29 research outputs found

    'Form Design For Emotion' with a Cameraphone Based Tool

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    Merging emotional value into products has become an essential strategy for increasing a product’s competitive edge in the consumer market. Indeed, this approach instills emotional value into products, to satisfy human emotional needs. Combined with this is the fact that designers usually work outside their design office using pen and paper, since ideas are usually stimulated. Yet, designers lack mobile computer-aided sketching (CAS) tools which truly link paper-based sketching with computer-based 3D modelling tools. As a step in this direction, this poster presents a framework that extends CAS technology to cameraphones. Furthermore, this framework is capable of providing emotional guidance about a form concept to satisfy the emotional needs of the customer, directly on cameraphones. A proof-of-concept tool has been implemented and evaluated. Preliminary evaluation results with design engineers in the cosmetic cases industry, indicate the positive impact that technology based on the framework developed will have on DFe in practice

    A stage-structured model to predict the effect of temperature and salinity on glass eel Anguilla anguilla pigmentation development

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    The pigmentation development process of glass eels Anguilla anguilla from stage V-B to VIA3 was modelled by gamma cumulative functions. These functions varied with respect to the factors temperature and salinity whose effects were adjusted by beta functions. Temperature was shown to accelerate pigmentation, while salinity acted as a secondary factor slowing down the pigmentation. The model fits the development of 15 samples kept at various temperatures and salinities in the Vilaine River, as well as samples monitored at other dates and places in Europe. It allows the prediction of the duration of estuarine residency for glass eels, in winter and spring, in the Atlantic estuaries

    Building consensus on water use assessment of livestock production systems and supply chains: outcome and recommendations from the FAO LEAP partnership.

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    The FAO Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance (LEAP) Partnership organised a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to develop reference guidelines on water footprinting for livestock production systems and supply chains. The mandate of the TAG was to i) provide recommendations to monitor the environmental performance of feed and livestock supply chains over time so that progress towards improvement targets can be measured, ii) be applicable for feed and water demand of small ruminants, poultry, large ruminants and pig supply chains, iii) build on, and go beyond, the existing FAO LEAP guidelines and iv) pursue alignment with relevant international standards, specifically ISO 14040 (2006)/ISO 14044 (2006), and ISO 14046 (2014). The recommended guidelines on livestock water use address both impact assessment (water scarcity footprint as defined by ISO 14046, 2014) and water productivity (water use efficiency). While most aspects of livestock water use assessment have been proposed or discussed independently elsewhere, the TAG reviewed and connected these concepts and information in relation with each other and made recommendations towards comprehensive assessment of water use in livestock production systems and supply chains. The approaches to assess the quantity of water used for livestock systems are addressed and the specific assessment methods for water productivity and water scarcity are recommended. Water productivity assessment is further advanced by its quantification and reporting with fractions of green and blue water consumed. This allows the assessment of the environmental performance related to water use of a livestock-related system by assessing potential environmental impacts of anthropogenic water consumption (only ?blue water?); as well as the assessment of overall water productivity of the system (including ?green? and ?blue water? consumption). A consistent combination of water productivity and water scarcity footprint metrics provides a complete picture both in terms of potential productivity improvements of the water consumption as well as minimizing potential environmental impacts related to water scarcity. This process resulted for the first time in an international consensus on water use assessment, including both the life-cycle assessment community with the water scarcity footprint and the water management community with water productivity metrics. Despite the main focus on feed and livestock production systems, the outcomes of this LEAP TAG are also applicable to many other agriculture sectors

    An Indo-Pacifc coral spawning database

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    The discovery of multi-species synchronous spawning of scleractinian corals on the Great Barrier Reef in the 1980s stimulated an extraordinary effort to document spawning times in other parts of the globe. Unfortunately, most of these data remain unpublished which limits our understanding of regional and global reproductive patterns. The Coral Spawning Database (CSD) collates much of these disparate data into a single place. The CSD includes 6178 observations (3085 of which were unpublished) of the time or day of spawning for over 300 scleractinian species in 61 genera from 101 sites in the Indo-Pacific. The goal of the CSD is to provide open access to coral spawning data to accelerate our understanding of coral reproductive biology and to provide a baseline against which to evaluate any future changes in reproductive phenology

    Impact of dairy effluent management in the grey water footprint.

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    The aims of this study were to assess the grey water footprint in South America dairy systems and analyzed the impact of effluent characteristics and environmental legislation on water footprint value. Grey water footprint quantifies freshwater pollution by the amount of water needed to re-dilute polluted freshwater back to an accepted national threshold value. Water footprints were determined collecting primary data in 61 farms of Argentina (Buenos Aires and Santa Fe provinces) and 20 dairies in Chile. The study considerate total phosphorus in the effluent and the production system as a no-point source of pollution. Phosphorus effluent concentration varied from 0.005 kg m3 to 0.686 kg m3 between farms. Chile had the highest phosphorus concentrations and Buenos Aires region the lowest, which could be related mainly to effluent management practices. Grey water footprint varied from 0.59 L of water kg-1 to 1.77 L of water kg-1 of milk. The maximum value of grey water footprint was observed with dairy slurry with the highest value to phosphorus concentration. Grey water footprint of dairy production will be less per unit of milk as milk production increases. It was observed in the results. The concentration of the element in the effluent, the element used to calculate grey water and the environmental law has a significant impact on footprint values.Comissão organizadora: Marcelo Bortoli, Julio Cesar Pascale Palhares, Caio Inácio de Teves, Valéria Reginatto Spiller, Ariel A. Szogi, Marina Celant De Prá, Ricardo L. R. Steinmetz , Andre Cestonaro do Amaral

    3D printed PLGA implants: APF DDM vs. FDM.

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    3D Printing offers a considerable potential for personalized medicines. This is especially true for customized biodegradable implants, matching the specific needs of each patient. Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is frequently used as matrix former in biodegradable implants. However, yet relatively little is known on the technologies, which can be used for the 3D printing of PLGA implants. The aim of this study was to compare: (i) Arburg Plastic Freeforming Droplet Deposition Modeling (APF DDM), and (ii) Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) to print mesh-shaped, ibuprofen-loaded PLGA implants. During APF DDM, individual drug-polymer droplets are deposited, fusing together to form filaments, which build up the implants. During FDM, continuous drug-polymer filaments are deposited to form the meshes. The implants were thoroughly characterized before and after exposure to phosphate buffer pH 7.4 using optical and scanning electron microscopy, GPC, DSC, drug release measurements and monitoring dynamic changes in the systems' dry & wet mass and pH of the bulk fluid. Interestingly, the mesh structures were significantly differed, although the device design (composition & theoretical geometry) were the same. This could be explained by the fact that the deposition of individual droplets during APF DDM led to curved and rather thick filaments, resulting in a much lower mesh porosity. In contrast, FDM printing generated straight and thinner filaments: The open spaces between them were much larger and allowed convective mass transport during drug release. Consequently, most of the drug was already released after 4 d, when substantial PLGA set on. In the case of APF DDM printed implants, most of the drug was still entrapped at that time point and substantial polymer swelling transformed the meshes into more or less continuous PLGA gels. Hence, the diffusion pathways became much longer and ibuprofen release was controlled over 2 weeks

    Dairy manure management perceptions and needs in South American countries

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    Milk production is important in South American countries being based mainly on grazing systems. Dairy slurry management has become an important issue in these production systems because of the large volumes produced and the environmental effects. Thus, manure management regulations are emerging in the region. This research aims to identify priorities for management strategies and technology transfer by assessing perceptions, needs and barriers toward dairy manure management by stakeholders in South American countries. A questionnaire was prepared and distributed in Spanish and Portuguese in different formats: on paper and online (PDF format and SurveyMonkeyTM platform) between March 2015- November 2017. It was divided into two sections, the first addressed issues related to water quality and pollution, odor generation, fertilizer value, pathogens impact and biogas production. Responses were measured across a standard 5-point Likert type scales. Section two addressed needs and hindrances concerning about manure application. A total of 593 surveys were completed: Argentina (n = 308, 52%), Brazil (n = 217, 37%) and Chile (n = 68, 11%). The majority of respondents were dairy farmers (31%), professional advisors and consultants (29%) and representatives of public institutions and researchers (31%). Some differences appear according the country. Overall, a large majority perceive that manure is a good fertilizer (91%), also they believe that it contributes to pathogen's transmission and groundwater and shallow aquifers ’contamination. Stakeholders (60%) perceived biogas production as a good option for manure treatment. Most of respondents (79%) would use manure to replace mineral fertilizers, with little differences between countries (Argentina 79%, Brazil 80% and Chile 68%). The most selected needs were: a management handbook, increased investment in equipment and technologies and better access to laboratory analysis. The most chosen barriers were: cumbersome management, lack of knowledge and of specific laws, with differences between countries and respondents. The survey showed interest in dairy manure management as a source of nutrients for grassland and crops, especially among farmers and advisors whom requested guidelines for responsible management. Policymakers and stakeholders should focus on promoting manure reuse on dairy farms through incentives, technologies and/or appropriate strategies, in order to improve nutrient use and reduce pollution to the wider environment.EEA RafaelaFil: Herrero, María A. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Producción Animal; ArgentinaFil: Palhares, Julio C.P. Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste. Group Water and Waste Management; BrasilFil: Salazar, Francisco J. Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA); ChileFil: Charlon, Veronica. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela. Producción Animal; ArgentinaFil: Tieri, Maria Paz. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Rafaela. Producción Animal; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Administración Agraria; ArgentinaFil: Pereyra, Ana M. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Producción Animal; Argentin
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