ASF archive issues: Current status, past history, and questions for the future

The Alaska SAR Facility (ASF) collects, processes, archives, and distributes data from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites in support of scientific research. ASF has been in operation since 1991 and presently has an archive of over 100 terabytes of data. ASF is performing an analysis of its magnetic tape storage system to ensure long-term preservation of this archive. Future satellite missions have the possibility of doubling to tripling the amounts of data that ASF acquires. ASF is examining the current data systems and the high volume storage, and exploring future concerns and solutions

Conserving insect assemblages in urban landscapes: accounting for species-specific responses and imperfect detection

Understanding how global environmental change impacts insect biodiversity is central to the core principals of conservation biology. To preserve the ecosystem services provided by insects in cities, it is crucial to understand how insect species are influenced by the degree of urbanization of the surrounding landscape. Using a hierarchical occupancy-detection model, we estimated the effect of urbanization on heteropteran bug species richness and occupancy, an approach that concurrently accounts for species-specific responses and imperfect detection. We found that species richness decreased along a gradient of increasing urbanization. This trend corresponded well with species-specific trends, as approximately two-thirds of all herbivores and predatory species experienced a strong mean negative response to urbanization. These results indicate that many species are potentially at risk of local extinction as cities grow and expand in the future. A second group of species, however, showed a weak mean negative response, indicating that they are ubiquitous urban species that thrive regardless of the surrounding degree of urban disturbance. Our research suggests that as cities develop, many of the species that are currently present will become less likely to occur, and therefore assemblages in the future are likely to become more simplified. In order to preserve or increase insect biological diversity in cities, it is critical to understand how individual species are influenced by urbanization. Our finding that insects display species-specific responses to urbanization has important repercussions for decision makers charged with preserving and improving urban biodiversity and the deliverance of ecosystem services in cities

Induced seismicity in pressurised single fractures: a numerical approach

The exploration and exploitation of deep geothermal reservoirs has significantly increased during the last years. These reservoirs use heat exchange to produce heat or electricity. The so-called Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) are characterized by a stimulation phase that aims to increase fluid flow and heat transfer between wells by increasing the permeability and transitivity of the reservoir. This is achieved by injecting high-pressure fluids (normally water) in order to increase the apertures of existing fractures, enhancing their sliding and/or generating new ones. However, this technique induces low-magnitude seismicity that occasionally results in damage at the Earth's surface. Numerical simulations able to reproduce the hydro-thermo-mechanical behaviour of geological reservoirs are an essential tool for the evaluation and forecasting of induced seismicity in such systems. In this study, the numerical code CFRAC is used to systematically evaluate how the orientation of faults with respect to the stress field influences seismicity, the injection rate and the fracture sliding behaviour

Ni Catalysts Based on Attapulgite for Hydrogen Production through the Glycerol Steam Reforming Reaction

Attapulgite (ATP, a natural clay) was used as carrier to produce a nickel-based catalyst (Ni/ATP) for the work that is presented herein. Its catalytic performance was comparatively assessed with a standard Ni/Al2O3 sample for the glycerol steam reforming (GSR) reaction. It was shown that the ATP support led to lower mean Ni crystallite size, i.e., it increased the dispersion of the active phase, to the easier reduction of NiO and also increased the basicity of the catalytic material. It was also shown that it had a significant effect on the distribution of the gaseous products. Specifically, for the Ni/ATP catalyst, the production of liquid effluents was minimal and subsequently, conversion of glycerol into gaseous products was higher. Importantly, the Ni/ATP favored the conversion into H2 and CO2 to the detriment of CO and CH4. The stability experiments, which were undertaken at a low WGFR, showed that the activity of both catalysts was affected with time as a result of carbon deposition and/or metal particle sintering. An examination of the spent catalysts revealed that the coke deposits consisted of filamentous carbon, a type that is known to encapsulate the active phase with fatal consequences

Ground-Shaking Scenarios and Urban Risk Evaluation of Barcelona using the Risk-UE Capacity Spectrum Based Method

The Capacity Spectrum Based Method (CSBM) developed in the framework of the European project Risk-UE has been applied to evaluate the seismic risk for the city of Barcelona, Spain. Accordingly, four damage states are defined for the buildings, the action is expressed in terms of spectral values and the seismic quality of the buildings, that is, their vulnerability, is evaluated by means of capacity spectra. The probabilities of the damage states are obtained considering a lognormal probability distribution. The most relevant seismic risk evaluation results obtained for Barcelona, Spain, are given in the article as scenarios of expected losses

Seismic hazard and risk scenarios for Barcelona, Spain, using the Risk-UE vulnerability index method

The vulnerability index method, in its version developed in the framework of the European project Risk-UE, has been adapted and applied in this article, to evaluate the seismic risk for the city of Barcelona (Spain) through a GIS based tool. According to this method, which defines five damage states, the action is expressed in terms of the macroseismic intensity and the seismic quality of the buildings by means of a vulnerability index. The probabilities of damage states are obtained considering a binomial or beta-equivalent probability distribution. The most relevant seismic risk evaluation results obtained, for current buildings and monuments of Barcelona, are given in the article as scenarios of expected losses

Theoretical Investigation of the Deactivation of Ni Supported Catalysts for the Catalytic Deoxygenation of Palm Oil for Green Diesel Production

For the first time, a fully comprehensive heterogeneous computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model has been developed to predict the selective catalytic deoxygenation of palm oil to produce green diesel over an Ni/ZrO2 catalyst. The modelling results were compared to experimental data, and a very good validation was obtained. It was found that for the Ni/ZrO2 catalyst, the paraffin conversion increased with temperature, reaching a maximum value (>95%) at 300 °C. However, temperatures greater than 300 °C resulted in a loss of conversion due to the fact of catalyst deactivation. In addition, at longer times, the model predicted that the catalyst activity would decline faster at temperatures higher than 250 °C. The CFD model was able to predict this deactivation by relating the catalytic activity with the reaction temperature

Learning Organizational Culture in Greek Public Hospitals

© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. (1) Background: A learning organizational culture is crucial to the safety of patients and the quality of public health care. The aim of this study was to assess the learning organizational culture and capacity of Greek public hospitals. (2) Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional analysis was carried out in six public general hospitals and stratified sampling was used as the sampling technique. A total of 480 questionnaires were distributed to health care professionals and 380 valid questionnaires were returned (78% response rate). The comprehensive form of the Dimensions of Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ), which was adapted and translated into Greek, was used for data collection in this survey. (3) Results: The level of learning organizational culture and capacity in the health units are very low. All seven dimensions of the learning organizational instrument are lower than the theoretically neutral median (3.0). Health care employees believe that the hospital’s existing culture and management practices do not foster and contribute to continuing learning, which is the fundamental aspect of self-development, department development and performance improvement. (4) Conclusions: Greek public hospitals need to adopt different types of leadership practices and culture in order to be able to facilitate organizational learning. Organizational learning (OL) is based on collaborative working, a culture that encompasses learning as participation in the organizational work practice. This transformation of culture should take place at all levels of learning to enhance results

DInSAR coseismic deformation of the May 2011 Mw 5.1 Lorca earthquake, (Southern Spain)

The coseismic superficial deformation at the region of Lorca (Murcia, southeastern Spain) due to the Mw 5.1 earthquake on 11 May 2011 was characterized by a multidisciplinary team, integrating information from DInSAR, GPS and numerical modelling techniques. Despite the moderate magnitude of the event, quantitative information was obtained from the interferometric study of a pair of TerraSAR-X images. The DinSAR results defined the trace of the fault plane and evidenced uplift of the hanging wall block in agreement with the estimated deformation obtained through an elastic rupture dislocation numerical model. Meanwhile for the footwall block, interferometric results showed that tectonic deformation is masked by an important subsidence related to groundwater extraction previously identified at the area of study. Horizontal crustal deformation rates and velocity vectors,obtained from GPS stations existent at the area, were also coherent with the tectonic setting of the southern margin of the Iberian Peninsula and with the focal mechanism calculated or the Lorca event. The analysis of a continuous GPS site in Lorca showed good agreement with the horizontal NS direction component relative to the numerical model and tectonics of the region. This is the first time at this seismic active area that a multitechnique analysis has been performed immediately after the occurrence of a seismic event, comparing the existing deformation data with a theoretical numerical model based on estimated seismic rupture dislocation