Search results for "35"
showing 10 items of 2413 documents
Assessing impacts of soil management measures on ecosystem services
2018
Only a few studies have quantified and measured ecosystem services (ES) specifically related to soil. To address this gap, we have developed and applied a methodology to assess changes in ecosystem services, based on measured or estimated soil property changes that were stimulated by soil management measures (e.g., mulching, terracing, no-till). We applied the ES assessment methodology in 16 case study sites across Europe representing a high diversity of soil threats and land use systems. Various prevention and remediation measures were trialled, and the changes in manageable soil and other natural capital properties were measured and quantified. An Excel tool facilitated data collection, c…
Adding the Mureş River Basin (Transylvania, Romania) to the List of Hotspots with High Contamination with Pharmaceuticals
2020
Background: The Mureș River Basin is a long-term heavily polluted watershed, in a situation of climate changes with increasing water flow and related decreasing dilution capacity. Here, a mixture of emerging pollutants such as pharmaceuticals were targeted to reveal potential risks regarding the natural lotic ecosystems. Due to the continuous discharge into the environment, pharmaceuticals are gaining persistent organic pollutant characteristics and are considered emerging pollutants. Based on the hazard quotient, this research highlights the dangerous concentrations of carbamazepine, ibuprofen, furosemide, and enalapril in river water. Results: High levels of four pharmaceutical compounds …
A posteriori error estimates for Webster's equation in wave propagation
2015
We consider a generalised Webster’s equation for describing wave propagation in curved tubular structures such as variable diameter acoustic wave guides. Webster’s equation in generalised form has been rigorously derived in a previous article starting from the wave equation, and it approximates cross-sectional averages of the propagating wave. Here, the approximation error is estimated by an a posteriori technique. peerReviewed
Neural Adaptation to Optical Quality Defects
2010
From an optical perspective the eye is far from perfect. This is a fact that is extensively supported by literature; for instance, Prof. Navarro recently provided us with a fantastic critical review on the various theories behind the different eye models and their flaws.1 The human eye has considerable amounts of higher-order aberrations even when it is emmetropic,2 with great inter-individual variability. Besides, higher-order aberrations are still postulated to have a role in the development of the refractive error, although it is not clear the extent to which this may be (see Charman WN for a review).3 The known optical limitations of the normal human eye raised the question as to what t…
Biological and technical complications of tilted implants in comparison with straight implants supporting fixed dental prostheses. A systematic revie…
2018
OBJECTIVES To evaluate the implant failure, marginal bone loss (MBL), and other biological or technical complications of restorations supported by tilted and straight implants after at least 3 years in function. METHODS Electronic and manual searches were performed in MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and OpenGrey to identify clinical studies published up to December 2017. After duplicate study selection and data extraction, the risk of bias was assessed with the ROBINS-I tool. Random-effects meta-analyses of relative risks (RRs) or mean differences (MD) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were performed, followed by subgroup/sensitivity analyses and application of the GRADE approach. R…
Teachers’ Knowledge Regarding Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): A Systematic Review
2021
The increasing number of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in mainstream education environments require teachers to know how to identify their needs, being capable to adapt their education processes and make their inclusion easier. The purpose of this study is to conduct a systematic review about teachers’ knowledge of ASD, including teachers from any stage and specialization. The research has been conducted from four databases (Web of Science, Scopus, PsycInfo and Google Scholar) during the period of 2015–2020. In total, 25 articles were analyzed. The results show that, in general, teachers’ knowledge of ASD is poor. It depends on the education stage (being higher in early child…
Towards Stable Radial Basis Function Methods for Linear Advection Problems
2021
In this work, we investigate (energy) stability of global radial basis function (RBF) methods for linear advection problems. Classically, boundary conditions (BC) are enforced strongly in RBF methods. By now it is well-known that this can lead to stability problems, however. Here, we follow a different path and propose two novel RBF approaches which are based on a weak enforcement of BCs. By using the concept of flux reconstruction and simultaneous approximation terms (SATs), respectively, we are able to prove that both new RBF schemes are strongly (energy) stable. Numerical results in one and two spatial dimensions for both scalar equations and systems are presented, supporting our theoret…
Gradient estimates for solutions to quasilinear elliptic equations with critical sobolev growth and hardy potential
2015
This note is a continuation of the work \cite{CaoXiangYan2014}. We study the following quasilinear elliptic equations \[ -\Delta_{p}u-\frac{\mu}{|x|^{p}}|u|^{p-2}u=Q(x)|u|^{\frac{Np}{N-p}-2}u,\quad\, x\in\mathbb{R}^{N}, \] where $1<p<N,0\leq\mu<\left((N-p)/p\right)^{p}$ and $Q\in L^{\infty}(\R^{N})$. Optimal asymptotic estimates on the gradient of solutions are obtained both at the origin and at the infinity.
COVID-19 Pandemic: Prevention and protection measures to be adopted at the workplace
2020
Introduction: SARS-CoV-2, identified in Wuhan, China, for the first time in December 2019, is a new viral strain, which has not been previously identified in humans; it can be transmitted both by air and via direct and indirect contact; however, the most frequent way it spreads is via droplets. Like the other viruses belonging to the same family of coronaviruses, it can cause from mild flu-like symptoms, such as cold, sore throat, cough and fever, to more severe ones such as pneumonia and breathing difficulties, and it can even lead to death. Since no effective specific drug therapy has been found yet, nor any vaccine capable of limiting the spread of this pathogen, it is important for way…
The diversity and evolution of chelicerate hemocyanins
2012
Abstract Background Oxygen transport in the hemolymph of many arthropod species is facilitated by large copper-proteins referred to as hemocyanins. Arthropod hemocyanins are hexamers or oligomers of hexamers, which are characterized by a high O2 transport capacity and a high cooperativity, thereby enhancing O2 supply. Hemocyanin subunit sequences had been available from horseshoe crabs (Xiphosura) and various spiders (Araneae), but not from any other chelicerate taxon. To trace the evolution of hemocyanins and the emergence of the large hemocyanin oligomers, hemocyanin cDNA sequences were obtained from representatives of selected chelicerate classes. Results Hemocyanin subunits from a sea s…