Perceptions of the Beach Users: A Case Study of the Coastal Areas of North Cyprus Towards Establishment of a "Carrying Capacity"

Within the main elements of economic sustainability, socio-cultural sustainability, and environmental sustainability, the criteria of 'carrying capacity’ have ben emphasized through residents’ perception analysis to explore practical methods towards the application and implementation of such criteria. As data analysis revealed, the main tourist resources in the case of North Cyprus –the coast and the beach- have a certain capacity to sustain the impact and pressure of tourism. Despite the significance of the indigenous environment and with respect to the residents’ perception of optimum carrying capacity levels, this issue has not been given a due consideration. This has resulted in a process of coastal development which bypasses any measure ore application of a standard to harmonize the degree of physical development and the capacity of the beach. The main objective of this paper is to establish the concept of ‘carrying capacity’ as the means to achieve the reconciliation of environmental impacts with tourism development. The study concludes that, if carrying capacity measurement and its implementation are not incorporated into the planning decision as a clear policy, there will be grave negative consequences for those resources attracting visitors.

Gene expression under thermal stress varies across a geographical range expansion front

Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Hanna Bensch and Hannes Weise for assistance with the collection of samples in the field. This work was supported by the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in a Changing Climate (BECC; a joint Lund-Gothenburg University initiative), the Swedish Research Council (EIS, BH), the Crafoord Foundation (EIS, BH), the Swedish Royal Society (EIS), ‘Gyllenstiernska Krapperupstiftelsen (EIS), the Wenner-Gren Foundations (postdoctoral stipend to RYD), EU FP7 (Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship to RYD), the Kungliga Fysiografiska Sällskapet i Lund (MW) and the Helge Ax:son Johnson Stiftelse (MW). B.H. and E.I.S. conceived of the study. L.L. developed the hypotheses to be tested. L.L. and R.D. collected the field data and samples. All six authors contributed to planning RNA-seq analyses. P.C. and L.L. analysed the data. L.L. wrote the manuscript, which all six authors edited.

Baseline analysis of the existing capacities and needs for capacity building for Marine Strategy Framework Directive implementation in the Celtic Seas sub-region.

This report evaluates the existing situation in the Celtic Seas sub-region and determines the current state of preparedness for transboundary management of marine ecosystems and MSFD implementation. Recommendations for capacity building are provided through the analysis of the existing conflicts and potential synergies between relevant policies, institutions and information resources for MSFD implementation across the region. This report strives to empower stakeholders through the provision of a sound baseline with accurate and up-to-date information on the current status of MSFD implementation, potential opportunities and suggested approaches for building capacities in their region and across the Celtic Seas. It is evident that there are a number of national marine planning processes currently underway and at different stages throughout the United Kingdom and the pre-planning context for MSP in Ireland. On a similar note, this evaluation of MSFD implementation progress to-date in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France highlights that each Member State has implemented the legal and procedural requirements of preparatory steps in differing manners and using different time scales. This variance across the sub-region has the potential to impact the achievement of GES by 2020 across the Celtic Seas.

The Feasibly of Functionally Guided Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy Treatment Planning Using Perfluoropropane-Enhanced MRI for Lung Cancer

Radiotherapy is commonly used to treat lung cancer. However, radiation induced damage to lung tissue is a major limiting factor to its use. To minimize normal tissue lung toxicity from conformal radiotherapy treatment planning, we investigated the use of Perfluoropropane(PFP)-enhanced MR imaging to assess and guide the sparing of functioning lung. Fluorine Enhanced MRI using Perfluoropropane(PFP) is a dynamic multi-breath steady state technique enabling quantitative and qualitative assessments of lung function(1).

Imaging data was obtained from studies previously acquired in the Duke Image Analysis Laboratory. All studies were approved by the Duke IRB. The data was de-identified for this project, which was also approved by the Duke IRB. Subjects performed several breath-holds at total lung capacity(TLC) interspersed with multiple tidal breaths(TB) of Perfluoropropane(PFP)/oxygen mixture. Additive wash-in intensity images were created through the summation of the wash-in phase breath-holds. Additionally, model based fitting was utilized to create parametric images of lung function(1).

Varian Eclipse treatment planning software was used for putative treatment planning. For each subject two plans were made, a standard plan, with no regional functional lung information considered other than current standard models. Another was created using functional information to spare functional lung while maintaining dose to the target lesion. Plans were optimized to a prescription dose of 60 Gy to the target over the course of 30 fractions.

A decrease in dose to functioning lung was observed when utilizing this functional information compared to the standard plan for all five subjects. PFP-enhanced MR imaging is a feasible method to assess ventilatory lung function and we have shown how this can be incorporated into treatment planning to potentially decrease the dose to normal tissue.

Phonon anharmonicity and negative thermal expansion in SnSe

The anharmonic phonon properties of SnSe in the Pnma phase were investigated with a combination of experiments and first-principles simulations. Using inelastic neutron scattering (INS) and nuclear resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (NRIXS), we have measured the phonon dispersions and density of states (DOS) and their temperature dependence, which revealed a strong, inhomogeneous shift and broadening of the spectrum on warming. First-principles simulations were performed to rationalize these measurements, and to explain the previously reported anisotropic thermal expansion, in particular the negative thermal expansion within the Sn-Se bilayers. Including the anisotropic strain dependence of the phonon free energy, in addition to the electronic ground state energy, is essential to reproduce the negative thermal expansion. From the phonon DOS obtained with INS and additional calorimetry measurements, we quantify the harmonic, dilational, and anharmonic components of the phonon entropy, heat capacity, and free energy. The origin of the anharmonic phonon thermodynamics is linked to the electronic structure.

Tissue-specific bioscaffolds for adipose-derived stem/stromal cell expansion and delivery

Decellularized adipose tissue (DAT) is a promising biomaterial for soft tissue regeneration, and it provides a highly conducive microenvironment for human adipose-derived stem/stromal cell (ASC) attachment, proliferation, and adipogenesis. This thesis focused on developing techniques to fabricate 3-D bioscaffolds from enzymatically-digested DAT as platforms for ASC culture and delivery in adipose tissue engineering and large-scale ASC expansion. Initial work investigated chemically crosslinked microcarriers fabricated from pepsin-digested DAT as injectable adipo-inductive substrates for ASCs. DAT microcarriers highly supported ASC adipogenesis compared to gelatin microcarriers in a CELLSPIN system, as confirmed by glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) enzyme activity, lipid accumulation, and endpoint RT-PCR. ASCs cultured on DAT microcarriers in proliferation medium also had elevated PPARγ, C/EBPα, and LPL expression which suggested adipo-inductive properties. In vivo testing of the DAT microcarriers exhibited stable volume retention and enhanced cellular infiltration, tissue remodeling, and angiogenesis. Building from this work, non-chemically crosslinked porous foams and bead foams were fabricated from α-amylase-digested DAT for soft tissue regeneration. Foams were stable and strongly supported ASC adipogenesis based on GPDH activity and endpoint RT-PCR. PPARγ, C/EBPα, and LPL expression in ASCs cultured on the foams in proliferation media indicated adipo-inductive properties. Foams with Young’s moduli similar to human fat also influenced ASC adipogenesis by enhanced GPDH activity. In vivo adipogenesis accompanied by a potent angiogenic response and rapid resorption showed their potential use in wound healing applications. Finally, non-chemically crosslinked porous microcarriers synthesized from α-amylase-digested DAT were investigated for ASC expansion. DAT microcarriers remained stable in culture and supported significantly higher ASC proliferation compared to Cultispher-S microcarriers in a CELLSPIN system. ASC immunophenotype was preserved for all expanded groups, with reduced adhesion marker expression under dynamic conditions. DAT microcarrier expansion upregulated ASC expression of early adipogenic (PPARγ, LPL) and chondrogenic (COMP) markers without inducing a mature phenotype. DAT microcarrier expanded ASCs also showed similar levels of adipogenesis and osteogenesis compared to Cultispher-S despite a significantly higher population fold-change, and had the highest level of chondrogenesis among all groups. This study demonstrates the promising use of DAT microcarriers as a clinically relevant strategy for ASC expansion while maintaining multilineage differentiation capacity.

How coastal strategic planning reflects interrelationships between ecosystem services: a four-step method

Explicit and integrated inclusion of ecosystem services (ESs) and their interrelationships can improve the quality of strategic plans and decision-making processes. However, there is little systematic analysis of how ES interrelationships are framed in policy language, particularly in coastal planning discourse. The objective of this paper is therefore to present a four-step method, based on content analysis, to assess ES interrelationships in coastal strategic planning documents. The method consists of: 1) selecting strategic plans; 2) identifying ESs; 3) identifying drivers, ESs and their effects; and 4) constructing relational diagrams. The four-step method is applied to a case of Jiaozhou Bay in China, demonstrating its capacity of identifying which drivers and ES trade-offs and synergies are formulated in coastal strategic plans. The method is helpful to identify overlooked ES interrelationships, inform temporal and spatial issues, and assess the continuity of plans' attention to interrelationships. The main methodological contributions are discussed by emphasizing its broad scope of drivers and ESs and an explicit distinction among the cause of relationships. The developed method also has the potential of cross-fertilizing other kinds of approaches and facilitating practical planning processes.

Secrecy Capacity Analysis Over κ–μ Fading Channels: Theory and Applications

In this paper, we consider the transmission of confidential information over a κ-μ fading channel in the presence of an eavesdropper who also experiences κ-μ fading. In particular, we obtain novel analytical solutions for the probability of strictly positive secrecy capacity (SPSC) and a lower bound of secure outage probability (SOPL) for independent and non-identically distributed channel coefficients without parameter constraints. We also provide a closed-form expression for the probability of SPSC when the μ parameter is assumed to take positive integer values. Monte-Carlo simulations are performed to verify the derived results. The versatility of the κ-μ fading model means that the results presented in this paper can be used to determine the probability of SPSC and SOPL for a large number of other fading scenarios, such as Rayleigh, Rice (Nakagamin), Nakagami-m, One-Sided Gaussian, and mixtures of these common fading models. In addition, due to the duality of the analysis of secrecy capacity and co-channel interference (CCI), the results presented here will have immediate applicability in the analysis of outage probability in wireless systems affected by CCI and background noise (BN). To demonstrate the efficacy of the novel formulations proposed here, we use the derived equations to provide a useful insight into the probability of SPSC and SOPL for a range of emerging wireless applications, such as cellular device-to-device, peer-to-peer, vehicle-to-vehicle, and body centric communications using data obtained from real channel measurements.

Labor Scheduling Using NPV Estimates of the Marginal Benefit of Additional Labor Capacity

An extensive literature exists on the problems of daily (shift) and weekly (tour) labor scheduling. In representing requirements for employees in these problems, researchers have used formulations based either on the model of Dantzig (1954) or on the model of Keith (1979). We show that both formulations have weakness in environments where management knows, or can attempt to identify, how different levels of customer service affect profits. These weaknesses results in lower-than-necessary profits. This paper presents a New Formulation of the daily and weekly Labor Scheduling Problems (NFLSP) designed to overcome the limitations of earlier models. NFLSP incorporates information on how changing the number of employees working in each planning period affects profits. NFLP uses this information during the development of the schedule to identify the number of employees who, ideally, should be working in each period. In an extensive simulation of 1,152 service environments, NFLSP outperformed the formulations of Dantzig (1954) and Keith (1979) at a level of significance of 0.001. Assuming year-round operations and an hourly wage, including benefits, of $6.00, NFLSP's schedules were $96,046 (2.2%) and $24,648 (0.6%) more profitable, on average, than schedules developed using the formulations of Danzig (1954) and Keith (1979), respectively. Although the average percentage gain over Keith's model was fairly small, it could be much larger in some real cases with different parameters. In 73 and 100 percent of the cases we simulated NFLSP yielded a higher profit than the models of Keith (1979) and Danzig (1954), respectively.

Residential planning, driver mobility and CO2 emission

The literature on residences and citizens’ transports has focused on either reforming traffic managing in response to residential relocation or post-evaluation of urban planning policies or the evolution of the urban spatial form. In a city there are hotspots that attract the citizens and most of the transportation in the city arises as the citizens’ movement between their residence and the hotspots. Little scholarly attention has been devoted to the possibility to minimize citizens’ transportation in the city by the urban planning of residential areas. In this paper we propose a method to evaluate the environmental impact (in terms of CO2-emissions) of urban plans of residential areas. The method is illustrated in a Swedish case of a midsize city which is presently preoccupied with urban planning of new residential areas in response to substantial population growth due to immigration. The residential plans aims to increase the compactness and residential density in the current center and sub centers leads to less CO2 emissions compare to urban expansion to the edge of the city. The plans of concentrated apartment buildings are more effective in meeting residential needs and mitigating CO2 emissions than dispersed single-family houses.

Letting the managers manage: analyzing capacity to conserve biodiversity in a cross-border protected area network

Biodiversity loss is one of the most significant drivers of ecosystem change and is projected to continue at a rapid rate. While protected areas, such as national parks, are seen as important refuges for biodiversity, their effectiveness in stemming biodiversity decline has been questioned. Public agencies have a critical role in the governance of many such areas, but there are tensions between the need for these agencies to be more “adaptive” and their current operating environment. Our aim is to analyze how institutions enable or constrain capacity to conserve biodiversity in a globally significant cross-border network of protected areas, the Australian Alps. Using a novel conceptual framework for diagnosing biodiversity institutions, our research examined institutional adaptive capacity and more general capacity for conserving biodiversity. Several intertwined issues limit public agencies’ capacity to fulfill their conservation responsibilities. Narrowly defined accountability measures constrain adaptive capacity and divert attention away from addressing key biodiversity outcomes. Implications for learning were also evident, with protected area agencies demonstrating successful learning for on-ground issues but less success in applying this learning to deeper policy change. Poor capacity to buffer political and community influences in managing significant cross-border drivers of biodiversity decline signals poor fit with the institutional context and has implications for functional fit. While cooperative federalism provides potential benefits for buffering through diversity, it also means protected area agencies have restricted authority to address cross-border threats. Restrictions on staff authority and discretion, as public servants, have further implications for deploying capacity. This analysis, particularly the possibility of fostering “ambidexterity”—creatively responding to political pressures in a way that also achieves a desirable outcome for biodiversity conservation—is one promising way of building capacity to buffer both political influences and ecological pressures. The findings and the supporting analysis provide insight into how institutional capacity to conserve biodiversity can be enhanced in protected areas in Australia and elsewhere, especially those governed by public agencies and/or multiple organizations and across jurisdictions.

Capacity forecasting for radio access networks

The mobile networks market (focus of this work) strategy is based on the consolidation of the installed structure and the optimization of the already existent resources. The increasingly competition and aggression of this market requires, to the mobile operators, a continuous maintenance and update of the networks in order to obtain the minimum number of fails and provide the best experience for its subscribers. In this context, this dissertation presents a study aiming to assist the mobile operators improving future network modifications. In overview, this dissertation compares several forecasting methods (mostly based on time series analysis) capable of support mobile operators with their network planning. Moreover, it presents several network indicators about the more common bottlenecks.

DEVELOPMENT OF A DECISION/DEPLOYMENT SUPPORT TOOL FOR VARIABLE SPEED LIMITS IN RECURRENT CONGESTION

Traffic demand increases are pushing aging ground transportation infrastructures to their theoretical capacity. The result of this demand is traffic bottlenecks that are a major cause of delay on urban freeways. In addition, the queues associated with those bottlenecks increase the probability of a crash while adversely affecting environmental measures such as emissions and fuel consumption. With limited resources available for network expansion, traffic professionals have developed active traffic management systems (ATMS) in an attempt to mitigate the negative consequences of traffic bottlenecks. Among these ATMS strategies, variable speed limits (VSL) and ramp metering (RM) have been gaining international interests for their potential to improve safety, mobility, and environmental measures at freeway bottlenecks. Though previous studies have shown the tremendous potential of variable speed limit (VSL) and VSL paired with ramp metering (VSLRM) control, little guidance has been developed to assist decision makers in the planning phase of a congestion mitigation project that is considering VSL or VSLRM control. To address this need, this study has developed a comprehensive decision/deployment support tool for the application of VSL and VSLRM control in recurrently congested environments. The decision tool will assist practitioners in deciding the most appropriate control strategy at a candidate site, which candidate sites have the most potential to benefit from the suggested control strategy, and how to most effectively design the field deployment of the suggested control strategy at each implementation site. To do so, the tool is comprised of three key modules, (1) Decision Module, (2) Benefits Module, and (3) Deployment Guidelines Module. Each module uses commonly known traffic flow and geometric parameters as inputs to statistical models and empirically based procedures to provide guidance on the application of VSL and VSLRM at each candidate site. These models and procedures were developed from the outputs of simulated experiments, calibrated with field data. To demonstrate the application of the tool, a list of real-world candidate sites were selected from the Maryland State Highway Administration Mobility Report. Here, field data from each candidate site was input into the tool to illustrate the step-by-step process required for efficient planning of VSL or VSLRM control. The output of the tool includes the suggested control system at each site, a ranking of the sites based on the expected benefit-to-cost ratio, and guidelines on how to deploy the VSL signs, ramp meters, and detectors at the deployment site(s). This research has the potential to assist traffic engineers in the planning of VSL and VSLRM control, thus enhancing the procedure for allocating limited resources for mobility and safety improvements on highways plagued by recurrent congestion.

AN EXAMINATION OF HYDROXYL RADICAL: OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE OXIDATIVE CAPACITY OF THE TROPOSPHERE THROUGH EMPIRICAL, BOX, AND GLOBAL MODELING APPROACHES

Hydroxyl radical (OH) is the primary oxidant in the troposphere, initiating the removal of numerous atmospheric species including greenhouse gases, pollutants that are detrimental to human health, and ozone-depleting substances. Because of the complexity of OH chemistry, models vary widely in their OH chemistry schemes and resulting methane (CH4) lifetimes. The current state of knowledge concerning global OH abundances is often contradictory. This body of work encompasses three projects that investigate tropospheric OH from a modeling perspective, with the goal of improving the tropospheric community’s knowledge of the atmospheric lifetime of CH4. First, measurements taken during the airborne CONvective TRansport of Active Species in the Tropics (CONTRAST) field campaign are used to evaluate OH in global models. A box model constrained to measured variables is utilized to infer concentrations of OH along the flight track. Results are used to evaluate global model performance, suggest against the existence of a proposed “OH Hole” in the tropical Western Pacific, and investigate implications of high O3/low H2O filaments on chemical transport to the stratosphere. While methyl chloroform-based estimates of global mean OH suggest that models are overestimating OH, we report evidence that these models are actually underestimating OH in the tropical Western Pacific. The second project examines OH within global models to diagnose differences in CH4 lifetime. I developed an approach to quantify the roles of OH precursor field differences (O3, H2O, CO, NOx, etc.) using a neural network method. This technique enables us to approximate the change in CH4 lifetime resulting from variations in individual precursor fields. The dominant factors driving CH4 lifetime differences between models are O3, CO, and J(O3-O1D). My third project evaluates the effect of climate change on global fields of OH using an empirical model. Observations of H2O and O3 from satellite instruments are combined with a simulation of tropical expansion to derive changes in global mean OH over the past 25 years. We find that increasing H2O and increasing width of the tropics tend to increase global mean OH, countering the increasing CH4 sink and resulting in well-buffered global tropospheric OH concentrations.