Transport interchanges effects on their surroundings in Tunja (Colombia) and cordoba (Spain): A comparative approach

ABSTRACT: This article proposes a methodology to study the urban implications of transport interchanges. The methodology was evaluated through the study of commercial establishments and urban quality in the surroundings of two transport interchanges. The case studies are a bus station in Colombia and a combined high-speed rail and bus station in Spain. The article draws two types of conclusions; firstly, that the comparative methodology proposed is effective in determining the influence of transport interchanges and secondly that it provides specific conclusions about the activities in the station's surrounding area. The article demonstrates that the surroundings of the transport interchanges have greater commercial activity than similar areas of the city. It also concludes that the different income levels of HSR and bus users provoke a variety and quantity of commercial activities within each type of station. Furthermore, it concludes that the perceived quality of the interchange surroundings is deeply influenced by its level of integration within the urban plan, despite the negative side effects related to transport

The Challenges of Growing Orchids From Seeds for Conservation: An Assessment of Asymbiotic Techniques

Lewis Knudson first successfully germinated orchid seeds asymbiotically on artificial medium in 1922. While many orchid species have since been grown asymbiotically, the tremendous variation in how species respond to artificial medium and growth conditions ex situ has also become apparent in the past century. In this study, we reviewed published journal articles on asymbiotic orchid seed germination to provide a summary of techniques used and to evaluate if these differ between terrestrial and epiphytic species, to identify areas where additional research is needed, and to evaluate whether asymbiotic germination could be used more often in ex situ conservation. We found articles reporting successful asymbiotic germination of 270 species and 20 cultivars across Orchidaceae. Researchers often used different techniques with epiphytic versus terrestrial species, but species‐specific responses to growth media and conditions were common, indicating that individualized protocols will be necessary for most species. The widespread success in generating seedlings on artificial media suggests that asymbiotic techniques should be another tool for the conservation of rare orchid species. Further advances are needed in understanding how to introduce mycorrhizae to axenically grown orchids and to maximize the viability of seedlings reintroduced into natural habitats to fully utilize these methods for conservation

A vision about lifelong learning and its barriers

Around 25 years ago, some researchers argued for moving towards innovative learning models characterized by being more personalized and where the students would have a more active role in deciding what to learn, when to learn and how to learn. Nowadays, there is a need for a flexible, efficient, universal and lifelong education. Lifelong learning is fully integrated into our society and, from the student point of view, it is very different from regular learning. Among these differences there is the maturity of students, the fact that the domains of interest are much broader, the way how learning occurs at different depths, the fact that the topics to study may be related both to work, family and leisure, and that students have little availability due to their necessity to conciliate home, work, leisure and learning. Lifelong learning requires personalized models that adapt to students'' needs and constraints, but lifelong learners keep suffering from models that are neither adapted to their necessities, nor to the needs of society. This paper reflects on the actual situation of lifelong learning, analyses some of the relevant literature and discusses the challenges to conceptualize, from a transdisciplinary point of view, innovative e-learning models that promote self-determination of students

Development of a dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled with magnetic dispersive microsolid phase extraction for determination of triazines in wastewater samples

Producción CientíficaThe combination of two microextraction techniques (dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction [DLLME] and magnetic dispersivemicrosolid phase extraction [MDMSPE]) was developed and reported for atrazine and simazine preconcentration from wastewatersamples. The proposal methodology involved the use of magnetite supports functionalized with different alkyl or phenyl groups. Themagnetic adsorbents were synthesized by the solvothermal methodassisted by microwave, characterized, and used in the samplepreconcentration of atrazine and simazine. The method validation included parameters such as the wastewater matrix effect, repeat-ability, and recovery. The analyte separation and quantification were performed by high-performance liquid chromatography withultraviolet detection (HPLC-DAD). Parameters, such as the polarity and mass of magnetic solids and pH, were evaluated to providebetter extraction performance. The highest recoveries (> 95%) were obtained with 50 mg of the phenyl group support (CS2) at pH 5,using 5 mL of the sample and carbon tetrachloride and methanol, as extraction and dispersive solvents, respectively. The lowest limitsof detection (LOD) achieved were 13.16 and 13.86 ng L−1, and the limits of quantification (LOQ) were 43.89 and 46.19 ng L−1forsimazine and atrazine, respectively, with repeatability (expressed as %RSD) below 5% in all cases. The developed method is simple,easy, and low cost for the analysis of two herbicides potentially dangerous for environmental and human health

Training opportunities in thoracic ultrasound for respiratory trainees: are current guidelines practical?

Respiratory trainees in the UK face challenges in meeting current Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) Level 1 training requirements for thoracic ultrasound (TUS) competence, specified as attending 'at least one session per week over a period of no less than 3 months, with approximately five scans per session performed by the trainee (under supervision of an experienced practitioner)'. We aimed to clarify where TUS training opportunities currently exist for respiratory registrars.This is an Open Access article. Click on the Publisher URL to access the full-text

Incorporating dynamic motion in PENELOPE

POSTER DISCUSSION: YOUNG SCIENTISTS 6: DOSIMETRY, DOSE CALCULATIONS AND QAInternational audiencePurpose/Objective: The traditional way to take time into account in Monte Carlo (MC) simulations is to simulate individual static component fields separately and integrate the results. This method can be very efficient but leads to a high demand of phase space file storage. To avoid this, the position probability sampling (PPS) method, in which the position of a geometrical object is treated as a random variable during the simulation, has been developed. We aim here to incorporate this method in Penelope in the case of a virtual wedge

100 key questions to guide hydropeaking research

As the share of renewable energy grows worldwide, flexible energy production from peak-operating hydropower and the phenomenon of hydropeaking have received increasing attention. In this study, we collected open research questions from 220 experts in river science, practice, and policy across the globe using an online survey available in six languages related to hydropeaking. We used a systematic method of determining expert consensus (Delphi method) to identify 100 high-priority questions related to the following thematic fields: (a) hydrology, (b) physico-chemical properties of water, (c) river morphology and sediment dynamics, (d) ecology and biology, (e) socio-economic topics, (f) energy markets, (g) policy and regulation, and (h) management and mitigation measures. The consensus list of high-priority questions shall inform and guide researchers in focusing their efforts to foster a better science-policy interface, thereby improving the sustainability of peak-operating hydropower in a variety of settings. We find that there is already a strong understanding of the ecological impact of hydropeaking and efficient mitigation techniques to support sustainable hydropower. Yet, a disconnect remains in its policy and management implementation.publishedVersio