A schematic sampling protocol for contaminant monitoring in raptors

Birds of prey, owls and falcons are widely used as sentinel species in raptor biomonitoring programmes. A major current challenge is to facilitate large-scale biomonitoring by coordinating contaminant monitoring activities and by building capacity across countries. This requires sharing, dissemination and adoption of best practices addressed by the Networking Programme Research and Monitoring for and with Raptors in Europe (EURAPMON) and now being advanced by the ongoing international COST Action European Raptor Biomonitoring Facility. The present perspective introduces a schematic sampling protocol for contaminant monitoring in raptors. We provide guidance on sample collection with a view to increasing sampling capacity across countries, ensuring appropriate quality of samples and facilitating harmonization of procedures to maximize the reliability, comparability and interoperability of data. The here presented protocol can be used by professionals and volunteers as a standard guide to ensure harmonised sampling methods for contaminant monitoring in raptors

Progress on bringing together raptor collections in Europe for contaminant research and monitoring in relation to chemicals regulation

Progress on bringing together raptor collections in Europe for contaminant research and monitoring in relation to chemicals regulatio

Using ELECTRE TRI outranking method to sort MOMILP nondominated solutions

Several interactive methods exist to identify nondominated solutions in a Multiple Objective Mixed Integer Linear Program. But what if the Decision Maker is also interested in sorting those solutions (assigning them to pre-established ordinal categories)? We propose an interactive "branch-and-bound like" technique to progressively build the nondominated set, combined with ELECTRE TRI method (Pessimistic procedure) to sort identified nondominated solutions. A disaggregation approach is considered in order to avoid direct definition of all ELECTRE TRI preference parameters. Weight-importance coefficients are inferred and category reference profiles are determined based on assignment examples provided by the Decision Maker. A computation tool was developed with a twofold purpose: support the Decision Maker involved in a decision process and provide a test bed for research purposes.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VCT-48GF3RT-B/1/55841cf788557c60dac156a4e7b1890

Horizontal and Vertical Handheld Pointing Devices Comparison for Increasing Human Systems Integration at the Design Stage

In addition to postural and biomechanical aspects related to usage of handheld pointing devices it is also important to perform usability assessment. The paper reports on an experimental study comparing two computer pointing devices, a standard horizontal PC mouse and a vertical device (for neutral pronation of the forearm), both commercially available. The standardized tasks implemented by software and performed by 20 experienced computer mouse users included pointing, dragging and steering. The usability parameters of effectiveness and efficiency were calculated and the participants subjectively assessed their discomfort, effort and ease of use in relation to each device in each task. Efficiency and effectiveness were higher for the horizontal device. Assessments of discomfort, effort and ease of use across the different tasks also supported the consideration of preference for the horizontal device in detriment of the vertical model. The results suggest that designing hybrid configurations may configure a better compromise

Sport Practice Tourism: a segment of the Sport Tourism Market

Sport Tourism represents the knowledge and the group of practices where Sport and Tourism became interdependent. This overlapping area turns clearly at two levels that might be named by Sport Tourism Spectacle and Sport Tourism Practice. According to Pigeassou [9] the foundations of sport tourism do not consist purely of classifying sport tourism activities using categories employed in sport activities. In this article we provide a theoretical framework for the understanding of the market segment in Sport Tourism Practice, looking at their client behaviour typology (enthusiastic and casual), their motivations and high lightening the role this framework plays on the tourist destiny development. Furthermore we present some empirical results of a seminal experimental design.Tourism; Sport; Sport Tourism; Sport Tourism Practice; Sport Tourism Spectacle

Unreinforced and confined masonry buildings in seismic regions : validation of macro-element models and cost analysis

Modern design of buildings requires accounting for sustainability aspects using a life-cycle perspective, but also the early design phase where earthquake actions have a significant influence concerning the structural design. Recently, the seismic evaluation of masonry buildings using macro-element modeling approaches became popular, by applying performance-based assessment procedures through nonlinear static (pushover) analysis methodologies. This work addresses the validation for these approaches referring to two full-scale masonry structures tested under quasi-static lateral loading and almost unknown in the literature. The experimental behavior of tested unreinforced masonry (URM) and confined masonry (CM) structures is compared against the pushover response of the corresponding computational models. Then, referring to typical housing in southern Europe and its usual design with a reinforced concrete (RC) structure, the validated assessment tools are employed to evaluate the earthquake-resistant possibilities of URM and CM solutions, namely in terms of maximum applicable ground accelerations. The masonry solutions are also compared in terms of construction costs against the RC typology. The considered analysis tools present a good agreement when predicting, satisfactorily, the experimental test behavior, thus being able to be used in performance-based design. With respect to the studied housing, the predicted pushover responses for the masonry structures denote capacity to resist earthquakes adequately. These structures allow also a significant cost reduction (up to 25%) against the RC, thus appearing to be competing alternatives.The first author acknowledges the financial support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the Ph.D. Grant SFRH/BD/41221/2007. This paper is in honor of Engineer Angel San Bartolome Ramos, Professor and Researcher of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, for his contribution in the field of masonry structures

Benchmarking of commercial software for the seismic assessment of masonry buildings

In the present work a comparative study on the evaluation of the seismic response prediction of two buildings was made, using two Italian computer codes based on macro-elements and pushover analysis, seeking to gather knowledge on the needs for national applications. The buildings response to the earthquakes predicted by the two programs, characterized by the base shear, the deformation capacity and also the maximum ground acceleration supported was compared. The results obtained show the good performance of the methods based on modelling by macro-elements, which provide realistic predictions of the structure response to the earthquake with regard the base shear. In some cases good agreement is also found in terms of deformation capacity. In correspondence to the modelling by macro-elements, the non-linear static analysis used by the two computer codes evaluated seems to be a good and easily understandable approach

Possibilities and comparison of structural component models for the seismic assessment of modern unreinforced masonry buildings

This paper addresses the possibilities of structural component models for the seismic assessment of masonry buildings using pushover analysis. The ultimate goal is to allow efficient design of new unreinforced masonry buildings in seismic areas. Different modelling strategies are presented and the implementation of a simple design tool based on structural component models is described in detail. The different approaches are applied to a two-storey building with regular plan and elevation, allowing for a comparison between them. The results indicate that macro-modelling using structural component models and pushover analysis are adequate approaches for the seismic assessment and design of unreinforced masonry buildings, as the tools require very low computational resources, allow easy interpretation of results and provide satisfactory accuracy

Potencialidades de construção e projeto de edifícios em alvenaria simples

A alvenaria é a mais tradicional tipologia de construção em Portugal. No entanto, a simplicidade de utilização de betão armado e um receio pouco fundamentado sobre a resistência aos sismos rapidamente fizeram esquecer a alvenaria como solução estrutural. Recentemente, têm sido tomadas diligências no sentido de reanimar a construção com alvenaria resistente, nomeadamente através do desenvolvimento de sistemas de alvenaria modernos eficientes e sismo-resistentes e de estudos de viabilidade desta solução. Neste artigo avaliam-se as potencialidades de construção de edifícios com alvenaria simples em Portugal, nomeadamente a possibilidade de construção em altura, e com arrojo arquitectónico com referência a um caso real. Paralelamente, potencia-se a utilização de dois softwares de cálculo comerciais no projecto sísmico de edifícios em alvenaria

Verificação da segurança sísmica de edifícios em alvenaria através de metodologias simplificadas

Este artigo introduz conceitos de base para o cálculo sísmico de edifícios sustentáveis em alvenaria simples de pequeno porte (até 2 pisos), usando metodologias de análise estrutural a nível global e simplificadas. Estas metodologias, ainda que relativamente simples e passíveis de utilização através de um cálculo manual, foram desenvolvidadas em países com sismicidade média a alta, e ainda assim com forte tradição de construção em alvenaria simples moderna (i.e. unidades robustas e estruturas com paredes bem ligadas e dispostas em ambas as direcções). O desempenho sísmico de edifícios assim dimensionados mostrou-se bastante satisfatório