Road projects cost benefit analysis scenario analysis of the effect of varying inputs

Six projects from six countries were selected as the cases for detailed analysis in this study. They are from Argentina, Botswana, India, Kenya, Lao PDR and Paraguay, representing a wide range of geographical distribution. Also, the extent of the effect of economic downturn which these countries experienced ranges a wide variety. In an economic downturn, uncertainties increase with many inputs of road projects Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA), including fuel prices, levels of demand, investment costs and maintenance availability. Also, important parameters of project evaluation such as discount rate and value of time need to be more carefully scrutinized. Therefore, it is very important for the developing countries to have good understanding about the effects of the variability of these inputs/parameters on project viability and the ranking of road investments. It is a role of the developing agencies to conduct a systematic analysis of these effects and disseminate the findings and knowledge obtained. The objective of the study is to obtain insights regarding the effects of varying inputs and parameters on the viability of road projects through case studies using Highway Development and Management Model (HDM-4), thereby to facilitate the formulation and implementation of road projects that increase the welfare of the society under the environment of increased uncertainty in an economic downturn. The results of the study will be summarized in a transport note as a discrete knowledge product and disseminated among various stakeholders including developing agencies staff, government officials and donor communities. To assess the effects of increased uncertainty with inputs of cost benefit analysis on the economic viability of road projects, this study first investigated the range of variability of the inputs for the six selected projects/countries. It was found that the variability ranges differ by country reflecting the degree of decrease in transport demand and relative change in factor prices due to economic downturn. Document type: Boo

HYDRODYNAMIC RE-EXAMINATION OF UNDERWATER NON-PROPULSIVE PHASE IN FRONT CRAWL

The purpose of this study was to re-examination of the hand propulsive force (FP) during the entry and catch (EC) phase in a stroke of front crawl. The EC phase was defined as non-propulsive phase (Collet et al., 2000), which is until a hand starts moving backwards after it enters the water and moves forward. The other phases in the stroke was defined as propulsive phase. Twelve male swimmers performed a 20-m front crawl with maximal effort. For estimatinng the FP, six pressure sensors were attched on their right hand and trials were recorded by three-dimentional motion capture system. We calculated %EC that was the ratio of the mean FP in the EC phase to the mean FP in the propulsive phase. As a result, the mean FP in the EC phase was 22.4 ± 12.9 N and the %EC was 29.1%. Therefore, it was considered the EC phase is propulsive phase even though the hand moves forward

The effect of paddles on pressure and force generation at the hand during front crawl

Through pressure measurement, this study aimed to clarify the effects of hand paddle use on pressure and force generation around the hand during the front crawl. Eight male swimmers performed two trials of front crawl swimming with maximal effort, once using only their hands and once aided by hand paddles. During trials, pressure sensors and underwater motion capture cameras were used together to analyze hand kinematics and pressure forces acting on the hand. Six pressure sensors were attached to the right hand, and pressure forces acting on the right hand were estimated by multiplying the areas and the pressure differences between the palm side and dorsal side of the hand. Acting directions of pressure forces were analyzed using a normal vector perpendicular to the hand, calculated from coordinates of the right hand. As a result, using hand paddles decreases pressure differences between the palm and dorsal sides of hand related to the magnitude of pressure force. However, no difference was found in the mean value of resultant pressure forces compared with using hands alone, because the large surface area of the hand paddle compensated the decreased pressure differences due to decreased hand velocity. In addition, when hand paddles were used, the component of the pressure force acting in propulsive direction was significantly higher. Thus, the ratio of forces acting in the propulsive direction was higher than without hand paddles. These results suggest that the training loads with hand paddles are not high even if the swimming velocities increase because the power generated by upper limb motion didn’t increase

Bowing of Cold-rolled Strips by Multi-slitting

The relation between the cross sectional configurations of cold-rolled thin strips and the diameters of bowed strips after slitting has been investigated. When a cold-rolled strip is multi-slitted, an edge-rippled of a center-buckled strip will bow in its plane by the widthwise variation both in elastic strain and in plastic strain. The diameters of bowing due to both effects can be calculated by the equations (6), (11) in edge-rippled strips, and (10), (12) in center-buckeld strips respectively. These results have been ascertained by the slitting experiment of some cold-rolled strips

Climatic adaptation of bovine subspecies monitored by seminal characteristics during winter months in tropical region / Adaptação climática das subespécies bovinas monitoradas pelas características seminais durante meses de inverno em região tropical

The objective of this study was to evaluate parameters indicative of sperm quality (motility, vigor, and morphology) during the winter months in South-Mato Grosso, from Bos taurus and Bos indicus bulls, to analyze the climate influences in seminal changes. The ejaculate collects were performed on alternate days, using an artificial vagina, at a central for semen collection and bovine reproduction in the Midwest region from Brazil. In total, 122 ejaculates were evaluated, from 10 bulls, six Bos indicus and four Bos taurus. The ejaculates were submitted to evaluation of motility and vigor in phase contrast microscopy, and the sperm morphology was analyzed in a humid chamber. Samples of semen that presented 60% of motility and score 3 in vigor analysis were selected for freezing. After thawing, the motility and vigor were again evaluated. The statistical analysis was performed using a generalized linear mixed model (GLIMMIX) (P ≤ 0.05). Fresh (P = 0.016) and post-thawing vigor (P = 0.014), as well as the proportion of minor defects were influenced by the climate (P = 0.001) over the months. Among the subspecies (indicus x taurus), differences were observed only for minor morphological defects (3.27% indicus x 2.6% taurus; P = 0.009). It was concluded that, independent of the subspecies, freezing decreases the seminal parameters evaluated. In addition, indicus animals presented a lower proportion of minor defects, and taurine bulls seemed to be better adapted to the winter, although the climate did not generate significant alterations in ejaculate quality

Estimating the hydrodynamic forces during eggbeater kicking by pressure distribution analysis

This study investigates the reliability and validity of the estimation of the hydrodynamic forces during eggbeater kicking (a water-treading technique) by pressure distribution analysis (PDA). Our PDA procedure is very similar to that used in a previous study concerning breaststroke kicking (Tsunokawa et al., 2015). In this method, the force estimation is limited to a particular part of the body. However, unlike previous analyses, the PDA method obtains dynamic fluid forces under unsteady flow conditions without requiring cumbersome motion analysis in water. Twelve participants completed the eggbeater kicking activity under four load conditions (0, 1, 2 and 3 weights), and the hydrodynamic forces acting on their right foot are detected by the pressure sensors. To confirm the reliability of our PDA using successive tests, five participants are additionally made to complete the activity under a no-load condition. Further, the PDA is validated in a linear regression analysis of the mean resultant force calculated using the PDA method versus the applied vertical load. The reliability evaluation yields a high degree of coincidence (r = 0.99) and a mean effort of 4.1%. In the validity test, the net vertical loads are significantly correlated with the estimated forces [coefficient of determination (r2 = 0.91–1.00)]. Therefore, the PDA method is a reliable and valid estimator of eggbeater kicking

Effectiveness of motivational videos for elite swimmers: Subjective and biological evaluations

Motivational videos (MVs) are used in Japan in many competitive sports, both professional and amateur. However, several researchers have stated that the effectiveness of MVs has not been scientifically verified, and only subjective evaluations have been conducted in previous studies (Yamazaki & Sugiyama, 2009). This study examined the psychological effectiveness of MVs using both subjective and biological evaluations. The subjects were six elite Japanese collegiate swimmers participating in the FINA Swimming World Cup (age: 21.33 ± 0.51, four males and two females). We employed subjective and biological evaluations to examine these elite swimmers’ psychological motivation while watching an MV as part of their practice. We adopted subjective and self-report Psychological Condition Inventory (Yamazaki et al., 2008) to measure the athletes’ level of vigor while watching the MV. An electroencephalogram (EEG) was employed to evaluate the emotions of the swimmers. The emotional condition (vigor) was analysed by combining the extracted raw EEG data using a KANSEI module logger (Littlesoftware, 2018). A subjective evaluation showed that the score for vigor significantly improved after watching the MV (t = 2.33, p < 0.05), which was also indicated by the results of the biological evaluation (t = 5.69, p < 0.01). There was also a significant correlation between subjective and biological vigor after watching the MV (r = 0.77, p < 0.01). The results of this study, therefore, indicated that biological evaluation can be employed anew to verify the effectiveness of MVs

Fecal microbiota profile of ovariohysterectomized cats submitted to estrogen replacement

O objetivo deste estudo foi observar os efeitos da reposição de 17 β-estradiol na microbiota fecal de gatas castradas. Amostras individuais de fezes frescas foram colhidas e armazenadas a -80°C. Foi realizado o sequenciamento das regiões V3/V4 do gene 16S rRNA e a análise bioinformática. A razão Firmicutes/Bacteriodetes foi menor no grupo que recebeu reposição estrogênica em comparação ao grupo SHAM (P = 0,005). O índice de Jaccard (P = 0,123) e o índice de Yue &amp; Clayton (P = 0,094) não revelaram diferenças na alfa e beta diversidade. A análise discriminatória linear de tamanho do efeito (LefSe) identificou Firmicutes e Megasphaera como biomarcadores para o grupo SHAM, e Burkholderiales, Betaproteobacteria, Sutterellaceae, Suterella, Proteobacteria, Proteobacteria não classificada e Collinsella para o grupo que recebeu reposição estrogênica.This study aimed to observe the effects of 17 β estradiol replacements on the fecal microbiota in spayed cats. Individual samples of fresh feces were collected and stored at -80° C. Sequencing of the V3/V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene was used, and bioinformatic analysis was performed. Firmicutes/Bacteriodetes ratio was lower in the group receiving estrogen replacement compared to the SHAM group (P = 0,005). Jaccard index (P = 0.123) and Yue &amp; Clayton index (P = 0.094) did not reveal alpha and beta diversity differences. The linear discriminant analysis effect size (LefSe) identified Firmicutes and MegasPhaera as the biomarkers for the SHAM group, and Burkholderiales, Betaproteobacteria, Sutterellaceae, Suterella, Proteobacteria, Proteobacteria unclassified and Collinsella for the group receiving estrogen replacement.

Determination of cat sperm concentration using the CASA system/ Determinação da concentração de espermatozoides felinos utilizando o sistema CASA

This study aimed to standardize the CASA system for sperm concentration of cat epididymal samples, using a Neubauer chamber as the gold standard. Epididymal spermatozoa were collected from 44 adult cats. The sperm concentration was evaluated in the Neubauer chamber and by the CASA system at a dilution of 1:200. After assays, the ejaculates were separated into four groups according to the sperm cell count in the CASA system; A (≤ 100), B (101 to 400), C (401 to 800), and D (˃ 800). The statistical analysis measured the agreement between techniques using the Bland-Altman test. A 95% confidence interval was adopted and the statistical program MedCalc 18.2.1 was used. Groups A, B, and D presented disagreement between the CASA system and the Neubauer chamber. Only group C (401 to 800 cells per field) demonstrated agreement between methods. It can be concluded that evaluation of spermatic concentration of domestic felines by the CASA system is reliable when the reading is performed within the range of 401 to 800 cells per field, and could represent a viable alternative to the Neubauer chamber