2,202 research outputs found
Non-market Valuation Biases Due to Aboriginal Cultural Characteristics in Northern Saskatchewan: The Values Structures Component
Current non-market valuation techniques have been developed based on assumptions about values held within the Eurocentred culture. Contentions between cultures over natural resources are hypothesized to occur because of differences in held values resulting in different values being assigned to the resources in question. This study measured the held values of an Aboriginal band in Northern Saskatchewan as the first dimension of a non-market valuation study of natural resources. These held value structures are presented noting differences by age and gender and in comparison with the local Non-Aboriginal community and another Aboriginal group in northern Alberta.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,
A review on biomass-derived materials and their applications as corrosion inhibitors, catalysts, food and drug delivery agents
Owing to the overconsumption of petroleum-based resources and growing demand for fossil-based fuels and chemicals, it has become imperative to adopt alternative resources that are renewable. With the availability of biomass, it is believed that this technology has the capability to valorize waste into wealth. Recently, efficient utilization of plant biomass, a chief renewable resource, has gained tremendous attention in research as it offers distinct social, economic, and sustainable benefits. The present review focuses on the various biomass from waste resources. Subsequently, the applications of these polymeric biomass composites are reviewed in catalysis, drug delivery, and food applications. Finally, corrosion studies along with DFT calculations and theoretical aspects have also been reviewed.
Naturally occurring carbohydrate polymers found in lignocellulosic biomass are biopolymers have been used for various physical and chemical applications; as catalyst, coatings, drug delivery, corrosion inhibitors etc. This review reports these material applications of carbohydrate polymers.
In this review, we focus on new and emerging applications of polymers from lignocellulosic biomass
Efficacy of Work-Related Training for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Research suggests that traditional models of work-related training, in addition to a lack of on-the-job support, may exacerbate difficulties experienced by individuals with autism spectrum disorder with obtaining and maintaining employment
The poor employment outcomes experienced by individuals with ASD are well-documented throughout literature and have resulted in the need to examine more effective ways of providing support and work-related interventions.
Although research has investigated the efficacy of work-related training on successful employment outcomes when used with individuals with ASD, a systematic review summarizing this evidence has yet to be published. Therefore, this review examines and interprets current research evidence on the efficacy of work-related training for individuals
Eating well, living well and weight management: A co-produced semi-qualitative study of barriers and facilitators experienced by adults with intellectual disabilities
Adults with intellectual disabilities in England experience health inequalities. They are more likely than their non-disabled peers to be obese and at risk of serious medical conditions such as heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes. This semi-qualitative study engaged adults with intellectual disabilities in a co-production process to explore their perceived barriers and facilitators to eating well, living well and weight management. Nineteen participants with intellectual disabilities took part in four focus groups and one wider group discussion. They were supported by eight of their carers or support workers. Several barriers were identified including personal income restrictions, carersâ and support workersâ unmet training needs, a lack of accessible information, inaccessible services and societal barriers such as the widespread advertising of less healthy foodstuffs. A key theme of frustration with barriers emerged from analysis of participantsâ responses. Practical solutions suggested by participants included provision of clear and accessible healthy lifestyle information, reasonable adjustments to services, training, âbuddyingâ support systems or schemes and collaborative working to improve policy and practice
Evaluation of extracellular matrix formation in polycaprolactone and starch-compounded polycaprolactone nanofiber meshes when seeded with bovine articular chondrocytes
Cartilage defects are a major health problem. Tissue engineering has developed different strategies and several
biomaterial morphologies, including natural-based ones, for repairing these defects. We used electrospun
polycaprolactone (PCL) and starch-compounded PCL (SPCL) nanofiber meshes to evaluate extracellular matrix
(ECM) formation by bovine articular chondrocytes (BACs). The main aim of this work was to evaluate the
suitability of PCL and SPCL nanofiber meshes in chondrocyte cultures, and their capability to produce ECM
when seeded onto these nanostructured materials. The effect of culture conditions (static vs dynamic) on ECM
formation was also assessed. BACs were seeded onto PCL and SPCL nanofiber meshes using a dynamic cellseeding
procedure and cultured under static or dynamic conditions for 4 weeks. Constructs were characterized
using scanning electron microscopy, histology, immunolocalization of collagen types I and II, and glycosaminoglycan
(GAG) quantification. Results show an extensive cell colonization of the entire nanofiber mesh, for both
materials, and that chondrocytes presented typical spherical morphology. Some degree of cell infiltration inside
the nanofiber meshes was noticeable for both materials. ECM formation and GAG were detected throughout the
materials, evidencing typical construct maturation. PCL and SPCL nanofiber meshes are suitable as supports for
ECM formation and therefore are adequate for cartilage tissue-engineering approaches.M. Alves da Silva would like to acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for her grant (SFRH/BD/28708/2006), Marie Curie Actions-ALEA JACTA EST (MEST-CT-2004-008104), European NoE EXPERTISSUES (NMP3-CT-2004-500283), IP GENOSTEM (LSHB-CT-2003-503161) and NATURALLY NANO (POCTI/EME/58982/2004)
Geometric phase and dimensionality reduction in locomoting living systems
The apparent ease with which animals move requires the coordination of their
many degrees of freedom to manage and properly utilize environmental
interactions. Identifying effective strategies for locomotion has proven
challenging, often requiring detailed models that generalize poorly across
modes of locomotion, body morphologies, and environments. We present the first
biological application of a gauge-theory-based geometric framework for
movement, originally proposed by Wilczek and Shapere nearly years ago, to
describe self-deformation-driven movements through dissipative environments.
Using granular resistive force theory to model environmental forces and
principal components analysis to identify a low-dimensional space of animal
postures and dynamics, we show that our approach captures key features of how a
variety of animals, from undulatory swimmers and slitherers to sidewinding
rattlesnakes, coordinate body movements and leverage environmental interactions
to generate locomotion. Our results demonstrate that this geometric approach is
a powerful and general framework that enables the discovery of effective
control strategies, which could be further augmented by
physiologically-relevant parameters and constraints to provide a deeper
understanding of locomotion in a wide variety of biological systems and
environments
Enhanced skyrmion metastability under applied strain in FeGe
Mechanical straining of skyrmion hosting materials has previously demonstrated increased phase stability through the expansion of the skyrmion equilibrium pocket. Additionally, metastable skyrmions can be generated via rapid field cooling to form significant skyrmion populations at low temperatures. Using small-angle x-ray scattering and x-ray holographic imaging on a thermally strained 200-nm-thick FeGe lamella, we observe temperature-induced strain effects on the structure and metastability of the skyrmion lattice. We find that in this sample orientation (
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) with no strain, metastable skyrmions produced by field cooling through the equilibrium skyrmion pocket vanish from the sample upon dropping below the well-known helical reorientation temperature. However, when strain is applied along the
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axis, and this procedure is repeated, a substantial volume fraction of metastable skyrmions persist upon cooling below this temperature down to 100 K. Additionally, we observe a large number of skyrmions retained after a complete magnetic field polarity reversal, implying that the metastable energy barrier protecting skyrmions from decay is enhanced
Can we avoid high coupling?
It is considered good software design practice to organize source code into modules and to favour within-module connections (cohesion) over between-module connections (coupling), leading to the oft-repeated maxim "low coupling/high cohesion". Prior research into network theory and its application to software systems has found evidence that many important properties in real software systems exhibit approximately scale-free structure, including coupling; researchers have claimed that such scale-free structures are ubiquitous. This implies that high coupling must be unavoidable, statistically speaking, apparently contradicting standard ideas about software structure. We present a model that leads to the simple predictions that approximately scale-free structures ought to arise both for between-module connectivity and overall connectivity, and not as the result of poor design or optimization shortcuts. These predictions are borne out by our large-scale empirical study. Hence we conclude that high coupling is not avoidable--and that this is in fact quite reasonable
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