4,177 research outputs found
Discussion - An empirical model of fatalities and injuries due to floods in Japan by Guofang Zhai, Teruki Fukuzono, and Saburo Ikeda
No full text[No abstract available]ASAAF H, 2002, P CAN DAM ASS CDA 20; ASSAF H, 2001, WORLD WAT ENV RES C; BROWN CA, 1988, WATER RESOUR BULL, V24, P1303; DEKAY ML, 1993, RISK ANAL, V13, P193, DOI 10.1111-j.1539-6924.1993.tb01069.x; JONKMAN SN, 2002, FLOOD DEFENCE 2002, P196; MILLER DM, 1984, AM STAT, V38, P124, DOI 10.2307-268324712
A hydro-economic model for managing groundwater resources in semi-arid regions
No full textAccess to fresh water resources is a limiting factor in the socio-economical development of countries located in semi-arid regions. Water scarcity in these regions, particularly the North Africa and Middle East (MENA) region, is expected to intensify not only due to projected decline in effective precipitation due to climate change and variability, but also due to excessive growth in demand driven by explosive growth in population and improvement in living standards. The meager surface water resources in these regions have already been exploited and significantly polluted leading many governments to deplete their fossil and poorly recharged aquifers mostly to support inefficient and unsustainable agricultural policies and heavy subsidy of municipal water demand. The paper presents an interactive decision support model developed based on economic principles and simple aquifer representation using the STELLA system dynamics development environment. The model is designed to help water policy makers and managers and other stakeholders formulate and assess alternative water allocation policies among the municipal, industrial and agriculture sectors. Model users will be able to set and interactively manipulate key parameters that influence economic values and sustainability of alternative water policies. These parameters are associated with energy prices, discount rates, planning horizon, demographic factors, willingness-to-pay, hydro-meteorological conditions, aquifer characteristics, and industrial water productivities cropping patterns and agricultural water productivities. Long-term projections of economic value, withdrawals, and remaining water stocks in addition to water demand are presented in tabular and graphical forms. The paper presents a case application of the model for managing the Amman-Zarqa aquifer in Jordan. The aquifer is considered a crucial water resource in water poor Jordan. © 2009 WIT Press.ABDULLA F, 2008, WATER RESOURCES MANA; Assaf H, 2008, ENVIRON MODELL SOFTW, V23, P1327, DOI 10.1016-j.envsoft.2008.03.006; Chebaane M, 2004, HYDROGEOL J, V12, P14, DOI 10.1007-s10040-003-0313-1; GISSER M, 1983, J POLIT ECON, V91, P1001, DOI 10.1086-261197; Griffin R.C., 2006, WATER RESOURCE EC; *ISEE SYST, STELLA SYST THINK ED; Schiffler M., 1998, EC GROUNDWATER MANAG; Winz I, 2007, P 25 INT C SYST DYN1
Crisis and catastrophe: the motor of South African history?
No full textMP4 Video; Size: 3.34GB; Duration: 1:05Please cite as: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), (2021). Crisis and Catastrophe: The Motor of South African History?. [Online] Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/201Annual Humanities Lecture Webinar hosted by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) on 5 October 2021. Presented by Assistant Prof Jacob Dlamini, Princeton University, United States of America.
In 1977, R.W. Johnson published How Long will South Africa Survive?, a book that sought to examine the resilience of what the author called South Africa’s ‘White Establishment.’ Johnson challenged the tendency among left-wing thinkers and Afrikaner nationalists to see change in South Africa as being driven solely by the internal dynamics of the country’s history. As Johnson elaborated in a 2015 sequel to How Long will South Africa Survive?the ‘iron law’ of South African history was that international developments have always been more responsible for change in the country; that crises generated by South Africa’s position in the global economy have always been the key driver of political transformation in the country. In my presentation, the presenter built on Johnson’s claim that crisis (and catastrophe) is the motor of South African history. He used his claim to position South Africa as a vantage point from which to imagine a national history not burdened by race, and to tell a South African story that is at the same time a global history of the 20th-century. What happens to conventional accounts of South African history (not to mention global history) when we treat the country as the standpoint from which to examine some of the major crises and catastrophes of the 20th century? That is the question at the centre of this presentation.Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf
FDI Contribution to Capital Flows and Investment in Capacity
No full textThe paper surveys a theory of FDI, which captures a unique feature: hands-on management standards, that enable investors to react in real time to a changing economic environment. Equipped with superior managerial skills, foreign direct investors are able to outbid portfolio investors for the top productivity firms in a particular industry in which they have specialized in the source country. Consequently, FDI investors would make investment, both larger, and of higher quality (namely, with large rates of returns), than the domestic investors. The theory can explain both two-way FDI flows among developed countries, and one-way FDI flows from developed to developing countries. Gains to the host country from FDI stem from the informational value of FDI. The predictions of the theory are consistent with evidence from panel data: larger FDI coefficients in the domestic investment and output growth regressions relative to the portfolio equity flow and international loan coefficients, reflect a more significant role for FDI in the domestic investment process than other types of capital inflows.
Geostatistical assessment of groundwater nitrate contamination with reflection on DRASTIC vulnerability assessment: The case of the upper litani basin, Lebanon
No full textGroundwater constitutes the largest single source of fresh water in many parts of the world and provides a risk buffer to sustain critical water demands during cyclic and prolonged dry periods, especially in semi-arid and arid regions. However, unprecedented socio-economical growths are threatening the viability of these precious resources through fast depletion of already critically low stocks accompanied by persistent degradation of water quality due to salinization, and contamination by pesticides and fertilizers, urban sewage and industrial waste. These circumstances are particularly true of the Upper Litani Basin (ULB), which houses over 500,000 of Lebanon's 4 million population and provides the bulk of the country's agricultural output. Uncontrolled urban, agricultural and industrial growths following a prolonged civil strife and foreign occupation have resulted in the deterioration of the quality of the basin's surface water and potentially its groundwater resources. An assessment study of groundwater quality conditions in the ULB was conducted in support of efforts to manage water quality in the basin. Geostatistical analysis of groundwater nitrate levels was conducted using data collected through an extensive basin-wide water quality survey sponsored by the USAID and covered two periods representing the summer and winter periods. The results of analysis include maps of nitrate contamination and probability of exceedance of drinking-water nitrate regulatory limit. The results indicate a significant, widespread and persistent nitrates contamination of groundwater in the ULB. Nitrate levels in groundwater exceed standard limits for drinking water in many parts of the basin. These findings were examined with respect to those of a DRASTIC groundwater vulnerability assessment conducted by the USAID BAMAS project. Comparative analysis of the two assessments shed the light on several issues related to the application and interpretation of DRASTIC scores and the groundwater nitrate contamination process. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2008.ASSAF H, 2006, P IEMSS 3 BIENN M SU; *BAMAS, 2005, FIN REP; *BAMAS, 2005, TECHN SURV REP SUMM; *BAMAS, 2005, RAP REV REP; *BAMAS, 2005, GROUNDW FLOW MOD VUL; Basistha A, 2008, WATER RESOUR MANAG, V22, P1325, DOI 10.1007-s11269-007-9228-2; BELLER H, 2005, CALIFORNIA GAMA PROG; Canter LW, 1997, NITRATES GROUNDWATER; COOPER RM, 1988, J ENVIRON ENG-ASCE, V114, P270; Edmunds WM, 1997, J ENVIRON QUAL, V26, P1231; *FAO, 1997, REP DER LAND US MAP; Fritch TG, 2000, ENVIRON MANAGE, V25, P337, DOI 10.1007-s002679910026; Hamza MH, 2006, J ENVIRON MANAGE, V84, P12; Hossain F, 2007, WATER RESOUR MANAG, V21, P1245, DOI 10.1007-s11269-006-9079-2; Hussain I, 2001, 26 IWMI; Journel A. G., 1978, MINING GEOSTATISTICS; Kass A, 2005, J HYDROL, V300, P314, DOI 10.1016-j.jhydrol.2004.06.013; Li FM, 2001, AGR WATER MANAGE, V49, P173, DOI 10.1016-S0378-3774(01)00087-7; Mardikis MG, 2005, WATER RESOUR MANAG, V19, P251, DOI 10.1007-s11269-005-3179-2; ROSSI RE, 1992, ECOL MONOGR, V62, P277, DOI 10.2307-2937096; Tang C, 2004, HYDROL PROCESS, V18, P2303, DOI 10.1002-hyp.5531; VANGRINSVEN HJM, 2006, ENV HLTH, V5, P1; Vazquez JCG, 2005, WATER RESOUR MANAG, V19, P1, DOI 10.1007-s11269-005-0129-y; Ward MH, 2005, ENVIRON HEALTH PERSP, V113, P1607, DOI 10.1289-ehp.8043; Zizhen L., 1998, ECOL MODEL, V107, P279, DOI 10.1016-S0304-3800(98)00004-021191
Review of "Quand les rois meurent. Les journaux de Jacques Antoine et de Jean et Fran��ois Antoine et autres documents sur la maladie et la mort de Louis XIII et de Louis XIV" by Francis Assaf.
No full textFrancis Assaf. Quand les rois meurent. Les journaux de Jacques Antoine et de Jean et Fran��ois Antoine et autres documents sur la maladie et la mort de Louis XIII et de Louis XIV. T��bingen: Narr Francke Attempto Verlag, 2018. 322 pp. ���68.00. Review by Denis D. Gr��l��, University of Memphis
Variation in the escrotal circumference of spanish assaf rams
No full text5 páginas, 2 tablas.-- Trabajo presentado al: XLV Congreso Nacional y XXI Internacional de la Sociedad Española de Ovinotecnia y Caprinotecnia (SEOC). Zamora (España). 27 y 28 de octubre. 2022.[ES] El objetivo de este trabajo ha sido estudiar la variación en la circunferencia escrotal de
machos de raza Assaf española en función de su edad y condición corporal, en condiciones
prácticas de explotación. Se tomaron un total de 809 medidas de la circunferencia escrotal, en
un total de 519 carneros, todos de raza assaf, a lo largo del año 2019. Los valores medios para
el conjunto de datos de este trabajo para los parámetros de circunferencia escrotal, condición
corporal y variación en la circunferencia escrotal entre medidas del mismo animal fueron:
32,8±0,21cm, 3,6±0,02 y 10,1±0,94 mm/mes, respectivamente. Los valores de circunferencia
escrotal presentaron un aumento significativo con la edad de los sementales hasta los 27
meses de edad. Los valores de circunferencia escrotal aumentaron, de manera
estadísticamente significativa, al hacerlo la condición corporal. Las medidas con un valor de
circunferencia escrotal menor a 25 cm fueron el 11,5% y el 62% de las medidas presentaron
un valor de circunferencia escrotal superior a los 33 cm.
Ha sido posible establecer una ecuación de regresión múltiple para predecir el valor de la
circunferencia escrotal a partir de la edad y la condición corporal de los sementales de raza
Assaf.[EN] The aim of this paper has been to study the variation in scrotal circumference of males of the
Spanish Assaf breed based on their age and body condition in commercial farms. A total of
809 scrotal circumference measurements were taken, in a total of 519 rams, all of Assaf
breed, throughout 2019. The mean values for the scrotal circumference parameters, body
condition score and scrotal circumference variation between measurements of the same
animal were: 32.8 ± 0.21cm, 3.6 ± 0.02 and 10.1 ± 0.94mm/month, respectively. Scrotal
circumference values showed a significant increase with the age of the rams up to 27 months
of age. Scrotal circumference values increased with body condition. Measurements with a
scrotal circumference value less than 25 cm were 11.5%, and 62% of the measures had a
scrotal circumference value greater than 33 cm. It has been possible to establish a multiple
regression equation to predict the value of the scrotal circumference from the age and body
condition score of the Assaf rams.Este trabajo ha sido realizado como parte del proyecto del Grupo Operativo: "Mejora de
aspectos reproductivos en explotaciones ovinas de Castilla y León. Efecto de la alimentación,
estado nutritivo y bienestar animal sobre la respuesta reproductiva en ganado ovino lechero". (Ref
001959/002).Peer reviewe
‘Twelve Years Later: Second ASSAf report on Research Publishing in and from South Africa (2018)’: Some issues arising
No full textAbstract:Responding to the extraordinary challenges facing publication in the digital age is the holistic view taken by the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) on threats and opportunities that characterise this conjuncture. Twelve Years Later, researched by Wieland Gevers, Robin Crewe and Susan Veldsman on national publishing strategies, provides the ‘nuts ’n bolts’ that every researcher should know in order to navigate the changing environment.1 The Report examines both past and present. The first chapter reviews ASSAf’s 2006 report.2 Chapter 2 revisits the 2009 report on books. Chapter 3 details ASSAf’s Scholarly Publishing Programme between 2007 and 2018. How to enhance access of South African authors to global commercial publishers is discussed in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 deals with journal and book publishing, and Chapter 6 examines pitfalls and threats to good publishing practices. Outstanding problems are highlighted in Chapter 7. Chapter 8 offers recommendations. Appendices (45 pp) tabulate the hard data on which the study draws. These data showcase close correlations between the ASSAf qualitative evaluations and Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) decisions. Significantly, ASSAf ratings and reviews of publishers closely align with the international Socio-economic and Natural Sciences of the Environment (SENSE) and the Norwegian Register for Scientific Journals, Series and Publishers ratings. The 2018 Report offers a detailed history useful for individual university policy planning, and implementation of monitoring mechanisms, and explains accreditation decisions. A basic cost–benefit analysis of the publication incentive system administered by DHET identifies residual problems. Notwithstanding these (see below), the statistics tabulated in Appendices by the Centre for Research, Evaluation, Science and Technology (CREST) at Stellenbosch University reveals that DHET has been very effective in encouraging publication. It has also acted as an inhibiting factor in author choice of predatory journals, although many thousands of articles still slipped through...
Genetic dissection of "Caulobacter crescentus" surface colonization
No full textDuring its biphasic life cycle Caulobacter crescentus switches from a planktonic to surface attached life style. This transition requires the continuous remodeling of the cell poles through the temporally and spatially coordinated assembly and disassembly of polar organelles like the flagellum, pili, and an adhesive holdfast. A genetic screen for mutants affected in surface binding and colonization led to the identification of various genes required for motility, pili, and holdfast biogenesis, suggesting a specific role for all three organelles in C. crescentus surface colonization. Several novel holdfast genes were identified, which are potentially involved in the synthesis and regulation of the polysaccharidic component of the holdfast. Quantitative surface binding studies during the C. crescentus cell cycle revealed that optimal attachment coincides with the presence of flagellum, pili, and holdfast at the same pole. This indicated that accurate temporal control of polar appendices is critical for surface colonization of C. crescentus and represents the first example for developmentally controlled bacterial surface adhesion. We have used genetic and biochemical analyzes to demonstrate that di-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) is a central regulatory compound involved in the timing of C. crescentus pole development. Mutants lacking the diguanylatecyclase PleD show a dramatic delay of holdfast formation during swarmer cell differentiation. In contrast, cells lacking the GGDEF-EAL composite protein CC0091 show premature holdfast formation, while overexpression of CC0091 also leads to a delayed appearance of holdfast. The observation that CC0091 is a c-di-GMP specific phosphodiesterase indicated that the antagonistic activities of PleD and CC0091 could be responsible for the correct timing of holdfast formation and flagellum ejection. Finally, our genetic screen identified a candidate for the c-di-GMP effector protein, which mediates holdfast synthesis in response to fluctuating levels of c-di-GMP. The glycosyltransferase CC0095 is strictly required for holdfast formation and its overexpression leads to premature holdfast synthesis. This and the observation that CC0095 is able to bind c-di-GMP lead to the hypothesis that holdfast synthesis is
regulated via allosteric control of the CC0095 glycosyltransferase. These data provide the first
example of a developmental process being regulated by the bacterial second messenger, c-di-GMP
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