387 research outputs found
âVirtual Surf Boothâ: Assessment of a Novel Tool and Data Collection Process to Measure the Impact of a 6-Week Surf Programme on Mental Wellbeing
Surf therapy is increasingly used as a health intervention, but evidence of its mental health benefits remains unclear. This longitudinal mixed-method study assessed the usability and acceptability of a novel online data collection tool and process to measure the impact of a surf programme on acute and chronic mental wellbeing. Fifteen women attending a 6-week surf programme in the UK were asked to complete a tool consisting of video recordings, word association and the Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being scale (SWEMWBS). Usability and acceptability were assessed through focus groups and quantitative data. The data generated in the focus groups, video recordings and word association were analysed via reflexive thematic analysis, and SWEMWBS presented descriptively. Participants perceived the tool as easy to use due to the completion time and its functionalities, and useful for self-reflection. Facilitating conditions such as timing and location, areas for improvement such as increased privacy, accessibility, incentivisation, and factors impacting data generated were further identified. Data collected covered both acute and chronic mental wellbeing and showed a positive relationship between surf and mental wellbeing. Further research is needed to confirm these findings in diverse populations, identify potential moderators, and confirm the validity of this tool and process
Study of possible reduction or withdrawal of vitamin premix during finisher period in floor and battery cage broiler raising systems
The effect of dietary vitamin premix withdrawal or reduction between 29 and 35, 36 and 42, and 29 and 42 days of age on broiler chicken performance and immunocompetence was evaluated. The diets were formulated based on wheat and barley, and the experiment was conducted in floor pens (experiment 1) and battery cage (experiment 2) rearing systems in 7 treatments and 4 replicates for each treatment. The results of experiment 1 showed that vitamin premix reduction and withdrawal at 29 days of age did not impair performance during the final period of broiler chicken (29 to 42 days). The results of experiment 2 showed that there were no significant differences in performance with reduction or withdrawal of vitamin premix from diets in 29 to 35 days, but in 36 to 42 days of age, performance of birds fed with a diet that has no vitamin premix (T1) was significantly lower than other treatments (P < 0.05). The results of the two experiments demonstrated that immunocompetence response was not affected by treatments in the finisher period (P > 0.05). In conclusion, the results of this study indicated that in the battery cage system, it is possible to reduce dietary vitamin premix during finisher period, but withdrawal can negatively affect performance of broiler chickens, while in the floor system, it is possible to withdraw vitamin supplements in broilersâ finisher diets.Key words: Vitamin premix, reduction, broiler, wheat, immunocompetence
Criticality and oscillatory behavior in non-Markovian Contact Process
A Non-Markovian generalization of one-dimensional Contact Process (CP) is
being introduced in which every particle has an age and will be annihilated at
its maximum age . There is an absorbing state phase transition which is
controlled by this parameter. The model can demonstrate oscillatory behavior in
its approach to the stationary state. These oscillations are also present in
the mean-field approximation which is a first-order differential equation with
time-delay. Studying dynamical critical exponents suggests that the model
belongs to the DP universlity class.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Short communication: Application of machine-vision to assess weight of fish (Case study: Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Computer Vision (CV) is a relatively young discipline which has been widely used to automate quality evaluation. CV inspection of fish and fish products can provide efficient, consistent and cost effective alternative, so efforts focused on speed and accuracy of machine vision as a substitute for human inspection of foods. Machine vision is explained as the construction of explicit informative and meaningful descriptions of a physical object via image analysis. Actually it encloses the capturing, processing and analysis of two-dimensional images, and by modeling human vision electronically perceives and understands images. ... This study tries to evaluate the relationship between weight of fish and visual features derived from image processing and present best fit relationship between weight and visual features
Age, growth and spawning season of Luciobarbus esocinus Heckel, 1843 in Gamasiab River, Iran
In the current paper reproductive strategy and growth rates of Luciobarbus esocinus were investigated from 2010 to 2012, in Gamasiab River, Kermanshah, Iran. Samples were collected seasonally by gillnet and electro-fisher device. Sex ratio was evaluated from 162 individuals and the percentage of male and female individuals were 54.76% and 45.24% respectively. Age structure was distributed between I and V and most frequency numbers for males and females belonged to II and IV age group, respectively. Length-weight relationship was computed as W=8E-05TL^2.6546 for all individuals. Mean total length and weight was 333.82±13.10 mm and 297.67±4.85 g for males, and 371.5±21.17 mm and 307.85±7.64 g for females. The von-Bertalanffy growth models of L. esocinus were described as Lt =357.14Ă[1-e^(-0.77Ă(t-0.090))] for males, Lt =367.02Ă[1-e^(-0.78Ă(tâ0.094))] for females and Lt =363.57Ă[1-e^(-0.76Ă(t â0.087))] for both sexes. Results indicated that growth factors were highly similar in spring, summer and winter. CDA analysis revealed that the total and gonad weight are the main factors in discriminant analysis. The highest GSI values were found in spring for females and winter for males, however, it decreased rapidly after spring in females. Maximum growth rates were observed in early ages (I-II) and depleted with ages. K value and Lâ were determined as 0.77±0.09 Y^-1 and 357.14±10.38 mm for males and 0.78±0.24 Y^-1 and 367.02±24.15 mm for females, respectively. In conclusion this study provided basic information for stock assessment and management of L. esocinus in Gamasiab Reservoir
A Simple Approach to Dynamic Material Balance in Gas-Condensate Reservoirs
In traditional material balance calculations, shut-in well pressure data are used to
determine average reservoir pressure while recent techniques do not require the well to be
shut-in and use instead flowing well pressure-rate data. These methods, which are known as
âdynamicâ material balance, are developed for single-phase flow (oil or gas) in
reservoirs. However, utilization of such methods for gas-condensate reservoirs may create
significant errors in prediction of average reservoir pressure due to violation of the
single-phase assumption in such reservoirs.
In a previous work, a method for production
data analysis in gas-condensate reservoirs was developed. The method required standard gas
production rate, producing gas-oil ratio, flowing well pressure, CVD data and relative
permeability curves. This paper presents a new technique which does not need relative
permeability curves and flowing well pressure. In this method, the producing oil-gas ratio
is interpolated in the vaporized oil in gas phase
(Rv) versus pressure (p)
data in the CVD table and the corresponding pressure is located. The parameter
pressure/two-phase deviation factor
(p/ztp)
is then evaluated at the determined pressure points and is plotted versus produced moles
(np) which forms a straight line. The
nature of this plot is such that its extrapolation to point where
p/ztp = 0
will give initial moles in place. Putting initial pressure/initial two-phase deviation
factor
(pi/ztp,i)
(known parameter) and estimated initial moles
(ni) into the material balance equation,
average reservoir pressure can be determined. A main assumption behind the method is that
the region where both gas and condensate phases are mobile is of negligible size compared
to the reservoir. The approach is quite simple and calculations are much easier than the
previous work. It provides a practical engineering tool for industry studies as it
requires data which are generally available in normal production operations. However, it
is only applicable when average reservoir pressure approaches dew point pressure and falls
below it.
The methodology is validated using synthetic production data for several
examples. In addition, the method is evaluated through estimation of average reservoir
pressure and original gas in place from actual field data. The results show a fairly good
agreement in gas in place obtained from the new method and that of volumetrically
calculated value for this field
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A double masked randomised 4-week, placebo-controlled study in the USA, Thailand and Taiwan to compare the efficacy of oral valganciclovir and topical 2% ganciclovir in the treatment of cytomegalovirus anterior uveitis: study protocol.
IntroductionCytomegalovirus (CMV) anterior uveitis is a recognised cause of anterior uveitis in immunocompetent patients and is preventable cause of vision loss. Ocular sequelae include corneal endothelial damage which can cause corneal oedema and failure, as well as glaucoma. Recurrences of inflammation are common and therefore patients are often exposed to long-term therapy. Oral therapy is available in the form of valganciclovir, although with the caveat of systemic side effects such as bone marrow suppression and renal failure necessitating regular interval laboratory monitoring. Recent reports have demonstrated that topical 2% ganciclovir solution may offer promising treatment outcomes in patients with CMV anterior uveitis with superior safety, cost-effectiveness and convenience profiles. An investigation into the relative equipoise of these therapies is warranted for these reasons.Methods and analysisThe Systemic and Topical Control of Cytomegalovirus Anterior uveitis: Treatment Outcomes (STACCATO) trial is designed as a multicentre, block randomised by site, double-masked, placebo-controlled trial comparing the efficacy of oral valganciclovir, 2% topical ganciclovir and placebo in treating PCR-proven CMV anterior uveitis. Participant clinical evaluation will occur at three study time points by a masked study ophthalmologist over a 28-day period to assess resolution of ocular inflammation (secondary outcome). A control group will provide additional information about the possible impact that the infected host's immune response may play in controlling local viral replication. The primary analysis is an analysis of covariance (three arms) correcting for baseline to compare quantitative CMV viral load in the anterior chamber (AC) aqueous fluid before and 7âdays after treatment.Ethics and disseminationThe University of California San Francisco Committee on Human Research and the Khon Kaen University Institutional Review Board have given ethical approval. The results of this trial will be presented at local and international meetings and submitted for peer-reviewed journals for publication.Trial registration numberNCT03576898
Impact of glycine betaine on salinity tolerance of stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) under in vitro condition
Stevia (Stevia
rebaudiana Bertoni), with great potential as
a natural sweeteners source, has a high
content of sweeteners, which are up to 150
times sweeter than sugar, but virtually with
no calories. Stevia also suitable to be
cultivated in semiarid climates and coastal
areas, which are characterized by the low
quality of the irrigation water. Soil salinity
occupies a prominent place among the soil
problems that threaten the sustainability of
agriculture over a vast area in the world.
Glycine betaine is an osmoprotectant, that
plays an important role and accumulates
rapidly in many plants during salinity or
drought stress. In order to evaluation of
glycine betaine amending effects on salinity
stress in stevia under in vitro condition, a
factorial experiment was conducted in 2015.
Four NaCl levels, including 0, 50, 75 and
100 mM, along with 0, 1, 12.5, 25 and 50
mM of glycine betaine concentrations were
used in Murashige and Skoog (MS)
medium. The results showed that salinity
levels had significant reduction effects on
plant height, root length, shoot fresh weight,
number of leaf, total chlorophyll,
rebaudioside A and stevioside of the stevia
genotype. Due to increasing of glycine
betaine, levels all the traits were increased.
Owing to amending effect of glycine
betaine, its high concentrations made less
hazarding effects of salinity on the
researched traits. The highest mean value of
rebaudioside A (10.62rt) and stevioside
(23.38rt) determined at 50 mM of glycine
betaine with 0 mM of NaCl concentration
Domain-specific risk assessment using integrated simulation: A case study of an onshore wind project
Although many quantitative risk assessment models have been proposed in literature, their use in construction practice remain limited due to a lack of domain-specific models, tools, and application examples. This is especially true in wind farm construction, where the state-of-the-art integrated Monte Carlo simulation and critical path method (MCS-CPM) risk assessment approach has yet to be demonstrated. The present case study is the first reported application of the MCS-CPM method for risk assessment in wind farm construction and is the first case study to consider correlations between cost and schedule impacts of risk factors using copulas. MCS-CPM provided reasonable risk assessment results for a wind farm project, and its use in practice is recommended. Aimed at facilitating the practical application of quantitative risk assessment methods, this case study provides a much-needed analytical generalization of MCS-CPM, offering application examples, discussion of expected results, and recommendations to wind farm construction practitioners
Pore Scale Characterisation of Coal: An Unconventional Challenge
oal seam gas is an unconventional resource for natural gas that is becoming popular due to its environmental benefit and abundance. This paper reviews recent developments on the pore-scale characterisation of coal from coal seam gas reserviors. The development of micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) imaging has enabled for the 3D characterization of the fracture system in coals. This provides detailed insights into understanding flow in these unconventional reservoirs. A novel image calibration method in which the skeleton of the fracture system is obtained from micro-CT imaging while the fracture apertures are measured from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is described. We also show the application of micro-CT imaging for studying diffusion processes in ultralow permeability matrices and discuss the incorporation of the data into calculations of gas production from unconventional reservoirs. The extraction of statistical information from micro-CT images to reconstruct coal cleat system are also demonstrated. This technique allows for preserving the key attributes of the cleat system while the generated fracture network is not limited in terms of size nor resolution. The developments of microfluidic methods for understanding the complex displacement mechanisms in coal seams are also described. These low-cost experimental methods can provide unique information about the displacement mechanisms occurring during gas production from coal seam reservoirs. Variation of coal contact angle with pressure is analysed and results demonstrate important wettability processes that occur in coal seams. We describe numerical methods for prediction of petrophysical properties from micro-CT images of coal and discuss the associated limitations when dealing with coal samples. The paper concludes by addressing the challenges faced when characterising coal at the micro-scale and approaches for population of coal data into reservoir simulators for relaible prediction of reservoir behaviour during gas production as well as CO2 sequestration in coalbeds
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