Model for heterogeneous catalysis on metal surfaces with application to hypersonic flows

A model for heterogeneous catalysis for Copper, Nickel, and Platinum has been devised. The model simulates the heterogeneous chemical kinetics of dissociated air flow impinging metal surfaces. Elementary phenomena such as, atomic and molecular adsorption, Eley-Rideal and Langmuir-Hinshelwood recombinations, and thermal desorptions have been accounted for. Comparisons with experimental results for Nitrogen and Oxygen recombination show good agreement. In the second part of this work, the finite rate catalysis model has been used to analyzed numerically the problems of the heterogeneous catalysis similarity between hypersonic ground testing and reentry flight. Therefore the flow around a blunt cone under these conditions has been calculated and results for heat fluxes and for a suggested similarity parameter have been compared and discussed

Motivation for employees to participate in workplace health promotion: literature review

According to the Luxembourg Declaration, workplace health promotion (WHP) is the combined efforts of employers, workers and society to improve the health and wellbeing of people at work. This can be achieved by: improving work organisation and the work environment; promoting the active participation of all stakeholders in the process; and encouraging personal development. It is important to note that WHP aims to be a complementary support for, but not a replacement of, workplace risk management. Proper risk management is an essential foundation for a successful WHP programme. Regarding actual participation in WHP activities, the literature suggests that the number of participants often tends to be rather low once the WHP project is actually in progress. Therefore, it is pertinent to investigate how organisations are able to motivate their employees to participate in WHP activities in both the short- and long term. At the same time it should be kept in mind that employee participation in health promotion activities is totally voluntary. The aim of this report was to conduct a review of the available literature to identify the motivating factors for employees to participate in WHP. This knowledge can be used to improve WHP programmes and, consequently, the participation rates. The findings section of the report is divided into two key areas. The first section outlines and describes some of the key findings from the literature concerning workers’ motivation to participate in WHP; and the second examines the contributory role diversity may play in worker participation and recruitment

Mental health promotion in the workplace – a good practice report

Promotion of mental health at work is one of the Community OSH Strategy’s priorities13. In 2009, a case study collection on mental health at work was conducted for the EU-OSHA. The present report is based on this collection of good practice examples. The aim of the report was to review the collatedcase studies for equipping practitioners, policy makers and employers to draw conclusions from these studies and take these into account when implementing programmes that target mental health in the workplace. Organisations involved were situated in Europe and varied across occupational sectors. Specific aspects of each organisation’s MHP programme were examined to determine and identify commonly observed success factors and practical approaches and strategies to overcome challenges across the thirteen case studies. Additionally approaches and strategies used in the case studies that were particularly innovative or original were highlighted and discussed

Motivation for employers to carry out workplace health promotion: literature review

Workplace health promotion (WHP) is the combined efforts of employers, workers and society to improve the health and wellbeing of people at work. This can be achieved by: improving the work organisation and the work environment; promoting the active participation of all stakeholders in the process, and encouraging personal development. It is important to note that WHP aims to be a complementary support for, but not a replacement of, workplace risk management. Proper risk management is an essential foundation for a successful WHP programme. Developing and sustaining a healthy work environment and workforce has clear benefits for companies and employees, but can also lead to an improvement in social and economic development at local, regional, national and European level. This report presents the findings of a literature review that aims to identify the key reasons, arguments and motivation for employers to carry out workplace health promotion initiatives, and discusses some of the associated challenges and obstacles. This knowledge can be used to encourage and motivate employers to start WHP

Tidal wetland restoration at Ketenisse polder (Schelde Estuary, Belgium): developments in the first year

Ketenisse polder is a former intertidal brackish marsh (30ha) situated in the mesohaline part of the Schelde Estuary. In the 19th century its central part was embanked as a polder. In the mid 1980’s the area was raised above intertidal level when it was used as a dumping site for the excavated soil from the Liefkenshoek tunnel. In 2002 the area was restored, it was levelled with a weak slope below mean high water level, creating the optimal starting conditions for the development of intertidal mudflats and marshes. Geomorphological changes, sediment characteristics and colonisation by phytobenthos, vegetation, zoobenthos, water birds and breeding birds at the restored site are monitored. The monitoring results of the first year after tidal restoration are presented. Sedimentation as well as erosion between 0 and 30cm was observed in the first year. Local changes in stream current patterns caused erosion on parts of the former mudflats; sheltered depressions filled up relatively fast. Median grain size showed large variation. Organic carbon content of the sediment varied between 0.5 and 15% and was closely related to sediment medium grain size. Chlorophyll a concentrations were negatively correlated with median grain size and tended to increase from the low water line to the shore. They were comparable to nearby intertidal areas and displayed similar seasonal variability with a maximum in spring. The large surface covered wtithVaucheria was indicator of initiated succession towards tidal marsh. Scirpus maritimus and transitional vegetations to Chenopodiaceae-vegetations established with increasing altitude. The Chenopodiaceae-vegetations were relicts of earlier vegetations before the tidal restoration, and will probably disappear. The macrobenthos community was dominated by Oligochaetes, which were present in 73% of all samples and attained an average density of about 40*103 ind. m-2. Other macrobenthos species found were nematods, copepods and Corophium. On the sheltered sampling stations macrobenthic densities were high compared to those on nearby intertidal areas. In the first season, 15 breeding bird species were recorded, the most common species being the Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta). The most common waterbirds were Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna), Greylag Goose (Anser anser), Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avoset) and Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), typical species for the mesohaline part of the estuary. The first year’s results suggest that Ketenisse polder has the potential to develop towards a varied and normal functional intertidal area

Behavior of mixed Chlorophyceae cultures under prolonged dark exposure. Respiration rate modeling

[EN] The behavior of three different microalgal cultures, when exposed for a long period (>48 h) to dark conditions, was studied with a methodology based on respirometry. The cultures were transferred to darkness and the oxygen evolution in the reactors was monitored after successive air injections. Several sequential oxygen uptake rates were thus calculated and a respiration constant, assuming a first order decay of a fraction of the biomass, was obtained by calibration. Initial specific oxygen uptake rates were in the range of 0.9 5.1 mg O2 g TSS−1 h−1 and dark respiration constants in the range of 0.005 0.018 h−1.This research work has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO, CTM2011-28595-C02- 01/02) jointly with the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which are gratefully acknowledged. This research was also supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation via a pre doctoral FPU fellowship to the first author (AP2009-4903). The authors would also like to thank the water management entities of the Generalitat Valenciana (EPSAR).Ruiz Martínez, A.; Serralta Sevilla, J.; Seco Torrecillas, A.; Ferrer, J. (2016). Behavior of mixed Chlorophyceae cultures under prolonged dark exposure. Respiration rate modeling. Ecological Engineering. 91:265-269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2016.02.025S2652699

Atlantic mammal traits: a dataset of morphological traits of mammals in the atlantic forest of south America

Measures of traits are the basis of functional biological diversity. Numerous works consider mean species-level measures of traits while ignoring individual variance within species. However, there is a large amount of variation within species and it is increasingly apparent that it is important to consider trait variation not only between species, but also within species. Mammals are an interesting group for investigating trait-based approaches because they play diverse and important ecological functions (e.g., pollination, seed dispersal, predation, grazing) that are correlated with functional traits. Here we compile a data set comprising morphological and life history information of 279 mammal species from 39,850 individuals of 388 populations ranging from −5.83 to −29.75 decimal degrees of latitude and −34.82 to −56.73 decimal degrees of longitude in the Atlantic forest of South America. We present trait information from 16,840 individuals of 181 species of non-volant mammals (Rodentia, Didelphimorphia, Carnivora, Primates, Cingulata, Artiodactyla, Pilosa, Lagomorpha, Perissodactyla) and from 23,010 individuals of 98 species of volant mammals (Chiroptera). The traits reported include body mass, age, sex, reproductive stage, as well as the geographic coordinates of sampling for all taxa. Moreover, we gathered information on forearm length for bats and body length and tail length for rodents and marsupials. No copyright restrictions are associated with the use of this data set. Please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data.Fil: Gonçalves, Fernando. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Bovendorp, Ricardo S.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Beca, Gabrielle. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Bello, Carolina. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Costa Pereira, Raul. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Muylaert, Renata L.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Rodarte, Raisa R.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Villar, Nacho. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Souza, Rafael. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Graipel, Maurício E.. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; BrasilFil: Cherem, Jorge J.. Caipora Cooperativa, Florianopolis; BrasilFil: Faria, Deborah. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz; BrasilFil: Baumgarten, Julio. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz; BrasilFil: Alvarez, Martín R.. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz; BrasilFil: Vieira, Emerson M.. Universidade do Brasília; BrasilFil: Cáceres, Nilton. Universidade Federal de Santa María. Santa María; BrasilFil: Pardini, Renata. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Leite, Yuri L. R.. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Costa, Leonora Pires. Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo; BrasilFil: Mello, Marco Aurelio Ribeiro. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Fischer, Erich. Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul; BrasilFil: Passos, Fernando C.. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Varzinczak, Luiz H.. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Prevedello, Jayme A.. Universidade do Estado de Rio do Janeiro; BrasilFil: Cruz-Neto, Ariovaldo P.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; BrasilFil: Carvalho, Fernando. Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense; BrasilFil: Reis Percequillo, Alexandre. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Paviolo, Agustin Javier. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú; ArgentinaFil: Duarte, José M. B.. Universidade Estadual Paulista Julio de Mesquita Filho; Brasil. Fundación Oswaldo Cruz; BrasilFil: Bernard, Enrico. Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; BrasilFil: Agostini, Ilaria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú | Universidad Nacional de Misiones. Instituto de Biología Subtropical. Instituto de Biología Subtropical - Nodo Puerto Iguazú; ArgentinaFil: Lamattina, Daniela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentina. Ministerio de Salud de la Nación; ArgentinaFil: Vanderhoeven, Ezequiel Andres. Ministerio de Salud de la Nación; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste; Argentin

Evidence of Hantavirus Infection among Bats in Brazil

Citation: Sabino-Santos, G., Maia, F. G. M., Vieira, T. M., Muylaert, R. D., Lima, S. M., Goncalves, C. B., . . . Figueiredo, L. T. M. (2015). Evidence of Hantavirus Infection among Bats in Brazil. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 93(2), 404-406. doi:10.4269/ajtmh.15-0032Hantaviruses are zoonotic viruses harbored by rodents, bats, and shrews. At present, only rodent-borne hantaviruses are associated with severe illness in humans. New species of hantaviruses have been recently identified in bats and shrews greatly expanding the potential reservoirs and ranges of these viruses. Brazil has one of the highest incidences of hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome in South America, hence it is critical to know what is the prevalence of hantaviruses in Brazil. Although much is known about rodent reservoirs, little is known regarding bats. We captured 270 bats from February 2012 to April 2014. Serum was screened for the presence of antibodies against a recombinant nucleoprotein (rN) of Araraquara virus (ARAQV). The prevalence of antibody to hantavirus was 9/53 with an overall seroprevalence of 17%. Previous studies have shown only insectivorous bats to harbor hantavirus; however, in our study, of the nine seropositive bats, five were frugivorous, one was carnivorous, and three were sanguivorous phyllostomid bats

Een 18de-eeuwse wraksite op de Buiten Ratel-zandbank (Belgische territoriale wateren): 1. Multidisciplinair onderzoek van het vondstenmateriaal

In 1996 werd op de Buiten Ratel-zandbank, op 9 mijl van de kust, ter hoogte van Koksijde, een houten scheepswrak gelokaliseerd. Het werd onderzocht door een groep sportduikers, met de naam NATA. Jarenlange verkenning van de wraksite leverde talrijke vondsten op. In 2003 zochten de duikers steun bij het toenmalige IAP (Instituut voor het Archeologisch Patrimonium), nu Vlaams Instituut voor het Onroerend Erfgoed (VIOE), om het onderzoek en de conservatie op wetenschappelijke basis verder te zetten. Het VIOE ontfermde zich over het onderzoek van de tot nu toe geborgen materiële resten van de wraksite. Het eerste hoofdstuk van het artikel geeft een overzicht van de observaties van de wraksite via duikonderzoek en via gespecialiseerde technieken vanop een onderzoeksschip. In hoofdstuk 2 worden de objecten beschreven, hun betekenis aan boord van het schip besproken, evenals hun datering en herkomst. Hoofdstuk 3 brengt alle informatie samen en geeft aan wat er in de toekomst nog aan onderzoek kan gebeuren