MR421: The Effects of Water Clarity on Economic Values and Economic Impacts of Recreational Uses of Maine\u27s Great Ponds

No study has been done, in Maine or elsewhere, to examine how different levels of water clarity affect the values people place on lakes they visit for recreation. These are people who do not own property, but use some form of public access for lake recreation such as swimming, boating, and fishing. Specifically, we focus on these peuple, whom we will refer to as access users, to find out who uses Maine\u27s lakes for recreation and how their use is affected by water clarity. The specific research objectives addressed include the following: (1) Estimate the number of access users. (2) Estimate the effects of water clarity on net economic values and expenditures, and consequently economic impacts, of access users. (3) Estimate the net economic value access users place on a statewide program to protect Maine\u27s lakes from eutrophication Data to address these objectives were collected using a mail survey sent to a random sample of Maine residents who were at least 20 years of age.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_miscreports/1018/thumbnail.jp

MR398: Water Quality Affects Property Prices: A Case Study of Selected Maine Lakes

Lake-front property owners are potentially the recipients of the greatest economic gains from improved lake-water quality because the benefits of water quality can be capitalized in the price of lake-front properties. These same lake-front owners may also directly affect lake-water quality through the actions they take on their properties. The objective of this study is to estimate the effect of water clarity on lake-front property prices for selected Maine lakes using a hedonic property-price model. Hedonic models are used to estimate the share of property prices that are attributable to characteristics of the properties. The share of a property’s price that is attributable to water quality is identified through the price differentials between properties on lakes with differing levels of water quality, while controlling for other property characteristics.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_miscreports/1003/thumbnail.jp

Editorial: Smart Objects and Technologies

Smart objects are entering everyday life and are heavily modifying it. Healthcare, communication, art, entertainment, safety, environment, education, democracy, and human rights, are just a few examples of scenarios that are radically changing thanks to the use of smart objects and technologies. In this context, the popularity of portable computing devices, such as smartphones, tablets, or smart watches combined with the emergence of many other small smart objects with computational, sensing and communication capabilities coupled with the popularity of social networks and new human-technology interaction paradigms is creating unprecedented opportunities for each of us to do something useful, ranging from a single person to the whole world. Furthermore, Internet of Things, Smart-cities, distributed sensing and Fog computing are representative examples of modern ICT paradigms that aim to describe a dynamic and globally cooperative infrastructure built upon objects intelligence and self-configuring capabilities. These connected objects are finding their way into our pockets, vehicles, urban areas and infrastructure, thus becoming the very texture of our society and providing us the possibility, but also the responsibility, to shape it

Socially assistive robots : the specific case of the NAO

Numerous researches have studied the development of robotics, especially socially assistive robots (SAR), including the NAO robot. This small humanoid robot has a great potential in social assistance. The NAO robot’s features and capabilities, such as motricity, functionality, and affective capacities, have been studied in various contexts. The principal aim of this study is to gather every research that has been done using this robot to see how the NAO can be used and what could be its potential as a SAR. Articles using the NAO in any situation were found searching PSYCHINFO, Computer and Applied Sciences Complete and ACM Digital Library databases. The main inclusion criterion was that studies had to use the NAO robot. Studies comparing it with other robots or intervention programs were also included. Articles about technical improvements were excluded since they did not involve concrete utilisation of the NAO. Also, duplicates and articles with an important lack of information on sample were excluded. A total of 51 publications (1895 participants) were included in the review. Six categories were defined: social interactions, affectivity, intervention, assisted teaching, mild cognitive impairment/dementia, and autism/intellectual disability. A great majority of the findings are positive concerning the NAO robot. Its multimodality makes it a SAR with potential

Improving Flood Risk Management in Informal Settlements of Cape Town

This project focuses on the management and reduction of flood risk in the informal settlements of Cape Town, and is intended to aid in the creation of a safer living environment for the residents. The team assessed past flooding events, mapped high flood risk areas, generated structural guidelines for residents, created a flood risk index, examined strategies for effective communication, and provided recommendations for several departments of the City about how they can reduce flood risk

Accurate RFID trilateration to learn and recognize spatial activities in smart environment

The rapid adoption of wireless communication and sensors technology has raised the awareness of many laboratories about the field of network embedded system. Most researchers aim to exploit these advances to enable technological assistance of frail persons in smart homes. However, to reach the full potential of applications using network embedded systems such as assistive smart home, scientists need to work toward the creation of support services. In this paper, we present an accurate passive RFID localization technique, which can easily be implemented and deployed in various environments, coupled to a complete human activity recognition model. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate, through concrete experiments, that support services can enable powerful solution to long-lived challenges of the network embedded system community. Particularly, the model exploits qualitative spatial reasoning from RFID localization of objects in the smart home to learn and recognize the basic and instrumental activities of daily living of a resident. Our system was deployed in a real smart home, and the results obtained were quite encouraging. The developed RFID technique gives an average precision of ±14.12 cm, and the recognition algorithm recognizes up to 92% activities

Epistemic consequentialism, veritism, and scoring rules

We argue that there is a tension between two monistic claims that are the core of recent work in epistemic consequentialism. The first is a form of monism about epistemic value, commonly known as veritism: accuracy is the sole final objective to be promoted in the epistemic domain. The other is a form of monism about a class of epistemic scoring rules: that is, strictly proper scoring rules are the only legitimate measures of inaccuracy. These two monisms, we argue, are in tension with each other. If only accuracy has final epistemic value, then there are legitimate alternatives to strictly proper scoring rules. Our argument relies on the way scoring rules are used in contexts where accuracy is rewarded, such as education

Pushing the closed and continuous boundary: End-to-end ICB at the pilot scale

Encouragingly, the biomanufacturing field continues to move towards GMP implementation of integrated and continuous processes. To our knowledge, all implemented ICB processes – including those at Sanofi – do not extend the ICB boundary to drug substance. In fact, questions remain not just as to whether fully continuous is necessary but whether the required process and engineering technologies yet exist to enable fully continuous at a commercially relevant scale. At Sanofi, we have built on our experience developing and implementing ICB technology to achieve an industry-first demonstration of a fully continuous process, including all typical downstream purification steps, to produce kilograms of drug substance. We will present our vision for end-to-end integrated and continuous biomanufacturing including design goals related to closed processing, automation, and continuous unit operations (not fast batch). Operation at the pilot scale, integrated to an intensified 100L perfusion bioreactor, required creative solutions in many aspects of the run design and execution while allowing for identification of true failure modes and, therefore, identification of areas for future development. Overall, we believe that currently available technology may allow for the realization of an end-to-end closed continuous commercial process. Moreover, our results suggest investment in pushing the continuous boundary may inspire disruptive innovation across bioprocessing to meet long-held aspirations for a truly disruptive facility of the future

Volatolomics in Bacterial Ecotoxicology, A Novel Method for Detecting Signatures of Pesticide Exposure?

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) produced by microorganisms in response to chemical stressor showed recently increasing attention, because of possible environmental applications. In this work, we aimed to bring the first proof of concept that volatolomic (i.e., VOCs analysis) can be used to determine candidate VOC markers of two soil bacteria strains (Pseudomonas fluorescens SG-1 and Bacillus megaterium Mes11) exposure to pesticides. VOC determination was based on solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Accordingly, we highlighted a set of bacterial VOCs modulated in each strains according to the nature of the pesticide used. Three out these VOCs were specifically modulated in P. fluorescens SG-1 when exposed with two pyrethroid pesticides (deltamethrine and cypermethrine): 2-hexanone; 1,3-ditertbutylbenzene and malonic acid, hexyl 3-methylbutyl ester. Our results thus suggest the possible existence of generic VOC markers of pyrethroids in this strain. Of particular interest, two out of these three VOCs, the 1,3-ditertbutylbenzene and the malonic acid, hexyl 3-methylbutyl ester were found also in B. megaterium Mes11 when exposed with cypermethrine. This result highlighted the possible existence of interspecific VOC markers of pyrethroid in these two bacteria. Altogether, our work underlined the relevance of volatolomic to detect signatures of pesticides exposure in microorganisms and more generally to microbial ecotoxicology. Based on these first results, considerations of volatolomics for the chemical risk assessment in environment such as soils can be indirectly explored in longer terms

Applicability of Neuropsychological and Psychometric Tests in Autosomal Recessive Spastic Ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS)

Autosomal Recessive Spastic Ataxia of Charlevoix-Saguenay (ATSACS) is a degenerative spinocerebellar disease with pyramidal, cerebellar, and neuropathic impairments. Recent studies highlight possible deficits in cognitive functions like language. Psychometric tests selection implies careful consideration due to upper limbs incoordination and dysarthria. The objective of this study is to document the applicability of 37 neuropsychological and 2 psychological tests in 8 individuals with ARSACS aged between 20 and 60 years. All tests were rated on 4 applicability criteria using a 3-level rating scale: A for excellent; B for acceptable; C for reconsider. Most tests posed few or no applicability limits with ARSACS patients. However, certain tests (e.g., Leiter-3 and Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices) are not recommended due to significant issues related to applicability. These results may help clinicians and researchers working with this population to select evaluations and tests applicable in this population. L'ataxie récessive spastique autosomique de Charlevoix-Saguenay (ARSACS) est une maladie neurodégénérative spinocérébelleuse impliquant des atteintes pyramidales, cérébelleuses et neuropathiques et de possibles déficits dans certaines fonctions cognitives comme le langage. La sélection des tests psychométriques appropriés implique certaines précautions liées à la présence d'incoordination des membres supérieurs et de dysarthrie. L'objectif de cette étude consiste à documenter l'applicabilité de 37 tests neuropsychologiques et de 2 tests psychologiques chez 8 individus atteints d'ARSACS (20-60 ans). Les tests ont été évalués en fonction de 4 critères d'applicabilité en utilisant une échelle à 3 niveaux: A pour excellent; B pour acceptable; C pour reconsidérer. La plupart des tests ont posé peu ou pas de limites liées à l'applicabilité chez les patients atteints d'ARSACS. Cela dit, certains tests (c.-à-d., le Leiter-3 et les Matrices Progressives de Raven) ne sont pas recommandés en raison de problèmes liés à leur applicabilité. Ces résultats pourront venir en aide aux cliniciens et chercheurs qui travaillent auprès de cette population en vue de la sélection d'évalutions et de tests