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Preliminary data of potentially hazardous radon concentrations in Modrič Cave (Croatia)
No full textInstigated by relatively high cave-air CO2 concentrations in Modrič Cave (Croatia) recorded for the purpose of speleothem-based paleoclimate research, we established preliminary monitoring of radon (222Rn) concentrations within the cave for a 4.5-year period (2018–2022). As radioactive geogenic gas, radon, which often correlates with cave-air CO2 concentrations, presents a potential health hazard in cases of longer exposure time in high concentration conditions. Since the Modrič Cave is open to tourists and long-term scientific research has been performed within, a safety assessment for radon concentrations was essential. The integrated measurements of radon concentrations were performed by passive LR115 detectors that were exposed from three to six months at eight sites within the cave. Preliminary results showed seasonal variations of radon concentrations (0.08–13.6 kBq/m3) governed by the cave ventilation patterns, but superimposed on this, cave morphology and bedrock architecture control the radon variations on finer spatial scale. The 3-months average 222Rn concentration of up to 13.6 kBq/m3 during summer in one of the cave passages is among the highest measured seasonal averaged radon concentrations in Croatian caves, but maximum concentrations were even higher. Based on obtained results and calculations, potential negative health effects of radon exposure for cave visitors, guides and scientists were assessed and the results showed values of exposure to be below recommended levels. Calculated worst-case scenario for cave guides (most affected by radon and its progeny) revealed that they would receive dose slightly below the occupational dose limit of 20 mSv/y (19.0 ± 5.2 mSv/y) in the touristic part of the cave and significantly higher doses (34.1 ± 9.2 mSv/y) in the non-touristic part of the cave. To detect precise spatio-temporal radon concentration variations (up to diurnal scale) we recently established continuous radon measurements. This will enable detection of possibly health threatening short-term peaks in radon concentration and consequently further improve cave management
Cave-dwelling crocodiles of Central Belize
No full textWe provide the results on the first systematic effort to study cave-dwelling crocodiles in central Belize. For nearly three decades, managers at Runaway Creek Nature Reserve have frequently observed crocodile tracks and trackways in caves, while subterranean observations of crocodiles were less frequent. We surveyed five caves previously identified as crocodile habitat by wading (up to waist deep) and kayaking; we also deployed trail cameras in five of six flooded caves. Crocodiles were directly observed in two caves and trail camera footage was captured of a crocodile exiting a third cave. Given that introgression between Morelet’s Crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii (A.H.A. Duméril & Bibron, 1851)) and the American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus Cuvier, 1807) is high throughout their sympatric range and none of the crocodiles were captured, all individuals were identified as Crocodylus acutus x C. moreletii?. Additionally, in the five caves previously identified as crocodile habitat, we identified at least 16 potential prey species including two invertebrate, four fish, one turtle, one bird, several bat, and eight non-bat mammal species via direct observation and trail cameras. Capture, examination, and stomach flushes of cave-dwelling crocodiles, as well as continued monitoring of vertebrates via trail cameras, additional prey species surveys, monitoring of cave temperatures, and developing detailed cave maps of crocodile caves are highly recommended to obtain the information to both characterize crocodile cave use and optimally manage cave resources
Summit Report: Current Rise of the Great Powers
No full textOverview
The inaugural Global and National Security Institute (GNSI) Tampa Summit convened at the University of South Florida campus in Tampa, Florida March 7-9, 2023. The GNSI Tampa Summit is a new platform created to bring together the best strategists, analysts, academics, and policy influencers. The summit consisted of two conferences. First, the Central and South Asia Directors of Military Intelligence Conference focused on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and included representatives of the directors of military intelligence from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The second event was the 7th Great Power Competition Conference: Current Rise of Great Powers focused on China’s rise. This report will examine what the experts speaking at the two conferences explored and recommended as policies for future US engagement in Great Power Competition (GPC).https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/gnsi_summit_reports/1000/thumbnail.jp
Chapter 15 Computer Networks
No full textThe interconnection of information systems is an extremely important function in today’s personal, consumer, and business world. Many people stay connected with information available on the Internet by using virtual assistant technologies such as Amazon’s Alexa to purchase items online with their Amazon Prime account. Similarly, businesses are motivated to use interconnected devices to conduct daily tasks such as virtual meetings and email communication. In all these cases, computer networks are required to move information from one application operating on a computer to another. Computer networks can be defined as the interconnection of information systems through the use of components designed to communicate using standardized technologies.
Computers interact with networks by using specialized hardware components designed to communicate data in a very consistent way. In fact, today’s modern computer networks are the result of over 100 years of innovations engineered to communicate data. One of the earliest examples of using a network to communicate data from one device to another was the telegraph. Patented in 1840, the telegraph was a communications device used by Samuel Morse to send information to locations across great distances. To do this, the telegraph would connect and release a switch from a sender device that was designed to energize an electromagnet on a receiver device. Once the receiver’s electromagnet was energized, it would pull a marker to one side. The marker would then scratch a line on a paper at the receiver device. Morse then developed an encoding of the marks in the form of dots and dashes that today is known as Morse code. Morse code could be used to fully encode a message generated by energy that people can understand. For instance, the letter a is coded as a dot and a dash.
Since the invention of the telegraph, communication technologies have evolved considerably and eventually motivated the standardization of network architecture. In particular, when computers from different manufacturers in different countries needed to be networked together, the components had difficulty interoperating between the different networking equipment from the various vendors. It, therefore, became necessary to standardize computer networking technology. This problem motivated the standards organizations to develop models that could be adopted by the entire computer networking industry. The computer network industry could now innovate while complying with the standard model. For example, by developing components that offered standard interoperable functionality while consuming less power. We will learn more about these models and standards later in this chapter
Chapter 06 File Management
No full textFile management is about creating an organized structure to store information on your computer for easy retrieval and use. As more and more of our information becomes digital and ends up in our digital devices—e.g., school assignments on laptops, photos on smartphones, emails in the cloud—it becomes increasingly important to create an organized structure to store this information, so it is available when needed. After all, what is the point of taking that keepsake picture with a friend if you can’t find it later when you need it?
Think of file management as a small-scale/personal version of Google. Google’s vision statement is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Both file management and Google involve organizing and managing large amounts of data, even if the methods are different. File management involves developing good habits in naming and organizing files on a computer. Google uses complex algorithms to organize the vast amounts of data that it collects from around the world. The end goals are the same. Both file management and Google aim to make data easily accessible later. As ChatGPT puts it, “in many ways, file management is doing for your computer what Google aims to do for the Internet.”
Taking a few minutes to learn how your computer organizes files and to develop good file management practices may be one of the best investments you make in learning to use your computer effectively. This chapter will show you how. Experienced computer users consider their file manager as the starting point of any work. Microsoft computers have File Explorer for file management. Similarly, Finder—also known as Mac Desktop Experience—is the default file manager on Mac computers. The icon for Finder is “Happy Mac.”
Information management in the computer context is called file management because all information on computers is made available to end users as files. Files have properties such as names, last modified date, size, etc. These properties help with information location and retrieval. In the rest of this chapter, we use information management and file management interchangeably
Multi-Object Grasping -- Stochastic Grasping from a Pile
No full textGrasping multiple objects at once from a pile is common for humans. It makes us efficient in pick and transfer tasks. It is essential for a robot to gain multi-object grasping capability (MOG). This paper defines the multi-object grasping problem and introduces several novel multi-object grasping techniques. These techniques include probability-based pre-grasp potential calculation, a stochastic flexing/extending routine, obtaining end-grasp types, and estimating the number of objects in a grasp. It also proposes a new stochastic grasping strategy for grasping a desired number of objects
Leisure activity and place requirement for a better life in slow city Ahlat
No full textIn this study, the types of activities and places that contribute to the improvement of the living conditions analysed within the example of the residents living in a slow city. The population of the study consists of the local people living in Ahlat (Bitlis, Turkiye), which was declared as a slow city in 2019. The data of the research were collected between 30 May and 15 June 2022. Three questions were asked to the participants about the kinds of activities the residents were engaged in, the activities they dreamed of doing and the kind of recreational places they needed to. The answers given provide an understanding of leisure needs of residents living in Ahlat to relax, renew and revive their daily lives. The results of the study showed that the residents need cultural, social, educational, collective and sportive activities with facilities and places related to those activities. In this context, various suggestions have been developed for local administrators, managers and marketers
Disabled rooms in hotel industry: A research on perception for disabled rooms
No full textHotel businesses are required by law to have a certain proportion of disabled rooms according to the number of rooms they have. In addition to these legal obligations, the participation of disabled people in tourism activities is supported by the businesses and people in empathetic way. Although the hotel rooms built for disabled people are designed to be more spacious and facilitate the movements of the disabled, these rooms do not only serve the disabled people. It is offered to non-disabled guests especially during peak seasons when the room occupancy rate is high. In this study, the facilities provided by the hotel operators for disabled guests and the attitudes of non-disabled guests staying in disabled rooms were investigated. The research was carried out with the hotel department’s managers of 4- and 5-star hotel enterprises operating in Kusadası region with a semi-structured interview. According to the findings obtained from the research, it was seen that the occupancy rates of the disabled rooms were generally low, that the hotel enterprises showed the necessary importance to the disabled guests, and that they provided the necessary facilities and facilities for the disabled guests to spend their holidays comfortably. However, its revealed that non-disabled guests refused to stay in disabled rooms or were not willing to do so and were uncomfortable with the situation