Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Household Travel Surveys: Proposed Standards and Guidelines

Clearly some sort of guidance needs to be given in relation to design phases of travel surveys, travel survey instrument design, conducting travel surveys, and the coding and assessment of the data obtained. The benefits of these standards far outweigh the costs involved in implementation. In addition, these issues may apply equally to surveys in general; thus, demonstrating the usefulness of these standards. In this chapter, forty items in travel surveys were described. Recommendations for each item were listed along with justification for the recommendations. Standardization in other areas in survey research still needs to be conducted, thus further research efforts are required. It is also recognized that a number of the items discussed in this chapter are applicable to surveys in the United States and are not necessarily directly applicable in other countries or contexts. However, one of the challenges to the profession is to determine what of these standards can be adopted in other countries, and what needs adaptation to specific circumstances and contexts. Overall, standardization will not only make travel survey results comparable, but will enable the collection of higher quality data, by developing better survey instruments. Good survey design should lead to a reduction in the number of nonresponses, a problematic issue across all fields in social science and behavioral research.
The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy EMPOWER: An Online Staff Training Focused on Person-Centered EMPOWER: An Online Staff Training Focused on Person-Centered Supports for Direct Support Professionals Supports for Direct Support Professionals

Abstract Background:: Direct support professionals (DSPs) for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is one of the most rapidly growing professions in the United States. However, there is a gap in recruiting, training, and retraining DSPs to provide appropriate and effective person-centered supports. Method:: The aim of this pilot study was to measure the effectiveness of a staff training program conducted by an occupational therapy doctoral candidate, focused on improving DSPs’ confidence and competence when providing services to adults with IDD. A pretest/posttest quantitative design was used to test changes in the DSPs’ confidence from the beginning to end of the training and competence from the beginning to end of each weekly module. Results:: As a result of the training, the DSPs improved both their confidence and competence in providing person-centered supports with statistically significant (with Bonferroni correction applied) and positive clinical outcomes (reported Cohen’s d large effect). Conclusions:: While preliminary, this study shows that training programs for DSPs implemented through an occupational therapy lens have the potential to improve the confidence and competence of DSPs for providing person-centered supports for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Comments This research was also supported by a small grant awarded by the Duquesne University Occupational Therapy Department.
Stratégie d'utilisation des ressources chez une espèce de rapace semi-colonial, le busard cendré (Circus pygargus)

L'ecologie alimentaire (au sens large) est une thematique particulierement bien adaptee a une approche qui integre, a la fois, les comportements individuels et la dynamique des populations, dans le contexte de la theorie de l'evolution. Nous avons applique cette demarche a un systeme proie-predateur : un rapace, le busard cendre, Circus pygargus, dont les densites de sa proie principale, le campagnol des champs, Microtus arvalis, varient de maniere cyclique. Cette etude a ete realisee entre 1995 et 1997, dans deux zones d'etude du centre-ouest de la France : le sud des Deux-Sevres et les marais de Rochefort (350 et 180 km2). Les comportements de recherche alimentaire (domaines vitaux, selection de l'habitat, comportements de capture, regime alimentaire), etudies par l'observation des individus et par telemetrie, font apparaitre peu de differences entre les differentes categories d'individus. Le partage de l'espace entre les individus montre l'absence de territorialite sur les zones d'alimentation, et suggere que les individus se repartissent selon une distribution libre et ideale. Les femelles investissent l'energie fournie par les males dans la formation d'un grand nombre d'œufs de grande taille, peuvent faire varier la taille relative du dernier oeuf, ce qui suggere une strategie de " brood reduction ". Les parametres de dynamique des populations, etudies dans les marais de Rochefort, entre 1986-1997, font apparaitre une double reponse : fonctionnelle (regime alimentaire, taux de predation) et numerique (densites de reproducteurs, nombre des oeufs et des poussins), aux variations inter annuelles des disponibilites alimentaires. Le systeme " "busard cendre-campagnol des champs " se distingue des systemes proie-predateur etudies en Scandinavie, par une saturation du predateur et une reponse numerique surtout favorisee par le nomadisme juvenile. La plasticite des comportements individuels et l'absence de territorialite sur les zones d'alimentation, permet aux busards d'utiliser de maniere optimale les variations importantes de la disponibilite alimentaire. Des recherches devraient etre poursuivies afin d'analyser d'autres niveaux d'etudes, et d'etudier la dynamique spatio-temporelle des colonies et des populations differentes selon des modeles de type source-puits
Particle production in the upper troposphere over the Amazon Basin

<p>Particle production in the upper troposphere has been reported as an important source of aerosol particles and cloud condensation nuclei in pristine environment and tropical regions and exerts significant climate effects. In this work, we develop a new organic nucleation scheme to the WRF-Chem model with extended particle size bins from 1nm to 10&#956;m. We improve on previous coarse-resolution global simulations that approximate the highly oxygenated multifunctional organic compounds (HOMs) in a thermodynamic state by implementing kinetic calculation of HOMs and using fine-grid regional simulations. Sensitivity studies are conducted over the Amazon Basin during the dry season in 2014 to characterize the HOMs-induced new particle formation and identify its key controlling factors in Amazon. The model simulations are evaluated using aircraft observations of profiles of aerosol particles during the 2014 ACRIDICON-CHUVA campaign. We show that the new particle formation occurs mostly at the upper troposphere and modestly in the planetary boundary layer, driven by low temperature and high concentration of biogenic precursors, respectively. Including the HOMs-induced biogenic new particle formation mechanism decreases the model prediction bias of the particle number concentration in the upper troposphere by over 50%, suggesting an important role of the HOMs-induced biogenic new particle formation in the dry season over the Amazon region. </p>
Cracks in the Melting Pot: Immigration, School Choice, and Segregation

We examine whether low-skilled immigration to the United States has contributed to immigrants' residential isolation by reducing native demand for public schools. We address endogeneity in school demographics using established Mexican settlement patterns in California and use a comparison group to account for immigration's broader effects. We estimate that between 1970 and 2000, the average California school district lost more than 14 non-Hispanic households with children to other districts in its metropolitan area for every 10 additional households enrolling low-English Hispanics in its public schools. By disproportionately isolating children, the native reaction to immigration may have longer-run consequences than previously thought. (JEL H75, I21, J15, J24, J61, R23)
Vitamin, mineral, and multivitamin supplements for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer: U.S. Preventive services Task Force recommendation statement.

DESCRIPTION Update of the 2003 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation on vitamin supplementation to prevent cardiovascular disease and cancer. METHODS The USPSTF reviewed the evidence on the efficacy of multivitamin or mineral supplements in the general adult population for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer. POPULATION This recommendation applies to healthy adults without special nutritional needs (typically aged 50 years or older). It does not apply to children, women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, or persons who are chronically ill or hospitalized or have a known nutritional deficiency. RECOMMENDATION The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of multivitamins for the prevention of cardiovascular disease or cancer. (I statement). The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of single- or paired-nutrient supplements (except β-carotene and vitamin E) for the prevention of cardiovascular disease or cancer. (I statement). The USPSTF recommends against β-carotene or vitamin E supplements for the prevention of cardiovascular disease or cancer. (D recommendation).
Upper Jurassic source rocks in the Sab’atayn Basin, Yemen: Depositional environment, source potential and hydrocarbon generation

The Sab’atayn Basin is a major hydrocarbon province in Yemen. Important source rocks occur in Upper Jurassic units (Lam Member of the Madbi Formation, Sab’atayn Formation). Depositional environment, source potential and maturity of the source rocks were investigated using 60 cuttings samples from the Tagina South-1 Well. All samples were analysed for bulk parameters (total organic carbon (TOC), carbonate, sulphur, RockEval). A subset of samples was selected for biomarker analysis, pyrolysis-gas chromatography and isotope investigations. A carbonate-rich, euhaline, dysoxic to anoxic environment prevailed during deposition of the Lam Member. Bituminous shales within the overlying Sab’atayn Formation formed in a hypersaline, strictly anoxic depositional setting. Changes in the phytoplankton communities coincide with the outlined changes in the water body. Upward decreasing δ13C values suggest changes in carbon cycling due to changing redox conditions. The Lam Member, at least 500 m thick, is a good to very good source rock with an average TOC of 2.2%. The hydrogen index is controlled by maturity, but reaches 300 mg HC/g TOC in samples with low maturity (type II-III kerogen). The Lam Member produces sulphur-poor, paraffinic-naphthenic-aromatic low-wax oil. Bituminous shales in the Sab’atayn Formation contain up to 11% TOC and a type II (to III) kerogen (HI: up to 427 mg HC/g TOC). These shales are excellent sources for oil (and gas), but their source potential is limited by their relatively low thickness. Both, bituminous shales in the Sab’atayn Formation and the Lam Member are mature. The maturity of the deepest drilled part of the Lam Member is close to the zone of main oil generation. Numeric models show that Cenozoic heat flow is about 50 mW/m2. An increase in heat flow during Jurassic rifting is likely, but cannot be quantified. Major hydrocarbon generation occurred during Eocene–Oligocene times (assuming a Late Cretaceous heat flow of 50 mW/m2) or during both, Late Cretaceous and Eocene–Oligocene times (assuming a Late Cretaceous heat flow of 68 mW/m2).
Plausible Explanation of Quantization of Intrinsic Redshift from Hall Effect and Weyl Quantization

In a recent paper by Moffat [1] it is shown that quantum phion condensate model with Gross-Pitaevskii equation yields an approximate fit to data corresponding to CMB spectrum, and it also yields a modified Newtonian acceleration law which is in good agreement with galaxy rotation curve data. It seems therefore interesting to extend further this hypothesis to explain quantization of redshift, as shown by Tifft et al. [2, 6, 7]. We also argue in other paper that this redshift quantization could be explained as signature of topological quantized vortices, which also agrees with Gross-Pitaevskiian description [3, 5]. Nonetheless, there is remaining question in this quantized vortices interpretation, i. e. how to provide explanation of “intrinsic redshift” argument by Bell [6]. In the present paper, we argue that it sounds reasonable to interpret the intrinsic redshift data from the viewpoint of rotating Hall effect, i. e. rotational motion of clusters of galaxies exhibit quantum Hall effect which can be observed in the form of “intrinsic redshift”. While this hypothesis is very new, it could be expected that we can draw some prediction, including possibility to observe small “blue-shift” effect generated by antivortex part of the Hall effect [5a]. Another possibility is to explain redshift quantization from the viewpoint of Weyl-Moyal quantization theory [25]. It is shown that Schrodinger equation can be derived from Weyl approach [8], therefore quantization in this sense comes from “graph”-type quantization. In large scale phenomena like galaxy redshift quantization one could then ask whether there is possibility of “super-graph” quantization. Further observation is of course recommended in order to verify or refute the propositions outlined herein.
Variation in wood, kraft fibre, and handsheet properties among 29 trees of Eucalyptus regnans, and comparison with E. nitens and E. fastigata.

Variation in and relationships between wood, chemical, kraft fibre, and kraft handsheet properties were studied in 29 individual trees of Eucalyptus regnans F. Mueller, aged 2021 years, grown in Kaingaroa Forest, New Zealand. Means and ranges of these characteristics for E. regnans were also compared with those for similar 29-tree samples from E. nitens (Deane et Maiden) Maiden and E. fastigata Deane et Maiden from the same forest, aged 15-16 years. The trees sampled of E. regnans were of lower wood density (in spite of their greater age) and had kraft fibres that were longer, broader, thinner-walled, and had higher levels of collapse than those of either of the other species. Eucalyptus regnans individual-tree pulps showed the widest range of apparent sheet density compared with the other two species but had a similar mean, which was well predicted by wood density or by the level of fibre collapse in handsheets. Eucalyptus regnans trees had a good pulp yield, similar to those of E. nitens. For a market kraft pulp, E. regnans grown for 15 years could be expected to give a kraft pulp very deficient in handsheet bulk.
Impactos das mudanças da cobertura vegetal no escoamento: revisão

Natural and man-induced changes to plant cover in drainage basins influence hydrological behaviour. The changes have varied effect both on the natural environment and the availability of water resources. This paper summarises the state of knowledge on the subject and describes the principal impacts of land-use changes on flow. Experimental studies clearly show that mean flow increases after deforestation of small, rural drainage basins, but there are no consistent results fron medium and lage basins.
TRADE AND PRODUCTIVITY Francisco Alcalá , Universidad de Murcia

Trade and Productivity* We estimate the effect of international trade on average labour productivity across countries. Our empirical approach relies on a summary measure of trade that, we argue, is preferable to the one conventionally used on both theoretical and empirical grounds. In contrast to the marginally significant and non-robust effects of trade on productivity found previously, our estimates are highly significant and robust even when we include institutional quality and geographic factors in the empirical analysis. We also examine the channels through which trade and institutional quality affect average labour productivity. Our finding is that trade works through labour efficiency, while institutional quality works through physical and human capital accumulation. We conclude with an exploratory analysis of the role of trade policies for average labour productivity. JEL Classification: F43 and O40
Large ionospheric disturbances during a minor geomagnetic storm on June 23, 2000

We investigate the variations in the ionosphere during a small geomagnetic storm on June 23, 2000, using the total electron content of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory global positioning system, and the ionospheric critical frequency. Large and long-lasting reductions in the daytime electron density were observed at mid-latitudes in the northern hemisphere by ionosondes. These reductions reached 30% to 40% compared to the 27day median value. At the same time, a transformation from similar large positive storm effects to negative storm effects was observed in the northern hemisphere by the global positioning system receivers. The geomagnetic disturbance was very weak from June 23-25, 2000, as the SYM-H index was > V40 nT and ASY-H was <90 nT. Of note, during this case there were neither long-lasting southward IMF B z nor strong positive IMF B y components, where a large positive IMF B y might be the main reason for ionospheric storms during minor geomagnetic disturbances [Goncharenko et al. 2006]. We confirm a 13-h enhanced energy input from the disturbed solar wind by calculation of the Borovsky, Akasofu and Newell coupling functions, the global auroral precipitation, and the Joule heating. We suggest this enhanced energy input as the main cause of these intense ionospheric storms, although the maximum of the energy input was not large. In addition, we propose that the Newell coupling function might be more suitable for reflecting the energy transfer from the disturbed solar wind to the magnetosphere under weak geomagnetic activity.
Post-harvest handling of low-value fish products and threats to nutritional quality: a review of practices in the Lake Victoria region

Under the Regional Programme Fisheries and HIV/AIDS in Africa, implemented by the WorldFish Center in collaboration with FAO, this paper is the second in a series of papers that have been generated from reviewing literature on trends in consumption and processing of low-value fish products marketed in the Lake Victoria region. The papers fall under the programmeâ€™s research component in Uganda, analyzing nutritive quality and post-harvest activities in â€˜low valueâ€™ fish market chains around Lake Victoria, focusing on Mukono District, Uganda. The objective of this review is to examine the common practices in processing, preservation, and storage of low-value fish products marketed in the Lake Victoria region and the impact of these practices on nutritional quality of these products and their contribution to populations at risk for malnutrition and people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV).
Interactive comment on “Ozonolysis of α -pinene: parameterization of secondary organic aerosol mass fraction”

(1) Section 2, p. 1946, Section 2.3, p.1947, Section 2.4, p. 1948 I have difficulties to accept the notation “ozonolysis at high NOx” for the reaction of a-pinene with NO3. In many of the high NOx cases NO3 will clearly dominate the a-pinene consumption, and the reaction products contribute to the SOA mass (Presto et al., 2005b). The potential role of NO3 (and its potential effect on the ai compared to ozonolysis products) must be discussed.
A SocioDemographic Analysis of Northeast Atlanta I-85 Peak-Period Commuters Likely to Be Affected by Implementation of Value Pricing Along the Corridor

In the summer of 2007, data on peak period travelers on Interstate 85 in Metropolitan Atlanta were collected to provide insight on commuter behavior and demographics in preparation for potential value pricing activities to be implemented on the corridor. Over 120,000 license tags of vehicles in both HOV and general purpose lanes were recorded during the field study. 23,000 household locations corresponding to vehicles observed at three sites located along a 16-mile segment of I-85 slated to be a HOV-to-HOT demonstration project were further analyzed in terms of potential travel distance, travel time, and income characteristics. On average, vehicles seen at the field locations traveled at least 10 miles along I-85, much of it within the HOT lane corridor. Additionally, associated households exhibited higher incomes and longer travel times at a representative block group level than did the general population. Data on specific travel time, distance, and income of daily commuters are helpful in assessing a proper pricing structure for tolls along the pilot corridor. Thus, methodology for identifying likely commuters from a field “snapshot” as well as basic pricing guidelines on a per-mile and per-corridor basis is included in this paper.
Modelling of karst genesis at the catchment scale - influence of spatially variable hydraulic conductivity

The aim of this work is to study the genesis of karst aquifers at the catchment scale. Especially the influence of different boundary conditions and geological setting is investigated in several scenarios. A hybrid continuum-discrete flow model is used for the modelling of conduit development. Effects of heterogeneity in hydraulic conductivity and in fracture spacing are examined in four scenarios. For homogeneous conditions a shallow water-table cave develops. If an area of reduced hydraulic conductivity is introduced, the conduit system evolves around this area and a deep phreatic cave is formed. This is true only, if the contrast in hydraulic conductivity is large enough. If an area of higher fracture density is introduced, this area is more intensely karstified, and a local system of deep karstification develops.
Computational aero-acoustics of vehicle a-pillar at various windshield radii

Flow separation behind the A-pillar region can lead to aero-acoustics generation, which presents problems such as annoyance and discomfort to vehicle occupants (Hucho, 1998). The propagation of aerodynamic noise surrounding the vehicle can be modelled numerically in order to investigate the aero-acoustics source and hence minimise the problems. This paper attempts to investigate one of the several methods available to model aeroacoustics propagation. In this paper, three generic vehicle scale models with different windshield radii were used as a case study and modelled using CAA under laboratory operating conditions. CAA modelling was conducted using a commercial code called AVL SWIFT-CAA. AVL SWIFT-CAA offered a more economical avenue to model for CAA. Investigations were carried out at inlet velocity of 60, 100 and 140km/h at 0o and 15 yaw angles. Comparisons were conducted between CAA results and experimental results of Alam (2000) to investigate the capabilities of the SWIFT-CAA modelling capabilities.