19366 research outputs found
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A new approach to understanding involvement: linking involvement to the memorability of experience
No full textBased on the involvement literature, the current research redefines the involvement theory and proposes a new form of involvement, namely situated involvement. The research, then, develops a scale to measure this involvement employing a mixed methods procedure. Afterward, the relationships between enduring, response, and situated involvements as well as the memorability of experience are investigated using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results from a survey of 317 tourists in Queenstown, New Zealand show that the memorability of experience is only impacted by situated involvement, the type of involvement which occurs during an experience. Enduring and response involvements are found to influence situated involvement, and enduring involvement predicts response involvement
Applying 3D spatial metrics for landscape planning: Creating and measuring landscape scenarios by a point cloud-based approach
No full textThe current planning and design process predominantly relies on experts' experiences or preferences, which is beneficial and straightforward but can be subjective and time-consuming. Although there are some quantitative assessment tools available to aid decision-makers in understanding the perceived quality of landscape scenarios, how to integrate them into the design thinking process to improve landscape design is challenging. This study presents a 3D digital model integrating the quantitative representation of visual quality into the design thinking process to improve urban landscapes' restorative potential. The model consists of generating landscape scenarios in a 3D environment, converting them into point clouds and voxelising them, quantitatively assessing the restorative potential, and interactively modifying landscape designs. To demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the model, we have applied it to improve the restorative potential of a park in Singapore. The results show that the model provides a clear assessment of landscape scenarios and identifies specific areas needing improvement. The significance of this study lies in an innovative approach to generating and assessing the landscape scenario, ultimately enhancing the overall quality of landscapes during the digital planning and design process
Survival of Escherichia coli in edible land snails: Implications for heliciculture and public health
No full textBackground: Land snails are considered a delicacy in many countries in Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. However, the interaction of microbial pathogens with land snails may present a public health threat when handling and/or consuming snails. This study examines the survival of Escherichia coli in edible land snails in a model system. Methods: Well-studied Shigatoxigenic (STEC) and non-STEC strains were compared. Mature Helix spp. were experimentally fed with E. coli-inoculated oats for 48 h. The snail feces after inoculation were periodically sampled and cultured for a 30-day period and subjected to microbiological analyses. Results: The average rate of decline of the non-STEC strain CSH-62 in the feces of live snails was significantly (p < 0.05) faster than that of STEC ERL 06-2503. In addition, the viable population of E. coli ERL 06-2503 significantly (p < 0.05) persisted for a longer time in the intestine of land snails than E. coli CSH-62. Conclusion: The results showed that the viable population of the E. coli strains examined demonstrated first-order kinetics, and their survival (CFU/mL) appeared significantly (p < 0.05) dependent on the E. coli pathotype. In addition, the continuous enumeration of E. coli in snail faeces indicated that land snails could serve as a mode of transmission of microbial pathogens to susceptible hosts, including humans. Further research is recommended to better quantify the direct and indirect health risks of pathogen transmission by edible snails to humans
The effects of acute and chronic hypoxic plyometric exercise on post activation potentiation
No full textIntroduction: In the literature, only acute effects of exercise, mostly combined with plyometrics or blood flow restriction (BFR), have been examined on post activation-potentiation (PAP). Although systemic and local hypoxia have some similar effects, we found only one study (Ramos-Campo et al., 2020) reporting a PAP effect with systemic hypoxia. There is no study investigating chronic effects, and there is also no study examining acute and chronic effects of exercise together, not only in hypoxia but also in normoxia. The aim of this study is to examine the acute and chronic effects of plyometric exercise in hypoxia on PAP, and to test differences between high and low hypoxia.
Method: Nineteen team-sports athletes undertook 8 week drop-jump (DJ) training in Low-Hypoxia (LH, n=8), Normoxia (N, n=6), and High- Hypoxia (HH, n=5) using a hypoxicator set using a biofeedback system to sustain a SpO2 of 90%, 97-100%, and 80%, respectively. PAP assessments were applied under both normoxia and hypoxia on different days. Two DJ trials from 40-cm height were obtained as baseline measurements, and then 7.5 min passive rest was given under each group’s hypoxia level. Following 1x5 DJs for pre-test, and 1x8 DJs for post-test as PAP protocol, DJ tests were applied at 2nd and 4th min.
Results: RM-ANOVA, to assess acute effect, showed a significant conditionxtest interaction (F=3.40, p=0.044), and only under normoxia condition DJ-height was significantly higher at 2nd (31.7cm) and 4th min (31.6cm) than baseline (30.1cm)(p<0.05). For chronic effect, mixed- ANOVA represented a significant groupxtest interaction (F=2.70, p=0.048). Only HH significantly increased DJ-height from baseline (30.0cm) to 2nd (31.9cm) and 4th min (32.9cm) (p<0.05).
Conclusion: We conclude that while acute hypoxia drop jump exercise may damage net balance between potentiation and fatigue which occurred after conditioning activity, high hypoxia drop jump training may affect this balance in favour of potentiation without any condition difference
Our electric futures: understanding the role of hydrogen in providing dispatchable demand to the New Zealand grid : A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Applied Science at Lincoln University
No full textAs the electricity sector globally turns toward renewables, renewable sources of dispatchable electricity generation and demand (also known as interruptible load) become increasingly important.
Without dispatchable generation and/or demand, balancing of electricity supply and demand across a range of time scales cannot take place, undermining grid reliability, particularly with ever increasing demand for electricity through both population growth and electrification for decarbonisation. Hydrogen production by electrolysis from renewable energy has been proposed as a renewable source of dispatchable energy across all time scales.
This thesis considers the use of large-scale hydrogen production for grid balancing in New Zealand as a case study.
The proposed departure of Rio Tinto from New Zealand (and subsequent closure of the Tiwai aluminium smelter) would make available the smelter demand capacity (630 MW) to the grid. This thesis takes a what-if approach to determining the value of replacing the smelter with variable hydrogen production for grid balancing and downstream decarbonization.
The historical electricity demand profile of the Tiwai smelter between 2010 and 2019 (which represents near complete utilisation of Manapouri output) is modelled to produce hydrogen under a range of optimisation scenarios (volume (base case), cost, renewability, load shifting). In each case, the hydrogen production volumes, cost of hydrogen production and grid renewability was evaluated.
Optimising for volume, cost and load shifting provided 150-260 t/d of hydrogen production, enough to meet several potential sources of hydrogen demand in New Zealand, including transport, industrial process heat, and chemical production. However, the cost and load shifting scenarios experienced significant production volatility, limiting their usefulness for industrial demand. Optimising for electricity renewability produced negligible amounts of hydrogen (5.7 t/d).
The cost of hydrogen produced under two scenarios (volume – 8.23 NZD/kg; cost – 7.97 NZD/kg) is on par with previous reports of hydrogen use for grid balancing in New Zealand. Load shifting is slightly more expensive (11.16 NZD/kg) while the renewability scenario was found to be prohibitive cost wise (90 NZD/kg).
None of the scenarios could achieve 100% renewable energy at any point across a daily (hourly average) or annual profile (daily average). The renewability and load shifting scenarios achieved an average of 90 and 82% renewables. Cost and volumes scenarios did not significantly change the average renewability share from the historic average of 78% over the period studied.
Given the trade-offs between these scenarios, the load shifting scenario appears to be optimal for the grid, providing improved renewability and critical dispatchable energy at a moderately competitive price
Phosphorus applications adjusted to optimal crop yields can help sustain global phosphorus reserves
No full textWith the longevity of phosphorus reserves uncertain, distributing phosphorus to meet food production needs is a global challenge. Here we match plant-available soil Olsen phosphorus concentrations to thresholds for optimal productivity of improved grassland and 28 of the world’s most widely grown and valuable crops. We find more land (73%) below optimal production thresholds than above. We calculate that an initial capital application of 56,954 kt could boost soil Olsen phosphorus to their threshold concentrations and that 28,067 kt yr¯¹ (17,500 kt yr¯¹ to cropland) could maintain these thresholds. Without additional reserves becoming available, it would take 454 years at the current rate of application (20,500 kt yr¯¹) to exhaust estimated reserves (2020 value), compared with 531 years at our estimated maintenance rate and 469 years if phosphorus deficits were alleviated. More judicious use of phosphorus fertilizers to account for soil Olsen phosphorus can help achieve optimal production without accelerating the depletion of phosphorus reserves
Economic perspectives on tourism
No full textThis chapter examines some of the issues in the economics of tourism that have gained the attention of scholars, industry representatives and policymakers in recent times. This includes tourism consumption, seasonality, optimising the economic returns from tourism, minimising the undesired economic aspects of tourism, over-tourism, and the use of econometric techniques required to analyse strategies aimed to achieve these goals. In 2020, the emergent COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the world economy to an extent not seen since the end of World War II. Border closures, lockdowns, supply chain disruptions and other events had a destructive impact on many sectors of the world's economies, but the impact on tourism has been especially significant. The decades long growth in this industry came to an abrupt halt, with many stakeholders in the tourism sector unsure how the industry will recover. While many governments have instituted various measures designed to minimise business failures and unemployment in the sector, the true long-term extent of the social and economic damage incurred is only likely to be seen once the pandemic is completely over and normalcy in economic life has resumed. The chapter concludes with an overview of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism and some thoughts on the way forward for the time after the pandemic. This chapter will largely focus on international aspects of tourism, but reference to domestic tourism will be made where necessary
Phospholipidomics in clinical trials for brain disorders: Advancing our understanding and therapeutic potentials
No full textPhospholipidomics is a specialized branch of lipidomics that focuses on the characterization and quantification of phospholipids. By using sensitive analytical techniques, phospholipidomics enables researchers to better understand the metabolism and activities of phospholipids in brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. In the brain, identifying specific phospholipid biomarkers can offer valuable insights into the underlying molecular features and biochemistry of these diseases through a variety of sensitive analytical techniques. Phospholipidomics has emerged as a promising tool in clinical studies, with immense potential to advance our knowledge of neurological diseases and enhance diagnosis and treatment options for patients. In the present review paper, we discussed numerous applications of phospholipidomics tools in clinical studies, with a particular focus on the neurological field. By exploring phospholipids’ functions in neurological diseases and the potential of phospholipidomics in clinical research, we provided valuable insights that could aid researchers and clinicians in harnessing the full prospective of this innovative practice and improve patient outcomes by providing more potent treatments for neurological diseases. Graphical Abstract: (Figure presented.)
Towards healthy cities: Modeling restorative potential of urban environments by coupling LiDAR-derived 3D metrics with panorama-based online survey
No full textWith the growing concern for the psychological well-being of urban dwellers, there has been a recognized need to explore the role of green environments in facilitating mental restorative benefits from the demands of city life. However, a significant gap exists in quantitatively modeling the restorative potential of urban environments, especially in terms of comprehensive 3D characteristics beyond mere greenery. This research gap has hindered our understanding of how to plan and design urban spaces that promote mental health. To bridge this gap, we conducted a study using Singapore as a case study to model the restorative potential for landscape planning and design by integrating LiDAR-derived 3D metrics, outcomes of an online survey, and a machine learning-based regularized regression model. We first collected data from 100 scenes, including both residential neighborhoods and urban parks, by extracting point cloud information from LiDAR scans for calculating a diverse set of 41 3D spatial metrics. Alongside these objective measurements, we conducted an online survey (N = 1500) using the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS) where respondents evaluated the restorative potential of these scenes presented as interactive panoramic images. We subsequently utilized a regularized regression technique based on machine learning by conducting K-fold cross-validation (K = 10) with 1251 tests to identify the feature metrics significantly contributing to restorative potential. Our findings highlighted the importance of the green volumetric ratio as the most significant positive factor for restorative potential. Additionally, the results on the metrics of grey horizontal diversity and grey cluster number indicated a positive impact of unregulated and unaggregated grey components on restorative potential. The results on green horizontal diversity suggested that a uniform and concentrated spatial arrangement of greenery is a positive predictor, while other factors like front- background ratio, colorfulness, and slope variation also positively influenced restorative potential. In essence, our study not only provides novel insights but also introduces innovative methods for quantitatively assessing and characterizing the quality of urban environments that enhance psychological well-being. These findings inform the practical planning and design strategies aimed at fostering healthy and sustainable urban spaces
Agrifood sustainability transitions in firms and industry: A bibliographic analysis of research themes
No full textThere is a growing consensus that the modern food system lies at the centre of the great challenges facing humanity and that urgent and profound changes are required in the way that food is produced, processed, distributed and consumed. This review analyses sustainability transitions within agrifood systems, focusing on the role of firms and industries as defined by the Sustainable Transitions Research Network (STRN). This paper conducts the first systematic literature review using bibliometric analysis to assess the current state of research on this theme. The findings reveal a significant increase in publications related to firms and industries associated with agrifood sustainability transitions. Furthermore, the focus of current research is geographically concentrated in the European Union. The review identifies four key themes in the literature, based on the co-occurrence of keywords. These are agriculture, innovation, governance, food systems and agroecology. The review identifies an increasing awareness of the role of farmers in driving sustainability transitions at the farm level. Furthermore, there is an increasing awareness of the interrelated characteristics of the agrifood system, which acknowledges the need for sustainable innovations to occur at multiple stages of the agrifood system. The review also shows that there is growing evidence that innovations can occur through disruptive as well as incremental innovation and highlights the importance of governance influencing transitions. The existing literature raises questions about alternative food networks as sustainable innovations, their potential for significant change in the established food system and the validity of their claims regarding food equity and environmental sustainability. A key theme emerging from the literature is an ecological perspective that identifies the complex biological processes and ecosystems that form an integral part of agricultural production. These findings provide a greater understanding of the current literature landscape of agrifood sustainable transitions relating to firms and industries and lay a foundation for future research