Three studies on airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Three studies have been conducted on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons found on airborne particulate matter. The first investigation involves the determination of fly ash activity in the reaction of two PAHs adsorbed on its surface. Mass spectrometry is used to monitor the exchange of hydrogen and deuterium atoms between anthracene and anthracene-d10. The results indicate that some fly ashes exhibit activity in the reactions of PAHs adsorbed on its surface. The second investigation involves the determination of cyclopenta[cd]pyrene (CcdP) and benzo[ghi]flouranthene (BghiF) on samples of airborne particulate material collected from two automobile traffic tunnels. Glass capillary gas chromatography with a precolumn injector system is used to quantitate these two compounds. The results indicate that CcdP is a significant constituent of automobile emissions and that BghiF is present in concentrations much lower than CcdP. The last investigation involves the attempted identification of benzyl sulfate, the sulfate ester of benzyl alcohol, on ambient air particulate samples. Reverse?phase high pressure liquid chromatography is used to determine the presence or absence of benzyl sulfate on particulate matter. The results are inconclusive at present

Image Analysis and Development of Robson's Vuokatti

The objective of this Bachelor’s thesis was to perform an image analysis of Robson’s restaurant which operates inside Super Park Vuokatti and to give the company marketing based suggestions on how to improve its image among the public to a desired level. To develop Robson’s image the current image needed to be clear and this was done by a mostly quantitative image questionnaire to the customers of Super Park Vuokatti. The theoretical research covers different important marketing actions which are related to image development and its importance. The theoretical research gave a base for the image analysis and the development suggestions. As a conclusion the thesis analyses research findings and gives marketing suggestions to Robson’s Vuokatti on how to drive the current image to the desired level

Literatuurstudie zomerklimaat en knoprui bij Cymbidium

Op verzoek van de BCO en landelijke commissie Cymbidium van LTO-Groeiservice zijn twee literatuurstudies uitgevoerd voor Cymbidium. De eerste was gericht op het effect van het zomerklimaat op de uitgroei van de bloemtak, bloeitijdstip en de vorming van nieuwe scheuten. De tweede literatuurstudie was gericht op oorzaken van knoprui tijdens de teelt. Beide literatuurstudies zijn gefinancierd door het Productschap Tuinbouw. Hieronder een samenvatting van de conclusies van de literatuurstudies

The role of parenteral nutrition in paediatric critical care, and its consequences on recovery

The goal of nutritional support during critical illness is to provide the appropriate amount of nutrition accounting for the acute, stable and recovery phase in order to accelerate recovery and to improve short-term and long-term outcomes. Although the preferred route to provide nutritional support during paediatric critical illness is via enteral route, reaching target intakes is often difficult due to (perceived) feeding intolerance, fluid restriction, and interruptions around procedures. Because undernourishment in these children has been associated with impaired outcome, parenteral nutrition (PN) has therefore been viewed as an optimal alternative for reaching early and high nutritional targets. However, PN recommendations regarding timing, dose and composition varied widely and were based on studies using intermediate or surrogate endpoints and observational studies. It was not until the paediatric early versus late PN in critically ill children (PEPaNIC) randomized controlled trial (RCT) that the advice to reach high and early macronutrient goals via PN was challenged. The PEPaNIC study showed that omitting supplemental PN during the first week of paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admission as compared with early initiation of PN (&lt;24 hours) reduced new acquired infections and accelerated recovery. The provision of amino acids in particular was negatively associated with short-term outcomes, probably explained by the suppression of the activation of autophagy. Autophagy is an evolutionary conserved intracellular degradation process and it is crucial for maintaining cellular integrity and function, which becomes even more important during acute stress. Results of the long-term PEPaNIC follow-up study showed that withholding early PN did not negatively affect anthropometrics and health status but improved neurocognitive and psychosocial development 2 and 4 years later. Current guidelines therefore advise to consider withholding parenteral macronutrients for the first week of PICU admission, while providing micronutrients. Although parenteral restriction during the first week of critical illness has been found beneficial, further research beyond the acute phase is warranted to determine the best role of PN in terms of optimal timing, dose and composition in order to improve short-term recovery and long-term developmental outcomes.</p

Does it take a community to save a species? Examining the use of community interactions to restore unionid species at risk

The conservation and restoration of freshwater ecosystems are complex. Knowledge from community ecology, conservation biology, and restoration ecology was integrated to interrogate the role of species interactions involving freshwater mussels (order Unionida) as keystone species. Freshwater mussels require host fish and provide ecosystem functions for other species throughout aquatic and riparian ecosystems, yet conservation efforts remain focused on focal mussel species or host fish associations. My thesis explored species co-occurrences within mussel and benthic macroinvertebrate community assemblages, and systematically reviewed the published literature to assess the breadth and reported effectiveness of mussel restoration. Community analyses confirmed species co-occurrences across environmental conditions and with federally listed species at risk. Additionally, benthic macroinvertebrate diversity and the presence of specific taxa were found to be significant indicators for mussel species at risk. Mussel restoration studies revealed geographic bias in the few restoration measures reported globally, and low reporting of restoration failures. Knowledge gaps identified in the synthesis highlighted the need to strengthen connections between mussel ecology and restoration practice. Collectively, this thesis presents support for the importance of beneficial species interactions for mussels, the potential of benthic macroinvertebrates to inform mussel conservation, and evidence for inclusion of species interactions in conservation and restoration

Preventing Incomplete/Hidden Requirements: Reflections on Survey Data from Austria and Brazil

Many software projects fail due to problems in requirements engineering (RE). The goal of this paper is analyzing a specific and relevant RE problem in detail: incomplete/hidden requirements. We replicated a global family of RE surveys with representatives of software organizations in Austria and Brazil. We used the data to (a) characterize the criticality of the selected RE problem, and to (b) analyze the reported main causes and mitigation actions. Based on the analysis, we discuss how to prevent the problem. The survey includes 14 different organizations in Austria and 74 in Brazil, including small, medium and large sized companies, conducting both, plan-driven and agile development processes. Respondents from both countries cited the incomplete/hidden requirements problem as one of the most critical RE problems. We identified and graphically represented the main causes and documented solution options to address these causes. Further, we compiled a list of reported mitigation actions. From a practical point of view, this paper provides further insights into common causes of incomplete/hidden requirements and on how to prevent this problem.Comment: in Proceedings of the Software Quality Days, 201