Natural landscape scenic preference: techniques for evaluation and simulation.

The aesthetic beauty of a landscape is a very subjective issue: every person has their own opinions and their own idea of what beauty is. However, all people have a common evolutionary history, and, according to the Biophilia hypothesis, a genetic predisposition to liking certain types of landscapes. It is possible that this common inheritance allows us to attempt to model scenic preference for natural landscapes. The ideal type of model for such predictions is the psychophysical preference model, integrating psychological responses to landscapes with objective measurements of quantitative and qualitative landscape variables. Such models commonly predict two thirds of the variance in the predications of the general public for natural landscapes. In order to create such a model three sets of data were required: landscape photographs (surrogates of the actual landscape), landscape preference data and landscape component variable measurements. The Internet was used to run a questionnaire survey; a novel, yet flexible, environmentally friendly and simple method of data gathering, resulting in one hundred and eighty responses. A geographic information system was used to digitise ninety landscape photographs and measure their landforms (based on elevation) in terms of areas and perimeters, their colours and proxies for their complexity and coherence. Landscape preference models were created by running multiple linear regressions using normalised preference data and the landscape component variables, including mathematical transformations of these variables. The eight models created predicted over sixty percent of variance in the responses and had moderate to high correlations with a second set of landscape preference data. A common base to the models were the variables of complexity, water and mountain landform, in particular the presence or absence of water and mountains was noted as being significant in determining landscape scenic preference. In order to fully establish the utility of these models, they were further tested against: changes in weather and season; the addition of cultural structures; different photographers; alternate film types; different focal lengths; and composition. Results showed that weather and season were not significant in determining landscape preference; cultural structures increased preferences for landscapes; and photographs taken by different people did not produce consistent results from the predictive models. It was also found that film type was not significant and that changes in focal length altered preferences for landscapes

Strategi Pengembangan Ekowisata Mangrove di Desa Nira Nusa, Nusa Tenggara Timur Menggunakan Analisis Swot

Mangrove Nira Nusa merupakan mangrove yang terletak di Desa Nira Nusa, Kecamatan Maurole, Kabupaten Ende, Flores, NTT. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui potensi dan sumber daya yang tersedia diantaranya ; flora dan fauna , potensi sumber daya alam, potensi sumber daya manusia , dan potensi sosial-budaya di Desa Nira Nusa. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif deskriptif. Proses pengambilan data menggunakan observasi lapangan, wawancara, pengisian kuesioner, dan dokumentasi. Hasil penelitian dianalisis menggunakan analisis SWOT untuk menghasilkan strategi S-O yaitu potensi sumber daya mangrove dikembangkan menjadi wisata berbasis edukasi dengan kegiatan seperti pengamatan biota/satwa dan kegiatan memancing. Strategi S-T yaitu memberikan pelatihan khusus tentang konservasi mangrove kepada pengelola dan pemerintah setempat tentang dampak membuang sampah di laut. Strategi W-O yaitu memanfaatkan tingginya minat wisatawan untuk memaksimalkan perbaikan sarana-prasarana. Strategi W-T yaitu menyelenggarakan kegiatan pembersihan lingkungan sekitar mangrove oleh pengelola, masyarakat dan lembaga pemerintahan, membuat aturan tidak menebang pohon di area hutan mangrove

SV channels dominate the vacuolar Ca2+ release during intracellular signaling

AbstractVacuoles have long been suggested to mediate a rise in the cytosolic free Ca2+ during environmental signal transduction. This study addresses the issue of the control of vacuolar calcium release by some of the known signaling molecules such as IP3, cADPR, ABA, ATP, cAMP, cGMP, H2O2 and CaM. Over 30 concentrations and/or combinations of these signaling compounds were studied in a series of electrophysiological experiments involving non-invasive ion flux measurements (the MIFE) and patch-clamp techniques. Our results suggest that calcium, calmodulin and nucleotides cause calcium release via SV channels

Saturation of the all-optical Kerr effect in solids

We discuss the influence of the higher-order Kerr effect (HOKE) in wide band gap solids at extreme intensities below the onset of optically induced damage. Using different theo- retical models, we employ multiphoton absorption rates to compute the nonlinear refractive index by a Kramers-Kronig transform. Within this theoretical framework we provide an esti- mate for the appearance of significant deviations from the standard optical Kerr effect pre- dicting a linear index change with intensity. We discuss the role of the observed saturation behavior in practically relevant situations, including Kerr lens mode-locking and supercon- tinuum generation in photonic crystal fibers. Furthermore we present experimental data from a multi-wave mixing experiment in BaF2 which can be explained by the appearance of the HOKE

Ultrafast pump-probe dynamics in ZnSe-based semiconductor quantum-wells

Pump-probe experiments are used as a controllable way to investigate the properties of photoexcited semiconductors, in particular, the absorption saturation. We present an experiment-theory comparison for ZnSe quantum wells, investigating the energy renormalization and bleaching of the excitonic resonances. Experiments were performed with spin-selective excitation and above-bandgap pumping. The model, based on the semiconductor Bloch equations in the screened Hartree-Fock approximation, takes various scattering processes into account phenomenologically. Comparing numerical results with available experimental data, we explain the experimental results and find that the electron spin-flip occurs on a time scale of 30 ps.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures. Key words: nonlinear and ultrafast optics, modeling of femtosecond pump-probe experiments, electron spin-flip tim

Survey of Gaelic Corpus Technology

No abstract available

Prediction of congenital hypothyroidism based on initial screening thyroid-stimulating-hormone

Background: In thyroid-stimulating-hormone (TSH)-based newborn congenital hypothyroidism (CH) screening programs, the optimal screening-TSH cutoff level is critical to ensuring that true cases of CH are not missed. Screening-TSH results can also be used to predict the likelihood of CH and guide appropriate clinical management. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the predictive value of various screening-TSH levels in predicting a diagnosis of CH in the Ontario Newborn Screening Program (ONSP). Methods: The initial screening and follow-up data of 444,744 full term infants born in Ontario, Canada from April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2010 were analyzed. Confirmed CH cases were based on local endocrinologists\u27 report and initiation of thyroxine treatment. Results: There were a total of 541 positive screening tests (~1/822 live births) of which 296 were true positives (~1:1,500 live births). Subjects were further subdivided based on screening-TSH and positive predictive values (PPV) were calculated. Twenty four percent in the 17-19.9 mIU/L range were true positives. In the 17-30 mIU/L range, 29 % were true positives with a significantly higher PPV for those sampled after (43 %) rather than before (25 %) 28 h of age (p \u3c 0.02). Seventy three percent of neonates with an initial screening-TSH of ≥ 30 mIU/L and 97 % of those with ≥ 40 mIU/L were later confirmed to have CH. Conclusions: Infants with modestly elevated screening positive TSH levels between 17 and 19.9 mIU/L have a significant risk (24 %) of having CH. The very high frequency of true positives in term newborns with initial TSH values ≥ 30mIU/L suggests that this group should be referred directly to a pediatric endocrinologist in an effort to expedite further assessment and treatment. Screen positives with a modestly elevated TSH values (17-19.9 mIU/L) need to be examined in more detail with extended follow-up data to determine if they have transient or permanent CH

Prediction of congenital hypothyroidism based on initial screening thyroid-stimulating-hormone

Background: In thyroid-stimulating-hormone (TSH)-based newborn congenital hypothyroidism (CH) screening programs, the optimal screening-TSH cutoff level is critical to ensuring that true cases of CH are not missed. Screening-TSH results can also be used to predict the likelihood of CH and guide appropriate clinical management. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the predictive value of various screening-TSH levels in predicting a diagnosis of CH in the Ontario Newborn Screening Program (ONSP). Methods: The initial screening and follow-up data of 444,744 full term infants born in Ontario, Canada from April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2010 were analyzed. Confirmed CH cases were based on local endocrinologists\u27 report and initiation of thyroxine treatment. Results: There were a total of 541 positive screening tests (~1/822 live births) of which 296 were true positives (~1:1,500 live births). Subjects were further subdivided based on screening-TSH and positive predictive values (PPV) were calculated. Twenty four percent in the 17-19.9 mIU/L range were true positives. In the 17-30 mIU/L range, 29 % were true positives with a significantly higher PPV for those sampled after (43 %) rather than before (25 %) 28 h of age (p \u3c 0.02). Seventy three percent of neonates with an initial screening-TSH of ≥ 30 mIU/L and 97 % of those with ≥ 40 mIU/L were later confirmed to have CH. Conclusions: Infants with modestly elevated screening positive TSH levels between 17 and 19.9 mIU/L have a significant risk (24 %) of having CH. The very high frequency of true positives in term newborns with initial TSH values ≥ 30mIU/L suggests that this group should be referred directly to a pediatric endocrinologist in an effort to expedite further assessment and treatment. Screen positives with a modestly elevated TSH values (17-19.9 mIU/L) need to be examined in more detail with extended follow-up data to determine if they have transient or permanent CH

Nonlinear Optical Response Functions of Mott Insulators Based on Dynamical Mean Field Approximation

We investigate the nonlinear optical susceptibilities of Mott insulators with the dynamical mean field approximation. The two-photon absorption (TPA) and the third-harmonic generation (THG) spectra are calculated, and the classification by the types of coupling to external fields shows different behavior from conventional semiconductors. The direct transition terms are predominant both in the TPA and THG spectra, and the importance of taking all types of interaction with the external field into account is illustrated in connection with the THG spectrum and dcKerr effect. The dependence of the TPA and THG spectra on the Coulomb interaction indicate a scaling relation. We apply this relation to the quantitative evaluation and obtain results comparable to those of experiments.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figure