Simulation of Water Environmental Capacity and Pollution Load Reduction Using QUAL2K for Water Environmental Management

PubMed Central

Zhang, Ruibin; Qian, Xin; Yuan, Xingcheng; Ye, Rui; Xia, Bisheng; Wang, Yulei

2012-01-01

In recent years, water quality degradation associated with rapid socio-economic development in the Taihu Lake Basin, China, has attracted increasing attention from both the public and the Chinese government. The primary sources of pollution in Taihu Lake are its inflow rivers and their tributaries. Effective water environmental management strategies need to be implemented in these rivers to improve the water quality of Taihu Lake, and to ensure sustainable development in the region. The aim of this study was to provide a basis for water environmental management decision-making. In this study, the QUAL2K model for river and stream water quality was applied to predict the water quality and environmental capacity of the Hongqi River, which is a polluted tributary in the Taihu Lake Basin. The model parameters were calibrated by trial and error until the simulated results agreed well with the observed data. The calibrated QUAL2K model was used to calculate the water environmental capacity of the Hongqi River, and the water environmental capacities of CODCr NH3-N, TN, and TP were 17.51 t, 1.52 t, 2.74 t and 0.37 t, respectively. The results showed that the NH3-N, TN, and TP pollution loads of the studied river need to be reduced by 50.96%, 44.11%, and 22.92%, respectively to satisfy the water quality objectives. Thus, additional water pollution control measures are needed to control and reduce the pollution loads in the Hongqi River watershed. The method applied in this study should provide a basis for water environmental management decision-making. PMID:23222206

NARSTO PAC2001 GVRD CAPMON AIR QUAL DATA

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2018-04-09

NARSTO PAC2001 GVRD CAPMON AIR QUAL DATA Project Title:  NARSTO Discipline:  ... Order:   E arthdata Search Parameters:  Air Temperature Humidity Upper Level Winds Ozone Aerosol Particle ... Data:  Spatial Coverage: Canada Pacific 2001 Air Quality Study SCAR-B Block:  SCAR-B ...

Modeling the Hydrodynamics and Water Quality of the Lower Minnesota River Using CE-QUAL-W2: A Report on the Development, Calibration, Verification, and Application of the Model

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-05-01

V3.6, allows P sorption to suspended particles and settling but does not support desorption (Cole and Wells 2008).  The OM groups in CE-QUAL-W2...model developers. Sediment transport, sediment diagenesis, phosphorus sorption , and variable algal stoichiometry were noted as potentially useful...ing Chemicals) and PPCPs ( Pharmaceut ical and Person al care Products) in receiv ing water ecosystems. He is coordinat ing this inte rnat ional

A Multiple-Item Scale for Assessing E-Government Service Quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papadomichelaki, Xenia; Mentzas, Gregoris

A critical element in the evolution of e-governmental services is the development of sites that better serve the citizens’ needs. To deliver superior service quality, we must first understand how citizens perceive and evaluate online citizen service. This involves defining what e-government service quality is, identifying its underlying dimensions, and determining how it can be conceptualized and measured. In this article we conceptualise an e-government service quality model (e-GovQual) and then we develop, refine, validate, confirm and test a multiple-item scale for measuring e-government service quality for public administration sites where citizens seek either information or services.

LibQUAL+[TM]: A Methodological Suite; Reliability and Structure of LibQUAL+[TM] Scores: Measuring Perceived Library Service Quality; Score Norms for Improving Library Service Quality: A LibQUAL+[TM] Study; ARL Index and Other Validity Correlates of LibQUAL+[TM] Scores.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heath, Fred M.; Thompson, Bruce; Cook, Colleen; Thompson, Russel L.; Kyrillidou, Martha

2002-01-01

Includes four articles that discuss LibQUAL+[TM], a collaborative effort of the Association of Research Libraries and Texas A&M University responding to the need for greater accountability in measuring the delivery of library services to research library users. Discusses the reliability of LibQUAL+[TM] scores in measuring perceived library…

Simulation of dissolved oxygen and biochemical oxygen demand, Plantation Canal, Broward County, Florida with an evaluation of the QUAL-I model for use in south Florida

USGS Publications Warehouse

Russo, Thomas N.; McQuivey, Raul S.

1975-01-01

A mathematical model; QUAL-I, developed by the Texas Water Development Board, was evaluated as a management tool in predicting the spatial and temporal distribution of dissolved oxygen and biochemical oxygen demand in Plantation Canal. Predictions based on the QUAL-I model, which was verified only against midday summer-flow conditions, showed that improvement of quality of inflows from sewage treatment plants and use of at least 130 cubic feet per second of dilution water would improve water quality in the canal significantly. The model was not fully amenable to use on Plantation Canal because: (1) it did not consider photosynthetic production, nitrification, and benthic oxygen demand as sources and sinks of oxygen; (2) the model assumptions of complete mixing, transport, and steady state were not met; and (3) the data base was inadequate because it consisted of only one set of data for each case. However, it was felt that meaningful results could be obtained for some sets of conditions. (Woodard-USGS)

Development of CE-QUAL-W2 models for the Middle Fork Willamette and South Santiam Rivers, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buccola, Norman L.; Stonewall, Adam J.; Sullivan, Annett B.; Kim, Yoonhee; Rounds, Stewart A.

2013-01-01

Hydrodynamic (CE-QUAL-W2) models of Hills Creek Lake (HCL), Lookout Point Lake (LOP), and Dexter Lake (DEX) on the Middle Fork Willamette River (MFWR), and models of Green Peter Lake and Foster Lake on the South Santiam River systems in western Oregon were updated and recalibrated for a wide range of flow and meteorological conditions. These CE-QUAL-W2 models originally were developed by West Consultants, Inc., for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This study by the U.S. Geological Survey included a reassessment of the models’ calibration in more recent years—2002, 2006, 2008, and 2011—categorized respectively as low, normal, high, and extremely high flow calendar years. These years incorporated current dam-operation practices and more available data than the time period used in the original calibration. Modeled water temperatures downstream of both HCL and LOP-DEX on the MFWR were within an average of 0.68 degree Celsius (°C) of measured values; modeled temperatures downstream of Foster Dam on the South Santiam River were within an average of 0.65°C of measured values. A new CE-QUAL-W2 model was developed and calibrated for the riverine MFWR reach between Hills Creek Dam and the head of LOP, allowing an evaluation of the flow and temperature conditions in the entire MFWR system from HCL to Dexter Dam. The complex bathymetry and long residence time of HCL, combined with the relatively deep location of the power and regulating outlet structures at Hills Creek Dam, led to a HCL model that was highly sensitive to several outlet and geometric parameters related to dam structures (STR TOP, STR BOT, STR WIDTH). Release temperatures from HCL were important and often persisted downstream as they were incorporated in the MFWR model and the LOP-DEX model (downstream of MFWR). The models tended to underpredict the measured temperature of water releases from Dexter Dam during the late-September-through-December drawdown period in 2002, and again (to a lesser extent) in

Better Insight Into Water Resources Management With Integrated Hydrodynamic And Water Quality Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Debele, B.; Srinivasan, R.; Parlange, J.

2004-12-01

Models have long been used in water resources management to guide decision making and improve understanding of the system. Numerous models of different scales -spatial and temporal - are available. Yet, very few models manage to bridge simulations of hydrological and water quality parameters from both upland watershed and riverine system. Most water quality models, such as QUAL2E and EPD-RIV1 concentrate on the riverine system while CE-QUAL-W2 and WASP models focus on larger waterbodies, such as lakes and reservoirs. On the other hand, the original SWAT model, HSPF and other upland watershed hydrological models simulate agricultural (diffuse) pollution sources with limited number of processes incorporated to handle point source pollutions that emanate from industrial sectors. Such limitations, which are common in most hydrodynamic and water quality models undermine better understanding that otherwise could be uncovered by employing integrated hydrological and water quality models for both upland watershed and riverine system. The SWAT model is a well documented and verified hydrological and water quality model that has been developed to simulate the effects of various management scenarios on the health of the environment in terms of water quantity and quality. Recently, the SWAT model has been extended to include the simulation of hydrodynamic and water quality parameters in the river system. The extended SWAT model (ESWAT) has been further extended to run using diurnally varying (hourly) weather data and produce outputs at hourly timescales. This and other improvements in the ESWAT model have been documented in the current work. Besides, the results from two case studies in Texas will be reported.

CE-QUAL-W2 Modeling of Head-of-Reservoir Conditions at Shasta Reservoir, California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clancey, K. M.; Saito, L.; Svoboda, C.; Bender, M. D.; Hannon, J.

2014-12-01

Restoration of Chinook salmon and steelhead is a priority in the Sacramento River Basin since they were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1989 and 1998, respectively. Construction of Shasta Dam and Reservoir obstructed fish migration, resulting in severe population declines. Efforts have been undertaken to restore the fisheries, including evaluation of opportunities for reintroducing Chinook salmon upstream of the dam and providing juvenile fish passage downstream past Shasta Dam. Shasta Reservoir and the Sacramento River and McCloud River tributaries have been modeled with CE-QUAL-W2 (W2) to assess hydrodynamic and temperature conditions with and without surface curtains to be deployed in the tributaries. Expected head-of-reservoir tributary conditions of temperature and water depth are being simulated under dry, median and wet year conditions. Model output is analyzed during months of downstream migration of fish from upstream Sacramento and McCloud River tributaries. W2 will be used to determine presence of favorable conditions for juvenile rearing with proposed surface temperature curtains. Evaluation of favorable conditions for fish includes assessment of water temperature, velocities, and depth. Preliminary results for head-of-reservoir conditions and the influence of temperature curtains modeled with W2 will be presented. Study findings may assist in formulation of juvenile fish passage alternatives for Shasta Lake.

COMMUNITY MULTISCALE AIR QUALITY ( CMAQ ) MODEL - QUALITY ASSURANCE AND VERSION CONTROL

EPA Science Inventory

This presentation will be given to the EPA Exposure Modeling Workgroup on January 24, 2006. The quality assurance and version control procedures for the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) Model are presented. A brief background of CMAQ is given, then issues related to qual...

The initial development of the WebMedQual scale: domain assessment of the construct of quality of health web sites.

PubMed

Provost, Mélanie; Koompalum, Dayin; Dong, Diane; Martin, Bradley C

2006-01-01

To develop a comprehensive instrument assessing quality of health-related web sites. Phase I consisted of a literature review to identify constructs thought to indicate web site quality and to identify items. During content analysis, duplicate items were eliminated and items that were not clear, meaningful, or measurable were reworded or removed. Some items were generated by the authors. Phase II: a panel consisting of six healthcare and MIS reviewers was convened to assess each item for its relevance and importance to the construct and to assess item clarity and measurement feasibility. Three hundred and eighty-four items were generated from 26 sources. The initial content analysis reduced the scale to 104 items. Four of the six expert reviewers responded; high concordance on the relevance, importance and measurement feasibility of each item was observed: 3 out of 4, or all raters agreed on 76-85% of items. Based on the panel ratings, 9 items were removed, 3 added, and 10 revised. The WebMedQual consists of 8 categories, 8 sub-categories, 95 items and 3 supplemental items to assess web site quality. The constructs are: content (19 items), authority of source (18 items), design (19 items), accessibility and availability (6 items), links (4 items), user support (9 items), confidentiality and privacy (17 items), e-commerce (6 items). The "WebMedQual" represents a first step toward a comprehensive and standard quality assessment of health web sites. This scale will allow relatively easy assessment of quality with possible numeric scoring.

Improving Library Service Quality to Graduate Students: LibQual+[TM] Survey Results in a Practical Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jankowska, Maria Anna; Hertel, Karen; Young, Nancy J.

2006-01-01

The LibQUAL+[TM] survey was conducted to determine user satisfaction and expectations concerning library service quality. The results of the "22 items and a box" constituted a rich source of information for the University of Idaho (UI) Library's strategic planning process. Focusing on graduate students, this study used three…

Psychometric Properties of Scores from the Web-based LibQUAL+ Study of Perceptions of Library Service Quality.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cook, Colleen; Thompson, Bruce

2001-01-01

Investigated the psychometric integrity of scores from the LibQUAL+ evaluation of perceived library service quality conducted by ARL (Association of Research Libraries). Examines score structure, score reliability, score correlation and concurrent validity coefficients, scale means, and scale standardized norms, and considers the potential of the…

Does LibQUAL+[TM] Account for Student Loyalty to a University College Library?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Helgesen, Oyvind; Nesset, Erik

2011-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to find out whether LibQUAL+[TM]can account for student loyalty to the library of an institution of higher education. LibQUAL+[TM] is a marketing tool that is used to measure perceived service quality of libraries, and the present analysis aims at validating this service quality instrument within a more…

QualComp: a new lossy compressor for quality scores based on rate distortion theory

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Next Generation Sequencing technologies have revolutionized many fields in biology by reducing the time and cost required for sequencing. As a result, large amounts of sequencing data are being generated. A typical sequencing data file may occupy tens or even hundreds of gigabytes of disk space, prohibitively large for many users. This data consists of both the nucleotide sequences and per-base quality scores that indicate the level of confidence in the readout of these sequences. Quality scores account for about half of the required disk space in the commonly used FASTQ format (before compression), and therefore the compression of the quality scores can significantly reduce storage requirements and speed up analysis and transmission of sequencing data. Results In this paper, we present a new scheme for the lossy compression of the quality scores, to address the problem of storage. Our framework allows the user to specify the rate (bits per quality score) prior to compression, independent of the data to be compressed. Our algorithm can work at any rate, unlike other lossy compression algorithms. We envisage our algorithm as being part of a more general compression scheme that works with the entire FASTQ file. Numerical experiments show that we can achieve a better mean squared error (MSE) for small rates (bits per quality score) than other lossy compression schemes. For the organism PhiX, whose assembled genome is known and assumed to be correct, we show that it is possible to achieve a significant reduction in size with little compromise in performance on downstream applications (e.g., alignment). Conclusions QualComp is an open source software package, written in C and freely available for download at https://sourceforge.net/projects/qualcomp. PMID:23758828

Questioning LibQUAL+[TM]: Expanding Its Assessment of Academic Library Effectiveness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edgar, William B.

2006-01-01

This article examines LibQUAL+[TM]'s instrument, fundamental assumption, and research approach and proposes a functional/technical model of academic library effectiveness. This expanded view of library effectiveness complements LibQUAL+[TM], emphasizing it to be dependent upon users' experience of service delivery, as LibQUAL+[TM] recognizes.…

Modeling discharge, temperature, and water quality in the Tualatin River, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rounds, Stewart A.; Wood, Tamara M.; Lynch, Dennis D.

1999-01-01

The discharge, water temperature, and water quality of the Tualatin River in northwestern Oregon was simulated with CE-QUAL-W2, a two-dimensional, laterally averaged model developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The model was calibrated for May through October periods of 1991, 1992, and 1993. Nine hypothetical scenarios were tested with the model to provide insight for river managers and regulators.

Concurrent Validity of LibQUAL+[TM] Scores: What Do LibQUAL+[TM] Scores Measure?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Bruce; Cook, Colleen; Kyrillidou, Martha

2005-01-01

The present study investigated the validity of LibQUAL+[TM] scores, and specifically how total and subscale LibQUAL+[TM] scores are associated with self-reported, library-related satisfaction and outcomes scores. Participants included 88,664 students and faculty who completed the American English (n[AE] = 69,494) or the British English (n[BE] =…

TransQUAL Online User's Guide: Improving Student Transitions to Life after School. Version 3.0

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brewer, David

2006-01-01

TransQUAL Online is designed to assist school districts collaborate with others and continuously improve their transition practices for youth. TransQUAL incorporates New York State Education Department Transition Quality Indicators (TQI), based on the work of Paula Kolher from Western Michigan University. The TQI assesses program structure,…

e-GovQual: A Multiple-Item Scale for Assessing e-Government Service Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papadomichelaki, Xenia; Mentzas, Gregoris

2012-01-01

A critical element in the evolution of governmental services through the internet is the development of sites that better serve the citizens' needs. To deliver superior service quality, we must first understand how citizens perceive and evaluate online. Citizen assessment is built on defining quality, identifying underlying dimensions, and…

CE-QUAL-RIV1: A Dynamic, One-Dimensional (Longitudinal) Water Quality Model for Streams. User’s Manual

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-11-01

Applying the chain rule: dB dB dH dB 1 (180) 95 It remains to calculate dBi/ dHi and dB i+1/dHi+ 1 . Now as calculation pro - ceeds from node to node...simulation models can be powerful tools for studying these issues. However, to be useful, the water quality model must be properly vuited for the problem...0 GN_1(QNANQN _1AN_ ) = 0 GN(QN,AN) = 0 (47) 44. The e. l solution of these nobi -e-.a. equations c .-n proceed in two ways. First the nonlinear terms

Scaling Users' Perceptions of Library Service Quality Using Item Response Theory: A LibQUAL+ [TM] Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wei, Youhua; Thompson, Bruce; Cook, C. Colleen

2005-01-01

LibQUAL+[TM] data to date have not been subjected to the modern measurement theory called polytomous item response theory (IRT). The data interpreted here were collected from 42,090 participants who completed the "American English" version of the 22 core LibQUAL+[TM] items, and 12,552 participants from Australia and Europe who…

Implementing Quality Criteria in Designing and Conducting a Sequential Quan [right arrow] Qual Mixed Methods Study of Student Engagement with Learning Applied Research Methods Online

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ivankova, Nataliya V.

2014-01-01

In spite of recent methodological developments related to quality assurance in mixed methods research, practical examples of how to implement quality criteria in designing and conducting sequential QUAN [right arrow] QUAL mixed methods studies to ensure the process is systematic and rigorous remain scarce. This article discusses a three-step…

Remote sensing of GHG over Paris megacity and Orléans forest using ground-based QualAir FTS and TCCON-Orléans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Te, Y.; Jeseck, P.; Da Costa, J.; Deutscher, N. M.; Warneke, T.; Notholt, J.

2012-04-01

In a growing world with more than 7 billion inhabitants and big emerging countries such as China, Brazil and India, emissions of anthropogenic pollutants are increasing continuously. Monitoring and control of atmospheric pollutants in megacities have become a major challenge for scientists and public health authorities in environmental research area. The QualAir platform at University Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), is an innovating experimental research platform dedicated to survey greenhouse gases (GHGs) and urban air quality. As one of the major instruments of the QualAir platform, the ground-based Fourier transform spectrometer (QualAir FTS, IFS 125HR model) analyses the composition of the urban atmosphere of Paris, which is the third European megacity. The continuous monitoring of atmospheric pollutants is essential to improve the understanding of urban air pollution processes. Associated with a sun-tracker, the QualAir remote sensing FTS operates in solar infrared absorption and enables to monitor many trace gases, and to follow up their variability in the Ile-de-France region. A description of the QualAir FTS will be given. Concentrations of atmospheric GHG, especially CO2 and CH4, are retrieved by the radiative transfer model PROFFIT. Located in the centre of Paris, the QualAir FTS can provide new and complementary urban measurements as compared to unpolluted ground-based stations of existing networks (NDACC and TCCON). The work made by LPMAA to join the TCCON network will also be presented. TCCON-Orléans is a ground-based FTS of the TCCON network located in the forest of Orléans (100 km south of Paris). Preliminary comparisons of GHGs measurements from both sites will be shown. Such ground-based information will help to better characterize regional GHGs, especially regarding anthropogenic emissions and trends.

Air quality assessment in Portugal and the special case of the Tâmega e Sousa region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Almeida, Fátima; Correia, Aldina; Silva, Eliana Costa e.

2017-06-01

Air pollution is a major environmental problem which can present a significant risk for human health. This paper, presents the evaluation of the air quality in several region of Portugal. Special focus is given to the region of Tâmega e Sousa where ESTG/P. Porto is located. ANOVA and MANOVA techniques are applied to study the differences between air quality in the period between 2009 and 2012 in several regions of Portugal. The data includes altitude, area, expenditure of environmental measures on protection of air quality and climate, expenditure on protection of biodiversity and landscape, burned area, number of forest fires, extractive and manufacturing industries, per municipality and per year. Using information gathered by the project QualAr about concentrations of the pollutants: CO, NO2, O3, PM10 and SO2, an air quality indicator with five levels is consider. The results point to significant differences in the air quality for the regions and the years considered. Additionally, for identifying the factors that influence the air quality in 2012 a multivariate regression model was used. The results show statistical evidence that air quality in 2011, number of forest fires in 2012 and 2010, number of manufacturing industries per km2 in 2012 and number of forest fires in 2010 are the variables that present a larger contribution to the quality of the air in 2012.

Faculty Perception of Information Control Using LibQUAL+[TM] Indicators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kayongo, Jessica; Jones, Sherri

2008-01-01

The LibQUAL+[TM] survey was used in 2006 to assess library service quality at the University of Notre Dame. While results showed that the Libraries were meeting users' expectations for service in most areas, a closer examination of the data revealed dissatisfaction from a subgroup of users in one particular dimension of library services. This…

Web 2.0--E-Learning 2.0--Quality 2.0? Quality for New Learning Cultures

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ehlers, Ulf Daniel

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the changes taking place when learning moves from a transmissive learning model to a collaborative and reflective learning model and proposes consequences for quality development. Design/methodology/approach: The paper summarises relevant research in the field of e-learning to outline the…

E-Learning Quality Assurance: A Process-Oriented Lifecycle Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdous, M'hammed

2009-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose a process-oriented lifecycle model for ensuring quality in e-learning development and delivery. As a dynamic and iterative process, quality assurance (QA) is intertwined with the e-learning development process. Design/methodology/approach: After reviewing the existing literature, particularly…

[Watershed water environment pollution models and their applications: a review].

PubMed

Zhu, Yao; Liang, Zhi-Wei; Li, Wei; Yang, Yi; Yang, Mu-Yi; Mao, Wei; Xu, Han-Li; Wu, Wei-Xiang

2013-10-01

Watershed water environment pollution model is the important tool for studying watershed environmental problems. Through the quantitative description of the complicated pollution processes of whole watershed system and its parts, the model can identify the main sources and migration pathways of pollutants, estimate the pollutant loadings, and evaluate their impacts on water environment, providing a basis for watershed planning and management. This paper reviewed the watershed water environment models widely applied at home and abroad, with the focuses on the models of pollutants loading (GWLF and PLOAD), water quality of received water bodies (QUAL2E and WASP), and the watershed models integrated pollutant loadings and water quality (HSPF, SWAT, AGNPS, AnnAGNPS, and SWMM), and introduced the structures, principles, and main characteristics as well as the limitations in practical applications of these models. The other models of water quality (CE-QUAL-W2, EFDC, and AQUATOX) and watershed models (GLEAMS and MIKE SHE) were also briefly introduced. Through the case analysis on the applications of single model and integrated models, the development trend and application prospect of the watershed water environment pollution models were discussed.

Modeling water quality, temperature, and flow in Link River, south-central Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sullivan, Annett B.; Rounds, Stewart A.

2016-09-09

The 2.1-km (1.3-mi) Link River connects Upper Klamath Lake to the Klamath River in south-central Oregon. A CE-QUAL-W2 flow and water-quality model of Link River was developed to provide a connection between an existing model of the upper Klamath River and any existing or future models of Upper Klamath Lake. Water-quality sampling at six locations in Link River was done during 2013–15 to support model development and to provide a better understanding of instream biogeochemical processes. The short reach and high velocities in Link River resulted in fast travel times and limited water-quality transformations, except for dissolved oxygen. Reaeration through the reach, especially at the falls in Link River, was particularly important in moderating dissolved oxygen concentrations that at times entered the reach at Link River Dam with marked supersaturation or subsaturation. This reaeration resulted in concentrations closer to saturation downstream at the mouth of Link River.

Estimation of contribution ratios of pollutant sources to a specific section based on an enhanced water quality model.

PubMed

Cao, Bibo; Li, Chuan; Liu, Yan; Zhao, Yue; Sha, Jian; Wang, Yuqiu

2015-05-01

Because water quality monitoring sections or sites could reflect the water quality status of rivers, surface water quality management based on water quality monitoring sections or sites would be effective. For the purpose of improving water quality of rivers, quantifying the contribution ratios of pollutant resources to a specific section is necessary. Because physical and chemical processes of nutrient pollutants are complex in water bodies, it is difficult to quantitatively compute the contribution ratios. However, water quality models have proved to be effective tools to estimate surface water quality. In this project, an enhanced QUAL2Kw model with an added module was applied to the Xin'anjiang Watershed, to obtain water quality information along the river and to assess the contribution ratios of each pollutant source to a certain section (the Jiekou state-controlled section). Model validation indicated that the results were reliable. Then, contribution ratios were analyzed through the added module. Results show that among the pollutant sources, the Lianjiang tributary contributes the largest part of total nitrogen (50.43%), total phosphorus (45.60%), ammonia nitrogen (32.90%), nitrate (nitrite + nitrate) nitrogen (47.73%), and organic nitrogen (37.87%). Furthermore, contribution ratios in different reaches varied along the river. Compared with pollutant loads ratios of different sources in the watershed, an analysis of contribution ratios of pollutant sources for each specific section, which takes the localized chemical and physical processes into consideration, was more suitable for local-regional water quality management. In summary, this method of analyzing the contribution ratios of pollutant sources to a specific section based on the QUAL2Kw model was found to support the improvement of the local environment.

Identification of water quality degradation hotspots in developing countries by applying large scale water quality modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malsy, Marcus; Reder, Klara; Flörke, Martina

2014-05-01

Decreasing water quality is one of the main global issues which poses risks to food security, economy, and public health and is consequently crucial for ensuring environmental sustainability. During the last decades access to clean drinking water increased, but 2.5 billion people still do not have access to basic sanitation, especially in Africa and parts of Asia. In this context not only connection to sewage system is of high importance, but also treatment, as an increasing connection rate will lead to higher loadings and therefore higher pressure on water resources. Furthermore, poor people in developing countries use local surface waters for daily activities, e.g. bathing and washing. It is thus clear that water utilization and water sewerage are indispensable connected. In this study, large scale water quality modelling is used to point out hotspots of water pollution to get an insight on potential environmental impacts, in particular, in regions with a low observation density and data gaps in measured water quality parameters. We applied the global water quality model WorldQual to calculate biological oxygen demand (BOD) loadings from point and diffuse sources, as well as in-stream concentrations. Regional focus in this study is on developing countries i.e. Africa, Asia, and South America, as they are most affected by water pollution. Hereby, model runs were conducted for the year 2010 to draw a picture of recent status of surface waters quality and to figure out hotspots and main causes of pollution. First results show that hotspots mainly occur in highly agglomerated regions where population density is high. Large urban areas are initially loading hotspots and pollution prevention and control become increasingly important as point sources are subject to connection rates and treatment levels. Furthermore, river discharge plays a crucial role due to dilution potential, especially in terms of seasonal variability. Highly varying shares of BOD sources across

LibQUAL+ and the Community College Library

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Wendell G.

2007-01-01

Community colleges can use market surveys to better understand the delivery of library services from the standpoint of the end user. One such survey, LibQUAL+, measures library service in three dimensions: 1. Affect of Service (patron interaction with library staff); 2. Information Control (availability of needed resources and ease of accessing);…

Quality specifications in postgraduate medical e-learning: an integrative literature review leading to a postgraduate medical e-learning model.

PubMed

De Leeuw, R A; Westerman, Michiel; Nelson, E; Ket, J C F; Scheele, F

2016-07-08

E-learning is driving major shifts in medical education. Prioritizing learning theories and quality models improves the success of e-learning programs. Although many e-learning quality standards are available, few are focused on postgraduate medical education. We conducted an integrative review of the current postgraduate medical e-learning literature to identify quality specifications. The literature was thematically organized into a working model. Unique quality specifications (n = 72) were consolidated and re-organized into a six-domain model that we called the Postgraduate Medical E-learning Model (Postgraduate ME Model). This model was partially based on the ISO-19796 standard, and drew on cognitive load multimedia principles. The domains of the model are preparation, software design and system specifications, communication, content, assessment, and maintenance. This review clarified the current state of postgraduate medical e-learning standards and specifications. It also synthesized these specifications into a single working model. To validate our findings, the next-steps include testing the Postgraduate ME Model in controlled e-learning settings.

Water Quality Conditions Monitored at the Corps’ Fort Peck Project in Montana during the 3-Year Period 2004 through 2006

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-01

standards. As such, the reservoir is to be maintained suitable for drinking, culinary , and food processing purposes, after conventional treatment; bathing...to the Montana/North Dakota state line. Both B-2 and B-3 waters are to be maintained suitable for drinking, culinary and food processing purposes...QUAL-W2 is a “state-of-the- art ” water quality model that can greatly facilitate addressing reservoir water quality management issues. CE-QUAL-W2 is a

A Quality Framework for Continuous Improvement of e-Learning: The e-Learning Maturity Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshall, Stephen

2010-01-01

The E-Learning Maturity Model (eMM) is a quality improvement framework designed to help institutional leaders assess their institution's e-learning maturity. This paper reviews the eMM, drawing on examples of assessments conducted in New Zealand, Australia, the UK and the USA to show how it helps institutional leaders assess and compare their…

Using Localized Survey Items to Augment Standardized Benchmarking Measures: A LibQUAL+[TM] Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Bruce; Cook, Colleen; Kyrillidou, Martha

2006-01-01

The LibQUAL+[TM] protocol solicits open-ended comments from users with regard to library service quality, gathers data on 22 core items, and, at the option of individual libraries, also garners ratings on five items drawn from a pool of more than 100 choices selected by libraries. In this article, the relationship of scores on these locally…

Enhancements to the Branched Lagrangian Transport Modeling System

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jobson, Harvey E.

1997-01-01

The Branched Lagrangian Transport Model (BLTM) has received wide use within the U.S. Geological Survey over the past 10 years. This report documents the enhancements and modifications that have been made to this modeling system since it was first introduced. The programs in the modeling system are arranged into five levels?programs to generate time-series of meteorological data (EQULTMP, SOLAR), programs to process time-series data (INTRP, MRG), programs to build input files for transport model (BBLTM, BQUAL2E), the model with defined reaction kinetics (BLTM, QUAL2E), and post processor plotting programs (CTPLT, CXPLT). An example application is presented to illustrate how the modeling system can be used to simulate 10 water-quality constituents in the Chattahoochee River below Atlanta, Georgia.

Refinement, Validation and Benchmarking of a Model for E-Government Service Quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magoutas, Babis; Mentzas, Gregoris

This paper presents the refinement and validation of a model for Quality of e-Government Services (QeGS). We built upon our previous work where a conceptualized model was identified and put focus on the confirmatory phase of the model development process, in order to come up with a valid and reliable QeGS model. The validated model, which was benchmarked with very positive results with similar models found in the literature, can be used for measuring the QeGS in a reliable and valid manner. This will form the basis for a continuous quality improvement process, unleashing the full potential of e-government services for both citizens and public administrations.

Quality Assurance in E-Learning: PDPP Evaluation Model and Its Application

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Weiyuan; Cheng, Y. L.

2012-01-01

E-learning has become an increasingly important teaching and learning mode in educational institutions and corporate training. The evaluation of e-learning, however, is essential for the quality assurance of e-learning courses. This paper constructs a four-phase evaluation model for e-learning courses, which includes planning, development,…

Macrophyte and pH buffering updates to the Klamath River water-quality model upstream of Keno Dam, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sullivan, Annett B.; Rounds, Stewart A.; Asbill-Case, Jessica R.; Deas, Michael L.

2013-01-01

A hydrodynamic, water temperature, and water-quality model of the Link River to Keno Dam reach of the upper Klamath River was updated to account for macrophytes and enhanced pH buffering from dissolved organic matter, ammonia, and orthophosphorus. Macrophytes had been observed in this reach by field personnel, so macrophyte field data were collected in summer and fall (June-October) 2011 to provide a dataset to guide the inclusion of macrophytes in the model. Three types of macrophytes were most common: pondweed (Potamogeton species), coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum), and common waterweed (Elodea canadensis). Pondweed was found throughout the Link River to Keno Dam reach in early summer with densities declining by mid-summer and fall. Coontail and common waterweed were more common in the lower reach near Keno Dam and were at highest density in summer. All species were most dense in shallow water (less than 2 meters deep) near shore. The highest estimated dry weight biomass for any sample during the study was 202 grams per square meter for coontail in August. Guided by field results, three macrophyte groups were incorporated into the CE-QUAL-W2 model for calendar years 2006-09. The CE-QUAL-W2 model code was adjusted to allow the user to initialize macrophyte populations spatially across the model grid. The default CE-QUAL-W2 model includes pH buffering by carbonates, but does not include pH buffering by organic matter, ammonia, or orthophosphorus. These three constituents, especially dissolved organic matter, are present in the upper Klamath River at concentrations that provide substantial pH buffering capacity. In this study, CE-QUAL-W2 was updated to include this enhanced buffering capacity in the simulation of pH. Acid dissociation constants for ammonium and phosphoric acid were taken from the literature. For dissolved organic matter, the number of organic acid groups and each group's acid dissociation constant (Ka) and site density (moles of sites per mole of

CO Seasonal Variability and Trend over Paris Megacity Using Ground-Based QualAir FTS and Satellite IASI-MetOp Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Te, Yao; Jeseck, Pascal; Hadji-Lazaro, Juliette

2012-11-01

In a growing world with more than 7 billion inhabitants and big emerging countries such as China, Brazil and India, emissions of anthropogenic pollutants are increasing continuously. Monitoring and control of atmospheric pollutants in megacities have become a major challenge for scientists and public health authorities in environmental research area. The QualAir platform at University Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), is an innovating experimental research platform dedicated to survey urban atmospheric pollution and air quality. A Bruker Optics IFS 125HR Fourier transform spectrometer belonged to the Laboratoire de Physique Moléculaire pour l'Atmosphère et l'Astrophysique (LPMAA), was adapted for ground-based atmospheric measurements. As one of the major instruments of the QualAir platform, this ground-based Fourier transform spectrometer (QualAir FTS) analyses the composition of the urban atmosphere of Paris, which is the third largest European megacity. The continuous monitoring of atmospheric pollutants is essential to improve the understanding of urban air pollution processes. Associated with a sun-tracker, the QualAir remote sensing FTS operates in solar infrared absorption and enables to monitor many trace gases, and to follow up their variability in the Ile-de-France region. Concentrations of atmospheric pollutants are retrieved by the radiative transfer model PROFFIT. These ground-based remote sensing measurements are compared to ground in-situ measurements and to satellite data from IASI-MetOp (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer). The remote sensing total column of the carbon monoxide (CO) obtained from January 2009 to June 2012, has a seasonal variability with a maximum in April and a minimum in October. While, after 2008, the mean CO level is quite stable (no significant decrease as before 2008).

A framework for modeling contaminant impacts on reservoir water quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeznach, Lillian C.; Jones, Christina; Matthews, Thomas; Tobiason, John E.; Ahlfeld, David P.

2016-06-01

This study presents a framework for using hydrodynamic and water quality models to understand the fate and transport of potential contaminants in a reservoir and to develop appropriate emergency response and remedial actions. In the event of an emergency situation, prior detailed modeling efforts and scenario evaluations allow for an understanding of contaminant plume behavior, including maximum concentrations that could occur at the drinking water intake and contaminant travel time to the intake. A case study assessment of the Wachusett Reservoir, a major drinking water supply for metropolitan Boston, MA, provides an example of an application of the framework and how hydrodynamic and water quality models can be used to quantitatively and scientifically guide management in response to varieties of contaminant scenarios. The model CE-QUAL-W2 was used to investigate the water quality impacts of several hypothetical contaminant scenarios, including hypothetical fecal coliform input from a sewage overflow as well as an accidental railway spill of ammonium nitrate. Scenarios investigated the impacts of decay rates, season, and inter-reservoir transfers on contaminant arrival times and concentrations at the drinking water intake. The modeling study highlights the importance of a rapid operational response by managers to contain a contaminant spill in order to minimize the mass of contaminant that enters the water column, based on modeled reservoir hydrodynamics. The development and use of hydrodynamic and water quality models for surface drinking water sources subject to the potential for contaminant entry can provide valuable guidance for making decisions about emergency response and remediation actions.

Modeling hydrodynamics, temperature and water quality in Henry Hagg Lake, Oregon, 2000-2003

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sullivan, Annette B.; Rounds, Stewart A.

2004-01-01

The two-dimensional model CE-QUAL-W2 was used to simulate hydrodynamics, temperature, and water quality in Henry Hagg Lake, Oregon, for the years 2000 through 2003. Input data included lake bathymetry, meteorologic conditions, tributary inflows, tributary temperature and water quality, and lake outflows. Calibrated constituents included lake hydrodynamics, water temperature, orthophosphate, total phosphorus, ammonia, algae, chlorophyll a, zooplankton, and dissolved oxygen. Other simulated constituents included nitrate, dissolved and particulate organic matter, dissolved solids, and suspended sediment. Two algal groups (blue-green algae, and all other algae) were included in the model to simulate the lakes algal communities. Measured lake stage data were used to calibrate the lakes water balance; calibration of water temperature and water quality relied upon vertical profile data taken in the deepest part of the lake near the dam. The model initially was calibrated with data from 200001 and tested with data from 200203. Sensitivity tests were performed to examine the response of the model to specific parameters and coefficients, including the light-extinction coefficient, wind speed, tributary inflows of phosphorus, nitrogen and organic matter, sediment oxygen demand, algal growth rates, and zooplankton feeding preference factors.

Hydropower Optimization Using Artificial Neural Network Surrogate Models of a High-Fidelity Hydrodynamics and Water Quality Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shaw, Amelia R.; Smith Sawyer, Heather; LeBoeuf, Eugene J.; McDonald, Mark P.; Hadjerioua, Boualem

2017-11-01

Hydropower operations optimization subject to environmental constraints is limited by challenges associated with dimensionality and spatial and temporal resolution. The need for high-fidelity hydrodynamic and water quality models within optimization schemes is driven by improved computational capabilities, increased requirements to meet specific points of compliance with greater resolution, and the need to optimize operations of not just single reservoirs but systems of reservoirs. This study describes an important advancement for computing hourly power generation schemes for a hydropower reservoir using high-fidelity models, surrogate modeling techniques, and optimization methods. The predictive power of the high-fidelity hydrodynamic and water quality model CE-QUAL-W2 is successfully emulated by an artificial neural network, then integrated into a genetic algorithm optimization approach to maximize hydropower generation subject to constraints on dam operations and water quality. This methodology is applied to a multipurpose reservoir near Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The model successfully reproduced high-fidelity reservoir information while enabling 6.8% and 6.6% increases in hydropower production value relative to actual operations for dissolved oxygen (DO) limits of 5 and 6 mg/L, respectively, while witnessing an expected decrease in power generation at more restrictive DO constraints. Exploration of simultaneous temperature and DO constraints revealed capability to address multiple water quality constraints at specified locations. The reduced computational requirements of the new modeling approach demonstrated an ability to provide decision support for reservoir operations scheduling while maintaining high-fidelity hydrodynamic and water quality information as part of the optimization decision support routines.

Hydropower Optimization Using Artificial Neural Network Surrogate Models of a High-Fidelity Hydrodynamics and Water Quality Model

DOE PAGES

Shaw, Amelia R.; Sawyer, Heather Smith; LeBoeuf, Eugene J.; ...

2017-10-24

Hydropower operations optimization subject to environmental constraints is limited by challenges associated with dimensionality and spatial and temporal resolution. The need for high-fidelity hydrodynamic and water quality models within optimization schemes is driven by improved computational capabilities, increased requirements to meet specific points of compliance with greater resolution, and the need to optimize operations of not just single reservoirs but systems of reservoirs. This study describes an important advancement for computing hourly power generation schemes for a hydropower reservoir using high-fidelity models, surrogate modeling techniques, and optimization methods. The predictive power of the high-fidelity hydrodynamic and water quality model CE-QUAL-W2more » is successfully emulated by an artificial neural network, then integrated into a genetic algorithm optimization approach to maximize hydropower generation subject to constraints on dam operations and water quality. This methodology is applied to a multipurpose reservoir near Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The model successfully reproduced high-fidelity reservoir information while enabling 6.8% and 6.6% increases in hydropower production value relative to actual operations for dissolved oxygen (DO) limits of 5 and 6 mg/L, respectively, while witnessing an expected decrease in power generation at more restrictive DO constraints. Exploration of simultaneous temperature and DO constraints revealed capability to address multiple water quality constraints at specified locations. Here, the reduced computational requirements of the new modeling approach demonstrated an ability to provide decision support for reservoir operations scheduling while maintaining high-fidelity hydrodynamic and water quality information as part of the optimization decision support routines.« less

Hydropower Optimization Using Artificial Neural Network Surrogate Models of a High-Fidelity Hydrodynamics and Water Quality Model

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

Shaw, Amelia R.; Sawyer, Heather Smith; LeBoeuf, Eugene J.

Hydropower operations optimization subject to environmental constraints is limited by challenges associated with dimensionality and spatial and temporal resolution. The need for high-fidelity hydrodynamic and water quality models within optimization schemes is driven by improved computational capabilities, increased requirements to meet specific points of compliance with greater resolution, and the need to optimize operations of not just single reservoirs but systems of reservoirs. This study describes an important advancement for computing hourly power generation schemes for a hydropower reservoir using high-fidelity models, surrogate modeling techniques, and optimization methods. The predictive power of the high-fidelity hydrodynamic and water quality model CE-QUAL-W2more » is successfully emulated by an artificial neural network, then integrated into a genetic algorithm optimization approach to maximize hydropower generation subject to constraints on dam operations and water quality. This methodology is applied to a multipurpose reservoir near Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The model successfully reproduced high-fidelity reservoir information while enabling 6.8% and 6.6% increases in hydropower production value relative to actual operations for dissolved oxygen (DO) limits of 5 and 6 mg/L, respectively, while witnessing an expected decrease in power generation at more restrictive DO constraints. Exploration of simultaneous temperature and DO constraints revealed capability to address multiple water quality constraints at specified locations. Here, the reduced computational requirements of the new modeling approach demonstrated an ability to provide decision support for reservoir operations scheduling while maintaining high-fidelity hydrodynamic and water quality information as part of the optimization decision support routines.« less

Improved model quality assessment using ProQ2.

PubMed

Ray, Arjun; Lindahl, Erik; Wallner, Björn

2012-09-10

Employing methods to assess the quality of modeled protein structures is now standard practice in bioinformatics. In a broad sense, the techniques can be divided into methods relying on consensus prediction on the one hand, and single-model methods on the other. Consensus methods frequently perform very well when there is a clear consensus, but this is not always the case. In particular, they frequently fail in selecting the best possible model in the hard cases (lacking consensus) or in the easy cases where models are very similar. In contrast, single-model methods do not suffer from these drawbacks and could potentially be applied on any protein of interest to assess quality or as a scoring function for sampling-based refinement. Here, we present a new single-model method, ProQ2, based on ideas from its predecessor, ProQ. ProQ2 is a model quality assessment algorithm that uses support vector machines to predict local as well as global quality of protein models. Improved performance is obtained by combining previously used features with updated structural and predicted features. The most important contribution can be attributed to the use of profile weighting of the residue specific features and the use features averaged over the whole model even though the prediction is still local. ProQ2 is significantly better than its predecessors at detecting high quality models, improving the sum of Z-scores for the selected first-ranked models by 20% and 32% compared to the second-best single-model method in CASP8 and CASP9, respectively. The absolute quality assessment of the models at both local and global level is also improved. The Pearson's correlation between the correct and local predicted score is improved from 0.59 to 0.70 on CASP8 and from 0.62 to 0.68 on CASP9; for global score to the correct GDT_TS from 0.75 to 0.80 and from 0.77 to 0.80 again compared to the second-best single methods in CASP8 and CASP9, respectively. ProQ2 is available at http://proq2

SU-E-T-186: Cloud-Based Quality Assurance Application for Linear Accelerator Commissioning

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

Rogers, J

2015-06-15

Purpose: To identify anomalies and safety issues during data collection and modeling for treatment planning systems Methods: A cloud-based quality assurance system (AQUIRE - Automated QUalIty REassurance) has been developed to allow the uploading and analysis of beam data aquired during the treatment planning system commissioning process. In addition to comparing and aggregating measured data, tools have also been developed to extract dose from the treatment planning system for end-to-end testing. A gamma index is perfomed on the data to give a dose difference and distance-to-agreement for validation that a beam model is generating plans consistent with the beam datamore » collection. Results: Over 20 linear accelerators have been commissioning using this platform, and a variety of errors and potential saftey issues have been caught through the validation process. For example, the gamma index of 2% dose, 2mm DTA is quite sufficient to see curves not corrected for effective point of measurement. Also, data imported into the database is analyzed against an aggregate of similar linear accelerators to show data points that are outliers. The resulting curves in the database exhibit a very small standard deviation and imply that a preconfigured beam model based on aggregated linear accelerators will be sufficient in most cases. Conclusion: With the use of this new platform for beam data commissioning, errors in beam data collection and treatment planning system modeling are greatly reduced. With the reduction in errors during acquisition, the resulting beam models are quite similar, suggesting that a common beam model may be possible in the future. Development is ongoing to create routine quality assurance tools to compare back to the beam data acquired during commissioning. I am a medical physicist for Alzyen Medical Physics, and perform commissioning services.« less

Modeling the Water - Quality Effects of Changes to the Klamath River Upstream of Keno Dam, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sullivan, Annett B.; Sogutlugil, I. Ertugrul; Rounds, Stewart A.; Deas, Michael L.

2013-01-01

The Link River to Keno Dam (Link-Keno) reach of the Klamath River, Oregon, generally has periods of water-quality impairment during summer, including low dissolved oxygen, elevated concentrations of ammonia and algae, and high pH. Efforts are underway to improve water quality in this reach through a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program and other management and operational actions. To assist in planning, a hydrodynamic and water-quality model was used in this study to provide insight about how various actions could affect water quality in the reach. These model scenarios used a previously developed and calibrated CE-QUAL-W2 model of the Link-Keno reach developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Watercourse Engineering Inc., and the Bureau of Reclamation for calendar years 2006-09 (referred to as the "USGS model" in this report). Another model of the same river reach was previously developed by Tetra Tech, Inc. and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for years 2000 and 2002 and was used in the TMDL process; that model is referred to as the "TMDL model" in this report. This report includes scenarios that (1) assess the effect of TMDL allocations on water quality, (2) provide insight on certain aspects of the TMDL model, (3) assess various methods to improve water quality in this reach, and (4) examine possible water-quality effects of a future warmer climate. Results presented in this report for the first 5 scenarios supersede or augment those that were previously published (scenarios 1 and 2 in Sullivan and others [2011], 3 through 5 in Sullivan and others [2012]); those previous results are still valid, but the results for those scenarios in this report are more current.

Water-quality modeling of Klamath Straits Drain recirculation, a Klamath River wetland, and 2011 conditions for the Link River to Keno Dam reach of the Klamath River, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sullivan, Annett B.; Sogutlugil, I. Ertugrul; Deas, Michael L.; Rounds, Stewart A.

2014-01-01

The upper Klamath River and adjacent Lost River are interconnected basins in south-central Oregon and northern California. Both basins have impaired water quality with Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) in progress or approved. In cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Watercourse Engineering, Inc., have conducted modeling and research to inform management of these basins for multiple purposes, including agriculture, endangered species protection, wildlife refuges, and adjacent and downstream water users. A water-quality and hydrodynamic model (CE-QUAL-W2) of the Link River to Keno Dam reach of the Klamath River for 2006–09 is one of the tools used in this work. The model can simulate stage, flow, water velocity, ice cover, water temperature, specific conductance, suspended sediment, nutrients, organic matter in bed sediment and the water column, three algal groups, three macrophyte groups, dissolved oxygen, and pH. This report documents two model scenarios and a test of the existing model applied to year 2011, which had exceptional water quality. The first scenario examined the water-quality effects of recirculating Klamath Straits Drain flows into the Ady Canal, to conserve water and to decrease flows from the Klamath Straits Drain to the Klamath River. The second scenario explicitly incorporated a 2.73×106 m2 (675 acre) off-channel connected wetland into the CE-QUAL-W2 framework, with the wetland operating from May 1 through October 31. The wetland represented a managed treatment feature to decrease organic matter loads and process nutrients. Finally, the summer of 2011 showed substantially higher dissolved-oxygen concentrations in the Link-Keno reach than in other recent years, so the Link-Keno model (originally developed for 2006–09) was run with 2011 data as a test of model parameters and rates and to develop insights regarding the reasons for the improved water-quality conditions.

Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM2): Model use, calibration, and validation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM2) has been used widely for simulating agricultural management effects on crop production and soil and water quality. Although it is a one-dimensional model it has many desirable features for the modeling community. This paper outlines the principles of calibr...

Water-quality models to assess algal community dynamics, water quality, and fish habitat suitability for two agricultural land-use dominated lakes in Minnesota, 2014

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Erik A.; Kiesling, Richard L.; Ziegeweid, Jeffrey R.

2017-07-20

Fish habitat can degrade in many lakes due to summer blue-green algal blooms. Predictive models are needed to better manage and mitigate loss of fish habitat due to these changes. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, developed predictive water-quality models for two agricultural land-use dominated lakes in Minnesota—Madison Lake and Pearl Lake, which are part of Minnesota’s sentinel lakes monitoring program—to assess algal community dynamics, water quality, and fish habitat suitability of these two lakes under recent (2014) meteorological conditions. The interaction of basin processes to these two lakes, through the delivery of nutrient loads, were simulated using CE-QUAL-W2, a carbon-based, laterally averaged, two-dimensional water-quality model that predicts distribution of temperature and oxygen from interactions between nutrient cycling, primary production, and trophic dynamics.The CE-QUAL-W2 models successfully predicted water temperature and dissolved oxygen on the basis of the two metrics of mean absolute error and root mean square error. For Madison Lake, the mean absolute error and root mean square error were 0.53 and 0.68 degree Celsius, respectively, for the vertical temperature profile comparisons; for Pearl Lake, the mean absolute error and root mean square error were 0.71 and 0.95 degree Celsius, respectively, for the vertical temperature profile comparisons. Temperature and dissolved oxygen were key metrics for calibration targets. These calibrated lake models also simulated algal community dynamics and water quality. The model simulations presented potential explanations for persistently large total phosphorus concentrations in Madison Lake, key differences in nutrient concentrations between these lakes, and summer blue-green algal bloom persistence.Fish habitat suitability simulations for cool-water and warm-water fish indicated that, in general, both lakes contained a large

Global Carbon Cycle Modeling in GISS ModelE2 GCM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aleinov, I. D.; Kiang, N. Y.; Romanou, A.; Romanski, J.

2014-12-01

Consistent and accurate modeling of the Global Carbon Cycle remains one of the main challenges for the Earth System Models. NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) ModelE2 General Circulation Model (GCM) was recently equipped with a complete Global Carbon Cycle algorithm, consisting of three integrated components: Ent Terrestrial Biosphere Model (Ent TBM), Ocean Biogeochemistry Module and atmospheric CO2 tracer. Ent TBM provides CO2 fluxes from the land surface to the atmosphere. Its biophysics utilizes the well-known photosynthesis functions of Farqhuar, von Caemmerer, and Berry and Farqhuar and von Caemmerer, and stomatal conductance of Ball and Berry. Its phenology is based on temperature, drought, and radiation fluxes, and growth is controlled via allocation of carbon from labile carbohydrate reserve storage to different plant components. Soil biogeochemistry is based on the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford (CASA) model of Potter et al. Ocean biogeochemistry module (the NASA Ocean Biogeochemistry Model, NOBM), computes prognostic distributions for biotic and abiotic fields that influence the air-sea flux of CO2 and the deep ocean carbon transport and storage. Atmospheric CO2 is advected with a quadratic upstream algorithm implemented in atmospheric part of ModelE2. Here we present the results for pre-industrial equilibrium and modern transient simulations and provide comparison to available observations. We also discuss the process of validation and tuning of particular algorithms used in the model.

Modeling white sturgeon movement in a reservoir: The effect of water quality and sturgeon density

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sullivan, A.B.; Jager, H.I.; Myers, R.

2003-01-01

We developed a movement model to examine the distribution and survival of white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) in a reservoir subject to large spatial and temporal variation in dissolved oxygen and temperature. Temperature and dissolved oxygen were simulated by a CE-QUAL-W2 model of Brownlee Reservoir, Idaho for a typical wet, normal, and dry hydrologic year. We compared current water quality conditions to scenarios with reduced nutrient inputs to the reservoir. White sturgeon habitat quality was modeled as a function of temperature, dissolved oxygen and, in some cases, suitability for foraging and depth. We assigned a quality index to each cell along the bottom of the reservoir. The model simulated two aspects of daily movement. Advective movement simulated the tendency for animals to move toward areas with high habitat quality, and diffusion simulated density dependent movement away from areas with high sturgeon density in areas with non-lethal habitat conditions. Mortality resulted when sturgeon were unable to leave areas with lethal temperature or dissolved oxygen conditions. Water quality was highest in winter and early spring and lowest in mid to late summer. Limiting nutrient inputs reduced the area of Brownlee Reservoir with lethal conditions for sturgeon and raised the average habitat suitability throughout the reservoir. Without movement, simulated white sturgeon survival ranged between 45 and 89%. Allowing movement raised the predicted survival of sturgeon under all conditions to above 90% as sturgeon avoided areas with low habitat quality. ?? 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Requirements model for an e-Health awareness portal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hussain, Azham; Mkpojiogu, Emmanuel O. C.; Nawi, Mohd Nasrun M.

2016-08-01

Requirements engineering is at the heart and foundation of software engineering process. Poor quality requirements inevitably lead to poor quality software solutions. Also, poor requirement modeling is tantamount to designing a poor quality product. So, quality assured requirements development collaborates fine with usable products in giving the software product the needed quality it demands. In the light of the foregoing, the requirements for an e-Ebola Awareness Portal were modeled with a good attention given to these software engineering concerns. The requirements for the e-Health Awareness Portal are modeled as a contribution to the fight against Ebola and helps in the fulfillment of the United Nation's Millennium Development Goal No. 6. In this study requirements were modeled using UML 2.0 modeling technique.

Modeling water quality effects of structural and operational changes to Scoggins Dam and Henry Hagg Lake, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sullivan, Annett B.; Rounds, Stewart A.

2006-01-01

To meet water quality targets and the municipal and industrial water needs of a growing population in the Tualatin River Basin in northwestern Oregon, an expansion of Henry Hagg Lake is under consideration. Hagg Lake is the basin's primary storage reservoir and provides water during western Oregon's typically dry summers. Potential modifications include raising the dam height by 6.1 meters (20 feet), 7.6 meters (25 feet), or 12.2 meters (40 feet); installing additional outlets (possibly including a selective withdrawal tower); and adding additional inflows to provide greater reliability of filling the enlarged reservoir. One method of providing additional inflows is to route water from the upper Tualatin River through a tunnel and into Sain Creek, a tributary to the lake. Another option is to pump water from the Tualatin River (downstream of the lake) uphill and into the reservoir during the winter--the 'pump-back' option. A calibrated CE-QUAL-W2 model of Henry Hagg Lake's hydrodynamics, temperature, and water quality was used to examine the effect of these proposed changes on water quality in the lake and downstream. Most model scenarios were run with the calibrated model for 2002, a typical water year; a few scenarios were run for 2001, a drought year. More...

Enhancing E-Learning Quality through the Application of the AKUE Procedure Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bremer, C.

2012-01-01

The paper describes the procedure model AKUE, which aims at the improvement and assurance of quality and cost efficiency in the context of the introduction of e-learning and the development of digital learning material. AKUE divides the whole planning and implementation process into four different phases: analysis, conception, implementation, and…

Establishing confidence in the output of qualitative research synthesis: the ConQual approach.

PubMed

Munn, Zachary; Porritt, Kylie; Lockwood, Craig; Aromataris, Edoardo; Pearson, Alan

2014-09-20

The importance of findings derived from syntheses of qualitative research has been increasingly acknowledged. Findings that arise from qualitative syntheses inform questions of practice and policy in their own right and are commonly used to complement findings from quantitative research syntheses. The GRADE approach has been widely adopted by international organisations to rate the quality and confidence of the findings of quantitative systematic reviews. To date, there has been no widely accepted corresponding approach to assist health care professionals and policy makers in establishing confidence in the synthesised findings of qualitative systematic reviews. A methodological group was formed develop a process to assess the confidence in synthesised qualitative research findings and develop a Summary of Findings tables for meta-aggregative qualitative systematic reviews. Dependability and credibility are two elements considered by the methodological group to influence the confidence of qualitative synthesised findings. A set of critical appraisal questions are proposed to establish dependability, whilst credibility can be ranked according to the goodness of fit between the author's interpretation and the original data. By following the processes outlined in this article, an overall ranking can be assigned to rate the confidence of synthesised qualitative findings, a system we have labelled ConQual. The development and use of the ConQual approach will assist users of qualitative systematic reviews to establish confidence in the evidence produced in these types of reviews and can serve as a practical tool to assist in decision making.

E-Services quality assessment framework for collaborative networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stegaru, Georgiana; Danila, Cristian; Sacala, Ioan Stefan; Moisescu, Mihnea; Mihai Stanescu, Aurelian

2015-08-01

In a globalised networked economy, collaborative networks (CNs) are formed to take advantage of new business opportunities. Collaboration involves shared resources and capabilities, such as e-Services that can be dynamically composed to automate CN participants' business processes. Quality is essential for the success of business process automation. Current approaches mostly focus on quality of service (QoS)-based service selection and ranking algorithms, overlooking the process of service composition which requires interoperable, adaptable and secure e-Services to ensure seamless collaboration, data confidentiality and integrity. Lack of assessment of these quality attributes can result in e-Service composition failure. The quality of e-Service composition relies on the quality of each e-Service and on the quality of the composition process. Therefore, there is the need for a framework that addresses quality from both views: product and process. We propose a quality of e-Service composition (QoESC) framework for quality assessment of e-Service composition for CNs which comprises of a quality model for e-Service evaluation and guidelines for quality of e-Service composition process. We implemented a prototype considering a simplified telemedicine use case which involves a CN in e-Healthcare domain. To validate the proposed quality-driven framework, we analysed service composition reliability with and without using the proposed framework.

On-Premises Library versus Google-Like Information Gateway Usage Patterns: A LibQUAL+[R] Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Bruce; Kyrillidou, Martha; Cook, Colleen

2007-01-01

Using LibQUAL+[R] data provided by 295,355 of the participants who completed the LibQUAL+[R] survey in 2003, 2004, and 2005, the present study was conducted to address three research questions. First, what differences, if any, have occurred across time in the use by (a) undergraduates, (b) graduate students/postgraduates, and (c) faculty of…

E-Service Quality Evaluation on E-Government Website: Case Study BPJS Kesehatan Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rasyid, A.; Alfina, I.

2017-01-01

This research intends to develop a model to evaluate the quality of e-services on e-government. The proposed model consists of seven dimensions: web design, reliability, responsiveness, privacy and security, personalization, information, and ease of use. The model is used to measure the quality of the e-registration of BPJS Kesehatan, an Indonesian government health insurance program. The validation and reliability testing show that of the seven dimensions proposed, only four that suitable for the case study. The result shows that the BPJS Kesehatan e-registration service is good in reliability and responsiveness dimensions, while from web design and ease of use dimensions the e-service still needs to be optimized.

The simultaneous mass and energy evaporation (SM2E) model.

PubMed

Choudhary, Rehan; Klauda, Jeffery B

2016-01-01

In this article, the Simultaneous Mass and Energy Evaporation (SM2E) model is presented. The SM2E model is based on theoretical models for mass and energy transfer. The theoretical models systematically under or over predicted at various flow conditions: laminar, transition, and turbulent. These models were harmonized with experimental measurements to eliminate systematic under or over predictions; a total of 113 measured evaporation rates were used. The SM2E model can be used to estimate evaporation rates for pure liquids as well as liquid mixtures at laminar, transition, and turbulent flow conditions. However, due to limited availability of evaporation data, the model has so far only been tested against data for pure liquids and binary mixtures. The model can take evaporative cooling into account and when the temperature of the evaporating liquid or liquid mixture is known (e.g., isothermal evaporation), the SM2E model reduces to a mass transfer-only model.

Modeling Environment for Total Risk-2E

EPA Science Inventory

MENTOR-2E uses an integrated, mechanistically consistent source-to-dose-to-response modeling framework to quantify inhalation exposure and doses resulting from emergency events. It is an implementation of the MENTOR system that is focused towards modeling of the impacts of rele...

A manufacturing quality assessment model based-on two stages interval type-2 fuzzy logic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Purnomo, Muhammad Ridwan Andi; Helmi Shintya Dewi, Intan

2016-01-01

This paper presents the development of an assessment models for manufacturing quality using Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Logic (IT2-FL). The proposed model is developed based on one of building block in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), which is benefit of SCM, and focuses more on quality. The proposed model can be used to predict the quality level of production chain in a company. The quality of production will affect to the quality of product. Practically, quality of production is unique for every type of production system. Hence, experts opinion will play major role in developing the assessment model. The model will become more complicated when the data contains ambiguity and uncertainty. In this study, IT2-FL is used to model the ambiguity and uncertainty. A case study taken from a company in Yogyakarta shows that the proposed manufacturing quality assessment model can work well in determining the quality level of production.

User library service expectations in health science vs. other settings: a LibQUAL+ Study.

PubMed

Thompson, Bruce; Kyrillidou, Martha; Cook, Colleen

2007-12-01

To explore how the library service expectations and perceptions of users might differ across health-related libraries as against major research libraries not operating in a medical context; to determine whether users of medical libraries demand better library service quality, because the inability of users to access needed literature promptly may lead to a patient who cannot be properly diagnosed, or a diagnosis that cannot be properly treated. We compared LibQUAL+ total and subscale scores across three groups of US, Canadian and British libraries for this purpose. Anticipated differences in expectations for health as other library settings did not emerge. The expectations and perceptions are similar across different types of health science library settings, hospital and academic, and across other general research libraries.

CMIP5 Historical Simulations (1850-2012) with GISS ModelE2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Ronald Lindsay; Schmidt, Gavin A.; Nazarenko, Larissa S.; Tausnev, Nick; Bauer, Susanne E.; DelGenio, Anthony D.; Kelley, Max; Lo, Ken K.; Ruedy, Reto; Shindell, Drew T.;

Website Service Quality in Ireland: An Empirical Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Connolly, Regina

Despite the fact that service quality is a critical determinant of website success, studies show that consumers frequently view the service quality delivered through websites as unsatisfactory. This paper outlines a study that investigated the dimensions of website service excellence valued by Irish customers of a small-to-medium enterprise specialising in gifts. The E-S-QUAL measurement instrument was applied to the customers who purchase products online from this retailer, in order to determine their purchasing patterns and the dimensions of e-service quality that they value. The results of this study indicate the effectiveness of the instrument in determining gaps in e-service quality. The findings will be of benefit both to practitioners and researchers seeking to improve their understanding of the factors that contribute towards the creation and maintenance of consumer satisfaction in Irish online transactions.

Effects of Simulated Land-Use Changes on Water Quality of Lake Maumelle, Arkansas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hart, Rheannon M.; Westerman, Drew A.; Petersen, James C.; Green, W. Reed; De Lanois, Jeanne L.

2011-01-01

Lake Maumelle is one of two principal drinking-water supplies for the Little Rock and North Little Rock metropolitan areas. Lake Maumelle and the Maumelle River (its primary tributary) are more pristine than most other reservoirs and streams in the region. However, as the Lake Maumelle watershed becomes increasingly more urbanized and timber harvesting becomes more frequent, concerns about the sustainability of the quality of the water supply also have increased. Two models were developed to partially address these concerns. A Hydrological Simulation Program-FORTRAN model was developed using input data collected from October 2004 through 2008. A CE-QUAL-W2 model was developed to simulate reservoir hydrodynamics and selected water quality using the simulated output from the Hydrological Simulation Program-FORTRAN model from January 2005 through 2008. The Hydrological Simulation Program-FORTRAN watershed model was calibrated to five streamflow-gaging stations, and in general, these stations characterize a range of subwatershed areas with varying land-use types. Continuous streamflow data, discrete sediment concentration data, and other discrete water-quality data were used to calibrate the Lake Maumelle Hydrological Simulation Program-FORTRAN model. The CE-QUAL-W2 reservoir model was calibrated to water-quality data and reservoir pool altitude collected during January 2005 through December 2008 at three lake stations. In general, the overall simulation for the Hydrological Simulation Program-FORTRAN and CE-UAL-W2 models matched reasonably well to the measured data. In general, simulated and measured suspended-sediment concentrations during periods of base flow (streamflows not substantially influenced by runoff) agree reasonably well for Williams Junction (with differences-simulated minus measured value-generally ranging from -14 to 19 mg/L, and percent difference-relative to the measured value-ranging from -87 to 642 percent) and Wye (differences generally ranging

Root zone water quality model (RZWQM2): Model use, calibration and validation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ma, Liwang; Ahuja, Lajpat; Nolan, B.T.; Malone, Robert; Trout, Thomas; Qi, Z.

2012-01-01

The Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM2) has been used widely for simulating agricultural management effects on crop production and soil and water quality. Although it is a one-dimensional model, it has many desirable features for the modeling community. This article outlines the principles of calibrating the model component by component with one or more datasets and validating the model with independent datasets. Users should consult the RZWQM2 user manual distributed along with the model and a more detailed protocol on how to calibrate RZWQM2 provided in a book chapter. Two case studies (or examples) are included in this article. One is from an irrigated maize study in Colorado to illustrate the use of field and laboratory measured soil hydraulic properties on simulated soil water and crop production. It also demonstrates the interaction between soil and plant parameters in simulated plant responses to water stresses. The other is from a maize-soybean rotation study in Iowa to show a manual calibration of the model for crop yield, soil water, and N leaching in tile-drained soils. Although the commonly used trial-and-error calibration method works well for experienced users, as shown in the second example, an automated calibration procedure is more objective, as shown in the first example. Furthermore, the incorporation of the Parameter Estimation Software (PEST) into RZWQM2 made the calibration of the model more efficient than a grid (ordered) search of model parameters. In addition, PEST provides sensitivity and uncertainty analyses that should help users in selecting the right parameters to calibrate.

GEOSPATIAL QUALITY COUNCIL

EPA Science Inventory

Geospatial Science is increasingly becoming an important tool in making Agency decisions. QualIty Control and Quality Assurance are required to be integrated during the planning, implementation and assessment of geospatial databases, processes and products. In order to ensure Age...

Application of OMI NO2 for Regional Air Quality Model Evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holloway, T.; Bickford, E.; Oberman, J.; Scotty, E.; Clifton, O. E.

2012-12-01

To support the application of satellite data for air quality analysis, we examine how column NO2 measurements from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aboard the NASA Aura satellite relate to ground-based and model estimates of NO2 and related species. Daily variability, monthly mean values, and spatial gradients in OMI NO2 from the Netherlands Royal Meteorological Institute (KNMI) are compared to ground-based measurements of NO2 from the EPA Air Quality System (AQS) database. Satellite data is gridded to two resolutions typical of regional air quality models - 36 km x 36 km over the continental U.S., and 12 km x 12 km over the Upper Midwestern U.S. Gridding is performed using the Wisconsin Horizontal Interpolation Program for Satellites (WHIPS), a publicly available software to support gridding of satellite data to model grids. Comparing daily OMI retrievals (13:45 daytime local overpass time) with ground-based measurements (13:00), we find January and July 2007 correlation coefficients (r-values) generally positive, with values higher in the winter (January) than summer (July) for most sites. Incidences of anti-correlation or low-correlation are evaluated with model simulations from the U.S. EPA Community Multiscale Air Quality Model version 4.7 (CMAQ). OMI NO2 is also used to evaluate CMAQ output, and to compare performance metrics for CMAQ relative to AQS measurements. We compare simulated NO2 across both the U.S. and Midwest study domains with both OMI NO2 (total column CMAQ values, weighted with the averaging kernel) and with ground-based observations (lowest model layer CMAQ values). 2007 CMAQ simulations employ emissions from the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium (LADCO) and meteorology from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Over most of the U.S., CMAQ is too high in January relative to OMI NO2, but too low in January relative to AQS NO2. In contrast, CMAQ is too low in July relative to OMI NO2, but too high relative to AQS NO2. These

Ionospheric Modeling: Development, Verification and Validation

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-08-15

The University of Massachusetts (UMass), Lowell, has introduced a new version of their ionogram autoscaling program ARTIST , Version 5. A very...Investigation of the Reliability of the ESIR Ionogram Autoscaling Method (Expert System for Ionogram Reduction) ESIR.book.pdf Dec 06 Quality...Figures and Error Bars for Autoscaled Vertical Incidence Ionograms. Background and User Documentation for QualScan V2007.2 AFRL_QualScan.book.pdf Feb

Modeling water quality in the Tualatin River, Oregon, 1991-1997

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rounds, Stewart A.; Wood, Tamara M.

2001-01-01

The calibration of a model of flow, temperature, and water quality in the Tualatin River, Oregon, originally calibrated for the summers of 1991 through 1993, was extended to the summers of 1991 through 1997. The model is now calibrated for a total period of 42 months during the May through October periods of 7 hydrologically distinct years. Based on a modified version of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers model CE-QUAL-W2, this model provides a good fit to the measured data for streamflow, water temperature, and water quality constituents such as chloride, ammonia, nitrate, total phosphorus, orthophosphate, phytoplankton, and dissolved oxygen. In particular, the model simulates ammonia concentrations and the effects of instream ammonia nitrification very well, which is critical to ongoing efforts to revise ammonia regulations for the Tualatin River. In addition, the model simulates the timing, duration, and relative size of algal blooms with sufficient accuracy to provide important insights for regulators and managers of this river.Efforts to limit the size of algal blooms through phosphorus control measures are apparent in the model simulations, which show this limitation on algal growth. Such measures are largely responsible for avoiding violations of the State of Oregon maximum pH standard of 8.5 in recent years, but they have not yet reduced algal biomass levels below the State of Oregon nuisance phytoplankton growth guideline of 15 ?g/L chlorophyll-a.Most of the dynamics of the instream dissolved oxygen concentrations are captured by the model. About half of the error in the simulated dissolved oxygen concentrations is directly attributable to error in the size of the simulated phytoplankton population. To achieve greater accuracy in simulating dissolved oxygen, therefore, it will be necessary to increase accuracy in the simulation of Tualatin River phytoplankton.Future efforts may include the introduction of multiple algal groups in the model. This model of the

Future climate change under RCP emission scenarios with GISS ModelE2

DOE PAGES

Nazarenko, L.; Schmidt, G. A.; Miller, R. L.; ...

2015-02-24

We examine the anthropogenically forced climate response for the 21st century representative concentration pathway (RCP) emission scenarios and their extensions for the period 2101–2500. The experiments were performed with ModelE2, a new version of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Sciences (GISS) coupled general circulation model that includes three different versions for the atmospheric composition components: a noninteractive version (NINT) with prescribed composition and a tuned aerosol indirect effect (AIE), the TCAD version with fully interactive aerosols, whole-atmosphere chemistry, and the tuned AIE, and the TCADI version which further includes a parameterized first indirect aerosol effect on clouds. Each atmosphericmore » version is coupled to two different ocean general circulation models: the Russell ocean model (GISS-E2-R) and HYCOM (GISS-E2-H). By 2100, global mean warming in the RCP scenarios ranges from 1.0 to 4.5° C relative to 1850–1860 mean temperature in the historical simulations. In the RCP2.6 scenario, the surface warming in all simulations stays below a 2 °C threshold at the end of the 21st century. For RCP8.5, the range is 3.5–4.5° C at 2100. Decadally averaged sea ice area changes are highly correlated to global mean surface air temperature anomalies and show steep declines in both hemispheres, with a larger sensitivity during winter months. By the year 2500, there are complete recoveries of the globally averaged surface air temperature for all versions of the GISS climate model in the low-forcing scenario RCP2.6. TCADI simulations show enhanced warming due to greater sensitivity to CO₂, aerosol effects, and greater methane feedbacks, and recovery is much slower in RCP2.6 than with the NINT and TCAD versions. All coupled models have decreases in the Atlantic overturning stream function by 2100. In RCP2.6, there is a complete recovery of the Atlantic overturning stream function by the year 2500 while with scenario RCP8.5, the

Improving of local ozone forecasting by integrated models.

PubMed

Gradišar, Dejan; Grašič, Boštjan; Božnar, Marija Zlata; Mlakar, Primož; Kocijan, Juš

2016-09-01

This paper discuss the problem of forecasting the maximum ozone concentrations in urban microlocations, where reliable alerting of the local population when thresholds have been surpassed is necessary. To improve the forecast, the methodology of integrated models is proposed. The model is based on multilayer perceptron neural networks that use as inputs all available information from QualeAria air-quality model, WRF numerical weather prediction model and onsite measurements of meteorology and air pollution. While air-quality and meteorological models cover large geographical 3-dimensional space, their local resolution is often not satisfactory. On the other hand, empirical methods have the advantage of good local forecasts. In this paper, integrated models are used for improved 1-day-ahead forecasting of the maximum hourly value of ozone within each day for representative locations in Slovenia. The WRF meteorological model is used for forecasting meteorological variables and the QualeAria air-quality model for gas concentrations. Their predictions, together with measurements from ground stations, are used as inputs to a neural network. The model validation results show that integrated models noticeably improve ozone forecasts and provide better alert systems.

DNA Damage Reduces the Quality, but Not the Quantity of Human Papillomavirus 16 E1 and E2 DNA Replication.

PubMed

Bristol, Molly L; Wang, Xu; Smith, Nathan W; Son, Minkyeong P; Evans, Michael R; Morgan, Iain M

2016-06-22

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are causative agents in almost all cervical carcinomas. HPVs are also causative agents in head and neck cancer, the cases of which are increasing rapidly. Viral replication activates the DNA damage response (DDR) pathway; associated proteins are recruited to replication foci, and this pathway may serve to allow for viral genome amplification. Likewise, HPV genome double-strand breaks (DSBs) could be produced during replication and could lead to linearization and viral integration. Many studies have shown that viral integration into the host genome results in unregulated expression of the viral oncogenes, E6 and E7, promoting HPV-induced carcinogenesis. Previously, we have demonstrated that DNA-damaging agents, such as etoposide, or knocking down viral replication partner proteins, such as topoisomerase II β binding protein I (TopBP1), does not reduce the level of DNA replication. Here, we investigated whether these treatments alter the quality of DNA replication by HPV16 E1 and E2. We confirm that knockdown of TopBP1 or treatment with etoposide does not reduce total levels of E1/E2-mediated DNA replication; however, the quality of replication is significantly reduced. The results demonstrate that E1 and E2 continue to replicate under genomically-stressed conditions and that this replication is mutagenic. This mutagenesis would promote the formation of substrates for integration of the viral genome into that of the host, a hallmark of cervical cancer.

Using QMRAcatch - a stochastic hydrological water quality and infection risk model - to identify sustainable management options for long term drinking water resource planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Derx, J.; Demeter, K.; Schijven, J. F.; Sommer, R.; Zoufal-Hruza, C. M.; Kromp, H.; Farnleitner, A.; Blaschke, A. P.

2017-12-01

River water resources in urban environments play a critical role in sustaining human health and ecosystem services, as they are used for drinking water production, bathing and irrigation. In this study the hydrological water quality model QMRAcatch was used combined with measured concentrations of human enterovirus and human-associated genetic fecal markers. The study area is located at a river/floodplain area along the Danube which is used for drinking water production by river bank filtration and further disinfection. QMRAcatch was previously developed to support long term planning of water resources in accordance with a public infection protection target (Schijven et al., 2015). Derx et al. 2016 previously used QMRAcatch for evaluating the microbiological quality and required virus-reduction targets at the study area for the current and robust future "crisis" scenarios, i.e. for the complete failure of wastewater treatment plants and infection outbreaks. In contrast, the aim of this study was to elaborate future scenarios based on projected climate and population changes in collaboration with urban water managers. The identified scenarios until 2050 include increased wastewater discharge rates due to the projected urban population growth and more frequent storm and overflow events of urban sewer systems following forecasted changes in climate and hydrology. Based on the simulation results for the developed scenarios sustainable requirements of the drinking water treatment system for virus reductions were re-evaluated to achieve the health risk target. The model outcomes are used to guide practical and scientifically sound management options for long term water resource planning. This paper was supported by FWF (Vienna Doctoral Program on Water Resource Systems W1219-N22) and the GWRS project (Vienna Water) as part of the "(New) Danube-Lower Lobau Network Project" funded by the Government of Austria and Vienna, and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural

Getting More Value from the LibQUAL+® Survey: The Merits of Qualitative Analysis and Importance-Satisfaction Matrices in Assessing Library Patron Comments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Detlor, Brian; Ball, Kathryn

2015-01-01

This paper examines the merit of conducting a qualitative analysis of LibQUAL+® survey comments as a means of leveraging quantitative LibQUAL+ results, and using importance-satisfaction matrices to present and assess qualitative findings. Comments collected from the authors' institution's LibQUAL+ survey were analyzed using a codebook based on…

Virasoro constraints for D 2n + 1 -, E 6 -, E 7 -, E 8 -type minimal models coupled to 2D gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yen, Tim

1990-12-01

We find Virasoro constraints for D 2 n + 1 -, E 6 -, E 7 -, E 8 -type models analogous to the recently discovered Virasoro constraints for A n-type models by Fukuma et al., and Dijkgraaf et al. We verify that the proposed Virasoro constraints give operator scaling dimensions identical to those found by Kostov. We check that these Virasoro constraints and, more generally, W-algebra constraints can be used to express correlation functions with non-primary operator in terms of correlation functions of primary operators only.

Disconfirming User Expectations of the Online Service Experience: Inferred versus Direct Disconfirmation Modeling.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Neill, Martin; Palmer, Adrian; Wright, Christine

2003-01-01

Disconfirmation models of online service measurement seek to define service quality as the difference between user expectations of the service to be received and perceptions of the service actually received. Two such models-inferred and direct disconfirmation-for measuring quality of the online experience are compared (WebQUAL, SERVQUAL). Findings…

Enhancement of B(E2) Collectivity in the sdg-Interacting Boson Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Long, GuiLu; Ji, HuaYing; Zhu, ShengJiang

1999-12-01

It is pointed out that the difficulty in boson models in explaining the large B(E2) experimental data is not due to the lack of collectivity in boson model wavefunction. This long standing problem of reduction in collectivity of wavefunction in boson models can be solved by choosing an appropriate E2 transition operator in the SU(3) limit of the sdg-interacting boson model. The ratio B(E2, L + 2 → L) / B(E2, 2 → 0) can be almost any large number. The project supported by The Science Fund of China Nuclear Industry under grant No. J95AY5021, National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant No. 19775026, Excellent Young University Teachers Fund of National Education Committee of China

Evaluation models and criteria of the quality of hospital websites: a systematic review study

PubMed Central

Jeddi, Fatemeh Rangraz; Gilasi, Hamidreza; Khademi, Sahar

2017-01-01

Introduction Hospital websites are important tools in establishing communication and exchanging information between patients and staff, and thus should enjoy an acceptable level of quality. The aim of this study was to identify proper models and criteria to evaluate the quality of hospital websites. Methods This research was a systematic review study. The international databases such as Science Direct, Google Scholar, PubMed, Proquest, Ovid, Elsevier, Springer, and EBSCO together with regional database such as Magiran, Scientific Information Database, Persian Journal Citation Report (PJCR) and IranMedex were searched. Suitable keywords including website, evaluation, and quality of website were used. Full text papers related to the research were included. The criteria and sub criteria of the evaluation of website quality were extracted and classified. Results To evaluate the quality of the websites, various models and criteria were presented. The WEB-Q-IM, Mile, Minerva, Seruni Luci, and Web-Qual models were the designed models. The criteria of accessibility, content and apparent features of the websites, the design procedure, the graphics applied in the website, and the page’s attractions have been mentioned in the majority of studies. Conclusion The criteria of accessibility, content, design method, security, and confidentiality of personal information are the essential criteria in the evaluation of all websites. It is suggested that the ease of use, graphics, attractiveness and other apparent properties of websites are considered as the user-friendliness sub criteria. Further, the criteria of speed and accessibility of the website should be considered as sub criterion of efficiency. When determining the evaluation criteria of the quality of websites, attention to major differences in the specific features of any website is essential. PMID:28465807

Evaluation models and criteria of the quality of hospital websites: a systematic review study.

PubMed

Jeddi, Fatemeh Rangraz; Gilasi, Hamidreza; Khademi, Sahar

2017-02-01

Hospital websites are important tools in establishing communication and exchanging information between patients and staff, and thus should enjoy an acceptable level of quality. The aim of this study was to identify proper models and criteria to evaluate the quality of hospital websites. This research was a systematic review study. The international databases such as Science Direct, Google Scholar, PubMed, Proquest, Ovid, Elsevier, Springer, and EBSCO together with regional database such as Magiran, Scientific Information Database, Persian Journal Citation Report (PJCR) and IranMedex were searched. Suitable keywords including website, evaluation, and quality of website were used. Full text papers related to the research were included. The criteria and sub criteria of the evaluation of website quality were extracted and classified. To evaluate the quality of the websites, various models and criteria were presented. The WEB-Q-IM, Mile, Minerva, Seruni Luci, and Web-Qual models were the designed models. The criteria of accessibility, content and apparent features of the websites, the design procedure, the graphics applied in the website, and the page's attractions have been mentioned in the majority of studies. The criteria of accessibility, content, design method, security, and confidentiality of personal information are the essential criteria in the evaluation of all websites. It is suggested that the ease of use, graphics, attractiveness and other apparent properties of websites are considered as the user-friendliness sub criteria. Further, the criteria of speed and accessibility of the website should be considered as sub criterion of efficiency. When determining the evaluation criteria of the quality of websites, attention to major differences in the specific features of any website is essential.

Quality Assurance on Undoped CsI Crystals for the Mu2e Experiment

DOE PAGES

Atanov, N.; Baranov, V.; Budagov, J.; ...

2017-12-21

The Mu2e experiment is constructing a calorimeter consisting of 1,348 undoped CsI crystals in two disks. Each crystal has a dimension of 34 x 34 x 200 mm 3, and is readout by a large area silicon PMT array. A series of technical specifications was defined according to physics requirements. Preproduction CsI crystals were procured from three firms: Amcrys, Saint-Gobain and Shanghai Institute of Ceramics. We report the quality assurance on crystal's scintillation properties and their radiation hardness against ionization dose and neutrons. With a fast decay time of 30 ns and a light output of more than 100 p.e./MeVmore » measured with a bi-alkali PMT, undoped CsI crystals provide a cost-effective solution for the Mu2e experiment.« less

Quality Assurance on Undoped CsI Crystals for the Mu2e Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atanov, N.; Baranov, V.; Budagov, J.; Davydov, Yu. I.; Glagolev, V.; Tereshchenko, V.; Usubov, Z.; Cervelli, F.; Di Falco, S.; Donati, S.; Morescalchi, L.; Pedreschi, E.; Pezzullo, G.; Raffaelli, F.; Spinella, F.; Colao, F.; Cordelli, M.; Corradi, G.; Diociaiuti, E.; Donghia, R.; Giovannella, S.; Happacher, F.; Martini, M.; Miscetti, S.; Ricci, M.; Saputi, A.; Sarra, I.; Echenard, B.; Hitlin, D. G.; Hu, C.; Miyashita, T.; Porter, F.; Zhang, L.; Zhu, R.-Y.; Grancagnolo, F.; Tassielli, G.; Murat, P.

2018-02-01

The Mu2e experiment is constructing a calorimeter consisting of 1,348 undoped CsI crystals in two disks. Each crystal has a dimension of 34 x 34 x 200 mm, and is readout by a large area silicon PMT array. A series of technical specifications was defined according to physics requirements. Preproduction CsI crystals were procured from three firms: Amcrys, Saint-Gobain and Shanghai Institute of Ceramics. We report the quality assurance on crystal's scintillation properties and their radiation hardness against ionization dose and neutrons. With a fast decay time of 30 ns and a light output of more than 100 p.e./MeV measured with a bi-alkali PMT, undoped CsI crystals provide a cost-effective solution for the Mu2e experiment.

Quality Assurance on Undoped CsI Crystals for the Mu2e Experiment

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

Atanov, N.; Baranov, V.; Budagov, J.

The Mu2e experiment is constructing a calorimeter consisting of 1,348 undoped CsI crystals in two disks. Each crystal has a dimension of 34 x 34 x 200 mm 3, and is readout by a large area silicon PMT array. A series of technical specifications was defined according to physics requirements. Preproduction CsI crystals were procured from three firms: Amcrys, Saint-Gobain and Shanghai Institute of Ceramics. We report the quality assurance on crystal's scintillation properties and their radiation hardness against ionization dose and neutrons. With a fast decay time of 30 ns and a light output of more than 100 p.e./MeVmore » measured with a bi-alkali PMT, undoped CsI crystals provide a cost-effective solution for the Mu2e experiment.« less

Reflexion on linear regression trip production modelling method for ensuring good model quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suprayitno, Hitapriya; Ratnasari, Vita

2017-11-01

Transport Modelling is important. For certain cases, the conventional model still has to be used, in which having a good trip production model is capital. A good model can only be obtained from a good sample. Two of the basic principles of a good sampling is having a sample capable to represent the population characteristics and capable to produce an acceptable error at a certain confidence level. It seems that this principle is not yet quite understood and used in trip production modeling. Therefore, investigating the Trip Production Modelling practice in Indonesia and try to formulate a better modeling method for ensuring the Model Quality is necessary. This research result is presented as follows. Statistics knows a method to calculate span of prediction value at a certain confidence level for linear regression, which is called Confidence Interval of Predicted Value. The common modeling practice uses R2 as the principal quality measure, the sampling practice varies and not always conform to the sampling principles. An experiment indicates that small sample is already capable to give excellent R2 value and sample composition can significantly change the model. Hence, good R2 value, in fact, does not always mean good model quality. These lead to three basic ideas for ensuring good model quality, i.e. reformulating quality measure, calculation procedure, and sampling method. A quality measure is defined as having a good R2 value and a good Confidence Interval of Predicted Value. Calculation procedure must incorporate statistical calculation method and appropriate statistical tests needed. A good sampling method must incorporate random well distributed stratified sampling with a certain minimum number of samples. These three ideas need to be more developed and tested.

Model design for predicting extreme precipitation event impacts on water quality in a water supply reservoir

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hagemann, M.; Jeznach, L. C.; Park, M. H.; Tobiason, J. E.

2016-12-01

Extreme precipitation events such as tropical storms and hurricanes are by their nature rare, yet have disproportionate and adverse effects on surface water quality. In the context of drinking water reservoirs, common concerns of such events include increased erosion and sediment transport and influx of natural organic matter and nutrients. As part of an effort to model the effects of an extreme precipitation event on water quality at the reservoir intake of a major municipal water system, this study sought to estimate extreme-event watershed responses including streamflow and exports of nutrients and organic matter for use as inputs to a 2-D hydrodynamic and water quality reservoir model. Since extreme-event watershed exports are highly uncertain, we characterized and propagated predictive uncertainty using a quasi-Monte Carlo approach to generate reservoir model inputs. Three storm precipitation depths—corresponding to recurrence intervals of 5, 50, and 100 years—were converted to streamflow in each of 9 tributaries by volumetrically scaling 2 storm hydrographs from the historical record. Rating-curve models for concentratoin, calibrated using 10 years of data for each of 5 constituents, were then used to estimate the parameters of a multivariate lognormal probability model of constituent concentrations, conditional on each scenario's storm date and streamflow. A quasi-random Halton sequence (n = 100) was drawn from the conditional distribution for each event scenario, and used to generate input files to a calibrated CE-QUAL-W2 reservoir model. The resulting simulated concentrations at the reservoir's drinking water intake constitute a low-discrepancy sample from the estimated uncertainty space of extreme-event source water-quality. Limiting factors to the suitability of this approach include poorly constrained relationships between hydrology and constituent concentrations, a high-dimensional space from which to generate inputs, and relatively long run

Development of a CE-QUAL-W2 temperature model for Crystal Springs Lake, Portland, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Buccola, Norman L.; Stonewall, Adam J.

2016-05-19

Model simulations (scenarios) were run with lower water surface elevations in Crystal Springs Lake and increased shading to the lake to assess the relative effect the lake and pond characteristics have on water temperature. The Golf Pond was unaltered in all scenarios. The models estimated that lower lake elevations would result in cooler water downstream of the Golf Pond and shorter residence times in the lake. Increased shading to the lake would also provide substantial cooling. Most management scenarios resulted in a decrease in 7-day average of daily maximum values by about 2.0– 4.7 °F (1.1 –2.6 °C) for outflow from Crystal Springs Lake during the period of interest. Outflows from the Golf Pond showed a net temperature reduction of 0.5–2.7 °F (0.3–1.5 °C) compared to measured values in 2014 because of solar heating and downstream warming in the Golf Pond resulting from mixing with inflow from Reed Lake.

Quality Enhancement on E-Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ossiannilsson, E. S. I.

2012-01-01

Purpose: Benchmarking, a method for quality assurance has not been very commonly used in higher education with regard to e-learning. Today, e-learning is an integral part of higher education, and so should also be an integral part of quality assurance systems. However, quality indicators, benchmarks and critical success factors on e-learning have…

Data exploration, quality control and statistical analysis of ChIP-exo/nexus experiments

PubMed Central

Welch, Rene; Chung, Dongjun; Grass, Jeffrey; Landick, Robert

2017-01-01

Abstract ChIP-exo/nexus experiments rely on innovative modifications of the commonly used ChIP-seq protocol for high resolution mapping of transcription factor binding sites. Although many aspects of the ChIP-exo data analysis are similar to those of ChIP-seq, these high throughput experiments pose a number of unique quality control and analysis challenges. We develop a novel statistical quality control pipeline and accompanying R/Bioconductor package, ChIPexoQual, to enable exploration and analysis of ChIP-exo and related experiments. ChIPexoQual evaluates a number of key issues including strand imbalance, library complexity, and signal enrichment of data. Assessment of these features are facilitated through diagnostic plots and summary statistics computed over regions of the genome with varying levels of coverage. We evaluated our QC pipeline with both large collections of public ChIP-exo/nexus data and multiple, new ChIP-exo datasets from Escherichia coli. ChIPexoQual analysis of these datasets resulted in guidelines for using these QC metrics across a wide range of sequencing depths and provided further insights for modelling ChIP-exo data. PMID:28911122

Identifying elder abuse & neglect among family caregiving dyads: A cross sectional study of psychometric properties of the QualCare scale.

PubMed

Pickering, Carolyn E Z; Ridenour, Kimberly; Salaysay, Zachary; Reyes-Gastelum, David; Pierce, Steven J

2017-04-01

Universal screening for elder abuse and neglect is a current controversy in geriatrics, fueled by the lack of evidence on valid and reliable instruments. Since each U.S. State and many other countries have their own legal definitions of what constitutes elder abuse and neglect, this further complicates instrument development and clinical assessment. The purpose of this paper is to present data on the sensitivity and specificity of the QualCare Scale, an instrument with utility in detecting clinically significant elder abuse and neglect among older adults receiving care at home. Data used in this analysis were collected during a training program in which trainees completed assessments (N=80) of standardized case scenarios of caregiving dyads. Trainees completed the QualCare Scale during each assessment. This training program, including the assessments of the standardized case scenarios, was completed using a custom designed virtual-reality platform. Trainees were able to interact with the environment, older adult and caregiver within the case scenario. Thirty-six nurses and social workers from two Michigan Medicaid Waiver Sites participated in the training program. Each participant assessed between one and five scenarios, yielding the sample of 80 assessments used in this analysis. The research team designed each standardized case scenario to reflect whether or not the QualCare Scale subscale score should indicate reportable elder abuse and neglect per the State statute. Accordingly, the research team's QualCare Scale scores for each scenario were used as the gold standard criterion of clinical significance for comparison against the participant's assessment scores. Sensitivity and specificity for each of the six QualCare subscales was determined. Overall, the subscales had high sensitivity (≥0.811) but a wide range for specificity (0.167-1.000). The QualCare Scale can be an effective tool in detecting clinically significant elder abuse and neglect among older

Improved meteorology from an updated WRF/CMAQ modeling system with MODIS vegetation and albedo

EPA Science Inventory

Realistic vegetation characteristics and phenology from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products improve the simulation for the meteorology and air quality modeling system WRF/CMAQ (Weather Research and Forecasting model and Community Multiscale Air Qual...

A Digital Hydrologic Network Supporting NAWQA MRB SPARROW Modeling--MRB_E2RF1

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brakebill, J.W.; Terziotti, S.E.

2011-01-01

A digital hydrologic network was developed to support SPAtially Referenced Regression on Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models within selected regions of the United States. These regions correspond with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program Major River Basin (MRB) study units 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 (Preston and others, 2009). MRB2, covers the South Atlantic-Gulf and Tennessee River basins. MRB3, covers the Great Lakes, Ohio, Upper Mississippi, and Souris-Red-Rainy River basins. MRB4, covers the Missouri River basins. MRB5, covers the Lower Mississippi, Arkansas-White-Red, and Texas-Gulf River basins. MRB7, covers the Pacific Northwest River basins. The digital hydrologic network described here represents surface-water pathways (MRB_E2RF1) and associated catchments (MRB_E2RF1WS). It serves as the fundamental framework to spatially reference and summarize explanatory information supporting nutrient SPARROW models (Brakebill and others, 2011; Wieczorek and LaMotte, 2011). The principal geospatial dataset used to support this regional effort was based on an enhanced version of a 1:500,000 scale digital stream-reach network (ERF1_2) (Nolan et al., 2002). Enhancements included associating over 3,500 water-quality monitoring sites to the reach network, improving physical locations of stream reaches at or near monitoring locations, and generating drainage catchments based on 100m elevation data. A unique number (MRB_ID) identifies each reach as a single unit. This unique number is also shared by the catchment area drained by the reach, thus spatially linking the hydrologically connected streams and the respective drainage area characteristics. In addition, other relevant physical, environmental, and monitoring information can be associated to the common network and accessed using the unique identification number.

Ten Years of LibQual: A Study of Qualitative and Quantitative Survey Results at the University of Mississippi 2001-2010

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenwood, Judy T.; Watson, Alex P.; Dennis, Melissa

2011-01-01

This article analyzes quantitative adequacy gap scores and coded qualitative comments from LibQual surveys at the University of Mississippi from 2001 to 2010, looking for relationships between library policy changes and LibQual results and any other trends that emerged. Analysis found no relationship between changes in policy and survey results…

Relationship between soybean yield/quality and soil quality in a major soybean-producing area based on a 2D-QSAR model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Ming; Li, Shiwei

2017-05-01

Based on experimental data of the soybean yield and quality from 30 sampling points, a quantitative structure-activity relationship model (2D-QSAR) was established using the soil quality (elements, pH, organic matter content and cation exchange capacity) as independent variables and soybean yield or quality as the dependent variable, with SPSS software. During the modeling, the full data set (30 and 14 compounds) was divided into a training set (24 and 11 compounds) for model generation and a test set (6 and 3 compounds) for model validation. The R2 values of the resulting models and data were 0.826 and 0.808 for soybean yield and quality, respectively, and all regression coefficients were significant (P < 0.05). The correlation coefficient R2pred of observed values and predicted values of the soybean yield and soybean quality in the test set were 0.961 and 0.956, respectively, indicating that the models had a good predictive ability. Moreover, the Mo, Se, K, N and organic matter contents and the cation exchange capacity of soil had a positive effect on soybean production, and the B, Mo, Se, K and N contents and cation exchange coefficient had a positive effect on soybean quality. The results are instructive for enhancing soils to improve the yield and quality of soybean, and this method can also be used to study other crops or regions, providing a theoretical basis to improving the yield and quality of crops.

Stochastic E2F activation and reconciliation of phenomenological cell-cycle models.

PubMed

Lee, Tae J; Yao, Guang; Bennett, Dorothy C; Nevins, Joseph R; You, Lingchong

2010-09-21

The transition of the mammalian cell from quiescence to proliferation is a highly variable process. Over the last four decades, two lines of apparently contradictory, phenomenological models have been proposed to account for such temporal variability. These include various forms of the transition probability (TP) model and the growth control (GC) model, which lack mechanistic details. The GC model was further proposed as an alternative explanation for the concept of the restriction point, which we recently demonstrated as being controlled by a bistable Rb-E2F switch. Here, through a combination of modeling and experiments, we show that these different lines of models in essence reflect different aspects of stochastic dynamics in cell cycle entry. In particular, we show that the variable activation of E2F can be described by stochastic activation of the bistable Rb-E2F switch, which in turn may account for the temporal variability in cell cycle entry. Moreover, we show that temporal dynamics of E2F activation can be recast into the frameworks of both the TP model and the GC model via parameter mapping. This mapping suggests that the two lines of phenomenological models can be reconciled through the stochastic dynamics of the Rb-E2F switch. It also suggests a potential utility of the TP or GC models in defining concise, quantitative phenotypes of cell physiology. This may have implications in classifying cell types or states.

An enhanced PM 2.5 air quality forecast model based on nonlinear regression and back-trajectory concentrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cobourn, W. Geoffrey

2010-08-01

An enhanced PM 2.5 air quality forecast model based on nonlinear regression (NLR) and back-trajectory concentrations has been developed for use in the Louisville, Kentucky metropolitan area. The PM 2.5 air quality forecast model is designed for use in the warm season, from May through September, when PM 2.5 air quality is more likely to be critical for human health. The enhanced PM 2.5 model consists of a basic NLR model, developed for use with an automated air quality forecast system, and an additional parameter based on upwind PM 2.5 concentration, called PM24. The PM24 parameter is designed to be determined manually, by synthesizing backward air trajectory and regional air quality information to compute 24-h back-trajectory concentrations. The PM24 parameter may be used by air quality forecasters to adjust the forecast provided by the automated forecast system. In this study of the 2007 and 2008 forecast seasons, the enhanced model performed well using forecasted meteorological data and PM24 as input. The enhanced PM 2.5 model was compared with three alternative models, including the basic NLR model, the basic NLR model with a persistence parameter added, and the NLR model with persistence and PM24. The two models that included PM24 were of comparable accuracy. The two models incorporating back-trajectory concentrations had lower mean absolute errors and higher rates of detecting unhealthy PM2.5 concentrations compared to the other models.

Service Quality: A Concept not Fully Explored.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hernon, Peter; Nitecki, Danuta A.

2001-01-01

Examines the concept of service quality in libraries. Highlights include assessment; service quality versus user satisfaction; measuring service quality, including SERVQUAL; planning; experiences at Texas A& M University in cooperation with ARL (Association of Research Libraries) that resulted in LibQUAL+; and conceptual issues. (Contains 54…

Inverse modeling with RZWQM2 to predict water quality

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nolan, Bernard T.; Malone, Robert W.; Ma, Liwang; Green, Christopher T.; Fienen, Michael N.; Jaynes, Dan B.

2011-01-01

This chapter presents guidelines for autocalibration of the Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM2) by inverse modeling using PEST parameter estimation software (Doherty, 2010). Two sites with diverse climate and management were considered for simulation of N losses by leaching and in drain flow: an almond [Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb] orchard in the San Joaquin Valley, California and the Walnut Creek watershed in central Iowa, which is predominantly in corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation. Inverse modeling provides an objective statistical basis for calibration that involves simultaneous adjustment of model parameters and yields parameter confidence intervals and sensitivities. We describe operation of PEST in both parameter estimation and predictive analysis modes. The goal of parameter estimation is to identify a unique set of parameters that minimize a weighted least squares objective function, and the goal of predictive analysis is to construct a nonlinear confidence interval for a prediction of interest by finding a set of parameters that maximizes or minimizes the prediction while maintaining the model in a calibrated state. We also describe PEST utilities (PAR2PAR, TSPROC) for maintaining ordered relations among model parameters (e.g., soil root growth factor) and for post-processing of RZWQM2 outputs representing different cropping practices at the Iowa site. Inverse modeling provided reasonable fits to observed water and N fluxes and directly benefitted the modeling through: (i) simultaneous adjustment of multiple parameters versus one-at-a-time adjustment in manual approaches; (ii) clear indication by convergence criteria of when calibration is complete; (iii) straightforward detection of nonunique and insensitive parameters, which can affect the stability of PEST and RZWQM2; and (iv) generation of confidence intervals for uncertainty analysis of parameters and model predictions. Composite scaled sensitivities, which

Enhancing e-waste estimates: Improving data quality by multivariate Input–Output Analysis

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

Wang, Feng, E-mail: fwang@unu.edu; Design for Sustainability Lab, Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Landbergstraat 15, 2628CE Delft; Huisman, Jaco

2013-11-15

Highlights: • A multivariate Input–Output Analysis method for e-waste estimates is proposed. • Applying multivariate analysis to consolidate data can enhance e-waste estimates. • We examine the influence of model selection and data quality on e-waste estimates. • Datasets of all e-waste related variables in a Dutch case study have been provided. • Accurate modeling of time-variant lifespan distributions is critical for estimate. - Abstract: Waste electrical and electronic equipment (or e-waste) is one of the fastest growing waste streams, which encompasses a wide and increasing spectrum of products. Accurate estimation of e-waste generation is difficult, mainly due to lackmore » of high quality data referred to market and socio-economic dynamics. This paper addresses how to enhance e-waste estimates by providing techniques to increase data quality. An advanced, flexible and multivariate Input–Output Analysis (IOA) method is proposed. It links all three pillars in IOA (product sales, stock and lifespan profiles) to construct mathematical relationships between various data points. By applying this method, the data consolidation steps can generate more accurate time-series datasets from available data pool. This can consequently increase the reliability of e-waste estimates compared to the approach without data processing. A case study in the Netherlands is used to apply the advanced IOA model. As a result, for the first time ever, complete datasets of all three variables for estimating all types of e-waste have been obtained. The result of this study also demonstrates significant disparity between various estimation models, arising from the use of data under different conditions. It shows the importance of applying multivariate approach and multiple sources to improve data quality for modelling, specifically using appropriate time-varying lifespan parameters. Following the case study, a roadmap with a procedural guideline is provided to enhance e

A Digital Hydrologic Network Supporting NAWQA MRB SPARROW Modeling--MRB_E2RF1WS

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brakebill, J.W.; Terziotti, S.E.

2011-01-01

A digital hydrologic network was developed to support SPAtially Referenced Regression on Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models within selected regions of the United States. These regions correspond with the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program Major River Basin (MRB) study units 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 (Preston and others, 2009). MRB2, covers the South Atlantic-Gulf and Tennessee River basins. MRB3, covers the Great Lakes, Ohio, Upper Mississippi, and Souris-Red-Rainy River basins. MRB4, covers the Missouri River basins. MRB5, covers the Lower Mississippi, Arkansas-White-Red, and Texas-Gulf River basins. MRB7, covers the Pacific Northwest River basins. The digital hydrologic network described here represents surface-water pathways (MRB_E2RF1) and associated catchments (MRB_E2RF1WS). It serves as the fundamental framework to spatially reference and summarize explanatory information supporting nutrient SPARROW models (Brakebill and others, 2011; Wieczorek and LaMotte, 2011). The principal geospatial dataset used to support this regional effort was based on an enhanced version of a 1:500,000 scale digital stream-reach network (ERF1_2) (Nolan et al., 2002). Enhancements included associating over 3,500 water-quality monitoring sites to the reach network, improving physical locations of stream reaches at or near monitoring locations, and generating drainage catchments based on 100m elevation data. A unique number (MRB_ID) identifies each reach as a single unit. This unique number is also shared by the catchment area drained by the reach, thus spatially linking the hydrologically connected streams and the respective drainage area characteristics. In addition, other relevant physical, environmental, and monitoring information can be associated to the common network and accessed using the unique identification number.

Data exploration, quality control and statistical analysis of ChIP-exo/nexus experiments.

PubMed

Welch, Rene; Chung, Dongjun; Grass, Jeffrey; Landick, Robert; Keles, Sündüz

2017-09-06

ChIP-exo/nexus experiments rely on innovative modifications of the commonly used ChIP-seq protocol for high resolution mapping of transcription factor binding sites. Although many aspects of the ChIP-exo data analysis are similar to those of ChIP-seq, these high throughput experiments pose a number of unique quality control and analysis challenges. We develop a novel statistical quality control pipeline and accompanying R/Bioconductor package, ChIPexoQual, to enable exploration and analysis of ChIP-exo and related experiments. ChIPexoQual evaluates a number of key issues including strand imbalance, library complexity, and signal enrichment of data. Assessment of these features are facilitated through diagnostic plots and summary statistics computed over regions of the genome with varying levels of coverage. We evaluated our QC pipeline with both large collections of public ChIP-exo/nexus data and multiple, new ChIP-exo datasets from Escherichia coli. ChIPexoQual analysis of these datasets resulted in guidelines for using these QC metrics across a wide range of sequencing depths and provided further insights for modelling ChIP-exo data. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Simulation of effects of wastewater discharges on Sand Creek and lower Caddo Creek near Ardmore, Oklahoma

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wesolowski, Edwin A.

1999-01-01

A streamflow and water-quality model was developed for reaches of Sand and Caddo Creeks in south-central Oklahoma to simulate the effects of wastewater discharge from a refinery and a municipal treatment plant.The purpose of the model was to simulate conditions during low streamflow when the conditions controlling dissolved-oxygen concentrations are most severe. Data collected to calibrate and verify the streamflow and water-quality model include continuously monitored streamflow and water-quality data at two gaging stations and three temporary monitoring stations; wastewater discharge from two wastewater plants; two sets each of five water-quality samples at nine sites during a 24-hour period; dye and propane samples; periphyton samples; and sediment oxygen demand measurements. The water-quality sampling, at a 6-hour frequency, was based on a Lagrangian reference frame in which the same volume of water was sampled at each site. To represent the unsteady streamflows and the dynamic water-quality conditions, a transport modeling system was used that included both a model to route streamflow and a model to transport dissolved conservative constituents with linkage to reaction kinetics similar to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency QUAL2E model to simulate nonconservative constituents. These model codes are the Diffusion Analogy Streamflow Routing Model (DAFLOW) and the branched Lagrangian transport model (BLTM) and BLTM/QUAL2E that, collectively, as calibrated models, are referred to as the Ardmore Water-Quality Model.The Ardmore DAFLOW model was calibrated with three sets of streamflows that collectively ranged from 16 to 3,456 cubic feet per second. The model uses only one set of calibrated coefficients and exponents to simulate streamflow over this range. The Ardmore BLTM was calibrated for transport by simulating dye concentrations collected during a tracer study when streamflows ranged from 16 to 23 cubic feet per second. Therefore, the model is expected to

CE-QUAL-W2: A Numerical Two-Dimensional, Laterally Averaged Model of Hydrodynamics and Water Quality; User’s Manual.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-08-01

publication by Ms. Jessica S. Ruff, Information Products Division, WES. This manual is published in loose-leaf format for convenience in ." ._ periodic...transfer computations. m. Variety of output options. Background 8. This manual is a product of a program of evaluation and refinement of mathematical water...zooplankton and higher order herbivores. However, these groups are presently not included in the model. Macrophyte production may also have an impact upon

The influence of synoptic weather regimes on UK air quality: regional model studies of tropospheric column NO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pope, R. J.; Savage, N. H.; Chipperfield, M. P.; Ordóñez, C.; Neal, L. S.

2015-07-01

Synoptic meteorology can have a significant influence on UK air quality. Cyclonic (anticyclonic) conditions lead to the dispersion (accumulation) of air pollutants away from (over) source regions. Meteorology also modifies atmospheric chemistry processes such as photolysis and wet deposition. Previous studies have shown a relationship between observed satellite tropospheric column NO2 and synoptic meteorology in different seasons. Here, we test whether the UK Met Office Air Quality in the Unified Model (AQUM) can reproduce these observations and then use the model to determine the controlling factors. We show that AQUM successfully captures the observed relationships, when sampled under the Lamb Weather Types, an objective classification of midday UK circulation patterns. By using a range of idealised NOx-like tracers with different e-folding lifetimes, we show that under different synoptic regimes the NO2 lifetime in AQUM is approximately 6 h in summer and 12 h in winter. The longer lifetime can explain why synoptic spatial column NO2 variations are more significant in winter compared to summer, due to less NO2 photochemical loss. We also show that cyclonic conditions have more seasonality in column NO2 than anticyclonic conditions as they result in more extreme spatial departures from the wintertime seasonal average. Within a season (summer or winter) under different synoptic regimes, a large proportion of the spatial pattern in the UK column NO2 field can be explained by the idealised model tracers, showing that transport is an important factor in governing the variability of UK air quality on seasonal synoptic timescales.

Massive metrology using fast e-beam technology improves OPC model accuracy by >2x at faster turnaround time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Qian; Wang, Lei; Wang, Jazer; Wang, ChangAn; Shi, Hong-Fei; Guerrero, James; Feng, Mu; Zhang, Qiang; Liang, Jiao; Guo, Yunbo; Zhang, Chen; Wallow, Tom; Rio, David; Wang, Lester; Wang, Alvin; Wang, Jen-Shiang; Gronlund, Keith; Lang, Jun; Koh, Kar Kit; Zhang, Dong Qing; Zhang, Hongxin; Krishnamurthy, Subramanian; Fei, Ray; Lin, Chiawen; Fang, Wei; Wang, Fei

2018-03-01

Classical SEM metrology, CD-SEM, uses low data rate and extensive frame-averaging technique to achieve high-quality SEM imaging for high-precision metrology. The drawbacks include prolonged data collection time and larger photoresist shrinkage due to excess electron dosage. This paper will introduce a novel e-beam metrology system based on a high data rate, large probe current, and ultra-low noise electron optics design. At the same level of metrology precision, this high speed e-beam metrology system could significantly shorten data collection time and reduce electron dosage. In this work, the data collection speed is higher than 7,000 images per hr. Moreover, a novel large field of view (LFOV) capability at high resolution was enabled by an advanced electron deflection system design. The area coverage by LFOV is >100x larger than classical SEM. Superior metrology precision throughout the whole image has been achieved, and high quality metrology data could be extracted from full field. This new capability on metrology will further improve metrology data collection speed to support the need for large volume of metrology data from OPC model calibration of next generation technology. The shrinking EPE (Edge Placement Error) budget places more stringent requirement on OPC model accuracy, which is increasingly limited by metrology errors. In the current practice of metrology data collection and data processing to model calibration flow, CD-SEM throughput becomes a bottleneck that limits the amount of metrology measurements available for OPC model calibration, impacting pattern coverage and model accuracy especially for 2D pattern prediction. To address the trade-off in metrology sampling and model accuracy constrained by the cycle time requirement, this paper employs the high speed e-beam metrology system and a new computational software solution to take full advantage of the large volume data and significantly reduce both systematic and random metrology errors. The

Learning a Continuous-Time Streaming Video QoE Model.

PubMed

Ghadiyaram, Deepti; Pan, Janice; Bovik, Alan C

2018-05-01

Over-the-top adaptive video streaming services are frequently impacted by fluctuating network conditions that can lead to rebuffering events (stalling events) and sudden bitrate changes. These events visually impact video consumers' quality of experience (QoE) and can lead to consumer churn. The development of models that can accurately predict viewers' instantaneous subjective QoE under such volatile network conditions could potentially enable the more efficient design of quality-control protocols for media-driven services, such as YouTube, Amazon, Netflix, and so on. However, most existing models only predict a single overall QoE score on a given video and are based on simple global video features, without accounting for relevant aspects of human perception and behavior. We have created a QoE evaluator, called the time-varying QoE Indexer, that accounts for interactions between stalling events, analyzes the spatial and temporal content of a video, predicts the perceptual video quality, models the state of the client-side data buffer, and consequently predicts continuous-time quality scores that agree quite well with human opinion scores. The new QoE predictor also embeds the impact of relevant human cognitive factors, such as memory and recency, and their complex interactions with the video content being viewed. We evaluated the proposed model on three different video databases and attained standout QoE prediction performance.

Modelling End-User of Electronic-Government Service: The Role of Information quality, System Quality and Trust

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Witarsyah Jacob, Deden; Fudzee, Mohd Farhan Md; Aizi Salamat, Mohamad; Kasim, Shahreen; Mahdin, Hairulnizam; Azhar Ramli, Azizul

2017-08-01

Many governments around the world increasingly use internet technologies such as electronic government to provide public services. These services range from providing the most basic informational website to deploying sophisticated tools for managing interactions between government agencies and beyond government. Electronic government (e-government) aims to provide a more accurate, easily accessible, cost-effective and time saving for the community. In this study, we develop a new model of e-government adoption service by extending the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) through the incorporation of some variables such as System Quality, Information Quality and Trust. The model is then tested using a large-scale, multi-site survey research of 237 Indonesian citizens. This model will be validated by using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The result indicates that System Quality, Information Quality and Trust variables proven to effect user behavior. This study extends the current understanding on the influence of System Quality, Information Quality and Trust factors to researchers, practitioners, and policy makers.

The influence of synoptic weather regimes on UK air quality: regional model studies of tropospheric column NO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pope, R. J.; Savage, N. H.; Chipperfield, M. P.; Ordóñez, C.; Neal, L. S.

2015-10-01

Synoptic meteorology can have a significant influence on UK air quality. Cyclonic conditions lead to the dispersion of air pollutants away from source regions, while anticyclonic conditions lead to their accumulation over source regions. Meteorology also modifies atmospheric chemistry processes such as photolysis and wet deposition. Previous studies have shown a relationship between observed satellite tropospheric column NO2 and synoptic meteorology in different seasons. Here, we test whether the UK Met Office Air Quality in the Unified Model (AQUM) can reproduce these observations and then use the model to explore the relative importance of various factors. We show that AQUM successfully captures the observed relationships when sampled under the Lamb weather types, an objective classification of midday UK circulation patterns. By using a range of idealized NOx-like tracers with different e-folding lifetimes, we show that under different synoptic regimes the NO2 lifetime in AQUM is approximately 6 h in summer and 12 h in winter. The longer lifetime can explain why synoptic spatial tropospheric column NO2 variations are more significant in winter compared to summer, due to less NO2 photochemical loss. We also show that cyclonic conditions have more seasonality in tropospheric column NO2 than anticyclonic conditions as they result in more extreme spatial departures from the wintertime seasonal average. Within a season (summer or winter) under different synoptic regimes, a large proportion of the spatial pattern in the UK tropospheric column NO2 field can be explained by the idealized model tracers, showing that transport is an important factor in governing the variability of UK air quality on seasonal synoptic timescales.

Water quality impact assessment of agricultural Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) simulated for a regional catchment in Quebec, Eastern Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rousseau, Alain N.; Hallema, Dennis W.; Gumiere, Silvio J.; Savary, Stéphane; Hould Gosselin, Gabriel

2014-05-01

Water quality has become a matter of increasing concern over the past four decades as a result of the intensification of agriculture, and more particularly so in Canada where agriculture has evolved into the largest non-point source of surface water pollution. The Canadian WEBs project (Watershed Evaluation of Beneficial Management Practices, BMPs) was initiated in order to determine the efficiency of BMPs in improving the surface water quality of rural catchments, and the economic aspects related to their implementation on the same scale. In this contribution we use the integrated watershed modelling platform GIBSI (Gestion Intégrée des Bassins versants à l'aide d'un Système Informatisé) to evaluate the effects of various BMPs on sediment and nutrient yields and, in close relation to this, the surface water quality for the Beaurivage River catchment (718 km2) in Quebec, eastern Canada. A base scenario of the catchment is developed by calibrating the different models of the GIBSI platform, namely HYDROTEL for hydrology, the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) for soil erosion, the Erosion-Productivity Impact Calculator (EPIC) of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) for contaminant transport and fate, and QUAL2E for stream water quality. Four BMPs were analysed: (1) vegetated riparian buffer strips, (2) precision slurry application, (3) transition of all cereal and corn fields to grassland (grassland conversion), and (4) no-tillage on corn fields. Simulations suggest that riparian buffer strips and grassland conversion are more effective in terms of phosphorus, nitrogen and sediment load reduction than precision slurry application and no-tillage on corn fields. The results furthermore indicate the need for a more profound understanding of sediment dynamics in streams and on riparian buffer strips.

Metal Mixture Modeling Evaluation project: 2. Comparison of four modeling approaches

USGS Publications Warehouse

Farley, Kevin J.; Meyer, Joe; Balistrieri, Laurie S.; DeSchamphelaere, Karl; Iwasaki, Yuichi; Janssen, Colin; Kamo, Masashi; Lofts, Steve; Mebane, Christopher A.; Naito, Wataru; Ryan, Adam C.; Santore, Robert C.; Tipping, Edward

2015-01-01

As part of the Metal Mixture Modeling Evaluation (MMME) project, models were developed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Japan), the U.S. Geological Survey (USA), HDR⎪HydroQual, Inc. (USA), and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UK) to address the effects of metal mixtures on biological responses of aquatic organisms. A comparison of the 4 models, as they were presented at the MMME Workshop in Brussels, Belgium (May 2012), is provided herein. Overall, the models were found to be similar in structure (free ion activities computed by WHAM; specific or non-specific binding of metals/cations in or on the organism; specification of metal potency factors and/or toxicity response functions to relate metal accumulation to biological response). Major differences in modeling approaches are attributed to various modeling assumptions (e.g., single versus multiple types of binding site on the organism) and specific calibration strategies that affected the selection of model parameters. The models provided a reasonable description of additive (or nearly additive) toxicity for a number of individual toxicity test results. Less-than-additive toxicity was more difficult to describe with the available models. Because of limitations in the available datasets and the strong inter-relationships among the model parameters (log KM values, potency factors, toxicity response parameters), further evaluation of specific model assumptions and calibration strategies is needed.

Spin-Up and Tuning of the Global Carbon Cycle Model Inside the GISS ModelE2 GCM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aleinov, Igor; Kiang, Nancy Y.; Romanou, Anastasia

2015-01-01

Planetary carbon cycle involves multiple phenomena, acting at variety of temporal and spacial scales. The typical times range from minutes for leaf stomata physiology to centuries for passive soil carbon pools and deep ocean layers. So, finding a satisfactory equilibrium state becomes a challenging and computationally expensive task. Here we present the spin-up processes for different configurations of the GISS Carbon Cycle model from the model forced with MODIS observed Leaf Area Index (LAI) and prescribed ocean to the prognostic LAI and to the model fully coupled to the dynamic ocean and ocean biology. We investigate the time it takes the model to reach the equilibrium and discuss the ways to speed up this process. NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies General Circulation Model (GISS ModelE2) is currently equipped with all major algorithms necessary for the simulation of the Global Carbon Cycle. The terrestrial part is presented by Ent Terrestrial Biosphere Model (Ent TBM), which includes leaf biophysics, prognostic phenology and soil biogeochemistry module (based on Carnegie-Ames-Stanford model). The ocean part is based on the NASA Ocean Biogeochemistry Model (NOBM). The transport of atmospheric CO2 is performed by the atmospheric part of ModelE2, which employs quadratic upstream algorithm for this purpose.

Performance evaluation of air quality models for predicting PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations at urban traffic intersection during winter period.

PubMed

Gokhale, Sharad; Raokhande, Namita

2008-05-01

There are several models that can be used to evaluate roadside air quality. The comparison of the operational performance of different models pertinent to local conditions is desirable so that the model that performs best can be identified. Three air quality models, namely the 'modified General Finite Line Source Model' (M-GFLSM) of particulates, the 'California Line Source' (CALINE3) model, and the 'California Line Source for Queuing & Hot Spot Calculations' (CAL3QHC) model have been identified for evaluating the air quality at one of the busiest traffic intersections in the city of Guwahati. These models have been evaluated statistically with the vehicle-derived airborne particulate mass emissions in two sizes, i.e. PM10 and PM2.5, the prevailing meteorology and the temporal distribution of the measured daily average PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in wintertime. The study has shown that the CAL3QHC model would make better predictions compared to other models for varied meteorology and traffic conditions. The detailed study reveals that the agreements between the measured and the modeled PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations have been reasonably good for CALINE3 and CAL3QHC models. Further detailed analysis shows that the CAL3QHC model performed well compared to the CALINE3. The monthly performance measures have also led to the similar results. These two models have also outperformed for a class of wind speed velocities except for low winds (<1 m s(-1)), for which, the M-GFLSM model has shown the tendency of better performance for PM10. Nevertheless, the CAL3QHC model has outperformed for both the particulate sizes and for all the wind classes, which therefore can be optional for air quality assessment at urban traffic intersections.

Integrated application of river water quality modelling and cost-benefit analysis to optimize the environmental economical value based on various aquatic waste load reduction strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Chen-Yu; Fan, Chihhao

2017-04-01

To assure the river water quality, the Taiwan government establishes many pollution control strategies and expends huge monetary investment. Despite all these efforts, many rivers still suffer from severe pollution because of massive discharges of domestic and industrial wastewater without proper treatment. A comprehensive evaluation tool seems required to assess the suitability of water pollution control strategies. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to quantify the potential strategic benefits by applying the water quality modelling integrated with cost-benefit analysis to simulating scenarios based on regional development planning. The Erhjen Creek is selected as the study example because it is a major river in southern Taiwan, and its riverine environment impacts a great deal to the neighboring people. For strategy assessment, we established QUAL2k model of Erhjen Creek and conducted the cost-benefit analyses according the proposed strategies. In the water quality simulation, HEC-RAS was employed to calculate the hydraulic parameters and dilution impact of tidal effect in the downstream section. Daily pollution loadings were obtained from the Water Pollution Control Information System maintained by Taiwan EPA, and the wastewater delivery ratios were calculated by comparing the occurrence of pollution loadings with the monitoring data. In the cost-benefit analysis, we adopted the market valuation method, setting a period of 65 years for analysis and discount rate at 2.59%. Capital investments were the costs of design, construction, operation and maintenance for each project in Erhjen Creek catchment. In model calibration and model verification, the mean absolute percentage errors (MAPEs) were calculated to be 21.4% and 25.5%, respectively, which met the prescribed acceptable criteria of 50%. This model was applied to simulating water quality based on implementing various pollution control policies and engineering projects in the Erhjen Creek. The overall

Modeling and Negotiating Service Quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benbernou, Salima; Brandic, Ivona; Cappiello, Cinzia; Carro, Manuel; Comuzzi, Marco; Kertész, Attila; Kritikos, Kyriakos; Parkin, Michael; Pernici, Barbara; Plebani, Pierluigi

In this chapter the research problems of specifying and negotiating QoS and its corresponding quality documents are analyzed. For this reason, this chapter is separated into two main sections, Section 6.1 and 6.2, with each dedicated to one of the two problems, i.e., QoS specification and negotiation, respectively. Each section has a similar structure: they first introduce the problem and then, in the remaining subsections, review related work. Finally, the chapter ends with Section 6.3, which identifies research gaps and presents potential research challenges in QoS modelling, specification and negotiation.

Implementing Electronic Data Interchange to Provide In-Transit Visibility

DTIC Science & Technology

2000-06-01

As a source system for GTN, DTTS-E will interface with GTN to provide satellite-tracking data from the QualComm Regional Dispatch/Monitor Station...DTTS-E data (subject to data quality constraints and the extent of the QualComm Satellite Tracking application) provides the location of organic...vehicle assets equipped with the European QualComm Satellite Tracking transponders. GATES = Global Air Transportation Execution System (AMC) A

ICT and e-Governance: A Conceptual Model of e-DISC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tejasvee, Sanjay; Sarangdevot, S. S.; Gahlot, Devendra; Gour, Vishal; Sandal, Shruti

2010-11-01

One of the most important objectives of e-governance is, proper distribution and delivery of government information and services to the citizens. By progression in resources of information technology, great opportunities comes to the government for serve information and services to the citizens and public sector in better manner. This paper intends to examine and explore the conceptual model of e-DISC (Effective Deliverance of Information and Services to the Citizens) The purpose of this paper is to gain a better understanding of e-government in India with the concept of e-DISC with ICTs and how to deal with challenges and barriers for successful e-DISC model with accuracy. The obtained results prove that the utilizing and by increasing interest in the new electronic, information, and communication technologies (ICTs) and e-DISC model in recent time, government improved the quality of e-governance and delivery of information and services and acknowledged the awareness of the system is also valuable.

Simulation-based optimization framework for reuse of agricultural drainage water in irrigation.

PubMed

Allam, A; Tawfik, A; Yoshimura, C; Fleifle, A

2016-05-01

A simulation-based optimization framework for agricultural drainage water (ADW) reuse has been developed through the integration of a water quality model (QUAL2Kw) and a genetic algorithm. This framework was applied to the Gharbia drain in the Nile Delta, Egypt, in summer and winter 2012. First, the water quantity and quality of the drain was simulated using the QUAL2Kw model. Second, uncertainty analysis and sensitivity analysis based on Monte Carlo simulation were performed to assess QUAL2Kw's performance and to identify the most critical variables for determination of water quality, respectively. Finally, a genetic algorithm was applied to maximize the total reuse quantity from seven reuse locations with the condition not to violate the standards for using mixed water in irrigation. The water quality simulations showed that organic matter concentrations are critical management variables in the Gharbia drain. The uncertainty analysis showed the reliability of QUAL2Kw to simulate water quality and quantity along the drain. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis showed that the 5-day biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total dissolved solids, total nitrogen and total phosphorous are highly sensitive to point source flow and quality. Additionally, the optimization results revealed that the reuse quantities of ADW can reach 36.3% and 40.4% of the available ADW in the drain during summer and winter, respectively. These quantities meet 30.8% and 29.1% of the drainage basin requirements for fresh irrigation water in the respective seasons. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Putting people into water quality modelling.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strickert, G. E.; Hassanzadeh, E.; Noble, B.; Baulch, H. M.; Morales-Marin, L. A.; Lindenschmidt, K. E.

2017-12-01

Water quality in the Qu'Appelle River Basin, Saskatchewan is under pressure due to nutrient pollution entering the river system from major cities, industrial zones and agricultural areas. Among these stressors, agricultural activities are basin-wide; therefore, they are the largest non-point source of water pollution in this region. The dynamics of agricultural impacts on water quality are complex and stem from decisions and activities of two distinct stakeholder groups, namely grain farmers and cattle producers, which have different business plans, values, and attitudes towards water quality. As a result, improving water quality in this basin requires engaging with stakeholders to: (1) understand their perspectives regarding a range of agricultural Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) that can improve water quality in the region, (2) show them the potential consequences of their selected BMPs, and (3) work with stakeholders to better understand the barriers and incentives to implement the effective BMPs. In this line, we held a series of workshops in the Qu'Appelle River Basin with both groups of stakeholders to understand stakeholders' viewpoints about alternative agricultural BMPs and their impact on water quality. Workshop participants were involved in the statement sorting activity (Q-sorts), group discussions, as well as mapping activity. The workshop outcomes show that stakeholder had four distinct viewpoints about the BMPs that can improve water quality, i.e., flow and erosion control, fertilizer management, cattle site management, as well as mixed cattle and wetland management. Accordingly, to simulate the consequences of stakeholder selected BMPs, a conceptual water quality model was developed using System Dynamics (SD). The model estimates potential changes in water quality at the farm, tributary and regional scale in the Qu'Appelle River Basin under each and/or combination of stakeholder selected BMPs. The SD model was then used for real

[eLearning-radiology.com--sustainability for quality assurance].

PubMed

Ketelsen, D; Talanow, R; Uder, M; Grunewald, M

2009-04-01

The aim of the study was to analyze the availability of published radiological e-learning tools and to establish a solution for quality assurance. Substantial pubmed research was performed to identify radiological e-learning tools. 181 e-learning programs were selected. As examples two databases expanding their programs with external links, Compare (n = 435 external links) and TNT-Radiology (n = 1078 external links), were evaluated. A concept for quality assurance was developed by an international taskforce. At the time of assessment, 56.4 % (102 / 181) of the investigated e-learning tools were accessible at their original URL. A subgroup analysis of programs published 5 to 8 years ago showed significantly inferior availability to programs published 3 to 5 years ago (p < 0.01). The analysis of external links showed 49.2 % and 61.0 % accessible links for the programs Compare (published 2003) and TNT-Radiology (published 2006), respectively. As a consequence, the domain www.eLearning-radiology.com was developed by the taskforce and published online. This tool allows authors to present their programs and users to evaluate the e-learning tools depending on several criteria in order to remove inoperable links and to obtain information about the complexity and quality of the e-learning tools. More than 50 % of investigated radiological e-learning tools on the Internet were not accessible after a period of 5 to 8 years. As a consequence, an independent, international tool for quality assurance was designed and published online under www.eLearning-radiology.com .

The E(2) symmetry and quantum phase transition in the two-dimensional limit of the vibron model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yu; Pan, Feng; Liu, Yu-Xin; Draayer, J. P.

2010-11-01

We study in detail the relation between the two-dimensional Euclidean dynamical E(2) symmetry and the quantum phase transition in the two-dimensional limit of the vibron model, called the U(3) vibron model. Both geometric and algebraic descriptions of the U(3) vibron model show that structures of low-lying states at the critical point of the model with a quartic potential as its classical limit can be approximately described by the E(2) symmetry. We also fit the finite-size scaling exponent of the energy levels and E1 transition rates in the F(2) model, which is exactly the E(2) model but with truncation in its Hilbert subspace, as well as those at the critical point in the U(3) vibron model. The N-scaling power law around the critical point shows that the E(2) symmetry is well preserved even for cases with finite number of bosons. In addition, two kinds of experimentally accessible effective order parameters, such as the energy ratios E_{2_1}/E_{1_1}, E_{3_1}/E_{1_1} and E1 transition ratios \\frac{B(E1;2_1\\rightarrow 1_1)}{B(E1;1_1\\rightarrow 0_1)}, \\frac{B(E1;0_2\\rightarrow 1_1)}{B(E1;1_1\\rightarrow 0_1)}, are proposed to identify the second-order phase transition in such systems. Possible empirical examples exhibiting approximate E(2) symmetry are also presented.

Overview and Evaluation of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) Modeling System Version 5.2

EPA Science Inventory

A new version of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, version 5.2 (CMAQv5.2), is currently being developed, with a planned release date in 2017. The new model includes numerous updates from the previous version of the model (CMAQv5.1). Specific updates include a new...

A molecular model for cocaine binding by the immunotherapeutic human/mouse chimeric monoclonal antibody 2E2.

PubMed

Lape, Michael; Paula, Stefan; Ball, William J

2010-06-01

Immunotherapy by cocaine-binding monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) has emerged as a promising strategy for the treatment of cocaine addiction. The human (gamma1 heavy chain)/murine (lambda light chain) chimeric mAb 2E2 has excellent affinity and specificity for cocaine and recent animal studies have demonstrated 2E2's ability in vivo to reduce cocaine levels in the brain as well as alter cocaine self-administration behavior in rats. In this study, we used mAb 2E2 amino acid sequence information to create a homology model for the 3-D structure of its Fv fragment. Subsequent computational docking studies revealed the intermolecular interactions potentially responsible for mAb 2E2's cocaine binding properties. The driving force of cocaine binding was identified as a combination of hydrophobic interactions and a single hydrogen bond between a light chain tyrosine residue and a carbonyl oxygen atom of cocaine. The model also allowed for an in silico evaluation of single/double residue mutations in the heavy and light chain variable regions that might further enhance mAb 2E2's cocaine binding properties. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

A Molecular Model for Cocaine Binding by the Immunotherapeutic Human/Mouse Chimeric Monoclonal Antibody 2E2

PubMed Central

Lape, Michael; Paula, Stefan; Ball, William J.

2010-01-01

Immunotherapy by cocaine-binding monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) has emerged as a promising strategy for the treatment of cocaine addiction. The human (γ1 heavy chain)/murine (λ light chain) chimeric mAb 2E2 has excellent affinity and specificity for cocaine and recent animal studies have demonstrated 2E2’s ability in vivo to reduce cocaine levels in the brain as well as alter cocaine self-administration behavior in rats. In this study, we used mAb 2E2 amino acid sequence information to create a homology model for the 3-D structure of its Fv fragment. Subsequent computational docking studies revealed the intermolecular interactions potentially responsible for mAb 2E2’s cocaine binding properties. The driving force of cocaine binding was identified as a combination of hydrophobic interactions and a single hydrogen bond between a light chain tyrosine residue and a carbonyl oxygen atom of cocaine. The model also allowed for an in silico evaluation of single/double residue mutations in the heavy and light chain variable regions that might further enhance mAb 2E2’s cocaine binding properties. PMID:20185210

Metal mixture modeling evaluation project: 2. Comparison of four modeling approaches.

PubMed

Farley, Kevin J; Meyer, Joseph S; Balistrieri, Laurie S; De Schamphelaere, Karel A C; Iwasaki, Yuichi; Janssen, Colin R; Kamo, Masashi; Lofts, Stephen; Mebane, Christopher A; Naito, Wataru; Ryan, Adam C; Santore, Robert C; Tipping, Edward

2015-04-01

As part of the Metal Mixture Modeling Evaluation (MMME) project, models were developed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Japan), the US Geological Survey (USA), HDR|HydroQual (USA), and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (United Kingdom) to address the effects of metal mixtures on biological responses of aquatic organisms. A comparison of the 4 models, as they were presented at the MMME workshop in Brussels, Belgium (May 2012), is provided in the present study. Overall, the models were found to be similar in structure (free ion activities computed by the Windermere humic aqueous model [WHAM]; specific or nonspecific binding of metals/cations in or on the organism; specification of metal potency factors or toxicity response functions to relate metal accumulation to biological response). Major differences in modeling approaches are attributed to various modeling assumptions (e.g., single vs multiple types of binding sites on the organism) and specific calibration strategies that affected the selection of model parameters. The models provided a reasonable description of additive (or nearly additive) toxicity for a number of individual toxicity test results. Less-than-additive toxicity was more difficult to describe with the available models. Because of limitations in the available datasets and the strong interrelationships among the model parameters (binding constants, potency factors, toxicity response parameters), further evaluation of specific model assumptions and calibration strategies is needed. © 2014 SETAC.

CONNECTICUT SURFACE WATER QUALITY CLASSIFICATIONS

EPA Science Inventory

This is a 1:24,000-scale datalayer of Surface Water Quality Classifications for Connecticut. It is comprised of two 0Shapefiles with line and polygon features. Both Shapefiles must be used together with the Hydrography datalayer. The polygon Shapefile includes surface water qual...

The hydrological calibration and validation of a complexly-linked watershed reservoir model for the Occoquan watershed, Virginia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Zhongyan; Godrej, Adil N.; Grizzard, Thomas J.

2007-10-01

SummaryRunoff models such as HSPF and reservoir models such as CE-QUAL-W2 are used to model water quality in watersheds. Most often, the models are independently calibrated to observed data. While this approach can achieve good calibration, it does not replicate the physically-linked nature of the system. When models are linked by using the model output from an upstream model as input to a downstream model, the physical reality of a continuous watershed, where the overland and waterbody portions are parts of the whole, is better represented. There are some additional challenges in the calibration of such linked models, because the aim is to simulate the entire system as a whole, rather than piecemeal. When public entities are charged with model development, one of the driving forces is to use public-domain models. This paper describes the use of two such models, HSPF and CE-QUAL-W2, in the linked modeling of the Occoquan watershed located in northern Virginia, USA. The description of the process is provided, and results from the hydrological calibration and validation are shown. The Occoquan model consists of six HSPF and two CE-QUAL-W2 models, linked in a complex way, to simulate two major reservoirs and the associated drainage areas. The overall linked model was calibrated for a three-year period and validated for a two-year period. The results show that a successful calibration can be achieved using the linked approach, with moderate additional effort. Overall flow balances based on the three-year calibration period at four stream stations showed agreement ranging from -3.95% to +3.21%. Flow balances for the two reservoirs, compared via the daily water surface elevations, also showed good agreement ( R2 values of 0.937 for Lake Manassas and 0.926 for Occoquan Reservoir), when missing (un-monitored) flows were included. Validation of the models ranged from poor to fair for the watershed models and excellent for the waterbody models, thus indicating that the

Managing Quality Improvement of eLearning in a Large, Campus-Based University

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ellis, Robert A.; Jarkey, Nerida; Mahony, Mary Jane; Peat, Mary; Sheely, Stephen

2007-01-01

Purpose: This paper seeks to discuss the characteristics that shape a model to manage eLearning in a large, predominantly campus-based university. It focuses on how such a model can provide a sustainable approach to supporting eLearning for more than 40,000 students while still managing basic quality assurance for the University executive and the…

Community Building, Emergent Design and Expecting the Unexpected: Creating a Quality eLearning Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Terrie Lynn; MacDonald, Colla J.

2005-01-01

Given the extraordinary interest and growth in eLearning as a learning tool and as an industry, it is not surprising there is lively debate on quality. A research-based and tested eLearning model was used to design and evaluate an online M.Ed. course in order to study factors that influence the quality of an eLearning event. Several data…

Enhancing e-waste estimates: improving data quality by multivariate Input-Output Analysis.

PubMed

Wang, Feng; Huisman, Jaco; Stevels, Ab; Baldé, Cornelis Peter

2013-11-01

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (or e-waste) is one of the fastest growing waste streams, which encompasses a wide and increasing spectrum of products. Accurate estimation of e-waste generation is difficult, mainly due to lack of high quality data referred to market and socio-economic dynamics. This paper addresses how to enhance e-waste estimates by providing techniques to increase data quality. An advanced, flexible and multivariate Input-Output Analysis (IOA) method is proposed. It links all three pillars in IOA (product sales, stock and lifespan profiles) to construct mathematical relationships between various data points. By applying this method, the data consolidation steps can generate more accurate time-series datasets from available data pool. This can consequently increase the reliability of e-waste estimates compared to the approach without data processing. A case study in the Netherlands is used to apply the advanced IOA model. As a result, for the first time ever, complete datasets of all three variables for estimating all types of e-waste have been obtained. The result of this study also demonstrates significant disparity between various estimation models, arising from the use of data under different conditions. It shows the importance of applying multivariate approach and multiple sources to improve data quality for modelling, specifically using appropriate time-varying lifespan parameters. Following the case study, a roadmap with a procedural guideline is provided to enhance e-waste estimation studies. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A General Quality Classification System for eIDs and e-Signatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ølnes, Jon; Buene, Leif; Andresen, Anette; Grindheim, Håvard; Apitzsch, Jörg; Rossi, Adriano

The PEPPOL (Pan-European Public Procurement On-Line) project is a large scale pilot under the CIP programme of the EU, exploring electronic public procurement in a unified European market. Interoperability of electronic signatures across borders is identified as a major obstacle to cross-border procurement. PEPPOL suggests specify-ing signature acceptance criteria in the form of signature policies that must be transparent and non-discriminatory. Validation solutions must then not only assess signature correctness but also signature policy adherence. This paper addresses perhaps the most important topic of a signature policy: Quality of eIDs and e-signatures. Discrete levels are suggested for: eID quality, assurance level for this quality, and for cryptographic quality of signatures.

Health-related quality of life in cancer patients at the end of life, translation, validation, and longitudinal analysis of specific tools: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Poirier, Anne-Lise; Kwiatkowski, Fabrice; Commer, Jean-Marie; D'Aillières, Bénédicte; Berger, Virginie; Mercier, Mariette; Bonnetain, Franck

2012-04-20

The end of life for cancer patients is the ultimate stage of the disease, and care in this setting is important as it can improve the wellbeing not only of patients, but also the patients' family and close friends. As it is a matter of profoundly personal concerns, patients' perception of this phase of the disease is difficult to assess and has thus been insufficiently studied. Nonetheless, caregivers are required to provide specific care to help patients and to treat them in order to improve their wellbeing during this period.While tools to assess health-related quality of life (QoL) in cancer patients at the end of life exist in English, to our knowledge, no validated tools are available in French. This randomized multicenter cohort study will be carried out to cross-culturally adapt and validate a French version of the English QUAL-E and the Missoula Vitas Quality Of Life Index (MVQOLI) questionnaires for advanced cancer patients in a palliative setting. A randomized clinical trial component in addition to a cohort study is implemented in order to test psychometric hypotheses: order effect and improvement of sensibility to change.The validation procedure will ensure that the psychometric properties are maintained.The main criterion to assess the reliability of the questionnaires will be reproducibility (test-retest method) using intraclass correlation coefficients. It will be necessary to include 372 patients. The sensitivity to change, discriminant capability as well as convergent validity will be also investigated. If the cross-cultural validation of the MVQOLI and QUAL-E questionnaires for advanced cancer patients in a palliative setting have satisfactory psychometric properties, it will allow us to assess the specific dimensions of QoL at the end of life. Current Controlled Trials NCT01545921.

A Strategic Study about Quality Characteristics in e-Health Systems Based on a Systematic Literature Review.

PubMed

Domínguez-Mayo, F J; Escalona, M J; Mejías, M; Aragón, G; García-García, J A; Torres, J; Enríquez, J G

2015-01-01

e-Health Systems quality management is an expensive and hard process that entails performing several tasks such as analysis, evaluation, and quality control. Furthermore, the development of an e-Health System involves great responsibility since people's health and quality of life depend on the system and services offered. The focus of the following study is to identify the gap in Quality Characteristics for e-Health Systems, by detecting not only which are the most studied, but also which are the most used Quality Characteristics these Systems include. A strategic study is driven in this paper by a Systematic Literature Review so as to identify Quality Characteristics in e-Health. Such study makes information and communication technology organizations reflect and act strategically to manage quality in e-Health Systems efficiently and effectively. As a result, this paper proposes the bases of a Quality Model and focuses on a set of Quality Characteristics to enable e-Health Systems quality management. Thus, we can conclude that this paper contributes to implementing knowledge with regard to the mission and view of e-Health (Systems) quality management and helps understand how current researches evaluate quality in e-Health Systems.

A Strategic Study about Quality Characteristics in e-Health Systems Based on a Systematic Literature Review

PubMed Central

Escalona, M. J.; Mejías, M.; Aragón, G.; García-García, J. A.; Torres, J.; Enríquez, J. G.

2015-01-01

e-Health Systems quality management is an expensive and hard process that entails performing several tasks such as analysis, evaluation, and quality control. Furthermore, the development of an e-Health System involves great responsibility since people's health and quality of life depend on the system and services offered. The focus of the following study is to identify the gap in Quality Characteristics for e-Health Systems, by detecting not only which are the most studied, but also which are the most used Quality Characteristics these Systems include. A strategic study is driven in this paper by a Systematic Literature Review so as to identify Quality Characteristics in e-Health. Such study makes information and communication technology organizations reflect and act strategically to manage quality in e-Health Systems efficiently and effectively. As a result, this paper proposes the bases of a Quality Model and focuses on a set of Quality Characteristics to enable e-Health Systems quality management. Thus, we can conclude that this paper contributes to implementing knowledge with regard to the mission and view of e-Health (Systems) quality management and helps understand how current researches evaluate quality in e-Health Systems. PMID:26146656

Impact of sampling techniques on measured stormwater quality data for small streams

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Science-based sampling methodologies are needed to enhance water quality characterization for developing Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), setting appropriate water quality standards, and managing nonpoint source pollution. Storm event sampling, which is vital for adequate assessment of water qual...

Simulation of quantity and quality of storm runoff for urban catchments in Fresno, California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Guay, J.R.; Smith, P.E.

1988-01-01

Rainfall-runoff models were developed for a multiple-dwelling residential catchment (2 applications), a single-dwelling residential catchment, and a commercial catchment in Fresno, California, using the U.S. Geological Survey Distributed Routing Rainfall-Runoff Model (DR3M-II). A runoff-quality model also was developed at the commercial catchment using the Survey 's Multiple-Event Urban Runoff Quality model (DR3M-qual). The purpose of this study was: (1) to demonstrate the capabilites of the two models for use in designing storm drains, estimating the frequency of storm runoff loads, and evaluating the effectiveness of street sweeping on an urban drainage catchment; and (2) to determine the simulation accuracies of these models. Simulation errors of the two models were summarized as the median absolute deviation in percent (mad) between measured and simulated values. Calibration and verification mad errors for runoff volumes and peak discharges ranged from 14 to 20%. The estimated annual storm-runoff loads, in pounds/acre of effective impervious area, that could occur once every hundred years at the commercial catchment was 95 for dissolved solids, 1.6 for the dissolved nitrite plus nitrate, 0.31 for total recoverable lead, and 120 for suspended sediment. Calibration and verification mad errors for the above constituents ranged from 11 to 54%. (USGS)

A theoretical framework for the episodic-urban air quality management plan ( e-UAQMP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gokhale, Sharad; Khare, Mukesh

The present research proposes the local urban air quality management plan which combines two different modelling approaches (hybrid model) and possesses an improved predictive ability including the 'probabilistic exceedances over norms' and their 'frequency of occurrences' and so termed, herein, as episodic-urban air quality management plan ( e-UAQMP). The e-UAQMP deals with the consequences of 'extreme' concentrations of pollutant, mainly occurring at urban 'hotspots' e.g. traffic junctions, intersections and signalized roadways and are also influenced by complexities of traffic generated 'wake' effects. The e-UAQMP (based on probabilistic approach), also acts as an efficient preventive measure to predict the 'probability of exceedances' so as to prepare a successful policy responses in relation to the protection of urban environment as well as disseminating information to its sensitive 'receptors'. The e-UAQMP may be tailored to the requirements of the local area for the policy implementation programmes. The importance of such policy-making framework in the context of current air pollution 'episodes' in urban environments is discussed. The hybrid model that is based on both deterministic and stochastic based approaches predicting the 'average' as well as 'extreme' concentration distribution of air pollutants together in form of probability has been used at two air quality control regions (AQCRs) in the Delhi city, India, in formulating and executing the e-UAQMP— first, the income tax office (ITO), one of the busiest signalized traffic intersection and second, the Sirifort, one of the busiest signalized roadways.

Understanding the mediating effects of relationship quality on technology acceptance: an empirical study of e-appointment system.

PubMed

Chen, Shih-Chih; Liu, Shih-Chi; Li, Shing-Han; Yen, David C

2013-12-01

This study extends the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by incorporating relationship quality as a mediator to construct a comprehensive framework for understanding the influence on continuance intention in the hospital e-appointment system. A survey of 334 Taiwanese citizens who were contacted via phone or the Internet and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is used for path analysis and hypothesis tests. The study shows that perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) have significant influence on continuance intention through the mediation of relationship quality, consisting of satisfaction and trust. The direct impact of relationship quality on continuance intention is also significant. The analytical results reveal that the relationship between the hospital, patients and e-appointment users can be improved via enhancing the continued usage of e-appointment. This paper also proposes a general model to synthesize the essence of PEOU, PU, and relationship quality for explaining users' continuous intention of e-appointment.

Mapping carcass and meat quality QTL on Sus Scrofa chromosome 2 in commercial finishing pigs

PubMed Central

Heuven, Henri CM; van Wijk, Rik HJ; Dibbits, Bert; van Kampen, Tony A; Knol, Egbert F; Bovenhuis, Henk

2009-01-01

Quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting carcass and meat quality located on SSC2 were identified using variance component methods. A large number of traits involved in meat and carcass quality was detected in a commercial crossbred population: 1855 pigs sired by 17 boars from a synthetic line, which where homozygous (A/A) for IGF2. Using combined linkage and linkage disequilibrium mapping (LDLA), several QTL significantly affecting loin muscle mass, ham weight and ham muscles (outer ham and knuckle ham) and meat quality traits, such as Minolta-L* and -b*, ultimate pH and Japanese colour score were detected. These results agreed well with previous QTL-studies involving SSC2. Since our study is carried out on crossbreds, different QTL may be segregating in the parental lines. To address this question, we compared models with a single QTL-variance component with models allowing for separate sire and dam QTL-variance components. The same QTL were identified using a single QTL variance component model compared to a model allowing for separate variances with minor differences with respect to QTL location. However, the variance component method made it possible to detect QTL segregating in the paternal line (e.g. HAMB), the maternal lines (e.g. Ham) or in both (e.g. pHu). Combining association and linkage information among haplotypes improved slightly the significance of the QTL compared to an analysis using linkage information only. PMID:19284675

Exploring nursing e-learning systems success based on information system success model.

PubMed

Chang, Hui-Chuan; Liu, Chung-Feng; Hwang, Hsin-Ginn

2011-12-01

E-learning is thought of as an innovative approach to enhance nurses' care service knowledge. Extensive research has provided rich information toward system development, courses design, and nurses' satisfaction with an e-learning system. However, a comprehensive view in understanding nursing e-learning system success is an important but less focused-on topic. The purpose of this research was to explore net benefits of nursing e-learning systems based on the updated DeLone and McLean's Information System Success Model. The study used a self-administered questionnaire to collected 208 valid nurses' responses from 21 of Taiwan's medium- and large-scale hospitals that have implemented nursing e-learning systems. The result confirms that the model is sufficient to explore the nurses' use of e-learning systems in terms of intention to use, user satisfaction, and net benefits. However, while the three exogenous quality factors (system quality, information quality, and service quality) were all found to be critical factors affecting user satisfaction, only information quality showed a direct effect on the intention to use. This study provides useful insights for evaluating nursing e-learning system qualities as well as an understanding of nurses' intentions and satisfaction related to performance benefits.

Evaluation of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) Model Version 5.2

EPA Science Inventory

The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model is a state-of-the-science air quality model that simulates the emission, transport and fate of numerous air pollutants, including ozone and particulate matter. The Computational Exposure Division (CED) of the U.S. Environmental Pr...

Evaluation of the Community Multi-scale Air Quality Model Version 5.2

EPA Science Inventory

The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model is a state-of-the-science air quality model that simulates the emission, transport and fate of numerous air pollutants, including ozone and particulate matter. The Computational Exposure Division (CED) of the U.S. Environmental Pr...

Structure, Dynamics, and Interaction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) DprE1 and DprE2 Examined by Molecular Modeling, Simulation, and Electrostatic Studies

PubMed Central

Bhutani, Isha; Loharch, Saurabh; Gupta, Pawan; Madathil, Rethi; Parkesh, Raman

2015-01-01

The enzymes decaprenylphosphoryl-β-D-ribose oxidase (DprE1) and decaprenylphosphoryl-β-D-ribose-2-epimerase (DprE2) catalyze epimerization of decaprenylphosporyl ribose (DPR) todecaprenylphosporyl arabinose (DPA) and are critical for the survival of Mtb. Crystal structures of DprE1 so far reported display significant disordered regions and no structural information is known for DprE2. We used homology modeling, protein threading, molecular docking and dynamics studies to investigate the structural and dynamic features of Mtb DprE1 and DprE2 and DprE1-DprE2 complex. A three-dimensional model for DprE2 was generated using the threading approach coupled with ab initio modeling. A 50 ns simulation of DprE1 and DprE2 revealed the overall stability of the structures. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) demonstrated the convergence of sampling in both DprE1 and DprE2. In DprE1, residues in the 269–330 area showed considerable fluctuation in agreement with the regions of disorder observed in the reported crystal structures. In DprE2, large fluctuations were detected in residues 95–113, 146–157, and 197–226. The study combined docking and MD simulation studies to map and characterize the key residues involved in DprE1-DprE2 interaction. A 60 ns MD simulation for DprE1-DprE2 complex was also performed. Analysis of data revealed that the docked complex is stabilized by H-bonding, hydrophobic and ionic interactions. The key residues of DprE1 involved in DprE1-DprE2 interactions belong to the disordered region. We also examined the docked complex of DprE1-BTZ043 to investigate the binding pocket of DprE1 and its interactions with the inhibitor BTZ043. In summary, we hypothesize that DprE1-DprE2 interaction is crucial for the synthesis of DPA and DprE1-DprE2 complex may be a new therapeutic target amenable to pharmacological validation. The findings have important implications in tuberculosis (TB) drug discovery and will facilitate drug development efforts against TB

Structure, dynamics, and interaction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) DprE1 and DprE2 examined by molecular modeling, simulation, and electrostatic studies.

PubMed

Bhutani, Isha; Loharch, Saurabh; Gupta, Pawan; Madathil, Rethi; Parkesh, Raman

2015-01-01

The enzymes decaprenylphosphoryl-β-D-ribose oxidase (DprE1) and decaprenylphosphoryl-β-D-ribose-2-epimerase (DprE2) catalyze epimerization of decaprenylphosporyl ribose (DPR) todecaprenylphosporyl arabinose (DPA) and are critical for the survival of Mtb. Crystal structures of DprE1 so far reported display significant disordered regions and no structural information is known for DprE2. We used homology modeling, protein threading, molecular docking and dynamics studies to investigate the structural and dynamic features of Mtb DprE1 and DprE2 and DprE1-DprE2 complex. A three-dimensional model for DprE2 was generated using the threading approach coupled with ab initio modeling. A 50 ns simulation of DprE1 and DprE2 revealed the overall stability of the structures. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) demonstrated the convergence of sampling in both DprE1 and DprE2. In DprE1, residues in the 269-330 area showed considerable fluctuation in agreement with the regions of disorder observed in the reported crystal structures. In DprE2, large fluctuations were detected in residues 95-113, 146-157, and 197-226. The study combined docking and MD simulation studies to map and characterize the key residues involved in DprE1-DprE2 interaction. A 60 ns MD simulation for DprE1-DprE2 complex was also performed. Analysis of data revealed that the docked complex is stabilized by H-bonding, hydrophobic and ionic interactions. The key residues of DprE1 involved in DprE1-DprE2 interactions belong to the disordered region. We also examined the docked complex of DprE1-BTZ043 to investigate the binding pocket of DprE1 and its interactions with the inhibitor BTZ043. In summary, we hypothesize that DprE1-DprE2 interaction is crucial for the synthesis of DPA and DprE1-DprE2 complex may be a new therapeutic target amenable to pharmacological validation. The findings have important implications in tuberculosis (TB) drug discovery and will facilitate drug development efforts against TB.

A novel client service quality measuring model and an eHealthcare mitigating approach.

PubMed

Cheng, L M; Choi, Wai Ping Choi; Wong, Anita Yiu Ming

2016-07-01

Facing population ageing in Hong Kong, the demand of long-term elderly health care services is increasing. The challenge is to support a good quality service under the constraints faced by recent shortage of nursing and care services professionals without redesigning the work flow operated in the existing elderly health care industries. the existing elderly health care industries. The Total QoS measure based on Finite Capacity Queuing Model is a reliable method and an effective measurement for Quality of services. The value is good for measuring the staffing level and offers a measurement for efficiency enhancement when incorporate new technologies like ICT. The implemented system has improved the Quality of Service by more than 14% and the extra released manpower resource will allow clinical care provider to offer further value added services without actually increasing head count. We have developed a novel Quality of Service measurement for Clinical Care services based on multi-queue using finite capacity queue model M/M/c/K/n and the measurement is useful for estimating the shortage of staff resource in a caring institution. It is essential for future integration with the existing widely used assessment model to develop reliable measuring limits which allow an effective measurement of public fund used in health care industries. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Monitoring Air Quality over China: Evaluation of the modeling system of the PANDA project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouarar, Idir; Katinka Petersen, Anna; Brasseur, Guy; Granier, Claire; Xie, Ying; Wang, Xuemei; Fan, Qi; Wang, Lili

2015-04-01

Air pollution has become a pressing problem in Asia and specifically in China due to rapid increase in anthropogenic emissions related to growth of China's economic activity and increasing demand for energy in the past decade. Observed levels of particulate matter and ozone regularly exceed World Health Organization (WHO) air quality guidelines in many parts of the country leading to increased risk of respiratory illnesses and other health problems. The EU-funded project PANDA aims to establish a team of European and Chinese scientists to monitor air pollution over China and elaborate air quality indicators in support of European and Chinese policies. PANDA combines state-of-the-art air pollution modeling with space and surface observations of chemical species to improve methods for monitoring air quality. The modeling system of the PANDA project follows a downscaling approach: global models such as MOZART and MACC system provide initial and boundary conditions to regional WRF-Chem and EMEP simulations over East Asia. WRF-Chem simulations at higher resolution (e.g. 20km) are then performed over a smaller domain covering East China and initial and boundary conditions from this run are used to perform simulations at a finer resolution (e.g. 5km) over specific megacities like Shanghai. Here we present results of model simulations for January and July 2010 performed during the first year of the project. We show an intercomparison of the global (MACC, EMEP) and regional (WRF-Chem) simulations and a comprehensive evaluation with satellite measurements (NO2, CO) and in-situ data (O3, CO, NOx, PM10 and PM2.5) at several surface stations. Using the WRF-Chem model, we demonstrate that model performance is influenced not only by the resolution (e.g. 60km, 20km) but also the emission inventories used (MACCity, HTAPv2), their resolution and diurnal variation, and the choice of initial and boundary conditions (e.g. MOZART, MACC analysis).

An Electronic Service Quality Reference Model for Designing E-Commerce Websites Which Maximizes Customer Satisfaction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shaheen, Amer N.

2011-01-01

This research investigated Electronic Service Quality (E-SQ) features that contribute to customer satisfaction in an online environment. The aim was to develop an approach which improves E-CRM processes and enhances online customer satisfaction. The research design adopted mixed methods involving qualitative and quantitative methods to…

Developing hydrological model for water quality in Iraq marshes zone using Landsat-TM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marghany, Maged; Hasab, Hashim Ali; Mansor, Shattri; Shariff, Abdul Rashid Bin Mohamed

2016-06-01

The Mesopotamia marshlands constitute the largest wetland ecosystem in the Middle East and Western Eurasia. These wetlands are located at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in southern Iraq. However, there are series reductions in the wetland zones because of neighbor countries, i.e. Turkey, Syria built dams upstream of Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. In addition, the first Gulf war of the 1980s had damaged majority of the marches resources. In fact,the marshes had been reduced in size to less than 7% since 1973 and had deteriorated in water quality parameters. The study integrates Hydrological Model of RMA-2 with Geographic Information System, and remote sensing techniques to map the water quality in the marshlands south of Iraq. This study shows that RMA-2 shows the two dimensional water flow pattern and water quality quantities in the marshlands. It can be said that the integration between Hydrological Model of RMA-2, Geographic Information System, and remote sensing techniques can be used to monitor water quality in the marshlands south of Iraq.

Modelling the B2C Marketplace: Evaluation of a Reputation Metric for e-Commerce

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gutowska, Anna; Sloane, Andrew

This paper evaluates recently developed novel and comprehensive reputation metric designed for the distributed multi-agent reputation system for the Business-to-Consumer (B2C) E-commerce applications. To do that an agent-based simulation framework was implemented which models different types of behaviours in the marketplace. The trustworthiness of different types of providers is investigated to establish whether the simulation models behaviour of B2C e-Commerce systems as they are expected to behave in real life.

Modelling of Picosatellite Constellation-Based Network and Effects on Quality of Service

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-01

the STK -QualNet Interface module. The analysis period for the scenario simulation was chosen as a two-day period from 6 June 2011 to 7 June 2011. This...MIN 0:00:04 0:00:34 AVERAGE 0:58:03 0:21:21 27 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK 28 VI. DATA ANALYSIS /INTERPRETATION The STK model was... Mission Analysis and Design, 3rd ed. (Space Technology Library, vol. 8). El Segundo, CA: Microcosm, 1999. [5] exactEarth. (2015). ExactView

Assessing modeled Greenland surface mass balance in the GISS Model E2 and its sensitivity to surface albedo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexander, Patrick; LeGrande, Allegra N.; Koenig, Lora S.; Tedesco, Marco; Moustafa, Samiah E.; Ivanoff, Alvaro; Fischer, Robert P.; Fettweis, Xavier

2016-04-01

The surface mass balance (SMB) of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) plays an important role in global sea level change. Regional Climate Models (RCMs) such as the Modèle Atmosphérique Régionale (MAR) have been employed at high spatial resolution with relatively complex physics to simulate ice sheet SMB. Global climate models (GCMs) incorporate less sophisticated physical schemes and provide outputs at a lower spatial resolution, but have the advantage of modeling the interaction between different components of the earth's oceans, climate, and land surface at a global scale. Improving the ability of GCMs to represent ice sheet SMB is important for making predictions of future changes in global sea level. With the ultimate goal of improving SMB simulated by the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) Model E2 GCM, we compare simulated GrIS SMB against the outputs of the MAR model and radar-derived estimates of snow accumulation. In order to reproduce present-day climate variability in the Model E2 simulation, winds are constrained to match the reanalysis datasets used to force MAR at the lateral boundaries. We conduct a preliminary assessment of the sensitivity of the simulated Model E2 SMB to surface albedo, a parameter that is known to strongly influence SMB. Model E2 albedo is set to a fixed value of 0.8 over the entire ice sheet in the initial configuration of the model (control case). We adjust this fixed value in an ensemble of simulations over a range of 0.4 to 0.8 (roughly the range of observed summer GrIS albedo values) to examine the sensitivity of ice-sheet-wide SMB to albedo. We prescribe albedo from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) MCD43A3 v6 to examine the impact of a more realistic spatial and temporal variations in albedo. An age-dependent snow albedo parameterization is applied, and its impact on SMB relative to observations and the RCM is assessed.

Reduced-form air quality modeling for community-scale ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Transportation plays an important role in modern society, but its impact on air quality has been shown to have significant adverse effects on public health. Numerous reviews (HEI, CDC, WHO) summarizing findings of hundreds of studies conducted mainly in the last decade, conclude that exposures to traffic emissions near roads are a public health concern. The Community LINE Source Model (C-LINE) is a web-based model designed to inform the community user of local air quality impacts due to roadway vehicles in their region of interest using a simplified modeling approach. Reduced-form air quality modeling is a useful tool for examining what-if scenarios of changes in emissions, such as those due to changes in traffic volume, fleet mix, or vehicle speed. Examining various scenarios of air quality impacts in this way can identify potentially at-risk populations located near roadways, and the effects that a change in traffic activity may have on them. C-LINE computes dispersion of primary mobile source pollutants using meteorological conditions for the region of interest and computes air-quality concentrations corresponding to these selected conditions. C-LINE functionality has been expanded to model emissions from port-related activities (e.g. ships, trucks, cranes, etc.) in a reduced-form modeling system for local-scale near-port air quality analysis. This presentation describes the Community modeling tools C-LINE and C-PORT that are intended to be used by local gove

Low fidelity, high quality: a model for e-learning.

PubMed

Gordon, Morris; Chandratilake, Madawa; Baker, Paul

2013-08-01

E-learning continues to proliferate as a method to deliver continuing medical education. The effectiveness of e-learning has been widely studied, showing that it is as effective as traditional forms of education. However, most reports focus on whether the e-learning is effective, rather than discussing innovations to allow clinical educators to ask 'how' and 'why' it is effective, and to facilitate local reproduction. Previous work has set out a number of barriers to the introduction of e-learning interventions. Cost, the time to produce interventions, and the training requirements for educators and trainees have all been identified as barriers. We set out to design an e-learning intervention on paediatric prescribing that could address these issues using a low-fidelity approach, and report our methods so as to allow interested readers to use a similar approach. Using low-cost, readily accessible tools and applying appropriate educational theory, the intervention was produced in a short period of time. As part of a randomised controlled trial, long-term retention of prescribing skills was demonstrated, with significantly higher prescribing skill scores in the e-learning group at 4 and 12 weeks (p < 0.0001). Feedback was universally positive, with Likert responses suggesting that it was useful, convenient and easy to use. A low-fidelity approach to designing can successfully overcome many of the barriers to the introduction of e-learning. The design model described is simple and can be used by clinical teachers to support local development. Further research could investigate the experiences of these clinicians using this method of instructional design. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Expanding the 5E Model.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eisenkraft, Arthur

2003-01-01

Amends the current 5E learning cycle and instructional model to a 7E model. Changes ensure that instructors do not omit crucial elements for learning from their lessons while under the incorrect assumption that they are meeting the requirements of the learning cycle. The proposed 7E model includes: (1) engage; (2) explore; (3) explain; (4) elicit;…

Quantifying Co-benefits of Renewable Energy through Integrated Electricity and Air Quality Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abel, D.

2016-12-01

This work focuses on the coordination of electricity sector changes with air quality and health improvement strategies through the integration of electricity and air quality models. Two energy models are used to calculate emission perturbations associated with changes in generation technology (20% generation from solar photovoltaics) and demand (future electricity use under a warmer climate). Impacts from increased solar PV penetration are simulated with the electricity model GridView, in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Generation results are used to scale power plant emissions from an inventory developed by the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium (LADCO). Perturbed emissions and are used to calculate secondary particulate matter with the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. We find that electricity NOx and SO2 emissions decrease at a rate similar to the total fraction of electricity supplied by solar. Across the Eastern U.S. region, average PM2.5 is reduced 5% over the summer, with highest reduction in regions and on days of greater PM2.5. A similar approach evaluates the air quality impacts of elevated electricity demand under a warmer climate. Meteorology is selected from the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP) and input to a building energy model, eQUEST, to assess electricity demand as a function of ambient temperature. The associated generation and emissions are calculated on a plant-by-plant basis by the MyPower power sector model. These emissions are referenced to the 2011 National Emissions Inventory to be modeled in CMAQ for the Eastern U.S. and extended to health impact evaluation with the Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program (BenMAP). All results focus on the air quality and health consequences of energy system changes, considering grid-level changes to meet climate and air quality goals.

Quality Perception within Corporate E-Learning Providers in Catalonia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sangra, Albert; Fernandez-Michels, Pedro

2011-01-01

Purpose: The paper seeks to describe the Catalan corporate e-learning providers from the perspective of quality perception, quality assessment and quality control. Design/methodology/approach: A literature review reveals key aspects of the definition of quality in e-learning. The results of the review constitute the basis for exploratory research…

E-Learning Quality Standards for Consumer Protection and Consumer Confidence: A Canadian Case Study in E-Learning Quality Assurance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barker, Kathryn Chang

2007-01-01

Emerging concerns about quality of e-learning products and services animated a project in Canada to create quality standards that derived primarily from the needs of consumer, that could be used to guide the development and choice of e-learning at all levels of education and training, and that could be implemented in a simple manner. A set of…

Impacts of potential CO2-reduction policies on air quality in the United States.

PubMed

Trail, Marcus A; Tsimpidi, Alexandra P; Liu, Peng; Tsigaridis, Kostas; Hu, Yongtao; Rudokas, Jason R; Miller, Paul J; Nenes, Athanasios; Russell, Armistead G

2015-04-21

Impacts of emissions changes from four potential U.S. CO2 emission reduction policies on 2050 air quality are analyzed using the community multiscale air quality model (CMAQ). Future meteorology was downscaled from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) ModelE General Circulation Model (GCM) to the regional scale using the Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) model. We use emissions growth factors from the EPAUS9r MARKAL model to project emissions inventories for two climate tax scenarios, a combined transportation and energy scenario, a biomass energy scenario and a reference case. Implementation of a relatively aggressive carbon tax leads to improved PM2.5 air quality compared to the reference case as incentives increase for facilities to install flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies. However, less capital is available to install NOX reduction technologies, resulting in an O3 increase. A policy aimed at reducing CO2 from the transportation sector and electricity production sectors leads to reduced emissions of mobile source NOX, thus reducing O3. Over most of the U.S., this scenario leads to reduced PM2.5 concentrations. However, increased primary PM2.5 emissions associated with fuel switching in the residential and industrial sectors leads to increased organic matter (OM) and PM2.5 in some cities.

Quantifying the air quality-CO2 tradeoff potential for airports

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashok, Akshay; Dedoussi, Irene C.; Yim, Steve H. L.; Balakrishnan, Hamsa; Barrett, Steven R. H.

2014-12-01

Aircraft movements on the airport surface are responsible for CO2 emissions that contribute to climate change and other emissions that affect air quality and human health. While the potential for optimizing aircraft surface movements to minimize CO2 emissions has been assessed, the implications of CO2 emissions minimization for air quality have not been quantified. In this paper, we identify conditions in which there is a tradeoff between CO2 emissions and population exposure to O3 and secondary PM2.5 - i.e. where decreasing fuel burn (which is directly proportional to CO2 emissions) results in increased exposure. Fuel burn and emissions are estimated as a function of thrust setting for five common gas turbine engines at 34 US airports. Regional air quality impacts, which are dominated by ozone and secondary PM2.5, are computed as a function of airport location and time using the adjoint of the GEOS-Chem chemistry-transport model. Tradeoffs between CO2 emissions and population exposure to PM2.5 and O3 occur between 2-18% and 5-60% of the year, respectively, depending on airport location, engine type, and thrust setting. The total duration of tradeoff conditions is 5-12 times longer at maximum thrust operations (typical for takeoff) relative to 4% thrust operations (typical for taxiing). Per kilogram of additional fuel burn at constant thrust setting during tradeoff conditions, reductions in population exposure to PM2.5 and O3 are 6-13% and 32-1060% of the annual average (positive) population exposure per kilogram fuel burn, where the ranges encompass the medians over the 34 airports. For fuel burn increases due to thrust increases (i.e. for constant operating time), reductions in both PM2.5 and O3 exposure are 1.5-6.4 times larger in magnitude than those due to increasing fuel burn at constant thrust (i.e. increasing operating time). Airports with relatively high population exposure reduction potentials - which occur due to a combination of high duration and

E-Service Quality Management

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Batagan, Lorena; Pocovnicu, Adrian; Capisizu, Sergiu

2009-01-01

A characteristic of today's society is the increasing use of modern information and communication technologies in all areas. Computer applications, called e-services, are being developed to provide efficient access to services, electronically. Quality management systems are needed to provide a consistent way to select, evaluate, prioritize and…

Thermogravimetric and model-free kinetic studies on CO2 gasification of low-quality, high-sulphur Indian coals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Tonkeswar; Saikia, Ananya; Mahanta, Banashree; Choudhury, Rahul; Saikia, Binoy K.

2016-10-01

Coal gasification with CO2 has emerged as a cleaner and more efficient way for the production of energy, and it offers the advantages of CO2 mitigation policies through simultaneous CO2 sequestration. In the present investigation, a feasibility study on the gasification of three low-quality, high-sulphur coals from the north-eastern region (NER) of India in a CO2 atmosphere using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA-DTA) has been made in order to have a better understanding of the physical and chemical characteristics in the process of gasification of coal. Model-free kinetics was applied to determine the activation energies (E) and pre-exponential factors (A) of the CO2 gasification process of the coals. Multivariate non-linear regression analyses were performed to find out the formal mechanisms, kinetic model, and the corresponding kinetic triplets. The results revealed that coal gasification with CO2 mainly occurs in the temperature range of 800∘-1400∘C and a maximum of at around 1100∘C. The reaction mechanisms responsible for CO2 gasification of the coals were observed to be of the ` nth order with autocatalysis (CnB)' and ` nth order (Fn) mechanism'. The activation energy of the CO2 gasification was found to be in the range 129.07-146.81 kJ mol-1.

GHG monitoring over Paris megacity and Orléans forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Te, Y. V.; Jeseck, P.; Zanon, T.; Boursier, C.; Janssen, C.; Deutscher, N. M.; Warneke, T.; Notholt, J.; Lac, C.; Dieudonné, E.; Lopez, M.; Schmidt, M.; Xueref-remy, I. C.

2012-12-01

In a growing world with more than 7 billion inhabitants and big emerging countries such as China, Brazil and India, emissions of anthropogenic pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs) are increasing continuously. Their monitoring and control in megacities have become a major challenge for scientists and public health authorities in environmental research area. The ground-based Fourier transform spectrometer (QualAir FTS[a], model IFS 125HR) of the QualAir platform located in downtown Paris at University Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), is a scientific research instrument dedicated to the survey of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and urban air quality. Equipped with a sun-tracker, the remote sensing QualAir FTS relies on solar infrared absorption for monitoring trace gas concentrations and their variability in the Ile-de-France region[b]. Concentrations of atmospheric GHGs, especially CO2, CH4 and N2O, are retrieved by the radiative transfer model PROFFIT[c]. Because Paris is the third largest European megacity, the QualAir FTS can provide new and complementary measurements as compared to existing ground-based FTS network stations (NDACC and TCCON) located in unpolluted environments, such as the TCCON-Orléans station[d] situated in the forest of Orléans (100 km south of Paris). In the effort to integrate QualAir FTS into the TCCON network, simultaneous FTS measurements of GHGs at Paris and Orléans have been performed. We will emphasize on comparisons of CO2 from these two sites. Our comparison will be completed by high-resolved direct CO2 modeling outputs from the Meso-NH model, and ground in situ measurements at different sites (Orléans/Trainou, Paris/Jussieu, Paris/Eiffel Tower). Parts of the data were acquired in the framework of the French CO2-MEGAPARIS project[e, f], whose main goal is to quantify CO2 emissions from the Paris area. The present data intercomparison will help to reduce uncertainties in carbon cycle models and to better characterize regional GHG fluxes

Factors Determining e-Learning Service Quality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Uppal, Muhammad Amaad; Ali, Samnan; Gulliver, Stephen R.

2018-01-01

e-Learning courses are fast becoming common-place, yet the success of these online courses varies considerably. Since limited research addresses the issue of e-learning quality (ELQ) of service in higher education environments, there is an increasing need to effectively assess ELQ. In this paper, we argue that to obtain a satisfactory e-learning…

The Grand Challenge of Basin-Scale Groundwater Quality Management Modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fogg, G. E.

2017-12-01

The last 50+ years of agricultural, urban and industrial land and water use practices have accelerated the degradation of groundwater quality in the upper portions of many major aquifer systems upon which much of the world relies for water supply. In the deepest and most extensive systems (e.g., sedimentary basins) that typically have the largest groundwater production rates and hold fresh groundwaters on decadal to millennial time scales, most of the groundwater is not yet contaminated. Predicting the long-term future groundwater quality in such basins is a grand scientific challenge. Moreover, determining what changes in land and water use practices would avert future, irreversible degradation of these massive freshwater stores is a grand challenge both scientifically and societally. It is naïve to think that the problem can be solved by eliminating or reducing enough of the contaminant sources, for human exploitation of land and water resources will likely always result in some contamination. The key lies in both reducing the contaminant sources and more proactively managing recharge in terms of both quantity and quality, such that the net influx of contaminants is sufficiently moderate and appropriately distributed in space and time to reverse ongoing groundwater quality degradation. Just as sustainable groundwater quantity management is greatly facilitated with groundwater flow management models, sustainable groundwater quality management will require the use of groundwater quality management models. This is a new genre of hydrologic models do not yet exist, partly because of the lack of modeling tools and the supporting research to model non-reactive as well as reactive transport on large space and time scales. It is essential that the contaminant hydrogeology community, which has heretofore focused almost entirely on point-source plume-scale problems, direct it's efforts toward the development of process-based transport modeling tools and analyses capable

IS Success Model in E-Learning Context Based on Students' Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freeze, Ronald D.; Alshare, Khaled A.; Lane, Peggy L.; Wen, H. Joseph

2010-01-01

This study utilized the Information Systems Success (ISS) model in examining e-learning systems success. The study was built on the premise that system quality (SQ) and information quality (IQ) influence system use and user satisfaction, which in turn impact system success. A structural equation model (SEM), using LISREL, was used to test the…

The B(E2;4^+1->2^+1) / B(E2;2^+1->0^+1) Ratio in Even-Even Nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loelius, C.; Sharon, Y. Y.; Zamick, L.; G"Urdal, G.

2009-10-01

We considered 207 even-even nuclei throughout the chart of nuclides for which the NNDC Tables had data on the energies and lifetimes of the 2^+1 and 4^+1 states. Using these data we calculated for each nucleus the electric quadrupole transition strengths B(E2;4^+1->2^+1) and B(E2;2^+1->0^+1), as well as their ratio. The internal conversion coefficients were obtained by using the NNDC HSICC calculator. For each nucleus we plotted the B(E2) ratio against A, N, and Z. We found that for close to 90% of the nuclei considered the ratio had values between 0.5 and 2.5. Most of the outliers had magic numbers of protons or neutrons. Our ratio results were compared with the theoretical predictions for this ratio by different models--10/7 in the rotational model and 2 in the simplest vibrational model. In the rotational regions (for 150 < A < 180 and A > 220) the ratios were indeed close to 10/7. For the few nuclei thought to be vibrational the ratios were usually less than 2. Otherwise, we got a wide scatter of ratio values. Hence other models, including the NpNn scheme, must be considered in interpreting these results.

Overview and Evaluation of the Community Multiscale Air Quality Model Version 5.2

EPA Science Inventory

The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model is a state-of-the-science air quality model that simulates the emission, transport and fate of numerous air pollutants, including ozone and particulate matter. The Computational Exposure Division (CED) of the U.S. Environmental Pr...

Evaluation of the Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ) Model Version 5.2

EPA Science Inventory

The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model is a state-of-the-science air quality model that simulates the emission, transport and fate of numerous air pollutants, including ozone and particulate matter. The Computational Exposure Division (CED) of the U.S. Environmental Pr...

The Empirical Canadian High Arctic Ionospheric Model (E-CHAIM): NmF2 and hmF2 specification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Themens, David; Thayyil Jayachandran, P.

2017-04-01

It is well known that the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) suffers reduced accuracy in its representation of monthly median ionospheric electron density at high latitudes (Themens et al. 2014, Themens et al. 2016). These inaccuracies are believed to stem from a historical lack of data from these regions. Now, roughly thirty and forty years after the development of the original URSI and CCIR foF2 maps, respectively, there exists a much larger dataset of high latitude observations of ionospheric electron density. These new measurements come in the form of new ionosonde deployments, such as those of the Canadian High Arctic Ionospheric Network, the CHAMP, GRACE, and COSMIC radio occultation missions, and the construction of the Poker Flat, Resolute, and EISCAT Incoherent Scatter Radar systems. These new datasets afford an opportunity to revise the IRI's representation of the high latitude ionosphere. For this purpose, we here introduce the Empirical Canadian High Arctic Ionospheric Model (E-CHAIM), which incorporates all of the above datasets, as well as the older observation records, into a new climatological representation of the high latitude ionosphere. In this presentation, we introduce the NmF2 and hmF2 portions of the model, focusing on both climatological and storm-time representations, and present a validation of the new model with respect to ionosonde observations from four high latitude stations. A comparison with respect to IRI performance is also presented, where we see improvements by up to 70% in the representation of peak electron density through using the new E-CHAIM model. In terms of RMS errors, the E-CHAIM model is shown to represent a near-universal improvement over the IRI, sometimes by more than 1 MHz in foF2. For peak height, the E-CHAIM model demonstrates overall RMS errors of 13km at each test site compared to values of 18-35km for the IRI, depending on location. Themens, D.R., P. T. Jayachandran, et al. (2014). J. Geophys. Res. Space

The NASA Lightning Nitrogen Oxides Model (LNOM): Application to Air Quality Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koshak, William; Peterson, Harold; Khan, Maudood; Biazar, Arastoo; Wang, Lihua

2011-01-01

Recent improvements to the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Lightning Nitrogen Oxides Model (LNOM) and its application to the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system are discussed. The LNOM analyzes Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) and National Lightning Detection Network(TradeMark)(NLDN) data to estimate the raw (i.e., unmixed and otherwise environmentally unmodified) vertical profile of lightning NO(x) (= NO + NO2). The latest LNOM estimates of lightning channel length distributions, lightning 1-m segment altitude distributions, and the vertical profile of lightning NO(x) are presented. The primary improvement to the LNOM is the inclusion of non-return stroke lightning NOx production due to: (1) hot core stepped and dart leaders, (2) stepped leader corona sheath, K-changes, continuing currents, and M-components. The impact of including LNOM-estimates of lightning NO(x) for an August 2006 run of CMAQ is discussed.

Human Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex E2 and E3BP Core Subunits: New Models and Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

PubMed

Hezaveh, Samira; Zeng, An-Ping; Jandt, Uwe

2016-05-19

Targeted manipulation and exploitation of beneficial properties of multienzyme complexes, especially for the design of novel and efficiently structured enzymatic reaction cascades, require a solid model understanding of mechanistic principles governing the structure and functionality of the complexes. This type of system-level and quantitative knowledge has been very scarce thus far. We utilize the human pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (hPDC) as a versatile template to conduct corresponding studies. Here we present new homology models of the core subunits of the hPDC, namely E2 and E3BP, as the first time effort to elucidate the assembly of hPDC core based on molecular dynamic simulation. New models of E2 and E3BP were generated and validated at atomistic level for different properties of the proteins. The results of the wild type dimer simulations showed a strong hydrophobic interaction between the C-terminal and the hydrophobic pocket which is the main driving force in the intertrimer binding and the core self-assembly. On the contrary, the C-terminal truncated versions exhibited a drastic loss of hydrophobic interaction leading to a dimeric separation. This study represents a significant step toward a model-based understanding of structure and function of large multienzyme systems like PDC for developing highly efficient biocatalyst or bioreaction cascades.

"We Thought It Might Encourage Participation." Using Lottery Incentives to Improve LibQUAL+[TM] Response Rates among Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buck, Stefanie; Nutefall, Jennifer E.; Bridges, Laurie M.

2012-01-01

Libraries deploying the LibQUAL+[TM] survey can offer a lottery incentive and many do so in the hope of increasing response rates. Other libraries may be prohibited from offering one because of Institutional Review Board restrictions, as is the case at Oregon State University. We wanted to discover why libraries offer lottery incentives, what…

Multi-year downscaling application of two-way coupled WRF v3.4 and CMAQ v5.0.2 over east Asia for regional climate and air quality modeling: model evaluation and aerosol direct effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Chaopeng; Zhang, Qiang; Zhang, Yang; Tang, Youhua; Tong, Daniel; He, Kebin

2017-06-01

modeling system with direct aerosol feedbacks predicted aerosol optical depth relatively well and significantly reduced the overprediction in downward shortwave radiation at the surface (SWDOWN) over polluted regions in China. The performance of cloud variables was not as good as other meteorological variables, and underpredictions of cloud fraction resulted in overpredictions of SWDOWN and underpredictions of shortwave and longwave cloud forcing. The importance of climate-chemistry interactions was demonstrated via the impacts of aerosol direct effects on climate and air quality. The aerosol effects on climate and air quality in east Asia (e.g., SWDOWN and T2 decreased by 21.8 W m-2 and 0.45 °C, respectively, and most pollutant concentrations increased by 4.8-9.5 % in January over China's major cities) were more significant than in other regions because of higher aerosol loadings that resulted from severe regional pollution, which indicates the need for applying online-coupled models over east Asia for regional climate and air quality modeling and to study the important climate-chemistry interactions. This work established a baseline for WRF-CMAQ simulations for a future period under the RCP4.5 climate scenario, which will be presented in a future paper.

Caregiving for Parkinson's disease patients: an exploration of a stress-appraisal model for quality of life and burden.

PubMed

Goldsworthy, Belinda; Knowles, Simon

2008-11-01

Extending the 2002 stress-appraisal model of Chappell and Reid, we examined the relationships between caregiver stressors (e.g., cognitive impairment and functional dependency of the recipient), appraisal (informal hours of caregiving), and protective factors (e.g., social support, self-esteem, and quality of the caregiver-recipient relationship) associated with the burden and quality of life of Parkinson's disease caregivers. There were 136 caregivers (M = 64.59 years) who completed an online survey. Using structural equation modeling, we found that the extended stress-appraisal model of Chappell and Reid provided a good fit to the data (chi2 = 67.87, df = 55, p >.05; chi2/df = 1.23, Comparative Fit Index = 0.98, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.04). This study provides an important contribution to a growing field of research that applies theoretical models to investigate the stressors, appraisals, and protective factors that impact caregiver well-being.

Subgroups of advanced cancer patients clustered by their symptom profiles: quality-of-life outcomes.

PubMed

Husain, Amna; Myers, Jeff; Selby, Debbie; Thomson, Barbara; Chow, Edward

2011-11-01

Symptom cluster analysis is a new frontier of research in symptom management. This study clustered patients by their symptom profiles to identify subgroups that may be at higher risk for poor quality of life (QOL) and that may, therefore, benefit most from targeted interventions. Longitudinal study of metastatic cancer patients using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS). We generated two-, three-, and four-cluster subgroups and examined the relationship of cluster membership with patient outcomes. To address the problem of missing longitudinal data, we developed a novel outcome variable (QualTime) that measures both QOL and time in study. Two hundred and twenty-one patients with a mean Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) of 59.1 were enrolled. The three-cluster model was chosen for further analysis. The low-burden subgroup had all low severity symptom scores. The intermediate subgroup separates from the low-burden group on the "debility" profile of fatigue, drowsiness, appetite, and well-being. The high-burden group separates from the intermediate-burden group on pain, depression, and anxiety. At baseline, PPS (p=0.0003) and cluster membership (p<0.0001) contributed significantly to global QOL. In univariate analysis, cluster membership was related to the longitudinal outcome, QualTime. In a multivariate model, the relationship of PPS to QualTime was still significant (p=0.0002), but subgroup membership was no longer significant (p=0.1009). PPS is a stronger predictor of the longitudinal variable than cluster subgroups; however, cluster subgroups provide a target for clinical interventions that may improve QOL.

Hydrodynamic modelling of recreational water quality using Escherichia coli as an indicator of microbial contamination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eregno, Fasil Ejigu; Tryland, Ingun; Tjomsland, Torulv; Kempa, Magdalena; Heistad, Arve

2018-06-01

Microbial contamination of recreational beaches is often at its worst after heavy rainfall events due to storm floods that carry fecal matter and other pollutants from the watershed. Similarly, overflows of untreated sewage from combined sewerage systems may discharge directly into coastal water or via rivers and streams. In order to understand the effect of rainfall events, wind-directions and tides on the recreational water quality, GEMSS, an integrated 3D hydrodynamic model was applied to assess the spreading of Escherichia coli (E. coli) at the Sandvika beaches, located in the Oslo fjord. The model was also used to theoretically investigate the effect of discharges from septic tanks from boats on the water quality at local beaches. The model make use of microbial decay rate as the main input representing the survival of microbial pathogens in the ocean, which vary widely depending on the type of pathogen and environmental stress. The predicted beach water quality was validated against observed data after a heavy rainfall event using Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient (E) and the overall result indicated that the model performed quite well and the simulation was in - good agreement with the observed E. coli concentrations for all beaches. The result of this study indicated that: 1) the bathing water quality was poor according to the EU bathing water directive up to two days after the heavy rainfall event depending on the location of the beach site. 2) The discharge from a boat at 300-meter distance to the beaches slightly increased the E. coli levels at the beaches. 3) The spreading of microbial pathogens from its source to the different beaches depended on the wind speed and the wind direction.

40 CFR Appendix E to Part 132 - Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative Antidegradation Policy

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... operational variability; (2) Changes in intake water pollutants; (3) Increasing the production hours of the... 40 Protection of Environment 22 2014-07-01 2013-07-01 true Great Lakes Water Quality Initiative... (CONTINUED) WATER PROGRAMS WATER QUALITY GUIDANCE FOR THE GREAT LAKES SYSTEM Pt. 132, App. E Appendix E to...

Downscaling GISS ModelE Boreal Summer Climate over Africa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Druyan, Leonard M.; Fulakeza, Matthew

2015-01-01

The study examines the perceived added value of downscaling atmosphere-ocean global climate model simulations over Africa and adjacent oceans by a nested regional climate model. NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) coupled ModelE simulations for June- September 1998-2002 are used to form lateral boundary conditions for synchronous simulations by the GISS RM3 regional climate model. The ModelE computational grid spacing is 2deg latitude by 2.5deg longitude and the RM3 grid spacing is 0.44deg. ModelE precipitation climatology for June-September 1998-2002 is shown to be a good proxy for 30-year means so results based on the 5-year sample are presumed to be generally representative. Comparison with observational evidence shows several discrepancies in ModelE configuration of the boreal summer inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ). One glaring shortcoming is that ModelE simulations do not advance the West African rain band northward during the summer to represent monsoon precipitation onset over the Sahel. Results for 1998-2002 show that onset simulation is an important added value produced by downscaling with RM3. ModelE Eastern South Atlantic Ocean computed sea-surface temperatures (SST) are some 4 K warmer than reanalysis, contributing to large positive biases in overlying surface air temperatures (Tsfc). ModelE Tsfc are also too warm over most of Africa. RM3 downscaling somewhat mitigates the magnitude of Tsfc biases over the African continent, it eliminates the ModelE double ITCZ over the Atlantic and it produces more realistic orographic precipitation maxima. Parallel ModelE and RM3 simulations with observed SST forcing (in place of the predicted ocean) lower Tsfc errors but have mixed impacts on circulation and precipitation biases. Downscaling improvements of the meridional movement of the rain band over West Africa and the configuration of orographic precipitation maxima are realized irrespective of the SST biases.

A time-varying subjective quality model for mobile streaming videos with stalling events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghadiyaram, Deepti; Pan, Janice; Bovik, Alan C.

2015-09-01

Over-the-top mobile video streaming is invariably influenced by volatile network conditions which cause playback interruptions (stalling events), thereby impairing users' quality of experience (QoE). Developing models that can accurately predict users' QoE could enable the more efficient design of quality-control protocols for video streaming networks that reduce network operational costs while still delivering high-quality video content to the customers. Existing objective models that predict QoE are based on global video features, such as the number of stall events and their lengths, and are trained and validated on a small pool of ad hoc video datasets, most of which are not publicly available. The model we propose in this work goes beyond previous models as it also accounts for the fundamental effect that a viewer's recent level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction has on their overall viewing experience. In other words, the proposed model accounts for and adapts to the recency, or hysteresis effect caused by a stall event in addition to accounting for the lengths, frequency of occurrence, and the positions of stall events - factors that interact in a complex way to affect a user's QoE. On the recently introduced LIVE-Avvasi Mobile Video Database, which consists of 180 distorted videos of varied content that are afflicted solely with over 25 unique realistic stalling events, we trained and validated our model to accurately predict the QoE, attaining standout QoE prediction performance.

A Multi-Model Assessment for the 2006 and 2010 Simulations under the AirQuality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII) Phase 2 over North America: Part I. Indicators of the Sensitivity of O3 and PM2.5 Formation Regimes

EPA Science Inventory

Under the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative, Phase 2 (AQMEII-2), three online coupled air quality model simulations, with six different configurations, are analyzed for their performance, inter-model agreement, and responses to emission and meteorological chan...

A comparison of different functions for predicted protein model quality assessment.

PubMed

Li, Juan; Fang, Huisheng

2016-07-01

In protein structure prediction, a considerable number of models are usually produced by either the Template-Based Method (TBM) or the ab initio prediction. The purpose of this study is to find the critical parameter in assessing the quality of the predicted models. A non-redundant template library was developed and 138 target sequences were modeled. The target sequences were all distant from the proteins in the template library and were aligned with template library proteins on the basis of the transformation matrix. The quality of each model was first assessed with QMEAN and its six parameters, which are C_β interaction energy (C_beta), all-atom pairwise energy (PE), solvation energy (SE), torsion angle energy (TAE), secondary structure agreement (SSA), and solvent accessibility agreement (SAE). Finally, the alignment score (score) was also used to assess the quality of model. Hence, a total of eight parameters (i.e., QMEAN, C_beta, PE, SE, TAE, SSA, SAE, score) were independently used to assess the quality of each model. The results indicate that SSA is the best parameter to estimate the quality of the model.

SU-E-I-71: Quality Assessment of Surrogate Metrics in Multi-Atlas-Based Image Segmentation

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

Zhao, T; Ruan, D

Purpose: With the ever-growing data of heterogeneous quality, relevance assessment of atlases becomes increasingly critical for multi-atlas-based image segmentation. However, there is no universally recognized best relevance metric and even a standard to compare amongst candidates remains elusive. This study, for the first time, designs a quantification to assess relevance metrics’ quality, based on a novel perspective of the metric as surrogate for inferring the inaccessible oracle geometric agreement. Methods: We first develop an inference model to relate surrogate metrics in image space to the underlying oracle relevance metric in segmentation label space, with a monotonically non-decreasing function subject tomore » random perturbations. Subsequently, we investigate model parameters to reveal key contributing factors to surrogates’ ability in prognosticating the oracle relevance value, for the specific task of atlas selection. Finally, we design an effective contract-to-noise ratio (eCNR) to quantify surrogates’ quality based on insights from these analyses and empirical observations. Results: The inference model was specialized to a linear function with normally distributed perturbations, with surrogate metric exemplified by several widely-used image similarity metrics, i.e., MSD/NCC/(N)MI. Surrogates’ behaviors in selecting the most relevant atlases were assessed under varying eCNR, showing that surrogates with high eCNR dominated those with low eCNR in retaining the most relevant atlases. In an end-to-end validation, NCC/(N)MI with eCNR of 0.12 compared to MSD with eCNR of 0.10 resulted in statistically better segmentation with mean DSC of about 0.85 and the first and third quartiles of (0.83, 0.89), compared to MSD with mean DSC of 0.84 and the first and third quartiles of (0.81, 0.89). Conclusion: The designed eCNR is capable of characterizing surrogate metrics’ quality in prognosticating the oracle relevance value. It has been demonstrated to

Improving the Quality of E-Learning: Lessons from the eMM

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marshall, S.

2012-01-01

The quality of e-learning can be defined in many different ways, reflecting different stakeholders and the complexity of the systems and processes used in higher education. These different conceptions of quality can be mutually contradictory and, while politically significant, may also be beyond the direct control or influence of institutional…

Large-scale structure prediction by improved contact predictions and model quality assessment.

PubMed

Michel, Mirco; Menéndez Hurtado, David; Uziela, Karolis; Elofsson, Arne

2017-07-15

Accurate contact predictions can be used for predicting the structure of proteins. Until recently these methods were limited to very big protein families, decreasing their utility. However, recent progress by combining direct coupling analysis with machine learning methods has made it possible to predict accurate contact maps for smaller families. To what extent these predictions can be used to produce accurate models of the families is not known. We present the PconsFold2 pipeline that uses contact predictions from PconsC3, the CONFOLD folding algorithm and model quality estimations to predict the structure of a protein. We show that the model quality estimation significantly increases the number of models that reliably can be identified. Finally, we apply PconsFold2 to 6379 Pfam families of unknown structure and find that PconsFold2 can, with an estimated 90% specificity, predict the structure of up to 558 Pfam families of unknown structure. Out of these, 415 have not been reported before. Datasets as well as models of all the 558 Pfam families are available at http://c3.pcons.net/ . All programs used here are freely available. arne@bioinfo.se. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

E-Service Quality, E-Satisfaction and E-Loyalty of Online Shoppers in Business to Consumer Market; Evidence form Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ting, Ong Soo; Ariff, Mohd Shoki Md; Zakuan, Norhayati; Sulaiman, Zuraidah; Zameri Mat Saman, Muhamad

2016-05-01

The growing usage of internet and online shopping in Malaysia presents a huge prospect in e-commerce market, specifically for B2C segment. As a result, electronic service quality (e-SQ), electronic satisfaction (e-Satisfaction) and electronic loyalty (e-Loyalty) become vital for online retailers to attract and retain online shoppers in this virtual environment. The association between e-SQ, e-Satisfaction and e-Loyalty should be continuously examined to cope with the advancement in information and communication technology, and the changing expectation of online shoppers. However, construct of e-SQ for online retailers in B2C market is still debatable. In this research, E-SERVQUAL was integrated with the other e-SQ scales to measure e-SQ of a prominent online retailer in Malaysia. Specifically, the e-SQ constructs are Efficiency, Privacy and Trust, Fulfilment, Responsiveness, Contact and Website Design. 390 sets of completed and usable questionnaires were gathered using online questionnaire and convenience sampling procedure. The result indicated that the five proposed dimensions of e-SQ constitute e-SQ of online retailer in B2C market. All the dimensions of e-SQ were found to have positive and significant effect on e-Satisfaction of online shoppers. Responsiveness of e-SQ had the strongest impact on e-satisfaction of online shoppers. The shoppers e-Satisfaction was positively and significantly affected their e-Loyalty towards continuous usage of online retailer's website. Managerial and theoretical implications are discussed based on the results of the study.

Value-added strategy models to provide quality services in senior health business.

PubMed

Yang, Ya-Ting; Lin, Neng-Pai; Su, Shyi; Chen, Ya-Mei; Chang, Yao-Mao; Handa, Yujiro; Khan, Hafsah Arshed Ali; Elsa Hsu, Yi-Hsin

2017-06-20

The rapid population aging is now a global issue. The increase in the elderly population will impact the health care industry and health enterprises; various senior needs will promote the growth of the senior health industry. Most senior health studies are focused on the demand side and scarcely on supply. Our study selected quality enterprises focused on aging health and analyzed different strategies to provide excellent quality services to senior health enterprises. We selected 33 quality senior health enterprises in Taiwan and investigated their excellent quality services strategies by face-to-face semi-structured in-depth interviews with CEO and managers of each enterprise in 2013. A total of 33 senior health enterprises in Taiwan. Overall, 65 CEOs and managers of 33 enterprises were interviewed individually. None. Core values and vision, organization structure, quality services provided, strategies for quality services. This study's results indicated four type of value-added strategy models adopted by senior enterprises to offer quality services: (i) residential care and co-residence model, (ii) home care and living in place model, (iii) community e-business experience model and (iv) virtual and physical portable device model. The common part in these four strategy models is that the services provided are elderly centered. These models offer virtual and physical integrations, and also offer total solutions for the elderly and their caregivers. Through investigation of successful strategy models for providing quality services to seniors, we identified opportunities to develop innovative service models and successful characteristics, also policy implications were summarized. The observations from this study will serve as a primary evidenced base for enterprises developing their senior market and, also for promoting the value co-creation possibility through dialogue between customers and those that deliver service. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford

Uncertainty analyses of the calibrated parameter values of a water quality model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rode, M.; Suhr, U.; Lindenschmidt, K.-E.

2003-04-01

For river basin management water quality models are increasingly used for the analysis and evaluation of different management measures. However substantial uncertainties exist in parameter values depending on the available calibration data. In this paper an uncertainty analysis for a water quality model is presented, which considers the impact of available model calibration data and the variance of input variables. The investigation was conducted based on four extensive flowtime related longitudinal surveys in the River Elbe in the years 1996 to 1999 with varying discharges and seasonal conditions. For the model calculations the deterministic model QSIM of the BfG (Germany) was used. QSIM is a one dimensional water quality model and uses standard algorithms for hydrodynamics and phytoplankton dynamics in running waters, e.g. Michaelis Menten/Monod kinetics, which are used in a wide range of models. The multi-objective calibration of the model was carried out with the nonlinear parameter estimator PEST. The results show that for individual flow time related measuring surveys very good agreements between model calculation and measured values can be obtained. If these parameters are applied to deviating boundary conditions, substantial errors in model calculation can occur. These uncertainties can be decreased with an increased calibration database. More reliable model parameters can be identified, which supply reasonable results for broader boundary conditions. The extension of the application of the parameter set on a wider range of water quality conditions leads to a slight reduction of the model precision for the specific water quality situation. Moreover the investigations show that highly variable water quality variables like the algal biomass always allow a smaller forecast accuracy than variables with lower coefficients of variation like e.g. nitrate.

The phenology of leaf quality and its within-canopy variation is essential for accurate modeling of photosynthesis in tropical evergreen forests

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

Wu, Jin; Serbin, Shawn P.; Xu, Xiangtao

Leaf quantity (i.e., canopy leaf area index, LAI), quality (i.e., per-area photosynthetic capacity), and longevity all influence the photosynthetic seasonality of tropical evergreen forests. However, these components of tropical leaf phenology are poorly represented in most terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs). Here in this paper, we explored alternative options for the representation of leaf phenology effects in TBMs that employ the Farquahar, von Caemmerer & Berry (FvCB) representation of CO 2 assimilation. We developed a two-fraction leaf (sun and shade), two-layer canopy (upper and lower) photosynthesis model to evaluate different modeling approaches and assessed three components of phenological variations (i.e., leafmore » quantity, quality, and within-canopy variation in leaf longevity). Our model was driven by the prescribed seasonality of leaf quantity and quality derived from ground-based measurements within an Amazonian evergreen forest. Modeled photosynthetic seasonality was not sensitive to leaf quantity, but was highly sensitive to leaf quality and its vertical distribution within the canopy, with markedly more sensitivity to upper canopy leaf quality. This is because light absorption in tropical canopies is near maximal for the entire year, implying that seasonal changes in LAI have little impact on total canopy light absorption; and because leaf quality has a greater effect on photosynthesis of sunlit leaves than light limited, shade leaves and sunlit foliage are more abundant in the upper canopy. Our two-fraction leaf, two-layer canopy model, which accounted for all three phenological components, was able to simulate photosynthetic seasonality, explaining ~90% of the average seasonal variation in eddy covariance-derived CO 2 assimilation. This work identifies a parsimonious approach for representing tropical evergreen forest photosynthetic seasonality in TBMs that utilize the FvCB model of CO 2 assimilation and highlights the importance of

The phenology of leaf quality and its within-canopy variation is essential for accurate modeling of photosynthesis in tropical evergreen forests

DOE PAGES

Wu, Jin; Serbin, Shawn P.; Xu, Xiangtao; ...

2017-04-18

Leaf quantity (i.e., canopy leaf area index, LAI), quality (i.e., per-area photosynthetic capacity), and longevity all influence the photosynthetic seasonality of tropical evergreen forests. However, these components of tropical leaf phenology are poorly represented in most terrestrial biosphere models (TBMs). Here in this paper, we explored alternative options for the representation of leaf phenology effects in TBMs that employ the Farquahar, von Caemmerer & Berry (FvCB) representation of CO 2 assimilation. We developed a two-fraction leaf (sun and shade), two-layer canopy (upper and lower) photosynthesis model to evaluate different modeling approaches and assessed three components of phenological variations (i.e., leafmore » quantity, quality, and within-canopy variation in leaf longevity). Our model was driven by the prescribed seasonality of leaf quantity and quality derived from ground-based measurements within an Amazonian evergreen forest. Modeled photosynthetic seasonality was not sensitive to leaf quantity, but was highly sensitive to leaf quality and its vertical distribution within the canopy, with markedly more sensitivity to upper canopy leaf quality. This is because light absorption in tropical canopies is near maximal for the entire year, implying that seasonal changes in LAI have little impact on total canopy light absorption; and because leaf quality has a greater effect on photosynthesis of sunlit leaves than light limited, shade leaves and sunlit foliage are more abundant in the upper canopy. Our two-fraction leaf, two-layer canopy model, which accounted for all three phenological components, was able to simulate photosynthetic seasonality, explaining ~90% of the average seasonal variation in eddy covariance-derived CO 2 assimilation. This work identifies a parsimonious approach for representing tropical evergreen forest photosynthetic seasonality in TBMs that utilize the FvCB model of CO 2 assimilation and highlights the importance of

Quality of care for patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 in 'model practices' in Slovenia - first results.

PubMed

Petek, Davorina; Mlakar, Mitja

2016-09-01

A new organisation at the primary level, called model practices, introduces a 0.5 full-time equivalent nurse practitioner as a regular member of the team. Nurse practitioners are in charge of registers of chronic patients, and implement an active approach into medical care. Selected quality indicators define the quality of management. The majority of studies confirm the effectiveness of the extended team in the quality of care, which is similar or improved when compared to care performed by the physician alone. The aim of the study is to compare the quality of management of patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 before and after the introduction of model practices. A cohort retrospective study was based on medical records from three practices. Process quality indicators, such as regularity of HbA1c measurement, blood pressure measurement, foot exam, referral to eye exam, performance of yearly laboratory tests and HbA1c level before and after the introduction of model practices were compared. The final sample consisted of 132 patients, whose diabetes care was exclusively performed at the primary care level. The process of care has significantly improved after the delivery of model practices. The most outstanding is the increase of foot exam and HbA1c testing. We could not prove better glycaemic control (p>0.1). Nevertheless, the proposed benchmark for the suggested quality process and outcome indicators were mostly exceeded in this cohort. The introduction of a nurse into the team improves the process quality of care. Benchmarks for quality indicators are obtainable. Better outcomes of care need further confirmation.

Information Quality Evaluation of C2 Systems at Architecture Level

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-01

based on architecture models of C2 systems, which can help to identify key factors impacting information quality and improve the system capability at the stage of architecture design of C2 system....capability evaluation of C2 systems at architecture level becomes necessary and important for improving the system capability at the stage of architecture ... design . This paper proposes a method for information quality evaluation of C2 system at architecture level. First, the information quality model is

CRank: A Credit Assessment Model in C2C e-Commerce

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhiqiang; Xie, Xiaoqin; Pan, Haiwei; Han, Qilong

An increasing number of consumers not only purchase but also resell merchandise through C2C web sites. One of the greatest concerns for the netizens is the lacking of a fair credit assessment system. Trust and trustworthiness are crucial to the survival of online markets. Reputation systems that rely on feedback from traders help to sustain the trust. And reputation systems provide one of the ways of building trusts online. In this chapter, we investigate a credit assessment model, CRank, for the members in the context of e-market systems, such as Alibaba, eBay, to solve such problem as how to choose a credible business partner when the customer wants to purchase some products from the Internet. CRank makes use of feedback profile made up of ranks from other users as well as an overall feedback rating for the user based on the idea of PageRank. This model can be used to build a trustable relation network among business participants.

Quality in E-Learning: A Framework for Promoting and Assuring Quality in Virtual Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Masoumi, D.; Lindstrom, B.

2012-01-01

With the growing demand for e-learning along with striving for excellence associated with globalization, there are worldwide calls for enhancing and assuring quality in e-learning, specifically in the context of the developing countries. Such calls for quality enhancement, accountability, added value, value for money, self-evaluation, and role…

Exploring diurnal and seasonal characteristics of global carbon cycle with GISS Model E2 GCM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aleinov, I. D.; Kiang, N. Y.; Romanou, A.

2017-12-01

The ability to properly model surface carbon fluxes on the diurnal and seasonal time scale is a necessary requirement for understanding of the global carbon cycle. It is also one of the most challenging tasks faced by modern General Circulation Models (GCMs) due to complexity of the algorithms and variety of relevant spatial and temporal scales. The observational data, though abundant, is difficult to interpret at the global scale, because flux tower observations are very sparse for large impact areas (such as Amazon and African rainforest and most of Siberia) and satellite missions often struggle to produce sufficiently high confidence data over the land and may be missing CO2 amounts near the surface due to the nature of the method. In this work we use the GISS Model E2 GCM to perform a subset of experiments proposed by the Coupled Climate-Carbon Cycle Model Intercomparison Project (C4MIP) and relate the results to available observations.The GISS Model E2 GCM is currently equipped with a complete global carbon cycle algorithm. Its surface carbon fluxes are computed by the Ent Terrestrial Biosphere Model (Ent TBM) over the land with observed leaf area index of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) and by the NASA Ocean Biogeochemistry Model (NOBM) over the ocean. The propagation of atmospheric CO2 is performed by a generic Model E2 tracer algorithm, which is based on a quadratic upstream method (Prather 1986). We perform a series spin-up experiments for preindustrial climate conditions and fixed preindustrial atmospheric CO2 concentration. First, we perform separate spin-up simulations each for terrestrial and ocean carbon. We then combine the spun-up states and perform a coupled spin-up simulation until the model reaches a sufficient equilibrium. We then release restrictions on CO2 concentration and allow it evolve freely, driven only by simulated surface fluxes. We then study the results of the unforced run, comparing the amplitude and the phase

Regionalized PM2.5 Community Multiscale Air Quality model performance evaluation across a continuous spatiotemporal domain.

PubMed

Reyes, Jeanette M; Xu, Yadong; Vizuete, William; Serre, Marc L

2017-01-01

The regulatory Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model is a means to understanding the sources, concentrations and regulatory attainment of air pollutants within a model's domain. Substantial resources are allocated to the evaluation of model performance. The Regionalized Air quality Model Performance (RAMP) method introduced here explores novel ways of visualizing and evaluating CMAQ model performance and errors for daily Particulate Matter ≤ 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) concentrations across the continental United States. The RAMP method performs a non-homogenous, non-linear, non-homoscedastic model performance evaluation at each CMAQ grid. This work demonstrates that CMAQ model performance, for a well-documented 2001 regulatory episode, is non-homogeneous across space/time. The RAMP correction of systematic errors outperforms other model evaluation methods as demonstrated by a 22.1% reduction in Mean Square Error compared to a constant domain wide correction. The RAMP method is able to accurately reproduce simulated performance with a correlation of r = 76.1%. Most of the error coming from CMAQ is random error with only a minority of error being systematic. Areas of high systematic error are collocated with areas of high random error, implying both error types originate from similar sources. Therefore, addressing underlying causes of systematic error will have the added benefit of also addressing underlying causes of random error.

Soil Quality Index Determination Models for Restinga Forest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonilha, R. M.; Casagrande, J. C.; Soares, R. M.

2012-04-01

The Restinga Forest is a set of plant communities in mosaic, determined by the characteristics of their substrates as a result of depositional processes and ages. In this complex mosaic are the physiognomies of restinga forests of high-stage regeneration (high restinga) and middle stage of regeneration (low restinga), each with its plant characteristics that differentiate them. Located on the coastal plains of the Brazilian coast, suffering internal influences both the continental slopes, as well as from the sea. Its soils come from the Quaternary and are subject to constant deposition of sediments. The climate in the coastal type is tropical (Köppen). This work was conducted in four locations: (1) Anchieta Island, Ubatuba, (2) Juréia-Itatins Ecological Station, Iguape, (3) Vila das Pedrinhas, Comprida Island; and (4) Cardoso Island, Cananeia. The soil samples were collect at a depths of 0 to 5, 0-10, 0-20, 20-40 and 40 to 60cm for the chemical and physical analysis. Were studied the additive and pondering additive models to evaluate soil quality. It was concluded: a) the comparative additive model produces quantitative results and the pondering additive model quantitative results; b) as the pondering additive model, the values of Soil Quality Index (SQI) for soils under forest of restinga are low and realistic, demonstrating the small plant biomass production potential of these soils, as well as their low resilience; c) the values of SQI similar to areas with and without restinga forest give quantitative demonstration of the restinga be considered as soil phase; d) restinga forest, probably, is maintained solely by the cycling of nutrients in a closed nutrient cycling; e) for the determination of IQS for soils under restinga vegetation the use of routine chemical analysis is adequate. Keywords: Model, restinga forest, Soil Quality Index (SQI).

DockQ: A Quality Measure for Protein-Protein Docking Models

PubMed Central

Basu, Sankar

2016-01-01

The state-of-the-art to assess the structural quality of docking models is currently based on three related yet independent quality measures: Fnat, LRMS, and iRMS as proposed and standardized by CAPRI. These quality measures quantify different aspects of the quality of a particular docking model and need to be viewed together to reveal the true quality, e.g. a model with relatively poor LRMS (>10Å) might still qualify as 'acceptable' with a descent Fnat (>0.50) and iRMS (<3.0Å). This is also the reason why the so called CAPRI criteria for assessing the quality of docking models is defined by applying various ad-hoc cutoffs on these measures to classify a docking model into the four classes: Incorrect, Acceptable, Medium, or High quality. This classification has been useful in CAPRI, but since models are grouped in only four bins it is also rather limiting, making it difficult to rank models, correlate with scoring functions or use it as target function in machine learning algorithms. Here, we present DockQ, a continuous protein-protein docking model quality measure derived by combining Fnat, LRMS, and iRMS to a single score in the range [0, 1] that can be used to assess the quality of protein docking models. By using DockQ on CAPRI models it is possible to almost completely reproduce the original CAPRI classification into Incorrect, Acceptable, Medium and High quality. An average PPV of 94% at 90% Recall demonstrating that there is no need to apply predefined ad-hoc cutoffs to classify docking models. Since DockQ recapitulates the CAPRI classification almost perfectly, it can be viewed as a higher resolution version of the CAPRI classification, making it possible to estimate model quality in a more quantitative way using Z-scores or sum of top ranked models, which has been so valuable for the CASP community. The possibility to directly correlate a quality measure to a scoring function has been crucial for the development of scoring functions for protein structure

Modeling hydrodynamics, water temperature, and water quality in the Klamath River upstream of Keno Dam, Oregon, 2006-09

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sullivan, Annett B.; Rounds, Stewart A.; Deas, Michael L.; Asbill, Jessica R.; Wellman, Roy E.; Stewart, Marc A.; Johnston, Matthew W.; Sogutlugil, I. Ertugrul

2011-01-01

A hydrodynamic, water temperature, and water-quality model was constructed for a 20-mile reach of the Klamath River downstream of Upper Klamath Lake, from Link River to Keno Dam, for calendar years 2006-09. The two-dimensional, laterally averaged model CE-QUAL-W2 was used to simulate water velocity, ice cover, water temperature, specific conductance, dissolved and suspended solids, dissolved oxygen, total nitrogen, ammonia, nitrate, total phosphorus, orthophosphate, dissolved and particulate organic matter, and three algal groups. The Link-Keno model successfully simulated the most important spatial and temporal patterns in the measured data for this 4-year time period. The model calibration process provided critical insights into water-quality processes and the nature of those inputs and processes that drive water quality in this reach. The model was used not only to reproduce and better understand water-quality conditions that occurred in 2006-09, but also to test several load-reduction scenarios that have implications for future water-resources management in the river basin. The model construction and calibration process provided results concerning water quality and transport in the Link-Keno reach of the Klamath River, ranging from interesting circulation patterns in the Lake Ewauna area to the nature and importance of organic matter and algae. These insights and results include: * Modeled segment-average water velocities ranged from near 0.0 to 3.0 ft/s in 2006 through 2009. Travel time through the model reach was about 4 days at 2,000 ft3/s and 12 days at 700 ft3/s flow. Flow direction was aligned with the upstream-downstream channel axis for most of the Link-Keno reach, except for Lake Ewauna. Wind effects were pronounced at Lake Ewauna during low-flow conditions, often with circulation in the form of a gyre that rotated in a clockwise direction when winds were towards the southeast and in a counterclockwise direction when winds were towards the northwest

The Utility of the OMI HCHO/NO2 in Air Quality Decision-Making Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duncan, Bryan

2010-01-01

I will discuss a novel and practical application of the OMI HCHU and NO2 data products to the "weight of evidence" in the air quality decision-making process (e.g., State Implementation Plan (SIP)) for a city, region, or state to demonstrate that it is making progress toward attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone. Any trend, or lack thereof, in the observed OMI HCHO/NO2 may support that an emission control strategy implemented to reduce ozone is or is not occurring for a metropolitan area. In addition, the observed OMI HCHO/NO2 may be used to define new emission control strategies as the photochemical environments of urban areas evolve over time. I will demonstrate the utility of the OMI HCHO/NO2 over the U.S. for air quality applications with support from simulations with both a regional model and a photochemical box model. These results support mission planning of an OMI-like instrument for the proposed GEO-CAPE satellite that has as one of its objectives to study air quality from space. However, I'm attending the meeting as the Aura Deputy Project Scientist, so I don't technically need to present anything to justify the travel.

Advanced Computational Methods for High-accuracy Refinement of Protein Low-quality Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zang, Tianwu

Predicting the 3-dimentional structure of protein has been a major interest in the modern computational biology. While lots of successful methods can generate models with 3˜5A root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) from the solution, the progress of refining these models is quite slow. It is therefore urgently needed to develop effective methods to bring low-quality models to higher-accuracy ranges (e.g., less than 2 A RMSD). In this thesis, I present several novel computational methods to address the high-accuracy refinement problem. First, an enhanced sampling method, named parallel continuous simulated tempering (PCST), is developed to accelerate the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Second, two energy biasing methods, Structure-Based Model (SBM) and Ensemble-Based Model (EBM), are introduced to perform targeted sampling around important conformations. Third, a three-step method is developed to blindly select high-quality models along the MD simulation. These methods work together to make significant refinement of low-quality models without any knowledge of the solution. The effectiveness of these methods is examined in different applications. Using the PCST-SBM method, models with higher global distance test scores (GDT_TS) are generated and selected in the MD simulation of 18 targets from the refinement category of the 10th Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction (CASP10). In addition, in the refinement test of two CASP10 targets using the PCST-EBM method, it is indicated that EBM may bring the initial model to even higher-quality levels. Furthermore, a multi-round refinement protocol of PCST-SBM improves the model quality of a protein to the level that is sufficient high for the molecular replacement in X-ray crystallography. Our results justify the crucial position of enhanced sampling in the protein structure prediction and demonstrate that a considerable improvement of low-accuracy structures is still achievable with current force fields.

A Framework for Analysing Quality in Education Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mahapatra, S. S.; Khan, M. S.

2007-01-01

In this paper, an attempt has been made to propose a measuring instrument known as EduQUAL for evaluation of quality in Technical Education System (TES). Factor analysis has been carried out on responses obtained through cross-sectional questionnaire survey on various items to validate dimensionality of the instrument and it is found that 28 items…

Development of an Instructional Quality Assurance Model in Nursing Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ajpru, Haruthai; Pasiphol, Shotiga; Wongwanich, Suwimon

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop an instructional quality assurance model in nursing science. The study was divided into 3 phases; (1) to study the information for instructional quality assurance model development (2) to develop an instructional quality assurance model in nursing science and (3) to audit and the assessment of the developed…

Geoengineering by stratospheric SO2 injection: results from the Met Office HadGEM2 climate model and comparison with the Goddard Institute for Space Studies ModelE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, A.; Haywood, J.; Boucher, O.; Kravitz, B.; Robock, A.

2010-03-01

We examine the response of the Met Office Hadley Centre's HadGEM2-AO climate model to simulated geoengineering by continuous injection of SO2 into the lower stratosphere, and compare the results with those from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies ModelE. The HadGEM2 simulations suggest that the SO2 injection rate considered here (5 Tg[SO2] yr-1) could defer the amount of global warming predicted under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's A1B scenario by approximately 30-35 years, although both models indicate rapid warming if geoengineering is not sustained. We find a broadly similar geographic distribution of the response to geoengineering in both models in terms of near-surface air temperature and mean June-August precipitation. The simulations also suggest that significant changes in regional climate would be experienced even if geoengineering was successful in maintaining global-mean temperature near current values.

Quality of e-Learning: An Analysis Based on e-Learners' Perception of e-Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elango, Rengasamy; Gudep, Vijaya Kumar; Selvam, M.

2008-01-01

e-Learning, of late, has been witnessing an unprecedented expansion as an opportunity for higher education. This expanding alternative mode calls for ensuring and imparting a sound and qualitative education. The present study made an attempt to investigate the issues related to the quality dimensions of e-learning. Our results revealed the…

Urban Air Quality Modelling with AURORA: Prague and Bratislava

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veldeman, N.; Viaene, P.; De Ridder, K.; Peelaerts, W.; Lauwaet, D.; Muhammad, N.; Blyth, L.

2012-04-01

The European Commission, in its strategy to protect the health of the European citizens, states that in order to assess the impact of air pollution on public health, information on long-term exposure to air pollution should be available. Currently, indicators of air quality are often being generated using measured pollutant concentrations. While air quality monitoring stations data provide accurate time series information at specific locations, air quality models have the advantage of being able to assess the spatial variability of air quality (for different resolutions) and predict air quality in the future based on different scenarios. When running such air quality models at a high spatial and temporal resolution, one can simulate the actual situation as closely as possible, allowing for a detailed assessment of the risk of exposure to citizens from different pollutants. AURORA (Air quality modelling in Urban Regions using an Optimal Resolution Approach), a prognostic 3-dimensional Eulerian chemistry-transport model, is designed to simulate urban- to regional-scale atmospheric pollutant concentration and exposure fields. The AURORA model also allows to calculate the impact of changes in land use (e.g. planting of trees) or of emission reduction scenario's on air quality. AURORA is currently being applied within the ESA atmospheric GMES service, PASODOBLE (http://www.myair-eu.org), that delivers information on air quality, greenhouse gases, stratospheric ozone, … At present there are two operational AURORA services within PASODOBLE. Within the "Air quality forecast service" VITO delivers daily air quality forecasts for Belgium at a resolution of 5 km and for the major Belgian cities: Brussels, Ghent, Antwerp, Liege and Charleroi. Furthermore forecast services are provided for Prague, Czech Republic and Bratislava, Slovakia, both at a resolution of 1 km. The "Urban/regional air quality assessment service" provides urban- and regional-scale maps (hourly resolution

Satellite-Surface Perspectives of Air Quality and Aerosol-Cloud Effects on the Environment: An Overview of 7-SEAS BASELInE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsay, Si-Chee; Maring, Hal B.; Lin, Neng-Huei; Buntoung, Sumaman; Chantara, Somporn; Chuang, Hsiao-Chi; Gabriel, Philip M.; Goodloe, Colby S.; Holben, Brent N.; Hsiao, Ta-Chih;

Protein single-model quality assessment by feature-based probability density functions.

PubMed

Cao, Renzhi; Cheng, Jianlin

2016-04-04

Protein quality assessment (QA) has played an important role in protein structure prediction. We developed a novel single-model quality assessment method-Qprob. Qprob calculates the absolute error for each protein feature value against the true quality scores (i.e. GDT-TS scores) of protein structural models, and uses them to estimate its probability density distribution for quality assessment. Qprob has been blindly tested on the 11th Critical Assessment of Techniques for Protein Structure Prediction (CASP11) as MULTICOM-NOVEL server. The official CASP result shows that Qprob ranks as one of the top single-model QA methods. In addition, Qprob makes contributions to our protein tertiary structure predictor MULTICOM, which is officially ranked 3rd out of 143 predictors. The good performance shows that Qprob is good at assessing the quality of models of hard targets. These results demonstrate that this new probability density distribution based method is effective for protein single-model quality assessment and is useful for protein structure prediction. The webserver of Qprob is available at: http://calla.rnet.missouri.edu/qprob/. The software is now freely available in the web server of Qprob.

Structure, Content, Delivery, Service, and Outcomes: Quality e-Learning in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MacDonald, Colla J.; Thompson, Terrie Lynn

2005-01-01

This paper addresses the need for quality e-Learning experiences. We used the Demand-Driven Learning Model (MacDonald, Stodel, Farres, Breithaupt, and Gabriel, 2001) to evaluate an online Masters in Education course. Multiple data collection methods were used to understand the experiences of stakeholders in this case study: the learners, design…

E2E: A Summary of the e2e Learning Framework.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Learning and Skills Development Agency, London (England).

This publication is a summary of the E2E (Entry to Employment) Learning Framework that provides guidance on program implementation. (E2E is a new learning program for young people not yet ready or able to enter Modern Apprenticeship programs, a Level 2 program, or employment directly.) Section 2 highlights core values to which all involved should…

Leaf quality and insect herbivory in model tropical plant communities after long-term exposure to elevated atmospheric CO2.

PubMed

Arnone, J A; Zaller, J G; Körner, Ch; Ziegler, C; Zandt, H

1995-09-01

Results from laboratory feeding experiments have shown that elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide can affect interactions between plants and insect herbivores, primarily through changes in leaf nutritional quality occurring at elevated CO 2 . Very few data are available on insect herbivory in plant communities where insects can choose among species and positions in the canopy in which to feed. Our objectives were to determine the extent to which CO 2 -induced changes in plant communities and leaf nutritional quality may affect herbivory at the level of the entire canopy. We introduced equivalent populations of fourth instar Spodoptera eridania, a lepidopteran generalist, to complex model ecosystems containing seven species of moist tropical plants maintained under low mineral nutrient supply. Larvae were allowed to feed freely for 14 days, by which time they had reached the seventh instar. Prior to larval introductions, plant communities had been continuously exposed to either 340 μl CO 2 l -1 or to 610 μl CO 2 l -1 for 1.5 years. No major shifts in leaf nutritional quality [concentrations of N, total non-structural carbohydrates (TNC), sugar, and starch; ratios of: C/N, TNC/N, sugar/N, starch/N; leaf toughness] were observed between CO 2 treatments for any of the species. Furthermore, no correlations were observed between these measures of leaf quality and leaf biomass consumption. Total leaf area and biomass of all plant communities were similar when caterpillars were introduced. However, leaf biomass of some species was slightly greater-and for other species slightly less (e.g. Cecropia peltata)-in communities exposed to elevated CO 2 . Larvae showed the strongest preference for C. peltata leaves, the plant species that was least abundant in all communites, and fed relatively little on plants species which were more abundant. Thus, our results indicate that leaf tissue quality, as described by these parameters, is not necessarily affected by elevated CO 2 under

University Rankings: How Well Do They Measure Library Service Quality?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Brian

2015-01-01

University rankings play an increasingly large role in shaping the goals of academic institutions and departments, while removing universities themselves from the evaluation process. This study compares the library-related results of two university ranking publications with scores on the LibQUAL+™ survey to identify if library service quality--as…

Modeling and evaluation of compliance to water quality regulations in bathing areas on the Daoulas catchment and estuary (France).

PubMed

Bougeard, M; Le Saux, J C; Jouan, M; Durand, G; Pommepuy, M

2010-01-01

The microbiological quality of waters in estuaries determines their acceptability for recreational uses. Microbiological contamination often results from urban wastewater discharges or non-point source pollution (manure spreading), and can cause bathing zones to be closed. European regulations (EC/7/2006) have proposed standards (500 E. coli/100 ml) for the acceptability areas for bathing. In this study, two models were associated to simulate contamination: SWAT on a catchment and MARS 2D in the downstream estuary. After river flow calibration and validation, two scenarios were simulated in SWAT, and E. coli fluxes obtained at the main outlet of the catchment were then introduced into MARS 2D to follow E. coli concentrations in the estuary. An annual evaluation of compliance to bathing area water quality standards was then calculated, linked with daily rainfall classes. Water quality in the estuary was below the standard on 13 days, including 5 days with rainfall superior to 10 mm, due to faecal contamination from soil leaching by rain, and 5 days with rainfall ranging from 0.1 to 5 mm/day, due to the high frequency of this level of rainfall. To conclude, this study allowed us to demonstrate the efficiency of models to gain a better understanding on water quality degradation factors.

Quality assessment of persian mental disorders websites using the webmedqual scale.

PubMed

Shahrzadi, Leila; Mojiri, Shahin; Janatian, Sima; Taheri, Behjat; Ashrafi-Rizi, Hasan; Shahrzadi, Zeinab; Zahedi, Razieh

2014-06-01

Nowadays, anyone with any level of Internet knowledge can act as producer and distributor of information. It differs from most traditional media of information transmission, lack of information control and lack of quality management to contents. This leads to quality of health information on the internet is doubtful. The object of this study is guidance patients to select valid mental disorders and determine the quality of Persian mental disorders websites. The sample of this study comprised 29 Persian mental disorders websites that were chosen by searching the Google, Yahoo and AltaVista search engines for the Persian equivalents of the three concepts "depression," "anxiety," and "obsession". website was created by individuals or organizations. Data collection was performed with the WebMedQual checklist. Websites was assessed based on indicators as content, authority of source, design, accessibility and availability, links, user support, and confidentiality and privacy (Maximum score for any website was 83, mean score 41.5 and minimum score was 0). Collected data analyzed by one sample T- test in SPSS 20. Findings presented by Mean score and optimal score. Based on the WebMedQual scale the mean score of Persian mental disorders websites in sex constructs including "content" (7.02±2.10), "authority of source" (4.71±1.96),"accessibility and availability" (2.19±0.47), "links" (1.45±0.97), "user support" (4.28±1.33), and"confidentiality and privacy" (2.81±2.81) are poor and below average, but the score for the "design" (9.17± 1.59) is above average. The best website of mental disorders was that of the "IranianPsychological Association". According to the results, only one website obtained the average score, so the quality of Persian mental disorders websites is low. Therefore, it is essential for users to criticize websites' content and not trust them before evaluating them. It is better to use the ranked list websites or search on the internet by help

Quality models for audiovisual streaming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thang, Truong Cong; Kim, Young Suk; Kim, Cheon Seog; Ro, Yong Man

2006-01-01

Quality is an essential factor in multimedia communication, especially in compression and adaptation. Quality metrics can be divided into three categories: within-modality quality, cross-modality quality, and multi-modality quality. Most research has so far focused on within-modality quality. Moreover, quality is normally just considered from the perceptual perspective. In practice, content may be drastically adapted, even converted to another modality. In this case, we should consider the quality from semantic perspective as well. In this work, we investigate the multi-modality quality from the semantic perspective. To model the semantic quality, we apply the concept of "conceptual graph", which consists of semantic nodes and relations between the nodes. As an typical of multi-modality example, we focus on audiovisual streaming service. Specifically, we evaluate the amount of information conveyed by a audiovisual content where both video and audio channels may be strongly degraded, even audio are converted to text. In the experiments, we also consider the perceptual quality model of audiovisual content, so as to see the difference with semantic quality model.

Combination Use of Water Quality Modelling and Cost-Effective Analysis to Assess Environmental Benefit of a Watershed - A Case Study of Various Engineering and Management Strategy Arrangements in Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, C.; Wu, C. Y.

2017-12-01

This study aimed to evaluate the potential environmental benefits using the water quality modelling integrated with cost-effective analysis to assess several proposed scenarios of engineering and management arrangements based on regional development planning and pollution mitigation strategy. The QUAL2Kw models of Erhjen river and its major tributary, Sanye creek, were established to simulate the river pollution indices of dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), suspended solids (SS) and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N). The HEC-RAS was employed to calculate the hydraulic parameters and dilution impact of tidal effect in the downstream section. The verified integrated model was applied to estimating the water quality variations for several given scenarios considering the possible re-arrangement of projected pollution mitigation implementations, such as sewage system construction facilitation, additional on-site treatment facilities establishment and pig-manure anaerobic fermentation for biogas power generation in the Erhjen river watershed. As a result, the water quality of the Sanye creek was apparently improved after the completion of sewage system construction. The ammonia nitrogen concentration reduced from the level 6 to 10 times above severely-polluted standard to the merely-above level. By ignoring the impact of ammonia nitrogen on river pollution index calculation, the water quality of the lower section of the Sanye creek was improved to slightly-polluted or non-polluted level. In the scenario of anaerobic fermentation promotion, if manure anaerobic fermentation facilities were installed in all the pig farms with livestock number more than 2000, water quality was estimated to be improved slightly only. Furthermore, if all the manure waste from pig-farms is collected for subsequent electricity generation in the investigated watershed, the river pollution index is estimated to improve to moderately-polluted category for all the length of Erhjen river

Simulations of the Mid-Pliocene Warm Period Using Two Versions of the NASA-GISS ModelE2-R Coupled Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chandler, M. A.; Sohl, L. E.; Jonas, J. A.; Dowsett, H. J.; Kelley, M.

2013-01-01

The mid-Pliocene Warm Period (mPWP) bears many similarities to aspects of future global warming as projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2007). Both marine and terrestrial data point to high-latitude temperature amplification, including large decreases in sea ice and land ice, as well as expansion of warmer climate biomes into higher latitudes. Here we present our most recent simulations of the mid-Pliocene climate using the CMIP5 version of the NASAGISS Earth System Model (ModelE2-R). We describe the substantial impact associated with a recent correction made in the implementation of the Gent-McWilliams ocean mixing scheme (GM), which has a large effect on the simulation of ocean surface temperatures, particularly in the North Atlantic Ocean. The effect of this correction on the Pliocene climate results would not have been easily determined from examining its impact on the preindustrial runs alone, a useful demonstration of how the consequences of code improvements as seen in modern climate control runs do not necessarily portend the impacts in extreme climates.Both the GM-corrected and GM-uncorrected simulations were contributed to the Pliocene Model Intercomparison Project (PlioMIP) Experiment 2. Many findings presented here corroborate results from other PlioMIP multi-model ensemble papers, but we also emphasize features in the ModelE2-R simulations that are unlike the ensemble means. The corrected version yields results that more closely resemble the ocean core data as well as the PRISM3D reconstructions of the mid-Pliocene, especially the dramatic warming in the North Atlantic and Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian Sea, which in the new simulation appears to be far more realistic than previously found with older versions of the GISS model. Our belief is that continued development of key physical routines in the atmospheric model, along with higher resolution and recent corrections to mixing parameterisations in the ocean model, have led

Ideology and Audit Culture: Standardized Service Quality Surveys in Academic Libraries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lilburn, Jeff

2017-01-01

This article examines the relationship between the standardized service quality survey LibQUAL+ and the rise of audit culture. Recent scholarship examining assessment and accountability systems and the ideological principles driving their implementation in higher education raises concerns about the impact these systems have on teaching, learning,…

A Physically-based Model for Predicting Soil Moisture Dynamics in Wetlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalin, L.; Rezaeianzadeh, M.; Hantush, M. M.

2017-12-01

Wetlands are promoted as green infrastructures because of their characteristics in retaining and filtering water. In wetlands going through wetting/drying cycles, simulation of nutrient processes and biogeochemical reactions in both ponded and unsaturated wetland zones are needed for an improved understanding of wetland functioning for water quality improvement. The physically-based WetQual model can simulate the hydrology and nutrient and sediment cycles in natural and constructed wetlands. WetQual can be used in continuously flooded environments or in wetlands going through wetting/drying cycles. Currently, WetQual relies on 1-D Richards' Equation (RE) to simulate soil moisture dynamics in unponded parts of the wetlands. This is unnecessarily complex because as a lumped model, WetQual only requires average moisture contents. In this paper, we present a depth-averaged solution to the 1-D RE, called DARE, to simulate the average moisture content of the root zone and the layer below it in unsaturated parts of wetlands. DARE converts the PDE of the RE into ODEs; thus it is computationally more efficient. This method takes into account the plant uptake and groundwater table fluctuations, which are commonly overlooked in hydrologic models dealing with wetlands undergoing wetting and drying cycles. For verification purposes, DARE solutions were compared to Hydrus-1D model, which uses full RE, under gravity drainage only assumption and full-term equations. Model verifications were carried out under various top boundary conditions: no ponding at all, ponding at some point, and no rain. Through hypothetical scenarios and actual atmospheric data, the utility of DARE was demonstrated. Gravity drainage version of DARE worked well in comparison to Hydrus-1D, under all the assigned atmospheric boundary conditions of varying fluxes for all examined soil types (sandy loam, loam, sandy clay loam, and sand). The full-term version of DARE offers reasonable accuracy compared to the

Modeling the time--varying subjective quality of HTTP video streams with rate adaptations.

PubMed

Chen, Chao; Choi, Lark Kwon; de Veciana, Gustavo; Caramanis, Constantine; Heath, Robert W; Bovik, Alan C

2014-05-01

Newly developed hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP)-based video streaming technologies enable flexible rate-adaptation under varying channel conditions. Accurately predicting the users' quality of experience (QoE) for rate-adaptive HTTP video streams is thus critical to achieve efficiency. An important aspect of understanding and modeling QoE is predicting the up-to-the-moment subjective quality of a video as it is played, which is difficult due to hysteresis effects and nonlinearities in human behavioral responses. This paper presents a Hammerstein-Wiener model for predicting the time-varying subjective quality (TVSQ) of rate-adaptive videos. To collect data for model parameterization and validation, a database of longer duration videos with time-varying distortions was built and the TVSQs of the videos were measured in a large-scale subjective study. The proposed method is able to reliably predict the TVSQ of rate adaptive videos. Since the Hammerstein-Wiener model has a very simple structure, the proposed method is suitable for online TVSQ prediction in HTTP-based streaming.

Comparison of conceptually based and regression rainfall-runoff models, Denver Metropolitan area, Colorado, and potential applications in urban areas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lindner-Lunsford, J. B.; Ellis, S.R.

1987-01-01

Multievent, conceptually based models and a single-event, multiple linear-regression model for estimating storm-runoff quantity and quality from urban areas were calibrated and verified for four small (57 to 167 acres) basins in the Denver metropolitan area, Colorado. The basins represented different land-use types - light commercial, single-family housing, and multi-family housing. Both types of models were calibrated using the same data set for each basin. A comparison was made between the storm-runoff volume, peak flow, and storm-runoff loads of seven water quality constituents simulated by each of the models by use of identical verification data sets. The models studied were the U.S. Geological Survey 's Distributed Routing Rainfall-Runoff Model-Version II (DR3M-II) (a runoff-quantity model designed for urban areas), and a multievent urban runoff quality model (DR3M-QUAL). Water quality constituents modeled were chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, total lead, total manganese, and total zinc. (USGS)

The Experimental Research on E-Learning Instructional Design Model Based on Cognitive Flexibility Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Xianzhong; Wang, Feng; Zheng, Zhongmei

The paper reports an educational experiment on the e-Learning instructional design model based on Cognitive Flexibility Theory, the experiment were made to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of the model in promoting the learning quality in ill-structured domain. The study performed the experiment on two groups of students: one group learned through the system designed by the model and the other learned by the traditional method. The results of the experiment indicate that the e-Learning designed through the model is helpful to promote the intrinsic motivation, learning quality in ill-structured domains, ability to resolve ill-structured problem and creative thinking ability of the students.

Water-quality assessment and wastewater-management alternatives for Dardenne Creek in St Charles County, Missouri

USGS Publications Warehouse

Berkas, W.R.; Lodderhose, J.R.

1985-01-01

The quality of water in the 15 mile downstream reach of Dardenne Creek in St. Charles County, Missouri, was assessed to determine if it met the Missouri water quality standards. Concentrations of dissolved oxygen and total ammonia failed to meet water quality standards downstream from the Harvester-Dardenne and St. Peters Wastewater-Treatment Plants. The QUAL-II SEMCOG water quality model was calibrated and verified using two independent data sets from Dardenne Creek. Management alternatives using current, design capacity, and future expansion wastewater discharges from the St. Peters Wastewater-Treatment Plant were evaluated. Results of the computer simulation indicate that a nitrification-type advanced-treatment facility installed at the plant would produce a 5-day carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand of 10 mg/L. An effluent limit of 5.0 mg/L of 5-day carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand would further improve the water quality of Dardenne Creek; however, an additional treatment process, such as sand filtration, would be needed to meet this criterion. (USGS)

Updating sea spray aerosol emissions in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model version 5.0.2

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The uploaded data consists of the BRACE Na aerosol observations paired with CMAQ model output, the updated model's parameterization of sea salt aerosol emission size distribution, and the model's parameterization of the sea salt emission factor as a function of sea surface temperature. This dataset is associated with the following publication:Gantt , B., J. Kelly , and J. Bash. Updating sea spray aerosol emissions in the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model version 5.0.2. Geoscientific Model Development. Copernicus Publications, Katlenburg-Lindau, GERMANY, 8: 3733-3746, (2015).

Exploring the Relationship between Patron Type, Carnegie Classification, and Satisfaction with Library Services: An Analysis of LibQUAL+® Results

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Guder, Christopher S.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore how faculty and students responded to the Information Control section of the LibQUAL+® survey at two libraries with different Carnegie Classifications. As one of the institutions being studied was considering a shift from a research institution to one more focused on teaching and learning, this study used…

Quality Analysis on 3d Buidling Models Reconstructed from Uav Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarzabek-Rychard, M.; Karpina, M.

2016-06-01

Recent developments in UAV technology and structure from motion techniques have effected that UAVs are becoming standard platforms for 3D data collection. Because of their flexibility and ability to reach inaccessible urban parts, drones appear as optimal solution for urban applications. Building reconstruction from the data collected with UAV has the important potential to reduce labour cost for fast update of already reconstructed 3D cities. However, especially for updating of existing scenes derived from different sensors (e.g. airborne laser scanning), a proper quality assessment is necessary. The objective of this paper is thus to evaluate the potential of UAV imagery as an information source for automatic 3D building modeling at LOD2. The investigation process is conducted threefold: (1) comparing generated SfM point cloud to ALS data; (2) computing internal consistency measures of the reconstruction process; (3) analysing the deviation of Check Points identified on building roofs and measured with a tacheometer. In order to gain deep insight in the modeling performance, various quality indicators are computed and analysed. The assessment performed according to the ground truth shows that the building models acquired with UAV-photogrammetry have the accuracy of less than 18 cm for the plannimetric position and about 15 cm for the height component.

Receiving water quality assessment: comparison between simplified and detailed integrated urban modelling approaches.

PubMed

Mannina, Giorgio; Viviani, Gaspare

2010-01-01

Urban water quality management often requires use of numerical models allowing the evaluation of the cause-effect relationship between the input(s) (i.e. rainfall, pollutant concentrations on catchment surface and in sewer system) and the resulting water quality response. The conventional approach to the system (i.e. sewer system, wastewater treatment plant and receiving water body), considering each component separately, does not enable optimisation of the whole system. However, recent gains in understanding and modelling make it possible to represent the system as a whole and optimise its overall performance. Indeed, integrated urban drainage modelling is of growing interest for tools to cope with Water Framework Directive requirements. Two different approaches can be employed for modelling the whole urban drainage system: detailed and simplified. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Specifically, detailed approaches can offer a higher level of reliability in the model results, but can be very time consuming from the computational point of view. Simplified approaches are faster but may lead to greater model uncertainty due to an over-simplification. To gain insight into the above problem, two different modelling approaches have been compared with respect to their uncertainty. The first urban drainage integrated model approach uses the Saint-Venant equations and the 1D advection-dispersion equations, for the quantity and for the quality aspects, respectively. The second model approach consists of the simplified reservoir model. The analysis used a parsimonious bespoke model developed in previous studies. For the uncertainty analysis, the Generalised Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) procedure was used. Model reliability was evaluated on the basis of capacity of globally limiting the uncertainty. Both models have a good capability to fit the experimental data, suggesting that all adopted approaches are equivalent both for quantity and quality. The

Information sharing model in supporting implementation of e-procurement service: Case of Bandung city

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramantoko, Gadang; Irawan, Herry

2017-10-01

This research examines the factors influencing the Information Sharing Model in Supporting Implementation of e-Procurement Services: Case of Bandung City in its early maturity stage. The early maturity of information sharing stage was determined using e-Government Maturity Stage Conceptual Framework from Estevez. Bandung City e-Procurement Information Sharing system was categorized at stage 1 in Estevez' model where the concern was mainly on assessing the benefit and risk of implementing the system. The Authors were using DeLone & McLean (D&M) Information System Success model to study benefit and risk of implementing the system in Bandung city. The model was then empirically tested by employing survey data that was collected from the available 40 listed supplier firms. D&M's model adjusted by Klischewski's description was introducing Information Quality, System Quality, and Service Quality as independent variable; Usability and User Satisfaction as intermediate dependent variable; and Perceived Net Benefit as final dependent variable. The findings suggested that, all of the predictors in D&M's model significantly influenced the net perceived benefit of implementing the e-Procurement system in the early maturity stage. The theoretical contribution of this research suggested that D&M's model might find useful in modeling complex information technology successfulness such as the one used in e-Procurement service. This research could also have implications for policy makers (LPSE) and system providers (LKPP) following the introduction of the service. However, the small number of respondent might be considered limitation of the study. The model needs to be further tested using larger number of respondents by involving the population of the firms in extended boundary/municipality area around Bandung.

River water quality management considering agricultural return flows: application of a nonlinear two-stage stochastic fuzzy programming.

PubMed

Tavakoli, Ali; Nikoo, Mohammad Reza; Kerachian, Reza; Soltani, Maryam

2015-04-01

In this paper, a new fuzzy methodology is developed to optimize water and waste load allocation (WWLA) in rivers under uncertainty. An interactive two-stage stochastic fuzzy programming (ITSFP) method is utilized to handle parameter uncertainties, which are expressed as fuzzy boundary intervals. An iterative linear programming (ILP) is also used for solving the nonlinear optimization model. To accurately consider the impacts of the water and waste load allocation strategies on the river water quality, a calibrated QUAL2Kw model is linked with the WWLA optimization model. The soil, water, atmosphere, and plant (SWAP) simulation model is utilized to determine the quantity and quality of each agricultural return flow. To control pollution loads of agricultural networks, it is assumed that a part of each agricultural return flow can be diverted to an evaporation pond and also another part of it can be stored in a detention pond. In detention ponds, contaminated water is exposed to solar radiation for disinfecting pathogens. Results of applying the proposed methodology to the Dez River system in the southwestern region of Iran illustrate its effectiveness and applicability for water and waste load allocation in rivers. In the planning phase, this methodology can be used for estimating the capacities of return flow diversion system and evaporation and detention ponds.

Advancing Understanding of Emissions from Oil and Natural Gas Production Operations to Support EPA’s Air Quality Modeling of Ozone Non-Attainment Areas; Final Summary Report

EPA Science Inventory

Executive Summary Environmentally responsible development of oil and gas assets requires well-developed emissions inventories and measurement techniques to verify emissions and the effectiveness of control strategies. To accurately model the oil and gas sector impacts on air qual...

EMISSION AND SURFACE EXCHANGE PROCESS

EPA Science Inventory

This task supports the development, evaluation, and application of emission and dry deposition algorithms in air quality simulation models, such as the Models-3/Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system. Emission estimates influence greatly the accuracy of air qual...

E2F1 and E2F2 prevent replicative stress and subsequent p53-dependent organ involution.

PubMed

Iglesias-Ara, A; Zenarruzabeitia, O; Buelta, L; Merino, J; Zubiaga, A M

2015-10-01

Tissue homeostasis requires tight regulation of cellular proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. E2F1 and E2F2 transcription factors share a critical role in tissue homeostasis, since their combined inactivation results in overall organ involution, specially affecting the pancreatic gland, which subsequently triggers diabetes. We have examined the mechanism by which these E2Fs regulate tissue homeostasis. We show that pancreas atrophy in E2F1/E2F2 double-knockout (DKO) mice is associated with mitochondrial apoptosis and activation of the p53 pathway in young animals, before the development of diabetes. A deregulated expression of E2F target genes was detected in pancreatic cells of young DKO animals, along with unscheduled DNA replication and activation of a DNA damage response. Importantly, suppression of DNA replication in vivo with aphidicolin led to a significant inhibition of the p53 pathway in DKO pancreas, implying a causal link between DNA replication stress and p53 activation in this model. We further show that activation of the p53 pathway has a key role in the aberrant phenotype of DKO mice, since targeted inactivation of p53 gene abrogated cellular apoptosis and prevented organ involution and insulin-dependent diabetes in mice lacking E2F1/E2F2. Unexpectedly, p53 inactivation unmasked oncogenic features of E2F1/E2F2-depleted cells, as evidenced by an accelerated tumor development in triple-knockout mice compared with p53(-/-) mice. Collectively, our data reveal a role for E2F1 and E2F2 as suppressors of replicative stress in differentiating cells, and uncover the existence of a robust E2F-p53 regulatory axis to enable tissue homeostasis and prevent tumorigenesis. These findings have implications in the design of approaches targeting E2F for cancer therapy.

Spin dependence of intra-ground-state-band E2 transitions in the SU(3) limit of the sdg interacting boson model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Long, G. L.; Ji, H. Y.

1998-04-01

B(E2, L+2-->L) transitions in the sdg interacting boson model SU(3) limit are studied with a general E2 transition operator. Analytical expressions are obtained using a group theoretic method. It is found that when using transition operators of the form (d†g~+g†d~)2 or (g†g~)2, the B(E2, L+2-->L) values in the ground-state band have an L(L+3) dependent term. As L increases, the B(E2) values can be larger than the rigid rotor model value. Application to 236,238U is discussed.

Electrical characterization and modeling of the Au/CaF{sub 2}/nSi(111) structures with high-quality tunnel-thin fluoride layer

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

Vexler, M. I.; A. F. Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 26 Polytechnicheskaya Str., 194021 St.-Petersburg; Sokolov, N. S.

2009-04-15

Au/CaF{sub 2}/nSi(111) structures with 4-5 monolayers of epitaxial fluoride are fabricated and electrically tested. The leakage current in these structures was substantially smaller than in similar samples reported previously. Simulations adopting a Franz-type dispersion relation with Franz mass of m{sub F}approx1.2m{sub 0} for carriers in the forbidden band of CaF{sub 2} reproduced the measured current-voltage curves quite satisfactorily. Roughly, these curves could also be reproduced using the parabolic dispersion law with the electron mass of m{sub e}=1.0m{sub 0}, which is a material constant rather than a fitting parameter. Experimental facts and their comparison to modeling results allow qualification of themore » crystalline quality of fabricated structures as sufficient for device applications.« less

Quality of asthma care under different primary care models in Canada: a population-based study.

PubMed

To, Teresa; Guan, Jun; Zhu, Jingqin; Lougheed, M Diane; Kaplan, Alan; Tamari, Itamar; Stanbrook, Matthew B; Simatovic, Jacqueline; Feldman, Laura; Gershon, Andrea S

2015-02-14

Previous research has shown variations in quality of care and patient outcomes under different primary care models. The objective of this study was to use previously validated, evidence-based performance indicators to measure quality of asthma care over time and to compare quality of care between different primary care models. Data were obtained for years 2006 to 2010 from the Ontario Asthma Surveillance Information System, which uses health administrative databases to track individuals with asthma living in the province of Ontario, Canada. Individuals with asthma (n=1,813,922) were divided into groups based on the practice model of their primary care provider (i.e., fee-for-service, blended fee-for-service, blended capitation). Quality of asthma care was measured using six validated, evidence-based asthma care performance indicators. All of the asthma performance indicators improved over time within each of the primary care models. Compared to the traditional fee-for-service model, the blended fee-for-service and blended capitation models had higher use of spirometry for asthma diagnosis and monitoring, higher rates of inhaled corticosteroid prescription, and lower outpatient claims. Emergency department visits were lowest in the blended fee-for-service group. Quality of asthma care improved over time within each of the primary care models. However, the amount by which they improved differed between the models. The newer primary care models (i.e., blended fee-for-service, blended capitation) appear to provide better quality of asthma care compared to the traditional fee-for-service model.

New Methods for Air Quality Model Evaluation with Satellite Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holloway, T.; Harkey, M.

2015-12-01

Despite major advances in the ability of satellites to detect gases and aerosols in the atmosphere, there remains significant, untapped potential to apply space-based data to air quality regulatory applications. Here, we showcase research findings geared toward increasing the relevance of satellite data to support operational air quality management, focused on model evaluation. Particular emphasis is given to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and formaldehyde (HCHO) from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument aboard the NASA Aura satellite, and evaluation of simulations from the EPA Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. This work is part of the NASA Air Quality Applied Sciences Team (AQAST), and is motivated by ongoing dialog with state and federal air quality management agencies. We present the response of satellite-derived NO2 to meteorological conditions, satellite-derived HCHO:NO2 ratios as an indicator of ozone production regime, and the ability of models to capture these sensitivities over the continental U.S. In the case of NO2-weather sensitivities, we find boundary layer height, wind speed, temperature, and relative humidity to be the most important variables in determining near-surface NO2 variability. CMAQ agreed with relationships observed in satellite data, as well as in ground-based data, over most regions. However, we find that the southwest U.S. is a problem area for CMAQ, where modeled NO2 responses to insolation, boundary layer height, and other variables are at odds with the observations. Our analyses utilize a software developed by our team, the Wisconsin Horizontal Interpolation Program for Satellites (WHIPS): a free, open-source program designed to make satellite-derived air quality data more usable. WHIPS interpolates level 2 satellite retrievals onto a user-defined fixed grid, in effect creating custom-gridded level 3 satellite product. Currently, WHIPS can process the following data products: OMI NO2 (NASA retrieval); OMI NO2 (KNMI retrieval); OMI

Air Quality Modeling | Air Quality Planning & Standards | US ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

2016-06-08

The basic mission of the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards is to preserve and improve the quality of our nation's air. One facet of accomplishing this goal requires that new and existing air pollution sources be modeled for compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

Structural model of the hUbA1-UbcH10 quaternary complex: in silico and experimental analysis of the protein-protein interactions between E1, E2 and ubiquitin.

PubMed

Correale, Stefania; de Paola, Ivan; Morgillo, Carmine Marco; Federico, Antonella; Zaccaro, Laura; Pallante, Pierlorenzo; Galeone, Aldo; Fusco, Alfredo; Pedone, Emilia; Luque, F Javier; Catalanotti, Bruno

2014-01-01

UbcH10 is a component of the Ubiquitin Conjugation Enzymes (Ubc; E2) involved in the ubiquitination cascade controlling the cell cycle progression, whereby ubiquitin, activated by E1, is transferred through E2 to the target protein with the involvement of E3 enzymes. In this work we propose the first three dimensional model of the tetrameric complex formed by the human UbA1 (E1), two ubiquitin molecules and UbcH10 (E2), leading to the transthiolation reaction. The 3D model was built up by using an experimentally guided incremental docking strategy that combined homology modeling, protein-protein docking and refinement by means of molecular dynamics simulations. The structural features of the in silico model allowed us to identify the regions that mediate the recognition between the interacting proteins, revealing the active role of the ubiquitin crosslinked to E1 in the complex formation. Finally, the role of these regions involved in the E1-E2 binding was validated by designing short peptides that specifically interfere with the binding of UbcH10, thus supporting the reliability of the proposed model and representing valuable scaffolds for the design of peptidomimetic compounds that can bind selectively to Ubcs and inhibit the ubiquitylation process in pathological disorders.

Quality of care for patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 in ‘model practices’ in Slovenia – first results

PubMed Central

Mlakar, Mitja

2016-01-01

Abstract Background A new organisation at the primary level, called model practices, introduces a 0.5 full-time equivalent nurse practitioner as a regular member of the team. Nurse practitioners are in charge of registers of chronic patients, and implement an active approach into medical care. Selected quality indicators define the quality of management. The majority of studies confirm the effectiveness of the extended team in the quality of care, which is similar or improved when compared to care performed by the physician alone. The aim of the study is to compare the quality of management of patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 before and after the introduction of model practices. Methods A cohort retrospective study was based on medical records from three practices. Process quality indicators, such as regularity of HbA1c measurement, blood pressure measurement, foot exam, referral to eye exam, performance of yearly laboratory tests and HbA1c level before and after the introduction of model practices were compared. Results The final sample consisted of 132 patients, whose diabetes care was exclusively performed at the primary care level. The process of care has significantly improved after the delivery of model practices. The most outstanding is the increase of foot exam and HbA1c testing. We could not prove better glycaemic control (p>0.1). Nevertheless, the proposed benchmark for the suggested quality process and outcome indicators were mostly exceeded in this cohort. Conclusion The introduction of a nurse into the team improves the process quality of care. Benchmarks for quality indicators are obtainable. Better outcomes of care need further confirmation. PMID:27703537

40 CFR 35.925-2 - Water quality management plans and agencies.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Water quality management plans and... Water Act § 35.925-2 Water quality management plans and agencies. That the project is consistent with any applicable water quality management (WQM) plan approved under section 208 or section 303(e) of the...

Likelihood of achieving air quality targets under model uncertainties.

PubMed

Digar, Antara; Cohan, Daniel S; Cox, Dennis D; Kim, Byeong-Uk; Boylan, James W

2011-01-01

Regulatory attainment demonstrations in the United States typically apply a bright-line test to predict whether a control strategy is sufficient to attain an air quality standard. Photochemical models are the best tools available to project future pollutant levels and are a critical part of regulatory attainment demonstrations. However, because photochemical models are uncertain and future meteorology is unknowable, future pollutant levels cannot be predicted perfectly and attainment cannot be guaranteed. This paper introduces a computationally efficient methodology for estimating the likelihood that an emission control strategy will achieve an air quality objective in light of uncertainties in photochemical model input parameters (e.g., uncertain emission and reaction rates, deposition velocities, and boundary conditions). The method incorporates Monte Carlo simulations of a reduced form model representing pollutant-precursor response under parametric uncertainty to probabilistically predict the improvement in air quality due to emission control. The method is applied to recent 8-h ozone attainment modeling for Atlanta, Georgia, to assess the likelihood that additional controls would achieve fixed (well-defined) or flexible (due to meteorological variability and uncertain emission trends) targets of air pollution reduction. The results show that in certain instances ranking of the predicted effectiveness of control strategies may differ between probabilistic and deterministic analyses.

Higher Education Quality Assessment Model: Towards Achieving Educational Quality Standard

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Noaman, Amin Y.; Ragab, Abdul Hamid M.; Madbouly, Ayman I.; Khedra, Ahmed M.; Fayoumi, Ayman G.

2017-01-01

This paper presents a developed higher education quality assessment model (HEQAM) that can be applied for enhancement of university services. This is because there is no universal unified quality standard model that can be used to assess the quality criteria of higher education institutes. The analytical hierarchy process is used to identify the…

The eHealth Enhanced Chronic Care Model: a theory derivation approach.

PubMed

Gee, Perry M; Greenwood, Deborah A; Paterniti, Debora A; Ward, Deborah; Miller, Lisa M Soederberg

2015-04-01

Chronic illnesses are significant to individuals and costly to society. When systematically implemented, the well-established and tested Chronic Care Model (CCM) is shown to improve health outcomes for people with chronic conditions. Since the development of the original CCM, tremendous information management, communication, and technology advancements have been established. An opportunity exists to improve the time-honored CCM with clinically efficacious eHealth tools. The first goal of this paper was to review research on eHealth tools that support self-management of chronic disease using the CCM. The second goal was to present a revised model, the eHealth Enhanced Chronic Care Model (eCCM), to show how eHealth tools can be used to increase efficiency of how patients manage their own chronic illnesses. Using Theory Derivation processes, we identified a "parent theory", the Chronic Care Model, and conducted a thorough review of the literature using CINAHL, Medline, OVID, EMBASE PsychINFO, Science Direct, as well as government reports, industry reports, legislation using search terms "CCM or Chronic Care Model" AND "eHealth" or the specific identified components of eHealth. Additionally, "Chronic Illness Self-management support" AND "Technology" AND several identified eHealth tools were also used as search terms. We then used a review of the literature and specific components of the CCM to create the eCCM. We identified 260 papers at the intersection of technology, chronic disease self-management support, the CCM, and eHealth and organized a high-quality subset (n=95) using the components of CCM, self-management support, delivery system design, clinical decision support, and clinical information systems. In general, results showed that eHealth tools make important contributions to chronic care and the CCM but that the model requires modification in several key areas. Specifically, (1) eHealth education is critical for self-care, (2) eHealth support needs to be

Protective activity of (1S,2E,4R,6R,7E,11E)-2,7,11-cembratriene-4,6-diol analogues against diisopropylfluorophosphate neurotoxicity: preliminary structure-activity relationship and pharmacophore modeling.

PubMed

Eterović, Vesna A; Del Valle-Rodriguez, Angelie; Pérez, Dinely; Carrasco, Marimée; Khanfar, Mohammad A; El Sayed, Khalid A; Ferchmin, Pedro A

2013-08-01

Diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) is an organophosphorous insecticide used as a surrogate for the more toxic chemical warfare nerve agent sarin. DFP produces neurotoxicity in vivo and irreversibly decreases the area of population spikes recorded from the CA1 region of acute hippocampal slices. (1S,2E,4R,6R,7E,11E)-2,7,11-Cembratriene-4,6-diol (1) is a neuroprotective natural cembranoid that reverses DFP-induced damage both in vivo and in the hippocampal slice. Cembranoid 1 acts by noncompetitive inhibition of the α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. This study aims at establishing a preliminary structure-activity relationship to define the neuroprotective cembranoid pharmacophores using the hippocampal slice assay and pharmacophore modeling. Fourteen natural, semisynthetic, or biocatalytic cembranoid analogues 2-15 related to 1 were tested for their capacity to protect the population spikes from DFP-induced damage and intrinsic toxicity. Twelve cembranoids caused significant reversal of DFP toxicity; only 3 active analogues displayed minor intrinsic toxicity at 10 μM. The C-4 epimer of 1 (2) and the 4-O-methyl ether analogue of 1 (3), were totally devoid of neuroprotective activity. The results suggested a model for cembranoid binding where the hydrophobic ring surface binds to a hydrophobic (Hbic) patch on the receptor molecule and an electronegative atom (oxygen or sulfur) in proper spatial relationship to the ring surface interacts with an electropositive group in the receptor binding site. A pharmacophore model consisting of 1 hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA), 2 Hbic, and 10 exclusion spheres was established using HipHop-REFINE and supported the above mentioned pharmacophoric hypothesis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Accounting for and predicting the influence of spatial autocorrelation in water quality modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miralha, L.; Kim, D.

2017-12-01

Although many studies have attempted to investigate the spatial trends of water quality, more attention is yet to be paid to the consequences of considering and ignoring the spatial autocorrelation (SAC) that exists in water quality parameters. Several studies have mentioned the importance of accounting for SAC in water quality modeling, as well as the differences in outcomes between models that account for and ignore SAC. However, the capacity to predict the magnitude of such differences is still ambiguous. In this study, we hypothesized that SAC inherently possessed by a response variable (i.e., water quality parameter) influences the outcomes of spatial modeling. We evaluated whether the level of inherent SAC is associated with changes in R-Squared, Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), and residual SAC (rSAC), after accounting for SAC during modeling procedure. The main objective was to analyze if water quality parameters with higher Moran's I values (inherent SAC measure) undergo a greater increase in R² and a greater reduction in both AIC and rSAC. We compared a non-spatial model (OLS) to two spatial regression approaches (spatial lag and error models). Predictor variables were the principal components of topographic (elevation and slope), land cover, and hydrological soil group variables. We acquired these data from federal online sources (e.g. USGS). Ten watersheds were selected, each in a different state of the USA. Results revealed that water quality parameters with higher inherent SAC showed substantial increase in R² and decrease in rSAC after performing spatial regressions. However, AIC values did not show significant changes. Overall, the higher the level of inherent SAC in water quality variables, the greater improvement of model performance. This indicates a linear and direct relationship between the spatial model outcomes (R² and rSAC) and the degree of SAC in each water quality variable. Therefore, our study suggests that the inherent level of

Implications of Modeling Uncertainty for Water Quality Decision Making

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shabman, L.

2002-05-01

The report, National Academy of Sciences report, "Assessing the TMDL Approach to Water Quality Management" endorsed the "watershed" and "ambient water quality focused" approach" to water quality management called for in the TMDL program. The committee felt that available data and models were adequate to move such a program forward, if the EPA and all stakeholders better understood the nature of the scientific enterprise and its application to the TMDL program. Specifically, the report called for a greater acknowledgement of model prediction uncertinaity in making and implementing TMDL plans. To assure that such uncertinaity was addressed in water quality decision making the committee called for a commitment to "adaptive implementation" of water quality management plans. The committee found that the number and complexity of the interactions of multiple stressors, combined with model prediction uncertinaity means that we need to avoid the temptation to make assurances that specific actions will result in attainment of particular water quality standards. Until the work on solving a water quality problem begins, analysts and decision makers cannot be sure what the correct solutions are, or even what water quality goals a community should be seeking. In complex systems we need to act in order to learn; adaptive implementation is a concurrent process of action and learning. Learning requires (1) continued monitoring of the waterbody to determine how it responds to the actions taken and (2) carefully designed experiments in the watershed. If we do not design learning into what we attempt we are not doing adaptive implementation. Therefore, there needs to be an increased commitment to monitoring and experiments in watersheds that will lead to learning. This presentation will 1) explain the logic for adaptive implementation; 2) discuss the ways that water quality modelers could characterize and explain model uncertinaity to decision makers; 3) speculate on the implications

Assesment of longwave radiation effects on air quality modelling in street canyons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soucasse, L.; Buchan, A.; Pain, C.

2016-12-01

Computational Fluid Dynamics is widely used as a predictive tool to evaluate people's exposure to pollutants in urban street canyons. However, in low-wind conditions, flow and pollutant dispersion in the canyons are driven by thermal effects and may be affected by longwave (infrared) radiation due to the absorption and emission of water vapor contained in the air. These effects are mostly ignored in the literature dedicated to air quality modelling at this scale. This study aims at quantifying the uncertainties due to neglecting thermal radiation in air quality models. The Large-Eddy-Simulation of air flow in a single 2D canyon with a heat source on the ground is considered for Rayleigh and Reynolds numbers in the range of [10e8-10e10] and [5.10e3-5.10e4] respectively. The dispersion of a tracer is monitored once the statistically steady regime is reached. Incoming radiation is computed for a mid-latitude summer atmosphere and canyon surfaces are assumed to be black. Water vapour is the only radiating molecule considered and a global model is used to treat the spectral dependancy of its absorption coefficient. Flow and radiation fields are solved in a coupled way using the finite element solvers Fluidity and Fetch which have the capability of adapting their space and angular resolution according to an estimate of the solution error. Results show significant effects of thermal radiation on flow patterns and tracer dispersion. When radiation is taken into account, the air is heated far from the heat source leading to a stronger natural convection flow. The tracer is then dispersed faster out of the canyon potentially decreasing people's exposure to pollution within the street canyon.

A simple method for low-contrast detectability, image quality and dose optimisation with CT iterative reconstruction algorithms and model observers.

PubMed

Bellesi, Luca; Wyttenbach, Rolf; Gaudino, Diego; Colleoni, Paolo; Pupillo, Francesco; Carrara, Mauro; Braghetti, Antonio; Puligheddu, Carla; Presilla, Stefano

2017-01-01

The aim of this work was to evaluate detection of low-contrast objects and image quality in computed tomography (CT) phantom images acquired at different tube loadings (i.e. mAs) and reconstructed with different algorithms, in order to find appropriate settings to reduce the dose to the patient without any image detriment. Images of supraslice low-contrast objects of a CT phantom were acquired using different mAs values. Images were reconstructed using filtered back projection (FBP), hybrid and iterative model-based methods. Image quality parameters were evaluated in terms of modulation transfer function; noise, and uniformity using two software resources. For the definition of low-contrast detectability, studies based on both human (i.e. four-alternative forced-choice test) and model observers were performed across the various images. Compared to FBP, image quality parameters were improved by using iterative reconstruction (IR) algorithms. In particular, IR model-based methods provided a 60% noise reduction and a 70% dose reduction, preserving image quality and low-contrast detectability for human radiological evaluation. According to the model observer, the diameters of the minimum detectable detail were around 2 mm (up to 100 mAs). Below 100 mAs, the model observer was unable to provide a result. IR methods improve CT protocol quality, providing a potential dose reduction while maintaining a good image detectability. Model observer can in principle be useful to assist human performance in CT low-contrast detection tasks and in dose optimisation.

Users manual for a one-dimensional Lagrangian transport model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schoellhamer, D.H.; Jobson, H.E.

1986-01-01

A Users Manual for the Lagrangian Transport Model (LTM) is presented. The LTM uses Lagrangian calculations that are based on a reference frame moving with the river flow. The Lagrangian reference frame eliminates the need to numerically solve the convective term of the convection-diffusion equation and provides significant numerical advantages over the more commonly used Eulerian reference frame. When properly applied, the LTM can simulate riverine transport and decay processes within the accuracy required by most water quality studies. The LTM is applicable to steady or unsteady one-dimensional unidirectional flows in fixed channels with tributary and lateral inflows. Application of the LTM is relatively simple and optional capabilities improve the model 's convenience. Appendices give file formats and three example LTM applications that include the incorporation of the QUAL II water quality model 's reaction kinetics into the LTM. (Author 's abstract)

Ultrafast pump-probe and 2DIR anisotropy and temperature-dependent dynamics of liquid water within the E3B model.

PubMed

Ni, Yicun; Skinner, J L

2014-07-14

Recently, Tainter et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 134, 184501 (2011)] reparameterized a new rigid water model (E3B) that explicitly includes three-body interactions in its Hamiltonian. Compared to commonly used water models such as SPC/E and TIP4P, the new model shows better agreement with experiment for many physical properties including liquid density, melting temperature, virial coefficients, etc. However, the dynamics of the E3B model, especially as a function of temperature, has not been systematically evaluated. Experimental nonlinear vibrational spectroscopy is an ideal tool to study the dynamics of matter in condensed phases. In the present study, we calculate linear and nonlinear vibrational spectroscopy observables for liquid water using the E3B model at five temperatures: 10, 30, 50, 70 and 90 °C. Specifically, we calculate absorption and Raman spectra and pump-probe anisotropy for HOD in H2O at all temperatures, frequency-resolved pump-probe anisotropy for HOD in both H2O and D2O at 30 °C, and 2DIR anisotropy for HOD in D2O at 30 °C. In all cases, we find reasonable agreement with experiment, and for the ultrafast spectroscopy our results are a significant improvement over those of the SPC/E model. A likely reason for this improvement is that the three-body interaction terms in the E3B model are able to model cooperative hydrogen bonding. We also calculate rotational and frequency relaxation times at all temperatures, and fit the results to the Arrhenius equation. We find that the activation energy for hydrogen-bond switching in liquid water is 3.8 kcal/mol, which agrees well with the experimental value of 3.7 kcal/mol obtained from anisotropy decay experiments.

E2F1 and E2F2 prevent replicative stress and subsequent p53-dependent organ involution

PubMed Central

Iglesias-Ara, A; Zenarruzabeitia, O; Buelta, L; Merino, J; Zubiaga, A M

2015-01-01

Tissue homeostasis requires tight regulation of cellular proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. E2F1 and E2F2 transcription factors share a critical role in tissue homeostasis, since their combined inactivation results in overall organ involution, specially affecting the pancreatic gland, which subsequently triggers diabetes. We have examined the mechanism by which these E2Fs regulate tissue homeostasis. We show that pancreas atrophy in E2F1/E2F2 double-knockout (DKO) mice is associated with mitochondrial apoptosis and activation of the p53 pathway in young animals, before the development of diabetes. A deregulated expression of E2F target genes was detected in pancreatic cells of young DKO animals, along with unscheduled DNA replication and activation of a DNA damage response. Importantly, suppression of DNA replication in vivo with aphidicolin led to a significant inhibition of the p53 pathway in DKO pancreas, implying a causal link between DNA replication stress and p53 activation in this model. We further show that activation of the p53 pathway has a key role in the aberrant phenotype of DKO mice, since targeted inactivation of p53 gene abrogated cellular apoptosis and prevented organ involution and insulin-dependent diabetes in mice lacking E2F1/E2F2. Unexpectedly, p53 inactivation unmasked oncogenic features of E2F1/E2F2-depleted cells, as evidenced by an accelerated tumor development in triple-knockout mice compared with p53−/− mice. Collectively, our data reveal a role for E2F1 and E2F2 as suppressors of replicative stress in differentiating cells, and uncover the existence of a robust E2F-p53 regulatory axis to enable tissue homeostasis and prevent tumorigenesis. These findings have implications in the design of approaches targeting E2F for cancer therapy. PMID:25656653

Modeling Hydrodynamics, Water Temperature, and Suspended Sediment in Detroit Lake, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sullivan, Annett B.; Rounds, Stewart A.; Sobieszczyk, Steven; Bragg, Heather M.

2007-01-01

Detroit Lake is a large reservoir on the North Santiam River in west-central Oregon. Water temperature and suspended sediment are issues of concern in the river downstream of the reservoir. A CE-QUAL-W2 model was constructed to simulate hydrodynamics, water temperature, total dissolved solids, and suspended sediment in Detroit Lake. The model was calibrated for calendar years 2002 and 2003, and for a period of storm runoff from December 1, 2005, to February 1, 2006. Input data included lake bathymetry, meteorology, reservoir outflows, and tributary inflows, water temperatures, total dissolved solids, and suspended sediment concentrations. Two suspended sediment size groups were modeled: one for suspended sand and silt with particle diameters larger than 2 micrometers, and another for suspended clay with particle diameters less than or equal to 2 micrometers. The model was calibrated using lake stage data, lake profile data, and data from a continuous water-quality monitor on the North Santiam River near Niagara, about 6 kilometers downstream of Detroit Dam. The calibrated model was used to estimate sediment deposition in the reservoir, examine the sources of suspended sediment exiting the reservoir, and examine the effect of the reservoir on downstream water temperatures.

A model for predicting air quality along highways.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1973-01-01

The subject of this report is an air quality prediction model for highways, AIRPOL Version 2, July 1973. AIRPOL has been developed by modifying the basic Gaussian approach to gaseous dispersion. The resultant model is smooth and continuous throughout...

Underground Test Area Activity Quality Assurance Plan Nevada National Security Site, Nevada. Revision 2

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

Krenzien, Susan; Farnham, Irene

This Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) provides the overall quality assurance (QA) requirements and general quality practices to be applied to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) Underground Test Area (UGTA) activities. The requirements in this QAP are consistent with DOE Order 414.1D, Change 1, Quality Assurance (DOE, 2013a); U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Guidance for Quality Assurance Project Plans for Modeling (EPA, 2002); and EPA Guidance on the Development, Evaluation, and Application of Environmental Models (EPA, 2009). If a participant’s requirement document differs from this QAP, the stricter requirement will take precedence.more » NNSA/NFO, or designee, must review this QAP every two years. Changes that do not affect the overall scope or requirements will not require an immediate QAP revision but will be incorporated into the next revision cycle after identification. Section 1.0 describes UGTA objectives, participant responsibilities, and administrative and management quality requirements (i.e., training, records, procurement). Section 1.0 also details data management and computer software requirements. Section 2.0 establishes the requirements to ensure newly collected data are valid, existing data uses are appropriate, and environmental-modeling methods are reliable. Section 3.0 provides feedback loops through assessments and reports to management. Section 4.0 provides the framework for corrective actions. Section 5.0 provides references for this document.« less

Evaluating the Reliability and Impact of a Quality Assurance System for E-Learning Courseware

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sung, Yao-Ting; Chang, Kuo-En; Yu, Wen-Cheng

2011-01-01

Assuring e-learning quality is of interest worldwide. This paper introduces the methods of e-learning courseware quality assurance (a quality certification system) adopted by the eLQSC (e-Learning Quality Service Centre) in Taiwan. A sequential/explanatory design with a mixed methodology was used to gather research data and conduct data analyses.…

Effect of Climate Change on Water Temperature and Attainment of Water Temperature Criteria in the Yaquina Estuary, Oregon (USA)

EPA Science Inventory

There is increasing evidence that our planet is warming and this warming is also resulting in rising sea levels. Estuaries which are located at the interface between land and ocean are impacted by these changes. We used CE-QUAL-W2 water quality model to predict changes in water...

Information quality-control model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vincent, D. A.

1971-01-01

Model serves as graphic tool for estimating complete product objectives from limited input information, and is applied to cost estimations, product-quality evaluations, and effectiveness measurements for manpower resources allocation. Six product quality levels are defined.

QualityML: a dictionary for quality metadata encoding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ninyerola, Miquel; Sevillano, Eva; Serral, Ivette; Pons, Xavier; Zabala, Alaitz; Bastin, Lucy; Masó, Joan

2014-05-01

attribute correctness) Level 2: Measurement field (e.g., DifferentialErrors1D) Level 3: Statistic or Metric (e.g., Half-lengthConfidenceInterval) Level 4: Units (e.g. Celsius degrees) Level 5: Value (e.g.0.5) Level 6: Specifications. Additional information on how the measurement took place, citation of the reference data, the traceability of the process and a publication describing the validation process encoded using new 19157 elements or the GeoViQua (http://www.geoviqua.org) Quality Model (PQM-UQM) extensions to the ISO models. Finally, keep in mind, that QualityML is not just suitable for encoding dataset level but also considers pixel and object level uncertainties. This is done by link the metadata quality descriptions with layers representing not just the data but the uncertainty values associated with each geospatial element.

The eHealth Enhanced Chronic Care Model: A Theory Derivation Approach

PubMed Central

Greenwood, Deborah A; Paterniti, Debora A; Ward, Deborah; Miller, Lisa M Soederberg

2015-01-01

Background Chronic illnesses are significant to individuals and costly to society. When systematically implemented, the well-established and tested Chronic Care Model (CCM) is shown to improve health outcomes for people with chronic conditions. Since the development of the original CCM, tremendous information management, communication, and technology advancements have been established. An opportunity exists to improve the time-honored CCM with clinically efficacious eHealth tools. Objective The first goal of this paper was to review research on eHealth tools that support self-management of chronic disease using the CCM. The second goal was to present a revised model, the eHealth Enhanced Chronic Care Model (eCCM), to show how eHealth tools can be used to increase efficiency of how patients manage their own chronic illnesses. Methods Using Theory Derivation processes, we identified a “parent theory”, the Chronic Care Model, and conducted a thorough review of the literature using CINAHL, Medline, OVID, EMBASE PsychINFO, Science Direct, as well as government reports, industry reports, legislation using search terms “CCM or Chronic Care Model” AND “eHealth” or the specific identified components of eHealth. Additionally, “Chronic Illness Self-management support” AND “Technology” AND several identified eHealth tools were also used as search terms. We then used a review of the literature and specific components of the CCM to create the eCCM. Results We identified 260 papers at the intersection of technology, chronic disease self-management support, the CCM, and eHealth and organized a high-quality subset (n=95) using the components of CCM, self-management support, delivery system design, clinical decision support, and clinical information systems. In general, results showed that eHealth tools make important contributions to chronic care and the CCM but that the model requires modification in several key areas. Specifically, (1) eHealth education is

Quality Assessment of Persian Mental Disorders Websites Using the Webmedqual Scale

PubMed Central

Shahrzadi, Leila; Mojiri, Shahin; Janatian, Sima; Taheri, Behjat; Ashrafi-rizi, Hasan; Shahrzadi, Zeinab; Zahedi, Razieh

2014-01-01

Introduction: Nowadays, anyone with any level of Internet knowledge can act as producer and distributor of information. It differs from most traditional media of information transmission, lack of information control and lack of quality management to contents. This leads to quality of health information on the internet is doubtful. The object of this study is guidance patients to select valid mental disorders and determine the quality of Persian mental disorders websites. Methods: The sample of this study comprised 29 Persian mental disorders websites that were chosen by searching the Google, Yahoo and AltaVista search engines for the Persian equivalents of the three concepts “depression,” “anxiety,” and “obsession”. website was created by individuals or organizations. Data collection was performed with the WebMedQual checklist. Websites was assessed based on indicators as content, authority of source, design, accessibility and availability, links, user support, and confidentiality and privacy (Maximum score for any website was 83, mean score 41.5 and minimum score was 0). Collected data analyzed by one sample T- test in SPSS 20. Findings presented by Mean score and optimal score. Results: Based on the WebMedQual scale the mean score of Persian mental disorders websites in sex constructs including “content” (7.02±2.10), “authority of source” (4.71±1.96),”accessibility and availability” (2.19±0.47), “links” (1.45±0.97), “user support” (4.28±1.33), and”confidentiality and privacy” (2.81±2.81) are poor and below average, but the score for the “design” (9.17± 1.59) is above average. The best website of mental disorders was that of the “IranianPsychological Association”. Conclusions: According to the results, only one website obtained the average score, so the quality of Persian mental disorders websites is low. Therefore, it is essential for users to criticize websites’ content and not trust them before evaluating

Developing and implementing the use of predictive models for estimating water quality at Great Lakes beaches

USGS Publications Warehouse

Francy, Donna S.; Brady, Amie M.G.; Carvin, Rebecca B.; Corsi, Steven R.; Fuller, Lori M.; Harrison, John H.; Hayhurst, Brett A.; Lant, Jeremiah; Nevers, Meredith B.; Terrio, Paul J.; Zimmerman, Tammy M.

2013-01-01

that had at least 2 years of data (2010-11 and sometimes earlier) and for 1 beach that had 1 year of data. For most models, software designed for model development by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Virtual Beach) was used. The selected model for each beach was based on a combination of explanatory variables including, most commonly, turbidity, day of the year, change in lake level over 24 hours, wave height, wind direction and speed, and antecedent rainfall for various time periods. Forty-two predictive models were validated against data collected during an independent year (2012) and compared to the current method for assessing recreational water quality-using the previous day’s E. coli concentration (persistence model). Goals for good predictive-model performance were responses that were at least 5 percent greater than the persistence model and overall correct responses greater than or equal to 80 percent, sensitivities (percentage of exceedances of the bathing-water standard that were correctly predicted by the model) greater than or equal to 50 percent, and specificities (percentage of nonexceedances correctly predicted by the model) greater than or equal to 85 percent. Out of 42 predictive models, 24 models yielded over-all correct responses that were at least 5 percent greater than the use of the persistence model. Predictive-model responses met the performance goals more often than the persistence-model responses in terms of overall correctness (28 versus 17 models, respectively), sensitivity (17 versus 4 models), and specificity (34 versus 25 models). Gaining knowledge of each beach and the factors that affect E. coli concentrations is important for developing good predictive models. Collection of additional years of data with a wide range of environmental conditions may also help to improve future model performance. The USGS will continue to work with local agencies in 2013 and beyond to develop and validate predictive models at beaches and

The Mu2e crystal calorimeter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Happacher, F.

2017-09-01

The Mu2e Experiment at Fermilab will search for coherent, neutrino-less conversion of negative muons into electrons in the field of an Aluminum nucleus, μ- + Al → e- +Al. Data collection start is planned for the end of 2021. The dynamics of such charged lepton flavour violating (CLFV) process is well modelled by a two-body decay, resulting in a mono-energetic electron with an energy slightly below the muon rest mass. If no events are observed in three years of running, Mu2e will set an upper limit on the ratio between the conversion and the capture rates Rμ e = μ- + A(Z,N) → e- +A(Z,N)/μ- + A(Z,N) → νμ - +A(Z-1,N) of <= 6 × 10-17 (@ 90% C.L.). This will improve the current limit of four order of magnitudes with respect to the previous best experiment. Mu2e complements and extends the current search for μ → e γ decay at MEG as well as the direct searches for new physics at the LHC . The observation of such CLFV process could be clear evidence for New Physics beyond the Standard Model. Given its sensitivity, Mu2e will be able to probe New Physics at a scale inaccessible to direct searches at either present or planned high energy colliders. To search for the muon conversion process, a very intense pulsed beam of negative muons (~ 1010 μ/ sec) is stopped on an Aluminum target inside a very long solenoid where the detector is also located. The Mu2e detector is composed of a straw tube tracker and a CsI crystals electromagnetic calorimeter. An external veto for cosmic rays surrounds the detector solenoid. In 2016, Mu2e has passed the final approval stage from DOE and has started its construction phase. An overview of the physics motivations for Mu2e, the current status of the experiment and the required performances and design details of the calorimeter are presented.

The Mu2e crystal calorimeter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atanov, N.; Budagov, J.; Cervelli, F.; Colao, F.; Cordelli, M.; Corradi, G.; Danè, E.; Davidov, Y.; Di Falco, S.; Diociaiuti, E.; Donati, S.; Donghia, R.; Echenard, B.; Giovannella, S.; Glagolev, V.; Grancagnolo, F.; Happacher, F.; Hitlin, D.; Martini, M.; Miscetti, S.; Miyashita, T.; Morescalchi, L.; Murat, P.; Pedreschi, E.; Pezzullo, G.; Porter, F.; Saputi, A.; Sarra, I.; Spinella, F.; Tassielli, G.; Mu2e Collaboration

2017-09-01

The Mu2e Experiment at Fermilab will search for coherent, neutrino-less conversion of negative muons into electrons in the field of an Aluminum nucleus, μ- + Al → e- +Al. Data collection start is planned for the end of 2021. The dynamics of such charged lepton flavour violating (CLFV) process is well modelled by a two-body decay, resulting in a mono-energetic electron with an energy slightly below the muon rest mass. If no events are observed in three years of running, Mu2e will set an upper limit on the ratio between the conversion and the capture rates Rμe = μ- + A(Z,N) → e- + A(Z,N)/μ- + A(Z,N) → νμ- + A(Z-1,N) of <= 6 × 10-17 (@ 90% C.L.). This will improve the current limit of four order of magnitudes with respect to the previous best experiment. Mu2e complements and extends the current search for μ → e γ decay at MEG as well as the direct searches for new physics at the LHC . The observation of such CLFV process could be clear evidence for New Physics beyond the Standard Model. Given its sensitivity, Mu2e will be able to probe New Physics at a scale inaccessible to direct searches at either present or planned high energy colliders. To search for the muon conversion process, a very intense pulsed beam of negative muons (~ 1010 μ/sec) is stopped on an Aluminum target inside a very long solenoid where the detector is also located. The Mu2e detector is composed of a straw tube tracker and a CsI crystals electromagnetic calorimeter. An external veto for cosmic rays surrounds the detector solenoid. In 2016, Mu2e has passed the final approval stage from DOE and has started its construction phase. An overview of the physics motivations for Mu2e, the current status of the experiment and the required performances and design details of the calorimeter are presented.

Integrating microbial physiology and enzyme traits in the quality model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sainte-Marie, Julien; Barrandon, Matthieu; Martin, Francis; Saint-André, Laurent; Derrien, Delphine

2017-04-01

Microbe activity plays an undisputable role in soil carbon storage and there have been many calls to integrate microbial ecology in soil carbon (C) models. With regard to this challenge, a few trait-based microbial models of C dynamics have emerged during the past decade. They parameterize specific traits related to decomposer physiology (substrate use efficiency, growth and mortality rates...) and enzyme properties (enzyme production rate, catalytic properties of enzymes…). But these models are built on the premise that organic matter (OM) can be represented as one single entity or are divided into a few pools, while organic matter exists as a continuum of many different compounds spanning from intact plant molecules to highly oxidised microbial metabolites. In addition, a given molecule may also exist in different forms, depending on its stage of polymerization or on its interactions with other organic compounds or mineral phases of the soil. Here we develop a general theoretical model relating the evolution of soil organic matter, as a continuum of progressively decomposing compounds, with decomposer activity and enzyme traits. The model is based on the notion of quality developed by Agren and Bosatta (1998), which is a measure of molecule accessibility to degradation. The model integrates three major processes: OM depolymerisation by enzyme action, OM assimilation and OM biotransformation. For any enzyme, the model reports the quality range where this enzyme selectively operates and how the initial quality distribution of the OM subset evolves into another distribution of qualities under the enzyme action. The model also defines the quality range where the OM can be uptaken and assimilated by microbes. It finally describes how the quality of the assimilated molecules is transformed into another quality distribution, corresponding to the decomposer metabolites signature. Upon decomposer death, these metabolites return to the substrate. We explore here the how

[Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Estimation Models for Pasture Quality].

PubMed

Ma, Wei-wei; Gong, Cai-lan; Hu, Yong; Wei, Yong-lin; Li, Long; Liu, Feng-yi; Meng, Peng

2015-10-01

Crude protein (CP), crude fat (CFA) and crude fiber (CFI) are key indicators for evaluation of the quality and feeding value of pasture. Hence, identification of these biological contents is an essential practice for animal husbandry. As current approaches to pasture quality estimation are time-consuming and costly, and even generate hazardous waste, a real-time and non-destructive method is therefore developed in this study using pasture canopy hyperspectral data. A field campaign was carried out in August 2013 around Qinghai Lake in order to obtain field spectral properties of 19 types of natural pasture using the ASD Field Spec 3, a field spectrometer that works in the optical region (350-2 500 nm) of the electromagnetic spectrum. In additional to the spectral data, pasture samples were also collected from the field and examined in laboratory to measure the relative concentration of CP (%), CFA (%) and CFI (%). After spectral denoising and smoothing, the relationship of pasture quality parameters with the reflectance spectrum, the first derivatives of reflectance (FDR), band ratio and the wavelet coefficients (WCs) was analyzed respectively. The concentration of CP, CFA and CFI of pasture was found closely correlated with FDR with wavebands centered at 424, 1 668, and 918 nm as well as with the low-scale (scale = 2, 4) Morlet, Coiflets and Gassian WCs. Accordingly, the linear, exponential, and polynomial equations between each pasture variable and FDR or WCs were developed. Validation of the developed equations indicated that the polynomial model with an independent variable of Coiflets WCs (scale = 4, wavelength =1 209 nm), the polynomial model with an independent variable of FDR, and the exponential model with an independent variable of FDR were the optimal model for prediction of concentration of CP, CFA and CFI of pasture, respectively. The R2 of the pasture quality estimation models was between 0.646 and 0.762 at the 0.01 significance level. Results suggest

Multiple Sensitivity Testing for Regional Air Quality Model in summer 2014

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Y.; Lee, P.; Pan, L.; Tong, D.; Kim, H. C.; Huang, M.; Wang, J.; McQueen, J.; Lu, C. H.; Artz, R. S.

2015-12-01

The NOAA Air Resources laboratory leads to improve the performance of the U.S. Air Quality Forecasting Capability (NAQFC). It is operational in NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) which focuses on predicting surface ozone and PM2.5. In order to improve its performance, we tested several approaches, including NOAA Environmental Modeling System Global Aerosol Component (NGAC) simulation derived ozone and aerosol lateral boundary conditions (LBC), bi-direction NH3 emission and HMS(Hazard Mapping System)-BlueSky emission with the latest U.S. EPA Community Multi-scale Air Quality model (CMAQ) version and the U.S EPA National Emission Inventory (NEI)-2011 anthropogenic emissions. The operational NAQFC uses static profiles for its lateral boundary condition (LBC), which does not impose severe issue for near-surface air quality prediction. However, its degraded performance for the upper layer (e.g. above 3km) is evident when comparing with aircraft measured ozone. NCEP's Global Forecast System (GFS) has tracer O3 prediction treated as 3-D prognostic variable (Moorthi and Iredell, 1998) after being initialized with Solar Backscatter Ultra Violet-2 (SBUV-2) satellite data. We applied that ozone LBC to the CMAQ's upper layers and yield more reasonable O3 prediction than that with static LBC comparing with the aircraft data in Discover-AQ Colorado campaign. NGAC's aerosol LBC also improved the PM2.5 prediction with more realistic background aerosols. The bi-direction NH3 emission used in CMAQ also help reduce the NH3 and nitrate under-prediction issue. During summer 2014, strong wildfires occurred in northwestern USA, and we used the US Forest Service's BlueSky fire emission with HMS fire counts to drive CMAQ and tested the difference of day-1 and day-2 fire emission estimation. Other related issues were also discussed.

Quality assessment of protein model-structures based on structural and functional similarities

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Experimental determination of protein 3D structures is expensive, time consuming and sometimes impossible. A gap between number of protein structures deposited in the World Wide Protein Data Bank and the number of sequenced proteins constantly broadens. Computational modeling is deemed to be one of the ways to deal with the problem. Although protein 3D structure prediction is a difficult task, many tools are available. These tools can model it from a sequence or partial structural information, e.g. contact maps. Consequently, biologists have the ability to generate automatically a putative 3D structure model of any protein. However, the main issue becomes evaluation of the model quality, which is one of the most important challenges of structural biology. Results GOBA - Gene Ontology-Based Assessment is a novel Protein Model Quality Assessment Program. It estimates the compatibility between a model-structure and its expected function. GOBA is based on the assumption that a high quality model is expected to be structurally similar to proteins functionally similar to the prediction target. Whereas DALI is used to measure structure similarity, protein functional similarity is quantified using standardized and hierarchical description of proteins provided by Gene Ontology combined with Wang's algorithm for calculating semantic similarity. Two approaches are proposed to express the quality of protein model-structures. One is a single model quality assessment method, the other is its modification, which provides a relative measure of model quality. Exhaustive evaluation is performed on data sets of model-structures submitted to the CASP8 and CASP9 contests. Conclusions The validation shows that the method is able to discriminate between good and bad model-structures. The best of tested GOBA scores achieved 0.74 and 0.8 as a mean Pearson correlation to the observed quality of models in our CASP8 and CASP9-based validation sets. GOBA also obtained the best

Quality assessment of protein model-structures based on structural and functional similarities.

PubMed

Konopka, Bogumil M; Nebel, Jean-Christophe; Kotulska, Malgorzata

2012-09-21

Experimental determination of protein 3D structures is expensive, time consuming and sometimes impossible. A gap between number of protein structures deposited in the World Wide Protein Data Bank and the number of sequenced proteins constantly broadens. Computational modeling is deemed to be one of the ways to deal with the problem. Although protein 3D structure prediction is a difficult task, many tools are available. These tools can model it from a sequence or partial structural information, e.g. contact maps. Consequently, biologists have the ability to generate automatically a putative 3D structure model of any protein. However, the main issue becomes evaluation of the model quality, which is one of the most important challenges of structural biology. GOBA--Gene Ontology-Based Assessment is a novel Protein Model Quality Assessment Program. It estimates the compatibility between a model-structure and its expected function. GOBA is based on the assumption that a high quality model is expected to be structurally similar to proteins functionally similar to the prediction target. Whereas DALI is used to measure structure similarity, protein functional similarity is quantified using standardized and hierarchical description of proteins provided by Gene Ontology combined with Wang's algorithm for calculating semantic similarity. Two approaches are proposed to express the quality of protein model-structures. One is a single model quality assessment method, the other is its modification, which provides a relative measure of model quality. Exhaustive evaluation is performed on data sets of model-structures submitted to the CASP8 and CASP9 contests. The validation shows that the method is able to discriminate between good and bad model-structures. The best of tested GOBA scores achieved 0.74 and 0.8 as a mean Pearson correlation to the observed quality of models in our CASP8 and CASP9-based validation sets. GOBA also obtained the best result for two targets of CASP8, and

The effect of e-learning on the quality of orthodontic appliances.

PubMed

Schorn-Borgmann, Stephanie; Lippold, Carsten; Wiechmann, Dirk; Stamm, Thomas

2015-01-01

The effect of e-learning on practical skills in medicine has not yet been thoroughly investigated. Today's multimedia learning environment and access to e-books provide students with more knowledge than ever before. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of online demonstrations concerning the quality of orthodontic appliances manufactured by undergraduate dental students. The study design was a parallel-group randomized clinical trial. Fifty-four participants were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: 1) conventional lectures, 2) conventional lectures plus written online material, and 3) access to resources of groups one and two plus access to online video material. Three orthodontic appliances (Schwarz Plate, U-Bow Activator, and Fränkel Regulator) were manufactured during the course and scored by two independent raters blinded to the participants. A 15-point scale index was used to evaluate the outcome quality of the appliances. In general, no significant differences were found between the groups. Concerning the appliances, the Schwarz Plate obtained the highest scores, whereas the Fränkel Regulator had the lowest scores; however, these results were independent of the groups. Females showed better outcome scores than males in groups two and three, but the difference was insignificant. Age of the participants also had no significant effect. The offer that students could use additional time and course-independent e-learning resources did not increase the outcome quality of the orthodontic appliances. The advantages of e-learning observed in the theoretical fields of medicine were not achieved in the educational procedures for manual skills. Factors other than e-learning may have a higher impact on manual skills, and this should be investigated in further studies.

In silico modeling of the cryptic E2∼ubiquitin-binding site of E6-associated protein (E6AP)/UBE3A reveals the mechanism of polyubiquitin chain assembly.

PubMed

Ronchi, Virginia P; Kim, Elizabeth D; Summa, Christopher M; Klein, Jennifer M; Haas, Arthur L

2017-11-03

To understand the mechanism for assembly of Lys 48 -linked polyubiquitin degradation signals, we previously demonstrated that the E6AP/UBE3A ligase harbors two functionally distinct E2∼ubiquitin-binding sites: a high-affinity Site 1 required for E6AP Cys 820 ∼ubiquitin thioester formation and a canonical Site 2 responsible for subsequent chain elongation. Ordered binding to Sites 1 and 2 is here revealed by observation of UbcH7∼ubiquitin-dependent substrate inhibition of chain formation at micromolar concentrations. To understand substrate inhibition, we exploited the PatchDock algorithm to model in silico UbcH7∼ubiquitin bound to Site 1, validated by chain assembly kinetics of selected point mutants. The predicted structure buries an extensive solvent-excluded surface bringing the UbcH7∼ubiquitin thioester bond within 6 Å of the Cys 820 nucleophile. Modeling onto the active E6AP trimer suggests that substrate inhibition arises from steric hindrance between Sites 1 and 2 of adjacent subunits. Confirmation that Sites 1 and 2 function in trans was demonstrated by examining the effect of E6APC820A on wild-type activity and single-turnover pulse-chase kinetics. A cyclic proximal indexation model proposes that Sites 1 and 2 function in tandem to assemble thioester-linked polyubiquitin chains from the proximal end attached to Cys 820 before stochastic en bloc transfer to the target protein. Non-reducing SDS-PAGE confirms assembly of the predicted Cys 820 -linked 125 I-polyubiquitin thioester intermediate. Other studies suggest that Glu 550 serves as a general base to generate the Cys 820 thiolate within the low dielectric binding interface and Arg 506 functions to orient Glu 550 and to stabilize the incipient anionic transition state during thioester exchange. © 2017 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Generation of a Stable Transgenic Swine Model Expressing a Porcine Histone 2B-eGFP Fusion Protein for Cell Tracking and Chromosome Dynamics Studies

PubMed Central

Simpson, Sean; Collins, Bruce; Sommer, Jeff; Petters, Robert M.; Caballero, Ignacio; Platt, Jeff L.

2017-01-01

Transgenic pigs have become an attractive research model in the field of translational research, regenerative medicine, and stem cell therapy due to their anatomic, genetic and physiological similarities with humans. The development of fluorescent proteins as molecular tags has allowed investigators to track cell migration and engraftment levels after transplantation. Here we describe the development of two transgenic pig models via SCNT expressing a fusion protein composed of eGFP and porcine Histone 2B (pH2B). This fusion protein is targeted to the nucleosomes resulting a nuclear/chromatin eGFP signal. The first model (I) was generated via random insertion of pH2B-eGFP driven by the CAG promoter (chicken beta actin promoter and rabbit Globin poly A; pCAG-pH2B-eGFP) and protected by human interferon-β matrix attachment regions (MARs). Despite the consistent, high, and ubiquitous expression of the fusion protein pH2B-eGFP in all tissues analyzed, two independently generated Model I transgenic lines developed neurodegenerative symptoms including Wallerian degeneration between 3–5 months of age, requiring euthanasia. A second transgenic model (II) was developed via CRISPR-Cas9 mediated homology-directed repair (HDR) of IRES-pH2B-eGFP into the endogenous β-actin (ACTB) locus. Model II transgenic animals showed ubiquitous expression of pH2B-eGFP on all tissues analyzed. Unlike the pCAG-pH2B-eGFP/MAR line, all Model II animals were healthy and multiple pregnancies have been established with progeny showing the expected Mendelian ratio for the transmission of the pH2B-eGFP. Expression of pH2B-eGFP was used to examine the timing of the maternal to zygotic transition after IVF, and to examine chromosome segregation of SCNT embryos. To our knowledge this is the first viable transgenic pig model with chromatin-associated eGFP allowing both cell tracking and the study of chromatin dynamics in a large animal model. PMID:28081156

Field evaluation of Abbott Real Time HIV-1 Qualitative test for early infant diagnosis using dried blood spots samples in comparison to Roche COBAS Ampliprep/COBAS TaqMan HIV-1 Qual Test in Kenya

PubMed Central

Chang, Joy; Omuomo, Kenneth; Anyango, Emily; Kingwara, Leonard; Basiye, Frank; Morwabe, Alex; Shanmugam, Vedapuri; Nguyen, Shon; Sabatier, Jennifer; Zeh, Clement; Ellenberger, Dennis

2016-01-01

Timely diagnosis and treatment of infants infected with HIV are critical for reducing infant mortality. High-throughput automated diagnostic tests like Roche COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan HIV-1 Qual Test (Roche CAPCTM Qual) and the Abbott Real Time HIV-1 Qualitative (Abbott Qualitative) can be used to rapidly expand early infant diagnosis testing services. In this study, the performance characteristics of the Abbott Qualitative were evaluated using two hundred dried blood spots (DBS) samples (100 HIV-1 positive and 100 HIV-1 negative) collected from infants attending the antenatal facilities in Kisumu, Kenya. The Abbott Qualitative results were compared to the diagnostic testing completed using the Roche CAPCTM Qual in Kenya. The sensitivity and specificity of the Abbott Qualitative were 99.0% (95% CI: 95.0–100.0) and 100.0% (95% CI: 96.0–100.0), respectively, and the overall reproducibility was 98.0% (95% CI: 86.0–100.0). The limits of detection for the Abbott Qualitative and Roche CAPCTM Qual were 56.5 and 6.9 copies/mL at 95% CIs (p = 0.005), respectively. The study findings demonstrate that the Abbott Qualitative test is a practical option for timely diagnosis of HIV in infants. PMID:24726703

Field evaluation of Abbott Real Time HIV-1 Qualitative test for early infant diagnosis using dried blood spots samples in comparison to Roche COBAS Ampliprep/COBAS TaqMan HIV-1 Qual test in Kenya.

PubMed

Chang, Joy; Omuomo, Kenneth; Anyango, Emily; Kingwara, Leonard; Basiye, Frank; Morwabe, Alex; Shanmugam, Vedapuri; Nguyen, Shon; Sabatier, Jennifer; Zeh, Clement; Ellenberger, Dennis

2014-08-01

Timely diagnosis and treatment of infants infected with HIV are critical for reducing infant mortality. High-throughput automated diagnostic tests like Roche COBAS AmpliPrep/COBAS TaqMan HIV-1 Qual Test (Roche CAPCTM Qual) and the Abbott Real Time HIV-1 Qualitative (Abbott Qualitative) can be used to rapidly expand early infant diagnosis testing services. In this study, the performance characteristics of the Abbott Qualitative were evaluated using two hundred dried blood spots (DBS) samples (100 HIV-1 positive and 100 HIV-1 negative) collected from infants attending the antenatal facilities in Kisumu, Kenya. The Abbott Qualitative results were compared to the diagnostic testing completed using the Roche CAPCTM Qual in Kenya. The sensitivity and specificity of the Abbott Qualitative were 99.0% (95% CI: 95.0-100.0) and 100.0% (95% CI: 96.0-100.0), respectively, and the overall reproducibility was 98.0% (95% CI: 86.0-100.0). The limits of detection for the Abbott Qualitative and Roche CAPCTM Qual were 56.5 and 6.9copies/mL at 95% CIs (p=0.005), respectively. The study findings demonstrate that the Abbott Qualitative test is a practical option for timely diagnosis of HIV in infants. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Search for the minimal standard model Higgs boson in e +e - collisions at LEP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akrawy, M. Z.; Alexander, G.; Allison, J.; Allport, P. P.; Anderson, K. J.; Armitage, J. C.; Arnison, G. T. J.; Ashton, P.; Azuelos, G.; Baines, J. T. M.; Ball, A. H.; Banks, J.; Barker, G. J.; Barlow, R. J.; Batley, J. R.; Beck, A.; Becker, J.; Behnke, T.; Bell, K. W.; Bella, G.; Bethke, S.; Biebel, O.; Binder, U.; Bloodworth, I. J.; Bock, P.; Breuker, H.; Brown, R. M.; Brun, R.; Buijs, A.; Burckhart, H. J.; Capiluppi, P.; Carnegie, R. K.; Carter, A. A.; Carter, J. R.; Chang, C. Y.; Charlton, D. G.; Chrin, J. T. M.; Clarke, P. E. L.; Cohen, I.; Collins, W. J.; Conboy, J. E.; Couch, M.; Coupland, M.; Cuffiani, M.; Dado, S.; Dallavalle, G. M.; Debu, P.; Deninno, M. M.; Dieckman, A.; Dittmar, M.; Dixit, M. S.; Duchovni, E.; Duerdoth, I. P.; Dumas, D. J. P.; Elcombe, P. A.; Estabrooks, P. G.; Etzion, E.; Fabbri, F.; Farthouat, P.; Fischer, H. M.; Fong, D. G.; French, M. T.; Fukunaga, C.; Gaidot, A.; Ganel, O.; Gary, J. W.; Gascon, J.; Geddes, N. I.; Gee, C. N. P.; Geich-Gimbel, C.; Gensler, S. W.; Gentit, F. X.; Giacomelli, G.; Gibson, V.; Gibson, W. R.; Gillies, J. D.; Goldberg, J.; Goodrick, M. J.; Gorn, W.; Granite, D.; Gross, E.; Grunhaus, J.; Hagedorn, H.; Hagemann, J.; Hansroul, M.; Hargrove, C. K.; Harrus, I.; Hart, J.; Hattersley, P. M.; Hauschild, M.; Hawkes, C. M.; Heflin, E.; Hemingway, R. J.; Heuer, R. D.; Hill, J. C.; Hillier, S. J.; Ho, C.; Hobbs, J. D.; Hobson, P. R.; Hochman, D.; Holl, B.; Homer, R. J.; Hou, S. R.; Howarth, C. P.; Hughes-Jones, R. E.; Humbert, R.; Igo-Kemenes, P.; Ihssen, H.; Imrie, D. C.; Janissen, L.; Jawahery, A.; Jeffreys, P. W.; Jeremie, H.; Jimack, M.; Jobes, M.; Jones, R. W. L.; Jovanovic, P.; Karlen, D.; Kawagoe, K.; Kawamoto, T.; Kellogg, R. G.; Kennedy, B. W.; Kleinwort, C.; Klem, D. E.; Knop, G.; Kobayashi, T.; Kokott, T. P.; Köpke, L.; Kowalewski, R.; Kreutzmann, H.; Kroll, J.; Kuwano, M.; Kyberd, P.; Lafferty, G. D.; Lamarche, F.; Larson, W. J.; Layter, J. G.; Le Du, P.; Leblanc, P.; Lee, A. M.; Lehto, M. H.; Lellouch, D.; Lennert, P.; Lessard, L.; Levinson, L.; Lloyd, S. L.; Loebinger, F. K.; Lorah, J. M.; Lorazo, B.; Losty, M. J.; Ludwig, J.; Ma, J.; Macbeth, A. A.; Mannelli, M.; Marcellini, S.; Maringer, G.; Martin, A. J.; Martin, J. P.; Mashimo, T.; Mättig, P.; Maur, U.; McMahon, T. J.; McNutt, J. R.; Meijers, F.; Menszner, D.; Merritt, F. S.; Mes, H.; Michelini, A.; Middleton, R. P.; Mikenberg, G.; Mildenberger, J.; Miller, D. J.; Milstene, C.; Minowa, M.; Mohr, W.; Montanari, A.; Mori, T.; Moss, M. W.; Murphy, P. G.; Murray, W. J.; Nellen, B.; Nguyen, H. H.; Nozaki, M.; O'Dowd, A. J. P.; O'Neale, S. W.; O'Neill, B. P.; Oakham, F. G.; Odorici, F.; Ogg, M.; Oh, H.; Oreglia, M. J.; Orito, S.; Pansart, J. P.; Patrick, G. N.; Pawley, S. J.; Pfister, P.; Pilcher, J. E.; Pinfold, J. L.; Plane, D. E.; Poli, B.; Pouladdej, A.; Prebys, E.; Pritchard, T. W.; Quast, G.; Raab, J.; Redmond, M. W.; Rees, D. L.; Regimbald, M.; Riles, K.; Roach, C. M.; Robins, S. A.; Rollnik, A.; Roney, J. M.; Rossberg, S.; Rossi, A. M.; Routenburg, P.; Runge, K.; Runolfsson, O.; Sanghera, S.; Sansum, R. A.; Sasaki, M.; Saunders, B. J.; Schaile, A. D.; Schaile, O.; Schappert, W.; Scharff-Hansen, P.; Schreiber, S.; Schwarz, J.; Shapira, A.; Shen, B. C.; Sherwood, P.; Simon, A.; Singh, P.; Siroli, G. P.; Skuja, A.; Smith, A. M.; Smith, T. J.; Snow, G. A.; Springer, R. W.; Sproston, M.; Stephens, K.; Stier, H. E.; Stroehmer, R.; Strom, D.; Takeda, H.; Takeshita, T.; Taras, P.; Thackray, N. J.; Tsukamoto, T.; Turner, M. F.; Tysarczyk-Niemeyer, G.; Van den plas, D.; VanDalen, G. J.; Van Kooten, R.; Vasseur, G.; Virtue, C. J.; von der Schmitt, H.; von Krogh, J.; Wagner, A.; Wahl, C.; Walker, J. P.; Ward, C. P.; Ward, D. R.; Watkins, P. M.; Watson, A. T.; Watson, N. K.; Weber, M.; Weisz, S.; Wells, P. S.; Wermes, N.; Weymann, M.; Wilson, G. W.; Wilson, J. A.; Wingerter, I.; Winterer, V.-H.; Wood, N. C.; Wotton, S.; Wuensch, B.; Wyatt, T. R.; Yaari, R.; Yang, Y.; Yekutieli, G.; Yoshida, T.; Zeuner, W.; Zorn, G. T.; OPAL Collaboration

1991-01-01

A search for the minimal standard model Higgs boson (H 0) has been performed with data from e +e - collisions in the OPAL detector at LEP. The analysis is based on approximately 8 pb -1 of data taken at centre-of-mass energies between 88.2 and 95.0 GeV. The search concentrated on the reaction e+e-→( e+e-, μ +μ -, voverlinevor τ +τ -) H0, H0→( qoverlineqor τ +τ -) for Higgs boson masses above 25 GeV/ c2. No Higgs boson candidates have been observed. The present study, combined with previous OPAL publications, excludes the existence of a standard model Higgs boson with mass in the range 3< mH 0<44GeV/ c2 at the 95% confidence level.

An annual assessment of air quality with the CALIOPE modeling system over Spain.

PubMed

Baldasano, J M; Pay, M T; Jorba, O; Gassó, S; Jiménez-Guerrero, P

2011-05-01

The CALIOPE project, funded by the Spanish Ministry of the Environment, aims at establishing an air quality forecasting system for Spain. With this goal, CALIOPE modeling system was developed and applied with high resolution (4km×4km, 1h) using the HERMES emission model (including emissions of resuspended particles from paved roads) specifically built up for Spain. The present study provides an evaluation and the assessment of the modeling system, coupling WRF-ARW/HERMES/CMAQ/BSC-DREAM8b for a full-year simulation in 2004 over Spain. The evaluation focuses on the capability of the model to reproduce the temporal and spatial distribution of gas phase species (NO(2), O(3), and SO(2)) and particulate matter (PM10) against ground-based measurements from the Spanish air quality monitoring network. The evaluation of the modeling results on an hourly basis shows a strong dependency of the performance of the model on the type of environment (urban, suburban and rural) and the dominant emission sources (traffic, industrial, and background). The O(3) chemistry is best represented in summer, when mean hourly variability and high peaks are generally well reproduced. The mean normalized error and bias meet the recommendations proposed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) and the European regulations. Modeled O(3) shows higher performance for urban than for rural stations, especially at traffic stations in large cities, since stations influenced by traffic emissions (i.e., high-NO(x) environments) are better characterized with a more pronounced daily variability. NO(x)/O(3) chemistry is better represented under non-limited-NO(2) regimes. SO(2) is mainly produced from isolated point sources (power generation and transformation industries) which generate large plumes of high SO(2) concentration affecting the air quality on a local to national scale where the meteorological pattern is crucial. The contribution of mineral dust from the Sahara desert through

Evaluating Air-Quality Models: Review and Outlook.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weil, J. C.; Sykes, R. I.; Venkatram, A.

1992-10-01

Over the past decade, much attention has been devoted to the evaluation of air-quality models with emphasis on model performance in predicting the high concentrations that are important in air-quality regulations. This paper stems from our belief that this practice needs to be expanded to 1) evaluate model physics and 2) deal with the large natural or stochastic variability in concentration. The variability is represented by the root-mean- square fluctuating concentration (c about the mean concentration (C) over an ensemble-a given set of meteorological, source, etc. conditions. Most air-quality models used in applications predict C, whereas observations are individual realizations drawn from an ensemble. For cC large residuals exist between predicted and observed concentrations, which confuse model evaluations.This paper addresses ways of evaluating model physics in light of the large c the focus is on elevated point-source models. Evaluation of model physics requires the separation of the mean model error-the difference between the predicted and observed C-from the natural variability. A residual analysis is shown to be an elective way of doing this. Several examples demonstrate the usefulness of residuals as well as correlation analyses and laboratory data in judging model physics.In general, c models and predictions of the probability distribution of the fluctuating concentration (c), (c, are in the developmental stage, with laboratory data playing an important role. Laboratory data from point-source plumes in a convection tank show that (c approximates a self-similar distribution along the plume center plane, a useful result in a residual analysis. At pmsent,there is one model-ARAP-that predicts C, c, and (c for point-source plumes. This model is more computationally demanding than other dispersion models (for C only) and must be demonstrated as a practical tool. However, it predicts an important quantity for applications- the uncertainty in the very high and

A Review of Surface Water Quality Models

PubMed Central

Li, Shibei; Jia, Peng; Qi, Changjun; Ding, Feng

2013-01-01

Surface water quality models can be useful tools to simulate and predict the levels, distributions, and risks of chemical pollutants in a given water body. The modeling results from these models under different pollution scenarios are very important components of environmental impact assessment and can provide a basis and technique support for environmental management agencies to make right decisions. Whether the model results are right or not can impact the reasonability and scientificity of the authorized construct projects and the availability of pollution control measures. We reviewed the development of surface water quality models at three stages and analyzed the suitability, precisions, and methods among different models. Standardization of water quality models can help environmental management agencies guarantee the consistency in application of water quality models for regulatory purposes. We concluded the status of standardization of these models in developed countries and put forward available measures for the standardization of these surface water quality models, especially in developing countries. PMID:23853533

Image quality assessment by preprocessing and full reference model combination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bianco, S.; Ciocca, G.; Marini, F.; Schettini, R.

2009-01-01

This paper focuses on full-reference image quality assessment and presents different computational strategies aimed to improve the robustness and accuracy of some well known and widely used state of the art models, namely the Structural Similarity approach (SSIM) by Wang and Bovik and the S-CIELAB spatial-color model by Zhang and Wandell. We investigate the hypothesis that combining error images with a visual attention model could allow a better fit of the psycho-visual data of the LIVE Image Quality assessment Database Release 2. We show that the proposed quality assessment metric better correlates with the experimental data.

NO2 and SO2 dispersion modeling and relative roles of emission sources over Map Ta Phut industrial area, Thailand.

PubMed

Chusai, Chatinai; Manomaiphiboon, Kasemsan; Saiyasitpanich, Phirun; Thepanondh, Sarawut

2012-08-01

Map Ta Phut industrial area (MA) is the largest industrial complex in Thailand. There has been concern about many air pollutants over this area. Air quality management for the area is known to be difficult, due to lack of understanding of how emissions from different sources or sectors (e.g., industrial, power plant, transportation, and residential) contribute to air quality degradation in the area. In this study, a dispersion study of NO2 and SO2 was conducted using the AERMOD model. The area-specific emission inventories of NOx and SO2 were prepared, including both stack and nonstack sources, and divided into 11 emission groups. Annual simulations were performed for the year 2006. Modeled concentrations were evaluated with observations. Underestimation of both pollutants was Jbund, and stack emission estimates were scaled to improve the modeled results before quantifying relative roles of individual emission groups to ambient concentration overfour selected impacted areas (two are residential and the others are highly industrialized). Two concentration measures (i.e., annual average area-wide concentration or AC, and area-wide robust highest concentration or AR) were used to aggregately represent mean and high-end concentrations Jbfor each individual area, respectively. For AC-NO2, on-road mobile emissions were found to be the largest contributor in the two residential areas (36-38% of total AC-NO2), while petrochemical-industry emissions play the most important role in the two industrialized areas (34-51%). For AR-NO2, biomass burning has the most influence in all impacted areas (>90%) exceptJor one residential area where on-road mobile is the largest (75%). For AC-SO2, the petrochemical industry contributes most in all impacted areas (38-56%). For AR-SO2, the results vary. Since the petrochemical industry was often identified as the major contributor despite not being the largest emitter, air quality workers should pay special attention to this emission group

NO2 and SO2dispersion modeling and relative roles of emission sources over Map Ta Phut industrial area, Thailand.

PubMed

Chusai, Chatinai; Manomaiphiboon, Kasemsan; Saiyasitpanich, Phirun; Thepanondh, Sarawut

2012-08-01

Map Ta Phut industrial area (MA) is the largest industrial complex in Thailand. There has been concern about many air pollutants over this area. Air quality management for the area is known to be difficult, due to lack of understanding of how emissions from different sources or sectors (e.g., industrial, power plant, transportation, and residential) contribute to air quality degradation in the area. In this study, a dispersion study of NO 2 and SO 2 was conducted using the AERMOD model. The area-specific emission inventories of NO x and SO 2 were prepared, including both stack and nonstack sources, and divided into 11 emission groups. Annual simulations were performed for the year 2006. Modeled concentrations were evaluated with observations. Underestimation of both pollutants was found, and stack emission estimates were scaled to improve the modeled results before quantifying relative roles of individual emission groups to ambient concentration over four selected impacted areas (two are residential and the others are highly industrialized). Two concentration measures (i.e., annual average area-wide concentration or AC, and area-wide robust highest concentration or AR) were used to aggregately represent mean and high-end concentrations for each individual area, respectively. For AC-NO 2 , on-road mobile emissions were found to be the largest contributor in the two residential areas (36-38% of total AC-NO 2 ), while petrochemical-industry emissions play the most important role in the two industrialized areas (34-51%). For AR-NO 2 , biomass burning has the most influence in all impacted areas (>90%) except for one residential area where on-road mobile is the largest (75%). For AC-SO 2 , the petrochemical industry contributes most in all impacted areas (38-56%). For AR-SO 2 , the results vary. Since the petrochemical industry was often identified as the major contributor despite not being the largest emitter, air quality workers should pay special attention to this

Modelling the urban air quality in Hamburg with the new city-scale chemistry transport model CityChem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karl, Matthias; Ramacher, Martin; Aulinger, Armin; Matthias, Volker; Quante, Markus

2017-04-01

Air quality modelling plays an important role by providing guidelines for efficient air pollution abatement measures. Currently, most urban dispersion models treat air pollutants as passive tracer substances or use highly simplified chemistry when simulating air pollutant concentrations on the city-scale. The newly developed urban chemistry-transport model CityChem has the capability of modelling the photochemical transformation of multiple pollutants along with atmospheric diffusion to produce pollutant concentration fields for the entire city on a horizontal resolution of 100 m or even finer and a vertical resolution of 24 layers up to 4000 m height. CityChem is based on the Eulerian urban dispersion model EPISODE of the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU). CityChem treats the complex photochemistry in cities using detailed EMEP chemistry on an Eulerian 3-D grid, while using simple photo-stationary equilibrium on a much higher resolution grid (receptor grid), i.e. close to industrial point sources and traffic sources. The CityChem model takes into account that long-range transport contributes to urban pollutant concentrations. This is done by using 3-D boundary concentrations for the city domain derived from chemistry-transport simulations with the regional air quality model CMAQ. For the study of the air quality in Hamburg, CityChem was set-up with a main grid of 30×30 grid cells of 1×1 km2 each and a receptor grid of 300×300 grid cells of 100×100 m2. The CityChem model was driven with meteorological data generated by the prognostic meteorology component of the Australian chemistry-transport model TAPM. Bottom-up inventories of emissions from traffic, industry, households were based on data of the municipality of Hamburg. Shipping emissions for the port of Hamburg were taken from the Clean North Sea Shipping project. Episodes with elevated ozone (O3) were of specific interest for this study, as these are associated with exceedances of the World

Application of a Two-Dimensional Model of Hydrodynamics and Water Quality (CE-QUAL-W2) to Cordell Hull Reservoir, Tennessee

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-08-01

the four navigation projects on the Cumberland River. It houses a run-of- the-river hydropower facility with three hydroturbines capable of producing...a total of 100 MW. Releases from the structure are made primarily through the hydroturbines with a small amount of flow discharged through lockages...intake. The intakes for the hydroturbines are shown in Figure 3. These intakes spanned several layers vertically, and individual discharges for the

Simulation of in-stream water quality on global scale under changing climate and anthropogenic conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voss, Anja; Bärlund, Ilona; Punzet, Manuel; Williams, Richard; Teichert, Ellen; Malve, Olli; Voß, Frank

2010-05-01

Although catchment scale modelling of water and solute transport and transformations is a widely used technique to study pollution pathways and effects of natural changes, policies and mitigation measures there are only a few examples of global water quality modelling. This work will provide a description of the new continental-scale model of water quality WorldQual and the analysis of model simulations under changed climate and anthropogenic conditions with respect to changes in diffuse and point loading as well as surface water quality. BOD is used as an indicator of the level of organic pollution and its oxygen-depleting potential, and for the overall health of aquatic ecosystems. The first application of this new water quality model is to river systems of Europe. The model itself is being developed as part of the EU-funded SCENES Project which has the principal goal of developing new scenarios of the future of freshwater resources in Europe. The aim of the model is to determine chemical fluxes in different pathways combining analysis of water quantity with water quality. Simple equations, consistent with the availability of data on the continental scale, are used to simulate the response of in-stream BOD concentrations to diffuse and anthropogenic point loadings as well as flow dilution. Point sources are divided into manufacturing, domestic and urban loadings, whereas diffuse loadings come from scattered settlements, agricultural input (for instance livestock farming), and also from natural background sources. The model is tested against measured longitudinal gradients and time series data at specific river locations with different loading characteristics like the Thames that is driven by domestic loading and Ebro with relative high share of diffuse loading. With scenario studies the influence of climate and anthropogenic changes on European water resources shall be investigated with the following questions: 1. What percentage of river systems will have

Relationships and trends of E. Coli, human-associated bacteroides, and pathogens in the Proctor Creek watershed (GWRC 2017)

EPA Science Inventory

Urban surface waters can be impacted by anthropogenic sources such as impervious surfaces, sani-tary and storm sewers, and failing infrastructure. Fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) and microbial source tracking (MST) markers are common gauges of stream water qual-ity, however, litt...

Mass limits for a standard model Higgs Boson in e+e- collisions at LEP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akrawy, M. Z.; Alexander, G.; Allison, J.; Allport, P. P.; Anderson, K. J.; Armitage, J. C.; Arnison, G. T. J.; Ashton, P.; Azuelos, G.; Baines, J. T. M.; Ball, A. H.; Banks, J.; Barker, G. J.; Barlow, R. J.; Batley, J. R.; Bavaria, G.; Beck, F.; Bell, K. W.; Bella, G.; Bethke, S.; Biebel, O.; Bloodworth, I. J.; Bock, P.; Breuker, H.; Brown, R. M.; Brun, R.; Buijs, A.; Burckhart, H. J.; Capiluppi, P.; Carnegie, R. K.; Carter, A. A.; Carter, J. R.; Chang, C. Y.; Charlton, D. G.; Chrin, J. T. M.; Cohen, I.; Conboy, J. E.; Couch, M.; Coupland, M.; Cuffiani, M.; Dado, S.; Dallavalle, G. M.; Davies, O. W.; Deninno, M. M.; Dieckmann, A.; Dittmar, M.; Dixit, M. S.; Duchesneau, D.; Duchovni, E.; Duerdoth, I. P.; Dumas, D.; El Mamouni, H.; Elcombe, P. A.; Estabrooks, P. G.; Etzion, E.; Fabbri, F.; Farthouat, P.; Fischer, H. M.; Fong, D. G.; French, M. T.; Fukunaga, C.; Gandois, B.; Ganel, O.; Gary, J. W.; Geddes, N. I.; Gee, C. N. P.; Geich-Gimbel, C.; Gensler, S. W.; Gentit, F. X.; Giacomelli, G.; Gibson, W. R.; Gillies, J. D.; Goldberg, J.; Goodrick, M. J.; Gorn, W.; Granite, D.; Gross, E.; Grosse-Wiesmann, P.; Grunhaus, J.; Hagedorn, H.; Hagemann, J.; Hansroul, M.; Hargrove, C. K.; Hart, J.; Hattersley, P. M.; Hatzifotiadou, D.; Hauschild, M.; Hawkes, C. M.; Heflin, E.; Heintze, J.; Hemingway, R. J.; Heuer, R. D.; Hill, J. C.; Hillier, S. J.; Hinde, P. S.; Ho, C.; Hobbs, J. D.; Hobson, P. R.; Hochman, D.; Holl, B.; Homer, R. J.; Hou, S. R.; Howarth, C. P.; Hughes-Jones, R. E.; Igo-Kemenes, P.; Imori, M.; Imrie, D. C.; Jawahery, A.; Jeffreys, P. W.; Jeremie, H.; Jimack, M.; Jin, E.; Jobes, M.; Jones, R. W. L.; Jovanovic, P.; Karlen, D.; Kawagoe, K.; Kawamoto, T.; Kellogg, R. G.; Kennedy, B. W.; Kleinwort, C.; Klem, D. E.; Knop, G.; Kobayashi, T.; Köpke, L.; Kokott, T. P.; Koshiba, M.; Kowalewski, R.; Kreutzmann, H.; von Krogh, J.; Kroll, J.; Kyberd, P.; Lafferty, G. D.; Lamarche, F.; Larson, W. J.; Lasota, M. M. B.; Layter, J. G.; Le Du, P.; Leblanc, P.; Lellouch, D.; Lennert, P.; Lessard, L.; Levinson, L.; Lloyd, S. L.; Loebinger, F. K.; Lorah, J. M.; Lorazo, B.; Losty, M. J.; Ludwig, J.; Ma, J.; MacBeth, A. A.; Mannelli, M.; Marcellini, S.; Maringer, G.; Martin, J. P.; Mashimo, T.; Mättig, P.; Maur, U.; McMahon, T. J.; McPherson, A. C.; Meijers, F.; Menszner, D.; Merritt, F. S.; Mes, H.; Michelini, A.; Middleton, R. P.; Mikenberg, G.; Miller, D. J.; Milstene, C.; Minowa, M.; Mohr, W.; Montanari, A.; Mori, T.; Moss, M. W.; Muller, A.; Murphy, P. G.; Murray, W. J.; Nellen, B.; Nguyen, H. H.; Nozaki, M.; O'Dowd, A. J. P.; O'Neale, S. W.; O'Neill, B.; Oakham, F. G.; Odorici, F.; Ogg, M.; Oh, H.; Oreglia, M. J.; Orito, S.; Patrick, G. N.; Pawley, S. J.; Pilcher, J. E.; Pinfold, J. L.; Plane, D. E.; Poli, B.; Possoz, A.; Pouladdej, A.; Pritchard, T. W.; Quast, G.; Raab, J.; Redmond, M. W.; Rees, D. L.; Regimbald, M.; Riles, K.; Roach, C. M.; Roehner, F.; Rollnik, A.; Roney, J. M.; Rossi, A. M.; Routenburg, P.; Runge, K.; Runolfsson, O.; Sanghera, S.; Sansum, R. A.; Sasaki, M.; Saunders, B. J.; Schaile, A. D.; Schaile, O.; Schappert, W.; Scharff-Hansen, P.; von der Schmitt, H.; Schreiber, S.; Schwarz, J.; Shapira, A.; Shen, B. C.; Sherwood, P.; Simon, A.; Siroli, G. P.; Skuja, A.; Smith, A. M.; Smith, T. J.; Snow, G. A.; Spreadbury, E. J.; Springer, R. W.; Sproston, M.; Stephens, K.; Steuerer, J.; Stier, H. E.; Ströhmer, R.; Strom, D.; Takeda, H.; Takeshita, T.; Tsukamoto, T.; Turner, M. F.; Tysarczyk, G.; van den Plas, D.; Vandalen, G. J.; Virtue, C. J.; Wagner, A.; Wahl, C.; Wang, H.; Ward, C. P.; Ward, D. R.; Waterhouse, J.; Watkins, P. M.; Watson, A. T.; Watson, N. K.; Weber, M.; Weisz, S.; Wermes, N.; Weymann, M.; Wilson, G. W.; Wilson, J. A.; Wingerter, I.; Winterer, V.-H.; Wood, N. C.; Wotton, S.; Wuensch, B.; Wyatt, T. R.; Yaari, R.; Yamashita, H.; Yang, Y.; Yekutieli, G.; Zeuner, W.; Zorn, G. T.; Zylberajch, S.

1990-02-01

A search for the minimal standard model Higgs boson has been performed with data from e+e- collisions in the OPAL detector at LEP. The analysis is based on 825 nb-1 of data taken at centre-of-mass energies between 88.3 and 95.0 GeV. The search concentrated on the reactions e+e--->(e+e- or μ+μ- or vv)H0,H0-->(qq or τ+τ-), for Higgs masses above 3 GeV/c2. No Higgs boson candidates have been observed. The present study excludes the existence of a standard model H0 with mass in the range 3.0<=mH<=19.3 GeV/c2 at the 95% confidence level.

Comprehensive evaluation of multi-year real-time air quality forecasting using an online-coupled meteorology-chemistry model over southeastern United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yang; Hong, Chaopeng; Yahya, Khairunnisa; Li, Qi; Zhang, Qiang; He, Kebin

2016-08-01

An online-coupled meteorology-chemistry model, WRF/Chem-MADRID, has been deployed for real time air quality forecast (RT-AQF) in southeastern U.S. since 2009. A comprehensive evaluation of multi-year RT-AQF shows overall good performance for temperature and relative humidity at 2-m (T2, RH2), downward surface shortwave radiation (SWDOWN) and longwave radiation (LWDOWN), and cloud fraction (CF), ozone (O3) and fine particles (PM2.5) at surface, tropospheric ozone residuals (TOR) in O3 seasons (May-September), and column NO2 in winters (December-February). Moderate-to-large biases exist in wind speed at 10-m (WS10), precipitation (Precip), cloud optical depth (COT), ammonium (NH4+), sulfate (SO42-), and nitrate (NO3-) from the IMPROVE and SEARCH networks, organic carbon (OC) at IMPROVE, and elemental carbon (EC) and OC at SEARCH, aerosol optical depth (AOD) and column carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and formaldehyde (HCHO) in both O3 and winter seasons, column nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in O3 seasons, and TOR in winters. These biases indicate uncertainties in the boundary layer and cloud process treatments (e.g., surface roughness, microphysics cumulus parameterization), emissions (e.g., O3 and PM precursors, biogenic, mobile, and wildfire emissions), upper boundary conditions for all major gases and PM2.5 species, and chemistry and aerosol treatments (e.g., winter photochemistry, aerosol thermodynamics). The model shows overall good skills in reproducing the observed multi-year trends and inter-seasonal variability in meteorological and radiative variables such as T2, WS10, Precip, SWDOWN, and LWDOWN, and relatively well in reproducing the observed trends in surface O3 and PM2.5, but relatively poor in reproducing the observed column abundances of CO, NO2, SO2, HCHO, TOR, and AOD. The sensitivity simulations using satellite-constrained boundary conditions for O3 and CO show substantial improvement for both spatial distribution and domain-mean performance

The Mu2e crystal calorimeter

DOE PAGES

Happacher, Fabio

2017-09-15

The Mu2e Experiment at Fermilab will search for coherent, neutrino-less conversion of negative muons into electrons in the field of an Aluminum nucleus, μ - + Al → e - +Al. Data collection start is planned for the end of 2021. The dynamics of such charged lepton flavour violating (CLFV) process is well modelled by a two-body decay, resulting in a mono-energetic electron with an energy slightly below the muon rest mass. If no events are observed in three years of running, Mu2e will set an upper limit on the ratio between the conversion and the capture rates R μe = μ - + A(Z,N) → e - +A(Z,N)/μ - + A(Z,N) → ν μ - +A(Z-1,N) more » of ≤ 6 ×10 -17 (@ 90% C.L.). This will improve the current limit of four order of magnitudes with respect to the previous best experiment. Mu2e complements and extends the current search for μ → e γ decay at MEG as well as the direct searches for new physics at the LHC . The observation of such CLFV process could be clear evidence for New Physics beyond the Standard Model. Given its sensitivity, Mu2e will be able to probe New Physics at a scale inaccessible to direct searches at either present or planned high energy colliders. To search for the muon conversion process, a very intense pulsed beam of negative muons (~ 10 10 μ/ sec) is stopped on an Aluminum target inside a very long solenoid where the detector is also located. The Mu2e detector is composed of a straw tube tracker and a CsI crystals electromagnetic calorimeter. An external veto for cosmic rays surrounds the detector solenoid. In 2016, Mu2e has passed the final approval stage from DOE and has started its construction phase. As a result, an overview of the physics motivations for Mu2e, the current status of the experiment and the required performances and design details of the calorimeter are presented.« less

The Mu2e crystal calorimeter

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

Happacher, Fabio

The Mu2e Experiment at Fermilab will search for coherent, neutrino-less conversion of negative muons into electrons in the field of an Aluminum nucleus, μ - + Al → e - +Al. Data collection start is planned for the end of 2021. The dynamics of such charged lepton flavour violating (CLFV) process is well modelled by a two-body decay, resulting in a mono-energetic electron with an energy slightly below the muon rest mass. If no events are observed in three years of running, Mu2e will set an upper limit on the ratio between the conversion and the capture rates R μe = μ - + A(Z,N) → e - +A(Z,N)/μ - + A(Z,N) → ν μ - +A(Z-1,N) more » of ≤ 6 ×10 -17 (@ 90% C.L.). This will improve the current limit of four order of magnitudes with respect to the previous best experiment. Mu2e complements and extends the current search for μ → e γ decay at MEG as well as the direct searches for new physics at the LHC . The observation of such CLFV process could be clear evidence for New Physics beyond the Standard Model. Given its sensitivity, Mu2e will be able to probe New Physics at a scale inaccessible to direct searches at either present or planned high energy colliders. To search for the muon conversion process, a very intense pulsed beam of negative muons (~ 10 10 μ/ sec) is stopped on an Aluminum target inside a very long solenoid where the detector is also located. The Mu2e detector is composed of a straw tube tracker and a CsI crystals electromagnetic calorimeter. An external veto for cosmic rays surrounds the detector solenoid. In 2016, Mu2e has passed the final approval stage from DOE and has started its construction phase. As a result, an overview of the physics motivations for Mu2e, the current status of the experiment and the required performances and design details of the calorimeter are presented.« less

Configuration and Assessment of the GISS ModelE2 Contributions to the CMIP5 Archive

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmidt, Gavin A.; Kelley, Max; Nazarenko, Larissa; Ruedy, Reto; Russell, Gary L.; Aleinov, Igor; Bauer, Mike; Bauer, Susanne E.; Bhat, Maharaj K.; Bleck, Rainer;

Analyzing the efficiency of short-term air quality plans in European cities, using the CHIMERE air quality model.

PubMed

Thunis, P; Degraeuwe, B; Pisoni, E; Meleux, F; Clappier, A

2017-01-01

Regional and local authorities have the obligation to design air quality plans and assess their impacts when concentration levels exceed the limit values. Because these limit values cover both short- (day) and long-term (year) effects, air quality plans also follow these two formats. In this work, we propose a methodology to analyze modeled air quality forecast results, looking at emission reduction for different sectors (residential, transport, agriculture, etc.) with the aim of supporting policy makers in assessing the impact of short-term action plans. Regarding PM 10 , results highlight the diversity of responses across European cities, in terms of magnitude and type that raises the necessity of designing area-specific air quality plans. Action plans extended from 1 to 3 days (i.e., emissions reductions applied for 24 and 72 h, respectively) point to the added value of trans-city coordinated actions. The largest benefits are seen in central Europe (Vienna, Prague) while major cities (e.g., Paris) already solve a large part of the problem on their own. Eastern Europe would particularly benefit from plans based on emission reduction in the residential sectors; while in northern cities, agriculture seems to be the key sector on which to focus attention. Transport is playing a key role in most cities whereas the impact of industry is limited to a few cities in south-eastern Europe. For NO 2 , short-term action plans focusing on traffic emission reductions are efficient in all cities. This is due to the local character of this type of pollution. It is important, however, to stress that these results remain dependent on the selected months available for this study.

Triply differential (e,2e) studies of phenol.

PubMed

da Silva, G B; Neves, R F C; Chiari, L; Jones, D B; Ali, E; Madison, D H; Ning, C G; Nixon, K L; Lopes, M C A; Brunger, M J

2014-09-28

We have measured (e,2e) triple differential cross sections (TDCS) for the electron-impact ionisation of phenol with coplanar asymmetrical kinematics for an incident electron energy of 250 eV. Experimental measurements of the angular distribution of the slow outgoing electrons at 20 eV are obtained when the incident electron scatters through angles of -5°, -10°, and -15°, respectively. The TDCS data are compared with calculations performed within the molecular 3-body distorted wave model. In this case, a mixed level of agreement, that was dependent on the kinematical condition being probed, was observed between the theoretical and experimental results in the binary peak region. The experimental intensity of the recoil features under all kinematical conditions was relatively small, but was still largely underestimated by the theoretical calculations.

Triply differential (e,2e) studies of phenol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

da Silva, G. B.; Neves, R. F. C.; Chiari, L.; Jones, D. B.; Ali, E.; Madison, D. H.; Ning, C. G.; Nixon, K. L.; Lopes, M. C. A.; Brunger, M. J.

2014-09-01

We have measured (e,2e) triple differential cross sections (TDCS) for the electron-impact ionisation of phenol with coplanar asymmetrical kinematics for an incident electron energy of 250 eV. Experimental measurements of the angular distribution of the slow outgoing electrons at 20 eV are obtained when the incident electron scatters through angles of -5°, -10°, and -15°, respectively. The TDCS data are compared with calculations performed within the molecular 3-body distorted wave model. In this case, a mixed level of agreement, that was dependent on the kinematical condition being probed, was observed between the theoretical and experimental results in the binary peak region. The experimental intensity of the recoil features under all kinematical conditions was relatively small, but was still largely underestimated by the theoretical calculations.

The effect of e-learning on the quality of orthodontic appliances

PubMed Central

Schorn-Borgmann, Stephanie; Lippold, Carsten; Wiechmann, Dirk; Stamm, Thomas

2015-01-01

Purpose The effect of e-learning on practical skills in medicine has not yet been thoroughly investigated. Today’s multimedia learning environment and access to e-books provide students with more knowledge than ever before. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of online demonstrations concerning the quality of orthodontic appliances manufactured by undergraduate dental students. Materials and methods The study design was a parallel-group randomized clinical trial. Fifty-four participants were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: 1) conventional lectures, 2) conventional lectures plus written online material, and 3) access to resources of groups one and two plus access to online video material. Three orthodontic appliances (Schwarz Plate, U-Bow Activator, and Fränkel Regulator) were manufactured during the course and scored by two independent raters blinded to the participants. A 15-point scale index was used to evaluate the outcome quality of the appliances. Results In general, no significant differences were found between the groups. Concerning the appliances, the Schwarz Plate obtained the highest scores, whereas the Fränkel Regulator had the lowest scores; however, these results were independent of the groups. Females showed better outcome scores than males in groups two and three, but the difference was insignificant. Age of the participants also had no significant effect. Conclusion The offer that students could use additional time and course-independent e-learning resources did not increase the outcome quality of the orthodontic appliances. The advantages of e-learning observed in the theoretical fields of medicine were not achieved in the educational procedures for manual skills. Factors other than e-learning may have a higher impact on manual skills, and this should be investigated in further studies. PMID:26346485

Air Quality Modeling

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

In this technical support document (TSD) EPA describes the air quality modeling performed to support the Environmental Protection Agency’s Transport Rule proposal (now known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule).

A Technology Enhanced Learning Model for Quality Education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sherly, Elizabeth; Uddin, Md. Meraj

Technology Enhanced Learning and Teaching (TELT) Model provides learning through collaborations and interactions with a framework for content development and collaborative knowledge sharing system as a supplementary for learning to improve the quality of education system. TELT deals with a unique pedagogy model for Technology Enhanced Learning System which includes course management system, digital library, multimedia enriched contents and video lectures, open content management system and collaboration and knowledge sharing systems. Open sources like Moodle and Wiki for content development, video on demand solution with a low cost mid range system, an exhaustive digital library are provided in a portal system. The paper depicts a case study of e-learning initiatives with TELT model at IIITM-K and how effectively implemented.

Indicators to support the dynamic evaluation of air quality models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thunis, P.; Clappier, A.

2014-12-01

Air quality models are useful tools for the assessment and forecast of pollutant concentrations in the atmosphere. Most of the evaluation process relies on the “operational phase” or in other words the comparison of model results with available measurements which provides insight on the model capability to reproduce measured concentrations for a given application. But one of the key advantages of air quality models lies in their ability to assess the impact of precursor emission reductions on air quality levels. Models are then used in a dynamic mode (i.e. response to a change in a given model input data) for which evaluation of the model performances becomes a challenge. The objective of this work is to propose common indicators and diagrams to facilitate the understanding of model responses to emission changes when models are to be used for policy support. These indicators are shown to be useful to retrieve information on the magnitude of the locally produced impacts of emission reductions on concentrations with respect to the “external to the domain” contribution but also to identify, distinguish and quantify impacts arising from different factors (different precursors). In addition information about the robustness of the model results is provided. As such these indicators might reveal useful as first screening methodology to identify the feasibility of a given action as well as to prioritize the factors on which to act for an increased efficiency. Finally all indicators are made dimensionless to facilitate the comparison of results obtained with different models, different resolutions, or on different geographical areas.

Structures of (2E,5E)-2-(4-cyanobenzylidene)-5-(4-dimethylaminobenzylidene)cyclopentanone and (2E,5E)-2-benzylidene-5-cinnamylidenecyclopentanone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zoto, Christopher A.; MacDonald, John C.

2017-10-01

The X-ray crystal structures of (2E,5E)-2-(4-cyanobenzylidene)-5-(4-dimethylaminobenzylidene)cyclopentanone (I) and (2E,5E)-2-benzylidene-5-cinnamylidenecyclopentanone (II) are presented, compared to the gas phase structures calculated using density functional theory, and discussed in the context of the photophysical behavior exhibited by I and II. Compound I crystallizes in the triclinic space group P 1 bar with a = 6.8743(2) Å, b = 8.8115(2) Å, c = 14.9664(4) Å, α = 77.135(2)°, β = 81.351(2)°, γ = 80.975(2)°, and Z = 2, and exhibits a planar structure. Compound II crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c with a = 33.4281(10) Å, b = 11.9668(4) Å, c = 7.8031(2) Å, β = 92.785(2)°, and Z = 8, and adopts a nonplanar structure in the solid state and calculated structure.

Using aircraft and satellite observations to improve regulatory air quality models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Canty, T. P.; Vinciguerra, T.; Anderson, D. C.; Carpenter, S. F.; Goldberg, D. L.; Hembeck, L.; Montgomery, L.; Liu, X.; Salawitch, R. J.; Dickerson, R. R.

2014-12-01

Federal and state agencies rely on EPA approved models to develop attainment strategies that will bring states into compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). We will describe modifications to the Community Multi-Scale Air Quality (CMAQ) model and Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions (CAMx) frameworks motivated by analysis of NASA satellite and aircraft measurements. Observations of tropospheric column NO2 from OMI have already led to the identification of an important deficiency in the chemical mechanisms used by models; data collected during the DISCOVER-AQ field campaign has been instrumental in devising an improved representation of the chemistry of nitrogen species. Our recent work has focused on the use of: OMI observations of tropospheric O3 to assess and improve the representation of boundary conditions used by AQ models, OMI NO2 to derive a top down NOx emission inventory from commercial shipping vessels that affect air quality in the Eastern U.S., and OMI HCHO to assess the C5H8 emission inventories provided by bioegenic emissions models. We will describe how these OMI-driven model improvements are being incorporated into the State Implementation Plans (SIPs) being prepared for submission to EPA in summer 2015 and how future modeling efforts may be impacted by our findings.

DUQuE quality management measures: associations between quality management at hospital and pathway levels.

PubMed

Wagner, Cordula; Groene, Oliver; Thompson, Caroline A; Dersarkissian, Maral; Klazinga, Niek S; Arah, Onyebuchi A; Suñol, Rosa

2014-04-01

The assessment of integral quality management (QM) in a hospital requires measurement and monitoring from different perspectives and at various levels of care delivery. Within the DUQuE project (Deepening our Understanding of Quality improvement in Europe), seven measures for QM were developed. This study investigates the relationships between the various quality measures. It is a multi-level, cross-sectional, mixed-method study. As part of the DUQuE project, we invited a random sample of 74 hospitals in 7 countries. The quality managers of these hospitals were the main respondents. Furthermore, data of site visits of external surveyors assessing the participating hospitals were used. Three measures of QM at hospitals level focusing on integral systems (QMSI), compliance with the Plan-Do-Study-Act quality improvement cycle (QMCI) and implementation of clinical quality (CQII). Four measures of QM activities at care pathway level focusing on Specialized expertise and responsibility (SER), Evidence-based organization of pathways (EBOP), Patient safety strategies (PSS) and Clinical review (CR). Positive significant associations were found between the three hospitals level QM measures. Results of the relationships between levels were mixed and showed most associations between QMCI and department-level QM measures for all four types of departments. QMSI was associated with PSS in all types of departments. By using the seven measures of QM, it is possible to get a more comprehensive picture of the maturity of QM in hospitals, with regard to the different levels and across various types of hospital departments.

Neuroprotective Activity of (1S,2E,4R,6R,-7E,11E)-2,7,11-cembratriene-4,6-diol (4R) in vitro and in vivo in Rodent Models of Brain Ischemia

PubMed Central

Xu, Zhenfeng; Mu, Chaofeng; Alvarez, Paloma; Ford, Byron D.; El Sayed, Khalid; Eterovic, Vesna A.; Ferchmin, Pedro A.; Hao, Jiukuan

2015-01-01

(1S,2E,4R,6R,-7E,11E)-2,7,11-cembratriene-4,6-diol (4R) is a precursor to key flavor ingredients in leaves of Nicotiana species. The present study shows 4R decreased brain damage in rodent ischemic stroke models. The 4R-pretreated mice had lower infarct volume (26.2±9.7 mm3) than those in control groups (untreated: 63.4±4.2 mm3, DMSO: 60.2±14.2 mm3). The 4R-posttreated rats also had less infarct volume (120±65 mm3) than those in the rats of DMSO group (291±95 mm3). The results from in vitro experiments indicate that 4R decreased neuro2a cells (neuroblastoma cells) apoptosis induced by oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD), and improved the population spikes (PSs) recovery in rat acute hippocampal slices under OGD; a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor, wortmannin, abolished the effect of 4R on PSs recovery. Furthermore, 4R also inhibited monocyte adhesion to bEND5 cells (murine brain-derived endothelial cells) and upregulation of intercellular adhesion molecule-1(ICAM-1) induced by OGD/reoxygenation (OGD/R), and restored the p-Akt level to pre-OGD/R values in bEND5 cells. In conclusion, the present study indicates that 4R has a protective effect in rodent ischemic stroke models. Inhibition of ICAM-1 expression and restoration of Akt phosphorylation are the possible mechanisms involved in cellular protection by 4R. PMID:25677097

Quality Assurance and Quality Control, Part 2.

PubMed

Akers, Michael J

2015-01-01

The tragedy surrounding the New England Compounding Center and contaminated steroid syringe preparations clearly points out what can happen if quality-assurance and quality-control procedures are not strictly practiced in the compounding of sterile preparations. This article is part 2 of a two-part article on requirements to comply with United States Pharmacopeia general chapters <797> and <1163> with respect to quality assurance of compounded sterile preparations. Part 1 covered documentation requirements, inspection procedures, compounding accuracy checks, and part of a discussion on bacterial endotoxin testing. Part 2 covers sterility testing, the completion from part 1 on bacterial endotoxin testing, a brief dicussion of United States Pharmacopeia <1163>, and advances in pharmaceutical quality systems.

End-user perspectives on e-commerce and health care web site quality.

PubMed

Le Rouge, Cynthia; De Leo, Gianluca

2008-11-06

We explore and compare the importance of various quality dimensions for health care and e-commerce web sites. The results show that the importance of various quality attributes for all except four of ten quality dimensions studied differ between health care and e-commerce web sites. These results can help health care managers to improve and/or to guide the design of their web sites.

Structure of an E3:E2~Ub Complex Reveals an Allosteric Mechanism Shared among RING/U-box Ligases

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

Pruneda, Jonathan N.; Littlefield, Peter J.; Soss, Sarah E.

2012-09-28

Despite the widespread importance of RING/U-box E3 ubiquitin ligases in ubiquitin (Ub) signaling, the mechanismby which this class of enzymes facilitates Ub transfer remains enigmatic. Here, we present a structural model for a RING/U-box E3:E2~Ub complex poised for Ub transfer. The model and additional analyses reveal that E3 binding biases dynamic E2~Ub ensembles toward closed conformations with enhanced reactivity for substrate lysines. We identify a key hydrogen bond between a highly conserved E3 side chain and an E2 backbone carbonyl, observed in all structures of active RING/ U-Box E3/E2 pairs, as the linchpin for allosteric activation of E2~Ub. The conformationalmore » biasing mechanism is generalizable across diverse E2s and RING/U-box E3s, but is not shared by HECT-type E3s. The results provide a structural model for a RING/ U-box E3:E2~Ub ligase complex and identify the long sought-after source of allostery for RING/UBox activation of E2~Ub conjugates.« less

SU-E-J-157: Improving the Quality of T2-Weighted 4D Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Clinical Evaluation