Search results for "dance"
showing 10 items of 2075 documents
Protonic ceramic fuel cell : elaboration and characterization. Investigation of the BaZr0.8Y0.2O3-d electrolyte by electrochemical impedance spectros…
2021
One of the current global challenges is to find novel, clean and efficient techniques for the energy production. The use of electrochemical cells and hydrogen is one of the solutions. These cells convert the excess energy produced by conventional systems into hydrogen by steam electrolysis. The hydrogen can be stored and transformed into electricity when needed in the fuel cell mode. Among the different electrochemical cells, protonic ceramic electrochemical cells have attracted much attention due to their high efficiency at intermediate temperature (400 – 600 °C). In addition, these systems offer the advantage of not diluting the fuel in electrolysis mode. This thesis work focuses on the e…
Short-term walking physical training and changes in body hydration status, B-type natriuretic peptide and C-reactive protein levels in compensated co…
2008
BACKGROUND: Congestive heart failure (CHF) is associated with decreased exercise tolerance, alterations in body fluid balance and activation of neurohumoral and inflammatory pathways. Physical training, despite the contraindications of the past, is recommended for its beneficial effects on exercise capacity and quality of life. We investigate the effects of a short-term (ten weeks) walking physical training program (PT) on body hydration state (HS), B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. METHODS AND RESULTS: 22 patients with CHF (mean age 62.7+/-4.8 years, 15 men, mean ejection fraction 38.9+/-3.6%, NYHA class II-III), were enrolled. Eleven patients were rando…
The effect of peatland drainage and restoration on Odonata species richness and abundance
2015
Background Restoration aims at reversing the trend of habitat degradation, the major threat to biodiversity. In Finland, more than half of the original peatland area has been drained, and during recent years, restoration of some of the drained peatlands has been accomplished. Short-term effects of the restoration on peatland hydrology, chemistry and vegetation are promising but little is known about how other species groups apart from vascular plants and bryophytes respond to restoration efforts. Results Here, we studied how abundance and species richness of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) respond to restoration. We sampled larvae in three sites (restored, drained, pristine) on each o…
The role of power line rights-of-way as an alternative habitat for declined mire butterflies
2011
Habitat loss is one of the greatest threats for biodiversity. In Finland, two thirds of natural mires have been drained for silviculture, which transforms open wetlands into dense forests. However, vegetation management of power line rights-of-way (ROW) maintain the drained mires as open areas. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the power line ROW vegetation management on butterfly abundance, species richness and community structure by comparing the managed power line ROWs to unmanaged drained control sites and to natural mires. The species richness or abundance of mire butterflies did not differ between the power line ROWs and natural mires. In contrast, both species rich…
Effect of river restoration on life-history strategies in fish communities
2019
Assessments of river restoration outcomes are mostly based on taxonomic identities of species, which may not be optimal because a direct relationship to river functions remains obscure and results are hardly comparable across biogeographic borders. The use of ecological species trait information instead of taxonomic units may help to overcome these challenges. Abundance data for fish communities were gathered from 134 river restoration projects conducted in Switzerland, Germany and Finland, monitored for up to 15 years. These data were related to a dataset of 22 categories of ecological traits describing fish life-history strategies to assess the outcome of the restoration projects. Restora…
Affordances of telecollaboration tools for English for Specific Purposes online learning
2016
This paper explores students' perceptions of the affordances of different telecollaboration tools used in an innovation project for English for Specific Purposes online learning carried out between the University of Valencia (Spain) and Wofford College (South Carolina, United States) during the school year 2015-2016. Different tools for synchronous and asynchronous communication were used. The asynchronous tools included a discussion forum, a wiki, social networking websites and Google forms; while the tools used for synchronous communication were text, voice and video chat, videoconferencing tools and Google Drive. All the tools were accessible through the online platform used in the proje…
Scripting as a pedagogical method to guide collaborative writing : university students' reflections
2020
A collaboration script is a set of instructions used to improve collaborative learning among students in technology-enhanced environments. Previously, university students’ perspective has been under-represented in the study on collaboration scripts. In this article, we focus on understanding students’ experiences in a scripted collaborative writing task, especially from the perspective of following the script. The study was conducted among undergraduate students (N = 91) taking a master-level educational science course at one university each in Finland and Belgium. Divided into 25 groups, each with three to five members, the students worked on collaborative writing tasks. During their share…
Decentralized Coordination System for Multiple AGVs in a Structured Environment
2011
Abstract In this paper, we propose a decentralized coordination algorithm for safe and efficient management of a group of mobile robots following predefined paths in a dynamic industrial environment. The proposed algorithm is based on shared resources and proved to guarantee ordered traffic flows avoiding collisions and deadlocks. In consistency with the model of distributed robotic systems (DRS), no centralized mechanism, synchronized clock, shared memory or ground support is needed. A local inter-robot communication is required among a small number of spatially adjacent robotic units.
The role of success expectation and task-avoidance in academic performance and satisfaction: Three studies on antecedents, consequences and correlates
2003
Abstract To investigate the prospective relationships between individuals’ success expectation and task-avoidance, and their academic achievement and satisfaction, 231 students were examined yearly throughout their university careers in Study 1. It was found that students’ success expectation predicted academic achievement and satisfaction; which, in turn, increased their subsequent success expectation. Moreover, task-avoidance predicted low academic achievement and dissatisfaction, which again was predictive of subsequent task-avoidance. In Study 2, the task-avoidant behavior, and pre-examination anxiety, of 198 students who had participated in Study 1 were examined, and compared with thei…
Communicating with home, coping without home – Trusting to the mediating capacity of blogging
2021
Abstract In the early 21st century, blogs exploded onto the digital media scene and soon became a popular means of travel writing. However, rather than considering blogs as a straightforward tool to simply share stories and experiences, in this article, we set out to explore the role of blogs as a mediating technology (Verbeek, 2005a), especially during difficult times abroad. By analysing the blogs of expatriate Australians who were volunteers in Bangladesh in 2014/2015 as well as interviews with the bloggers, we are able to show how the blogs' affordances inform the coping process, highlighted, in particular, in an active and highly reflective engagement with the blog's unique situatednes…