A Study of Curricular and Spatial Characteristics of Selected Public and Private Secondary School Facilities Constructed from 1967 Through 1976 in Puerto Rico

Problem. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the spatial allocation for curricular purposes and the special features of each of the twenty-seven public and private secondary schools built in Puerto Rico during the years 1967-1976. The problem was: Were these schools being constructed in accordance with the desired curriculum; was the curriculum an outgrowth of the resulting physical structures, or were the curriculum and the planning of the structures unrelated? -- Method. The spaces within the building were grouped into three major categories: (a) classrooms and laboratories; (b) special facilities; and (c) operation and services facilities. In order to obtain data regarding these three categories a questionnaire was sent and completed, and a personal visitation was made for inspection of each school building. Blueprints and specifications were secured from architectural firms, the Department of Education, or private organizations. Personal interviews were conducted with superintendents, principals, teachers, and architects for each structure. -- Findings. It was noted that variations in the school plants such as the inclusion or exclusion of music, home economics, art, and industrial arts classrooms and science laboratories, had an effect on the curriculum. Where these facilities were provided a more intensive program in the course areas was evident. Schools in the study did not vary greatly in the provision for basic courses where general classrooms could be used, but they did vary in the provision for courses where special facilities were required. The questionnaire and interviews revealed that considerable plant planning was done with the curriculum in mind. In the case of each school in the study, educational specifications had been established and presented to the architect for his guidance. The majority of the schools were rectangular in shape and were designed to house fifteen hundred or fewer students. A small percentage of the schools included teachers\u27 offices and workrooms, student resource study spaces, and seminar spaces. -- Conclusions. Features that were incorporated in selected secondary public and private schools which facilitated the curriculum were: small and large instructional spaces, provisions for educational television, language laboratories, individual study carrels, walls of modular units, ramps and inclines replacing steps, classrooms that could be easily darkened, projection screens, and teachers\u27 workrooms. The major portion of the comments made by the principals and teachers pertained to the flexibility of the school plant and the allocation of space for the educational program. A structure designed without adequate educational planning could be a hindrance rather than a benefit to the teachers and students. An important factor to be remembered in the construction of school plants is that the curriculum should give direction in planning for the present and the future

U.S. Postal Service radon assessment and mitigation program. Progress report, September 1993--November 1994

In 1992, the US Postal Service (USPS) entered into an Interagency Agreement with the Department of Energy (DOE) whereby DOE would provide technical assistance in support of the USPS Radon Assessment and Mitigation Program. To aid in this effort, DOE tasked the Hazardous Waste Remedial Actions Program (HAZWRAP), which is managed by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., for DOE under contract AC05-84OR21400. Since that time, HAZWRAP has developed and finalized the sampling protocol, mitigation diagnostic protocol, and the quality assurance and quality control procedures. These procedures were validated during the Protocol Validation (1992-1993) and Pilot Study (1993-1994) phases of the program. To date, HAZWRAP has performed approximately 16,000 radon measurements in 250 USPS buildings. Mitigation diagnostics have been performed in 27 buildings. Thus far, 13% of the measurements have been above the Environmental Protection Agency action level of 4 pCi/L. This report summarizes the pilot program radon testing data and mitigation diagnostic data for 22 sites and contains recommendations for mitigation diagnostics

Modeling residential water and related energy, carbon footprint and costs in California

Starting from single-family household water end-use data, this study develops an end-use model for water-use and related energy and carbon footprint using probability distributions for parameters affecting water consumption in 10 local water utilities in California. Monte Carlo simulations are used to develop a large representative sample of households to describe variability in use, with water bills for each house for different utility rate structures. The water-related energy consumption for each household realization was obtained using an energy model based on the different water end-uses, assuming probability distributions for hot-water-use for each appliance and water heater characteristics. Spatial variability is incorporated to account for average air and household water inlet temperatures and price structures for each utility. Water-related energy costs are calculated using averaged energy price for each location. CO2 emissions were derived from energy use using emission factors. Overall simulation runs assess the impact of several common conservation strategies on household water and energy use. Results show that single-family water-related CO2 emissions are 2% of overall per capita emissions, and that managing water and energy jointly can significantly reduce state greenhouse gas emissions. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.This paper has been developed as a result of a mobility stay funded by the Erasmus Mundus Programme of the European Commission under the Transatlantic Partnership for Excellence in Engineering-TEE Project. The study has been partially supported by the Plan Nacional I+D+I 2008-2011 (Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain), projects CGL2009-13238-C02-01 and CGL2009-13238-C02-02.Escrivà Bou, À.; Lund, J.; Pulido-Velazquez, M. (2015). Modeling residential water and related energy, carbon footprint and costs in California. Environmental Science and Policy. 50:270-281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2015.03.005S2702815

Saving energy from urban water demand management

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Escrivà Bou, Àlvar, Lund, JR., Pulido-Velazquez, M.. (2018). Saving energy from urban water demand management.Water Resources Research, 54, 7, 4265-4276. DOI: 10.1029/2017WR021448, which has been published in final form at http://doi.org/10.1029/2017WR021448. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.[EN] Water use directly causes a significant amount of energy use in cities. In this paper we assessed energy and carbon dioxide emissions related to each part of the urban water cycle and the consequences of some water demand management policies in terms of water, energy, and CO2 emissions in urban water users, water and energy utilities, and the environment. First, we developed an hourly model of urban water uses by customer category, including water-related energy consumption. Next, using real data from the East Bay Municipal Utility District in California, we calibrated a model of the energy used in water supply, treatment, pumping, and wastewater treatment by the utility, obtaining also energy costs. Then, using data from the California Independent System Operator, we obtained hourly costs of energy generation and transport to the point of use for the energy utility. Finally, using average emission factors reported by energy utilities, we estimated greenhouse gas emissions for the entire urban water cycle. Results for East Bay Municipal Utility District show that water end uses account for almost 95% of all water-related energy use; however, the remaining 5% of energy used by the utility still costs over USD12 million annually. The carbon footprint of the urban water cycle is 372 kg CO2/person/year, representing approximately 4% of the total per capita emissions in California. Several simulations analyze the consequences of different water demand management policies, resulting in significant economic impacts for water and energy utilities and environmental benefits by reducing CO2 emissions.This paper has been developed as a result of a mobility stay funded by the Erasmus Mundus Programme of the European Commission under the Transatlantic Partnership for Excellence in Engineering-TEE Project. This research was also partially supported by the IMPADAPT project (CGL2013-48424-C2-1-R and CGL2013-48424-C2-2-R) of the National Research Plan (Plan Estatal I+D+I 2013-2016), funded by the Spanish Ministry MINECO (Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad) and European Federation funds. Water and energy microdata were kindly provided by Frank Loge and Edward Spang, at the Center for Water and Energy Efficiency of the University of California, Davis, who are able to release the data under private agreements and to whom we are very grateful. The results can be totally reproduced using the summary tables included in the supporting information.cEscrivà Bou, À.; Lund, J.; Pulido-Velazquez, M. (2018). Saving energy from urban water demand management. Water Resources Research. 54(7):4265-4276. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017WR021448S4265427654

Institute of Archaeology & Horn Archaeological Museum Newsletter Volume 21.1

Museum Exhibit in Washington D.C., Efrain Velazquez Gilmore on the Philistines, Robert D. Bates Dever on David, Paul J. Ray, Jr. Al-Maktába: The Bookstore Random Surveyhttps://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/iaham-news/1001/thumbnail.jp

Developing a water-energy-GHG emissions modeling framework: Insights from an application to California's water system

[EN] Integrating processes of water and energy interdependence in water systems can improve the understanding of the tradeoffs between water and energy in management and policy. This study presents a development of an integrated water resources management model that includes water-related energy use and GHG emissions. We apply the model to a simplified representation of California's water system. Accounting for water demands from cities, agriculture, environment and the energy sector, and combining a surface water management model with a simple groundwater model, the model optimizes water use across sectors during shortages from an economic perspective, calculating the associated energy use and electricity generation for each water demand. The results of California's water system show that urban end-uses account for most GHG emissions of the entire water cycle, but large water conveyance produces significant peaks over the summer season. Different policy scenarios show the significant tradeoffs between water, energy, and GHG emissions.Escrivà Bou, À.; Lund, J.; Pulido-Velazquez, M.; Hui, R.; Medellín-Azuara, J. (2018). Developing a water-energy-GHG emissions modeling framework: Insights from an application to California's water system. Environmental Modelling & Software. 109:54-65. doi:10.1016/j.envsoft.2018.07.011S546510

Household Transmission of Rotavirus in a Community with Rotavirus Vaccination in Quininde, Ecuador

Background: We studied the transmission of rotavirus infection in households in peri-urban Ecuador in the vaccination era. Methods: Stool samples were collected from household contacts of child rotavirus cases, diarrhea controls and healthy controls following presentation of the index child to health facilities. Rotavirus infection status of contacts was determined by RT-qPCR. We examined factors associated with transmissibility (index-case characteristics) and susceptibility (householdcontact characteristics). Results: Amongst cases, diarrhea controls and healthy control household contacts, infection attack rates (iAR) were 55%, 8% and 2%, (n = 137, 130, 137) respectively. iARs were higher from index cases with vomiting, and amongst siblings. Disease ARs were higher when the index child was ,18 months and had vomiting, with household contact ,10 years and those sharing a room with the index case being more susceptible. We found no evidence of asymptomatic infections leading to disease transmission. Conclusion: Transmission rates of rotavirus are high in households with an infected child, while background infections are rare. We have identified factors associated with transmission (vomiting/young age of index case) and susceptibility (young age/sharing a room/being a sibling of the index case). Vaccination may lead to indirect benefits by averting episodes or reducing symptoms in vaccinees

Prevalence of ocular and oculodermal melanocytosis in Spanish population with uveal melanoma

Producción CientíficaThe aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of ocular and oculodermal melanocytosis (ODM) among patients with uveal melanoma (UM) in a Spanish population. METHODS: Retrospective review of the medical records of patients with ODM among patients with UM. RESULTS: Ten (11 eyes) of 400 patients (2.7%) with UM associated had ODM. The mean age at diagnosis of UM among patients with ODM was 62 years. One patient had bilateral tumours. UM was diagnosed during a routine-examination in two cases. All tumours were medium (7/11) or large (4/11) in size, with a mean maximum base of 13 mm and height of 7 mm. No patient had extraocular extension or metastatic disease at diagnosis. Enucleation was done in five cases and I-125-brachytherapy in six. The mean follow-up was 43 months. One patient died because of metastasis 2 years after enucleation; one patient is currently on treatment of systemic metastasis 11 years after. CONCLUSIONS: ODM is more frequent in spanish population with UM than in American population. Despite the risk of UM in ODM, it is often diagnosed late when a conservative treatment is not indicated

HPV infection and immunochemical detection of cell-cycle markers in verrucous carcinoma of the penis

Penile verrucous carcinoma is a rare disease and little is known of its aetiology or pathogenesis. In this study we examined cell-cycle proteins expression and correlation with human papillomavirus infection in a series of 15 pure penile verrucous carcinomas from a single centre. Of 148 penile tumours, 15 (10%) were diagnosed as pure verrucous carcinomas. The expression of the cell-cycle-associated proteins p53, p21, RB, p16INK4A and Ki67 were examined by immunohistochemistry. Human papillomavirus infection was determined by polymerase chain reaction to identify a wide range of virus types. The expression of p16INK4A and Ki67 was significantly lower in verrucous carcinoma than in usual type squamous cell carcinoma, whereas the expression of p53, p21 and RB was not significantly different. p53 showed basal expression in contrast to usual type squamous cell carcinoma. Human papillomavirus infection was present in only 3 out of 13 verrucous carcinomas. Unique low-risk, high-risk and mixed viral infections were observed in each of the three cases. In conclusion, lower levels of p16INK4A and Ki67 expressions differentiate penile verrucous carcinoma from usual type squamous cell carcinoma. The low Ki67 index reflects the slow-growing nature of verrucous tumours. The low level of p16INK4A expression and human papillomavirus detection suggests that penile verrucous carcinoma pathogenesis is unrelated to human papillomavirus infection and the oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes classically altered by virus infection.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio