A Bus Terminal Facility for Santa Fe, N.M.

The city of Santa Fe has long been in need of an adequate, up-to-date bus terminal facility to serve the city and satisfactorily fulfill its transportation needs. This need was recognized as far back as 1946 when the firm of Harland Bartholomew and Associates submitted a comprehensive plan study to the city, noting: ...it would be most desirable for the city (of Santa Fe) to have a new Union bus depot. The present terminal (is) not satisfactory to handle the present traffic. (It has) the disadvantage of bringing bus traffic into the very heart of the business district and consequently increasing congestion in the district

Seasonal resource pulses and the foraging depth of a Southern Ocean top predator

Seasonal resource pulses can have enormous impacts on species interactions. In marine ecosystems, air-breathing predators often drive their prey to deeper waters. However, it is unclear how ephemeral resource pulses such as near-surface phytoplankton blooms alter the vertical trade-off between predation avoidance and resource availability in consumers, and how these changes cascade to the diving behaviour of top predators. We integrated data on Weddell seal diving behaviour, diet stable isotopes, feeding success and mass gain to examine shifts in vertical foraging throughout ice break-out and the resulting phytoplankton bloom each year. We also tested hypotheses about the likely location of phytoplankton bloom origination (advected or produced in situ where seals foraged) based on sea ice break-out phenology and advection rates from several locations within 150 km of the seal colony. In early summer, seals foraged at deeper depths resulting in lower feeding rates and mass gain. As sea ice extent decreased throughout the summer, seals foraged at shallower depths and benefited from more efficient energy intake. Changes in diving depth were not due to seasonal shifts in seal diets or horizontal space use and instead may reflect a change in the vertical distribution of prey. Correspondence between the timing of seal shallowing and the resource pulse was variable from year to year and could not be readily explained by our existing understanding of the ocean and ice dynamics. Phytoplankton advection occurred faster than ice break-out, and seal dive shallowing occurred substantially earlier than local break-out. While there remains much to be learned about the marine ecosystem, it appears that an increase in prey abundance and accessibility via shallower distributions during the resource pulse could synchronize life-history phenology across trophic levels in this high-latitude ecosystem

Arduino-based Disaster Management System

The Philippines suffered from an inexhaustible number of deadly typhoons, earthquakes, volcano eruptions making it a country prone to natural disasters. Natural causes are inevitable but having a warning device to alert people and prepare them from what’s about to come is essential today. In this paper, the Arduino-based disaster management system is proposed. The device created is a disaster management device that consists of temperature, soil drift, accelerometer, tilt, and rain sensor. A hardware prototype model was developed. It is operated through microcontroller Arduino and implemented using the C language. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by experimental studies. If a sensor is activated, it will send data to the selected receiver, which is a mobile phone. Acquired data were provided in this article. Results reveal the effectiveness and efficacy of the proposed system. An expressive future directive has been incorporated at the end of this paper

Validation of an optical model applied to the beam down CSP facility at the Masdar Institute Solar Platform

In the framework of the CSPonD Demo project, the optical characterization of the Beam Down Optical Experiment (BDOE) heliostats field is an important step to certify the required power is provided. To achieve this goal, an experiment involving a single heliostat is carried out. The results of the experiment and the comparison with simulated results are presented in this paper. Only the reflection on the heliostat is observed in order to have a better assessment of its optical performance. The heliostat reflectance is modified and the experimental and simulated concentration distribution are confronted. Results indicate that the shapes of the concentration distributions are quite similar, hence validating the optical model respects the geometry of the BDOE. Moreover these results lead to an increase of the optimized heliostat reflectance when the incident angle on the heliostat decreases. Further investigation is required to validate this method with all the individual heliostats of the BDOE solar field.MIT & Masdar Institute Cooperative Progra

Low Power NAND Gate–based Half and Full Adder / Subtractor Using CMOS Technique

In recent years, low power consumption has been an important consideration for the design of system since there is a high demand for consumer electronics such as cellphones for a longer battery life. This paper presents the simulation of half adder, half subtractor, full adder, and the full subtractor. The presented circuit contains NAND gates combining the NMOS and PMOS. These CMOS circuitries has the advantage of lower voltage, lower power consumption, and higher energy efficiency. The NMOS and PMOS were bridge together to produce the desired output. This design provides the CMOS half adder, half subtractor, full adder, and full subtractor using the Tanner EDA software tool. The complete CMOS circuit schematic are described in this paper. The design methods and principles are described thereafter. Simulations have been done with the use of the Tanner EDA tool in a CMOS technology standard and response output was verified comparing the obtained waveform along with its truth table. In comparison with conventional logic truth table, T-Spice output simulation matches with theoretical expectations

Traumatic skull fractures in dogs and cats: A comparative analysis of neurological and computed tomographic features

Background Traumatic skull fractures (TSF) are relatively frequent in dogs and cats, but little information is available regarding their clinical and imaging features. Hypothesis/Objectives To describe the neurological and computed tomographic (CT) features of a large cohort of dogs and cats with TSF. Animals Ninety‐one dogs and 95 cats with TSF identified on CT. Methods Multicenter retrospective comparative study. Signalment, cause of trauma, fracture locations and characteristics, presence of neurological deficits, and 1‐week survival were recorded. Fractures were classified according to the extent of fragmentation and displacement. Results The cranial vault was affected more frequently in dogs (P = .003), whereas the face and base of the cranium more often was affected in cats (P < .001). Cats presented with multiple fractures more frequently (P < .001). All animals with TSF in the cranial vault were more likely to develop neurological signs (P = .02), especially when depressed fractures were present (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7‐8.2; P = .001). Animals with TSF located only in the facial region were less likely to have neurological signs (odds ratio with Mantel‐Haenszel's method [ORMH], 0.2; 95% CI, 0.1‐0.6; P = .004). Most affected animals (84.9%) survived the first week post‐trauma. Death was more likely with fractures of the cranial vault (P = .003), especially when fragmented (P = .007) and displaced (P = .004). Conclusions and Clinical Importance Traumatic skull fracture distribution and patterns are different between dogs and cats. Cranial vault fractures were associated with neurological deficits and worse survival. The presence of TSF alone should not be considered a negative prognostic factor because most affected animals survived the first week

The effect of beta-alanine supplementation on neuromuscular fatigue in elderly (55–92 Years): a double-blind randomized study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Ageing is associated with a significant reduction in skeletal muscle carnosine which has been linked with a reduction in the buffering capacity of muscle and in theory, may increase the rate of fatigue during exercise. Supplementing beta-alanine has been shown to significantly increase skeletal muscle carnosine. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the effects of ninety days of beta-alanine supplementation on the physical working capacity at the fatigue threshold (PWC_FT) in elderly men and women.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using a double-blind placebo controlled design, twenty-six men (n = 9) and women (n = 17) (age ± SD = 72.8 ± 11.1 yrs) were randomly assigned to either beta-alanine (BA: 800 mg × 3 per day; n = 12; CarnoSyn™) or Placebo (PL; n = 14) group. Before (pre) and after (post) the supplementation period, participants performed a discontinuous cycle ergometry test to determine the PWC_FT.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Significant increases in PWC_FT(28.6%) from pre- to post-supplementation were found for the BA treatment group (p < 0.05), but no change was observed with PL treatment. These findings suggest that ninety days of BA supplementation may increase physical working capacity by delaying the onset of neuromuscular fatigue in elderly men and women.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We suggest that BA supplementation, by improving intracellular pH control, improves muscle endurance in the elderly. This, we believe, could have importance in the prevention of falls, and the maintenance of health and independent living in elderly men and women.</p

Lipid-lowering drugs in ischaemic heart disease : a quasi-experimental uncontrolled before-and-after study of the effectiveness of clinical practice guidelines

Background: Cardiovascular diseases(CVD), specifically ischaemic heart disease(IHD), are the main causes of death in industrialized countries. Statins are not usually prescribed in the most appropriate way. To ensure the correct prescription of these drugs, it is necessary to develop, disseminate and implement clinical practice guidelines(CPGs), and subsequently evaluate them. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of consensual Lipid-lowering drugs (LLD) prescription guidelines in hospital and primary care settings, to improve the control of Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in patients with IHD in the Terres de l'Ebre region covered by the Catalonian Health Institute. Secondary bjectives are to assess the improvement of the prescription profile of these LLDs, to assess cardiovascular morbimortality and the professional profile and participant centre characteristics that govern the control of LDL-C. Methods/Design Design: Quasi-experimental uncontrolled before and after study. The intervention consists of the delivery of training strategies for guideline implementation (classroom clinical sessions and on-line courses) aimed at primary care and hospital physicians. The improvement in the control of LDL-C levels in the 3,402 patients with IHD in our territory is then assessed. Scope: Primary care physicians from 11 basic health areas(BHAs) and two hospital services (internal medicine and cardiology). Sample: 3,402 patients registered with IHD in the database of the Catalan Institute of Health(E-cap) before December 2008 and patients newly diagnosed during 2009-2010. Variables: Percentage of patients achieving good control of LDL-C, measured in milligrams per decilitre. The aim of the intervention is to achieve levels of LDL-C < 100 mg/dl in patients with IHD. Secondary variables measure type and time of diagnosis of IHD, type and dose of prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs, level of physician participation in training activities and their professional profile. Discussion: The development of prescription guidelines previously agreed by various medical specialists involved in treating IHD patients have usually improved drug prescription. The guideline presented in this study aims to improve the control of LDL-C by training physicians through presential and on-line courses on the dissemination of this guideline, and by providing feedback on their personal results a year after this training intervention