Search results for "Models"
showing 10 items of 8211 documents
Optical Characterization Method for Tilted or Decentered Intraocular Lenses
2016
Purpose To test and validate a method for measuring the optical quality and optical power of monofocal intraocular lenses (IOLs) in the presence of a tilt or a decentration as well as its optical power. Methods The experimental system consists of an artificial eye (wet-cell) and a commercial aberrometer with a Shack-Hartmann sensor. Optical image quality parameters such as point spread function (PSF), modulation transfer function (MTF), and the simulations of the retinal image of an extended object are computed from the in vitro wavefront data of an IOL. Repeatability and reproducibility of the system are tested. Mathematical and ray-tracing simulations are used to ascertain the precision a…
Polarity-reversal subduction zone initiation triggered by buoyant plateau obstruction
2022
Abstract Oceanic lithosphere worldwide is younger than ca. 200 Myr, suggesting that it must have been globally recycled by the recurrent formation of new subduction zones since the existence of subduction on Earth. However, postulated subduction zone initiation processes remain difficult to explain in many cases, and the specific geodynamic conditions under which these might occur are still largely unknown. We here use numerical models driven by the internal force balance of a subduction system to better understand the (geo)dynamics governing (intra-oceanic) polarity-reversal subduction zone initiation. This initiation mode assumes that the birth of a new subduction zone could be triggered …
Spatial effects in housing price models : do housing prices capitalize urban development policies in the agglomeration of Dijon (1999) ?
2004
In this article we suppose that the integration of accessibility and neighborhood variables in hedonic housing models doesn't allow to take into account the spatial effects between the housing prices. Using a sample of 1520 transactions of apartments in the urban area of Dijon, we focus on two types of location variables : the distance to the CBD and the distance to several Disadvantaged Districts located in peripheral areas. We detect the presence of a spatial error autocorrelation in the hedonic model indicating that the valuation of the price of an apartment is locally influenced by the prices of the neighboring apartments. Then, we estimate a spatial error model which shows that the loc…
Hourly Forecasting of SO2 Pollutant Concentration Using an Elman Neural Network
2006
In this paper the first results produced by an Elman neural network for hourly SO2 ground concentration forecasting are presented. Time series has been recorded between 1998 and 2001 and are referred to a monitoring station of SO2 in the industrial site of Priolo, Syracuse, Italy. Data has been kindly provided by CIPA (Consorzio Industriale per la Protezione dell'Ambiente, Siracusa, Italia). Time series parameters are the horizontal and vertical wind velocity, the wind direction, the stability classes of Thomas, the base level of the layer of the atmospheric stability, the gradient of the potential temperature and the difference of the potential temperature of reference.
Urban air pollution and emergency room admissions for respiratory symptoms: a case-crossover study in Palermo, Italy
2011
Abstract Background Air pollution from vehicular traffic has been associated with respiratory diseases. In Palermo, the largest metropolitan area in Sicily, urban air pollution is mainly addressed to traffic-related pollution because of lack of industrial settlements, and the presence of a temperate climate that contribute to the limited use of domestic heating plants. This study aimed to investigate the association between traffic-related air pollution and emergency room admissions for acute respiratory symptoms. Methods From January 2004 through December 2007, air pollutant concentrations and emergency room visits were collected for a case-crossover study conducted in Palermo, Sicily. Ris…
Annoyance Caused by Noise and Air Pollution during Pregnancy: Associated Factors and Correlation with Outdoor NO2 and Benzene Estimations
2015
This study aimed to describe the degree of annoyance among pregnant women in a Spanish cohort and to examine associations with proximity to traffic, NO2 and benzene exposure. We included 2457 participants from the Spanish Childhood and Environment study. Individual exposures to outdoor NO2 and benzene were estimated, temporally adjusted for pregnancy. Interviews about sociodemographic variables, noise and air pollution were carried out. Levels of annoyance were assessed using a scale from 0 (none) to 10 (strong and unbearable)
Emission standards versus immission standards for assessing the impact of urban drainage on ephemeral receiving water bodies
2010
In the past, emission standard indicators have been adopted by environmental regulation authorities in order to preserve the quality of a receiving water body. Such indicators are based on the frequency or magnitude of a polluted discharge that may be continuous or intermittent. In order to properly maintain the quality of receiving waters, the Water Framework Directive, following the basic ideas of British Urban Pollution Manual, has been established. The Directive has overtaken the emission-standard concept, substituting it with the stream-standard concept that fixes discharge limits for each polluting substance depending on the self-depurative characteristics of receiving waters. Stream-…
An aggregate AQI: comparing different standardizations and introducing a variability index
2012
Many studies demonstrate a strong relationship between air pollution and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. For this reason, assessing air pollution, and conveying information about its possible adverse health effects, may encourage population and policy makers to reduce those activities increasing pollution levels. In this paper a relative index of variability, to be associated with the aggregate Air Quality Index (AQI) among pollutants proposed by Ruggieri and Plaia (2011), is developed in order to better investigate air pollution conditions for the whole area of a city/region. The most widely-used and up to date pollution indices, based mainly on AQI computed by the US Environmenta…
Quantification of diffuse and concentrated pollutant loads at the watershed-scale: an Italian case study
2009
In this study, diffuse and point source pollutant loads were evaluated using an Italian case study: the Nocella catchment, which has been subject to extensive monitoring. The Nocella catchment is located in Sicily (Italy) and has an area of about 60 km2. The river receives wastewater and stormwater from two urban areas drained by combined sewers. The two sewer systems, two wastewater treatment plants and a river reach were monitored during both dry and wet weather periods. Thereafter, an integrated catchment-scale model was applied to simulate point pollutant sources, i.e., pollution coming from the urban drainage system, and nonpoint pollutant sources, i.e., pollution coming from agricultu…