1,721,008 research outputs found
Environmental assessment in harbor areas: study on the proposed expansion of Cascais Marina/ Valutazione ambientale in ambito portuale: studi per l’ampliamento della marina e per il molo crociere di Cascais
No full textThe Metropolitan Area of Lisbon is today an important place of trade and excellent touristic destination constantly evolving: Cascais is headed to this area as a high quality tourist destination, based on an exclusive offer related to flows of people with a high purchasing power; the AML aims to 2020 the achievement of important objectives of urban, landscape and economic development primarily related to the tourism.
In this context, Cascais offers to contribute to this growth through a tourism policy that provides for the expansion of its Marina in the configuration of port of call for cruise ships and large luxury yachts.
Planning for a project of this scale, however, it puts at stake a range of issues related not only to tourism but to a radical change of the entire waterfront, especially in relation to the relevant environmental aspects which changes can irreversibly affect the attractiveness of the environment that features this coastal area for quality of bathing waters and for its landscape value.
It is necessary to study the actions and their potential effects, which follows the development of a method whose objective it is essential to the environmental assessment of the validity of the project and the repercussions of such effects. The application of this method leads to the comparison of more planning alternatives and finally the choice of the proposal that best meets the initial targets
DYNAMIC ANALYSIS FOR STRUCTURAL UPGRADE OF FOOTBRIDGE LOCATED IN CANNA’S RIVER IN CARBONIA (ITALY)
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The effect of noise on serum and urinary magnesium and catecholamines in humans
No full textWe have studied whether a short-term exposure to loud noise was able to modify urinary catecholamine excretion and serum concentration and urinary excretion of magnesium and other related electrolytes. In 25 healthy volunteers, blood and urine concentrations of magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and creatinine, and urinary catecholamines were measured before and after exposure to noise in an industrial plant. Samples were collected at 08:00 h on the day of the experiment and soon after noise exposure (at 20:00 h). Two further urine samples were collected the following day and 2 days after the experiment, always at 08:00 h in the morning. The sound energy average level was 98 dB(A), but peak levels reached 108 dB(A). Urinary catecholamines were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Serum magnesium and calcium were significantly increased after exposure to noise, whereas phosphorus displayed a similar but non-significant trend (P = 0.065). Multivariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant differences both among subjects (P 0.05). Urinary magnesium levels were significantly different across time (P = 0.0-17). Urinary calcium levels were not significantly different across time (P = 0.36). Urinary phosphate values were increased after exposure to noise (P = 0.007); urinary creatinine was not changed after exposure (P > 0.05). Our study shows that noise induces significant increases of serum calcium and magnesium, with a borderline increase of serum phosphorus; this in turn is reflected in a significantly increased urinary excretion of magnesium and phosphate after exposure, which lasts for the following 2 days. Urinary calcium and creatinine were not modified by noise. The difference in catecholamine values did not reach statistical significance. Thus, we failed to substantiate a significant correlation between catecholamine secretion and magnesium metabolism, as others had suggested. Z9
195Pt NMR and Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study of the Solvation of [PtCl6]2-in Water-Methanol and Water-Dimethoxyethane Binary Mixtures
No full textThe experimental195Pt NMR chemical shift, δ(195Pt), of the [PtCl6]2-anion dissolved in binary mixtures of water and a fully miscible organic solvent is extremely sensitive to the composition of the mixture at room temperature. Significantly nonlinear δ(195Pt) trends as a function of solvent composition are observed in mixtures of water-methanol, or ethylene glycol, 2-methoxyethanol, and 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME). The extent of the deviation from linearity of the δ(195Pt) trend depends strongly on the nature of the organic component in these solutions, which broadly suggests preferential solvation of the [PtCl6]2-anion by the organic molecule. This simplistic interpretation is based on an accepted view pertaining to monovalent cations in similar binary solvent mixtures. To elucidate these phenomena in detail, classical molecular dynamics computer simulations were performed for [PtCl6]2-in water-methanol and water-DME mixtures using the anionic charge scaling approach to account for the effect of electronic dielectric screening. Our simulations suggest that the simplistic model of preferential solvation of [PtCl6]2-by the organic component as inferred from nonlinear δ(195Pt) trends is not entirely accurate, particularly for water-DME mixtures. The δ(195Pt) trend in these mixtures levels off for high DME mole fractions, which results from apparent preferential location of [PtCl6]2-anions at the borders of water-rich regions or clusters within these inherently micro-heterogeneous mixtures. By contrast in water-methanol mixtures, apparently less pronounced mixed solvent micro-heterogeneity is found, suggesting the experimental δ(195Pt) trend is consistent with a more moderate preferential solvation of [PtCl6]2-anions. This finding underlines the important role of solvent-solvent interactions and micro-heterogeneity in determining the solvation environment of [PtCl6]2-anions in binary solvent mixtures, probed by highly sensitive195Pt NMR. The notion that preferential solvation of [PtCl6]2-results primarily from competing ion-solvent interactions as generally assumed for monatomic ions, may not be appropriate in general
Network planning and service reliability optimization in MV distribution systems
No full textUtilizing optimization programs may facilitate the task of the MV distribution network planner. Suitably algorithms and programs have been developed for medium term planning of large distribution networks with several hundred load points. An important aspect of power system planning is to achieve a predetermined standard of service reliability. In this paper models, algorithms and computational techniques for quantitative network reliability assessment are presented, and some examples of application are illustrated
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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