Information sharing across multiple humanitarian organizations—a web-based information exchange platform for project reporting

This article analyzes information sharing problems in the humanitarian development sector and proposes the concept of a web-based exchange platform to face some of the technical challenges. The "Development Information Exchange System” is a mediator-wrapper-architecture that uses XML documents to loosely couple autonomous and heterogeneous information systems. Detailed project information of humanitarian organizations that resides on data provider systems can be formatted with XSL stylesheets according to the needs of the users and shared within or between organizations. The system can help to close the control loop by providing qualitative information about humanitarian projects. This makes project management more efficient. The proposed architecture solves an interface problem between the various partners and stakeholders of humanitarian projects. It is a first step towards a service-oriented architecture between humanitarian organizations. The next step could be the definition of cross-organizational business processes. These processes may be defined platform-independently with the Business Process Execution Language for Web Services. A prototype of the exchange platform is presented and evaluated in this articl

Information Exchange Between Humanitarian Organizations: Using the XML Schema IDML

This article explains challenges that arise when humanitarian organizations want to coordinate their development activities by means of distributed information systems. It focuses on information exchange based on the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and relational databases. This piece discusses how to save hierarchical XML documents in relational databases. It introduces conversion rules to derive a relational database model from XML schemas. The rules are applied for the design of a database for the management of humanitarian development projects. The underlying schema for the database is the International Development Markup Language (IDML). This exchange standard for development-related activities is described. The article gives details on how a traditional relational database can import or export XML documents, i.e. how it can be XML-enabled

Virtual Reality and Creativity: Lessons Learned from a Luminaire Design Project

Current research in design education showed that experiencing virtual reality (VR) in learning led to higher creativity in students. However, some studies showed only a partial impact of VR on student creativity. Using video data analysis (VDA), the authors examined a half-an-hour excerpt of the recorded VR learning experience from a previous study on interior design students (n=13). The authors sought an explanation for the partial impacts of VR on students’ creativity via observing and interpreting one participant’s (a) interaction with VR and (b) the context of the virtual environment. VDA analysis results indicated that the implemented VR technology was intuitive for a fundamental learner yet required time and practice to gain advanced skills. Exploration time was also necessary for students to fully demonstrate the novel, resolution, and style aspects of creativity in their works. The implication is that the partial impact of VR on creativity found in the previous study might be due to the constraints of time and expertise of students (i.e., learn and explore), not VR technology per se. Educators and institutions wishing to include VR in their curricula should allow students ample time and access to VR applications and headsets to practice and sharpen their expertise

Dataset to assess the shadow effect of an outdoor microalgae culture

[EN] This data in brief (DIB) article is related to a Research article [1]. Microalgae biomass absorb the light photons that are supplied to the culture, reducing the light availability in the inner parts of the photobioreactors. This is known as self-shading or shadow effect. This effect has been widely studied in lab conditions, but information about self-shading in outdoor photobioreactors is scarce. How this shadow effect affects the light availability in an outdoor photobioreactor was evaluated. In addition, advantages and disadvantages of different artificial light sources which can overcome light limitation are described.This research work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO, Projects CTM2014-54980-C2-1-R and CTM2014-54980-C2-2-R) jointly with the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), both of which are gratefully acknowledged. It was also supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport via a pre doctoral FPU fellowship to author J. Gonzalez-Camejo (FPU14/05082).Gonzalez-Camejo, J.; Viruela, A.; Ruano, MV.; Barat, R.; Seco, A.; Ferrer, J. (2019). Dataset to assess the shadow effect of an outdoor microalgae culture. Data in Brief. 25:1-4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2019.104143S142

Eco-efficiency

none4openMassari, Stefania; Miglietta, Pier Paolo; De Leo, Federica; Ruberti, MarcelloMassari, Stefania; Miglietta, Pier Paolo; De Leo, Federica; Ruberti, Marcell

Sorption of hydrophobic organic compounds on natural sorbents and organoclays from aqueous and non-aqueous solutions: a mini-review

Renewed focus on the sorption of hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOCs) onto mineral surfaces and soil components is required due to the increased and wider range of organic pollutants being released into the environment. This mini-review examines the possibility of the contribution and mechanism of HOC sorption onto clay mineral sorbents such as kaolinite, and soil organic matter and the possible role of both in the prevention of environmental contamination by HOCs. Literature data indicates that certain siloxane surfaces can be hydrophobic. Therefore soils can retain HOCs even at low soil organic levels and the extent will depend on the structure of the pollutant and the type and concentration of clay minerals in the sorbent. Clay minerals are wettable by nonpolar solvents and so sorption of HOCs onto them from aqueous and non-aqueous solutions is possible. This is important for two reasons: firstly, the movement and remediation of soil environments will be a function of the concentration and type of clay minerals in the soil. Secondly, low-cost sorbents such as kaolinite and expandable clays can be added to soils or contaminated environments as temporary retention barriers for HOCs. Inorganic cations sorbed onto the kaolinite have a strong influence on the rate and extent of sorption of hydrophobic organic pollutants onto kaolinite. Structural sorbate classes that can be retained by the kaolinite matrix are limited by hydrogen bonding between hydroxyl groups of the octahedral alumosilicate sheet and the tetrahedral sheet with silicon. Soil organic carbon plays a key role in the sorption of HOCs onto soils, but the extent will be strongly affected by the structure of the organic soil matter and the presence of soot. Structural characterisation of soil organic matter in a particular soil should be conducted during a particular contamination event. Contamination by mining extractants and antibiotics will require renewed focus on the use of the QSAR approaches in the context of the sorption of HOCs onto clay minerals from aqueous and non-aqueous solutions

Tolerance of allogromiid Foraminifera to severely elevated carbon dioxide concentrations : implications to future ecosystem functioning and paleoceanographic interpretations

Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V., 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Global and Planetary Change 65 (2009): 107-114, doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2008.10.013.Increases in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) in the atmosphere will significantly affect a wide variety of terrestrial fauna and flora. Because of tight atmospheric-oceanic coupling, shallow-water marine species are also expected to be affected by increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. One proposed way to slow increases in atmospheric pCO2 is to sequester CO2 in the deep sea. Thus, over the next few centuries marine species will be exposed to changing seawater chemistry caused by ocean-atmospheric exchange and/or deep-ocean sequestration. This initial case study on one allogromiid foraminiferal species (Allogromia laticollaris) was conducted to begin to ascertain the effect of elevated pCO2 on benthic Foraminifera, which are a major meiofaunal constituent of shallow- and deep-water marine communities. Cultures of this thecate foraminiferan protist were used for 10-14-day experiments. Experimental treatments were executed in an incubator that controlled CO2 (15 000; 30 000; 60 000; 90 000; 200 000 ppm), temperature and humidity; atmospheric controls (i.e., ~375 ppm CO2) were executed simultaneously. Although the experimental elevated pCO2 values are far above foreseeable surface water pCO2, they were selected to represent the spectrum of conditions expected for the benthos if deep-sea CO2 sequestration becomes a reality. Survival was assessed in two independent ways: pseudopodial presence/absence and measurement of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is an indicator of cellular energy. Substantial proportions of A. laticollaris populations survived 200 000 ppm CO2 although the mean of the median [ATP] of survivors was statistically lower for this treatment than for that of atmospheric control specimens. After individuals that had been incubated in 200 000 ppm CO2 for 12 days were transferred to atmospheric conditions for ~24 hours, the [ATP] of live specimens (survivors) approximated those of the comparable atmospheric control treatment. Incubation in 200 000 ppm CO2 also resulted in reproduction by some individuals. Results suggest that certain Foraminifera are able to tolerate deep-sea CO2 sequestration and perhaps thrive as a result of elevated pCO2 that is predicted for the next few centuries, in a high-pCO2 world. Thus, allogromiid foraminiferal “blooms” may result from climate change. Furthermore, because allogromiids consume a variety of prey, it is likely that they will be major players in ecosystem dynamics of future coastal sedimentary environments.This work was funded by US Department of Energy grant # DE-FG02-03ER63696 (to J. Kennett and J. Bernhard), NSF OCE-0725966, and the WHOI Summer Student Fellow Program, which is funded by NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates Program grant #OCE-0139423

Review of the cultivation program within the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts

The cultivation efforts within the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts (NAABB)were developed to provide four major goals for the consortium, which included biomass production for downstream experimentation, development of new assessment tools for cultivation, development of new cultivation reactor technologies, and development of methods for robust cultivation. The NAABB consortium test beds produced over 1500 kg of biomass for downstream processing. The biomass production included a number of model production strains, but also took into production some of the more promising strains found through the prospecting efforts of the consortium. Cultivation efforts at large scale are intensive and costly, therefore the consortium developed tools and models to assess the productivity of strains under various environmental conditions, at lab scale, and validated these against scaled outdoor production systems. Two new pond-based bioreactor designs were tested for their ability to minimize energy consumption while maintaining, and even exceeding, the productivity of algae cultivation compared to traditional systems. Also, molecular markers were developed for quality control and to facilitate detection of bacterial communities associated with cultivated algal species, including the Chlorella spp. pathogen, Vampirovibrio chlorellavorus,which was identified in at least two test site locations in Arizona and New Mexico. Finally, the consortium worked on understanding methods to utilize compromised municipal waste water streams for cultivation. This review provides an overview of the cultivation methods and tools developed by the NAABB consortium to produce algae biomass, in robust low energy systems, for biofuel production

Greening healthcare: systematic implementation of environmental programmes in a university teaching hospital

peer-reviewedThe provision of healthcare creates significant environmental impacts, and their mitigation is being attempted in a variety of ways which vary from nation to nation in line with differing policy priorities and resource availability. The environmental performance of hospitals has been enhanced through, for example, green building, waste and energy management, and product design. However, unpredictable occupant behaviour, new research outcomes and evolving best practice requires healthcare to react and respond in an ever challenging and changing environment, and clearly there is no one set of actions appropriate in all jurisdictions. Many authors have pointed up negative environmental impacts caused by healthcare, but these studies have focused on particular aspects of mitigation in isolation, and are for this reason not optimal. Here it is argued that tackling impact mitigation through a whole system approach is likely to be more effective. To illustrate what this approach might entail in practice, an evaluation of a systematic implementation of impact mitigation in Ireland's largest teaching hospital, Cork University Hospital is presented. This approach brings together voluntary initiatives in particular those emanating from governmental and non-governmental organisations, peer supports and the adaptation of programmes designed originally for environmental education purposes. Specific measures and initiatives are described, and analysis of results and planned future actions provides a basis for evaluation of successes achieved in achieving mitigation objectives. A crucial attribute of this approach is that it retains its flexibility and connectivity through time, thereby ensuring continual responsiveness to evolving regulation and best practice in green healthcare. It is demonstrated that implementation in Cork resulted both in mitigation of existing impacts, but also a commitment to continual improvement. For such a systems approach to be widely adopted, the healthcare sector needs both leadership from regulators and stakeholders, and strong supports. In Cork it was found that environmental education programmes, especially action and reward based programmes, as utilised by the campus's academic affiliates in particular University College Cork, were especially effective as a framework to address sustainability challenges and should be developed further. However, within healthcare implementation of environmental initiatives must prioritise patient safety. This approach has now been adopted for delivery across the health services sector in Ireland. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.ACCEPTEDpeer-reviewe