long-term following initial PI, measures of examination volume showed continued progressive improvements, whereas measures of operational efficiency remained stable or occasionally declined. Focused PI is generally effective in achieving performance improvement, although a changing environment influences the sustainability of impact. Thus, continued process evaluation and ongoing workflow modifications are warranted. Copyright © 2015 American College of Radiology

Development of Non-Proprietary Ultra-High Performance Concrete for Use in the Highway Bridge Sector : TechBrief

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-10-01

The long-term goals of this study are to facilitate the use of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) among U.S. suppliers and contractors, accelerate its application in U.S. construction, and promote a more resilient and sustainable future U.S. infr...

Sustainable Sulfur-rich Copolymer/Graphene Composite as Lithium-Sulfur Battery Cathode with Excellent Electrochemical Performance

PubMed Central

Ghosh, Arnab; Shukla, Swapnil; Khosla, Gaganpreet Singh; Lochab, Bimlesh; Mitra, Sagar

2016-01-01

A sulfur-rich copolymer, poly(S-r-C-a) has been synthesized via a sustainable route, showing the utility of two major industrial wastes- elemental sulfur (petroleum waste) and cardanol (agro waste), to explore its potential as cathode material for Li-S batteries. The sulfur-rich copolymer exhibited a reduction in the active material dissolution into the electrolyte and a low self-discharge rate behavior during the rest time compared to an elemental sulfur cathode, indicating the chemical confinement of sulfur units. The presence of organosulfur moieties in copolymer suppress the irreversible deposition of end-discharge products on electrode surfaces and thus improve the electrochemical performances of Li-S batteries. This sulfur copolymer offered a reversible capacity of 892 mA h g−1 at 2nd cycle and maintained the capacity of 528 mA h g−1 after 50 cycles at 200 mA g−1. Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) prepared via a sustainable route was used as a conductive filler to extract the better electrochemical performances from this sulfur copolymer. Such sustainable origin batteries prepared via economically viable showed an improved specific capacity of ~975 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles at 200 mA g−1 current rate with capacity fading of 0.15% per cycle and maintained a stable performance over 500 cycles at 2000 mA g−1. PMID:27121089

Groundwater recharge and sustainability in the High Plains aquifer in Kansas, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sophocleous, M.

2005-01-01

Sustainable use of groundwater must ensure not only that the future resource is not threatened by overuse, but also that natural environments that depend on the resource, such as stream baseflows, riparian vegetation, aquatic ecosystems, and wetlands are protected. To properly manage groundwater resources, accurate information about the inputs (recharge) and outputs (pumpage and natural discharge) within each groundwater basin is needed so that the long-term behavior of the aquifer and its sustainable yield can be estimated or reassessed. As a first step towards this effort, this work highlights some key groundwater recharge studies in the Kansas High Plains at different scales, such as regional soil-water budget and groundwater modeling studies, county-scale groundwater recharge studies, as well as field-experimental local studies, including some original new findings, with an emphasis on assumptions and limitations as well as on environmental factors affecting recharge processes. The general impact of irrigation and cultivation on recharge is to appreciably increase the amount of recharge, and in many cases to exceed precipitation as the predominant source of recharge. The imbalance between the water input (recharge) to the High Plains aquifer and the output (pumpage and stream baseflows primarily) is shown to be severe, and responses to stabilize the system by reducing water use, increasing irrigation efficiency, adopting water-saving land-use practices, and other measures are outlined. Finally, the basic steps necessary to move towards sustainable use of groundwater in the High Plains are delineated, such as improving the knowledge base, reporting and providing access to information, furthering public education, as well as promoting better understanding of the public's attitudinal motivations; adopting the ecosystem and adaptive management approaches to managing groundwater; further improving water efficiency; exploiting the full potential of dryland and

Sustaining person-environment fit with a changing workforce.

PubMed

Bridger, R S; Brasher, K; Bennett, A

2013-01-01

Data on health and lifestyle from the Naval service cohort study of occupational stress form the background to a discussion of employee health and the sustainability of a healthy workforce in relation to secular changes - in particular, the increasing prevalence of obesity. One thousand two hundred and forty-one Naval personnel returned questionnaires in 2007 and 2011 and reported their body mass index (BMI), alcohol consumption and smoking, general health and health conditions such as back pain and high blood pressure on both occasions. Health risk due to high BMI and waist circumference in 2011 was predicted by low participation in exercise in 2007. Those performing physically demanding work in 2007 were more likely to be in the 'no risk' category in 2011. High BMI in 2007 was associated with the development of back pain, musculoskeletal conditions and high blood pressure in 2011. The findings are discussed in relation to two aspects of sustainability: the sustainability of current ergonomics practice in relation to health and safety; and the role of ergonomics in sustaining a healthy and productive workforce. Evidence is presented for the benefits of exercise in sustaining employee health and for an association between a high BMI and a number of common health complaints that have traditionally been tackled through workplace ergonomics. This evidence can be used to support the development of workplace design concepts that promote physical activity.

Failure Is Not an Option (TM). Six Principles That Guide Student Achievement in High-Performing Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blankstein, Alan M.

2004-01-01

The author builds upon a foundation which identifies courageous school leadership and the professional learning community as the center of effective school reform. The author offers six guiding principles steps for creating and sustaining a high-performing school: (1) Common mission, vision, values, and goals: (2) Systems for prevention and…

A pulser-sustainer carbon monoxide electric-discharge supersonic laser

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Monson, D. J.; Srinivasan, G.

1977-01-01

Operation of a CW CO electric-discharge supersonic laser with a pulser-sustainer discharge is described. High-power operation as well as independent control over electron energy and density are demonstrated. Maximum input power achieved to date is 100 kW. The maximum output power is 6 kW or 10% of the sustainer positive-column power. Much improved performance appears possible.

Selection of Sustainable Processes using Sustainability ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Chemical products can be obtained by process pathways involving varying amounts and types of resources, utilities, and byproduct formation. When such competing process options such as six processes for making methanol as are considered in this study, it is necessary to identify the most sustainable option. Sustainability of a chemical process is generally evaluated with indicators that require process and chemical property data. These indicators individually reflect the impacts of the process on areas of sustainability, such as the environment or society. In order to choose among several alternative processes an overall comparative analysis is essential. Generally net profit will show the most economic process. A mixed integer optimization problem can also be solved to identify the most economic among competing processes. This method uses economic optimization and leaves aside the environmental and societal impacts. To make a decision on the most sustainable process, the method presented here rationally aggregates the sustainability indicators into a single index called sustainability footprint (De). Process flow and economic data were used to compute the indicator values. Results from sustainability footprint (De) are compared with those from solving a mixed integer optimization problem. In order to identify the rank order of importance of the indicators, a multivariate analysis is performed using partial least square variable importance in projection (PLS-VIP)

The effect of prenatal drug exposure and caregiving context on children's performance on a task of sustained visual attention.

PubMed

Ackerman, John P; Llorente, Antolin M; Black, Maureen M; Ackerman, Claire S; Mayes, Lacy A; Nair, Prasanna

2008-12-01

Three groups of children from low-income, urban environments were examined to determine the effects of prenatal drug exposure (PDE) and caregiving environment on sustained visual attention (SVA) at 7 years of age. Drug-exposed children remaining in maternal care (n = 43), drug-exposed children placed in nonmaternal care (n = 45), and community comparison (CC) children (n = 56) were administered a battery of neurocognitive tests, including the Conners' Continuous Performance Test (CPT). PDE children remaining in maternal care displayed more omission errors than CC children. PDE children in nonmaternal care had intermediate scores that did not differ significantly from PDE children in maternal care or CC children. There were no group differences with respect to commission errors or reaction time. CPT errors of omission and commission were significantly correlated with parent-reported attention problems and academic achievement scores. PDE in the context of care provided by a maternal caregiver with persistent drug use patterns may contribute to problems in children's SVA at school-age. As parental drug abuse can interfere with the provision of early care, children raised in a drug-using context may be highly vulnerable to problems with self-regulation, including sustained attention. SVA problems may contribute to subsequent academic and behavioral problems as demands for concentration and sustained effort increase throughout childhood. Children who have been prenatally exposed to drugs or raised in a drug-using household may benefit from early intervention services to avoid problems in SVA that may interfere with subsequent neurocognitive functioning and academic performance.

High resolution digital soil mapping as a future instrument for developing sustainable landuse strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gries, Philipp; Funke, Lisa-Marie; Baumann, Frank; Schmidt, Karsten; Behrens, Thorsten; Scholten, Thomas

2016-04-01

Climate change, increase in population and intensification of land use pose a great challenge for sustainable handling of soils. Intelligent landuse systems are able to minimize and/or avoid soil erosion and loss of soil fertility. A successful application of such systems requires area-wide soil information with high resolution. Containing three consecutive steps, the project INE-2-H („innovative sustainable landuse") at the University of Tuebingen is about creating high-resolution soil information using Digital Soil Mapping (DSM) techniques to develop sustainable landuse strategies. Input data includes soil data from fieldwork (texture and carbon content), the official digital soil and geological map (1:50.000) as well as a wide selection of local, complex and combined terrain parameters. First, soil maps have been created using the DSM approach and Random Forest (RF). Due to high resolution (10x10 m pixels), those maps show a more detailed spatial variability of soil information compared to the official maps used. Root mean square errors (RMSE) of the modelled maps vary from 2.11 % to 6.87 % and the coefficients of determination (R²) go from 0.42 to 0.68. Second, soil erosion potentials have been estimated according to the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). Long-term average annual soil loss ranges from 0.56 to 24.23 [t/ha/a]. Third, combining high-resolution erosion potentials with expert-knowledge of local farmers will result in a landuse system adapted to local conditions. This system will include sustainable strategies reducing soil erosion and conserving soil fertility.

Towards sustainable traumatic brain injury care systems: healthcare leadership imperatives in Canada.

PubMed

Caro, Denis

2011-01-01

Traumatic brain injuries pose strategic population health challenges in the face of burgeoning clinical demands that continue to tax capital, financial, and social resource capacities. The sustainability of traumatic brain injury care systems depends on paradigmatic shifts in healthcare leadership thinking. In quest for high-performance care and sustained quality of life for traumatic brain injury patients, this article presents a unique paradigm of seven care performance layers and seven health leadership imperatives that together form the paradigm for the systemic sustainability of TBI care systems of the future.

A Lightweight, High-performance I/O Management Package for Data-intensive Computing

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

Jun Wang

2007-07-17

File storage systems are playing an increasingly important role in high-performance computing as the performance gap between CPU and disk increases. It could take a long time to develop an entire system from scratch. Solutions will have to be built as extensions to existing systems. If new portable, customized software components are plugged into these systems, better sustained high I/O performance and higher scalability will be achieved, and the development cycle of next-generation of parallel file systems will be shortened. The overall research objective of this ECPI development plan aims to develop a lightweight, customized, high-performance I/O management package namedmore » LightI/O to extend and leverage current parallel file systems used by DOE. During this period, We have developed a novel component in LightI/O and prototype them into PVFS2, and evaluate the resultant prototype—extended PVFS2 system on data-intensive applications. The preliminary results indicate the extended PVFS2 delivers better performance and reliability to users. A strong collaborative effort between the PI at the University of Nebraska Lincoln and the DOE collaborators—Drs Rob Ross and Rajeev Thakur at Argonne National Laboratory who are leading the PVFS2 group makes the project more promising.« less

Improving low-performing high schools: searching for evidence of promise.

PubMed

Fleischman, Steve; Heppen, Jessica

2009-01-01

Noting that many of the nation's high schools are beset with major problems, such as low student reading and math achievement, high dropout rates, and an inadequate supply of effective teachers, Steve Fleischman and Jessica Heppen survey a range of strategies that educators have used to improve low-performing high schools. The authors begin by showing how the standards-based school reform movement, together with the No Child Left Behind Act requirement that underperforming schools adopt reforms supported by scientifically based research, spurred policy makers, educators, and researchers to create and implement a variety of approaches to attain improvement. Fleischman and Heppen then review a number of widely adopted reform models that aim to change "business as usual" in low-performing high schools. The models include comprehensive school reform programs, dual enrollment and early college high schools, smaller learning communities, specialty (for example, career) academies, charter high schools, and education management organizations. In practice, say the authors, many of these improvement efforts overlap, defying neat distinctions. Often, reforms are combined to reinforce one another. The authors explain the theories that drive the reforms, review evidence of their reforms' effectiveness to date, and suggest what it will take to make them work well. Although the reforms are promising, the authors say, few as yet have solid evidence of systematic or sustained success. In concluding, Fleischman and Heppen emphasize that the reasons for a high school's poor performance are so complex that no one reform model or approach, no matter how powerful, can turn around low-performing schools. They also stress the need for educators to implement each reform program with fidelity to its requirements and to support it for the time required for success. Looking to the future, the authors suggest steps that decision makers, researchers, and sponsors of research can take to promote

Early Stage Design Decisions: The Way to Achieve Sustainable Buildings at Lower Costs

PubMed Central

Bragança, Luís; Vieira, Susana M.; Andrade, Joana B.

2014-01-01

The construction industry attempts to produce buildings with as lower environmental impact as possible. However, construction activities still greatly affect environment; therefore, it is necessary to consider a sustainable project approach based on its performance. Sustainability is an important issue to consider in design, not only due to environmental concerns but also due to economic and social matters, promoting architectural quality and economic advantages. This paper aims to identify the phases through which a design project should be developed, emphasising the importance and ability of earlier stages to influence sustainability, performance, and life cycle cost. Then, a selection of sustainability key indicators, able to be used at the design conceptual phase and able to start predicting environmental sustainability performance of buildings is presented. The output of this paper aimed to enable designers to compare and evaluate the consequences of different design solutions, based on preliminary data, and facilitate the collaboration between stakeholders and clients and eventually yield a sustainable and high performance building throughout its life cycle. PMID:24578630

Magnetosphere simulations with a high-performance 3D AMR MHD Code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gombosi, Tamas; Dezeeuw, Darren; Groth, Clinton; Powell, Kenneth; Song, Paul

1998-11-01

BATS-R-US is a high-performance 3D AMR MHD code for space physics applications running on massively parallel supercomputers. In BATS-R-US the electromagnetic and fluid equations are solved with a high-resolution upwind numerical scheme in a tightly coupled manner. The code is very robust and it is capable of spanning a wide range of plasma parameters (such as β, acoustic and Alfvénic Mach numbers). Our code is highly scalable: it achieved a sustained performance of 233 GFLOPS on a Cray T3E-1200 supercomputer with 1024 PEs. This talk reports results from the BATS-R-US code for the GGCM (Geospace General Circularculation Model) Phase 1 Standard Model Suite. This model suite contains 10 different steady-state configurations: 5 IMF clock angles (north, south, and three equally spaced angles in- between) with 2 IMF field strengths for each angle (5 nT and 10 nT). The other parameters are: solar wind speed =400 km/sec; solar wind number density = 5 protons/cc; Hall conductance = 0; Pedersen conductance = 5 S; parallel conductivity = ∞.

Personality and physiological correlates of performance decrement on a monotonous task requiring sustained attention.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1973-12-01

The reductions in task load resulting from the increasing automation of air traffic control may actually increase the requirement for controllers to maintain high levels of sustained attention in order to detect infrequent system malfunctions. A prev...

High performance polymer development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hergenrother, Paul M.

1991-01-01

The term high performance as applied to polymers is generally associated with polymers that operate at high temperatures. High performance is used to describe polymers that perform at temperatures of 177 C or higher. In addition to temperature, other factors obviously influence the performance of polymers such as thermal cycling, stress level, and environmental effects. Some recent developments at NASA Langley in polyimides, poly(arylene ethers), and acetylenic terminated materials are discussed. The high performance/high temperature polymers discussed are representative of the type of work underway at NASA Langley Research Center. Further improvement in these materials as well as the development of new polymers will provide technology to help meet NASA future needs in high performance/high temperature applications. In addition, because of the combination of properties offered by many of these polymers, they should find use in many other applications.

Prioritization of high-cost new drugs for HCV: making sustainability ethical.

PubMed

Craxì, L; Sacchini, D; Refolo, P; Minacori, R; Daloiso, V; Ricci, G; Bruno, R; Cammà, C; Cicchetti, A; Gasbarrini, A; Spagnolo, A G

2016-01-01

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major health problem worldwide. Chronic HCV infection may in the long run cause cirrhosis, hepatic decompensation and hepatocellular carcinoma, with an ultimate disease burden of at least 350,000 deaths per year worldwide. The new generation of highly effective direct acting antivirals (DAA) to treat HCV infection brings major promises to infected patients in terms of exceedingly high rates of sustained virological response (SVR) but also of tolerability, allowing even the sickest patients to be treated. Even in the face of the excellent safety and efficacy and wide theoretical applicability of these regimens, their introduction is currently facing cost and access issues denying their use to many patients in need. Health systems in all countries are facing a huge problem of distributive justice, since while they should guarantee individual rights, among which the right to health in its broader sense, therefore not limited to healing, but extended to quality of life, they must also grant equal access to the healthcare resources and keep the distribution system sustainable. In the face of a disease with a relatively unpredictable course, where many but not of all chronically infected will eventually die of liver disease, selective allocation of this costly resource is debatable. In most countries the favorite solution has been a stratification of patients for prioritization of treatment, which means allowing Interferon-free DAA treatment only in patients with advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis, while keeping on hold persons with lesser stages of liver disease. In this report, we will perform an ethical assessment addressing the issues linked to access to new therapies, prioritization and eligibility criteria, analyzing the meaning of the term "distributive justice" and the different approaches that can guide us (individualistic libertarianism, social utilitarianism and egalitarianism) on this specific matter. Even if over time the

Groundwater depletion and sustainability of irrigation in the US High Plains and Central Valley

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scanlon, Bridget R.; Faunt, Claudia; Longuevergne, Laurent; Reedy, Robert C.; Alley, William M.; McGuire, Virginia L.; McMahon, Peter B.

2012-01-01

Aquifer overexploitation could significantly impact crop production in the United States because 60% of irrigation relies on groundwater. Groundwater depletion in the irrigated High Plains and California Central Valley accounts for ∼50% of groundwater depletion in the United States since 1900. A newly developed High Plains recharge map shows that high recharge in the northern High Plains results in sustainable pumpage, whereas lower recharge in the central and southern High Plains has resulted in focused depletion of 330 km3 of fossil groundwater, mostly recharged during the past 13,000 y. Depletion is highly localized with about a third of depletion occurring in 4% of the High Plains land area. Extrapolation of the current depletion rate suggests that 35% of the southern High Plains will be unable to support irrigation within the next 30 y. Reducing irrigation withdrawals could extend the lifespan of the aquifer but would not result in sustainable management of this fossil groundwater. The Central Valley is a more dynamic, engineered system, with north/south diversions of surface water since the 1950s contributing to ∼7× higher recharge. However, these diversions are regulated because of impacts on endangered species. A newly developed Central Valley Hydrologic Model shows that groundwater depletion since the 1960s, totaling 80 km3, occurs mostly in the south (Tulare Basin) and primarily during droughts. Increasing water storage through artificial recharge of excess surface water in aquifers by up to 3 km3 shows promise for coping with droughts and improving sustainability of groundwater resources in the Central Valley.

Groundwater depletion and sustainability of irrigation in the US High Plains and Central Valley

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scanlon, Bridget R.; Faunt, Claudia C.; Longuevergne, Laurent; Reedy, Robert C.; Alley, William M.; McGuire, Virginia L.; McMahon, Peter B.

2012-01-01

Aquifer overexploitation could significantly impact crop production in the United States because 60% of irrigation relies on groundwater. Groundwater depletion in the irrigated High Plains and California Central Valley accounts for ~50% of groundwater depletion in the United States since 1900. A newly developed High Plains recharge map shows that high recharge in the northern High Plains results in sustainable pumpage, whereas lower recharge in the central and southern High Plains has resulted in focused depletion of 330 km3 of fossil groundwater, mostly recharged during the past 13,000 y. Depletion is highly localized with about a third of depletion occurring in 4% of the High Plains land area. Extrapolation of the current depletion rate suggests that 35% of the southern High Plains will be unable to support irrigation within the next 30 y. Reducing irrigation withdrawals could extend the lifespan of the aquifer but would not result in sustainable management of this fossil groundwater. The Central Valley is a more dynamic, engineered system, with north/south diversions of surface water since the 1950s contributing to ~7× higher recharge. However, these diversions are regulated because of impacts on endangered species. A newly developed Central Valley Hydrologic Model shows that groundwater depletion since the 1960s, totaling 80 km3, occurs mostly in the south (Tulare Basin) and primarily during droughts. Increasing water storage through artificial recharge of excess surface water in aquifers by up to 3 km3 shows promise for coping with droughts and improving sustainability of groundwater resources in the Central Valley.

Groundwater depletion and sustainability of irrigation in the US High Plains and Central Valley

PubMed Central

Scanlon, Bridget R.; Faunt, Claudia C.; Longuevergne, Laurent; Reedy, Robert C.; Alley, William M.; McGuire, Virginia L.; McMahon, Peter B.

2012-01-01

Aquifer overexploitation could significantly impact crop production in the United States because 60% of irrigation relies on groundwater. Groundwater depletion in the irrigated High Plains and California Central Valley accounts for ∼50% of groundwater depletion in the United States since 1900. A newly developed High Plains recharge map shows that high recharge in the northern High Plains results in sustainable pumpage, whereas lower recharge in the central and southern High Plains has resulted in focused depletion of 330 km3 of fossil groundwater, mostly recharged during the past 13,000 y. Depletion is highly localized with about a third of depletion occurring in 4% of the High Plains land area. Extrapolation of the current depletion rate suggests that 35% of the southern High Plains will be unable to support irrigation within the next 30 y. Reducing irrigation withdrawals could extend the lifespan of the aquifer but would not result in sustainable management of this fossil groundwater. The Central Valley is a more dynamic, engineered system, with north/south diversions of surface water since the 1950s contributing to ∼7× higher recharge. However, these diversions are regulated because of impacts on endangered species. A newly developed Central Valley Hydrologic Model shows that groundwater depletion since the 1960s, totaling 80 km3, occurs mostly in the south (Tulare Basin) and primarily during droughts. Increasing water storage through artificial recharge of excess surface water in aquifers by up to 3 km3 shows promise for coping with droughts and improving sustainability of groundwater resources in the Central Valley. PMID:22645352

Thermal Performance of Precast Concrete Sandwich Panel (PCSP) Design for Sustainable Built Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ern, Peniel Ang Soon; Ling, Lim Mei; Kasim, Narimah; Hamid, Zuhairi Abd; Masrom, Md Asrul Nasid Bin

2017-10-01

Malaysia’s awareness of performance criteria in construction industry towards a sustainable built environment with the use of precast concrete sandwich panel (PCSP) system is applied in the building’s wall to study the structural behaviour. However, very limited studies are conducted on the thermal insulation of exterior and interior panels in PCSP design. In hot countries such as Malaysia, proper designs of panel are important to obtain better thermal insulation for building. This study is based on thermal performance of precast concrete sandwich panel design for sustainable built environment in Malaysia. In this research, three full specimens, which are control specimen (C), foamed concrete (FC) panels and concrete panels with added palm oil fuel ash (FC+ POFA), where FC and FC+POFA sandwiched with gypsum board (G) were produced to investigate their thermal performance. Temperature difference of exterior and interior surface of specimen was used as indicators of thermal-insulating performance of PCSP design. Heat transfer test by halogen lamp was carried out on three specimens where the exterior surface of specimens was exposed to the halogen lamp. The temperature reading of exterior and interior surface for three specimens were recorded with the help of thermocouple. Other factors also studied the workability, compressive strength and axial compressive strength of the specimens. This study has shown that FC + POFA specimen has the strength nearer to normal specimen (C + FC specimen). Meanwhile, the heat transfer results show that the FC+POFA has better thermal insulation performance compared to C and FC specimens with the highest temperature difference, 3.4°C compared to other specimens. The results from this research are useful to be implemented in construction due to its benefits such as reduction of energy consumption in air-conditioning, reduction of construction periods and eco-friendly materials.

NREL's Sustainable Campus Overview

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

Rukavina, Frank; Pless, Shanti

2015-04-06

The high-performance buildings across the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) South Table Mountain campus incorporate a number of state-of-the art energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, making them models for sustainability. Each building, designed to meet the Gold or Platinum standards of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) program, brings NREL closer to developing the campus of the future.

Minimizing data transfer with sustained performance in wireless brain-machine interfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thor Thorbergsson, Palmi; Garwicz, Martin; Schouenborg, Jens; Johansson, Anders J.

2012-06-01

Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) may be used to investigate neural mechanisms or to treat the symptoms of neurological disease and are hence powerful tools in research and clinical practice. Wireless BMIs add flexibility to both types of applications by reducing movement restrictions and risks associated with transcutaneous leads. However, since wireless implementations are typically limited in terms of transmission capacity and energy resources, the major challenge faced by their designers is to combine high performance with adaptations to limited resources. Here, we have identified three key steps in dealing with this challenge: (1) the purpose of the BMI should be clearly specified with regard to the type of information to be processed; (2) the amount of raw input data needed to fulfill the purpose should be determined, in order to avoid over- or under-dimensioning of the design; and (3) processing tasks should be allocated among the system parts such that all of them are utilized optimally with respect to computational power, wireless link capacity and raw input data requirements. We have focused on step (2) under the assumption that the purpose of the BMI (step 1) is to assess single- or multi-unit neuronal activity in the central nervous system with single-channel extracellular recordings. The reliability of this assessment depends on performance in detection and sorting of spikes. We have therefore performed absolute threshold spike detection and spike sorting with the principal component analysis and fuzzy c-means on a set of synthetic extracellular recordings, while varying the sampling rate and resolution, noise level and number of target units, and used the known ground truth to quantitatively estimate the performance. From the calculated performance curves, we have identified the sampling rate and resolution breakpoints, beyond which performance is not expected to increase by more than 1-5%. We have then estimated the performance of alternative

Minimizing data transfer with sustained performance in wireless brain-machine interfaces.

PubMed

Thorbergsson, Palmi Thor; Garwicz, Martin; Schouenborg, Jens; Johansson, Anders J

2012-06-01

Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) may be used to investigate neural mechanisms or to treat the symptoms of neurological disease and are hence powerful tools in research and clinical practice. Wireless BMIs add flexibility to both types of applications by reducing movement restrictions and risks associated with transcutaneous leads. However, since wireless implementations are typically limited in terms of transmission capacity and energy resources, the major challenge faced by their designers is to combine high performance with adaptations to limited resources. Here, we have identified three key steps in dealing with this challenge: (1) the purpose of the BMI should be clearly specified with regard to the type of information to be processed; (2) the amount of raw input data needed to fulfill the purpose should be determined, in order to avoid over- or under-dimensioning of the design; and (3) processing tasks should be allocated among the system parts such that all of them are utilized optimally with respect to computational power, wireless link capacity and raw input data requirements. We have focused on step (2) under the assumption that the purpose of the BMI (step 1) is to assess single- or multi-unit neuronal activity in the central nervous system with single-channel extracellular recordings. The reliability of this assessment depends on performance in detection and sorting of spikes. We have therefore performed absolute threshold spike detection and spike sorting with the principal component analysis and fuzzy c-means on a set of synthetic extracellular recordings, while varying the sampling rate and resolution, noise level and number of target units, and used the known ground truth to quantitatively estimate the performance. From the calculated performance curves, we have identified the sampling rate and resolution breakpoints, beyond which performance is not expected to increase by more than 1-5%. We have then estimated the performance of alternative

High-performance light-emitting diodes based on carbene-metal-amides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di, Dawei; Romanov, Alexander S.; Yang, Le; Richter, Johannes M.; Rivett, Jasmine P. H.; Jones, Saul; Thomas, Tudor H.; Abdi Jalebi, Mojtaba; Friend, Richard H.; Linnolahti, Mikko; Bochmann, Manfred; Credgington, Dan

2017-04-01

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) promise highly efficient lighting and display technologies. We introduce a new class of linear donor-bridge-acceptor light-emitting molecules, which enable solution-processed OLEDs with near-100% internal quantum efficiency at high brightness. Key to this performance is their rapid and efficient utilization of triplet states. Using time-resolved spectroscopy, we establish that luminescence via triplets occurs within 350 nanoseconds at ambient temperature, after reverse intersystem crossing to singlets. We find that molecular geometries exist at which the singlet-triplet energy gap (exchange energy) is close to zero, so that rapid interconversion is possible. Calculations indicate that exchange energy is tuned by relative rotation of the donor and acceptor moieties about the bridge. Unlike other systems with low exchange energy, substantial oscillator strength is sustained at the singlet-triplet degeneracy point.

High-amylose sodium carboxymethyl starch matrices for oral, sustained drug-release: formulation aspects and in vitro drug-release evaluation.

PubMed

Brouillet, F; Bataille, B; Cartilier, L

2008-05-22

High-amylose sodium carboxymethyl starch (HASCA), produced by spray-drying (SD), was previously shown to have interesting properties as a promising pharmaceutical sustained drug-release tablet excipient for direct compression, including ease of manufacture and high crushing strength. This study describes the effects of some important formulation parameters, such as compression force (CF), tablet weight (TW), drug-loading and electrolyte particle size, on acetaminophen-release performances from sustained drug-release matrix tablets based on HASCA. An interesting linear relationship between TW and release time was observed for a typical formulation of the system consisting of 40% (w/w) acetaminophen as model drug and 27.5% NaCl as model electrolyte dry-mixed with HASCA. Application of the Peppas and Sahlin model gave a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in drug-release from the HASCA matrix system, which is mainly controlled by surface gel layer formation. Indeed, augmenting TW increased the contribution of the diffusion mechanism. CFs ranging from 1 to 2.5 tonnes/cm(2) had no significant influence on the release properties of tablets weighing 400 or 600 mg. NaCl particle size did not affect the acetaminophen-release profile. Finally, these results prove that the new SD process developed for HASCA manufacture is suitable for obtaining similar-quality HASCA in terms of release and compression performances.

Health Care, Heal Thyself! An Exploration of What Drives (and Sustains) High Performance in Organizations Today

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolf, Jason A.

2008-01-01

What happens when researching the radical unveils the simplest of solutions? This article tells the story of the 2007 ISPI Annual Conference Encore Presentation, Healthcare, Heal Thyself, sharing the findings of an exploration into high-performance health care facilities and their relevance to all organizations today. It shows how to overcome…

Mix design and mechanical performance of geopolymer binder for sustainable construction and building material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saeli, Manfredi; Novais, Rui M.; Seabra, Maria Paula; Labrincha, João A.

2017-11-01

Sustainability in construction is a major concern worldwide, due to the huge volume of materials and energy consumed by this sector. Associated supplementing industries (e.g. Portland cement production) constitute a significant source of CO2 emissions and global warming. Valorisation and reuse of industrial wastes and by-products make geopolymers a solid and sustainable via to be followed as a valid alternative to Portland cement. In this work the mix design of a green fly ash-based geopolymer is evaluated as an environmentally friendly construction material. In the pursuit of sustainability, wastes from a regional kraft pulp industry are exploited for the material processing. Furthermore, a simple, reproducible, and low-cost manufacture is used. The mix design is hence optimised in order to improve the desirable mechanical performance of the material intended for structural applications in construction. Tests indicate that geopolymers may efficiently substitute the ordinary Portland cement as a mortar/concrete binder. Furthermore, valorisation and reuse of wastes in geopolymers is a suboptimal way of gaining financial surplus for the involved industrial players, while contributes for the implementation of a desirable circular economy.

Thermally Stable Cellulose Nanocrystals toward High-Performance 2D and 3D Nanostructures.

PubMed

Jia, Chao; Bian, Huiyang; Gao, Tingting; Jiang, Feng; Kierzewski, Iain Michael; Wang, Yilin; Yao, Yonggang; Chen, Liheng; Shao, Ziqiang; Zhu, J Y; Hu, Liangbing

2017-08-30

Cellulose nanomaterials have attracted much attention in a broad range of fields such as flexible electronics, tissue engineering, and 3D printing for their excellent mechanical strength and intriguing optical properties. Economic, sustainable, and eco-friendly production of cellulose nanomaterials with high thermal stability, however, remains a tremendous challenge. Here versatile cellulose nanocrystals (DM-OA-CNCs) are prepared through fully recyclable oxalic acid (OA) hydrolysis along with disk-milling (DM) pretreatment of bleached kraft eucalyptus pulp. Compared with the commonly used cellulose nanocrystals from sulfuric acid hydrolysis, DM-OA-CNCs show several advantages including large aspect ratio, carboxylated surface, and excellent thermal stability along with high yield. We also successfully demonstrate the fabrication of high-performance films and 3D-printed patterns using DM-OA-CNCs. The high-performance films with high transparency, ultralow haze, and excellent thermal stability have the great potential for applications in flexible electronic devices. The 3D-printed patterns with porous structures can be potentially applied in the field of tissue engineering as scaffolds.

Sustaining High Quality Teaching and Evidence-based Curricula: Follow-up Assessment of Teachers in the REDI Project

PubMed Central

Bierman, Karen L; DeRousie, Rebecca M. Sanford; Heinrichs, Brenda; Domitrovich, Celene E.; Greenberg, Mark T.; Gill, Sukhdeep

2013-01-01

Recent research has validated the power of evidence-based preschool interventions to improve teaching quality and promote child school readiness when implemented in the context of research trials. However, very rarely are follow-up assessments conducted with teachers in order to evaluate the maintenance of improved teaching quality or sustained use of evidence-based curriculum components after the intervention trial. In the current study, we collected follow-up assessments of teachers one year after their involvement in the REDI research trial to evaluate the extent to which intervention teachers continued to implement the REDI curriculum components with high-quality, and to explore possible pre-intervention predictors of sustained implementation. In addition, we conducted classroom observations to determine whether general improvements in the teaching quality of intervention teachers (relative to control group teachers) were sustained. Results indicated sustained high-quality implementation of some curriculum components (the PATHS curriculum), but decreased implementation of other components (the language-literacy components). Sustained intervention effects were evident on most aspects of general teaching quality targeted by the intervention. Implications for practice and policy are discussed. PMID:24204101

Effects of Online Synchronous Instruction with an Attention Monitoring and Alarm Mechanism on Sustained Attention and Learning Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Chih-Ming; Wang, Jung-Ying

2018-01-01

Many studies have shown that learners' sustained attention strongly affects e-learning performance, particularly during online synchronous instruction. This work thus develops a novel attention monitoring and alarm mechanism (AMAM) based on brainwave signals to improve learning performance via monitoring the attention state of individual learners…

NREL's Sustainable Campus Overview

ScienceCinema

Rukavina, Frank; Pless, Shanti

2018-05-11

The high-performance buildings across the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) South Table Mountain campus incorporate a number of state-of-the art energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, making them models for sustainability. Each building, designed to meet the Gold or Platinum standards of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) program, brings NREL closer to developing the campus of the future.

Short-Term Memory Performances during Sustained Wakefulness in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea-Hypopnea Syndrome

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greneche, Jerome; Krieger, Jean; Bertrand, Frederic; Erhardt, Christine; Maumy, Myriam; Tassi, Patricia

2011-01-01

Both working and immediate memories were assessed every 4 h by specific short-term memory tasks over sustained wakefulness in 12 patients with obstructive sleep apnea and hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and 10 healthy controls. Results indicated that OSAHS patients exhibited lower working memory performances than controls on both backward digit span and…

The Effects of a 48-Hour Period of Sustained Field Activity on Tank Crew Performance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ainsworth, L. L.; Bishop, H. P.

This report describes the effects of 48 hours of sustained operations on the performance of tank crews in communication, driving, surveillance, gunnery, and maintenance tasks. It is a continuation of research to determine the endurance of troops using combat equipment with 48-hour capability. Proficienty tests were constructed for each type of…

Initial Results in Using a Self-Coherence Method for Detecting Sustained Oscillations

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

Zhou, Ning; Dagle, Jeffery E.

2015-01-01

This paper develops a self-coherence method for detecting sustained oscillations using phasor measurement unit (PMU) data. Sustained oscillations decrease system performance and introduce potential reliability issues. Timely detection of the oscillations at an early stage provides the opportunity for taking remedial reaction. Using high-speed time-synchronized PMU data, this paper details a self-coherence method for detecting sustained oscillation, even when the oscillation amplitude is lower than ambient noise. Simulation and field measurement data are used to evaluate the proposed method’s performance. It is shown that the proposed method can detect sustained oscillations and estimate oscillation frequencies with a low signal-to-noise ratio.more » Comparison with a power spectral density method also shows that the proposed self-coherence method performs better. Index Terms—coherence, power spectral density, phasor measurement unit (PMU), oscillations, power system dynamics« less

Sustainable production of biologically active molecules of marine based origin.

PubMed

Murray, Patrick M; Moane, Siobhan; Collins, Catherine; Beletskaya, Tanya; Thomas, Olivier P; Duarte, Alysson W F; Nobre, Fernando S; Owoyemi, Ifeloju O; Pagnocca, Fernando C; Sette, L D; McHugh, Edward; Causse, Eric; Pérez-López, Paula; Feijoo, Gumersindo; Moreira, Ma T; Rubiolo, Juan; Leirós, Marta; Botana, Luis M; Pinteus, Susete; Alves, Celso; Horta, André; Pedrosa, Rui; Jeffryes, Clayton; Agathos, Spiros N; Allewaert, Celine; Verween, Annick; Vyverman, Wim; Laptev, Ivan; Sineoky, Sergei; Bisio, Angela; Manconi, Renata; Ledda, Fabio; Marchi, Mario; Pronzato, Roberto; Walsh, Daniel J

2013-09-25

The marine environment offers both economic and scientific potential which are relatively untapped from a biotechnological point of view. These environments whilst harsh are ironically fragile and dependent on a harmonious life form balance. Exploitation of natural resources by exhaustive wild harvesting has obvious negative environmental consequences. From a European industry perspective marine organisms are a largely underutilised resource. This is not due to lack of interest but due to a lack of choice the industry faces for cost competitive, sustainable and environmentally conscientious product alternatives. Knowledge of the biotechnological potential of marine organisms together with the development of sustainable systems for their cultivation, processing and utilisation are essential. In 2010, the European Commission recognised this need and funded a collaborative RTD/SME project under the Framework 7-Knowledge Based Bio-Economy (KBBE) Theme 2 Programme 'Sustainable culture of marine microorganisms, algae and/or invertebrates for high value added products'. The scope of that project entitled 'Sustainable Production of Biologically Active Molecules of Marine Based Origin' (BAMMBO) is outlined. Although the Union is a global leader in many technologies, it faces increasing competition from traditional rivals and emerging economies alike and must therefore improve its innovation performance. For this reason innovation is placed at the heart of a European Horizon 2020 Strategy wherein the challenge is to connect economic performance to eco performance. This article provides a synopsis of the research activities of the BAMMBO project as they fit within the wider scope of sustainable environmentally conscientious marine resource exploitation for high-value biomolecules. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High performance in silico virtual drug screening on many-core processors.

PubMed

McIntosh-Smith, Simon; Price, James; Sessions, Richard B; Ibarra, Amaurys A

2015-05-01

Drug screening is an important part of the drug development pipeline for the pharmaceutical industry. Traditional, lab-based methods are increasingly being augmented with computational methods, ranging from simple molecular similarity searches through more complex pharmacophore matching to more computationally intensive approaches, such as molecular docking. The latter simulates the binding of drug molecules to their targets, typically protein molecules. In this work, we describe BUDE, the Bristol University Docking Engine, which has been ported to the OpenCL industry standard parallel programming language in order to exploit the performance of modern many-core processors. Our highly optimized OpenCL implementation of BUDE sustains 1.43 TFLOP/s on a single Nvidia GTX 680 GPU, or 46% of peak performance. BUDE also exploits OpenCL to deliver effective performance portability across a broad spectrum of different computer architectures from different vendors, including GPUs from Nvidia and AMD, Intel's Xeon Phi and multi-core CPUs with SIMD instruction sets.

High performance in silico virtual drug screening on many-core processors

PubMed Central

Price, James; Sessions, Richard B; Ibarra, Amaurys A

2015-01-01

Drug screening is an important part of the drug development pipeline for the pharmaceutical industry. Traditional, lab-based methods are increasingly being augmented with computational methods, ranging from simple molecular similarity searches through more complex pharmacophore matching to more computationally intensive approaches, such as molecular docking. The latter simulates the binding of drug molecules to their targets, typically protein molecules. In this work, we describe BUDE, the Bristol University Docking Engine, which has been ported to the OpenCL industry standard parallel programming language in order to exploit the performance of modern many-core processors. Our highly optimized OpenCL implementation of BUDE sustains 1.43 TFLOP/s on a single Nvidia GTX 680 GPU, or 46% of peak performance. BUDE also exploits OpenCL to deliver effective performance portability across a broad spectrum of different computer architectures from different vendors, including GPUs from Nvidia and AMD, Intel’s Xeon Phi and multi-core CPUs with SIMD instruction sets. PMID:25972727

Decision Guidance for Sustainable Manufacturing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shao, Guodong

2013-01-01

Sustainable manufacturing has significant impacts on a company's business performance and competitiveness in today's world. A growing number of manufacturing industries are initiating efforts to address sustainability issues; however, to achieve a higher level of sustainability, manufacturers need methodologies for formally describing, analyzing,…

Highly Committed Teachers: What Makes Them Tick? A Study of Sustained Commitment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fransson, Göran; Frelin, Anneli

2016-01-01

This article focuses on teacher commitment, and particularly on teachers displaying sustained high levels of commitment throughout their teaching careers (over 15 years). Graduates from one Teacher Education programme responded to an open-ended questionnaire conducted on 10 occasions concerning their work as teachers, from graduation in 1993 to…

Wood-Based Nanotechnologies toward Sustainability.

PubMed

Jiang, Feng; Li, Tian; Li, Yiju; Zhang, Ying; Gong, Amy; Dai, Jiaqi; Hitz, Emily; Luo, Wei; Hu, Liangbing

2018-01-01

With over 30% global land coverage, the forest is one of nature's most generous gifts to human beings, providing shelters and materials for all living beings. Apart from being sustainable, renewable, and biodegradable, wood and its derivative materials are also extremely fascinating from a materials aspect, with numerous advantages including porous and hierarchical structure, excellent mechanical performance, and versatile chemistry. Here, strategies for designing novel wood-based materials via advanced nanotechnologies are summarized, including both the controllable bottom-up assembly from the highly crystalline nanocellulose building block and the more efficient top-down approaches directly from wood. Beyond material design, recent advances regarding the sustainable applications of these novel wood-based materials are also presented, focusing on areas that are traditionally dominated by man-made nonrenewable materials such as plastic, glass, and metals, as well as more advanced applications in the areas of energy storage, wastewater treatment and solar-steam-assisted desalination. With all recent progress pertaining to materials' design and sustainable applications presented, a vision for the future engineering of wood-based materials to promote continuous and healthy progress toward true sustainability is outlined. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Hyper-Realistic, Team-Centered Fleet Surgical Team Training Provides Sustained Improvements in Performance.

PubMed

Hoang, Tuan N; Kang, Jeff; Siriratsivawong, Kris; LaPorta, Anthony; Heck, Amber; Ferraro, Jessica; Robinson, Douglas; Walsh, Jonathan

2016-01-01

The high-stress, fast-paced environment of combat casualty care relies on effective teamwork and communication which translates into quality patient care. A training course was developed for U.S. Navy Fleet Surgical Teams to address these aspects of patient care by emphasizing efficiency and appropriate patient care. An effective training course provides knowledge and skills to pass the course evaluation and sustain the knowledge and skills acquired over time. The course included classroom didactic hours, and hands-on simulation sessions. A pretest was administered before the course, a posttest upon completion, and a sustainment test 5 months following course completion. The evaluation process measured changes in patient time to disposition and critical errors made during patient care. Naval Base San Diego, with resuscitation and surgical simulations carried out within the shipboard medical spaces. United States Navy medical personnel including physicians of various specialties, corpsmen, nurses, and nurse anesthetists deploying aboard ships. Time to disposition improved significantly, 11 ± 3 minutes, from pretest to posttest, and critical errors improved by 4 ± 1 errors per encounter. From posttest to sustainment test, time to disposition increased by 3 ± 1, and critical errors decreased by 1 ± 1. This course showed value in improving teamwork and communication skills of participants, immediately upon completion of the course, and after 5 months had passed. Therefore, with ongoing sustainment activities within 6 months, this course can substantially improve trauma care provided by shipboard deployed Navy medical personnel to wounded service members. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Transition-metal-free catalysts for the sustainable epoxidation of alkenes: from discovery to optimisation by means of high throughput experimentation.

PubMed

Lueangchaichaweng, Warunee; Geukens, Inge; Peeters, Annelies; Jarry, Benjamin; Launay, Franck; Bonardet, Jean-Luc; Jacobs, Pierre A; Pescarmona, Paolo P

2012-02-01

Transition-metal-free oxides were studied as heterogeneous catalysts for the sustainable epoxidation of alkenes with aqueous H₂O₂ by means of high throughput experimentation (HTE) techniques. A full-factorial HTE approach was applied in the various stages of the development of the catalysts: the synthesis of the materials, their screening as heterogeneous catalysts in liquid-phase epoxidation and the optimisation of the reaction conditions. Initially, the chemical composition of transition-metal-free oxides was screened, leading to the discovery of gallium oxide as a novel, active and selective epoxidation catalyst. On the basis of these results, the research line was continued with the study of structured porous aluminosilicates, gallosilicates and silica-gallia composites. In general, the gallium-based materials showed the best catalytic performances. This family of materials represents a promising class of heterogeneous catalysts for the sustainable epoxidation of alkenes and offers a valid alternative to the transition-metal heterogeneous catalysts commonly used in epoxidation. High throughput experimentation played an important role in promoting the development of these catalytic systems.

Scenario analysis for sustainable development of Chongming Island: water resources sustainability.

PubMed

Ni, Xiong; Wu, Yanqing; Wu, Jun; Lu, Jian; Wilson, P Chris

2012-11-15

With the socioeconomic and urban development of Chongming Island (the largest alluvial island in the world), water demand is rapidly growing. To make adjustments to the water utilization structure of each industry, allocate limited water resources, and increase local water use efficiency, this study performed a scenario analysis for the water sustainability of Chongming Island. Four different scenarios were performed to assess the water resource availability by 2020. The growth rate for water demand will be much higher than that of water supply under a serious situation prediction. The water supply growth volume will be 2.22 × 10(8)m(3) from 2010 to 2020 under Scenario I and Scenario II while the corresponding water demand growth volume will be 2.74 × 10(8)m(3) and 2.64 × 10(8)m(3), respectively. There will be a rapid growth in water use benefit under both high and low development modes. The water use benefit will be about 50 CNY/m(3) under Scenarios I and II in 2020. The production structure will need to be adjusted for sustainable utilization of water resources. Sewage drainage but not the forest and grass coverage rate will be a major obstacle to future development and environmental quality. According to a multi-level fuzzy comprehensive evaluation, Scenario II is finally deemed to be the most desirable plan, suggesting that the policy of rapid socioeconomic development and better environmental protection may achieve the most sustainable development of Chongming Island in the future. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Three-dimensional interconnected porous graphitic carbon derived from rice straw for high performance supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Hong; Hu, Jingpeng; Wu, Shichao; Wang, Xiaolan; Zhang, Hui; Xu, Hui; Lian, Kun

2018-04-01

Three-dimensional interconnected porous graphitic carbon materials are synthesized via a combination of graphitization and activation process with rice straw as the carbon source. The physicochemical properties of the three-dimensional interconnected porous graphitic carbon materials are characterized by Nitrogen adsorption/desorption, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy and Transmission electron microscopy. The results demonstrate that the as-prepared carbon is a high surface area carbon material (a specific surface area of 3333 m2 g-1 with abundant mesoporous and microporous structures). And it exhibits superb performance in symmetric double layer capacitors with a high specific capacitance of 400 F g-1 at a current density of 0.1 A g-1, good rate performance with 312 F g-1 under a current density of 5 A g-1 and favorable cycle stability with 6.4% loss after 10000 cycles at a current density of 5 A g-1 in the aqueous electrolyte of 6M KOH. Thus, rice straw is a promising carbon source for fabricating inexpensive, sustainable and high performance supercapacitors' electrode materials.

User's manual for sustainable transportation performance measures calculator

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-08-01

Sustainable transportation can be viewed as the provision of safe, effective, and efficient : access and mobility into the future while considering economic, social, and environmental : needs. For the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to ass...

Digested sludge-derived three-dimensional hierarchical porous carbon for high-performance supercapacitor electrode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jia-Jia; Fan, Hao-Xiang; Dai, Xiao-Hu; Yuan, Shi-Jie

2018-04-01

Digested sludge, as the main by-product of the sewage sludge anaerobic digestion process, still contains considerable organic compounds. In this protocol, we report a facile method for preparing digested sludge-derived self-doped porous carbon material for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes via a sustainable pyrolysis/activation process. The obtained digested sludge-derived carbon material (HPDSC) exhibits versatile O-, N-doped hierarchical porous framework, high specific surface area (2103.6 m2 g-1) and partial graphitization phase, which can facilitate ion transport, provide more storage sites for electrolyte ions and enhance the conductivity of active electrode materials. The HPDSC-based supercapacitor electrodes show favourable energy storage performance, with a specific capacitance of 245 F g-1 at 1.0 A g-1 in 0.5 M Na2SO4; outstanding cycling stability, with 98.4% capacitance retention after 2000 cycles; and good rate performance (211 F g-1 at 11 A g-1). This work provides a unique self-doped three-dimensional hierarchical porous carbon material with a favourable charge storage capacity and at the same time finds a high value-added and environment-friendly strategy for disposal and recycling of digested sludge.

Strategies and techniques to enhance constructed wetland performance for sustainable wastewater treatment.

PubMed

Wu, Haiming; Fan, Jinlin; Zhang, Jian; Ngo, Huu Hao; Guo, Wenshan; Liang, Shuang; Hu, Zhen; Liu, Hai

2015-10-01

Constructed wetlands (CWs) have been used as an alternative to conventional technologies for wastewater treatment for more than five decades. Recently, the use of various modified CWs to improve treatment performance has also been reported in the literature. However, the available knowledge on various CW technologies considering the intensified and reliable removal of pollutants is still limited. Hence, this paper aims to provide an overview of the current development of CW strategies and techniques for enhanced wastewater treatment. Basic information on configurations and characteristics of different innovations was summarized. Then, overall treatment performance of those systems and their shortcomings were further discussed. Lastly, future perspectives were also identified for specialists to design more effective and sustainable CWs. This information is used to inspire some novel intensifying methodologies, and benefit the successful applications of potential CW technologies.

High performance concrete bridges

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2000-08-01

This compilation of FHWA reports focuses on high performance concrete bridges. High performance concrete is described as concrete with enhanced durability and strength characteristics. Under the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP), more than 40...

Sustainability of cross-functional teams for marketing strategy development and implementation.

PubMed

Kono, Ken; Antonucci, Don

2006-01-01

This article presents a case study on a cross-functional team used for marketing strategy development and execution at a health insurance company. The study found a set of success factors that contributed to the initial success of the team, but the factors were not enough to maintain the team's high level of productivity over time. The study later identified a set of 8 factors that helped sustain the team's high-productivity level. The 2 sets (ie, success and its subsequent sustainability factors) are analyzed against a normative model of team effectiveness. All the factors are explained by the normative model except for 1 sustainability factor, "challenge motivator." In fact, the study found the "challenge motivator" to be the most critical factor to keep up the team's productivity over time. Apart from a performance crisis, the authors developed 3 "challenge motivators"--first, more granular market information that could unearth hidden performance issues; second, constant value creation to shareholders as the firm being publicly traded; and third, the firm's strategic mandate to meet and exceed customer expectations that puts ultimate performance pressure on the marketing strategy team.

Measuring the environmental sustainability performance of global supply chains: A multi-regional input-output analysis for carbon, sulphur oxide and water footprints.

PubMed

Acquaye, Adolf; Feng, Kuishuang; Oppon, Eunice; Salhi, Said; Ibn-Mohammed, Taofeeq; Genovese, Andrea; Hubacek, Klaus

2017-02-01

Measuring the performance of environmentally sustainable supply chains instead of chain constitute has become a challenge despite the convergence of the underlining principles of sustainable supply chain management. This challenge is exacerbated by the fact that supply chains are inherently dynamic and complex and also because multiple measures can be used to characterize performances. By identifying some of the critical issues in the literature regarding performance measurements, this paper contributes to the existing body of literature by adopting an environmental performance measurement approach for economic sectors. It uses economic sectors and evaluates them on a sectoral level in specific countries as well as part of the Global Value Chain based on the established multi-regional input-output (MRIO) modeling framework. The MRIO model has been used to calculate direct and indirect (that is supply chain or upstream) environmental effects such as CO 2 , SO 2 , biodiversity, water consumption and pollution to name just a few of the applications. In this paper we use MRIO analysis to calculate emissions and resource consumption intensities and footprints, direct and indirect impacts, and net emission flows between countries. These are exemplified by using carbon emissions, sulphur oxide emissions and water use in two highly polluting industries; Electricity production and Chemical industry in 33 countries, including the EU-27, Brazil, India and China, the USA, Canada and Japan from 1995 to 2009. Some of the highlights include: On average, direct carbon emissions in the electricity sector across all 27 member states of the EU was estimated to be 1368 million tons and indirect carbon emissions to be 470.7 million tons per year representing 25.6% of the EU-27 total carbon emissions related to this sector. It was also observed that from 2004, sulphur oxide emissions intensities in electricity production in India and China have remained relatively constant at about 62

A self-sustaining process model of inertial layer dynamics in high Reynolds number turbulent wall flows.

PubMed

Chini, G P; Montemuro, B; White, C M; Klewicki, J

2017-03-13

Field observations and laboratory experiments suggest that at high Reynolds numbers Re the outer region of turbulent boundary layers self-organizes into quasi-uniform momentum zones (UMZs) separated by internal shear layers termed 'vortical fissures' (VFs). Motivated by this emergent structure, a conceptual model is proposed with dynamical components that collectively have the potential to generate a self-sustaining interaction between a single VF and adjacent UMZs. A large-Re asymptotic analysis of the governing incompressible Navier-Stokes equation is performed to derive reduced equation sets for the streamwise-averaged and streamwise-fluctuating flow within the VF and UMZs. The simplified equations reveal the dominant physics within-and isolate possible coupling mechanisms among-these different regions of the flow.This article is part of the themed issue 'Toward the development of high-fidelity models of wall turbulence at large Reynolds number'. © 2017 The Author(s).

A self-sustaining process model of inertial layer dynamics in high Reynolds number turbulent wall flows

PubMed Central

Montemuro, B.; White, C. M.; Klewicki, J.

2017-01-01

Field observations and laboratory experiments suggest that at high Reynolds numbers Re the outer region of turbulent boundary layers self-organizes into quasi-uniform momentum zones (UMZs) separated by internal shear layers termed ‘vortical fissures’ (VFs). Motivated by this emergent structure, a conceptual model is proposed with dynamical components that collectively have the potential to generate a self-sustaining interaction between a single VF and adjacent UMZs. A large-Re asymptotic analysis of the governing incompressible Navier–Stokes equation is performed to derive reduced equation sets for the streamwise-averaged and streamwise-fluctuating flow within the VF and UMZs. The simplified equations reveal the dominant physics within—and isolate possible coupling mechanisms among—these different regions of the flow. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Toward the development of high-fidelity models of wall turbulence at large Reynolds number’. PMID:28167583

Surface protection treatments of highly porous building stones and sustainability problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calia, Angela; Lettieri, Maria Teresa; Matera, Loredana; Sileo, Maria

2013-04-01

The growing attention to the cultural value and the potential touristic attraction of the historic towns has led to increasing activities of rehabilitation and conservation of the historical built heritage. Chemical treatments have become a common practice for the protection of the stone building surface against the decay agents and traditional methods of protection, such as the application of sacrificial layers, have been even more neglected. The use of chemical products on large scale works on the historical built heritage draws the attention towards the sustainability of the conservation treatments, that involve peculiar features with relation to the different types of stones. Sustainability is undoubtedly in terms of human and environmental impact of the used products, so that the use of new formulations based on aqueous solvent should be preferred. Sustainability also means the equilibrium between the required performances of the treatments and the preservation of the original stone properties (colour, permeability, etc), namely harmlessness and effectiveness of the treatments. This can be a critical aspect when we deal with very porous stones, namely having porosity between 30-40%, that are widely used in many countries as traditional building materials. In most cases no information - or very general recommendations - is reported in the technical sheets of the conservation products with reference to the application to these types of stones. Relevant problems of compatibility can arise from the significant amounts absorbed by the high porous structure, as well as in terms of cost effectiveness of the treatments. In this work several calcarenites with different petro-physic characteristics and porosity between 30 and 45% are concerned for the assessment of the performance of two commercial water based products for stone protection, respectively an alcoxy-siloxane with low molecular weight and a modified organo-silane. This activity is a part of the Apulia

Green innovation and sustainable industrial systems within sustainability and company improvement perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edi Nugroho Soebandrija, Khristian

2017-12-01

This paper comprises discussion of Green Innovation and Sustainable Industrial Systems within Sustainability and Company Improvement Perspective of beverage manufacturing company (BMC). The stakeholder theory is the grand theory for the company improvement perspective in this paper. The data processing in this paper is conducted through software which are SEM-PLS with SmartPLS 2.0 and SPSS 19. The specified objective of this paper has focus on sustainability as one of 6 variables, in lieu of those 6 variables as the big picture. The reason behind this focus on sustainability is the fact that there are assorted challenges in sustainability that is ranging from economic, environment and company perspectives. Those challenges in sustainability include the sustainable service supply chain management and its involvement of society. The overall objective is to analyze relationship hypothesis of 6 variables, 4 of them (leadership, organizational learning, innovation, and performance) are based on Malcolm Baldrige’s performance excellence concept to achieve sustainability and competitive advantage through company-competitor and customer questionnaire, and its relation to Total Quality Management (TQM) and Quality Management System (QMS). In conclusion, the spearheaded of company improvement in this paper is in term of consumer satisfaction through 99.997% quality standards. These can be achieved by ambidexterity through exploitation and exploration innovation. Furthermore, in this paper, TQM enables to obtain popularity brand index achievement that is greater than 45.9%. Subsequently, ISO22000 of food security standard encompasses quality standard of ISO9000 and HACCP. Through the ambidexterity of exploitation and exploration (Non Standard Product Inspection) NOSPI machine, the company improvement generates the achievement of 75% automation, 99.997% quality control standard and 80% of waste reduction.

High performance systems

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

Vigil, M.B.

1995-03-01

This document provides a written compilation of the presentations and viewgraphs from the 1994 Conference on High Speed Computing given at the High Speed Computing Conference, {open_quotes}High Performance Systems,{close_quotes} held at Gleneden Beach, Oregon, on April 18 through 21, 1994.

Combined Sustainability Assessment and Techno-Economic Analysis for the Production of Biomass-Derived High-Octane Gasoline Blendstock

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

Tan, Eric C. D.; Talmadge, Michael; Dutta, Abhijit

Conversion technologies for biomass to liquid hydrocarbon fuels are being actively developed. Converting biomass into advanced hydrocarbon fuels requires detailed assessments to help prioritize research; techno-economic analysis (TEA) is a long established tool used to assess feasibility and progress. TEA provides information needed to make informed judgments about the viability of any given conceptual conversion process; it is particularly useful to identify technical barriers and measure progress toward overcoming those barriers. Expansion of the cellulosic biofuels industry at the scale needed to meet the Renewable Fuel Standard goals is also expected to have environmental impacts. Hence, the success of themore » biofuels industry depends not only on economic viability, but also on environmental sustainability. A biorefinery process that is economically feasible but suffers from key sustainability drawbacks is not likely to represent a long-term solution to replace fossil-derived fuels. Overarching concerns like environmental sustainability need to be addressed for biofuels production. Combined TEA and environmental sustainability assessment of emerging pathways helps facilitate biorefinery designs that are both economically feasible and minimally impactful to the environment. This study focuses on environmental sustainability assessment and techno-economic analysis for the production of high-octane gasoline blendstock via gasification and methanol/dimethyl ether intermediates. Results from the conceptual process design with economic analysis, along with the quantification and assessment of the environmental sustainability, are presented and discussed. Sustainability metrics associated with the production of high-octane gasoline include carbon conversion efficiency, consumptive water use, life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, fossil energy consumption, energy return on investment and net energy value.« less

Rice husks as a sustainable source of nanostructured silicon for high performance Li-ion battery anodes

PubMed Central

Liu, Nian; Huo, Kaifu; McDowell, Matthew T.; Zhao, Jie; Cui, Yi

2013-01-01

The recovery of useful materials from earth-abundant substances is of strategic importance for industrial processes. Despite the fact that Si is the second most abundant element in the Earth's crust, processes to form Si nanomaterials is usually complex, costly and energy-intensive. Here we show that pure Si nanoparticles (SiNPs) can be derived directly from rice husks (RHs), an abundant agricultural byproduct produced at a rate of 1.2 × 108 tons/year, with a conversion yield as high as 5% by mass. And owing to their small size (10–40 nm) and porous nature, these recovered SiNPs exhibits high performance as Li-ion battery anodes, with high reversible capacity (2,790 mA h g−1, seven times greater than graphite anodes) and long cycle life (86% capacity retention over 300 cycles). Using RHs as the raw material source, overall energy-efficient, green, and large scale synthesis of low-cost and functional Si nanomaterials is possible. PMID:23715238

Method for improving fuel cell performance

DOEpatents

Uribe, Francisco A.; Zawodzinski, Thomas

2003-10-21

A method is provided for operating a fuel cell at high voltage for sustained periods of time. The cathode is switched to an output load effective to reduce the cell voltage at a pulse width effective to reverse performance degradation from OH adsorption onto cathode catalyst surfaces. The voltage is stepped to a value of less than about 0.6 V to obtain the improved and sustained performance.

The Institute for Sustained Performance, Energy, and Resilience, University of North Carolina, Final Technical Report

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

Fowler, Robert

This is the final report for the UNC component of the SciDAD Institute for Sustained Performance, Energy, and Resilience. In this report, we describe activities on the SUPER project at RENCI at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While we focus particularly on UNC, we touch on project-wide activities as well as, on interactions with, and impacts on, other projects.

Photic effects on sustained performance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

French, J.; Whitmore, J.; Hannon, P. J.; Brainard, G.; Schiflett, S.

1992-01-01

Research is described which evaluates manipulating environmental light intensity as a means to attenuate fatigue. A counter balanced, within-subjects design was used to compare nine male subjects exposed to dim (100 lux) and bright (3000 lux) light conditions. Oral temperature values were greater for the bright light group over the dim light condition. Melatonin levels were suppressed by bright light treatment. Also, the frequency of eye blink rate was less for subjects during bright over dim light exposure. Light exposure was without effect on subjective fatigue. However, irrespective of light condition, significant effects on confusion, fatigue, and vigor mood dimensions were found as a result of 30 hour sleep deprivation. The findings suggest that bright lights may be used to help sustain nocturnal activity otherwise susceptible to fatigue. Such findings may have implications for the lighting arrangements on space flights during the subjective night for astronauts.

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE EFFECTS OF INHALED PERCHLOROETHYLENE ON SUSTAINED ATTENTION IN RATS PERFORMING A VISUAL SIGNAL DETECTION TASK

EPA Science Inventory

The aliphatic hydrocarbon perchloroethyelene (PCE) has been associated with neurobehavioral dysfunction including reduced attention in humans. The current study sought to assess the effects of inhaled PCE on sustained attention in rats performing a visual signal detection task (S...

High-performance thermoelectric mineral Cu12-xNixSb4S13 tetrahedrite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suekuni, Koichiro; Tsuruta, Kojiro; Kunii, Masaru; Nishiate, Hirotaka; Nishibori, Eiji; Maki, Sachiko; Ohta, Michihiro; Yamamoto, Atsushi; Koyano, Mikio

2013-01-01

X-ray structural analysis and high-temperature thermoelectric properties measurements are performed on polycrystalline samples of artificial mineral Cu12-xNixSb4S13 tetrahedrite. Analysis of the atomic displacement parameter manifests low-energy vibration of Cu(2) out of CuS3 triangle plane. The vibration results in low lattice thermal conductivity of less than 0.5 W K-1 m-1. By tuning of the Ni composition x and decrease of electronic thermal conductivity, dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit for x = 1.5 achieves 0.7 at 665 K, which is a considerably high value among p-type Pb-free sulfides. Because the tetrahedrite is an environmentally friendly material, it constitutes a good thermoelectric material for use in support of a sustainable society.

High-Throughput Computing on High-Performance Platforms: A Case Study

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

Oleynik, D; Panitkin, S; Matteo, Turilli

The computing systems used by LHC experiments has historically consisted of the federation of hundreds to thousands of distributed resources, ranging from small to mid-size resource. In spite of the impressive scale of the existing distributed computing solutions, the federation of small to mid-size resources will be insufficient to meet projected future demands. This paper is a case study of how the ATLAS experiment has embraced Titan -- a DOE leadership facility in conjunction with traditional distributed high- throughput computing to reach sustained production scales of approximately 52M core-hours a years. The three main contributions of this paper are: (i)more » a critical evaluation of design and operational considerations to support the sustained, scalable and production usage of Titan; (ii) a preliminary characterization of a next generation executor for PanDA to support new workloads and advanced execution modes; and (iii) early lessons for how current and future experimental and observational systems can be integrated with production supercomputers and other platforms in a general and extensible manner.« less

The State of Sustainability Reporting in Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lozano, Rodrigo

2011-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review and assess the state of sustainability reporting in universities. Design/methodology/approach: Analysis of the performance level of 12 universities sustainability reports using the Graphical Assessment of Sustainability in Universities tool. Findings: The results show that sustainability reporting in…

Long pulse high performance plasma scenario development for the National Spherical Torus Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kessel, C. E.; Bell, R. E.; Bell, M. G.; Gates, D. A.; Kaye, S. M.; LeBlanc, B. P.; Menard, J. E.; Phillips, C. K.; Synakowski, E. J.; Taylor, G.; Wilson, R.; Harvey, R. W.; Mau, T. K.; Ryan, P. M.; Sabbagh, S. A.

2006-05-01

The National Spherical Torus Experiment [Ono et al., Nucl. Fusion, 44, 452 (2004)] is targeting long pulse high performance, noninductive sustained operations at low aspect ratio, and the demonstration of nonsolenoidal startup and current rampup. The modeling of these plasmas provides a framework for experimental planning and identifies the tools to access these regimes. Simulations based on neutral beam injection (NBI)-heated plasmas are made to understand the impact of various modifications and identify the requirements for (1) high elongation and triangularity, (2) density control to optimize the current drive, (3) plasma rotation and/or feedback stabilization to operate above the no-wall β limit, and (4) electron Bernstein waves (EBW) for off-axis heating/current drive (H/CD). Integrated scenarios are constructed to provide the transport evolution and H/CD source modeling, supported by rf and stability analyses. Important factors include the energy confinement, Zeff, early heating/H mode, broadening of the NBI-driven current profile, and maintaining q(0) and qmin>1.0. Simulations show that noninductive sustained plasmas can be reached at IP=800 kA, BT=0.5 T, κ≈2.5, βN⩽5, β⩽15%, fNI=92%, and q(0)>1.0 with NBI H/CD, density control, and similar global energy confinement to experiments. The noninductive sustained high β plasmas can be reached at IP=1.0 MA, BT=0.35 T, κ≈2.5, βN⩽9, β⩽43%, fNI=100%, and q(0)>1.5 with NBI H/CD and 3.0 MW of EBW H/CD, density control, and 25% higher global energy confinement than experiments. A scenario for nonsolenoidal plasma current rampup is developed using high harmonic fast wave H/CD in the early low IP and low Te phase, followed by NBI H/CD to continue the current ramp, reaching a maximum of 480 kA after 3.4 s.

Digested sludge-derived three-dimensional hierarchical porous carbon for high-performance supercapacitor electrode.

PubMed

Zhang, Jia-Jia; Fan, Hao-Xiang; Dai, Xiao-Hu; Yuan, Shi-Jie

2018-04-01

Digested sludge, as the main by-product of the sewage sludge anaerobic digestion process, still contains considerable organic compounds. In this protocol, we report a facile method for preparing digested sludge-derived self-doped porous carbon material for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes via a sustainable pyrolysis/activation process. The obtained digested sludge-derived carbon material (HPDSC) exhibits versatile O-, N-doped hierarchical porous framework, high specific surface area (2103.6 m 2  g -1 ) and partial graphitization phase, which can facilitate ion transport, provide more storage sites for electrolyte ions and enhance the conductivity of active electrode materials. The HPDSC-based supercapacitor electrodes show favourable energy storage performance, with a specific capacitance of 245 F g -1 at 1.0 A g -1 in 0.5 M Na 2 SO 4 ; outstanding cycling stability, with 98.4% capacitance retention after 2000 cycles; and good rate performance (211 F g -1 at 11 A g -1 ). This work provides a unique self-doped three-dimensional hierarchical porous carbon material with a favourable charge storage capacity and at the same time finds a high value-added and environment-friendly strategy for disposal and recycling of digested sludge.

Tough high performance composite matrix

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pater, Ruth H. (Inventor); Johnston, Norman J. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

This invention is a semi-interpentrating polymer network which includes a high performance thermosetting polyimide having a nadic end group acting as a crosslinking site and a high performance linear thermoplastic polyimide. Provided is an improved high temperature matrix resin which is capable of performing in the 200 to 300 C range. This resin has significantly improved toughness and microcracking resistance, excellent processability, mechanical performance, and moisture and solvent resistances.

Performance of high intensity fed-batch mammalian cell cultures in disposable bioreactor systems.

PubMed

Smelko, John Paul; Wiltberger, Kelly Rae; Hickman, Eric Francis; Morris, Beverly Janey; Blackburn, Tobias James; Ryll, Thomas

2011-01-01

The adoption of disposable bioreactor technology as an alternate to traditional nondisposable technology is gaining momentum in the biotechnology industry. Evaluation of current disposable bioreactors systems to sustain high intensity fed-batch mammalian cell culture processes needs to be explored. In this study, an assessment was performed comparing single-use bioreactors (SUBs) systems of 50-, 250-, and 1,000-L operating scales with traditional stainless steel (SS) and glass vessels using four distinct mammalian cell culture processes. This comparison focuses on expansion and production stage performance. The SUB performance was evaluated based on three main areas: operability, process scalability, and process performance. The process performance and operability aspects were assessed over time and product quality performance was compared at the day of harvest. Expansion stage results showed disposable bioreactors mirror traditional bioreactors in terms of cellular growth and metabolism. Set-up and disposal times were dramatically reduced using the SUB systems when compared with traditional systems. Production stage runs for both Chinese hamster ovary and NS0 cell lines in the SUB system were able to model SS bioreactors runs at 100-, 200-, 2,000-, and 15,000-L scales. A single 1,000-L SUB run applying a high intensity fed-batch process was able to generate 7.5 kg of antibody with comparable product quality. Copyright © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

Expanding HPC and Research Computing--The Sustainable Way

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grush, Mary

2009-01-01

Increased demands for research and high-performance computing (HPC)--along with growing expectations for cost and environmental savings--are putting new strains on the campus data center. More and more, CIOs like the University of Notre Dame's (Indiana) Gordon Wishon are seeking creative ways to build more sustainable models for data center and…

N/S Co-doped Carbon Derived From Cotton as High Performance Anode Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries.

PubMed

Xiong, Jiawen; Pan, Qichang; Zheng, Fenghua; Xiong, Xunhui; Yang, Chenghao; Hu, Dongli; Huang, Chunlai

2018-01-01

Highly porous carbon with large surface areas is prepared using cotton as carbon sources which derived from discard cotton balls. Subsequently, the sulfur-nitrogen co-doped carbon was obtained by heat treatment the carbon in presence of thiourea and evaluated as Lithium-ion batteries anode. Benefiting from the S, N co-doping, the obtained S, N co-doped carbon exhibits excellent electrochemical performance. As a result, the as-prepared S, N co-doped carbon can deliver a high reversible capacity of 1,101.1 mA h g -1 after 150 cycles at 0.2 A g -1 , and a high capacity of 531.2 mA h g -1 can be observed even after 5,000 cycles at 10.0 A g -1 . Moreover, excellently rate capability also can be observed, a high capacity of 689 mA h g -1 can be obtained at 5.0 A g -1 . This superior lithium storage performance of S, N co-doped carbon make it as a promising low-cost and sustainable anode for high performance lithium ion batteries.

N/S co-doped carbon derived from Cotton as high performance anode materials for lithium ion batteries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiong, Jiawen; Pan, Qichang; Zheng, Fenghua; Xiong, Xunhui; Yang, Chenghao; Hu, Dongli; Huang, Chunlai

2018-04-01

Highly porous carbon with large surface areas is prepared using cotton as carbon sources which derived from discard cotton balls. Subsequently, the sulfur-nitrogen co-doped carbon was obtained by heat treatment the carbon in presence of thiourea and evaluated as Lithium-ion batteries anode. Benefiting from the S, N co-doping, the obtained S, N co-doped carbon exhibits excellent electrochemical performance. As a result, the as-prepared S, N co-doped carbon can deliver a high reversible capacity of 1101.1 mA h g-1 after 150 cycles at 0.2 A g-1, and a high capacity of 531.2 mA h g-1 can be observed even after 5000 cycles at 10.0 A g-1. Moreover, excellently rate capability also can be observed, a high capacity of 689 mA h g-1 can be obtained at 5.0 A g-1. This superior lithium storage performance of S, N co-doped carbon make it as a promising low-cost and sustainable anode for high performance lithium ion batteries.

N/S Co-doped Carbon Derived From Cotton as High Performance Anode Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries

PubMed Central

Xiong, Jiawen; Pan, Qichang; Zheng, Fenghua; Xiong, Xunhui; Yang, Chenghao; Hu, Dongli; Huang, Chunlai

2018-01-01

Highly porous carbon with large surface areas is prepared using cotton as carbon sources which derived from discard cotton balls. Subsequently, the sulfur-nitrogen co-doped carbon was obtained by heat treatment the carbon in presence of thiourea and evaluated as Lithium-ion batteries anode. Benefiting from the S, N co-doping, the obtained S, N co-doped carbon exhibits excellent electrochemical performance. As a result, the as-prepared S, N co-doped carbon can deliver a high reversible capacity of 1,101.1 mA h g−1 after 150 cycles at 0.2 A g−1, and a high capacity of 531.2 mA h g−1 can be observed even after 5,000 cycles at 10.0 A g−1. Moreover, excellently rate capability also can be observed, a high capacity of 689 mA h g−1 can be obtained at 5.0 A g−1. This superior lithium storage performance of S, N co-doped carbon make it as a promising low-cost and sustainable anode for high performance lithium ion batteries. PMID:29755966

A Novel Feed-Forward Modeling System Leads to Sustained Improvements in Attention and Academic Performance.

PubMed

McDermott, Ashley F; Rose, Maya; Norris, Troy; Gordon, Eric

2016-01-28

This study tested a novel feed-forward modeling (FFM) system as a nonpharmacological intervention for the treatment of ADHD children and the training of cognitive skills that improve academic performance. This study implemented a randomized, controlled, parallel design comparing this FFM with a nonpharmacological community care intervention. Improvements were measured on parent- and clinician-rated scales of ADHD symptomatology and on academic performance tests completed by the participant. Participants were followed for 3 months after training. Participants in the FFM training group showed significant improvements in ADHD symptomatology and academic performance, while the control group did not. Improvements from FFM were sustained 3 months later. The FFM appeared to be an effective intervention for the treatment of ADHD and improving academic performance. This FFM training intervention shows promise as a first-line treatment for ADHD while improving academic performance. © The Author(s) 2016.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Sustainability Plan with FY 2016 Performance Data

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

Nichols, Teresa A.; Lapsa, Melissa Voss

Campus sustainability is part of an ongoing process of modernization at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Initiated in 2002, it grew to include the Sustainable Campus Initiative (SCI) as of 2008. The SCI embodies a diversity of areas, reflecting the multifaceted nature of sustainability and the resulting need for a holistic approach, by tapping ORNL’s multiplatform science and technology expertise in a pathway critical in catalyzing change and shaping the Laboratory’s future. The past year has shown significant progress for the SCI as well as for sustainable development at large, with the 21st Session of the Conference of the Partiesmore » (COP21) in Paris setting a new pace and direction for worldwide mitigation of climate change in the coming decades.« less

Sustainability, Participatory Culture, and the Performance of Democracy: Ascendant Sites of Theory and Practice in Art Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blandy, Doug

2011-01-01

Art education is a systemic and extensive network within which children, youth, and adults make and learn about material culture. This lecture considers three sites of theory and practice that I see as ascendant in circulating through this network. These sites are sustainability, participatory culture, and performing democracy. I argue that…

Sustainability in Canadian Post-Secondary Institutions: The Interrelationships among Sustainability Initiatives and Geographic and Institutional Characteristics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beveridge, Dan; McKenzie, Marcia; Vaughter, Philip; Wright, Tarah

2015-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to report on a census of high-level sustainability initiatives at all accredited post-secondary institutions in Canada by documenting the institutions that have undertaken sustainability assessments, have signed one or more sustainability declarations, have sustainability offices or officers or have sustainability…

High-rise housing in the city of Samara: the first steps on the path to sustainable development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vavilova, Tatiana Ya.; Makeeva, Elena Yu.

2018-03-01

This paper outlines theoretical background of high-rise housing and discusses its design experience. It particularly focuses on environmental, social and economic aspects which are among crucial sustainable development issues. The authors dwell upon the implementation of innovative solutions that meet principles and goals of sustainable development and take construction objects built in Samara (which is one of the largest metropolises in Russia) as an example. The research also investigates the quality of project designs and reveals techniques corresponding to the "green standards". It considers the issues of practicing high-rise building construction in specific urban conditions and identifies unresolved architectural problems.

A Systematic Review of the Measurement of Sustainable Diets.

PubMed

Jones, Andrew D; Hoey, Lesli; Blesh, Jennifer; Miller, Laura; Green, Ashley; Shapiro, Lilly Fink

2016-07-01

Sustainability has become an integral consideration of the dietary guidelines of many countries in recent decades. However, a lack of clear metrics and a shared approach to measuring the multiple components of sustainable diets has hindered progress toward generating the evidence needed to ensure the credibility of new guidelines. We performed a systematic literature review of empirical research studies on sustainable diets to identify the components of sustainability that were measured and the methods applied to do so. Two independent reviewers systematically searched 30 databases and other sources with the use of a uniform set of search terms and a priori exclusion criteria. In total, 113 empirical studies were included in the final review. Nearly all of the studies were focused on high-income countries. Although there was substantial heterogeneity in the components of sustainability measured, the estimated greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) of various dietary patterns were by far most commonly measured (n = 71 studies). Estimating the GHGEs of foods through various stages of production, use, and recycling with the use of the Life Cycle Assessment approach was the most common method applied to measure the environmental impacts of diets (n = 49 studies). Many components of sustainable diets identified in existing conceptual frameworks are disproportionately underrepresented in the empirical literature, as are studies that examine consumer demand for sustainable dietary alternatives. The emphasis in the literature on high-income countries also overlooks the production and dietary alternatives most relevant to low- and middle-income countries. We propose 3 methodological and measurement approaches that would both improve the global relevance of our understanding of sustainable diets and attend more completely to the existing multidimensional, multiscale conceptual framing of sustainable diets. © 2016 American Society for Nutrition.

NASA Ames Environmental Sustainability Report 2011

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clarke, Ann H.

2011-01-01

The 2011 Ames Environmental Sustainability Report is the second in a series of reports describing the steps NASA Ames Research Center has taken toward assuring environmental sustainability in NASA Ames programs, projects, and activities. The Report highlights Center contributions toward meeting the Agency-wide goals under the 2011 NASA Strategic Sustainability Performance Program.

Learning to ignore: acquisition of sustained attentional suppression.

PubMed

Dixon, Matthew L; Ruppel, Justin; Pratt, Jay; De Rosa, Eve

2009-04-01

We examined whether the selection mechanisms committed to the suppression of ignored stimuli can be modified by experience to produce a sustained, rather than transient, change in behavior. Subjects repeatedly ignored the shape of stimuli, while attending to their color. On subsequent attention to shape, there was a robust and sustained decrement in performance that was selective to when shape was ignored across multiple-color-target contexts, relative to a single-color-target context. Thus, amount of time ignored was not sufficient to induce a sustained performance decrement. Moreover, in this group, individual differences in initial color target selection were associated with the subsequent performance decrement when attending to previously ignored stimuli. Accompanying this sustained decrement in performance was a transfer in the locus of suppression from an exemplar (e.g., a circle) to a feature (i.e., shape) level of representation. These data suggest that learning can influence attentional selection by sustained attentional suppression of ignored stimuli.

Proposed strategies for designing sustainable high-rise apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City responding to critical urban issues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Truong, Nguyen Hoang Long; Huan Giang, Ngoc; Binh Duong, Trong

2018-03-01

This paper aims at finding practical strategies for designing sustainable high-rise apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City responding to varied municipal issues. Two steps are made. Step-1 identifies the critical issues of Ho Chi Minh City which are associated with high-rise apartment building projects. Step-2 finds potential and applicable strategies which are solutions for the critical issues in Step-1 with reference of seven selected assessment methods. The study finds the set of 58 strategies applicable to designing sustainable high-rise apartment buildings in Ho Chi Minh City.

High sustained average power cw and ultrafast Yb:YAG near-diffraction-limited cryogenic solid-state laser.

PubMed

Brown, David C; Singley, Joseph M; Kowalewski, Katie; Guelzow, James; Vitali, Victoria

2010-11-22

We report what we believe to be record performance for a high average power Yb:YAG cryogenic laser system with sustained output power. In a CW oscillator-single-pass amplifier configuration, 963 W of output power was measured. In a second configuration, a two amplifier Yb:YAG cryogenic system was driven with a fiber laser picosecond ultrafast oscillator at a 50 MHz repetition rate, double-passed through the first amplifier and single-passed through the second, resulting in 758 W of average power output. Pulses exiting the system have a FWHM pulsewidth of 12.4 ps, an energy/pulse of 15.2 μJ, and a peak power of 1.23 MW. Both systems are force convection-cooled with liquid nitrogen and have been demonstrated to run reliably over long time periods.

Endoscopists can sustain high performance for the optical diagnosis of colorectal polyps following standardized and continued training.

PubMed

McGill, Sarah K; Soetikno, Roy; Rastogi, Amit; Rouse, Robert V; Sato, Tohru; Bansal, Ajay; McQuaid, Kenneth; Kaltenbach, Tonya

2015-03-01

The learning curve for optical diagnosis of colorectal polyps with the narrow-band imaging (NBI) is unknown. To forego histological analysis of diminutive polyps diagnosed optically with high confidence, guidelines recommend ≥ 90 % negative predictive value (NPV) and concordance of ≥ 90 % for surveillance intervals predicted optically and histologically. We aimed to study the learning of optical diagnosis for colorectal polyps. We studied five endoscopists as part of a randomized multisite trial comparing near-focus and standard-focus views for optical diagnosis. They trained using a computer-based module, followed by 10 real-time colonoscopies with pathology correlation. Endoscopists then optically diagnosed and resected all the polyps found during 558 consecutive colonoscopies, and diagnoses were compared with pathology. Endoscopists repeated the training module at the study midpoint. NPV and concordance of surveillance intervals for diminutive polyps diagnosed optically with high confidence were measured over time. Endoscopists showed high diagnostic performance, with a nonsignificant trend toward higher NPV in the second half of the study. For the 445 polyps in the standard-view arm, the NPV was 88.0 % (95 %CI 75.7 % - 95.5 %) in the first half and 95.8 % (88.3 % - 99.1 %) in the second; P = 0.7. Three endoscopists in the first half and four in the second achieved > 90 % NPV. Concordance of surveillance intervals was identical in the first and second halves at 98.1 % (95 %CI 93.3 % - 99.8 %). High NPV for the prediction of non-neoplasms with NBI was achieved and maintained in this group of endoscopists who participated in standardized and continued training. Both NPV and surveillance interval agreement indicated high performance in the optical diagnosis of colorectal polyps and exceeded thresholds. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Toward malaysian sustainable agriculture in 21st century

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khorramnia, K.; Shariff, A. R. M.; Rahim, A. Abdul; Mansor, S.

2014-02-01

Sustainable agriculture should be able to meet various social goals and objectives so that it can be maintained for an indefinite period without significant negative impacts on environment and natural resources. A wide variety of agricultural activities are running in Malaysia. Maintaining high quality of agricultural products with lower environmental impacts through a sustainable economic viability and life satisfaction of farmers and community are important factors helping to meet sustainable agriculture. Human resources are playing key role in directing the community toward sustainable development. The trend of improving the human development index in Malaysia is highest in the East Asia and the Pacific, high human development countries and the world, since 2000. Precision agriculture is providing strong tools to achieve sustainable agriculture. Different types of sensors, positioning and navigation systems, GIS, software and variable rate technology are well known components of precision agriculture. Drones and robots are promising tools that enabling farmers and managers to collect information or perform particular actions in remote areas or tough conditions. According to a survey, forestry and timber, rubber production and oil palm estates are three main agricultural divisions that precision agriculture may improve the productivity in respect to area of cropland/worker. Main factors affecting the adoption of precision agriculture in Malaysia are: a) Political and legal supports, b) Decision support systems and user interfaces c) Experienced research team works d) National educational policy e) Success in commercialization of precision agriculture system.

Decentralized peri-urban wastewater treatment technologies assessment integrating sustainability indicators.

PubMed

Mena-Ulecia, Karel; Hernández, Heykel Hernández

2015-01-01

Selection of treatment technologies without considering the environmental, economic and social factors associated with each geographical context risks the occurrence of negative impacts that were not properly foreseen, working against the sustainable performance of the technology. The principal aim of this study was to evaluate 12 technologies for decentralized treatment of domestic wastewater applicable to peri-urban communities using sustainability approaches and, at the same time, continuing a discussion about how to address a more integrated assessment of overall sustainability. For this, a set of 13 indicators that embody the environmental, economic and social approach for the overall sustainability assessment were used by means of a target plot diagram as a tool for integrating indicators that represent a holistic analysis of the technologies. The obtained results put forward different degrees of sustainability, which led to the selection of: septic tank+land infiltration; up-flow anaerobic reactor+high rate trickling filter and septic tank+anaerobic filter as the most sustainable and attractive technologies to be applied in peri-urban communities, according to the employed indicators.

Identifying and engineering promoters for high level and sustainable therapeutic recombinant protein production in cultured mammalian cells.

PubMed

Ho, Steven C L; Yang, Yuansheng

2014-08-01

Promoters are essential on plasmid vectors to initiate transcription of the transgenes when generating therapeutic recombinant proteins expressing mammalian cell lines. High and sustained levels of gene expression are desired during therapeutic protein production while gene expression is useful for cell engineering. As many finely controlled promoters exhibit cell and product specificity, new promoters need to be identified, optimized and carefully evaluated before use. Suitable promoters can be identified using techniques ranging from simple molecular biology methods to modern high-throughput omics screenings. Promoter engineering is often required after identification to either obtain high and sustained expression or to provide a wider range of gene expression. This review discusses some of the available methods to identify and engineer promoters for therapeutic recombinant protein expression in mammalian cells.

How facial attractiveness affects sustained attention.

PubMed

Li, Jie; Oksama, Lauri; Hyönä, Jukka

2016-10-01

The present study investigated whether and how facial attractiveness affects sustained attention. We adopted a multiple-identity tracking paradigm, using attractive and unattractive faces as stimuli. Participants were required to track moving target faces amid distractor faces and report the final location of each target. In Experiment 1, the attractive and unattractive faces differed in both the low-level properties (i.e., luminance, contrast, and color saturation) and high-level properties (i.e., physical beauty and age). The results showed that the attractiveness of both the target and distractor faces affected the tracking performance: The attractive target faces were tracked better than the unattractive target faces; when the targets and distractors were both unattractive male faces, the tracking performance was poorer than when they were of different attractiveness. In Experiment 2, the low-level properties of the facial images were equalized. The results showed that the attractive target faces were still tracked better than unattractive targets while the effects related to distractor attractiveness ceased to exist. Taken together, the results indicate that during attentional tracking the high-level properties related to the attractiveness of the target faces can be automatically processed, and then they can facilitate the sustained attention on the attractive targets, either with or without the supplement of low-level properties. On the other hand, only low-level properties of the distractor faces can be processed. When the distractors share similar low-level properties with the targets, they can be grouped together, so that it would be more difficult to sustain attention on the individual targets. © 2016 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Measurement of sustainability index among paper manufacturing plants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharathkumar Reddy, V.; Jayakrishna, K.; Lal, Babu

2017-11-01

The paper manufacturing companies are facing challenges to implement sustainable manufacturing into their products and processes. Paper manufacturing has remarked as an intensive consumer of natural raw materials, energy and a major source of multiple pollutants. Thus, evaluating the sustainable manufacturing in these companies has become a necessity. This paper proposes a set of Performance Indicators (PIs) for evaluating the sustainable manufacturing appropriate to the paper manufacturing companies based on the triple bottom line of sustainability. The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), a multi-criteria decision analysis method is applied to prioritize the performance indicators by summarizing the opinions of stakeholders. It is hoped that the proposed PIs enables and assists the paper manufacturing companies to achieve the higher performance in sustainable manufacturing and so as to increase their competitiveness.

A causal loop analysis of the sustainability of integrated community case management in Rwanda.

PubMed

Sarriot, Eric; Morrow, Melanie; Langston, Anne; Weiss, Jennifer; Landegger, Justine; Tsuma, Laban

2015-04-01

Expansion of community health services in Rwanda has come with the national scale up of integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) of malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea. We used a sustainability assessment framework as part of a large-scale project evaluation to identify factors affecting iCCM sustainability (2011). We then (2012) used causal-loop analysis to identify systems determinants of iCCM sustainability from a national systems perspective. This allows us to develop three high-probability future scenarios putting the achievements of community health at risk, and to recommend mitigating strategies. Our causal loop diagram highlights both balancing and reinforcing loops of cause and effect in the national iCCM system. Financial, political and technical scenarios carry high probability for threatening the sustainability through: (1) reduction in performance-based financing resources, (2) political shocks and erosion of political commitment for community health, and (3) insufficient progress in resolving district health systems--"building blocks"--performance gaps. In a complex health system, the consequences of choices may be delayed and hard to predict precisely. Causal loop analysis and scenario mapping make explicit complex cause-and-effects relationships and high probability risks, which need to be anticipated and mitigated. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Kennedy Space Center Five Year Sustainability Plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Ann T.

2016-01-01

The Federal Government is committed to following sustainable principles. At its heart, sustainability integrates environmental, societal and economic solutions for present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Building upon its pledge towards environmental stewardship, the Administration generated a vision of sustainability spanning ten goals mandated within Executive Order (EO) 13693, Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade. In November 2015, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) responded to this EO by incorporating it into a new release of the NASA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP). The SSPP recognizes the importance of aligning environmental practices in a manner that preserves, enhances and strengthens NASA's ability to perform its mission indefinitely. The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is following suit with KSC's Sustainability Plan (SP) by promoting, maintaining and pioneering green practices in all aspects of our mission. KSC's SP recognizes that the best sustainable solutions use an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach spanning civil servant and contractor personnel from across the Center. This approach relies on the participation of all employees to develop and implement sustainability endeavors connected with the following ten goals: Reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Design, build and maintain sustainable buildings, facilities and infrastructure. Leverage clean and renewable energy. Increase water conservation. Improve fleet and vehicle efficiency and management. Purchase sustainable products and services. Minimize waste and prevent pollution. Implement performance contracts for Federal buildings. Manage electronic equipment and data centers responsibly. Pursue climate change resilience. The KSC SP details the strategies and actions that address the following objectives: Reduce Center costs. center dot Increase energy and water efficiencies. Promote smart

Sustainable earth-based vs. conventional construction systems in the Mediterranean climate: Experimental analysis of thermal performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serrano, S.; de Gracia, A.; Pérez, G.; Cabeza, L. F.

2017-10-01

The building envelope has high potential to reduce the energy consumption of buildings according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) because it is involved along all the building process: design, construction, use, and end-of-life. The present study compares the thermal behavior of seven different building prototypes tested under Mediterranean climate: two of them were built with sustainable earth-based construction systems and the other five, with conventional brick construction systems. The tested earth-based construction systems consist of rammed earth walls and wooden green roofs, which have been adapted to contemporary requirements by reducing their thickness. In order to balance the thermal response, wooden insulation panels were placed in one of the earth prototypes. All building prototypes have the same inner dimensions and orientation, and they are fully monitored to register inner temperature and humidity, surface walls temperatures and temperatures inside walls. Furthermore, all building prototypes are equipped with a heat pump and an electricity meter to measure the electrical energy consumed to maintain a certain level of comfort. The experimentation was performed along a whole year by carrying out several experiments in free floating and controlled temperature conditions. This study aims at demonstrating that sustainable construction systems can behave similarly or even better than conventional ones under summer and winter conditions. Results show that thermal behavior is strongly penalized when rammed earth wall thickness is reduced. However, the addition of 6 cm of wooden insulation panels in the outer surface of the building prototype successfully improves the thermal response.

Robotic Observatory System Design-Specification Considerations for Achieving Long-Term Sustainable Precision Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wray, J. D.

2003-05-01

The robotic observatory telescope must point precisely on the target object, and then track autonomously to a fraction of the FWHM of the system PSF for durations of ten to twenty minutes or more. It must retain this precision while continuing to function at rates approaching thousands of observations per night for all its years of useful life. These stringent requirements raise new challenges unique to robotic telescope systems design. Critical design considerations are driven by the applicability of the above requirements to all systems of the robotic observatory, including telescope and instrument systems, telescope-dome enclosure systems, combined electrical and electronics systems, environmental (e.g. seeing) control systems and integrated computer control software systems. Traditional telescope design considerations include the effects of differential thermal strain, elastic flexure, plastic flexure and slack or backlash with respect to focal stability, optical alignment and angular pointing and tracking precision. Robotic observatory design must holistically encapsulate these traditional considerations within the overall objective of maximized long-term sustainable precision performance. This overall objective is accomplished through combining appropriate mechanical and dynamical system characteristics with a full-time real-time telescope mount model feedback computer control system. Important design considerations include: identifying and reducing quasi-zero-backlash; increasing size to increase precision; directly encoding axis shaft rotation; pointing and tracking operation via real-time feedback between precision mount model and axis mounted encoders; use of monolithic construction whenever appropriate for sustainable mechanical integrity; accelerating dome motion to eliminate repetitive shock; ducting internal telescope air to outside dome; and the principal design criteria: maximizing elastic repeatability while minimizing slack, plastic deformation

Impaired jump landing after exercise in recreational and in high-performance athletes.

PubMed

Kuni, Benita; Cárdenas-Montemayor, Eloy; Bangert, Yannic; Rupp, Rüdiger; Ales, Janez; Friedmann-Bette, Birgit; Schmitt, Holger

2014-08-01

The risk of sustaining injuries increases with fatigue. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of fatigue on dynamic postural control in jump landing and stabilization (ST) in athletes of different levels. In all, 18 high-performance ball sports athletes and 24 recreationally active subjects performed a jump test (JT) before and at 1, 5, 10, 15, and 20 minutes after a 30-minute treadmill run at the individual anaerobic threshold. An overhead ball switch hit during a forward jump triggered indicator lamps on either side of a force plate. After landing on the plate, ST on 1 leg (no light cue) or a second jump sideways (toward a light cue) was required. The ST force integral index was calculated for the ST trials. Dynamic postural control was significantly impaired in jump landing and ST in the first minute after the run: mean difference ± SD: 0.25 ± 0.48 m·s-1 (95% confidence interval: 0.10-0.40 m·s-1, p = 0.043; analysis of variance). No significant group differences were found. Under fatigued conditions, dynamic postural control in jump landing was impaired in an unexpected ST task. Not only recreational but also high-performance athletes were affected. Ball sports athletes could add a training exercise to their workout, which alternates between periods of high effort and neuromuscular training. Resistance to fatigue effects should be checked on a regular basis using JTs.

A Dynamic Model of Sustainment Investment

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-02-01

Sustainment System Dynamics Model 11 Figure 7: Core Structure of Sustainment Work 12 Figure 8: Bandwagon Effect Loop 13 Figure 9: Limits to Growth Loop 14...Dynamics Model sustainment capacity sustainment performance gap Bandwagon Effect R1 Limits to Growth B1 S Work Smarter B3 Work Bigger B2 desired...which is of concern primarily when using the model as a vehicle for research. Figure 8 depicts a reinforcing loop called the “ Bandwagon Effect

How to Assess Transformative Performance towards Sustainable Development in Higher Education Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mader, Clemens

2012-01-01

This article highlights the role of sustainability appraisal for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Traditional HEI appraisal systems lack a way to assess the integration of sustainability principles reflecting societal needs with the consequences of research, education and management of HEIs. Two appraisal systems are discussed. The Austrian…

Effect of high terrestrial altitude and supplemental oxygen on human performance and mood.

PubMed

Crowley, J S; Wesensten, N; Kamimori, G; Devine, J; Iwanyk, E; Balkin, T

1992-08-01

Sustained exposure to high terrestrial altitudes is associated with cognitive decrement, mood changes, and acute mountain sickness (AMS). Such impairment in aviators could be a safety hazard. Thirteen male soldiers, ages 19-24, ascended in 10 min from sea level to 4,300 m (simulated), and remained there 2.5 d. Four times per day, subjects completed a test battery consisting of nine cognitive tests, a mood scale, and an AMS questionnaire. During one test session per day, subjects breathed 35% oxygen instead of ambient air. Analysis revealed transient deficits on altitude day 1 for three cognitive tasks. Most tasks displayed a persistent training effect. Sick subjects' moods were more negative and their performance improvement less. On altitude day 1, oxygen administration improved performance on two cognitive tests and one mood subscale. Following rapid ascent to 4,300 m, performance is most affected during the first 8 h. Individuals affected by AMS tend to improve more slowly in performance and have more negative moods than those who feel well.

Poly(Neopentyl Glycol Furanoate): A Member of the Furan-Based Polyester Family with Smart Barrier Performances for Sustainable Food Packaging Applications

PubMed Central

Munari, Andrea

2017-01-01

In the last decade, there has been an increased interest from the food packaging industry toward the development and application of bioplastics, to contribute to the sustainable economy and to reduce the huge environmental problem afflicting the planet. In the present work, we focus on a new furan-based polyester, poly(neopentyl glycol 2,5-furanoate) (PNF) to be used for sustainable food packaging applications. The aromatic polyester was successfully synthesized with high molecular weight, through a solvent-free process, starting directly from 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid. PNF was revealed to be a material with good thermal stability, characterized by a higher Tg and Tm and a lower RAF fraction compared to poly(propylene 2,5-furanoate) (PPF), ascribable to the two methyl side groups present in PNF glycol-sub-unit. PNF’s mechanical characteristics, i.e., very high elastic modulus and brittle fracture, were found to be similar to those of PPF and PEF. Barrier properties to different gases, temperatures and relative humidity were evaluated. From the results obtained, PNF was showed to be a material with very smart barrier performances, significantly superior with respect to PEF’s ones. Lastly, PNF’s permeability behavior did not appreciably change after contact with food simulants, whereas it got worse with increasing RH, due to the polar nature of furan ring. PMID:28869555

Poly(Neopentyl Glycol Furanoate): A Member of the Furan-Based Polyester Family with Smart Barrier Performances for Sustainable Food Packaging Applications.

PubMed

Genovese, Laura; Lotti, Nadia; Siracusa, Valentina; Munari, Andrea

2017-09-04

In the last decade, there has been an increased interest from the food packaging industry toward the development and application of bioplastics, to contribute to the sustainable economy and to reduce the huge environmental problem afflicting the planet. In the present work, we focus on a new furan-based polyester, poly(neopentyl glycol 2,5-furanoate) (PNF) to be used for sustainable food packaging applications. The aromatic polyester was successfully synthesized with high molecular weight, through a solvent-free process, starting directly from 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid. PNF was revealed to be a material with good thermal stability, characterized by a higher T g and T m and a lower RAF fraction compared to poly(propylene 2,5-furanoate) (PPF), ascribable to the two methyl side groups present in PNF glycol-sub-unit. PNF's mechanical characteristics, i.e., very high elastic modulus and brittle fracture, were found to be similar to those of PPF and PEF. Barrier properties to different gases, temperatures and relative humidity were evaluated. From the results obtained, PNF was showed to be a material with very smart barrier performances, significantly superior with respect to PEF's ones. Lastly, PNF's permeability behavior did not appreciably change after contact with food simulants, whereas it got worse with increasing RH, due to the polar nature of furan ring.

The Integrated Scorecard in support of corporate sustainability strategies.

PubMed

Journeault, Marc

2016-11-01

Organizations have increasingly recognized the importance and benefits of developing a sustainability strategy that incorporates environmental and social responsibilities. However, the simultaneous integration of the economic, environmental and social aspects remains a major concern for organizations. The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) represents one of the most promising strategic tools to help organizations face these challenges and support their sustainability strategy. However, past research has provided unclear, incomplete and even contradictory SBSC frameworks while offering little knowledge about how to integrate stakeholder management as well as environmental and social performance within the balanced scorecard to successfully support a corporate sustainability strategy. The aim of this study is to address these issues and limitations by proposing the Integrated Scorecard, a specific SBSC that integrates the three pillars of sustainability performance within four different perspectives, namely environmental, social and economic performance, stakeholder management, internal business processes, and skills and capabilities. This study provides a conceptual approach to the Integrated Scorecard and illustrates, through the use of two practical illustrations, the ability of this framework to support the corporate sustainability strategy by identifying the core sustainability objectives that organizations should achieve when creating value, facilitating the understanding of the contribution of environmental and social initiatives on economic performance, allowing the monitoring and measurement of the strategy's level of achievement, and creating synergy between sustainability performance management and reporting. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sustaining the Momentum for the Change Process: An Historical Case Study of a Midwestern High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Onsager, Tim A.

2010-01-01

Although many high schools have failed to bring meaningful change, an increasing number of schools have experienced the successful implementation of a school-wide continuous improvement process. This study explored the change process as experienced by members of a high school community intent on establishing and sustaining change to better meet…

"The Only Thing that Isn't Sustainable... Is the Farmer": Social Sustainability and the Politics of Class among Pacific Northwest Farmers Engaged in Sustainable Farming

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pilgeram, Ryanne

2011-01-01

Using interviews and participant observation at Pacific Northwest sustainable farming operations, this article analyzes the complex ways that class privileges and labor practices impact the social sustainability of sustainable agriculture. While the farmers in this study were highly aware of and reflexive about the class politics of sustainable…

Design and Construction Documents Associated with N232, Sustainability Base

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zornetzer, Steven F.; Schuler, Raymond F.; Grymes, Rosalind A.

2014-01-01

This request comprehensively covers documents associated with the design and construction of Sustainability Base, N232. The intent of this project specifically envisioned broad dissemination of these materials to others undertaking the design and construction of high-performing energy- and resource-efficient buildings in comparable climate zones.

Use of high-rise structures for sustainable tourism

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vavilova, Tatiana Ya.; Vyshkin, Efim G.

2018-03-01

The paper deals with such issues as formation and development of the infrastructure of objects for serving tourists in urban environment and specially protected natural areas with particular focus on open tower structures - a type of object which is so popular in Russia. The authors systematize international experience of integrating watchtowers in natural and anthropogenic environment as well as specific features of their modern architectural solutions. A number of examples are given. Summing up the results of the analysis we have come to conclusion that in the field of tourism the most promising tendency in functional use of vertical structures is the demonstration of cultural and natural attractions. It is also noted that in national and natural parks objects of the tower type can be built for other purposes, e.g. for conducting research, monitoring weather conditions and emergency situations. It is shown that the development of infrastructure of high-rise buildings for educational tourism contributes to sustainable development of territories and settlements.

Withholding and withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments in low-middle-income versus high-income Asian countries and regions.

PubMed

Phua, Jason; Joynt, Gavin M; Nishimura, Masaji; Deng, Yiyun; Myatra, Sheila Nainan; Chan, Yiong Huak; Binh, Nguyen Gia; Tan, Cheng Cheng; Faruq, Mohammad Omar; Arabi, Yaseen M; Wahjuprajitno, Bambang; Liu, Shih-Feng; Hashemian, Seyed Mohammad Reza; Kashif, Waqar; Staworn, Dusit; Palo, Jose Emmanuel; Koh, Younsuck

2016-07-01

To compare the attitudes of physicians towards withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatments in intensive care units (ICUs) in low-middle-income Asian countries and regions with those in high-income ones, and to explore differences in the role of families and surrogates, legal risks, and financial considerations between these countries and regions. Questionnaire study conducted in May-December 2012 on 847 physicians from 255 ICUs in 10 low-middle-income countries and regions according to the World Bank's classification, and 618 physicians from 211 ICUs in six high-income countries and regions. After we accounted for personal, ICU, and hospital characteristics on multivariable analyses using generalised linear mixed models, physicians from low-middle-income countries and regions were less likely to limit cardiopulmonary resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, vasopressors and inotropes, tracheostomy and haemodialysis than those from high-income countries and regions. They were more likely to involve families in end-of-life care discussions and to perceive legal risks with limitation of life-sustaining treatments and do-not-resuscitate orders. Nonetheless, they were also more likely to accede to families' requests to withdraw life-sustaining treatments in a patient with an otherwise reasonable chance of survival on financial grounds in a case scenario (adjusted odds ratio 5.05, 95 % confidence interval 2.69-9.51, P < 0.001). Significant differences in ICU physicians' self-reported practice of limiting life-sustaining treatments, the role of families and surrogates, perception of legal risks and financial considerations exist between low-middle-income and high-income Asian countries and regions.

Is Sustainability Sustainable?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bonevac, Daniel

2010-01-01

The most important concept in current environmental thinking is "sustainability". Environmental policies, economic policies, development, resource use--all of these things, according to the consensus, ought to be sustainable. But what is sustainability? What is its ethical foundation? There is little consensus about how these questions…

The sustained attention to response task (SART) does not promote mindlessness during vigilance performance.

PubMed

Dillard, Michael B; Warm, Joel S; Funke, Gregory J; Funke, Matthew E; Finomore, Victor S; Matthews, Gerald; Shaw, Tyler H; Parasuraman, Raja

2014-12-01

In this study, we evaluated the validity of the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) as a means for promoting mindlessness in vigilance performance. Vigilance tasks typically require observers to respond to critical signals and to withhold responding to neutral events. The SART features the opposite response requirements, which supposedly leads it to promote a mindless, non-thoughtful approach to the vigilance task To test that notion, we compared the SART to the traditional vigilance format (TVF) in terms of diagnostic accuracy assessed through decision theory measures of positive and negative predictive power (PPP and NPP), perceived mental workload indexed by the Multiple Resource Questionnaire, and oculomotor activity reflected in the Nearest Neighbor Index and fixation dwell times. Observers in TVF and SART conditions monitored a video display for collision flight paths in a simulated air traffic control task. Diagnostic accuracy in terms of NPP was high in both format conditions. While PPP was poorer in the SART than in the TVF, that result could be accounted for by a loss of motor control rather than a lack of mindfulness. Identical high levels of workload were generated by the TVF and SART tasks, and observers in both conditions showed similar dynamic scanning of the visual scene. The data indicate that the SART is not an engine of mindlessness. The results challenge the widespread use of the SART to support a model in which mindlessness is considered to be the principal root of detection failures in vigilance.

Sustainability at BPA 2013

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

None

THIS IS THE THIRD YEAR BPA has reported on sustainability program accomplishments. The report provides an opportunity to review progress made on sustainability initiatives, evaluate how far we have come and how much we can improve. The program has demonstrated maturation as the concepts of sustainability and resource conservation are communicated and understood. The sustainability program started as an employee-driven “grass roots” effort in 2010. Sustainability is becoming a consideration in how work is performed. The establishment of several policies supporting sustainability efforts proves the positive progress being made. In 2009, BPA became a founder and member of The Climatemore » Registry, a nonprofit collaboration that sets standards to calculate, verify and report greenhouse gas emissions. This year, BPA completed and published our Greenhouse Gas inventory for the years of 2009, 2010 and 2011. The 2012 inventory is currently in the process of third-party verification and scheduled for public release in January 2014. These inventories provide a concrete measure of the progress we are making.« less

A Systematic Review of the Measurement of Sustainable Diets123

PubMed Central

Hoey, Lesli; Blesh, Jennifer; Miller, Laura; Green, Ashley; Shapiro, Lilly Fink

2016-01-01

Sustainability has become an integral consideration of the dietary guidelines of many countries in recent decades. However, a lack of clear metrics and a shared approach to measuring the multiple components of sustainable diets has hindered progress toward generating the evidence needed to ensure the credibility of new guidelines. We performed a systematic literature review of empirical research studies on sustainable diets to identify the components of sustainability that were measured and the methods applied to do so. Two independent reviewers systematically searched 30 databases and other sources with the use of a uniform set of search terms and a priori exclusion criteria. In total, 113 empirical studies were included in the final review. Nearly all of the studies were focused on high-income countries. Although there was substantial heterogeneity in the components of sustainability measured, the estimated greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs) of various dietary patterns were by far most commonly measured (n = 71 studies). Estimating the GHGEs of foods through various stages of production, use, and recycling with the use of the Life Cycle Assessment approach was the most common method applied to measure the environmental impacts of diets (n = 49 studies). Many components of sustainable diets identified in existing conceptual frameworks are disproportionately underrepresented in the empirical literature, as are studies that examine consumer demand for sustainable dietary alternatives. The emphasis in the literature on high-income countries also overlooks the production and dietary alternatives most relevant to low- and middle-income countries. We propose 3 methodological and measurement approaches that would both improve the global relevance of our understanding of sustainable diets and attend more completely to the existing multidimensional, multiscale conceptual framing of sustainable diets. PMID:27422501

Exploring the relationship between boredom and sustained attention.

PubMed

Malkovsky, Ela; Merrifield, Colleen; Goldberg, Yael; Danckert, James

2012-08-01

Boredom is a common experience, prevalent in neurological and psychiatric populations, yet its cognitive characteristics remain poorly understood. We explored the relationship between boredom proneness, sustained attention and adult symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The results showed that high boredom-prone individuals (HBP) performed poorly on measures of sustained attention and showed increased symptoms of ADHD and depression. The results also showed that HBP individuals can be characterised as either apathetic-in which the individual is unconcerned with his/her environment, or as agitated-in which the individual is motivated to engage in meaningful activities, although attempts to do so fail to satisfy. Apathetic boredom proneness was associated with attention lapses, whereas agitated boredom proneness was associated with decreased sensitivity to errors of sustained attention, and increased symptoms of adult ADHD. Our results suggest there is a complex relationship between attention and boredom proneness.

A high performance sensorimotor beta rhythm-based brain computer interface associated with human natural motor behavior

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, Ou; Lin, Peter; Vorbach, Sherry; Floeter, Mary Kay; Hattori, Noriaki; Hallett, Mark

2008-03-01

To explore the reliability of a high performance brain-computer interface (BCI) using non-invasive EEG signals associated with human natural motor behavior does not require extensive training. We propose a new BCI method, where users perform either sustaining or stopping a motor task with time locking to a predefined time window. Nine healthy volunteers, one stroke survivor with right-sided hemiparesis and one patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) participated in this study. Subjects did not receive BCI training before participating in this study. We investigated tasks of both physical movement and motor imagery. The surface Laplacian derivation was used for enhancing EEG spatial resolution. A model-free threshold setting method was used for the classification of motor intentions. The performance of the proposed BCI was validated by an online sequential binary-cursor-control game for two-dimensional cursor movement. Event-related desynchronization and synchronization were observed when subjects sustained or stopped either motor execution or motor imagery. Feature analysis showed that EEG beta band activity over sensorimotor area provided the largest discrimination. With simple model-free classification of beta band EEG activity from a single electrode (with surface Laplacian derivation), the online classifications of the EEG activity with motor execution/motor imagery were: >90%/~80% for six healthy volunteers, >80%/~80% for the stroke patient and ~90%/~80% for the ALS patient. The EEG activities of the other three healthy volunteers were not classifiable. The sensorimotor beta rhythm of EEG associated with human natural motor behavior can be used for a reliable and high performance BCI for both healthy subjects and patients with neurological disorders. Significance: The proposed new non-invasive BCI method highlights a practical BCI for clinical applications, where the user does not require extensive training.

Multifunctional Nitrogen-Doped Loofah Sponge Carbon Blocking Layer for High-Performance Rechargeable Lithium Batteries.

PubMed

Gu, Xingxing; Tong, Chuan-Jia; Rehman, Sarish; Liu, Li-Min; Hou, Yanglong; Zhang, Shanqing

2016-06-29

Low-cost, long-life, and high-performance lithium batteries not only provide an economically viable power source to electric vehicles and smart electricity grids but also address the issues of the energy shortage and environmental sustainability. Herein, low-cost, hierarchically porous, and nitrogen-doped loofah sponge carbon (N-LSC) derived from the loofah sponge has been synthesized via a simple calcining process and then applied as a multifunctional blocking layer for Li-S, Li-Se, and Li-I2 batteries. As a result of the ultrahigh specific area (2551.06 m(2) g(-1)), high porosity (1.75 cm(3) g(-1)), high conductivity (1170 S m(-1)), and heteroatoms doping of N-LSC, the resultant Li-S, Li-Se, and Li-I2 batteries with the N-LSC-900 membrane deliver outstanding electrochemical performance stability in all cases, i.e., high reversible capacities of 623.6 mA h g(-1) at 1675 mA g(-1) after 500 cycles, 350 mA h g(-1) at 1356 mA g(-1) after 1000 cycles, and 150 mA h g(-1) at 10550 mA g(-1) after 5000 cycles, respectively. The successful application to Li-S, Li-Se, and Li-I2 batteries suggests that loofa sponge carbon could play a vital role in modern rechargeable battery industries as a universal, cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and high-performance blocking layer.

Vitality at work and its associations with lifestyle, self-determination, organizational culture, and with employees' performance and sustainable employability.

PubMed

van Scheppingen, Arjella R; de Vroome, Ernest M M; Ten Have, Kristin C J M; Zwetsloot, Gerard I J M; Wiezer, Noortje; van Mechelen, Willem

2015-01-01

Vitality at work is an important factor for optimal functioning and sustainable employability. To date, knowledge on how to promote vitality at work is fragmented. Contribute to knowledge on how to promote vitality at work. Determinants of vitality at work are identified from three scientific fields, and used in a comprehensive model. Regression analyses on cross-sectional data from a Dutch dairy company (N= 629) are performed to examine the associations between these factors, vitality at work, and employees' perceived effective personal functioning and sustainable employability. Vitality at work is most strongly associated with basic psychological needs of self-determination, but also with healthy lifestyle behavior, having a balanced workstyle, and social capital. Vitality at work is also associated with effective personal functioning and with sustainable employability. The study confirms the multifactorial nature of vitality at work. Since organizational culture may support self-determination, and cultural aspects themselves are positively associated with vitality, organizational culture seems particular important in promoting vitality at work. Additionally, a healthy lifestyle appears important. The associations between vitality at work and effective personal functioning and sustainable employability endorse the combined health-based, business-related and societal importance of vitality at work.

Sustainable IT and IT for Sustainability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Zhenhua

Energy and sustainability have become one of the most critical issues of our generation. While the abundant potential of renewable energy such as solar and wind provides a real opportunity for sustainability, their intermittency and uncertainty present a daunting operating challenge. This thesis aims to develop analytical models, deployable algorithms, and real systems to enable efficient integration of renewable energy into complex distributed systems with limited information. The first thrust of the thesis is to make IT systems more sustainable by facilitating the integration of renewable energy into these systems. IT represents the fastest growing sectors in energy usage and greenhouse gas pollution. Over the last decade there are dramatic improvements in the energy efficiency of IT systems, but the efficiency improvements do not necessarily lead to reduction in energy consumption because more servers are demanded. Further, little effort has been put in making IT more sustainable, and most of the improvements are from improved "engineering" rather than improved "algorithms". In contrast, my work focuses on developing algorithms with rigorous theoretical analysis that improve the sustainability of IT. In particular, this thesis seeks to exploit the flexibilities of cloud workloads both (i) in time by scheduling delay-tolerant workloads and (ii) in space by routing requests to geographically diverse data centers. These opportunities allow data centers to adaptively respond to renewable availability, varying cooling efficiency, and fluctuating energy prices, while still meeting performance requirements. The design of the enabling algorithms is however very challenging because of limited information, non-smooth objective functions and the need for distributed control. Novel distributed algorithms are developed with theoretically provable guarantees to enable the "follow the renewables" routing. Moving from theory to practice, I helped HP design and implement

Development of Sustainability Assessment Framework in Hydropower sector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soliha Sahimi, Nur; Turan, Faiz Mohd; Johan, Kartina

2017-08-01

Nowadays, Malaysian demand in energy sector was drastically increase due to technological developments. Since, hydropower is one of potential renewable energy source in Malaysia. The largest electricity utility company, Tenaga Nasional Berhad was provide an electricity to more than seven million people via independent suppliers in peninsular Malaysia and Sabah by intended a potential sustainable hydropower system. In order to increasingly the power capacity from current use, 1882 MW to more than 3000 MW by years 2020. In this study, the environmental issues and also the penalty to the responsible company especially on Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) towards their project or business are one of the problems. Other than that, every project or business has to prepare a sustainability statement or sustainability report as vital to Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad under their listing requirements. Next, the sustainability performance on their project cannot be determined to achieve the key performance indicators (KPI) satisfaction from Government, stakeholder or any responsible agencies. This study presents an exhaustive review of these studies and suggests a direction for future developments. Sustainability Assessment framework or self-assessment is decidedly as a significant framework to assist towards sustainability reporting and to produce a Sustainability index for Hydropower sector using a mathematical model study. The results reveal that, the quantitative measurement from Sustainability Assessment framework to Systematic Sustainability Asssesment tool can be produce. In doing so, it is possible to improve the performance of the project especially in hydropower planner.

Supply Chain Sustainability Analysis of Indirect Liquefaction of Blended Biomass to Produce High Octane Gasoline

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

Cai, Hao; Canter, Christina E.; Dunn, Jennifer B.

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) aims at developing and deploying technologies to transform renewable biomass resources into commercially viable, high-performance biofuels, bioproducts and biopower through public and private partnerships (DOE, 2015). BETO also performs a supply chain sustainability analysis (SCSA). This report describes the SCSA of the production of renewable high octane gasoline (HOG) via indirect liquefaction (IDL) of lignocellulosic biomass. This SCSA was developed for the 2017 design case for feedstock logistics (INL, 2014) and for the 2022 target case for HOG production via IDL (Tan et al., 2015). The design includes advancements that aremore » likely and targeted to be achieved by 2017 for the feedstock logistics and 2022 for the IDL conversion process. The 2017 design case for feedstock logistics demonstrated a delivered feedstock cost of $80 per dry U.S. short ton by the year 2017 (INL, 2014). The 2022 design case for the conversion process, as modeled in Tan et al. (2015), uses the feedstock 2017 design case blend of biomass feedstocks consisting of pulpwood, wood residue, switchgrass, and construction and demolition waste (C&D) with performance properties consistent with a sole woody feedstock type (e.g., pine or poplar). The HOG SCSA case considers the 2017 feedstock design case (the blend) as well as individual feedstock cases separately as alternative scenarios when the feedstock blend ratio varies as a result of a change in feedstock availability. These scenarios could be viewed as bounding SCSA results because of distinctive requirements for energy and chemical inputs for the production and logistics of different components of the blend feedstocks.« less

Sustainability Actions in Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Webster, Jenni; Robinson, Leigh; Trimper, Kelvin; Salagaras, Stan

2007-01-01

This article presents Australian case studies of educational buildings with environmentally sustainable designs. This includes the new public school complex for Williamstown High School and the Peel Learning Centre designed for Murdoc University. This article also includes sustainability initiatives by private developers working in collaboration…

The Global Sustainability Index: An Instrument For Assessing The Progress Towards The Sustainable Organization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grecu, Valentin

2015-09-01

There is rarely an optimal solution in sustainable development but most frequently a need to build compromises between conflicting aspects such as economic, social and environmental ones and different expectations of stakeholders. Moreover, information is rarely available and precise. This paper will focus on how to use indicators to monitor sustainable development, integrating the information provided by many of them into a complex general sustainability index. Having this general indicator is essential for decision makers as it is very complicated to evaluate the performance of the organization based on multiple indicators. The objective of this paper is to find mathematical algorithms for simplifying the decision-making process by offering an instrument for the evaluation of the sustainability progress.

Sustained exercise-trained juvenile black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) at a moderate water velocity exhibit improved aerobic swimming performance and increased postprandial metabolic responses

PubMed Central

Li, Xiuming; Zhang, Yaoguang; Li, Xiaojin; Zheng, Hua; Peng, Jianglan

2018-01-01

ABSTRACT The objectives of this study were to examine whether sustained exercise training at four water velocities, i.e. nearly still water (control), 1 body length (BL) s−1, 2 BL s−1 and 4 BL s−1, has effects on swimming performance and digestive metabolism in juvenile black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus). The results demonstrated that fish subjected to sustained training at 2 and 4 BL s−1 showed significantly higher critical swimming speed (Ucrit) and maximum metabolic rate (MMR) over the control group. Fish subjected to sustained training at 1 and 2 BL s−1 showed a significantly (30 and 54%) prolonged duration, 14 and 17% higher postprandial ṀO2 increment (i.e. ṀO2peak), and 62 and 92% more energy expended on specific dynamic action (SDA), respectively, after consuming a similar meal over fish kept in nearly still water. These results suggest that (1) sustained exercise training at a higher speed (2 or 4 BL s−1) had a positive influence on the aerobic swimming performance of juvenile M. piceus, which may be associated with improved aerobic metabolism; and (2) sustained exercise training at a lower speed (1 or 2 BL s−1) resulted in elevated postprandial metabolic responses in juvenile M. piceus. PMID:29463516

Economic Performance and Sustainability of a Novel Intercropping System on the North China Plain

PubMed Central

Huang, Chengdong; Liu, Quanqing; Heerink, Nico; Stomph, TjeerdJan; Li, Baoshen; Liu, Ruili; Zhang, Hongyan; Wang, Chong; Li, Xiaolin; Zhang, Chaochun; van der Werf, Wopke; Zhang, Fusuo

2015-01-01

Double cropping of wheat and maize is common on the North China Plain, but it provides limited income to rural households due to the small farm sizes in the region. Local farmers in Quzhou County have therefore innovated their production system by integration of watermelon as a companion cash crop into the system. We examine the economic performance and sustainability of this novel intercropping system using crop yield data from 2010 to 2012 and farm household survey data collected in 2012. Our results show that the gross margin of the intercropping system exceeded that of the double cropping system by more than 50% in 2012. Labor use in the intercropping system was more than three times that in double cropping. The lower returns per labor hour in intercropping, however, exceeded the average off-farm wage in the region by a significant margin. Nutrient surpluses and irrigation water use are significant larger under the intercropping system. We conclude that the novel wheat-maize/watermelon intercropping system contributes to rural poverty alleviation and household-level food security, by raising farm incomes and generating more employment, but needs further improvement to enhance its sustainability. PMID:26275297

Economic Performance and Sustainability of a Novel Intercropping System on the North China Plain.

PubMed

Huang, Chengdong; Liu, Quanqing; Heerink, Nico; Stomph, TjeerdJan; Li, Baoshen; Liu, Ruili; Zhang, Hongyan; Wang, Chong; Li, Xiaolin; Zhang, Chaochun; van der Werf, Wopke; Zhang, Fusuo

2015-01-01

Double cropping of wheat and maize is common on the North China Plain, but it provides limited income to rural households due to the small farm sizes in the region. Local farmers in Quzhou County have therefore innovated their production system by integration of watermelon as a companion cash crop into the system. We examine the economic performance and sustainability of this novel intercropping system using crop yield data from 2010 to 2012 and farm household survey data collected in 2012. Our results show that the gross margin of the intercropping system exceeded that of the double cropping system by more than 50% in 2012. Labor use in the intercropping system was more than three times that in double cropping. The lower returns per labor hour in intercropping, however, exceeded the average off-farm wage in the region by a significant margin. Nutrient surpluses and irrigation water use are significant larger under the intercropping system. We conclude that the novel wheat-maize/watermelon intercropping system contributes to rural poverty alleviation and household-level food security, by raising farm incomes and generating more employment, but needs further improvement to enhance its sustainability.

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Standards of professional performance for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (Competent, Proficient, and Expert) in Sustainable, Resilient, and Healthy Food and Water Systems.

PubMed

Tagtow, Angie; Robien, Kim; Bergquist, Erin; Bruening, Meg; Dierks, Lisa; Hartman, Barbara E; Robinson-O'Brien, Ramona; Steinitz, Tamara; Tahsin, Bettina; Underwood, Teri; Wilkins, Jennifer

2014-03-01

Sustainability is the ability of a system to be maintained over the long term. Resilience is the ability of a system to withstand disturbances and continue to function in a sustainable manner. Issues of sustainability and resilience apply to all aspects of nutrition and dietetics practice, can be practiced at both the program and systems level, and are broader than any one specific practice setting or individual intervention. Given an increasing need to apply principles of sustainability and resilience to nutrition and dietetics practice, as well as growing interest among the public and by Registered Dietitian Nutritionists of health issues related to food and water systems, the Hunger and Environmental Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group, with guidance from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Quality Management Committee, has developed the Standards of Professional Performance as a tool for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists working in sustainable, resilient, and healthy food and water systems to assess their current skill levels and to identify areas for further professional development in this emerging practice area. This Standards of Professional Performance document covers six standards of professional performance: quality in practice, competence and accountability, provision of services, application of research, communication and application of knowledge, and utilization and management of resources. Within each standard, specific indicators provide measurable action statements that illustrate how sustainable, resilient, and healthy food and water systems principles can be applied to practice. The indicators describe three skill levels (competent, proficient, and expert) for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists working in sustainable, resilient, and healthy food and water systems. Copyright © 2014 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Improving the Stability of High-Performance Multilayer MoS2 Field-Effect Transistors.

PubMed

Liu, Na; Baek, Jongyeol; Kim, Seung Min; Hong, Seongin; Hong, Young Ki; Kim, Yang Soo; Kim, Hyun-Suk; Kim, Sunkook; Park, Jozeph

2017-12-13

In this study, we propose a method for improving the stability of multilayer MoS 2 field-effect transistors (FETs) by O 2 plasma treatment and Al 2 O 3 passivation while sustaining the high performance of bulk MoS 2 FET. The MoS 2 FETs were exposed to O 2 plasma for 30 s before Al 2 O 3 encapsulation to achieve a relatively small hysteresis and high electrical performance. A MoO x layer formed during the plasma treatment was found between MoS 2 and the top passivation layer. The MoO x interlayer prevents the generation of excess electron carriers in the channel, owing to Al 2 O 3 passivation, thereby minimizing the shift in the threshold voltage (V th ) and increase of the off-current leakage. However, prolonged exposure of the MoS 2 surface to O 2 plasma (90 and 120 s) was found to introduce excess oxygen into the MoO x interlayer, leading to more pronounced hysteresis and a high off-current. The stable MoS 2 FETs were also subjected to gate-bias stress tests under different conditions. The MoS 2 transistors exhibited negligible decline in performance under positive bias stress, positive bias illumination stress, and negative bias stress, but large negative shifts in V th were observed under negative bias illumination stress, which is attributed to the presence of sulfur vacancies. This simple approach can be applied to other transition metal dichalcogenide materials to understand their FET properties and reliability, and the resulting high-performance hysteresis-free MoS 2 transistors are expected to open up new opportunities for the development of sophisticated electronic applications.

High-Performance Thermoelectric Semiconductors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fleurial, Jean-Pierre; Caillat, Thierry; Borshchevsky, Alexander

1994-01-01

Figures of merit almost double current state-of-art thermoelectric materials. IrSb3 is semiconductor found to exhibit exceptional thermoelectric properties. CoSb3 and RhSb3 have same skutterudite crystallographic structure as IrSb3, and exhibit exceptional transport properties expected to contribute to high thermoelectric performance. These three compounds form solid solutions. Combination of properties offers potential for development of new high-performance thermoelectric materials for more efficient thermoelectric power generators, coolers, and detectors.

A self-sustaining high-strength wastewater treatment system using solar-bio-hybrid power generation.

PubMed

Bustamante, Mauricio; Liao, Wei

2017-06-01

This study focuses on system analysis of a self-sustaining high-strength wastewater treatment concept combining solar technologies, anaerobic digestion, and aerobic treatment to reclaim water. A solar bio-hybrid power generation unit was adopted to power the wastewater treatment. Concentrated solar power (CSP) and photovoltaics (PV) were combined with biogas energy from anaerobic digestion. Biogas is also used to store the extra energy generated by the hybrid power unit and ensure stable and continuous wastewater treatment. It was determined from the energy balance analysis that the PV-bio hybrid power unit is the preferred energy unit to realize the self-sustaining high-strength wastewater treatment. With short-term solar energy storage, the PV-bio-hybrid power unit in Phoenix, AZ requires solar collection area (4032m 2 ) and biogas storage (35m 3 ), while the same unit in Lansing, MI needs bigger solar collection area and biogas storage (5821m 2 and 105m 3 , respectively) due to the cold climate. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advances and challenges in sustainable tourism toward a green economy.

PubMed

Pan, Shu-Yuan; Gao, Mengyao; Kim, Hyunook; Shah, Kinjal J; Pei, Si-Lu; Chiang, Pen-Chi

2018-09-01

This paper provides an overview of the interrelationships between tourism and sustainability from a cross-disciplinary perspective. The current challenges and barriers in the tourism sustainability, such as high energy use, extensive water consumption and habitat destruction, are first reviewed. Then the key cross-disciplinary elements in sustainable tourism, including green energy, green transportation, green buildings, green infrastructure, green agriculture and smart technologies, are discussed. To overcome the challenges and barriers, a few implementation strategies on achieving sustainable tourism from the aspects of policy/regulation, institution, finance, technology and culture are proposed, along with the framework and details of a key performance indicator system. Finally, prospects of the potential for tourism to contribute to the transformative changes, e.g., a green economy system, are illustrated. This paper shine a light on issues of importance within sustainable tourism and encourage researchers from different disciplines in investigating the inter-relationships among community/culture, environment/ecology, and energy/water/food more broadly. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Association of blood antioxidants status with visual and auditory sustained attention.

PubMed

Shiraseb, Farideh; Siassi, Fereydoun; Sotoudeh, Gity; Qorbani, Mostafa; Rostami, Reza; Sadeghi-Firoozabadi, Vahid; Narmaki, Elham

2015-01-01

A low antioxidants status has been shown to result in oxidative stress and cognitive impairment. Because antioxidants can protect the nervous system, it is expected that a better blood antioxidant status might be related to sustained attention. However, the relationship between the blood antioxidant status and visual and auditory sustained attention has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of fruits and vegetables intake and the blood antioxidant status with visual and auditory sustained attention in women. This cross-sectional study was performed on 400 healthy women (20-50 years) who attended the sports clubs of Tehran Municipality. Sustained attention was evaluated based on the Integrated Visual and Auditory Continuous Performance Test using the Integrated Visual and Auditory (IVA) software. The 24-hour food recall questionnaire was used for estimating fruits and vegetables intake. Serum total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities were measured in 90 participants. After adjusting for energy intake, age, body mass index (BMI), years of education and physical activity, higher reported fruits, and vegetables intake was associated with better visual and auditory sustained attention (P < 0.001). A high intake of some subgroups of fruits and vegetables (i.e. berries, cruciferous vegetables, green leafy vegetables, and other vegetables) was also associated with better sustained attention (P < 0.02). Serum TAC, and erythrocyte SOD and GPx activities increased with the increase in the tertiles of visual and auditory sustained attention after adjusting for age, years of education, physical activity, energy, BMI, and caffeine intake (P < 0.05). Improved visual and auditory sustained attention is associated with a better blood antioxidant status. Therefore, improvement of the antioxidant status through an appropriate dietary intake can possibly enhance

Sustaining high-energy orbits of bi-stable energy harvesters by attractor selection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Udani, Janav P.; Arrieta, Andres F.

2017-11-01

Nonlinear energy harvesters have the potential to efficiently convert energy over a wide frequency range; however, difficulties in attaining and sustaining high-energy oscillations restrict their applicability in practical scenarios. In this letter, we propose an actuation methodology to switch the state of bi-stable harvesters from the low-energy intra-well configuration to the coexisting high-energy inter-well configuration by controlled phase shift perturbations. The strategy is designed to introduce a change in the system state without creating distinct metastable attractors by exploiting the basins of attraction of the coexisting stable attractors. Experimental results indicate that the proposed switching strategy yields a significant improvement in energy transduction capabilities, is highly economical, enabling the rapid recovery of energy spent in the disturbance, and can be practically implemented with widely used low-strain piezoelectric transducers.

A passive microfluidic hydrogen-air fuel cell with exceptional stability and high performance.

PubMed

Mitrovski, Svetlana M; Nuzzo, Ralph G

2006-03-01

We describe an advanced microfluidic hydrogen-air fuel cell (FC) that exhibits exceptional durability and high performance, most notably yielding stable output power (>100 days) without the use of an anode-cathode separator membrane. This FC embraces an entirely passive device architecture and, unlike conventional microfluidic designs that exploit laminar hydrodynamics, no external pumps are used to sustain or localize the reagent flow fields. The devices incorporate high surface area/porous metal and metal alloy electrodes that are embedded and fully immersed in liquid electrolyte confined in the channels of a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-based microfluidic network. The polymeric network also serves as a self-supporting membrane through which oxygen and hydrogen are supplied to the cathode and alloy anode, respectively, by permeation. The operational stability of the device and its performance is strongly dependent on the nature of the electrolyte used (5 M H2SO4 or 2.5 M NaOH) and composition of the anode material. The latter choice is optimized to decrease the sensitivity of the system to oxygen cross-over while still maintaining high activity towards the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR). Three types of high surface area anodes were tested in this work. These include: high-surface area electrodeposited Pt (Pt); high-surface area electrodeposited Pd (Pd); and thin palladium adlayers supported on a "porous" Pt electrode (Pd/Pt). The FCs display their best performance in 5 M H2SO4 using the Pd/Pt anode. This exceptional stability and performance was ascribed to several factors, namely: the high permeabilities of O2, H2, and CO2 in PDMS; the inhibition of the formation of insoluble carbonate species due to the presence of a highly acidic electrolyte; and the selectivity of the Pd/Pt anode toward the HOR. The stability of the device for long-term operation was modeled using a stack of three FCs as a power supply for a portable display that otherwise uses a 3 V

Hierarchical porous carbon aerogel derived from bagasse for high performance supercapacitor electrode.

PubMed

Hao, Pin; Zhao, Zhenhuan; Tian, Jian; Li, Haidong; Sang, Yuanhua; Yu, Guangwei; Cai, Huaqiang; Liu, Hong; Wong, C P; Umar, Ahmad

2014-10-21

Renewable, cost-effective and eco-friendly electrode materials have attracted much attention in the energy conversion and storage fields. Bagasse, the waste product from sugarcane that mainly contains cellulose derivatives, can be a promising candidate to manufacture supercapacitor electrode materials. This study demonstrates the fabrication and characterization of highly porous carbon aerogels by using bagasse as a raw material. Macro and mesoporous carbon was first prepared by carbonizing the freeze-dried bagasse aerogel; consequently, microporous structure was created on the walls of the mesoporous carbon by chemical activation. Interestingly, it was observed that the specific surface area, the pore size and distribution of the hierarchical porous carbon were affected by the activation temperature. In order to evaluate the ability of the hierarchical porous carbon towards the supercapacitor electrode performance, solid state symmetric supercapacitors were assembled, and a comparable high specific capacitance of 142.1 F g(-1) at a discharge current density of 0.5 A g(-1) was demonstrated. The fabricated solid state supercapacitor displayed excellent capacitance retention of 93.9% over 5000 cycles. The high energy storage ability of the hierarchical porous carbon was attributed to the specially designed pore structures, i.e., co-existence of the micropores and mesopores. This research has demonstrated that utilization of sustainable biopolymers as the raw materials for high performance supercapacitor electrode materials is an effective way to fabricate low-cost energy storage devices.

Economic performance and sustainability of HealthGrids: evidence from two case studies.

PubMed

Dobrev, Alexander; Scholz, Stefan; Zegners, Dainis; Stroetmann, Karl A; Semler, Sebastian C

2009-01-01

Financial sustainability is not a driving force of HealthGrids today, as a previous desk research survey of 22 international HealthGrid projects has showed. The majority of applications are project based, which puts a time limit of funding, but also of goals and objectives. Given this situation, we analysed two initiatives, WISDOM and MammoGrid from an economic, cost-benefit perspective, and evaluated the potential for these initiatives to be brought to market as self-financing, sustainable services. We conclude that the topic of HealthGrids should be pursued further because of the substantial potential for net gains to society at large. The most significant hurdle to sustainability - the discrepancy between social benefits and private incentives - can be solved by sound business models.

A tough high performance composite matrix

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pater, Ruth H. (Inventor); Johnston, Norman J. (Inventor)

1992-01-01

This invention is a semi-interpenetrating polymer network which includes a high performance thermosetting polyimide having a nadic end group acting as a crosslinking site and a high performance linear thermoplastic polyimide. An improved high temperature matrix resin is provided which is capable of performing in the 200 to 300 C range. This resin has significantly improved toughness and microcracking resistance, excellent processability, mechanical performance and moisture and solvent resistances.

Sustainable Astronomy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blaha, C.; Goetz, J.; Johnson, T.

2011-09-01

Through our International Year of Astronomy outreach effort, we established a sustainable astronomy program and curriculum in the Northfield, Minnesota community. Carleton College offers monthly open houses at Goodsell Observatory and donated its recently "retire" observing equipment to local schools. While public evenings continue to be popular, the donated equipment was underutilized due to a lack of trained student observing assistants. With sponsorship from NASA's IYA Student Ambassador program, the sustainable astronomy project began in 2009 to generate greater interest in astronomy and train middle school and high school students as observing assistants. Carleton physics majors developed curricular materials and instituted regular outreach programs for grades 6-12. The Northfield High School Astronomy Club was created, and Carleton undergraduates taught high school students how to use telescopes and do CCD imaging. During the summer of 2009, Carleton students began the Young Astronomers Summer Experience (YASE) program for middle school students and offered a two-week, astronomy-rich observing and imaging experience at Goodsell Observatory. In concert with NASA's Summer of Innovation initiative, the YASE program was offered again in 2010 and engaged a new group of local middle school students in hands-on scientific experiments and observing opportunities. Members of the high school astronomy club now volunteer as observing assistants in the community and graduates of the YASE programs are eager to continue observing as members of a public service astronomy club when they enter the Northfield High School. These projects are training future scientists and will sustain the public's interest in astronomy long after the end of IYA 2009.

Solvents and sustainable chemistry

PubMed Central

Welton, Tom

2015-01-01

Solvents are widely recognized to be of great environmental concern. The reduction of their use is one of the most important aims of green chemistry. In addition to this, the appropriate selection of solvent for a process can greatly improve the sustainability of a chemical production process. There has also been extensive research into the application of so-called green solvents, such as ionic liquids and supercritical fluids. However, most examples of solvent technologies that give improved sustainability come from the application of well-established solvents. It is also apparent that the successful implementation of environmentally sustainable processes must be accompanied by improvements in commercial performance. PMID:26730217

High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costanzo, Samuel J.

1984-01-01

Clarifies where in the scheme of modern chromatography high performance thin layer chromatography (TLC) fits and why in some situations it is a viable alternative to gas and high performance liquid chromatography. New TLC plates, sample applications, plate development, and instrumental techniques are considered. (JN)

Contribution of Nanostructures in High Performance Solar Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aly, Abouelmaaty M.; Ebrahim, Essamudin A.; Sweelem, Emad

2017-11-01

Nanotechnology has great contributions in various fields, especially in solar energy conversion through solar cells (SCs). Nanostructured SCs can provide high performance with lower fabrication costs. The transition from fossil fuel energy to renewable sustainable energy represents a major technological challenge for the world. In the last years, the industry of SCs has grown rapidly due to strong attention in renewable energy in order to handle the problem of global climate change that is now believed to occur due to use of the fossil fuels. Cost is an influential factor in the eventual success of any solar technology, since inexpensive SCs are needed to produce electricity, especially for rural areas and for third world countries. Therefore, new developments in nanotechnology may open the door for the production of inexpensive and more efficient SCs by reducing the manufacturing costs of SCs. Utilizing nanotechnology in cheaper SCs will help maintain the environment. This article covers a review of the progress that has been made to-date to enhance efficiencies of various nanostructures used in SCs, including utilizations of all the wavelengths present in of the solar spectrum.

Sintering-Resistant Nanoparticles in Wide-Mouthed Compartments for Sustained Catalytic Performance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jia; Ji, Qingmin; Imai, Tsubasa; Ariga, Katsuhiko; Abe, Hideki

2017-02-01

Particle sintering is one of the most significant impediments to functional nanoparticles in many valuable applications especially catalysis. Herein, we report that sintering-resistant nanoparticle systems can be realized through a simple materials-design which maximizes the particle-to-particle traveling distance of neighbouring nanoparticles. As a demonstration, Pt nanoparticles were placed apart from each other in wide-mouthed compartments tailored on the surface of self-assembled silica nanosheets. These Pt nanoparticles retained their particle size after calcination at elevated temperatures because the compartment wall elongates the particle-to-particle traveling distance to preclude the possibility of sintering. Moreover, these Pt nanoparticles in wide-mouthed compartments were fully accessible to the environment and exhibited much higher catalytic activity for CO oxidation than the nanoparticles confined in the nanochannels of mesoporous silica. The proposed materials-design strategy is applicable not only to industrial catalysts operating in harsh conditions, but also opens up possibilities in developing advanced nanoparticle-based materials with sustained performance.

Engineering Hollow Carbon Architecture for High-Performance K-Ion Battery Anode.

PubMed

Bin, De-Shan; Lin, Xi-Jie; Sun, Yong-Gang; Xu, Yan-Song; Zhang, Ke; Cao, An-Min; Wan, Li-Jun

2018-05-31

K-ion batteries (KIBs) are now drawing increasing research interest as an inexpensive alternative to Li-ion batteries (LIBs). However, due to the large size of K + , stable electrode materials capable of sustaining the repeated K + intercalation/deintercalation cycles are extremely deficient especially if a satisfactory reversible capacity is expected. Herein, we demonstrated that the structural engineering of carbon into a hollow interconnected architecture, a shape similar to the neuron-cell network, promised high conceptual and technological potential for a high-performance KIB anode. Using melamine-formaldehyde resin as the starting material, we identify an interesting glass blowing effect of this polymeric precursor during its carbonization, which features a skeleton-softening process followed by its spontaneous hollowing. When used as a KIB anode, the carbon scaffold with interconnected hollow channels can ensure a resilient structure for a stable potassiation/depotassiation process and deliver an extraordinary capacity (340 mAh g -1 at 0.1 C) together with a superior cycling stability (no obvious fading over 150 cycles at 0.5 C).

Sustainability of Metal Structures via Spray-Clad Remanufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Gregory M.; Sampath, Sanjay

2018-04-01

Structural reclamation and remanufacturing is an important future design consideration to allow sustainable recovery of degraded structural metals. Heavy machinery and infrastructure components subjected to extended use and/or environment induced degradation require costly and time-consuming replacement. If these parts can be remanufactured to original tolerances, and returned to service with "as good or better" performance, significant reductions in materials, cost, and environmental impact can be achieved. Localized additive restoration via thermal or cold spray methods is a promising approach in recovering and restoring original design strength of degraded metals. The advent of high velocity spray deposition technologies has allowed deposition of near full density materials. In this review, the fundamental scientific and technological elements of such local additive restoration is contemplated including materials, processes, and methodologies to assess the capabilities of such remanufactured systems. This points to sustainable material reclamation, as well as a route toward resource and process sustainability.

Assessing Capacity for Sustainability of Effective Programs and Policies in Local Health Departments.

PubMed

Tabak, Rachel G; Duggan, Katie; Smith, Carson; Aisaka, Kristelle; Moreland-Russell, Sarah; Brownson, Ross C

2016-01-01

Sustainability has been defined as the existence of structures and processes that allow a program to leverage resources to effectively implement and maintain evidence-based public health and is important in local health departments (LHDs) to retain the benefits of effective programs. Explore the applicability of the Program Sustainability Framework in high- and low-capacity LHDs as defined by national performance standards. Case study interviews from June to July 2013. Standard qualitative methodology was used to code transcripts; codes were developed inductively and deductively. Six geographically diverse LHD's (selected from 3 of high and 3 of low capacity) : 35 LHD practitioners. Thematic reports explored the 8 domains (Organizational Capacity, Program Adaptation, Program Evaluation, Communications, Strategic Planning, Funding Stability, Environmental Support, and Partnerships) of the Program Sustainability Framework. High-capacity LHDs described having environmental support, while low-capacity LHDs reported this was lacking. Both high- and low-capacity LHDs described limited funding; however, high-capacity LHDs reported greater funding flexibility. Partnerships were important to high- and low-capacity LHDs, and both described building partnerships to sustain programming. Regarding organizational capacity, high-capacity LHDs reported better access to and support for adequate staff and staff training when compared with low-capacity LHDs. While high-capacity LHDs described integration of program evaluation into implementation and sustainability, low-capacity LHDs reported limited capacity for measurement specifically and evaluation generally. When high-capacity LHDs described program adoption, they discussed an opportunity to adapt and evaluate. Low-capacity LHDs struggled with programs requiring adaptation. High-capacity LHDs described higher quality communication than low-capacity LHDs. High- and low-capacity LHDs described strategic planning, but high

Economic and environmental sustainability of submerged anaerobic MBR-based (AnMBR-based) technology as compared to aerobic-based technologies for moderate-/high-loaded urban wastewater treatment.

PubMed

Pretel, R; Robles, A; Ruano, M V; Seco, A; Ferrer, J

2016-01-15

The objective of this study was to assess the economic and environmental sustainability of submerged anaerobic membrane bioreactors (AnMBRs) in comparison with aerobic-based technologies for moderate-/high-loaded urban wastewater (UWW) treatment. To this aim, a combined approach of steady-state performance modelling, life cycle analysis (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) was used, in which AnMBR (coupled with an aerobic-based post-treatment) was compared to aerobic membrane bioreactor (AeMBR) and conventional activated sludge (CAS). AnMBR with CAS-based post-treatment for nutrient removal was identified as a sustainable option for moderate-/high-loaded UWW treatment: low energy consumption and reduced sludge production could be obtained at given operating conditions. In addition, significant reductions can be achieved in different aspects of environmental impact (global warming potential (GWP), abiotic depletion, acidification, etc.) and LCC over existing UWW treatment technologies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Topical Reports: Sustainable Design for Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, Anne W.

This document presents several reports on the practical applications of sustainable design and schools; it includes information about student performance and sustainable design features involving lighting, acoustics, air quality, and student well-being. Three case studies (Washington's Bainbridge Island School District, Texas' Roy Lee Walker…

Sustainability at the local scale: defining highly aggregated indices for assessing environmental performance. The province of Reggio Emilia (Italy) as a case study.

PubMed

Clerici, Nicola; Bodini, Antonio; Ferrarini, Alessandro

2004-10-01

In order to achieve improved sustainability, local authorities need to use tools that adequately describe and synthesize environmental information. This article illustrates a methodological approach that organizes a wide suite of environmental indicators into few aggregated indices, making use of correlation, principal component analysis, and fuzzy sets. Furthermore, a weighting system, which includes stakeholders' priorities and ambitions, is applied. As a case study, the described methodology is applied to the Reggio Emilia Province in Italy, by considering environmental information from 45 municipalities. Principal component analysis is used to condense an initial set of 19 indicators into 6 fundamental dimensions that highlight patterns of environmental conditions at the provincial scale. These dimensions are further aggregated in two indices of environmental performance through fuzzy sets. The simple form of these indices makes them particularly suitable for public communication, as they condensate a wide set of heterogeneous indicators. The main outcomes of the analysis and the potential applications of the method are discussed.

Transport studies in high-performance field reversed configuration plasmas

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

Gupta, S., E-mail: sgupta@trialphaenergy.com; Barnes, D. C.; Dettrick, S. A.

2016-05-15

A significant improvement of field reversed configuration (FRC) lifetime and plasma confinement times in the C-2 plasma, called High Performance FRC regime, has been observed with neutral beam injection (NBI), improved edge stability, and better wall conditioning [Binderbauer et al., Phys. Plasmas 22, 056110 (2015)]. A Quasi-1D (Q1D) fluid transport code has been developed and employed to carry out transport analysis of such C-2 plasma conditions. The Q1D code is coupled to a Monte-Carlo code to incorporate the effect of fast ions, due to NBI, on the background FRC plasma. Numerically, the Q1D transport behavior with enhanced transport coefficients (butmore » with otherwise classical parametric dependencies) such as 5 times classical resistive diffusion, classical thermal ion conductivity, 20 times classical electron thermal conductivity, and classical fast ion behavior fit with the experimentally measured time evolution of the excluded flux radius, line-integrated density, and electron/ion temperature. The numerical study shows near sustainment of poloidal flux for nearly 1 ms in the presence of NBI.« less

Pressurized planar electrochromatography, high-performance thin-layer chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography--comparison of performance.

PubMed

Płocharz, Paweł; Klimek-Turek, Anna; Dzido, Tadeusz H

2010-07-16

Kinetic performance, measured by plate height, of High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography (HPTLC), High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and Pressurized Planar Electrochromatography (PPEC) was compared for the systems with adsorbent of the HPTLC RP18W plate from Merck as the stationary phase and the mobile phase composed of acetonitrile and buffer solution. The HPLC column was packed with the adsorbent, which was scrapped from the chromatographic plate mentioned. An additional HPLC column was also packed with adsorbent of 5 microm particle diameter, C18 type silica based (LiChrosorb RP-18 from Merck). The dependence of plate height of both HPLC and PPEC separating systems on flow velocity of the mobile phase and on migration distance of the mobile phase in TLC system was presented applying test solute (prednisolone succinate). The highest performance, amongst systems investigated, was obtained for the PPEC system. The separation efficiency of the systems investigated in the paper was additionally confirmed by the separation of test component mixture composed of six hormones. 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

National Trends in Sustainability Performance: Lessons for Facilities Leaders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Kristy M.; Keniry, L. Julian

2009-01-01

For most facilities leaders, sustainability is nothing new. The authors have observed repeatedly over several decades that administrative and facilities staff have often taken the lead in initiating many of the most effective and visible efforts on campuses to dramatically curb energy use and waste and to contain costs, even during times of rapid…

Mediating effect of sustainable product development on relationship between quality management practices and organizational performance: Empirical study of Malaysian automotive industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmad, Mohd Akhir; Asaad, Mohd Norhasni; Saad, Rohaizah; Iteng, Rosman; Rahim, Mohd Kamarul Irwan Abdul

2016-08-01

Global competition in the automotive industry has encouraged companies to implement quality management practices in all managerial aspects to ensure customer satisfaction in products and reduce costs. Therefore, guaranteeing only product quality is insufficient without considering product sustainability, which involves economic, environment, and social elements. Companies that meet both objectives gain advantages in the modern business environment. This study addresses the issues regarding product quality and sustainability in small and medium-sized enterprises in the Malaysian automotive industry. A research was carried out in 91 SMEs automotive suppliers in throughout Malaysia. The analyzed using SPSS ver.23 has been proposed in correlation study. Specifically, this study investigates the relationship between quality management practices and organizational performance as well as the mediating effect of sustainable product development on this relationship.

Development of high-performance supercapacitor electrode derived from sugar industry spent wash waste.

PubMed

Mahto, Ashesh; Gupta, Rajeev; Ghara, Krishna Kanta; Srivastava, Divesh N; Maiti, Pratyush; D, Kalpana; Rivera, Paul-Zavala; Meena, R; Nataraj, S K

2017-10-15

This study aims at developing supercapacitor materials from sugar and distillery industry wastes, thereby mediating waste disposal problem through reuse. In a two-step process, biomethanated spent wash (BMSW) was acid treated to produce solid waste sludge and waste water with significantly reduced total organic carbon (TOC) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) content. Further, waste sludge was directly calcined in presence of activating agent ZnCl 2 in inert atmosphere resulting in high surface area (730-900m 2 g -1 ) carbon of unique hexagonal morphology. Present technique resulted in achieving two-faceted target of liquid-solid waste remediation and production of high-performance carbon material. The resulted high surface area carbon was tested in both three and two electrode systems. Electrochemical tests viz. cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge and impedance measurement were carried out in aqueous KOH electrolyte yielding specific capacitance as high as 120Fg -1 , whereas all solid supercapacitor devised using PVA/H 3 PO 4 polyelectrolyte showed stable capacitance of 105Fg -1 at 0.2Ag -1 . The presence of transition metal particles and hetero-atoms on carbon surface were confirmed by XPS, EDX and TEM analysis which enhanced the conductivity and imparted pseudocapacitance to some extent into the working electrode. The present study successfully demonstrated production of high-performance electrode material from dirtiest wastewater making process green, sustainable and economically viable. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Sustainability.

PubMed

Chang, Chein-Chi; DiGiovanni, Kimberly; Mei, Ying; Wei, Li

2016-10-01

This review on Sustainability covers selected 2015 publications on the focus of Sustainability. It is divided into the following sections : • Sustainable water and wastewater utilities • Sustainable water resources management • Stormwater and green infrastructure • Sustainability in wastewater treatment • Life cycle assessment (LCA) applications • Sustainability and energy in wastewater industry, • Sustainability and asset management.

Exploring work-related issues on corporate sustainability.

PubMed

Brunoro, C M; Bolis, I; Sznelwar, L I

2015-01-01

In a research project about work-related issues and corporate sustainability conducted in Brazil, the goal was to better understand how work-related issues were addressed in the corporate context. Particularly, there are some specific initiatives that serve as guides to organizational decisions, which make their performance indicators for the context of corporate sustainability. 1) To explore the presence of work-related issues and their origins in corporate sustainability approach, analyzing a) corporate disclosures; b) sustainability guidelines that are identified as relevant in corporate disclosures; c) documents that are related to sustainable development and also identified as key-documents for these guidelines and initiatives. 2) To present the activity-centered ergonomics and psychodynamics of work contributions to work-related issues in a corporate sustainability approach. An exploratory study based on multiple sources of evidence that were performed from 2012 to 2013, including interviews with companies that engaged in corporate sustainability and document analysis using the content analysis approach. Work-related issues have been presented since the earliest sustainable development documents. It is feasible to construct an empirical framework for work-related issues and corporate sustainability approaches. 1) Although some authors argue that corporate sustainability has its roots based only on the environmental dimension, there is strong empirical evidence showing that social dimension aspects such as work-related issues have been present since the beginning. 2) Some indicators should be redesigned to more precisely translate the reality of some workplaces, particularly those indicators related to organizational design and mental health.

Predicting materials for sustainable energy sources: The key role of density functional theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galli, Giulia

Climate change and the related need for sustainable energy sources replacing fossil fuels are pressing societal problems. The development of advanced materials is widely recognized as one of the key elements for new technologies that are required to achieve a sustainable environment and provide clean and adequate energy for our planet. We discuss the key role played by Density Functional Theory, and its implementations in high performance computer codes, in understanding, predicting and designing materials for energy applications.

A new framework for sustainable hydropower development project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johan, Kartina; Turan, Faiz Mohd; Gani, Nur Syazwani Abdul

2018-03-01

This project studies on the establishment of a new framework for sustainable hydropower development. A hydropower development is listed as one of the prescribed activities under the Environmental Quality Order 1987. Thus, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) guidelines must be referred to comply with the Department of Environment (DoE) requirements. In order to execute EIA, an assessment tool that will be utilized in the final evaluation phase must be determined. The selected assessment tool that will be used is Systematic Sustainability Assessment(SSA) which is a new integrated tool to evaluate the sustainability performance. A pilot run is conducted in five different departments within the Energy Company to validate the efficiency of the SSA tool. The parameters to be evaluated are constructed aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to maintain the sustainability features. Consequently, the performance level of the sustainability with respect to People, Planet and Profit (3P’s) is able to be discovered during evaluation phase in the hydropower development for continuous improvement.

Influence of lateral displacement on the levitation performance of a magnetized bulk high-Tc superconductor magnet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, W.; Wang, J. S.; Ma, G. T.; Zheng, J.; Tuo, X. G.; Li, L. L.; Ye, C. Q.; Liao, X. L.; Wang, S. Y.

2012-03-01

Compared with the permanent magnet, the magnetized bulk high-Tc superconductor magnet (MBSCM) can trap higher magnetic field due to its strong flux pinning ability, so it is a good candidate to improve the levitation performance of high-Tc superconductive (HTS) maglev system. The trapped magnetic flux of a MBSCM is sustained by the inductive superconducting current produced by the magnetizing process and is susceptible to the current intensity as well as configuration. In the HTS maglev system, the lateral displacement is an important process to change the superconducting current within a MBSCM and then affects its levitation performance, which is essential for the traffic ability in curve-way, the loading capacity of lateral impact and so on. The research about influence of lateral displacement on the levitation performance of MBSCM is necessary when MBSCM is applied on the HTS maglev vehicle. The experimental investigations about the influence of lateral displacement on the levitation performance of a MBSCM with different trapped fluxes and applied fields are processed in this article. The analyses and conclusions of this article are useful for the practical application of MBSCM in HTS maglev system.

High Performance Processors for Space Environments: A Subproject of the NASA Exploration Missions Systems Directorate "Radiation Hardened Electronics for Space Environments" Technology Development Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, M.; Label, K.; McCabe, J.; Powell, W.; Bolotin, G.; Kolawa, E.; Ng, T.; Hyde, D.

2007-01-01

Implementation of challenging Exploration Systems Missions Directorate objectives and strategies can be constrained by onboard computing capabilities and power efficiencies. The Radiation Hardened Electronics for Space Environments (RHESE) High Performance Processors for Space Environments project will address this challenge by significantly advancing the sustained throughput and processing efficiency of high-per$ormance radiation-hardened processors, targeting delivery of products by the end of FY12.

Caribbean small-island tourism styles and sustainable strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Albuquerque, Klaus; McElroy, Jerome L.

1992-09-01

This article focuses on developing a sustainable tourism in small Caribbean islands, defined here as those that have populations of fewer than 500,000. Such islands share a very fragile ecology and a high dependence on tourism. They differ in their degree of tourist penetration and visitor density and the related degree of environmental degradation. To explain the link between tourism intensity and ecological vulnerability, the so-called “destination life-cycle model” is presented. This suggests that islands pass through three primary stages of tourist development low-density exploration, rapid growth and consolidation, and high-density maturation involving the substitution of man-made for natural attractions. A broad empirical test of the model is performed through a quantitative examination of the tourism characteristics and visitor densities of a cross section of 23 small Caribbean islands. The three basic stages or tourism styles are identified: low-impact emerging areas, high-density mass-market mature destinations, and rapidly growing intermediate islands in between. Some broad strategies consistent with the systems framework for a sustainable tourism with moderate densitites are briefly explored.

High performance computing and communications program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holcomb, Lee

1992-01-01

A review of the High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) program is provided in vugraph format. The goals and objectives of this federal program are as follows: extend U.S. leadership in high performance computing and computer communications; disseminate the technologies to speed innovation and to serve national goals; and spur gains in industrial competitiveness by making high performance computing integral to design and production.

Sustainable Table | Welcome to Sustainable Table

Science.gov Websites

celebrates local, sustainable food, educates consumers about the benefits of sustainable agriculture and agriculture from the basics to key issues in depth. Eating Sustainably Find out how to shop for and prepare educate others to help build a sustainable food future! In Focus Sustainable Agriculture - The Basics

Y-12 Site Sustainability Plan

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

Spencer, Charles G

2012-12-01

The accomplishments to date and the long-range planning of the Y-12 Energy Management and Sustainability and Stewardship programs support the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) vision for a commitment to energy effi ciency and sustainability and to achievement of the Guiding Principles. Specifi cally, the Y-12 vision is to support the Environment, Safety and Health Policy and the DOE Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan, while promoting overall sustainability and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The mission of the Y-12 Energy Management program is to incorporate energy-effi cient technologies site-wide and to position Y-12 tomore » meet NNSA energy requirement needs through 2025 and beyond. The plan addresses greenhouse gases, buildings, fleet management, water use, pollution prevention, waste reduction, sustainable acquisition, electronic stewardship and data centers, site innovation and government-wide support.« less

Developing sustainable food supply chains.

PubMed

Smith, B Gail

2008-02-27

This paper reviews the opportunities available for food businesses to encourage consumers to eat healthier and more nutritious diets, to invest in more sustainable manufacturing and distribution systems and to develop procurement systems based on more sustainable forms of agriculture. The important factors in developing more sustainable supply chains are identified as the type of supply chain involved and the individual business attitude to extending responsibility for product quality into social and environmental performance within their own supply chains. Interpersonal trust and working to standards are both important to build more sustainable local and many conserved food supply chains, but inadequate to transform mainstream agriculture and raw material supplies to the manufactured and commodity food markets. Cooperation among food manufacturers, retailers, NGOs, governmental and farmers' organizations is vital in order to raise standards for some supply chains and to enable farmers to adopt more sustainable agricultural practices.

High loading efficiency and sustained release of siRNA encapsulated in PLGA nanoparticles: quality by design optimization and characterization.

PubMed

Cun, Dongmei; Jensen, Ditte Krohn; Maltesen, Morten Jonas; Bunker, Matthew; Whiteside, Paul; Scurr, David; Foged, Camilla; Nielsen, Hanne Mørck

2011-01-01

Poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide acid) (PLGA) is an attractive polymer for delivery of biopharmaceuticals owing to its biocompatibility, biodegradability and outstanding controlled release characteristics. The purpose of this study was to understand and define optimal parameters for preparation of small interfering RNA (siRNA)-loaded PLGA nanoparticles by the double emulsion solvent evaporation method and characterize their properties. The experiments were performed according to a 2(5-1) fractional factorial design based on five independent variables: The volume ratio between the inner water phase and the oil phase, the PLGA concentration, the sonication time, the siRNA load and the amount of acetylated bovine serum albumin (Ac-BSA) in the inner water phase added to stabilize the primary emulsion. The effects on the siRNA encapsulation efficiency and the particle size were investigated. The most important factors for obtaining an encapsulation efficiency as high as 70% were the PLGA concentration and the volume ratio whereas the size was mainly affected by the PLGA concentration. The viscosity of the oil phase was increased at high PLGA concentration, which explains the improved encapsulation by stabilization of the primary emulsion and reduction of siRNA leakage to the outer water phase. Addition of Ac-BSA increased the encapsulation efficiency at low PLGA concentrations. The PLGA matrix protected siRNA against nuclease degradation, provided a burst release of surface-localized siRNA followed by a triphasic sustained release for two months. These results enable careful understanding and definition of optimal process parameters for preparation of PLGA nanoparticles encapsulating high amounts of siRNA with immediate and long-term sustained release properties. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sustainability.

PubMed

Chang, Chein-Chi; DiGiovanni, Kimberly; Zhang, Gong; Yang, Xiahua; You, Shao-Hong

2015-10-01

This review on Sustainability covers selected 2014 publications on the focus of the following sections: • Sustainable water and wastewater utilities • Sustainable water resources management • Stormwater and green infrastructure • Sustainability in wastewater treatment • Life cycle assessment (LCA) applications • Sustainability and energy in wastewater industry, • Sustainability and asset management.

Department of Defense Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan, FY 2011

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-01-01

particularly in Asia— places pressure on projected oil production and refining capacity . Relating specifically to the fixed installations under the...ensure that sustainability factors are adequately addressed. Departmental planning and programming guidance lays out requirements that DoD Components... factors in addition to mission, financial, and regulatory considerations. For example, the mission benefits of having an off-grid source of electricity

Sustainable Chemistry at Sungkyunkwan University.

PubMed

Park, Nam-Gyu

2015-07-20

Special Issue: Sustainable Chemistry at Sungkyunkwan University. Sustainable chemistry is key to the development of efficient renewable energies, which will become more and more important in order to combat global warming. In this Editorial, guest editor Prof. Nam-Gyu Park describes the context of this Special Issue on top-quality research towards sustainability performed at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) in Korea. Scientists at SKKU work on, for example, photovoltaic solar cells to generate low-cost electricity, lithium batteries and capacitors to store electricity, piezoelectric nanogenerators, thermoelectric devices, hydrogen generation, and fuel cells. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Using four capitals to assess watershed sustainability.

PubMed

Pérez-Maqueo, Octavio; Martinez, M Luisa; Vázquez, Gabriela; Equihua, Miguel

2013-03-01

The La Antigua watershed drains into the Gulf of Mexico and can be considered as one of the most important areas in Mexico because of its high productivity, history, and biodiversity, although poverty remains high in the area in spite of these positive attributes. In this study, we performed an integrated assessment of the watershed to recommend a better direction toward a sustainable management in which the four capitals (natural, human, social, and built) are balanced. We contrasted these four capitals in the municipalities of the upper, middle and lower watershed and found that natural capital (natural ecosystems and ecosystem services) was higher in the upper and middle watershed, while human and social capitals (literacy, health, education and income) were generally higher downstream. Overall, Human Development Index was negatively correlated with the percentage of natural ecosystems in the watershed, especially in the upper and lower watershed regions. Our results indicate that natural capital must be fully considered in projections for increasing human development, so that natural resources can be preserved and managed adequately while sustaining intergenerational well-being.

Using Four Capitals to Assess Watershed Sustainability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pérez-Maqueo, Octavio; Martinez, M. Luisa; Vázquez, Gabriela; Equihua, Miguel

2013-03-01

The La Antigua watershed drains into the Gulf of Mexico and can be considered as one of the most important areas in Mexico because of its high productivity, history, and biodiversity, although poverty remains high in the area in spite of these positive attributes. In this study, we performed an integrated assessment of the watershed to recommend a better direction toward a sustainable management in which the four capitals (natural, human, social, and built) are balanced. We contrasted these four capitals in the municipalities of the upper, middle and lower watershed and found that natural capital (natural ecosystems and ecosystem services) was higher in the upper and middle watershed, while human and social capitals (literacy, health, education and income) were generally higher downstream. Overall, Human Development Index was negatively correlated with the percentage of natural ecosystems in the watershed, especially in the upper and lower watershed regions. Our results indicate that natural capital must be fully considered in projections for increasing human development, so that natural resources can be preserved and managed adequately while sustaining intergenerational well-being.

Sustainable NREL, Biennial Report, FY 2010-2011

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

Slovensky, M.; Daw, J.

2012-09-01

This document reports on NREL's 'Campus of the Future,' which leverages partnerships and showcases sustainable energy on and near the NREL site. It is unique in that the report is based on GRI key performance indicators, that support NREL's sustainability goals.

Age trends for failures of sustained attention.

PubMed

Carriere, Jonathan S A; Cheyne, J Allan; Solman, Grayden J F; Smilek, Daniel

2010-09-01

Recent research has revealed an age-related reduction in errors in a sustained attention task, suggesting that sustained attention abilities improve with age. Such results seem paradoxical in light of the well-documented age-related declines in cognitive performance. In the present study, performance on the sustained attention to response task (SART) was assessed in a supplemented archival sample of 638 individuals between 14 and 77 years old. SART errors and response speed appeared to decline in a linear fashion as a function of age throughout the age span studied. In contrast, other measures of sustained attention (reaction time coefficient of variation), anticipation, and omissions) showed a decrease early in life and then remained unchanged for the rest of the life span. Thus, sustained attention shows improvements with maturation in early adulthood but then does not change with aging in older adults. On the other hand, aging across the entire life span leads to a more strategic (i.e., slower) response style that reduces the overt and critical consequences (i.e., SART errors) of momentary task disengagement. (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

EEG indices correlate with sustained attention performance in patients affected by diffuse axonal injury.

PubMed

Coelli, Stefania; Barbieri, Riccardo; Reni, Gianluigi; Zucca, Claudio; Bianchi, Anna Maria

2018-06-01

The aim of this study is to assess the ability of EEG-based indices in providing relevant information about cognitive engagement level during the execution of a clinical sustained attention (SA) test in healthy volunteers and DAI (diffused axonal injury)-affected patients. We computed three continuous power-based engagement indices (P β /P α , 1/P α , and P β / (P α + P θ )) from EEG recordings in a control group (n = 7) and seven DAI-affected patients executing a 10-min Conners' "not-X" continuous performance test (CPT). A correlation analysis was performed in order to investigate the existence of relations between the EEG metrics and behavioral parameters in both the populations. P β /P α and 1/P α indices were found to be correlated with reaction times in both groups while P β / (P α + P θ ) and P β /P α also correlated with the errors rate for DAI patients. In line with previous studies, time course fluctuations revealed a first strong decrease of attention after 2 min from the beginning of the test and a final fading at the end. Our results provide evidence that EEG-derived indices extraction and evaluation during SA tasks are helpful in the assessment of attention level in healthy subjects and DAI patients, offering motivations for including EEG monitoring in cognitive rehabilitation practice. Graphical abstract Three EEG-derived indices were computed from four electrodes montages in a population of seven healthy volunteers and a group of seven DAI-affected patients. Results show a significant correlation between the time course of the indices and behavioral parameters, thus demonstrating their usefulness in monitoring mental engagement level during a sustained attention task.

Perspectives for high-performance permanent magnets: applications, coercivity, and new materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hirosawa, Satoshi; Nishino, Masamichi; Miyashita, Seiji

2017-03-01

High-performance permanent magnets are indispensable in the production of high-efficiency motors and generators and ultimately for sustaining the green earth. The central issue of modern permanent magnetism is to realize high coercivity near and above room temperature on marginally hard magnetic materials without relying upon the critical elements such as heavy rare earths by means of nanostructure engineering. Recent investigations based on advanced nanostructure analysis and large-scale first principles calculations have led to significant paradigm shifts in the understandings of coercivity mechanism in Nd-Fe-B permanent magnets, which includes the discovery of the ferromagnetism of the thin (2 nm) intergranular phase surrounding the Nd2Fe14B grains, the occurrence of negative (in-plane) magnetocrystalline anisotropy of Nd ions and some Fe atoms at the interface which degrades coercivity, and visualization of the stochastic behaviors of magnetization in the magnetization reversal process at high temperatures. A major change may occur also in the motor topologies, which is currently overwhelmed by the magnetic flux weakening interior permanent magnet motor type, to other types with variable flux permanent magnet type in some applications to open up a niche for new permanent magnet materials. Keynote talk at 8th International Workshop on Advanced Materials Science and Nanotechnology (IWAMSN2016), 8-12 November 2016, Ha Long City, Vietnam.

Sustained inflation during neonatal resuscitation.

PubMed

Keszler, Martin

2015-04-01

Sustained inflation performed shortly after birth to help clear lung fluid and establish functional residual capacity in preterm infants is gaining popularity, but definitive evidence for its effectiveness is lacking. Although there is a sound physiologic basis for this approach, and much preclinical experimental evidence of effectiveness, the results of recent animal studies and clinical trials have been inconsistent. The most recent data from a multicenter randomized trial suggest a modest benefit of sustained inflation in reducing the need for mechanical ventilation in extremely-low-birth-weight infants. However, the impact may be more modest than earlier retrospective cohort comparisons suggested. The trend toward more airleak and a higher rate of intraventricular hemorrhage is worrisome. Sustained inflation may be ineffective unless some spontaneous respiratory effort is present. Several on-going trials should further clarify the putative benefits of sustained inflation. Delivery room sustained inflation is an attractive concept that holds much promise, but widespread clinical application should await definitive evidence from on-going clinical trials.

Sustainable diets within sustainable food systems.

PubMed

Meybeck, Alexandre; Gitz, Vincent

2017-02-01

Sustainable diets and sustainable food systems are increasingly explored by diverse scientific disciplines. They are also recognised by the international community and called upon to orient action towards the eradication of hunger and malnutrition and the fulfilment of sustainable development goals. The aim of the present paper is to briefly consider some of the links between these two notions in order to facilitate the operationalisation of the concept of sustainable diet. The concept of sustainable diet was defined in 2010 combining two totally different perspectives: a nutrition perspective, focused on individuals, and a global sustainability perspective, in all its dimensions: environmental, economic and social. The nutrition perspective can be easily related to health outcomes. The global sustainability perspective is more difficult to analyse directly. We propose that it be measured as the contribution of a diet to the sustainability of food systems. Such an approach, covering the three dimensions of sustainability, enables identification of interactions and interrelations between food systems and diets. It provides opportunities to find levers of change towards sustainability. Diets are both the results and the drivers of food systems. The drivers of change for those variously involved, consumers and private individuals, are different, and can be triggered by different dimensions (heath, environment, social and cultural). Combining different dimensions and reasons for change can help facilitate the transition to sustainable diets, recognising the food system's specificities. The adoption of sustainable diets can be facilitated and enabled by food systems, and by appropriate policies and incentives.

New Economic and Financial Indicators of Sustainability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pittman, James; Wilhelm, Kevin

2007-01-01

Financial accounting methods fall short of fully accounting for the relative sustainability of college and university operations. Management of social, environmental, and economic performance will be aided by changes to and new developments in financial accounting practices to complement other indicators of sustainability.

Laser sustained discharge nozzle apparatus for the production of an intense beam of high kinetic energy atomic species

DOEpatents

Cross, Jon B.; Cremers, David A.

1988-01-01

Laser sustained discharge apparatus for the production of intense beams of high kinetic energy atomic species. A portion of the plasma resulting from a laser sustained continuous optical discharge which generates energetic atomic species from a gaseous source thereof is expanded through a nozzle into a region of low pressure. The expanded plasma contains a significant concentration of the high kinetic energy atomic species which may be used to investigate the interaction of surfaces therewith. In particular, O-atoms having velocities in excess of 3.5 km/s can be generated for the purpose of studying their interaction with materials in order to develop protective materials for spacecraft which are exposed to such energetic O-atoms during operation in low earth orbit.

Laser sustained discharge nozzle apparatus for the production of an intense beam of high kinetic energy atomic species

DOEpatents

Cross, J.B.; Cremers, D.A.

1986-01-10

Laser sustained discharge apparatus for the production of intense beams of high kinetic energy atomic species is described. A portion of the plasma resulting from a laser sustained continuous optical discharge which generates energetic atomic species from a gaseous source thereof is expanded through a nozzle into a region of low pressure. The expanded plasma contains a significant concentration of the high kinetic energy atomic species which may be used to investigate the interaction of surfaces therewith. In particular, O-atoms having velocities in excess of 3.5 km/s can be generated for the purpose of studying their interaction with materials in order to develop protective materials for spacecraft which are exposed to such energetic O-atoms during operation in low earth orbit.

EBF3 Design and Sustainability Considerations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taminger, Karen M. B.

2015-01-01

Electron beam freeform fabrication (EBF3) is a cross-cutting technology for producing structural metal parts using an electron beam and wire feed in a layer-additive fashion. This process was developed by researchers at NASA Langley to specifically address needs for aerospace applications. Additive manufacturing technologies like EBF3 enable efficient design of materials and structures by tailoring microstructures and chemistries at the local level to improve performance at the global level. Additive manufacturing also facilitates design freedom by integrating assemblies into complex single-piece components, eliminating flanges, fasteners and joints, resulting in reduced size and mass. These same efficiencies that permit new design paradigms also lend themselves to supportability and sustainability. Long duration space missions will require a high degree of self-sustainability. EBF3 is a candidate technology being developed to allow astronauts to conduct repairs and fabricate new components and tools on demand, with efficient use of feedstock materials and energy.

Environmental heat stress enhances mental fatigue during sustained attention task performing: evidence from an ASL perfusion study.

PubMed

Qian, Shaowen; Li, Min; Li, Guoying; Liu, Kai; Li, Bo; Jiang, Qingjun; Li, Li; Yang, Zhen; Sun, Gang

2015-03-01

This study was to investigate the potential enhancing effect of heat stress on mental fatigue progression during sustained attention task using arterial spin labeling (ASL) imaging. Twenty participants underwent two thermal exposures in an environmental chamber: normothermic (NT) condition (25°C, 1h) and hyperthermic (HT) condition (50°C, 1h). After thermal exposure, they performed a twenty-minute psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) in the scanner. Behavioral analysis revealed progressively increasing subjective fatigue ratings and reaction time as PVT progressed. Moreover, heat stress caused worse performance. Perfusion imaging analyses showed significant resting-state cerebral blood flow (CBF) alterations after heat exposure. Specifically, increased CBF mainly gathered in thalamic-brainstem area while decreased CBF predominantly located in fronto-parietal areas, anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and medial frontal cortex. More importantly, diverse CBF distributions and trend of changes between both conditions were observed as the fatigue level progressed during subsequent PVT task. Specifically, higher CBF and enhanced rising trend were presented in superior parietal lobe, precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex and anterior cingulate cortex, while lower CBF or inhibited rising trend was found in dorsolateral frontal cortex, medial frontal cortex, inferior parietal lobe and thalamic-brainstem areas. Furthermore, the decrease of post-heat resting-state CBF in fronto-parietal cortex was correlated with subsequent slower reaction time, suggesting prior disturbed resting-state CBF might be indicator of performance potential and fatigue level in following task. These findings may provide proof for such a view: heat stress has a potential fatigue-enhancing effect when individual is performing highly cognition-demanding attention task. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High-Performance Computing and Visualization | Energy Systems Integration

Science.gov Websites

Facility | NREL High-Performance Computing and Visualization High-Performance Computing and Visualization High-performance computing (HPC) and visualization at NREL propel technology innovation as a . Capabilities High-Performance Computing NREL is home to Peregrine-the largest high-performance computing system

High-Performance Happy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Hanlon, Charlene

2007-01-01

Traditionally, the high-performance computing (HPC) systems used to conduct research at universities have amounted to silos of technology scattered across the campus and falling under the purview of the researchers themselves. This article reports that a growing number of universities are now taking over the management of those systems and…

Leverage points for sustainability transformation.

PubMed

Abson, David J; Fischer, Joern; Leventon, Julia; Newig, Jens; Schomerus, Thomas; Vilsmaier, Ulli; von Wehrden, Henrik; Abernethy, Paivi; Ives, Christopher D; Jager, Nicolas W; Lang, Daniel J

2017-02-01

Despite substantial focus on sustainability issues in both science and politics, humanity remains on largely unsustainable development trajectories. Partly, this is due to the failure of sustainability science to engage with the root causes of unsustainability. Drawing on ideas by Donella Meadows, we argue that many sustainability interventions target highly tangible, but essentially weak, leverage points (i.e. using interventions that are easy, but have limited potential for transformational change). Thus, there is an urgent need to focus on less obvious but potentially far more powerful areas of intervention. We propose a research agenda inspired by systems thinking that focuses on transformational 'sustainability interventions', centred on three realms of leverage: reconnecting people to nature, restructuring institutions and rethinking how knowledge is created and used in pursuit of sustainability. The notion of leverage points has the potential to act as a boundary object for genuinely transformational sustainability science.

Design for sustainability of industrial symbiosis based on emergy and multi-objective particle swarm optimization.

PubMed

Ren, Jingzheng; Liang, Hanwei; Dong, Liang; Sun, Lu; Gao, Zhiqiu

2016-08-15

Industrial symbiosis provides novel and practical pathway to the design for the sustainability. Decision support tool for its verification is necessary for practitioners and policy makers, while to date, quantitative research is limited. The objective of this work is to present an innovative approach for supporting decision-making in the design for the sustainability with the implementation of industrial symbiosis in chemical complex. Through incorporating the emergy theory, the model is formulated as a multi-objective approach that can optimize both the economic benefit and sustainable performance of the integrated industrial system. A set of emergy based evaluation index are designed. Multi-objective Particle Swarm Algorithm is proposed to solve the model, and the decision-makers are allowed to choose the suitable solutions form the Pareto solutions. An illustrative case has been studied by the proposed method, a few of compromises between high profitability and high sustainability can be obtained for the decision-makers/stakeholders to make decision. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

University Sustainability Reporting: Taking Stock of Transparency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bice, Sara; Coates, Hamish

2016-01-01

This paper interrogates the case for improved and broadened public sustainability reporting by universities, and explores whether and how global performance measures capture the institutional attitudes and activities pertinent to universities' contributions to sustainability. The analysis explores all stand-alone, English language reports produced…

Sustainable manufacturing by calculating the energy demand during turning of AISI 1045 steel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nur, R.; Nasrullah, B.; Suyuti, M. A.; Apollo

2018-01-01

Sustainable development will become important issues for many fields, including production, industry, and manufacturing. In order to achieve sustainable development, industry should be able to perform of sustainable production processes and environmentally friendly. Therefore, there is need to minimize the energy demand in the machining process. This paper presents a calculation method of energy consumption in the machining process, especially turning process which calculated by summing the number of energy consumption, such as the electric energy consumed during the machining preparation, the electrical energy during the cutting processes, and the electrical energy to produce a cutting tool. A case study was performed on dry turning of mild carbon steel using coated carbide. This approach can be used to determine the total amount of electrical energy consumed in the specific machining process. It concluded that the energy consumption will be an increase for using the high cutting speed as well as for the feed rate was increased.

Effective grouping for energy and performance: Construction of adaptive, sustainable, and maintainable data storage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Essary, David S.

The performance gap between processors and storage systems has been increasingly critical over the years. Yet the performance disparity remains, and further, storage energy consumption is rapidly becoming a new critical problem. While smarter caching and predictive techniques do much to alleviate this disparity, the problem persists, and data storage remains a growing contributor to latency and energy consumption. Attempts have been made at data layout maintenance, or intelligent physical placement of data, yet in practice, basic heuristics remain predominant. Problems that early studies sought to solve via layout strategies were proven to be NP-Hard, and data layout maintenance today remains more art than science. With unknown potential and a domain inherently full of uncertainty, layout maintenance persists as an area largely untapped by modern systems. But uncertainty in workloads does not imply randomness; access patterns have exhibited repeatable, stable behavior. Predictive information can be gathered, analyzed, and exploited to improve data layouts. Our goal is a dynamic, robust, sustainable predictive engine, aimed at improving existing layouts by replicating data at the storage device level. We present a comprehensive discussion of the design and construction of such a predictive engine, including workload evaluation, where we present and evaluate classical workloads as well as our own highly detailed traces collected over an extended period. We demonstrate significant gains through an initial static grouping mechanism, and compare against an optimal grouping method of our own construction, and further show significant improvement over competing techniques. We also explore and illustrate the challenges faced when moving from static to dynamic (i.e. online) grouping, and provide motivation and solutions for addressing these challenges. These challenges include metadata storage, appropriate predictive collocation, online performance, and physical placement

Teaching Sustainability in Introductory Physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coffey, David

Guiding students to a better understanding of sustainability is a key part of a modern undergraduate education. Since 2014, Warren Wilson College has incorporated a sustainability component into our introductory physics courses. Students perform energy audits and abatement plans for a business or building. In the process, students strengthen their competency with basic physics concepts including energy, power, units, and conservation of energy but also gain an appreciation of the complexity of sustainability as well as the need for quantitative understanding. These courses are taught to mostly undergraduate science majors. The challenges and opportunities of incorporating such a broad and personalized educational component will be discussed.

Subclinical dose endotoxin sustains low-grade inflammation and exacerbates steatohepatitis in high-fat diet fed mice

PubMed Central

Yuan, Ruoxi; Chen, Keqiang; Geng, Shuo; Li, Mingsong; Li, Liwu

2016-01-01

Subclinical circulating bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has been implicated as an important cofactor in the development and progression of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we demonstrated that 4-week injection with super-low dose LPS significantly promoted neutrophils infiltration and accelerated NASH progression, including exacerbated macro-vesicular steatosis, inflammation and hepatocyte ballooning in high-fat diet fed apolipoprotein E knockout mice. This effect could sustain for a month after stoppage of LPS injection. LPS also significantly increased numbers of apoptotic nuclei in hepatocytes and expressions of pro-apoptotic regulators. Moreover, LPS sustained the low-grade activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase and inhibited the expression of the upstream MAPK phosphatase 7. By applying selective inhibitors, we demonstrated that the activation of p38 MAPKs is required for neutrophil migration induced by super-low dose LPS in vitro. Together, these data suggest that super-low dose LPS may sustain the low-grade activation of p38 MAPKs and neutrophil infiltration, leading to the exacerbation of steatohepatitis. PMID:26810228

High Performance, Dependable Multiprocessor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramos, Jeremy; Samson, John R.; Troxel, Ian; Subramaniyan, Rajagopal; Jacobs, Adam; Greco, James; Cieslewski, Grzegorz; Curreri, John; Fischer, Michael; Grobelny, Eric;

Media multitasking and behavioral measures of sustained attention.

PubMed

Ralph, Brandon C W; Thomson, David R; Seli, Paul; Carriere, Jonathan S A; Smilek, Daniel

2015-02-01

In a series of four studies, self-reported media multitasking (using the media multitasking index; MMI) and general sustained-attention ability, through performance on three sustained-attention tasks: the metronome response task (MRT), the sustained-attention-to-response task (SART), and a vigilance task (here, a modified version of the SART). In Study 1, we found that higher reports of media multitasking were associated with increased response variability (i.e., poor performance) on the MRT. However, in Study 2, no association between reported media multitasking and performance on the SART was observed. These findings were replicated in Studies 3a and 3b, in which we again assessed the relation between media multitasking and performance on both the MRT and SART in two large online samples. Finally, in Study 4, using a large online sample, we tested whether media multitasking was associated with performance on a vigilance task. Although standard vigilance decrements were observed in both sensitivity (A') and response times, media multitasking was not associated with the size of these decrements, nor was media multitasking associated with overall performance, in terms of either sensitivity or response times. Taken together, the results of the studies reported here failed to demonstrate a relation between habitual engagement in media multitasking in everyday life and a general deficit in sustained-attention processes.

Sustainable High-Potential Career Development: A Resource-Based View.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iles, Paul

1997-01-01

In the current economic climate, fast-track career models pose problems for individuals and organizations. An alternative model uses a resource-based view of the company and principles of sustainable development borrowed from environmentalism. (SK)

Does state boredom cause failures of attention? Examining the relations between trait boredom, state boredom, and sustained attention.

PubMed

Hunter, Andrew; Eastwood, John D

2016-08-10

Boredom is an important personal and social problem, but the phenomena itself remains poorly understood. Recent work has shown that boredom is highly related to attention, and that this relationship may be instrumental in revealing boredom's causes and consequences. In this paper, experimental findings on trait boredom, state boredom, and sustained attention performance are presented. We demonstrate that trait boredom uniquely predicts sustained attention performance, over and above depression and self-report attention problems. We also present exploratory findings consistent with the claim that attention failures may cause boredom and that sustained attention tasks may themselves be boring. Discussion of each of these findings, and potential ramifications for cognitive research as a whole, is included.

Modulating Reward Induces Differential Neurocognitive Approaches to Sustained Attention.

PubMed

Esterman, Michael; Poole, Victoria; Liu, Guanyu; DeGutis, Joseph

2017-08-01

Reward and motivation have powerful effects on cognition and brain activity, yet it remains unclear how they affect sustained cognitive performance. We have recently shown that a variety of motivators improve accuracy and reduce variability during sustained attention. In the current study, we investigate how neural activity in task-positive networks supports these sustained attention improvements. Participants performed the gradual-onset continuous performance task with alternating motivated (rewarded) and unmotivated (unrewarded) blocks. During motivated blocks, we observed increased sustained neural recruitment of task-positive regions, which interacted with fluctuations in task performance. Specifically, during motivated blocks, participants recruited these regions in preparation for upcoming targets, and this activation predicted accuracy. In contrast, during unmotivated blocks, no such advanced preparation was observed. Furthermore, during motivated blocks, participants had similar activation levels during both optimal (in-the-zone) and suboptimal (out-of-the-zone) epochs of performance. In contrast, during unmotivated blocks, task-positive regions were only engaged to a similar degree as motivated blocks during suboptimal (out-of-the-zone) periods. These data support a framework in which motivated individuals act as "cognitive investors," engaging task-positive resources proactively and consistently during sustaining attention. When unmotivated, however, the same individuals act as "cognitive misers," engaging maximal task-positive resources only during periods of struggle. Published by Oxford University Press 2016.

Probabilistic performance-based design for high performance control systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Micheli, Laura; Cao, Liang; Gong, Yongqiang; Cancelli, Alessandro; Laflamme, Simon; Alipour, Alice

2017-04-01

High performance control systems (HPCS) are advanced damping systems capable of high damping performance over a wide frequency bandwidth, ideal for mitigation of multi-hazards. They include active, semi-active, and hybrid damping systems. However, HPCS are more expensive than typical passive mitigation systems, rely on power and hardware (e.g., sensors, actuators) to operate, and require maintenance. In this paper, a life cycle cost analysis (LCA) approach is proposed to estimate the economic benefit these systems over the entire life of the structure. The novelty resides in the life cycle cost analysis in the performance based design (PBD) tailored to multi-level wind hazards. This yields a probabilistic performance-based design approach for HPCS. Numerical simulations are conducted on a building located in Boston, MA. LCA are conducted for passive control systems and HPCS, and the concept of controller robustness is demonstrated. Results highlight the promise of the proposed performance-based design procedure.

Click chemistry modification of natural keratin fibers for sustained shrink-resist performance.

PubMed

Yu, Dan; Cai, Jackie Y; Church, Jeffrey S; Wang, Lijing

2015-01-01

This paper introduces a novel chemical treatment for achieving sustained shrink-resist performance on natural keratin fibers. The new treatment involves the controlled reduction of keratin in the cuticle region of the fiber, and the application of a water soluble diacrylate, namely glycerol 1,3-diglycerolate diacrylate (GDA), on the reduced keratin substrate. The acrylate groups of the GDA react with cysteine residues in the reduced keratin through thiol-ene click reactions at room temperature, leading to GDA grafting and the formation of GDA crosslinks in the keratin structure. The modified substrates were characterized by infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and assessed for its shrink-resistance and wet burst strength. This chemical modification has shown to alter the fiber surface morphology and hydrophilicity, resulting in substantially improved shrink-resistance with good fiber strength retention. Possible shrink-resistance mechanisms were also discussed. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sustainable Building in China -- A Green Leap Forward?

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

Diamond, Richard; Ye, Qing; Feng, Wei

2013-09-01

China is constructing new commercial buildings at an enormous rate -- roughly 2 billion square meters per year, with considerable interest and activity in green design and construction. We review the context of commercial building design and construction in China, and look at a specific project as an example of a high performance, sustainable design, the Shenzhen Institute of Building Research (IBR). The IBR building incorporates over 40 sustainable technologies and strategies, including daylighting, natural ventilation, gray-water recycling, solar-energy generation, and highly efficient Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems. We present measured data on the performance of the building,more » including detailed analysis by energy end use, water use, and occupant comfort and satisfaction. Total building energy consumption in 2011 was 1151 MWh, with an Energy Use Intensity (EUI) of 63 kWh/m 2 (20 kBtu/ft 2), which is 61% of the mean EUI value of 103 kWh/m 2 (33 kBtu/ft 2) for similar buildings in the region. We also comment on the unique design process, which incorporated passive strategies throughout the building, and has led to high occupant satisfaction with the natural ventilation, daylighting, and green patio work areas. Lastly we present thoughts on how the design philosophy of the IBR building can be a guide for low-energy design in different climate regions throughout China and elsewhere.« less

High performance flexible heat pipes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaubach, R. M.; Gernert, N. J.

1985-01-01

A Phase I SBIR NASA program for developing and demonstrating high-performance flexible heat pipes for use in the thermal management of spacecraft is examined. The program combines several technologies such as flexible screen arteries and high-performance circumferential distribution wicks within an envelope which is flexible in the adiabatic heat transport zone. The first six months of work during which the Phase I contract goal were met, are described. Consideration is given to the heat-pipe performance requirements. A preliminary evaluation shows that the power requirement for Phase II of the program is 30.5 kilowatt meters at an operating temperature from 0 to 100 C.

Review: Analysis of the evolutionary convergence for high performance swimming in lamnid sharks and tunas.

PubMed

Bernal, D; Dickson, K A; Shadwick, R E; Graham, J B

2001-06-01

Elasmobranchs and bony fishes have evolved independently for more than 400 million years. However, two Recent groups, the lamnid sharks (Family Lamnidae) and tunas (Family Scombridae), display remarkable similarities in features related to swimming performance. Traits separating these two groups from other fishes include a higher degree of body streamlining, a shift in the position of the aerobic, red, locomotor muscle that powers sustained swimming to a more anterior location in the body and nearer to the vertebral column, the capacity to conserve metabolic heat (i.e. regional endothermy), an increased gill surface area with a decreased blood-water barrier thickness, a higher maximum blood oxygen carrying capacity, and greater muscle aerobic and anaerobic enzyme activities at in vivo temperatures. The suite of morphological, physiological, and biochemical specializations that define "high-performance fishes" have been extensively characterized in the tunas. This review examines the convergent features of lamnid sharks and tunas in order to gain insight into the extent that comparable environmental selection pressures have led to the independent origin of similar suites of functional characteristics in these two distinctly different taxa. We propose that, despite differences between teleost and elasmobranch fishes, lamnid sharks and tunas have evolved morphological and physiological specializations that enhance their swimming performance relative to other sharks and most other high performance pelagic fishes.

Carpet Aids Learning in High Performance Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hurd, Frank

2009-01-01

The Healthy and High Performance Schools Act of 2002 has set specific federal guidelines for school design, and developed a federal/state partnership program to assist local districts in their school planning. According to the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS), high-performance schools are, among other things, healthy, comfortable,…

Sustaining oak forests in eastern North America: regeneration and recruitment, the pillars of sustainability

Treesearch

Daniel C. Dey

2014-01-01

Oak cover types comprise half of the forestlands in the eastern United States. There is a great desire to sustain these highly valued forests. Unfortunately, reports of the successional replacement of oak are all too common, as they are throughout the world. Sustaining the oak resource requires the ability to both regenerate and recruit oak into the overstory as...

New Synthesis Of High-Performance Bismaleimides

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pater, Ruth H.; Lowther, Sharon; Cannon, Michelle; Smith, Janice; Whitely, Karen

1991-01-01

New general synthesis of tough and easy-to-process high-performance bismaleimides (BMI's) developed. Involves reaction of acetylene-terminated compounds with BMI's or biscitraconimides. Offers matrix resins and adhesives having combined advantages of toughness characteristic of thermoplastics and easy processability characteristic of thermosetting materials. Scheme has potential for providing high-performance matrix resins surviving well at high temperatures and absorb little moisture.

High-performance coatings for micromechanical mirrors.

PubMed

Gatto, Alexandre; Yang, Minghong; Kaiser, Norbert; Heber, Jörg; Schmidt, Jan Uwe; Sandner, Thilo; Schenk, Harald; Lakner, Hubert

2006-03-01

High-performance coatings for micromechanical mirrors were developed. The high-reflective metal systems can be integrated into the technology of MOEMS, such as spatial light modulators and microscanning mirrors from the near-infrared down to the vacuum-ultraviolet spectral regions. The reported metal designs permit high optical performances to be merged with suitable mechanical properties and fitting complementary metal-oxide semiconductor compatibility.

Sustained effect of simulation-based ultrasound training on clinical performance: a randomized trial

PubMed Central

Tolsgaard, M G; Ringsted, C; Dreisler, E; Nørgaard, L N; Petersen, J H; Madsen, M E; Freiesleben, N L C; Sørensen, J L; Tabor, A

2015-01-01

Objective To study the effect of initial simulation-based transvaginal sonography (TVS) training compared with clinical training only, on the clinical performance of residents in obstetrics and gynecology (Ob-Gyn), assessed 2 months into their residency. Methods In a randomized study, new Ob-Gyn residents (n = 33) with no prior ultrasound experience were recruited from three teaching hospitals. Participants were allocated to either simulation-based training followed by clinical training (intervention group; n = 18) or clinical training only (control group; n = 15). The simulation-based training was performed using a virtual-reality TVS simulator until an expert performance level was attained, and was followed by training on a pelvic mannequin. After 2 months of clinical training, one TVS examination was recorded for assessment of each resident's clinical performance (n = 26). Two ultrasound experts blinded to group allocation rated the scans using the Objective Structured Assessment of Ultrasound Skills (OSAUS) scale. Results During the 2 months of clinical training, participants in the intervention and control groups completed an average ± SD of 58 ± 41 and 63 ± 47 scans, respectively (P = 0.67). In the subsequent clinical performance test, the intervention group achieved higher OSAUS scores than did the control group (mean score, 59.1% vs 37.6%, respectively; P < 0.001). A greater proportion of the intervention group passed a pre-established pass/fail level than did controls (85.7% vs 8.3%, respectively; P < 0.001). Conclusion Simulation-based ultrasound training leads to substantial improvement in clinical performance that is sustained after 2 months of clinical training. © 2015 The Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. PMID:25580809

Teachers' Perceptions toward Sustainable Agriculture in an Ohio Science High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sameipour, Sharmin

2017-01-01

The discussion about the environmental challenges and socio-economic situation connected with conventional agricultural systems in the United States in the 1985s, and sustainable agriculture (SA), has mentioned the role of education in highlighting barriers. Advocates of sustainable agriculture declare that education about SA can present solutions…

Method of making a high performance ultracapacitor

DOEpatents

Farahmandi, C. Joseph; Dispennette, John M.

2000-07-26

A high performance double layer capacitor having an electric double layer formed in the interface between activated carbon and an electrolyte is disclosed. The high performance double layer capacitor includes a pair of aluminum impregnated carbon composite electrodes having an evenly distributed and continuous path of aluminum impregnated within an activated carbon fiber preform saturated with a high performance electrolytic solution. The high performance double layer capacitor is capable of delivering at least 5 Wh/kg of useful energy at power ratings of at least 600 W/kg.

Policy Perspective: Meeting the Challenge of the DOE Order 436.1 Departmental Sustainability - 12527

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

MacDonald, Jennifer C.

2012-07-01

DOE's Sustainability Performance Office is working to meet sustainability goals at DOE by implementing Executive Orders, Departmental policy, the DOE Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP) and legislation related to sustainability. Through implementation of Executive Orders, Departmental policy, the SSPP, statutory requirements and regular reporting, analysis and communication, DOE's SPO is working to maintain and expand DOE's leadership in sustainability. (authors)

Sustainable Elastomers from Renewable Biomass.

PubMed

Wang, Zhongkai; Yuan, Liang; Tang, Chuanbing

2017-07-18

Sustainable elastomers have undergone explosive growth in recent years, partly due to the resurgence of biobased materials prepared from renewable natural resources. However, mounting challenges still prevail: How can the chemical compositions and macromolecular architectures of sustainable polymers be controlled and broadened? How can their processability and recyclability be enabled? How can they compete with petroleum-based counterparts in both cost and performance? Molecular-biomass-derived polymers, such as polymyrcene, polymenthide, and poly(ε-decalactone), have been employed for constructing thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs). Plant oils are widely used for fabricating thermoset elastomers. We use abundant biomass, such as plant oils, cellulose, rosin acids, and lignin, to develop elastomers covering a wide range of structure-property relationships in the hope of delivering better performance. In this Account, recent progress in preparing monomers and TPEs from biomass is first reviewed. ABA triblock copolymer TPEs were obtained with a soft middle block containing a soybean-oil-based monomer and hard outer blocks containing styrene. In addition, a combination of biobased monomers from rosin acids and soybean oil was formulated to prepare triblock copolymer TPEs. Together with the above-mentioned approaches based on block copolymers, multigraft copolymers with a soft backbone and rigid side chains are recognized as the first-generation and second-generation TPEs, respectively. It has been recently demonstrated that multigraft copolymers with a rigid backbone and elastic side chains can also be used as a novel architecture of TPEs. Natural polymers, such as cellulose and lignin, are utilized as a stiff, macromolecular backbone. Cellulose/lignin graft copolymers with side chains containing a copolymer of methyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate exhibited excellent elastic properties. Cellulose graft copolymers with biomass-derived polymers as side chains were

High-performance conjugate-gradient benchmark: A new metric for ranking high-performance computing systems

DOE PAGES

Dongarra, Jack; Heroux, Michael A.; Luszczek, Piotr

2015-08-17

Here, we describe a new high-performance conjugate-gradient (HPCG) benchmark. HPCG is composed of computations and data-access patterns commonly found in scientific applications. HPCG strives for a better correlation to existing codes from the computational science domain and to be representative of their performance. Furthermore, HPCG is meant to help drive the computer system design and implementation in directions that will better impact future performance improvement.

Is environmental management an economically sustainable business?

PubMed

Gotschol, Antje; De Giovanni, Pietro; Esposito Vinzi, Vincenzo

2014-11-01

This paper investigates whether environmental management is an economically sustainable business. While firms invest in green production and green supply chain activities with the primary purpose of reducing their environmental impact, the reciprocal relationships with economic performance need to be clarified. Would firms and suppliers adjust their environmental strategies if the higher economic value that environmental management generates is reinvested in greening actions? We found out that environmental management positively influences economic performance as second order (long term) target, to be reached conditioned by higher environmental performance; in addition, firms can increase their performance if they reinvest the higher economic value gained through environmental management in green practices: While investing in environmental management programs is a short term strategy, economic rewards can be obtained only with some delays. Consequently, environmental management is an economically sustainable business only for patient firms. In the evaluation of these reciprocal relationships, we discovered that green supply chain initiatives are more effective and more economically sustainable than internal actions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Management of recent-onset sustained atrial fibrillation: pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic strategies.

PubMed

Lau, Dennis H; Kalman, Jonathan; Sanders, Prashanthan

2014-09-01

Recent studies have highlighted significant variations in the management of recent-onset sustained atrial fibrillation (AF). We aim to provide a succinct and clear management algorithm for physicians treating patients with recent-onset sustained AF. We performed a comprehensive search of the literature on the management of recent-onset sustained AF with focus on studies reporting cardioversion of AF, antiarrhythmic agents, and anticoagulation. We also reviewed recent practice guidelines on AF management. This review provides a guide on a tailored management approach of patients with recent-onset sustained AF. After initial detailed clinical assessment, optimal rate and rhythm control options can be provided, depending on hemodynamic stability, duration of AF episode, and AF stroke risk. Issues surrounding electrical and pharmacologic cardioversion are discussed in detail. We emphasize the importance of thromboembolic risk assessment and appropriate anticoagulation surrounding the point of cardioversion. Last, we highlighted the need for appropriate specialized follow-up care after acute AF management. Despite the highly heterogeneous clinical presentations, management of recent-onset sustained AF must include stroke risk assessment, appropriate anticoagulation, and follow-up care in all patients beyond optimum rate and rhythm control strategies. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Dinosaurs can fly -- High performance refining

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

Treat, J.E.

1995-09-01

High performance refining requires that one develop a winning strategy based on a clear understanding of one`s position in one`s company`s value chain; one`s competitive position in the products markets one serves; and the most likely drivers and direction of future market forces. The author discussed all three points, then described measuring performance of the company. To become a true high performance refiner often involves redesigning the organization as well as the business processes. The author discusses such redesigning. The paper summarizes ten rules to follow to achieve high performance: listen to the market; optimize; organize around asset or areamore » teams; trust the operators; stay flexible; source strategically; all maintenance is not equal; energy is not free; build project discipline; and measure and reward performance. The paper then discusses the constraints to the implementation of change.« less

Sustaining Turnaround at the School and District Levels: The High Reliability Schools Project at Sandfields Secondary School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schaffer, Eugene; Reynolds, David; Stringfield, Sam

2012-01-01

Beginning from 1 high-poverty, historically low-achieving secondary school's successful turnaround work, this article provides data relative to a successful school turnaround, the importance of external and system-level supports, and the importance of building for sustainable institutionalization of improvements. The evidence suggests the…

High performance bilateral telerobot control.

PubMed

Kline-Schoder, Robert; Finger, William; Hogan, Neville

2002-01-01

Telerobotic systems are used when the environment that requires manipulation is not easily accessible to humans, as in space, remote, hazardous, or microscopic applications or to extend the capabilities of an operator by scaling motions and forces. The Creare control algorithm and software is an enabling technology that makes possible guaranteed stability and high performance for force-feedback telerobots. We have developed the necessary theory, structure, and software design required to implement high performance telerobot systems with time delay. This includes controllers for the master and slave manipulators, the manipulator servo levels, the communication link, and impedance shaping modules. We verified the performance using both bench top hardware as well as a commercial microsurgery system.

Sustainable Schools Program and Practice: Partnership Building with the Tempe Union High School District

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koster, Auriane; Denker, Brendan

2012-01-01

Arizona State University's (ASU) Global Institute of Sustainability (GIOS) was awarded a five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) GK-12 grant in 2009 entitled "Sustainability Science for Sustainable Schools." The general focus of the grant is on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education in K-12 schools. The…

High-Performance Computing Data Center | Energy Systems Integration

Science.gov Websites

Facility | NREL High-Performance Computing Data Center High-Performance Computing Data Center The Energy Systems Integration Facility's High-Performance Computing Data Center is home to Peregrine -the largest high-performance computing system in the world exclusively dedicated to advancing

Sustainability: an evolutionary concept analysis. Exploring nursing's role within the sustainability movement.

PubMed

McMillan, Kimberly

2014-04-01

This paper aimed to explore the evolution of the concept of sustainability to facilitate further knowledge development in the discipline of nursing. The concept of 'sustainability' emerged in the 1950s as a result of the environmental movement. The concept has been adapted by the discipline of management and is increasingly discussed in the context of health care. The concept remains ambiguous in the discipline of nursing, resulting in a struggle to articulate the role of nursing in the sustainability movement. Rodgers evolutionary method of concept analysis was used. Literature was searched from 1987-2011, including English, peer reviewed texts in the databases CINAHL and ABI/INFORM global. Two book chapters and grey literature were also included. References were read and analysed according to antecedents, attributes, consequences, surrogate terms and related terms. Defining antecedents, attributes and consequences highlight the complexity and diversity of the concept. Attributes include: sustainability as a condition of change, as process, as outcome, as dependent of multiple stakeholders, and as social consciousness. 'Sustainability' is a fragile concept highly dependent on the processes and stakeholders involved in its fruition. There is a distinct difference in the level of concept clarity between the disciplines of management and nursing. The complexities associated with the concept of 'Sustainability' have led to its ambiguity. Nursing must, however, work to further clarify the concept to fully understand nursing's potential role in the sustainability movement. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Developing sustainable transportation performance measures for TXDOT's strategic plan : technical report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2009-04-01

For this research project, sustainable transportation can be viewed as the provision of safe, effective, and : efficient access and mobility into the future while considering economic, social, and environmental needs. : This project developed a perfo...

Sustainability at BPA May 2011

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

None

BPA’s approach to sustainability is built on the agency’s foundation of environmental stewardship partnered with its commitment to operational excellence. Around the world today, sustainable business practices are driving innovation, opening opportunities for resource and cost efficiencies, as well as increasing employee engagement and productivity. Business jumped on the bandwagon early finding that sustainability can be an important component of their company’s competitive advantage. A 2010 survey by the United Nations Global Compact/Accenture of 766 CEOs from around the globe found that, despite the economic downturn, 93 percent of the CEOs surveyed see sustainability as critical to their company’s futuremore » success. Calling on the federal government to “lead by example,” President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13514 in October 2009 to green the government by improving “environmental, energy and economic performance.”« less

48 CFR 952.223-78 - Sustainable acquisition program.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... activities with and submit required reports through the Environmental Sustainability Coordinator or... reports through the Environmental Sustainability Coordinator or equivalent position. Reporting under this... prepare and submit performance reports, if required, using prescribed DOE formats, at the end of the...

High-Performance Lithium-Oxygen Battery Electrolyte Derived from Optimum Combination of Solvent and Lithium Salt.

PubMed

Ahn, Su Mi; Suk, Jungdon; Kim, Do Youb; Kang, Yongku; Kim, Hwan Kyu; Kim, Dong Wook

2017-10-01

To fabricate a sustainable lithium-oxygen (Li-O 2 ) battery, it is crucial to identify an optimum electrolyte. Herein, it is found that tetramethylene sulfone (TMS) and lithium nitrate (LiNO 3 ) form the optimum electrolyte, which greatly reduces the overpotential at charge, exhibits superior oxygen efficiency, and allows stable cycling for 100 cycles. Linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) analyses reveal that neat TMS is stable to oxidative decomposition and exhibit good compatibility with a lithium metal. But, when TMS is combined with typical lithium salts, its performance is far from satisfactory. However, the TMS electrolyte containing LiNO 3 exhibits a very low overpotential, which minimizes the side reactions and shows high oxygen efficiency. LSV-DEMS study confirms that the TMS-LiNO 3 electrolyte efficiently produces NO 2 - , which initiates a redox shuttle reaction. Interestingly, this NO 2 - /NO 2 redox reaction derived from the LiNO 3 salt is not very effective in solvents other than TMS. Compared with other common Li-O 2 solvents, TMS seems optimum solvent for the efficient use of LiNO 3 salt. Good compatibility with lithium metal, high dielectric constant, and low donicity of TMS are considered to be highly favorable to an efficient NO 2 - /NO 2 redox reaction, which results in a high-performance Li-O 2 battery.

Striving for Excellence Sometimes Hinders High Achievers: Performance-Approach Goals Deplete Arithmetical Performance in Students with High Working Memory Capacity

PubMed Central

Crouzevialle, Marie; Smeding, Annique; Butera, Fabrizio

2015-01-01

We tested whether the goal to attain normative superiority over other students, referred to as performance-approach goals, is particularly distractive for high-Working Memory Capacity (WMC) students—that is, those who are used to being high achievers. Indeed, WMC is positively related to high-order cognitive performance and academic success, a record of success that confers benefits on high-WMC as compared to low-WMC students. We tested whether such benefits may turn out to be a burden under performance-approach goal pursuit. Indeed, for high achievers, aiming to rise above others may represent an opportunity to reaffirm their positive status—a stake susceptible to trigger disruptive outcome concerns that interfere with task processing. Results revealed that with performance-approach goals—as compared to goals with no emphasis on social comparison—the higher the students’ WMC, the lower their performance at a complex arithmetic task (Experiment 1). Crucially, this pattern appeared to be driven by uncertainty regarding the chances to outclass others (Experiment 2). Moreover, an accessibility measure suggested the mediational role played by status-related concerns in the observed disruption of performance. We discuss why high-stake situations can paradoxically lead high-achievers to sub-optimally perform when high-order cognitive performance is at play. PMID:26407097

Sustainability and economic evaluation of microalgae grown in brewery wastewater.

PubMed

Mata, Teresa M; Mendes, Adélio M; Caetano, Nídia S; Martins, António A

2014-09-01

This article evaluates the sustainability and economic potential of microalgae grown in brewery wastewater for biodiesel and biomass production. Three sustainability and two economic indicators were considered in the evaluation within a life cycle perspective. For the production system the most efficient process units were selected. Results show that harvesting and oil separation are the main process bottlenecks. Microalgae with higher lipid content and productivity are desirable for biodiesel production, although comparable to other biofuel's feedstock concerning sustainability. However, improvements are still needed to reach the performance level of fossil diesel. Profitability reaches a limit for larger cultivation areas, being higher when extracted biomass is sold together with microalgae oil, in which case the influence of lipid content and areal productivity is smaller. The values of oil and/or biomass prices calculated to ensure that the process is economically sound are still very high compared with other fuel options, especially biodiesel. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Do Performers' Experience and Sex Affect Their Performance?

PubMed

Emmanuel, Jacobs; Nathalie, Roussel; Van Caekenberghe, Ine; Cassiers, Edith; Van den Dries, Luc; Rutgeerts, Jonas; Gielen, Jan; Hallemans, Ann

2017-04-01

This cross-sectional study aimed at developing a biomechanical method to objectify voluntary and unpredictable movements, using an automated three-dimensional motion capture system and surface electromyography. Fourteen experienced theater performers were tested while executing the old man exercise, wherein they have to walk like an old man, building up a sustained high intensive muscular activity and tremor. Less experienced performed showed a different kinematics of movement, a slower speed of progression and more variable EMG signals at higher intensity. Female performers also differed from males in movement kinematics and muscular activity. The number of the trial only influenced the speed of progression. The performers showed results which could be well placed within the stages of learning and the degrees of freedom problem.

Youth Action Council on Sustainable Innovation (YACSI) Report: Making Innovation Sustainable Among Youth in Canada.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

2002

A study surveyed 241 high-achieving youth aged 15-25 regarding how innovation can be made sustainable among youth in Canada. Results were insightful and pointed to actionable steps for the Youth Action Council for Sustainable Innovation and the federal government. Findings indicated the following: youth can be more innovative if they have the…

High-performance IR detector modules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wendler, Joachim; Cabanski, Wolfgang; Rühlich, Ingo; Ziegler, Johann

2004-02-01

The 3rd generation of infrared (IR) detection modules is expected to provide higher video resolution, advanced functions like multi band or multi color capability, higher frame rates, and better thermal resolution. AIM has developed staring and linear high performance focal plane arrays (FPA) integrated into detector/dewar cooler assemblies (IDCA). Linear FPA"s support high resolution formats such as 1920 x 1152 (HDTV), 1280 x 960, or 1536 x 1152. Standard format for staring FPA"s is 640 x 512. In this configuration, QEIP devices sensitive in the 8 10 µm band as well as MCT devices sensitive in the 3.4 5.0 µm band are available. A 256 x 256 high speed detection module allows a full frame rate >800 Hz. Especially usability of long wavelength devices in high performance FLIR systems does not only depend on the classical electrooptical performance parameters such as NEDT, detectivity, and response homogeneity, but are mainly characterized by the stability of the correction coefficients used for image correction. The FPA"s are available in suited integrated detector/dewar cooler assemblies. The linear cooling engines are designed for maximum stability of the focal plane temperature, low operating temperatures down to 60K, high MTTF lifetimes of 6000h and above even under high ambient temperature conditions. The IDCA"s are equipped with AIM standard or custom specific command and control electronics (CCE) providing a well defined interface to the system electronics. Video output signals are provided as 14 bit digital data rates up to 80 MHz for the high speed devices.

Ecological accounting based on extended exergy: a sustainability perspective.

PubMed

Dai, Jing; Chen, Bin; Sciubba, Enrico

2014-08-19

The excessive energy consumption, environmental pollution, and ecological destruction problems have gradually become huge obstacles for the development of societal-economic-natural complex ecosystems. Regarding the national ecological-economic system, how to make explicit the resource accounting, diagnose the resource conversion, and measure the disturbance of environmental emissions to the systems are the fundamental basis of sustainable development and coordinated management. This paper presents an extended exergy (EE) accounting including the material exergy and exergy equivalent of externalities consideration in a systematic process from production to consumption, and China in 2010 is chosen as a case study to foster an in-depth understanding of the conflict between high-speed development and the available resources. The whole society is decomposed into seven sectors (i.e., Agriculture, Extraction, Conversion, Industry, Transportation, Tertiary, and Domestic sectors) according to their distinct characteristics. An adaptive EE accounting database, which incorporates traditional energy, renewable energy, mineral element, and other natural resources as well as resource-based secondary products, is constructed on the basis of the internal flows in the system. In addition, the environmental emission accounting has been adjusted to calculate the externalities-equivalent exergy. The results show that the EE value for the year 2010 in China was 1.80 × 10(14) MJ, which is greatly increased. Furthermore, an EE-based sustainability indices system has been established to provide an epitomized exploration for evaluating the performance of flows and storages with the system from a sustainability perspective. The value of the EE-based sustainability indicator was calculated to be 0.23, much lower than the critical value of 1, implying that China is still developing in the stages of high energy consumption and a low sustainability level.

Functional neuroanatomy of sustained memory encoding performance in healthy aging and in Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Weis, Susanne; Leube, Dirk; Erb, Michael; Heun, Reinhard; Grodd, Wolfgang; Kircher, Tilo

2011-07-01

The aim of our study was to examine brain networks involved with sustaining memory encoding performance in healthy aging and in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Since different brain regions are affected by degradation in these two conditions, it might be conceivable that different compensation mechanisms occur to keep up memory performance in aging and in AD. Using an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) design and a correlation analysis, 8 patients suffering from AD and 29 elderly control subjects were scanned while they studied a list of words for a subsequent memory test. Individual performance was assessed on the basis of a subsequent recognition test, and brain regions were identified where functional activations during study correlated with memory performance. In both groups, successful memory encoding performance was significantly correlated with the activation of the right frontal cortex. Furthermore, in healthy controls, there was a significant correlation of memory performance and the activation of the left medial and lateral temporal lobe. In contrast, in AD patients, increasing memory performance goes along with increasing activation of the hippocampus and a bilateral brain network including the frontal and temporal cortices. Our data show that in healthy aging and in AD, common and distinct compensatory mechanisms are employed to keep up a certain level of memory performance. Both in healthy aging and in patients with AD, an increased level of monitoring and control processes mediated by the (right) frontal lobe seems to be necessary to maintain a certain level of memory performance. In addition, memory performance in healthy older subjects seems to rely on an increased effort in encoding item-specific semantic and contextual information in lateral areas of the (left) temporal lobe. In AD patients, on the other hand, the maintenance of memory performance is related to an increase of activation of the (left) hippocampus in conjunction

High performance data transfer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cottrell, R.; Fang, C.; Hanushevsky, A.; Kreuger, W.; Yang, W.

2017-10-01

The exponentially increasing need for high speed data transfer is driven by big data, and cloud computing together with the needs of data intensive science, High Performance Computing (HPC), defense, the oil and gas industry etc. We report on the Zettar ZX software. This has been developed since 2013 to meet these growing needs by providing high performance data transfer and encryption in a scalable, balanced, easy to deploy and use way while minimizing power and space utilization. In collaboration with several commercial vendors, Proofs of Concept (PoC) consisting of clusters have been put together using off-the- shelf components to test the ZX scalability and ability to balance services using multiple cores, and links. The PoCs are based on SSD flash storage that is managed by a parallel file system. Each cluster occupies 4 rack units. Using the PoCs, between clusters we have achieved almost 200Gbps memory to memory over two 100Gbps links, and 70Gbps parallel file to parallel file with encryption over a 5000 mile 100Gbps link.

Systematic Sustainability Assessment (SSA) Tool for Hydroelectric Project in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turan, Faiz Mohd; Johan, Kartina

2017-08-01

Sustainably developed and managed hydropower has enormous potential to contribute to global sustainability goals. It is known that hydroelectricity contributing small amounts to greenhouse gas emissions and other atmospheric pollutants. However, developing the remaining hydroelectric potential offers many challenges, and public pressure and expectations on the environmental and social performance of hydroelectric tend to increase over time. This paper aims to develop Systematic Sustainability Assessment (SSA) Tool that promotes and guides more sustainable hydroelectric projects in the context of Malaysia. The proposed SSA tool which not only provide a quality and quantitative report of sustainability performance but also act as Self-Assessment Report (SAR) to provide roadmap to achieve greater level of sustainability in project management for continuous improvement. It is expected to provide a common language that allow government, civil society, financial institutions and the hydroelectric sector to talk about and evaluate sustainability issues. The advantage of SSA tool is it can be used at any stage of hydroelectric development, from the earliest planning stages right through to operation.

Sustainability of a Compartmentalized Host-Parasite Replicator System under Periodic Washout-Mixing Cycles

PubMed Central

Furubayashi, Taro

2018-01-01

The emergence and dominance of parasitic replicators are among the major hurdles for the proliferation of primitive replicators. Compartmentalization of replicators is proposed to relieve the parasite dominance; however, it remains unclear under what conditions simple compartmentalization uncoupled with internal reaction secures the long-term survival of a population of primitive replicators against incessant parasite emergence. Here, we investigate the sustainability of a compartmentalized host-parasite replicator (CHPR) system undergoing periodic washout-mixing cycles, by constructing a mathematical model and performing extensive simulations. We describe sustainable landscapes of the CHPR system in the parameter space and elucidate the mechanism of phase transitions between sustainable and extinct regions. Our findings revealed that a large population size of compartments, a high mixing intensity, and a modest amount of nutrients are important factors for the robust survival of replicators. We also found two distinctive sustainable phases with different mixing intensities. These results suggest that a population of simple host–parasite replicators assumed before the origin of life can be sustained by a simple compartmentalization with periodic washout-mixing processes. PMID:29373536

Common Factors of High Performance Teams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Bruce; Madsen, Susan R.

2005-01-01

Utilization of work teams is now wide spread in all types of organizations throughout the world. However, an understanding of the important factors common to high performance teams is rare. The purpose of this content analysis is to explore the literature and propose findings related to high performance teams. These include definition and types,…

Potentials and problems of sustainable irrigation with water high in salts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ben-Gal, Alon

2015-04-01

Water scarcity and need to expand agricultural productivity have led to ever growing utilization of poor quality water for irrigation of crops. Almost in all cases, marginal or alternative water sources for irrigation contain relatively high concentrations of dissolved salts. When salts are present, irrigation water management, especially in the dry regions where water requirements are highest, must consider leaching in addition to crop evapotranspiration requirements. Leaching requirements for agronomic success are calculable and functions of climate, soil, and very critically, of crop sensitivity and the actual salinity of the irrigation water. The more sensitive the crop and more saline the water, the higher the agronomic cost and the greater the quantitative need for leaching. Israel is a forerunner in large-scale utilization of poor quality water for irrigation and can be used as a case study looking at long term repercussions of policy alternatively encouraging irrigation with recycled water or brackish groundwater. In cases studied in desert conditions of Israel, as much of half of the water applied to crops including bell peppers in greenhouses and date palms is actually used to leach salts from the root zone. The excess water used to leach salts and maintain agronomic and economic success when irrigating with water containing salts can become an environmental hazard, especially in dry areas where natural drainage is non-existent. The leachate often contains not only salts but also agrochemicals including nutrients, and natural contaminants can be picked up and transported as well. This leachate passes beyond the root zone and eventually reaches ground or surface water resources. This, together with evidence of ongoing increases in sodium content of fresh produce and increased SAR levels of soils, suggest that the current policy and practice in Israel of utilization of high amounts of low quality irrigation water is inherently non- sustainable. Current

The 'Critical Power' Concept: Applications to Sports Performance with a Focus on Intermittent High-Intensity Exercise.

PubMed

Jones, Andrew M; Vanhatalo, Anni

2017-03-01

The curvilinear relationship between power output and the time for which it can be sustained is a fundamental and well-known feature of high-intensity exercise performance. This relationship 'levels off' at a 'critical power' (CP) that separates power outputs that can be sustained with stable values of, for example, muscle phosphocreatine, blood lactate, and pulmonary oxygen uptake ([Formula: see text]), from power outputs where these variables change continuously with time until their respective minimum and maximum values are reached and exercise intolerance occurs. The amount of work that can be done during exercise above CP (the so-called W') is constant but may be utilized at different rates depending on the proximity of the exercise power output to CP. Traditionally, this two-parameter CP model has been employed to provide insights into physiological responses, fatigue mechanisms, and performance capacity during continuous constant power output exercise in discrete exercise intensity domains. However, many team sports (e.g., basketball, football, hockey, rugby) involve frequent changes in exercise intensity and, even in endurance sports (e.g., cycling, running), intensity may vary considerably with environmental/course conditions and pacing strategy. In recent years, the appeal of the CP concept has been broadened through its application to intermittent high-intensity exercise. With the assumptions that W' is utilized during work intervals above CP and reconstituted during recovery intervals below CP, it can be shown that performance during intermittent exercise is related to four factors: the intensity and duration of the work intervals and the intensity and duration of the recovery intervals. However, while the utilization of W' may be assumed to be linear, studies indicate that the reconstitution of W' may be curvilinear with kinetics that are highly variable between individuals. This has led to the development of a new CP model for intermittent exercise in

High Performance Computing Meets Energy Efficiency - Continuum Magazine |

Science.gov Websites

NREL High Performance Computing Meets Energy Efficiency High Performance Computing Meets Energy turbines. Simulation by Patrick J. Moriarty and Matthew J. Churchfield, NREL The new High Performance Computing Data Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) hosts high-speed, high-volume data

Exploring KM Features of High-Performance Companies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Wei-Wen

2007-12-01

For reacting to an increasingly rival business environment, many companies emphasize the importance of knowledge management (KM). It is a favorable way to explore and learn KM features of high-performance companies. However, finding out the critical KM features of high-performance companies is a qualitative analysis problem. To handle this kind of problem, the rough set approach is suitable because it is based on data-mining techniques to discover knowledge without rigorous statistical assumptions. Thus, this paper explored KM features of high-performance companies by using the rough set approach. The results show that high-performance companies stress the importance on both tacit and explicit knowledge, and consider that incentives and evaluations are the essentials to implementing KM.

Sustaining Reliability on Accountability Measures at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

PubMed

Pronovost, Peter J; Holzmueller, Christine G; Callender, Tiffany; Demski, Renee; Winner, Laura; Day, Richard; Austin, J Matthew; Berenholtz, Sean M; Miller, Marlene R

2016-02-01

In 2012 Johns Hopkins Medicine leaders challenged their health system to reliably deliver best practice care linked to nationally vetted core measures and achieve The Joint Commission Top Performer on Key Quality Measures ®program recognition and the Delmarva Foundation award. Thus, the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality implemented an initiative to ensure that ≥96% of patients received care linked to measures. Nine low-performing process measures were targeted for improvement-eight Joint Commission accountability measures and one Delmarva Foundation core measure. In the initial evaluation at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, all accountability measures for the Top Performer program reached the required ≥95% performance, gaining them recognition by The Joint Commission in 2013. Efforts were made to sustain performance of accountability measures at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Improvements were sustained through 2014 using the following conceptual framework: declare and communicate goals, create an enabling infrastructure, engage clinicians and connect them in peer learning communities, report transparently, and create accountability systems. One part of the accountability system was for teams to create a sustainability plan, which they presented to senior leaders. To support sustained improvements, Armstrong Institute leaders added a project management office for all externally reported quality measures and concurrent reviewers to audit performance on care processes for certain measure sets. The Johns Hopkins Hospital sustained performance on all accountability measures, and now more than 96% of patients receive recommended care consistent with nationally vetted quality measures. The initiative methods enabled the transition of quality improvement from an isolated project to a way of leading an organization.

Development and Application of High Performance Quenched and Tempered Wear Resistant Steels in Material Handling and Construction Machinery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Fenwei; Sidiras, Evangelos

The demand for more sustainable development promotes the need for components and steel structures with a longer useful life and better performance. Upgrade of wear steel plate used in key industry segments such as mining, recycling and road building results in the stable growth of global market with high quality grade Q&T wear plates (Hardness HBW≥400, and Yield strength ≥690 Mpa). SSAB has now expanded its wear steel product range by both thicker and thinner Q&T plate to meet the needs of the market, and can offer wear plates from 0.7 mm to 160 mm. The continuous research and development is being done to offer even thicker plates. This article introduces the performance and advantages of high quality grade Q&T wear resistant steel products (plate, strip, tube and round bars) produced in SSAB, and also describes typical applications in some industrial segments such as material handling and construction machinery.

Bioavailability of a Sustained Release Formulation of Curcumin

PubMed Central

Madhavi, Doddabele; Kagan, Daniel

2014-01-01

Context Curcumin has a number of beneficial effects, such as functioning as a potent antioxidant,1 anti-inflammatory, 2 and anticancer agent. Because of its poor oral bioavailability, very high oral doses and repeated dosing have been used to obtain effective plasma levels, with mixed results. High doses of curcumin may cause gastric disturbance, often resulting in poor patient compliance. Objective The objective of this study was to compare the relative bioavailability of MicroActive Curcumin—an advanced, micronized formulation of curcumin that is 25% curcuminoids in a sustained release matrix—with that of an unformulated, 95% pure curcumin powder. Design A dissolution study compared the solubility of the formulated and the unformulated curcumin. The research team also performed a single-dose, 12-h, crossover uptake study with 10 participants and a high-dose tolerability and accumulation study with 3 participants, comparing the 2 forms of curcumin. Setting The study was done in MAZE Laboratories (Purchase, NY, USA). Participants Ten healthy male and female volunteers, aged 21–66 y, took part in the single-dose study. Three participants, 2 female and 1 male aged 40–55 y, took part in the tolerability and accumulation study. The participants were people from the community. Intervention For the dissolution study, the research team filled hard gelatin capsules with unformulated 95% curcumin powder and the MicroActive Curcumin powder to the equivalent of 25 mg curcuminoids. For the single-dose study, participants received 500 mg of curcumin in 2 forms. MicroActive Curcumin capsules were administered after breakfast, and blood samples were drawn at 1, 2, 4, 8, and 12 h postdose. After a 7-d washout period, the protocol was repeated for unformulated, 95% curcumin powder capsules. For the tolerability study, the unformulated, 95% curcumin powder was given at a dose that provided 2 g of curcumin for 7 d followed by 5 g of curcumin for an additional 7 d. After a

Producing High-Performance, Stable, Sheared-Flow Z-Pinches in the FuZE project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golingo, R. P.; Shumlak, U.,; Nelson, B. A.; Claveau, E. L.; Forbes, E. G.; Stepanov, A. D.; Weber, T. R.; Zhang, Y.; McLean, H. S.; Tummel, K. K.; Higginson, D. P.; Schmidt, A. E.; University of Washington (UW) Collaboration; Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Collaboration

2017-10-01

The Fusion Z-Pinch Experiment (FuZE) has made significant strides towards generating high-performance, stable Z-pinch plasmas with goals of ne = 1018 cm-3 and T =1 keV. The Z-pinch plasmas are stabilized with a sheared axial flow that is driven by a coaxial accelerator. The new FuZE device has been constructed and reproduces the major scientific achievements the ZaP project at the University of Washington; ne = 1016 cm-3,T = 100 eV, r<1 cm, and tstable >20 μs. These parameters are measured with an array of magnetic field probes, spectroscopy, and fast framing cameras. The plasma parameters are achieved using a small fraction of the maximum energy storage and gas injection capability of the FuZE device. Higher density, ne = 5×1017 cm-3, and temperature, T = 500 eV, Z-pinch plasmas are formed by increasing the pinch current. At the higher voltages and currents, the ionization rates in the accelerator increase. By modifying the neutral gas profile in the accelerator, the plasma flow from the accelerator is maintained, driving the flow shear. Formation and sustainment of the sheared-flow Z-pinch plasma will be discussed. Experimental data demonstrating high performance plasmas in a stable Z-pinches will be shown. This work is supported by an award from US ARPA-E.

Accounting for variations in ART program sustainability outcomes in health facilities in Uganda: a comparative case study analysis.

PubMed

Zakumumpa, Henry; Bennett, Sara; Ssengooba, Freddie

2016-10-18

Uganda implemented a national ART scale-up program at public and private health facilities between 2004 and 2009. Little is known about how and why some health facilities have sustained ART programs and why others have not sustained these interventions. The objective of the study was to identify facilitators and barriers to the long-term sustainability of ART programs at six health facilities in Uganda which received donor support to commence ART between 2004 and 2009. A case-study approach was adopted. Six health facilities were purposively selected for in-depth study from a national sample of 195 health facilities across Uganda which participated in an earlier study phase. The six health facilities were placed in three categories of sustainability; High Sustainers (2), Low Sustainers (2) and Non- Sustainers (2). Semi-structured interviews with ART Clinic managers (N = 18) were conducted. Questionnaire data were analyzed (N = 12). Document review augmented respondent data. Based on the data generated, across-case comparative analyses were performed. Data were collected between February and June 2015. Several distinguishing features were found between High Sustainers, and Low and Non-Sustainers' ART program characteristics. High Sustainers had larger ART programs with higher staffing and patient volumes, a broader 'menu' of ART services and more stable program leadership compared to the other cases. High Sustainers associated sustained ART programs with multiple funding streams, robust ART program evaluation systems and having internal and external program champions. Low and Non Sustainers reported similar barriers of shortage and attrition of ART-proficient staff, low capacity for ART program reporting, irregular and insufficient supply of ARV drugs and a lack of alignment between ART scale-up and their for-profit orientation in three of the cases. We found that ART program sustainability was embedded in a complex system involving dynamic interactions

High performance advanced tokamak regimes in DIII-D for next-step experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenfield, C. M.; Murakami, M.; Ferron, J. R.; Wade, M. R.; Luce, T. C.; Petty, C. C.; Menard, J. E.; Petrie, T. W.; Allen, S. L.; Burrell, K. H.; Casper, T. A.; DeBoo, J. C.; Doyle, E. J.; Garofalo, A. M.; Gorelov, I. A.; Groebner, R. J.; Hobirk, J.; Hyatt, A. W.; Jayakumar, R. J.; Kessel, C. E.; La Haye, R. J.; Jackson, G. L.; Lohr, J.; Makowski, M. A.; Pinsker, R. I.; Politzer, P. A.; Prater, R.; Strait, E. J.; Taylor, T. S.; West, W. P.; DIII-D Team

2004-05-01

Advanced Tokamak (AT) research in DIII-D [K. H. Burrell for the DIII-D Team, in Proceedings of the 19th Fusion Energy Conference, Lyon, France, 2002 (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 2002) published on CD-ROM] seeks to provide a scientific basis for steady-state high performance operation in future devices. These regimes require high toroidal beta to maximize fusion output and poloidal beta to maximize the self-driven bootstrap current. Achieving these conditions requires integrated, simultaneous control of the current and pressure profiles, and active magnetohydrodynamic stability control. The building blocks for AT operation are in hand. Resistive wall mode stabilization via plasma rotation and active feedback with nonaxisymmetric coils allows routine operation above the no-wall beta limit. Neoclassical tearing modes are stabilized by active feedback control of localized electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD). Plasma shaping and profile control provide further improvements. Under these conditions, bootstrap supplies most of the current. Steady-state operation requires replacing the remaining Ohmic current, mostly located near the half radius, with noninductive external sources. In DIII-D this current is provided by ECCD, and nearly stationary AT discharges have been sustained with little remaining Ohmic current. Fast wave current drive is being developed to control the central magnetic shear. Density control, with divertor cryopumps, of AT discharges with edge localized moding H-mode edges facilitates high current drive efficiency at reactor relevant collisionalities. A sophisticated plasma control system allows integrated control of these elements. Close coupling between modeling and experiment is key to understanding the separate elements, their complex nonlinear interactions, and their integration into self-consistent high performance scenarios. Progress on this development, and its implications for next-step devices, will be illustrated by results

Sustainability and the health care manager: Part II.

PubMed

Ramirez, Bernardo; Oetjen, Reid M; Malvey, Donna

2011-01-01

Are there additional costs associated with achieving goals of sustainable health care? Will going green enhance or impede financial performance? These are questions that all health care managers should confront, yet there is little evidence to show that health care sustainability is affordable or profitable. This article considers what is presently known and suggests that health care managers use an assessment framework to determine whether they are ready to achieve health care sustainability.

Sustainable polymers from renewable resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Yunqing; Romain, Charles; Williams, Charlotte K.

2016-12-01

Renewable resources are used increasingly in the production of polymers. In particular, monomers such as carbon dioxide, terpenes, vegetable oils and carbohydrates can be used as feedstocks for the manufacture of a variety of sustainable materials and products, including elastomers, plastics, hydrogels, flexible electronics, resins, engineering polymers and composites. Efficient catalysis is required to produce monomers, to facilitate selective polymerizations and to enable recycling or upcycling of waste materials. There are opportunities to use such sustainable polymers in both high-value areas and in basic applications such as packaging. Life-cycle assessment can be used to quantify the environmental benefits of sustainable polymers.

Sustainable polymers from renewable resources.

PubMed

Zhu, Yunqing; Romain, Charles; Williams, Charlotte K

2016-12-14

Renewable resources are used increasingly in the production of polymers. In particular, monomers such as carbon dioxide, terpenes, vegetable oils and carbohydrates can be used as feedstocks for the manufacture of a variety of sustainable materials and products, including elastomers, plastics, hydrogels, flexible electronics, resins, engineering polymers and composites. Efficient catalysis is required to produce monomers, to facilitate selective polymerizations and to enable recycling or upcycling of waste materials. There are opportunities to use such sustainable polymers in both high-value areas and in basic applications such as packaging. Life-cycle assessment can be used to quantify the environmental benefits of sustainable polymers.

Effects of temperature on sustained swimming performance and swimming kinematics of the chub mackerel Scomber japonicus.

PubMed

Dickson, Kathryn A; Donley, Jeanine M; Sepulveda, Chugey; Bhoopat, Lisa

2002-04-01

The effects of a 6 degrees C difference in water temperature on maximum sustained swimming speed, swimming energetics and swimming kinematics were measured in the chub mackerel Scomber japonicus (Teleostei: Scombridae), a primarily coastal, pelagic predator that inhabits subtropical and temperate transition waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. New data for chub mackerel acclimated to 18 degrees C are compared with published data from our laboratory at 24 degrees C. Twelve individuals acclimated to each of two temperatures (15.6-26.3 cm fork length, FL, and 34-179 g at 18 degrees C; 14.0-24.7 cm FL and 26-156 g at 24 degrees C) swam at a range of speeds in a temperature-controlled Brett-type respirometer, at the respective acclimation temperature. At a given fish size, the maximum speed that S. japonicus was able to maintain for a 30-min period, while swimming steadily using slow, oxidative locomotor muscle (U(max,c)), was significantly greater at 24 than at 18 degrees C (52.5-97.5 cm s(-1) at 18 degrees C and 70-120 cm s(-1) at 24 degrees C). At a given speed and fish size, the rate of oxygen consumption (VO(2)) was significantly higher at 24 than at 18 degrees C because of a higher net cost of transport (1073-4617 J km(-1) kg(-1) at 18 degrees C and 2708-14895 J km(-1) kg(-1) at 24 degrees C). Standard metabolic rate, calculated by extrapolating the logO(2) versus swimming speed relationship to zero speed, did not vary significantly with temperature or fish mass (126.4+/-67.2 mg O(2) h(-1) kg(-1) at 18 degrees C and 143.2+/-80.3 mg O(2) h(-1) kg(-1) at 24 degrees C; means +/- S.D., N=12). Swimming kinematics was quantified from high-speed (120 Hz) video recordings analyzed with a computerized, two-dimensional motion-analysis system. At a given speed and fish size, there were no significant effects of temperature on tail-beat frequency, tail-beat amplitude or stride length, but propulsive wavelength increased significantly with temperature as a result

Temperature-dependent responses of the photosynthetic and chlorophyll fluorescence attributes of apple (Malus domestica) leaves during a sustained high temperature event.

PubMed

Greer, Dennis H

2015-12-01

The objective of this study was to follow changes in the temperature-dependent responses of photosynthesis and photosystem II performance in leaves of field-grown trees of Malus domestica (Borkh.) cv. 'Red Gala' before and after exposure to a long-term heat event occurring late in the growing season. Light-saturated photosynthesis was optimal at 25 °C before the heat event. The high temperatures caused a reduction in rates at low temperatures (15-20 °C) but increased rates at high temperatures (30-40 °C) and a shift in optimum to 30 °C. Rates at all temperatures increased after the heat event and the optimum shifted to 33 °C, indicative of some acclimation to the high temperatures occurring. Photosystem II attributes were all highly temperature-dependent. The operating quantum efficiency of PSII during the heat event declined, but mostly at high temperatures, partly because of decreased photochemical quenching but also from increased non-photochemical quenching. However, a further reduction in PSII operating efficiency occurred after the heat event subsided. Non-photochemical quenching had subsided, whereas photochemical quenching had increased in the post-heat event period and consistent with a greater fraction of open PSII reaction centres. What remained uncertain was why these effects on PSII performance appeared to have no effect on the process of light-saturated photosynthesis. However, the results provide an enhanced understanding of the impacts of sustained high temperatures on the photosynthetic process and its underlying reactions, notably photochemistry. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Sustaining Members, Volunteers, and Leaders in Community Organizations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Culp, Ken, III

2013-01-01

Community organizations must be self-sustaining in order to remain active, viable, and strong. The three primary steps involved in sustaining members, volunteers, and leaders include evaluate, recognize, and either retain, redirect, or disengage. A volunteer performance evaluation will determine whether individual and organizational goals are…

High-performance mass storage system for workstations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chiang, T.; Tang, Y.; Gupta, L.; Cooperman, S.

1993-01-01

Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) workstations and Personnel Computers (PC) are very popular tools for office automation, command and control, scientific analysis, database management, and many other applications. However, when using Input/Output (I/O) intensive applications, the RISC workstations and PC's are often overburdened with the tasks of collecting, staging, storing, and distributing data. Also, by using standard high-performance peripherals and storage devices, the I/O function can still be a common bottleneck process. Therefore, the high-performance mass storage system, developed by Loral AeroSys' Independent Research and Development (IR&D) engineers, can offload a RISC workstation of I/O related functions and provide high-performance I/O functions and external interfaces. The high-performance mass storage system has the capabilities to ingest high-speed real-time data, perform signal or image processing, and stage, archive, and distribute the data. This mass storage system uses a hierarchical storage structure, thus reducing the total data storage cost, while maintaining high-I/O performance. The high-performance mass storage system is a network of low-cost parallel processors and storage devices. The nodes in the network have special I/O functions such as: SCSI controller, Ethernet controller, gateway controller, RS232 controller, IEEE488 controller, and digital/analog converter. The nodes are interconnected through high-speed direct memory access links to form a network. The topology of the network is easily reconfigurable to maximize system throughput for various applications. This high-performance mass storage system takes advantage of a 'busless' architecture for maximum expandability. The mass storage system consists of magnetic disks, a WORM optical disk jukebox, and an 8mm helical scan tape to form a hierarchical storage structure. Commonly used files are kept in the magnetic disk for fast retrieval. The optical disks are used as archive

Managing environmental sustainability in a healthcare setting.

PubMed

Langstaff, Karen; Brzozowski, Victoria

2017-03-01

How does a hospital sustain its journey towards environmental sustainability? To date, most hospitals have embarked on some strategies for improving environmental performance, whether it's reducing energy or landfill waste. Environmental sustainability strategies, however, can often lose momentum or stagnate if not championed by someone whose full-time role is to assess, monitor, and bring new strategies to the table. In the face of ongoing budget deficits, it is increasingly difficult to get adequate support and buy-in for this type of role unless the leadership of the organization is committed to an environmental sustainability program. This article will examine the strategies and outcomes of an environmental sustainability plan for one hospital from 2008 to present, including best strategies, lessons learned, and what lies ahead of us in the new world of capping greenhouse gas emissions.

Performance of the first structure built with high performance concrete in Virginia.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-08-01

This study evaluated the preparation and placement operations, concrete properties, cost-effectiveness, and performance over 5 years of the first bridge containing high performance concrete built by the Virginia Department of Transportation. High per...

Evidence for -Gz Adaptation Observed with Wearable Biosensors During High Performance Jet Flight.

PubMed

Rice, G Merrill; Snider, Dallas; Moore, Jeffrey L; Lavan, J Timothy; Folga, Rich; VanBrunt, Thomas B

2016-12-01

Few studies have evaluated physiological responses to high acceleration forces during actual flight and to our knowledge no normative data has been acquired by technologies such as wearable biosensors during high performance jet aircraft operations. In-flight physiological data from an FDA cleared portable triaxial accelerometer and bio-sensor were observed from five active duty F-18 pilots of the Naval Flight Demonstration Squadron (Blue Angels). Of the five pilots, three were formation pilots who flew lower G profiles and two were solo pilots who flew higher G profiles. Physiological parameters monitored were heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, caloric expenditure, and duration of exposure to levels of acceleration. Evaluated were 25 practice demonstration flights; 9 flights were excluded secondary to incomplete or inaccurate physiological data. We observed no significant bradycardia during a total of 189 maneuvers which met inclusion criteria for push-pull events (PPE) or isolated -Gz exposures. Further analysis of 73 PPE revealed an overall significant rise in HR following the PPE, where mean heart rate was 106 (95% CI, 100:112) at the beginning of the push and 129 (95% CI, 123:135) following the pull. A majority of the flights monitored provided reliable physiological data. Initial data suggests, contrary to currently held aeromedical doctrine, maneuvers such as the "push-pull" do not evoke vasovagal based bradycardic responses in aerobatic pilots. Possible explanations for these findings are sympathetic nervous system activation through adaptation and/or sustained isometric resistance from control inputs, both of which are areas of future research for our team.Rice GM, Snider D, Moore JL, Lavan JT, Folga R, VanBrunt TB. Evidence for -Gz adaptation observed with wearable biosensors during high performance jet flight. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2016; 87(12):996-1003.

3D Networked Tin Oxide/Graphene Aerogel with a Hierarchically Porous Architecture for High-Rate Performance Sodium-Ion Batteries.

PubMed

Xie, Xiuqiang; Chen, Shuangqiang; Sun, Bing; Wang, Chengyin; Wang, Guoxiu

2015-09-07

Low-cost and sustainable sodium-ion batteries are regarded as a promising technology for large-scale energy storage and conversion. The development of high-rate anode materials is highly desirable for sodium-ion batteries. The optimization of mass transport and electron transfer is crucial in the discovery of electrode materials with good high-rate performances. Herein, we report the synthesis of 3 D interconnected SnO2 /graphene aerogels with a hierarchically porous structure as anode materials for sodium-ion batteries. The unique 3 D architecture was prepared by a facile in situ process, during which cross-linked 3 D conductive graphene networks with macro-/meso-sized hierarchical pores were formed and SnO2 nanoparticles were dispersed uniformly on the graphene surface simultaneously. Such a 3 D functional architecture not only facilitates the electrode-electrolyte interaction but also provides an efficient electron pathway within the graphene networks. When applied as anode materials in sodium-ion batteries, the as-prepared SnO2 /graphene aerogel exhibited high reversible capacity, improved cycling performance compared to SnO2 , and promising high-rate capability. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Sustainability Instruction in High Doses: Results From Incorporation of Multiple InTeGrate Modules Into an Environmental Science Class

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rademacher, L. K.

2017-12-01

The Interdisciplinary Teaching about Earth for a Sustainable Future (InTeGrate) community has developed extensive courses and modules designed for broad adoption into geoscience classrooms in diverse environments. I participated in a three-semester research project designed to test the efficacy of incorporating "high doses" (minimum 3 modules or 18 class periods) of InTeGrate materials into a course, in my case, an introductory environmental science class. InTeGrate materials were developed by groups of instructors from a range of institutions across the US. These materials include an emphasis on systems thinking, interdisciplinary approaches, and sustainability, and those themes are woven throughout the modules. The three semesters included a control in which no InTeGrate materials were used, a pilot in which InTeGrate materials were tested, and a treatment semesters in which tested materials were modified as needed and fully implemented into the course. Data were collected each semester on student attitudes using the InTeGrate Attitudinal Instrument (pre and post), a subset of Geoscience Literacy Exam questions (pre and post), and a series of assessments and essay exam questions (post only). Although results suggest that learning gains were mixed, changes in attitudes pre- and post-instruction were substantial. Changes in attitudes regarding the importance of sustainable employers, the frequency of self-reported individual sustainable actions, and motivation level for creating a sustainable society were observed in the control and treatment semesters, with the treatment semester showing the greatest gains. Importantly, one of the biggest differences between the control and treatment semesters is the reported impact that the course had on influencing students' sustainable behaviors. The treatment semester course impacted students' sustainable behaviors far more than the control semester.

Rehabilitation Characteristics in High-Performance Hospitals after Acute Stroke.

PubMed

Sawabe, Masashi; Momosaki, Ryo; Hasebe, Kiyotaka; Sawaguchi, Akira; Kasuga, Seiji; Asanuma, Daichi; Suzuki, Shoya; Miyauchi, Narimi; Abo, Masahiro

2018-05-22

Rehabilitation characteristics in high-performance hospitals after acute stroke are not clarified. This retrospective observational study aimed to clarify the characteristics of high-performance hospitals in acute stroke rehabilitation. Patients with stroke discharged from participating acute hospitals were extracted from the Japan Rehabilitation Database for the period 2006-2015. We found 6855 patients from 14 acute hospitals who were eligible for analysis in this study after applying exclusion criteria. We divided facilities into high-performance hospitals and low-performance hospitals using the median of the Functional Independent Measure efficiency for each hospital. We compared rehabilitation characteristics between high- and low-performance hospitals. High-performance hospitals had significantly shorter length of stay. More patients were discharged to home in the high-performance hospitals compared with low-performance hospitals. Patients in high-performance hospitals received greater amounts of physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Patients in high-performance hospitals engaged in more self-exercise, weekend exercise, and exercise in wards. There was more participation of board-certified physiatrists and social workers in high-performance hospitals. Our data suggested that amount, timing, and type of rehabilitation, and participation of multidisciplinary staff are essential for high performance in acute stroke rehabilitation. Copyright © 2018 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High performance dielectric materials development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piche, Joe; Kirchner, Ted; Jayaraj, K.

1994-09-01

The mission of polymer composites materials technology is to develop materials and processing technology to meet DoD and commercial needs. The following are outlined in this presentation: high performance capacitors, high temperature aerospace insulation, rationale for choosing Foster-Miller (the reporting industry), the approach to the development and evaluation of high temperature insulation materials, and the requirements/evaluation parameters. Supporting tables and diagrams are included.

High performance dielectric materials development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Piche, Joe; Kirchner, Ted; Jayaraj, K.

1994-01-01

The mission of polymer composites materials technology is to develop materials and processing technology to meet DoD and commercial needs. The following are outlined in this presentation: high performance capacitors, high temperature aerospace insulation, rationale for choosing Foster-Miller (the reporting industry), the approach to the development and evaluation of high temperature insulation materials, and the requirements/evaluation parameters. Supporting tables and diagrams are included.

Indoor Air Quality in High Performance Schools

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

High performance schools are facilities that improve the learning environment while saving energy, resources, and money. The key is understanding the lifetime value of high performance schools and effectively managing priorities, time, and budget.

Indoor Air Quality in High Performance Schools

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

2017-02-14

High performance schools are facilities that improve the learning environment while saving energy, resources, and money. The key is understanding the lifetime value of high performance schools and effectively managing priorities, time, and budget.

Sustainable, Reliable Mission-Systems Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

O'Neil, Graham; Orr, James K.; Watson, Steve

2005-01-01

A mission-systems architecture, based on a highly modular infrastructure utilizing open-standards hardware and software interfaces as the enabling technology is essential for affordable md sustainable space exploration programs. This mission-systems architecture requires (8) robust communication between heterogeneous systems, (b) high reliability, (c) minimal mission-to-mission reconfiguration, (d) affordable development, system integration, end verification of systems, and (e) minimal sustaining engineering. This paper proposes such an architecture. Lessons learned from the Space Shuttle program and Earthbound complex engineered systems are applied to define the model. Technology projections reaching out 5 years are made to refine model details.

Sustained-release subconjunctival 5-fluorouracil.

PubMed

Smith, T J; Ashton, P

1996-09-01

The purpose of this research was to obtain preliminary safety and efficacy data on a novel sustained-release 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) implant in high-risk glaucoma surgical patients. The implants were placed subconjunctivally in four patients undergoing high-risk trabeculectomy. The patients have been observed for approximately 2.5 years. In three of the four patients intraocular pressure was controlled at less than 21 mm Hg, with stabilization of the visual field. One patient had early failure. No untoward events were linked to the placement of the implant. Sustained-release systems for subconjunctival 5-FU may be useful in filter maintenance.

Sustainable, Reliable Mission-Systems Architecture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

O'Neil, Graham; Orr, James K.; Watson, Steve

2007-01-01

A mission-systems architecture, based on a highly modular infrastructure utilizing: open-standards hardware and software interfaces as the enabling technology is essential for affordable and sustainable space exploration programs. This mission-systems architecture requires (a) robust communication between heterogeneous system, (b) high reliability, (c) minimal mission-to-mission reconfiguration, (d) affordable development, system integration, and verification of systems, and (e) minimal sustaining engineering. This paper proposes such an architecture. Lessons learned from the Space Shuttle program and Earthbound complex engineered system are applied to define the model. Technology projections reaching out 5 years are mde to refine model details.

Sustained diffusive alternating current gliding arc discharge in atmospheric pressure air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Jiajian; Gao, Jinlong; Li, Zhongshan; Ehn, Andreas; Aldén, Marcus; Larsson, Anders; Kusano, Yukihiro

2014-12-01

Rapid transition from glow discharge to thermal arc has been a common problem in generating stable high-power non-thermal plasmas especially at ambient conditions. A sustained diffusive gliding arc discharge was generated in a large volume in atmospheric pressure air, driven by an alternating current (AC) power source. The plasma column extended beyond the water-cooled stainless steel electrodes and was stabilized by matching the flow speed of the turbulent air jet with the rated output power. Comprehensive investigations were performed using high-speed movies measured over the plasma column, synchronized with simultaneously recorded current and voltage waveforms. Dynamic details of the novel non-equilibrium discharge are revealed, which is characterized by a sinusoidal current waveform with amplitude stabilized at around 200 mA intermediate between thermal arc and glow discharge, shedding light to the governing mechanism of the sustained spark-suppressed AC gliding arc discharge.

Sustained ophthalmic delivery of highly soluble drug using pH-triggered inner layer-embedded contact lens.

PubMed

Zhu, Qiang; Cheng, Hongbo; Huo, Yingnan; Mao, Shirui

2018-06-10

In the present work the feasibility of using inner layer-embedded contact lenses (CLs) to achieve sustained release of highly water soluble drug, betaxolol hydrochloride (BH) on the ocular surface was investigated. Blend film of cellulose acetate and Eudragit S100 was selected as the inner layer, while silicone hydrogel was used as outer layer to construct inner layer-embedded contact lenses. Influence of polymer ratio in the blend film on in vitro drug release behavior in phosphate buffered solution or simulated tear fluid was studied and drug-polymer interaction, erosion and swelling of the blend film were characterized to better understand drug-release mechanism. Storage stability of the inner layer-embedded contact lenses in phosphate buffer solution was also conducted, with ignorable drug loss and negligible change in drug release pattern within 30 days. In vivo pharmacokinetic study in rabbits showed sustained drug release for over 240 h in tear fluid, indicating prolonged drug precorneal residence time. In conclusion, cellulose acetate/Eudragit S100 inner layer-embedded contact lenses are quite promising as controlled-release carrier of highly water soluble drug for ophthalmic delivery. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Performance measurement evaluation framework and co-benefit / tradeoff analysis for connected and automated vehicles (CAV) applications : a survey : a research report from the National Center for Sustainable Transportation.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-09-01

A number of Connected and/or Automated Vehicle (CAV) applications have recently been designed to improve the performance of our transportation system. Safety, mobility and environmental sustainability are three cornerstone performance metrics when ev...

High-Performance Computing Systems and Operations | Computational Science |

Science.gov Websites

NREL Systems and Operations High-Performance Computing Systems and Operations NREL operates high-performance computing (HPC) systems dedicated to advancing energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. Capabilities NREL's HPC capabilities include: High-Performance Computing Systems We operate

A Longitudinal Study of School Districts' Sustained Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sampson, Pauline M.

2011-01-01

In this longitudinal study of one region in the state of Texas, there was an examination of district leadership and the sustaining of high student achievement for their districts. The results of this study suggest that sustained improvement of student achievement is very difficult. The districts that had sustained improvement had stable district…

A method to assess social sustainability of capture fisheries: An application to a Norwegian trawler

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

Veldhuizen, L.J.L., E-mail: linda.veldhuizen@wur.nl; Berentsen, P.B.M.; Bokkers, E.A.M.

Social sustainability assessment of capture fisheries is, both in terms of method development and measurement, not well developed. The objective of this study, therefore, was to develop a method consisting of indicators and rubrics (i.e. categories that articulate levels of performance) to assess social sustainability of capture fisheries. This method was applied to a Norwegian trawler that targets cod and haddock in the northeast Atlantic. Based on previous research, 13 social sustainability issues were selected. To measure the state of these issues, 17 process and outcome indicators were determined. To interpret indicator values, rubrics were developed for each indicator, usingmore » standards set by international conventions or data retrieved from national statistics, industry agreements or scientific publications that explore rubric scales. The indicators and rubrics were subsequently used in a social sustainability assessment of a Norwegian trawler. This assessment indicated that overall, social sustainability of this trawler is relatively high, with high rubric scores, for example, for worker safety, provisions aboard for the crew and companies' salary levels. The assessment also indicated that the trawler could improve on healthy working environment, product freshness and fish welfare during capture. This application demonstrated that our method provides insight into social sustainability at the level of the vessel and can be used to identify potential room for improvement. This method is also promising for social sustainability assessment of other capture fisheries. - Highlights: • A method was developed for social sustainability assessment of capture fisheries. • This method entailed determining outcome and process indicators for important issues. • To interpret indicator values, a rubric was developed for each indicator. • Use of this method gives insight into social sustainability and improvement options. • This method is promising for social

Sustainability Base Construction Update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mewhinney, Michael

2012-01-01

Construction of the new Sustainability Base Collaborative support facility, expected to become the highest performing building in the federal government continues at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, Calif. The new building is designed to achieve a platinum rating under the leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) new construction standards for environmentally sustainable construction developed by the U. S. Green Building Council, Washington, D. C. When completed by the end of 2011, the $20.6 million building will feature near zero net energy consumption, use 90 percent less potable water than conventionally build buildings of equivalent size, and will result in reduced building maintenance costs.

Grassland Sustainability

Treesearch

Deborah U. Potter; Paulette L. Ford

2004-01-01

In this chapter we discuss grassland sustainability in the Southwest, grassland management for sustainability, national and local criteria and indicators of sustainable grassland ecosystems, and monitoring for sustainability at various scales. Ecological sustainability is defined as: [T]he maintenance or restoration of the composition, structure, and processes of...

Sustained attention in adult ADHD: time-on-task effects of various measures of attention.

PubMed

Tucha, Lara; Fuermaier, Anselm B M; Koerts, Janneke; Buggenthin, Rieka; Aschenbrenner, Steffen; Weisbrod, Matthias; Thome, Johannes; Lange, Klaus W; Tucha, Oliver

2017-02-01

Neuropsychological research on adults with ADHD showed deficits in various aspects of attention. However, the majority of studies failed to explore the change of performance over time, so-called time-on-task effects. As a consequence, little is known about sustained attention performance of adults with ADHD. The aim of the present study was therefore to test the hypothesis of sustained attention deficits of adults with ADHD. Twenty-nine adults with ADHD and 30 healthy individuals were assessed on four 20-min tests of sustained attention, measuring alertness, selective attention, divided attention and flexibility. The deterioration of performance over time (time-on-task effects) was compared between patients with ADHD and healthy individuals to conclude on sustained attention performance. Compared to healthy individuals, patients with ADHD showed significant deficits of medium size in selective attention and divided attention. Furthermore, medium sustained attention deficits was observed in measures of alertness, selective attention and divided attention. This study supports the notion of sustained attention deficits of adults with ADHD.

An Investigation into Energy Requirements and Conservation Techniques for Sustainable Buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robitaille, Jad

Traditionally, societies use to design their built environment in a way that was in line with the climate and the geographical location that they evolved in, thereby supporting sustainable lifestyles (i.e. thick walls with small windows in cold climates). With the industrial revolution and the heavy use and reliance on cheap fossil fuels, it can be argued that the built environment has become more focused on aesthetics and cost savings rather than on true sustainability. This, in turn, has led to energy intensive practices associated with the construction of homes, buildings, cities and megalopolises. Environmental concerns with regards to the future have pushed people, entities and industries to search for ways to decrease human's energy dependency and/or to supply the demand in ways that are deemed sustainable. Efforts to address this concern with respect to the built environment were translated into 'green buildings', sustainable building technologies and high performance buildings that can be rated and/or licensed by selected certifying bodies with varying metrics of building construction and performance. The growing number of such systems has brought real concerns: Do certified sustainable buildings really achieve the level of sustainability (i.e. performance) they were intended to? For the purpose of this study, buildings' energy consumption will be analysed, as it is one of the main drivers when taking into consideration greenhouse gas emissions. Heating and cooling in the residential and commercial/institutional sector, combined account for approximately a fifth of the secondary energy use in Canada. For this reason, this research aims at evaluating the main rating systems in Canada based on the efficacy of their rating systems' certification methodology and the weighting and comparison of energy requirements under each scheme. It has been proven through numerous studies that major energy savings can be achieved by focusing primarily on building designs

Development of hydropower sustainability assessment method in Malaysia context

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Turan, Faiz Mohd; Johan, Kartina; Atiqah Omar, Nur

2018-03-01

Nowadays, sustainability is becoming one of the crucial requirement to business success today. This requirement is strongly supported by Bursa Malaysia. In their webpage, they stated that an entire way to business management, incorporating economic, environmental, social and governance considerations alongside financial ones, will serve as a sound business model that supports business continuity and long term value creation for stakeholders and society at large (Bursa Malaysia website, 21th April 2016). This proved that companies need to take sustainability as one of their aspect performance as well as an energy company. Apart from that, energy companies in Malaysia are facing problems as there is still no systematic assessment of sustainability. Before this, Malaysia energy companies assess their large projects based on Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) requirement. However, the EIAs mostly covers the environmental issues related to the projects. The EIAs give less attention to the social aspects and economical aspects. In addition, there are still not many companies comply all the three aspects together. So, this study is to help the energy companies to discover the systematic assessment of sustainability. In developing sustainable project, they need to include many criteria that cover the environmental, economic and social aspects at all stages. Thus, the new version of Systematic Sustainability Assessment (SSA) that apply the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP) is used as a guideline to achieve sustainability in Malaysia energy companies. This tool will guide the energy company on how to assess the sustainability in their project and see the performance of the project.

Project safety as a sustainable competitive advantage.

PubMed

Rechenthin, David

2004-01-01

To be consistently profitable, a construction company must complete projects in scope, on schedule, and on budget. At the same time, the nature of the often high-risk work performed by construction companies can result in high accident rates. Clients and other stakeholders are placing increasing pressure on companies to decrease those accident rates. Clients routinely demand copies of safety plans and evidence of past results at the "pre-qualification" or "request for proposal" stages of the procurement process. Are high accident rates and the associated costs just a part of business? Companies that deliver on scope, schedule, and budget have a competitive advantage. Is it possible for projects with low accident rates to use it as a competitive advantage? Is the value added by safety just a temporary or parity issue, or does a successful safety program offer significant advantage to the company and the client? This article concludes that in the case of a high-risk industry, such as the construction industry, an organization with a successful safety program can promote safety performance as a sustainable competitive advantage. It is a choice the company can make.

Performance of precision mobile drip irrigation in the Texas High Plains region

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Mobile drip irrigation (MDI) technology adapts driplines to the drop hoses of moving sprinkler systems to apply water as the drip lines are pulled across the field. There is interest in this technology among farmers in the Texas High Plains region to help sustain irrigated agriculture. However, info...

Biochar of animal origin: a sustainable solution to the global problem of high-grade rock phosphate scarcity?

PubMed

Vassilev, Nikolay; Martos, Eva; Mendes, Gilberto; Martos, Vanessa; Vassileva, Maria

2013-06-01

Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for all living organisms. However, in soil-plant systems, this nutrient is the most limiting, leading to frequent applications of soluble P fertilisers. Their excessive use provokes alterations in the natural P cycle, soil biodiversity and ecological equilibrium and is the main reason for the eutrophication of water, with consequences on food safety. Biotechnology offers a number of sustainable solutions that can mitigate these problems by using various waste materials as a source of P and, on the other hand, their solubilisation by selected micro-organisms. This review present results on the solubilisation of animal bone char with high phosphate content by micro-organisms to produce organic acids such as lactic acid, citric acid and itaconic acid. All experiments were performed under conditions of liquid submerged and solid state fermentation processes. Freely suspended and immobilised cells of the corresponding microbial cultures were employed using substrates characterised by low cost and abundance. Other alternative technologies are discussed as well in order to stimulate further studies in this field, bearing in mind the progressive increase in P fertiliser prices based on high global P consumption and the scarcity of rock phosphate reserves. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

Noise of High-Performance Aircraft at Afterburner

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-10-07

Naval Research Project Title : Noise of High-Performance Aircraft at Afterburner Principal Investigator Dr. Christopher Tam Department...to 08/14/2015 Noise of High-Performance Aircraft at Afterburner Tam, Christopher Sponsored Research Administratiion Florida State University

Establishing sustainable performance-based incentive schemes: views of rural health workers from qualitative research in three sub-Saharan African countries.

PubMed

Yé, M; Aninanya, G A; Sié, A; Kakoko, D C V; Chatio, S; Kagoné, M; Prytherch, H; Loukanova, S; Williams, J E; Sauerborn, R

2014-01-01

Performance-based incentives (PBIs) are currently receiving attention as a strategy for improving the quality of care that health providers deliver. Experiences from several African countries have shown that PBIs can trigger improvements, particularly in the area of maternal and neonatal health. The involvement of health workers in deciding how their performance should be measured is recommended. Only limited information is available about how such schemes can be made sustainable. This study explored the types of PBIs that rural health workers suggested, their ideas regarding the management and sustainability of such schemes, and their views on which indicators best lend themselves to the monitoring of performance. In this article the authors reported the findings from a cross-country survey conducted in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Tanzania. The study was exploratory with qualitative methodology. In-depth interviews were conducted with 29 maternal and neonatal healthcare providers, four district health managers and two policy makers (total 35 respondents) from one district in each of the three countries. The respondents were purposively selected from six peripheral health facilities. Care was taken to include providers who had a management role. By also including respondents from district and policy level a comparison of perspectives from different levels of the health system was facilitated. The data that was collected was coded and analysed with support of NVivo v8 software. The most frequently suggested PBIs amongst the respondents in Burkina Faso were training with per-diems, bonuses and recognition of work done. The respondents in Tanzania favoured training with per-diems, as well as payment of overtime, and timely promotion. The respondents in Ghana also called for training, including paid study leave, payment of overtime and recognition schemes for health workers or facilities. Respondents in the three countries supported the mobilisation of local resources to

Moisture Performance of High-R Wall Systems

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

Shah, Nay B.; Kochkin, Vladimir

High-performance homes offer improved comfort, lower utility bills, and assured durability. The next generation of building enclosures is a key step toward achieving high-performance goals through decreasing energy load demand and enabling advanced space-conditioning systems. Yet the adoption of high-R enclosures and particularly high-R walls has been a slow-growing trend because mainstream builders are hesitant to make the transition. In a survey of builders on this topic, one of the challenges identifi ed is an industry-wide concern about the long-term moisture performance of energy-effi cient walls. This study takes a step toward addressing this concern through direct monitoring of themore » moisture performance of high-R walls in occupied homes in several climate zones. In addition, the robustness of the design and modeling tools for selecting high-R wall solutions is evaluated using the monitored data from the field. The information and knowledge gained through this research will provide an objective basis for decision-making so that builders can implement advanced designs with confidence.« less

The State of Sustainability Reporting at Canadian Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fonseca, Alberto; Macdonald, Amanda; Dandy, Emily; Valenti, Paul

2011-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the state of sustainability reporting in Canada's higher education sector, while understanding who is reporting on sustainability performance, how is information being reported, and what is being reported. Design/methodology/approach: A framework with ten categories and 56 indicators based on the…

Sustained sympathetic activity in altitude acclimatizing lowlanders and high-altitude natives.

PubMed

Lundby, C; Calbet, J; van Hall, G; Saltin, B; Sander, M

2018-03-01

Combined results from different independent studies suggest that acclimatization to high altitude induces a slowly developing sympathetic activation, even at levels of hypoxia that cause no acute chemoreflex-mediated sympathoexcitation. We here provide direct neurophysiological evidence for this phenomenon. In eight Danish lowlanders, we quantified mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), twice at sea level (normoxia and with acute hypoxic exposure to 12.6% O 2 ) and twice at high altitude (after 10 and 50 days of exposure to 4100 m). Measurements were also obtained in eight Bolivian highlanders on one occasion at high altitude. Acute hypoxic exposure caused no increase in MSNA (15 ± 2 vs 16 ± 2 bursts per min, respectively, and also MAP and HR remained stable). In contrast, from sea level to 10 and 50 days in high-altitude increases were observed in MAP: 72 ± 2 vs 78 ± 2 and 75 ± 2 mm Hg; HR: 54 ± 3 vs 67 ± 3 and 65 ± 3 beats per min; MSNA: 15 ± 2 vs 42 ± 5 and 42 ± 5 bursts per min, all P < .05. Bolivian subjects had high levels of MSNA: 34 ± 4 bursts per min. The simultaneous increase in MAP, HR, and MSNA suggests high altitude-induced sympathetic activity, which is sustained in well-acclimatized lowlanders. The high MSNA levels in the Bolivian highlanders suggest lifelong sympathetic activation at high altitude. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A review on utilization of textile composites in transportation towards sustainability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aly, Nermin M.

2017-10-01

Transportation industry is rapidly developing owing to its size and importance which affects on various aspects of life. It includes all the transport means that facilitate mobility of people or goods either by air, land or sea like aircrafts, automotives, ships, trains, etc. The utilization of textiles in this industry is increasing as a result of moving towards achieving sustainability and enhancing performance, comfort and safety. Through substituting heavier materials with textiles of high performance specifications and textile reinforced composites to reduce weight, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Composite materials can fulfil the demands for sustainability in the transportation sector through using renewable, recycled and lightweight materials, considering the requirements of each category of transport vehicles. Textiles used in reinforcing composites are diverse including fibers, yarns or fabric preforms such as woven, nonwoven, knitted, braided which varies from 2D to complex 3D structures. This paper presents a brief review on the utilization of textiles in reinforcing composites for various transportation applications to achieve sustainability. Also, discussing the influence of textiles structural parameters like fiber material properties, fabric production technique and construction on their mechanical behaviour. Focusing on researches findings in this area and highlighting some prospects for further developments domestically.

High-performance computing — an overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marksteiner, Peter

1996-08-01

An overview of high-performance computing (HPC) is given. Different types of computer architectures used in HPC are discussed: vector supercomputers, high-performance RISC processors, various parallel computers like symmetric multiprocessors, workstation clusters, massively parallel processors. Software tools and programming techniques used in HPC are reviewed: vectorizing compilers, optimization and vector tuning, optimization for RISC processors; parallel programming techniques like shared-memory parallelism, message passing and data parallelism; and numerical libraries.

Team Development for High Performance Management.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schermerhorn, John R., Jr.

1986-01-01

The author examines a team development approach to management that creates shared commitments to performance improvement by focusing the attention of managers on individual workers and their task accomplishments. It uses the "high-performance equation" to help managers confront shared beliefs and concerns about performance and develop realistic…

Institute for Sustained Performance, Energy, and Resilience (SuPER)

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

Jagode, Heike; Bosilca, George; Danalis, Anthony

The University of Tennessee (UTK) and University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) partnership supported the three main thrusts of the SUPER project---performance, energy, and resilience. The UTK-UTEP effort thus helped advance the main goal of SUPER, which was to ensure that DOE's computational scientists can successfully exploit the emerging generation of high performance computing (HPC) systems. This goal is being met by providing application scientists with strategies and tools to productively maximize performance, conserve energy, and attain resilience. The primary vehicle through which UTK provided performance measurement support to SUPER and the larger HPC community is the Performance Applicationmore » Programming Interface (PAPI). PAPI is an ongoing project that provides a consistent interface and methodology for collecting hardware performance information from various hardware and software components, including most major CPUs, GPUs and accelerators, interconnects, I/O systems, and power interfaces, as well as virtual cloud environments. The PAPI software is widely used for performance modeling of scientific and engineering applications---for example, the HOMME (High Order Methods Modeling Environment) climate code, and the GAMESS and NWChem computational chemistry codes---on DOE supercomputers. PAPI is widely deployed as middleware for use by higher-level profiling, tracing, and sampling tools (e.g., CrayPat, HPCToolkit, Scalasca, Score-P, TAU, Vampir, PerfExpert), making it the de facto standard for hardware counter analysis. PAPI has established itself as fundamental software infrastructure in every application domain (spanning academia, government, and industry), where improving performance can be mission critical. Ultimately, as more application scientists migrate their applications to HPC platforms, they will benefit from the extended capabilities this grant brought to PAPI to analyze and optimize performance in these environments, whether they use PAPI

Design and analysis of sustainable paper bicycle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roni Sahroni, Taufik; Nasution, Januar

2017-12-01

This paper presents the design of sustainable paper bicycle which describes the stage by stage in the production of paper bicycle. The objective of this project is to design a sustainable paper bicycles to be used for children under five years old. The design analysis emphasizes in screening method to ensure the design fulfil the safety purposes. The evaluation concept is presented in designing a sustainable paper bicycle to determine highest rating. Project methodology is proposed for developing a sustainable paper bicycle. Design analysis of pedal, front and rear wheel, seat, and handle were presented using AutoCAD software. The design optimization was performed to fulfil the safety factors by modifying the material size and dimension. Based on the design analysis results, it is found that the optimization results met the factor safety. As a result, a sustainable paper bicycle was proposed for children under five years old.

Sustainability study of domestic communal wastewater treatment plant in Surabaya City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahar, E.; Sudarno; Zaman, B.

2017-06-01

Sanitation is one of the critical infrastructure sectors in order to improve community health status. The Ministry of Public Works of the Republic of Indonesia to define that word sanitation include: domestic waste water management, solid waste management, rain water management (drainage management) as well as the provision of clean water. Surabaya city as the capital of East Java province and Indonesia’s second largest city with a population of 2,853,661 inhabitants in 2014 (the second largest after Jakarta), but the people who have been served by the sanitation infrastructure systems were expected at 176,105 families or about 26.95 % of the population of the city is already using sanitation facilities. In the White Book Sanitation of Surabaya City in 2010, Surabaya City sanitation development mission is to realize the wastewater management of settlements in a sustainable and affordable by the community. This study aims to assess the sustainability of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) domestic communal in the city of Surabaya. The method in this research is quantitative method through observation, structured interviews and laboratory testing of the variables analyzed. Analyses were performed using a technique Multidisciplinary rapid appraisal (Rap-fish) to determine the level of sustainability of the management of communal WWTP based on a number of attributes that easy scored. Attributes of each dimension includes the technical, environmental quality, institutional, economic, and social. The results of this study are sustainability index of environmental quality dimension at 84.32 with highly sustainable status, technical dimension at 62.61 with fairly sustainable status, social dimension at 57.98 with fairly sustainable status, economic dimension at 43.24 with less sustainable status, and institutional dimension at 39.67 with less sustainable status.

High performance aluminum–cerium alloys for high-temperature applications

DOE PAGES

Sims, Zachary C.; Rios, Orlando R.; Weiss, David; ...

2017-08-01

Light-weight high-temperature alloys are important to the transportation industry where weight, cost, and operating temperature are major factors in the design of energy efficient vehicles. Aluminum alloys fill this gap economically but lack high-temperature mechanical performance. Alloying aluminum with cerium creates a highly castable alloy, compatible with traditional aluminum alloy additions, that exhibits dramatically improved high-temperature performance. These compositions display a room temperature ultimate tensile strength of 400 MPa and yield strength of 320 MPa, with 80% mechanical property retention at 240 °C. A mechanism is identified that addresses the mechanical property stability of the Al-alloys to at least 300more » °C and their microstructural stability to above 500 °C which may enable applications without the need for heat treatment. Lastly, neutron diffraction under load provides insight into the unusual mechanisms driving the mechanical strength.« less

Assessing fitness-for-duty and predicting performance with cognitive neurophysiological measures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Michael E.; Gevins, Alan

2005-05-01

Progress is described in developing a novel test of neurocognitive status for fitness-for-duty testing. The Sustained Attention & Memory (SAM) test combines neurophysiologic (EEG) measures of brain activation with performance measures during a psychometric test of sustained attention and working memory, and then gauges changes in neurocognitive status relative to an individual"s normative baseline. In studies of the effects of common psychoactive substances that can affect job performance, including sedating antihistamines, caffeine, alcohol, marijuana, and prescription medications, test sensitivity was greater for the combined neurophysiological and performance measures than for task performance measures by themselves. The neurocognitive effects of overnight sleep deprivation were quite evident, and such effects predicted subsequent performance impairment on a flight simulator task. Sensitivity to diurnal circadian variations was also demonstrated. With further refinement and independent validation, the SAM Test may prove useful for assessing readiness-to-perform in high-asset personnel working in demanding, high risk situations.

Targeted proteomics reveals strain-specific changes in the mouse insulin and central metabolic pathways after a sustained high-fat diet.

PubMed

Sabidó, Eduard; Wu, Yibo; Bautista, Lucia; Porstmann, Thomas; Chang, Ching-Yun; Vitek, Olga; Stoffel, Markus; Aebersold, Ruedi

2013-07-16

The metabolic syndrome is a collection of risk factors including obesity, insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis, which occur together and increase the risk of diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. In spite of intense research, the complex etiology of insulin resistance and its association with the accumulation of triacylglycerides in the liver and with hepatic steatosis remains not completely understood. Here, we performed quantitative measurements of 144 proteins involved in the insulin-signaling pathway and central metabolism in liver homogenates of two genetically well-defined mouse strains C57BL/6J and 129Sv that were subjected to a sustained high-fat diet. We used targeted mass spectrometry by selected reaction monitoring (SRM) to generate accurate and reproducible quantitation of the targeted proteins across 36 different samples (12 conditions and 3 biological replicates), generating one of the largest quantitative targeted proteomics data sets in mammalian tissues. Our results revealed rapid response to high-fat diet that diverged early in the feeding regimen, and evidenced a response to high-fat diet dominated by the activation of peroxisomal β-oxidation in C57BL/6J and by lipogenesis in 129Sv mice.

Production of isometric forces during sustained acceleration.

PubMed

Sand, D P; Girgenrath, M; Bock, O; Pongratz, H

2003-06-01

The operation of high-performance aircraft requires pilots to apply finely graded forces on controls. Since they are often exposed to high levels of acceleration in flight, we investigated to what extent this ability is degraded in such an environment. Twelve healthy non-pilot volunteers were seated in the gondola of a centrifuge and their performance was tested at normal gravity (1 G) and while exposed to sustained forces of 1.5 G and 3 G oriented from head to foot (+Gz). Using an isometric joystick, they attempted to produce force vectors with specific lengths and directions commanded in random order by a visual display. Acceleration had substantial effects on the magnitude of produced force. Compared with 1 G, maximum produced force was about 2 N higher at 1.5 G and about 10 N higher at 3 G. The size of this effect was constant across the different magnitudes, but varied with the direction of the prescribed force. Acceleration degrades control of force production. This finding may indicate that the motor system misinterprets the unusual gravitoinertial environment and/or that proprioceptive feedback is degraded due to increased muscle tone. The production of excessive isometric force could affect the safe operation of high-performance aircraft.

[Cost-effective analysis of rotation from sustained-release morphine tablet to transdermal fentanyl of matrix type or sustained-release oxycodone tablet].

PubMed

Ise, Yuya; Wako, Tetsuya; Miura, Yoshihiko; Katayama, Shirou; Shimizu, Hisanori