Search results for "Environments"
showing 10 items of 229 documents
Risk factors for central nervous system tumors in children: New findings from a case-control study
2017
BACKGROUND: Central nervous system tumors (CNS) are the most frequent solid tumor in children. Causes of CNS tumors are mainly unknown and only 5% of the cases can be explained by genetic predisposition. We studied the effects of environmental exposure on the incidence of CNS tumors in children by subtype, according to exposure to industrial and/or urban environment, exposure to crops and according to socio-economic status of the child. METHODS: We carried out a population-based case-control study of CNS tumors in Spain, covering 714 incident cases collected from the Spanish Registry of Childhood Tumors (period 1996-2011) and 4284 controls, individually matched by year of birth, sex, and au…
Modulation of the growth and metabolic response of cyanobacteria by the multifaceted activity of naringenin
2017
The interactions between the plant-derived bioflavonoid, naringenin, and prokaryotic microalgae representatives (cyanobacteria), were investigated with respect to its influence on the growth and metabolic response of these microorganisms. To achieve reliable results, the growth of cyanobacteria was determined based on measurements of chlorophyll content, morphological changes were assessed through microscopic observations, and the chemical response of cells was determined using liquid and gas chromatography (HPLC; GC-FID). The results show that micromolar levels of naringenin stimulated the growth of cyanobacteria. Increased growth was observed for halophilic strains at naringenin concentra…
Dynamics of Two Picophytoplankton Groups in Mediterranean Sea: Analysis of the Deep Chlorophyll Maximum by a Stochastic Advection-Reaction-Diffusion …
2013
A stochastic advection-reaction-diffusion model with terms of multiplicative white Gaussian noise, valid for weakly mixed waters, is studied to obtain the vertical stationary spatial distributions of two groups of picophytoplankton, i.e., picoeukaryotes and Prochlorococcus, which account about for 60% of total chlorophyll on average in Mediterranean Sea. By numerically solving the equations of the model, we analyze the one-dimensional spatio-temporal dynamics of the total picophytoplankton biomass and nutrient concentration along the water column at different depths. In particular, we integrate the equations over a time interval long enough, obtaining the steady spatial distributions for th…
Towards a Methodology for Designing Artificial Conscious Robotic Systems
2009
Engineering artificial conscious robotic systems, able to perceive, think and act in an unstructured environment is a very challenging issue. Basing on the results of the experiences made in the latest years about modeling the perception loop of a robot and about the creation of ad-hoc methodologies for engineering complex systems, we developed an initial model of an artificial conscious system and extended a well known methodology (PASSI) for engineering the elements we identified as composing such a system. Copyright © 2009, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. All rights reserved.
Web Services Specific Security Standards
2014
Abstract In this paper are described the aspects regarding the security within OGSA framework, introducing WS-Security standard – OASIS standard for Web Services security. There are approached the security aspects of the OGSA environment for the delivered architectures P2P – ‘Peer-to-Peer’ and there are presented the recent initiatives for creating a specific and adapted environment OGSA for the applications P2P and the specific security demands of these transactions. Furthermore, there are exposed aspects regarding the mobility of services and resources in the P2P context, with the conditions of applying WSRF framework, derived from OGSA to the P2P environments, SOA processes in P2P enviro…
van der Waals interactions between excited atoms in generic environments
2015
We consider the the van der Waals force involving excited atoms in general environments, constituted by magnetodielectric bodies. We develop a dynamical approach studying the dynamics of the atoms and the field, mutually coupled. When only one atom is excited, our dynamical theory suggests that for large distances the van der Waals force acting on the ground-state atom is monotonic, while the force acting in the excited atom is spatially oscillating. We show how this latter force can be related to the known oscillating Casimir--Polder force on an excited atom near a (ground-state) body. Our force also reveals a population-induced dynamics: for times much larger that the atomic lifetime the …
Community Turnover of Wood-Inhabiting Fungi across Hierarchical Spatial Scales
2014
For efficient use of conservation resources it is important to determine how species diversity changes across spatial scales. In many poorly known species groups little is known about at which spatial scales the conservation efforts should be focused. Here we examined how the community turnover of wood-inhabiting fungi is realised at three hierarchical levels, and how much of community variation is explained by variation in resource composition and spatial proximity. The hierarchical study design consisted of management type (fixed factor), forest site (random factor, nested within management type) and study plots (randomly placed plots within each study site). To examine how species richne…
Classroom Orchestration: Balancing between Personal and Collaborative Learning Processes
2014
The nature of vocational education needs has changed. In authentic vocational classroom contexts, there is a rising need to develop new ways to integrate ongoing and overlapping processes of students' personal learning environments and collaborative knowledge construction. However, there is currently very little knowledge about how teachers integrate these two approaches in arranging learning. This creates new challenges for teachers when creating instructional activities, especially regarding teacher-student interactions. This case study illuminates teachers' instructional activities in empowering the students' knowledge construction in a technology-enhanced learning setting. The results s…
The case of literacy motivation : Playful 3D immersive learning environments and problem-focused education for blended digital storytelling
2018
The University of Patras' Library Services designed and offered to primary and secondary schools the pilot educational program “From the Ancient to the Modern Tablets”, featuring immersive multimedia learning experiences about the book history. The pilot program consisted of three stages: a playful library tour, followed by an interactive game-based digital storytelling activity with game elements, and a collaborative creative reflective hands-on activity. Utilizing the avatar psychology power, the visualization and simulation affordances of 3D immersive learning environments and the appeal of storytelling and game-based learning, the “gamified” blended narrative on the book evolution enabl…
Learning Environments in Health and Medical Studies: The Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence
2019
The conventional approach to sustainability is being extended through approaches such as the psychology of sustainability and sustainable development. Under such approaches, the analysis of sustainability also involves understanding improvements in people&rsquo