scholarly journals A virtual tornadic thunderstorm enabling students to construct knowledge about storm dynamics through data collection and analysis

2006 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 27-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Gallus ◽  
C. Cervato ◽  
C. Cruz-Neira ◽  
G. Faidley
Keyword(s):  
Wind Pressure ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Storm Activity ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Storm Dynamics ◽  
Supercell Thunderstorm ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Scientific Questions ◽  
Better Than

Abstract. A visually realistic tornadic supercell thunderstorm has been constructed in a fully immersive virtual reality environment to allow students to better understand the complex small-scale dynamics present in such a storm through data probing. Less-immersive versions have been created that run on PCs, facilitating broader dissemination. The activity has been tested in introductory meteorology classes over the last four years. An exercise involving the virtual storm was first used by a subset of students from a large introductory meteorology course in spring 2002. Surveys were used at that time to evaluate the impact of this activity as a constructivist learning tool. More recently, data probe capabilities were added to the virtual storm activity enabling students to take measurements of temperature, wind, pressure, relative humidity, and vertical velocity at any point within the 3-D volume of the virtual world, and see the data plotted via a graphical user interface. Similar surveys applied to groups of students in 2003 and 2004 suggest that the addition of data probing improved the understanding of storm-scale features, but the improved understanding may not be statistically significant when evaluated using quizzes reflecting short-term retention. The use of the activity was revised in 2005 to first have students pose scientific questions about these storms and think about a scientific strategy to answer their questions before exploring the storm. Once again, scores on quizzes for students who used the virtual storm activity were slightly better than those of students who were exposed to only a typical lecture, but differences were not statistically significant.

scholarly journals Effects of agricultural credit on wheat productivity of small farms in Sindh, Pakistan

2018 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
pp. 592-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbas Ali Chandio ◽  
Yuansheng Jiang ◽  
Feng Wei ◽  
Xu Guangshun
Keyword(s):  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Considerable Proportion ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Farms ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Agricultural Credit ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of short-term loan (STL) vs long-term loan (LTL) on wheat productivity of small farms in Sindh, Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach The econometric estimation is based on cross-sectional data collected in 2016 from 18 villages in three districts, i.e. Shikarpur, Sukkur and Shaheed Benazirabad, Sindh, Pakistan. The sample data set consist of 180 wheat farmers. The collected data were analyzed through different econometric techniques like Cobb–Douglas production function and Instrumental variables (two-stage least squares) approach. Findings This study reconfirmed that agricultural credit has a positive and highly significant effect on wheat productivity, while the short-term loan has a stronger effect on wheat productivity than the long-term loan. The reasons behind the phenomenon may be the significantly higher usage of agricultural inputs like seeds of improved variety and fertilizers which can be transformed into the wheat yield in the same year. However, the LTL users have significantly higher investments in land preparation, irrigation and plant protection, which may lead to higher wheat production in the coming years. Research limitations/implications In the present study, only those wheat farmers were considered who obtained agricultural loans from formal financial institutions like Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited and Khushhali Bank. However, in the rural areas of Sindh, Pakistan, a considerable proportion of small-scale farmers take credit from informal financial channels. Therefore future researchers should consider the informal credits as well. Originality/value This is the first paper to examine the effects of agricultural credit on wheat productivity of small farms in Sindh, Pakistan. This paper will be an important addition to the emerging literature regarding effects of credit studies.

scholarly journals The Impact of Solvent Selection: Strategies to Guide the Manufacturing of Liposomes Using Microfluidics

Pharmaceutics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron Webb ◽  
Swapnil Khadke ◽  
Signe Tandrup Schmidt ◽  
Carla B. Roces ◽  
Neil Forbes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Solvent Polarity ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Lipid Solubility ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Solvent Selection ◽  
Selection Strategies ◽  
Pegylated Lipids ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Influence Of Solvents

The aim of this work was to assess the impact of solvent selection on the microfluidic production of liposomes. To achieve this, liposomes were manufactured using small-scale and bench-scale microfluidics systems using three aqueous miscible solvents (methanol, ethanol or isopropanol, alone or in combination). Liposomes composed of different lipid compositions were manufactured using these different solvents and characterised to investigate the influence of solvents on liposome attributes. Our studies demonstrate that solvent selection is a key consideration during the microfluidics manufacturing process, not only when considering lipid solubility but also with regard to the resultant liposome critical quality attributes. In general, reducing the polarity of the solvent (from methanol to isopropanol) increased the liposome particle size without impacting liposome short-term stability or release characteristics. Furthermore, solvent combinations such as methanol/isopropanol mixtures can be used to modify solvent polarity and the resultant liposome particle size. However, the impact of solvent choice on the liposome product is also influenced by the liposome formulation; liposomes containing charged lipids tended to show more sensitivity to solvent selection and formulations containing increased concentrations of cholesterol or pegylated-lipids were less influenced by the choice of solvent. Indeed, incorporation of 14 wt% or more of pegylated-lipid was shown to negate the impact of solvent selection.

scholarly journals Diamonds, Rebel’s and Farmer’s Best Friend: Impact of Variation in the Price of a Lootable, Labor-intensive Natural Resource on the Intensity of Violent Conflict

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anouk S. Rigterink
Keyword(s):  
Natural Resource ◽  
Violent Conflict ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Opportunity Costs ◽  
Geological Characteristics ◽  
World Price ◽  
Rich Countries ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Conflict Intensity ◽  
Better Than

This article investigates the impact of the world price of a “lootable,” labor-intensive natural resource on intensity of violent conflict. Results suggest that a price increase can have opposite effects at different geographical levels of analysis: a decrease in conflict intensity overall in resource-rich countries, but an increase in conflict intensity in resource-rich subnational regions. The article argues that intensity of violence decreases overall due to rising opportunity costs of rebellion but that violence concentrates in resource-rich areas as returns to looting rise. The article introduces a new measure of diamond propensity based on geological characteristics, which is arguably exogenous to conflict and can capture small-scale labor-intensive production better than existing measures. The stated effects are found for secondary diamonds, which are lootable and related to opportunity costs of fighting, but not for primary diamonds, which are neither.

scholarly journals Competing priorities: lessons in engaging students to achieve energy savings in universities

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 1220-1238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Bull ◽  
Joanna Romanowicz ◽  
Neil Jennings ◽  
Marina Laskari ◽  
Graeme Stuart ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Saving ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Short Term ◽  
National Union ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Energy Dashboard ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis paper aims to present findings from an EU-funded international student-led energy saving competition (SAVES) on a scale previously unseen. There are multiple accounts of short-term projects and energy saving competitions encouraging pro-environmental behaviour change amongst students in university dormitories, but the purpose of this research is to provide evidence of consistent and sustained energy savings from student-led energy savings competitions, underpinned by practical action.Design/methodology/approachA mixed-methods approach (pre- and post-intervention surveys, focus groups and analysis of energy meter data) was used to determine the level of energy savings and quantifiable behaviour change delivered by students across participating university dormitories.FindingsThis research has provided further insight into the potential for savings and behaviour change in university dormitories through relatively simple actions. Whilst other interventions have shown greater savings, this project provided consistent savings over two years of 7 per cent across a large number of university dormitories in five countries through simple behaviour changes.Research limitations/implicationsAn energy dashboard displaying near a real-time leaderboard was added to the engagement in the second year of the project. Whilst students were optimistic about the role that energy dashboards could play, the evidence is not here to quantify the impact of dashboards. Further research is required to understand the potential of dashboards to contribute to behavioural change savings and in constructing competitions between people and dormitories that are known to each other.Social implicationsSAVES provided engagement with students, enabling, empowering and motivating them to save energy – focusing specifically on the last stage of the “Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action” framework. Automated meter reading data was used in the majority of participating dormitories to run near real-time energy challenges through an energy dashboard that informed students how much energy they saved compared to a target, and encouraged peer-to-peer learning and international cooperation through a virtual twinning scheme.Originality/valueFindings from energy saving competitions in universities are typically from small-scale and short-term interventions. SAVES was an energy-saving competition in university dormitories facilitated by the UK National Union of Students in five countries reaching over 50,000 students over two academic years (incorporating dormitories at 17 universities). As such it provides clear and important evidence of the real-world long-term potential efficiency savings of such interventions.

scholarly journals Changes in EEG Brain Connectivity Caused by Short-Term BCI Neurofeedback-Rehabilitation Training: A Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youhao Wang ◽  
Jingjing Luo ◽  
Yuzhu Guo ◽  
Qiang Du ◽  
Qiying Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Network Analysis ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Rehabilitation Training ◽  
Network Parameters ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Line Slope ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Brain

BackgroundIn combined with neurofeedback, Motor Imagery (MI) based Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) has been an effective long-term treatment therapy for motor dysfunction caused by neurological injury in the brain (e.g., post-stroke hemiplegia). However, individual neurological differences have led to variability in the single sessions of rehabilitation training. Research on the impact of short training sessions on brain functioning patterns can help evaluate and standardize the short duration of rehabilitation training. In this paper, we use the electroencephalogram (EEG) signals to explore the brain patterns’ changes after a short-term rehabilitation training.Materials and MethodsUsing an EEG-BCI system, we analyzed the changes in short-term (about 1-h) MI training data with and without visual feedback, respectively. We first examined the EEG signal’s Mu band power’s attenuation caused by Event-Related Desynchronization (ERD). Then we use the EEG’s Event-Related Potentials (ERP) features to construct brain networks and evaluate the training from multiple perspectives: small-scale based on single nodes, medium-scale based on hemispheres, and large-scale based on all-brain.ResultsResults showed no significant difference in the ERD power attenuation estimation in both groups. But the neurofeedback group’s ERP brain network parameters had substantial changes and trend properties compared to the group without feedback. The neurofeedback group’s Mu band power’s attenuation increased but not significantly (fitting line slope = 0.2, t-test value p > 0.05) after the short-term MI training, while the non-feedback group occurred an insignificant decrease (fitting line slope = −0.4, t-test value p > 0.05). In the ERP-based brain network analysis, the neurofeedback group’s network parameters were attenuated in all scales significantly (t-test value: p < 0.01); while the non-feedback group’s most network parameters didn’t change significantly (t-test value: p > 0.05).ConclusionThe MI-BCI training’s short-term effects does not show up in the ERD analysis significantly but can be detected by ERP-based network analysis significantly. Results inspire the efficient evaluation of short-term rehabilitation training and provide a useful reference for subsequent studies.

Cost-Effectiveness of Dementia Prevention Interventions

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
I. McRae ◽  
L. Zheng ◽  
S. Bourke ◽  
N. Cherbuin ◽  
K.J. Anstey
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Risk Groups ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Prevention Measures ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Dementia Prevention ◽  
The Impact

Background: Assessment of cost-effectiveness of interventions to address modifiable risk factors associated with dementia requires estimates of long-term impacts of these interventions which are rarely directly available and must be estimated using a range of assumptions. OBJECTIVES: To test the cost-effectiveness of dementia prevention measures using a methodology which transparently addresses the many assumptions required to use data from short-term studies, and which readily incorporates sensitivity analyses. DESIGN: We explore an approach to estimating cost-effective prices which uses aggregate data including estimated lifetime costs of dementia, both financial and quality of life, and incorporates a range of assumptions regarding sustainability of short- term gains and other parameters. SETTING: The approach is addressed in the context of the theoretical reduction in a range of risk factors, and in the context of a specific small-scale trial of an internet-based intervention augmented with diet and physical activity consultations. MEASUREMENTS: The principal outcomes were prices per unit of interventions at which interventions were cost-effective or cost-saving. RESULTS: Taking a societal perspective, a notional intervention reducing a range of dementia risk-factors by 5% was cost-effective at $A460 per person with higher risk groups at $2,148 per person. The on-line program costing $825 per person was cost-effective at $1,850 per person even if program effect diminished by 75% over time. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to address risk factors for dementia are likely to be cost-effective if appropriately designed, but confirmation of this conclusion requires longer term follow-up of trials to measure the impact and sustainability of short-term gains.

scholarly journals Blockchain Use Cases Revisited: Micro-Lending Solutions for Retail Banking and Financial Inclusion

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Christian Hugo Hoffmann
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Retail Banking ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Smart Contracts ◽  
Short Term ◽  
High Frequencies ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
The Impact

Abstract While blockchain technology is commonly considered potentially disruptive in various regards, there is a lack of understanding where and how blockchain technology is effectively applicable and where it has remarkable practical effects[1]. Against this background, we present and discuss a case study at length on the impact of this technology in the concrete setting of small short-term loans in retail banking. We propose to banks a robust and scalable blockchain technology with proof of stake and limited energy consumption used to streamline their processes, resulting in lower transaction and administration costs. This is made possible by smart contracts. Thereby, we facilitate small scale lending at high frequencies and short-term duration as well as an easier and more efficient way to connect small borrowers and lenders.

scholarly journals EnKF assimilation of simulated spaceborne Doppler observations of vertical velocity: impact on the simulation of a supercell thunderstorm and implications for model-based retrievals

2006 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 343-348
Author(s):  
W. E. Lewis ◽  
G. J. Tripoli
Keyword(s):  
Vertical Velocity ◽  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Satellite Technology ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Convective Scale ◽  
Supercell Thunderstorm ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Scale Data ◽  
Better Than ◽  
Rms Errors

Abstract. Recently, a number of investigations have been made that point to the robust effectiveness of the Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) in convective-scale data assimilation. These studies have focused on the assimilation of ground-based Doppler radar observations (i.e. radial velocity and reflectivity). The present study differs from these investigations in two important ways. First, in anticipation of future satellite technology, the impact of assimilating spaceborne Doppler-retrieved vertical velocity is examined; second, the potential for the EnKF to provide an alternative to instrument-based microphysical retrievals is investigated. It is shown that the RMS errors of the analyzed fields produced by assimilation of vertical velocity alone are in general better than those obtained in previous studies: in most cases assimilation of vertical velocity alone leads to analyses with small errors (e.g. <1 ms-1 for velocity components) after only 3 or 4 assimilation cycles. The microphysical fields are notable exceptions, exhibiting lower errors when observations of reflectivity are assimilated together with observations of vertical velocity, likely a result of the closer relationship between reflectivity and the microphysical fields themselves. It is also shown that the spatial distribution of the error estimates improves (i.e. approaches the true errors) as more assimilation cycles are carried out, which could be a significant advantage of EnKF model-based retrievals.

scholarly journals Influence of External Parameters on the Dynamic Behavior of Resource-economic-pollution System

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Jiuli Yin ◽  
Jing Huang ◽  
Xinghua Fan
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Dynamic Behavior ◽  
Large Population ◽  
State Regulation ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Actual System ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Green Lifestyle

This paper discusses a new type of selective-constrained resource-economic-pollution (REP) system. Based on the nonlinear dynamics theory, the dynamic behavior of the new system is discussed. The genetic algorithm is used to identify the quantitative coefficients of the actual system.This paper further analyses the impact of state regulation, economic marketization management and green lifestyle on economic growth. Taking the actual situation into consideration in China, the empirical research is carried out by adjusting the parameters of the actual system. The dynamic evolution of real economic growth is observed which predicts future trends more realistically. The research shows that the introduction of state regulation into the REP system can promote economic growth quickly at a small rate in the short term. However, state regulation has little effect on economic growth in the long run. The impact of economic marketization management on the economy is moderate. A short-term, small-scale green lifestyle has little impact on system and economic growth because of China’s large population base.

scholarly journals DIAMAGNETIC PLASMOIDS AS PART OF DIAMAGNETIC STRUCTURES OF THE SLOW SOLAR WIND AND THEIR IMPACT ON EARTH’S MAGNETOSPHERE

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 42-54
Author(s):  
Vladimir Parhomov ◽  
Viktor Eselevich ◽  
Maxim Eselevich ◽  
Aleksey Dmitriev ◽  
Tatyana Vedernikova
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Slow Solar Wind ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Earth’S Magnetosphere ◽  
Earth's Magnetosphere ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Magnetic Disturbances ◽  
Density Plasma

We have shown that diamagnetic structures (DSs), which form the basis of the slow quasi-stationary solar wind (SW), are observed in Earth’s orbit as a sequence of DSs of various scales. The analysis of this phenomenon indicates that diamagnetic plasmoids in SW, whose concept was introduced by Karlsson in 2015, are identical to small-scale DSs. We have found that the impact of a sequence of DSs in the slow SW on Earth’s magnetosphere causes an increase in geomagnetic activity. Isolated DSs generate short-term magnetic disturbances whose duration is approximately equal to the DS duration. Hence, a sequence of DSs can cause sawtooth substorms. We emphasize that the interaction of DS in the slow SW under northward interplanetary magnetic field can be associated with penetration of DS high-density plasma into the magnetosphere.

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