Alteracions de l'eix tiroïdal : efectes conductuals i morfològics en la rata wistar /

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Preliminary risk assessment of ecotoxic substancesaccidental releases in major risk installationsthrough fuzzy logic

In the present work a fuzzy logic model to preliminary assess the risk of accidental releases of ecotoxic substances in hazard plants has been developed. The methodology is based in three steps, the characterization of the hazardousness of the substance, the delimitation of the soil and groundwater vulnerability and the identification of the protective and preventive measures of the plant. The tool has been tested with a set of storage yards of ecotoxic substances, mainly oil, in the Regione Piemonte area (Italy). The results obtained are in good agreement with the real situation of the surveyed storage yards. Thus, by using this methodology it is possible to preliminary assess the risk from uncertain data.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Tool for the identification and implementation of Environmental Indicators in Ports (TEIP)

In this paper, the concept of environmental indicator is reviewed as a relevant element used in the environmental management of any organisation. The importance of this element within an Environmental Management System (EMS) is also justified. Although EMS standards recognise the relevance of using indicators, they do not specify any methodology to identify which indicators have to be implemented. In addition, the present research demonstrates that although there is a high percentage of European ports that have already implemented performance indicators, most of them do not mention the method applied to obtain the indicators. This suggests that some of the procedures used by ports to identify indicators may not necessarily be science-based or systematic in approach. For these reasons, the need to develop a new methodology able to identify the ports' most adequate indicators was detected. Therefore, a Tool for the identification and implementation of Environmental Indicators in Ports (TEIP) was developed. It aims at identifying performance indicators in ports and providing guidelines for their proper implementation. This is a computer and science-based tool (www.eports.cat/teip) that provides a quick calculation and outputs, and it is designed to be as user-friendly and practical as possible in order to facilitate its completion by the user. This new methodology is applicable to all types of ports no matter the size, geographical location or its commercial profile; it provides targeted and specific results for each one. TEIP aims at helping port managers at easily determining their significant port indicators, which provides valuable elements for the decision-making processes.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Environmental risk assessment of persistent organic pollutants in river-basin through fuzzy logic

Presented at 11th Mediterranean Congress of Chemical Engineering, 2008, Barcelona (Spain).This Study is funded by the European Union through the projectsRISKBASE (GOCE 036938), AQUATERRA (project number 505428) and by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science through the project CEMAGUA (CGL2007-64551/HID).Peer reviewe

Experiència de millora en la pràctica docent dins del marc de l’enginyeria química: Avaluació Continuada

Peer Reviewe

Gender and Leadership: Female ROTC Cadets\u27 Perceptions of Gender and Military Leadership

Gender continues to be an impediment for women in military leadership positions, particularly in Reserve Officers’ Training Corp (ROTC) training programs in higher education. This study examines the social construction of gender by female cadets in a predominately male military environment. According to Herbert (1998), female soldiers strike a balance between being feminine enough to be considered a woman yet masculine enough to be considered a military leader—sustaining a view that finds these women are viewed as less than competent officers. Achieving equilibrium between femininity and masculinity is a common thread in much of the literature on female military leadership. This dissertation is informed by gender schema theory, role congruity theory, and social comparison theory. The research is narrative in design and uses a structured questionnaire for two to three one-hour interviews with six junior and/or senior female cadets matriculated in the ROTC program as well as four one hour focus group interviews and three one hour military staff interviews. The study determined female cadets manage their gender in a predominately male military environment at a Senior Military College by appearing more masculine than feminine when in uniform. Female cadets often felt they worked twice as hard as their male colleagues, yet gender consistently underscored their accomplishments and leadership. Female cadets who embraced the patriarchy of the military values appeared to be the most successful leaders in this study. The findings will benefit those who study gender and leadership in higher education

Safety culture and hazard risk perception of Australian and New Zealand maritime pilots

A survey of the safety culture and hazard risk perception has been carried out involving 77 maritime pilots around Australia and New Zealand, representing more than the 20% of the maritime pilots in each country, in proportional geographic distribution. In 82% of the cases, interviews were carried out face to face. Each interview was based on a questionnaire designed to be completed in less than one hour. Questions on four different aspects were asked, relating to each pilot’s professional background, safety culture and perception of risks, navigation and pilotage hazards and their perception of the pilot’s role. The main responses in addition to the most interesting comments highlighted by the pilots are presented in this paper. Finally, the paper makes recommendations which might be considered for improving operational performance and safety of navigation.Preprin

Language and Ageing in Adults With Down Syndrome : An Analysis of Receptive and Expressive Language Measures

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UABFunding: This work has been funded by the European Union-NextGenerationEU.Background: The evidence on the effect of age on the receptive and expressive language skills of individuals with Down syndrome is inconclusive. Recent research highlights the relevance of having tools to detect age-related changes in language skills. Method: Data were collected on 45 adults with Down syndrome. All were assessed with the Peabody test, token test, verbal fluency tasks and an expressive language sample. Results: Scores on token and Peabody showed a decline in older adults, whereas no significant effect of age was observed for expressive language measures. A quadratic regression confirmed the association between age and receptive language measures. Highly significant associations were also found between the performance on receptive and expressive language measures. Conclusions: Receptive language skills are more age-sensitive than the expressive language skills. In addition to expressive language skills, receptive language skills should be measured because they show age associated changes not observed in expressive language

Climate change and carbon footprint initiatives

Published in Scholarly Community EncyclopediaOne of the most significant environmental aspects is the issue of climate change due to carbon dioxide emissions generated by human activities. Given the importance of this topic, this paper gathers initiatives and methodologies that have been undertaken to calculate and reduce CO2 emissions and climate change effects. After studying these methodologies, their strengths and opportunities for further enhancement have been analyzed.Preprin

The relationship between executive functions and the perspective-taking skill of Theory of Mind : Insights from deaf and hard of hearing children with cochlear implants

Previous research in hearing children has consistently found theory of mind (ToM) is positively associated with executive functions (EF). However, this question has been far less examined in deaf and hard of hearing children (DHH) with cochlear implants. This may be because of the heterogeneity of developmental contexts and especially related to language that DHH children experience. The purpose of the study was to explore developmental differences in the perspective-taking skill of ToM and EF by using cluster analysis to compare groups of DHH adolescents who are CI users with typically developing hearing adolescents, aiming to identify subgroups with similar cognitive and processing profiles. Participants were 88 adolescents (12-16 years old) of which 34 were DHH with cochlear implants. The results showed that in the hearing group EF scores correlated positively with perspective-taking performance but not in the DHH group. The analysis of the hearing children's results revealed there were three clusters based on clear performance levels. In the DHH group, there was much variability and more complex relationships between both abilities. We conclude that DHH children's variable experience with early communication and access to language disrupts the typical coupling of ToM and EF