Determinants of species richness patterns in the Netherlands across multiple taxonomic groups

We examined the species richness patterns of five different species groups (mosses, reptiles and amphibians, grasshoppers and crickets, dragonflies, and hoverflies) in the Netherlands (41,500 km2) using sampling units of 5 × 5 km. We compared the spatial patterns of species richness of the five groups using Spearman¿s rank correlation and used a stepwise multiple regression generalized linear modelling (GLM) approach to assess their relation with a set of 36 environmental variables, selected because they can be related to the several hypotheses on biodiversity patterns. Species richness patterns of the five groups were to a certain extent congruent. Our data suggest that environmental heterogeneity (in particular habitat heterogeneity) is one of the major determinants of variation in species richness within these five groups. We found that for taxonomic groups comprising a low number of species, our regression model explained more of the variability in species richness than for taxonomic groups with a large number of specie

The economic effects Croatia's accession to the EU

We explore the economic implications of the possible accession of Croatia to the European Union. We focus on two main changes associated with the EU-membership: accession to the internal European Market and institutional reforms in Croatia triggered by the EU-membership. Consumption per capita in Croatia is estimated to rise by about 2.5% as a result of accession to the internal market. In particular the textile and wearing apparel sectors expand. If Croatia succeeds in reforming its domestic institutions in response to the EU-membership, income levels in Croatia could increase even more. In particular, tentative estimates suggest that GDP per capita in Croatia could even rise by additional 8%. Overall, the macroeconomic implications for the existing EU countries are negligible.

CUDI: A Model for Calculation of Electrodynamic and Thermal Behaviour of Superconducting Rutherford Cables

CUDI is the extended Fortran code to calculate the electrodynamic and thermal behaviour of any type of Rutherford cable subject to global and/or local variations in field, transport current, and external heat release. The internal parameters of the cable can be freely varied along the length and across the width, such as contact resistances, critical current, cooling rates etc. In this way, all the typical non-uniformities occurring in a cable, e.g. broken filaments, strand welds, cable joints, and edge degradation can be simulated. Also the characteristics of the strands in the cable can be varied from strand to strand. Heat flows through the matrix, through the interstrand contacts, and to the helium are incorporated, as well as the self-field and self- and mutual inductances between the strands. The main features and structure of the program will be discussed

Modelling boundary-induced coupling currents in Rutherford-type cables

In this paper it is shown that spatial distributions in the field-sweep rate and in the contact resistances along the length of Rutherford-type cables provoke a non-uniform current distribution during and after a field sweep. This process is described by means of Boundary-Induced Coupling Currents (BICCs) flowing through the strands over lengths far larger than the cable pitch. The dependence of the BICCs on the cable parameters (geometry, contact resistances etc.) is investigated by modelling the cable by means of a comprehensive network model. Working formulas are presented that give a first estimate of the characteristic time, the amplitude, and the characteristic length of the BICCs in any kind of magnet wound from a Rutherford-type cable. The results of these calculations show that BICCs can attain large values in multistrand cables, and hence play an important role in the ramp-rate limitation and field quality of high-field accelerator magnets even if the field-sweep rate is small

Critical Current Measurements of the Main LHC Superconducting Cables

For the main dipole and quadrupole magnets of the LHC, CERN has ordered from industry about 7000 km of superconducting Nb-Ti Rutherford type cables, delivered between 1999 and 2005. The strands of these cables are produced by six different companies, and cabled on five different machines. In the framework of the US contribution to the LHC, BNL has been testing and analyzing the electrical properties of samples of these cables. The main purpose of these tests was to qualify the critical current of the entire cable production in the frame of the quality assurance program implemented by CERN to assure the overall strand and cable performances. In total more than 2100 cable samples have been evaluated at 4.3 K in terms of critical current $I_{C}$, n-value and the residual resistance ratio, RRR. This paper will present an overview of the results, and show the correlations of the critical current and n-value between virgin strands, extracted strands, and cables. Also described are correlations of $I_{C}$ measured at BNL and those made at the FRESCA facility in CERN. Furthermore a few trends and anomalies of the cable production that were detected from testing cables are highlighted

Three Phases of Chinese Political Translation after 1949: Similarities and Differences

This study aims to explore the changes in translation of political discourse after P.R. China was established in 1949. It also explores the possible factors that had the most impact on these changes. To that end, official political discourse after the establishment of China is divided into 3 phases in terms of political leadership: under Mao Zedong (1949-1976), under Deng Xiaoping (1978-1991) and under Jiang Zemin (1991- 2008). The official translation of selected works of these three political leaders is examined in detail accordingly. As the major theoretic framework in researching political discourse, Critical Discourse Analysis is drawn on to analyse the translation and translation practices in these three phases. Political documents in different genres by these leaders and their translations are analysed in relation to the political and social-cultural background and the major influential translation theories in each historical phase. The analysis of political discourse translation for these three phases reveals that the translation of Mao’s work is endowed with Mao’s personal cult and class struggle so the translation is very faithful to the original, whereas the translation of Deng’s works are more flexible and target culture-oriented due to the political ideology of the time. The political ideology of Jiang’s time also influenced the translation of Jiang’s work. While it is still target culture and target language oriented, it becomes more flexible in its form and still serves the political ideology of Jiang’s time. It is concluded that although the translation of political discourse is very much bound to the political ideology and the sociocultural context of each phase, the translation and translation practice in each phase differ significantly due to other factors such as the translators and the translation theories influential in each historical phase

Linking bayesian belief networks and GIS to assess the ecosystem integrity in the brazilian Amazon.

Deforestation and climate change heavily impact the ecosystem of the Amazon rainforest threatening its resilience and the sustainability of many human activities. Land protection may prevent ecosystems and their services to deteriorate from the pressures of agricultural expansion, population growth and wood harvesting. In the Brazilian Amazon land protection occurs in several forms such as environmental conservation, setting biodiversity priority areas and the delineation of indigenous lands. Still, the effects are not clear as understanding of the ecosystems is incomplete and responses to human actions are highly uncertain. Bayesian Belief Networks (BBN) are models that probabilistically represent correlative and causal relationships among variables. BBNs have been successfully applied to natural resource management to address environmental management problems and to assess the impact of alternative management measures. By training the probabilistic relationships using field data, Remote Sensing data and GIS data the BBN can provide information on the ecosystems: the ecosystem integrity and their likely response to climate change or alternative management actions. An increasing number of studies train and apply BBNs with evidence originating from GIS data; a cumbersome and error prone soft-linking method requiring manual conversion of data files between the BBN and GIS software systems. This paper presents the full integration of a BBN software system within an existing GIS based Discussion Support System (DSS) illustrated by the case of the ecosystem integrity of the Brazilian amazon. The full integration speeds up the processing and thereby allows doing multiple runs within a short period of time such as a stakeholder workshop. Each consecutive run is based upon insights from a previous one. Furthermore, the DSS provides the management of different options, visualize spatial summaries and trade-offs between different impact indicators and see regional differences

Potential for improvement of docetaxel-based chemotherapy: a pharmacological review

Since the introduction of docetaxel, research has focused on various approaches to overcome treatment limitations and improve outcome. This review discusses the pharmacological attempts at treatment optimisation, which include reducing interindividual pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic variability, optimising schedule, route of administration, reversing drug resistance and the development of structurally related second-generation taxanes

Experiences of carriers of multidrug-resistant organisms: a systematic review

Contains fulltext : 202240.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)OBJECTIVES: A comprehensive overview of the ways control measures directed at carriers of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) affect daily life of carriers is lacking. In this systematic literature review, we sought to explore how carriers experience being a carrier and how they experience being subjected to control measures by looking at the impact on basic capabilities. METHODS: We searched Medline, Embase and PsychINFO until 26 May 2016 for studies addressing experiences of MDRO carriers. Twenty-seven studies were included, addressing experiences with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (n = 21), ESBL (n = 1), multiple MDRO (n = 4) and other (n = 1, not specified). We categorized reported experiences according to Nussbaum's capability approach. RESULTS: Carriage and control measures were found to interfere with quality of care, cause negative emotions, limit interactions with loved ones, cause stigmatization, limit recreational activities and create financial and professional insecurity. Further, carriers have difficulties with full comprehension of the problem of antimicrobial resistance, thus affecting six out of ten basic capabilities. CONCLUSIONS: Applying Nussbaum's capability approach visualizes an array of unintended consequences of control measures. Carriers experience stigmatization, especially in healthcare settings, and have limited understanding of their situation and the complexities of antimicrobial resistance

Fast Ramping Superconducting Magnet Design Issues for Future Injector Upgrades at CERN

An upgrade of the LHC injection chain, and especially the sequence of PS and SPS, up to an extraction energy of 1 TeV, is one of the steps considered to improve the performance of the whole accelerator complex. The magnets for this upgrade require central magnetic field from 2 T (for a PS upgrade) to 4.5 T (for an SPS upgrade), for which superconducting magnets are a candidate. Due to the fast field sweep rate of the magnets (from about 1.5 T/s to 2.5 T/s), internal heating from eddy and persistent current effects (AC loss) must be minimized. In this paper we discuss a rationale for the design and optimization of fast ramped superconducting accelerator magnets, specifically aimed at the LHC injectors. We introduce a design parameter, the product of bore field and field ramp-rate, providing a measure of the magnet performance, and we apply it to choose the design range for a technology demonstration magnet. We finally discuss the dependence of key design parameters on the bore field and the bore diameter, to provide an approximate scaling and guidelines for critical R&D