Assessing the integrated sustainability of a public rental housing project from the perspective of complex eco-system

Public rental housing (PRH) projects are the mainstream of China's new affordable housing policies, and their integrated sustainability has a far-reaching effect on medium-low income families' well-being and social stability. However, there are few quantitative researches on the integrated sustainability of PRH projects. Our study tries to fill this gap through proposing an assessment model of the integrated sustainability for PRH projects. First, this paper defines what the sustainability of a PRH project is. Second, after constructing the sustainable system of a PRH project from the perspective of complex eco-system, the paper explores the internal operation mechanism and the coupling mechanism among the ecological, economic and social subsystems. Third, it identifies fourteen indices to represent the sustainability system of a PRH project, including six indices of ecological subsystem, five of economic subsystem and three of social subsystem. Fourth, it qualifies the weights of three subsystems and their internal representative indices. In addition, an assessment model is established through expert surveys and analytic network process (ANP). Finally, the paper carries out an empirical research on a PRH project in Nanjing city of China, followed by suggestions to enhance the integrated sustainability. The sustainability system and its evaluation model proposed in this paper are concise and easy to understand and can provide a theoretical foundation and a scientific basis for the evaluation and optimization of PRH projects.

VisArchive: a time and relevance based visual interface for searching, browsing, and exploring project archives

Background Project archives are becoming increasingly large and complex. On construction projects in particular, the increasing amount of information and the increasing complexity of its structure make searching and exploring information in the project archive challenging and time-consuming. Methods This research investigates a query-driven approach that represents new forms of contextual information to help users understand the set of documents resulting from queries of construction project archives. Specifically, this research extends query-driven interface research by representing three types of contextual information: (1) the temporal context is represented in the form of a timeline to show when each document was created; (2) the search-relevance context shows exactly which of the entered keywords matched each document; and (3) the usage context shows which project participants have accessed or modified a file. Results We implemented and tested these ideas within a prototype query-driven interface we call VisArchive. VisArchive employs a combination of multi-scale and multi-dimensional timelines, color-coded stacked bar charts, additional supporting visual cues and filters to support searching and exploring historical project archives. The timeline-based interface integrates three interactive timelines as focus + context visualizations. Conclusions The feasibility of using these visual design principles is tested in two types of project archives: searching construction project archives of an educational building project and tracking of software defects in the Mozilla Thunderbird project. These case studies demonstrate the applicability, usefulness and generality of the design principles implemented.

Surface cathepsin B protects cytotoxic lymphocytes from self-destruction after degranulation.

The granule exocytosis cytotoxicity pathway is the major molecular mechanism for cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) and natural killer (NK) cytotoxicity, but the question of how these cytotoxic lymphocytes avoid self-destruction after secreting perforin has remained unresolved. We show that CTL and NK cells die within a few hours if they are triggered to degranulate in the presence of nontoxic thiol cathepsin protease inhibitors. The potent activity of the impermeant, highly cathepsin B-specific membrane inhibitors CA074 and NS-196 strongly implicates extracellular cathepsin B. CTL suicide in the presence of cathepsin inhibitors requires the granule exocytosis cytotoxicity pathway, as it is normal with CTLs from gld mice, but does not occur in CTLs from perforin knockout mice. Flow cytometry shows that CTLs express low to undetectable levels of cathepsin B on their surface before degranulation, with a substantial rapid increase after T cell receptor triggering. Surface cathepsin B eluted from live CTL after degranulation by calcium chelation is the single chain processed form of active cathepsin B. Degranulated CTLs are surface biotinylated by the cathepsin B-specific affinity reagent NS-196, which exclusively labels immunoreactive cathepsin B. These experiments support a model in which granule-derived surface cathepsin B provides self-protection for degranulating cytotoxic lymphocytes.

Building economic capability to improve the management of marine resources in Australia: Final report

FRDC project 2008/306 Building economic capability to improve the management of marine resources in Australia was developed and approved in response to the widespread recognition and acknowledgement of the importance of incorporating economic considerations into marine management in Australia and of the persistent undersupply of suitably trained and qualified individuals capable of providing this input. The need to address this shortfall received broad based support and following widespread stakeholder consultation and building on previous unsuccessful State-based initiatives, a collaborative, cross-jurisdictional cross-institutional capability building model was developed. The resulting project sits within the People Development Program as part of FRDC���s ���investment in RD&E to develop the capabilities of the people to whom the industry entrusts its future���, and has addressed its objectives largely through three core activities: 1. The Fisheries Economics Graduate Research Training Program which provides research training in fisheries/marine economics through enrolment in postgraduate higher degree studies at the three participating Universities; 2. The Fisheries Economics Professional Training Program which aims to improve the economic literacy of non-economist marine sector stakeholders and was implemented in collaboration with the Seafood Cooperative Research Centre through the Future Harvest Masterclass in Fisheries Economics; and, 3. The Australian Fisheries Economics Network (FishEcon) which aims to strengthen research in the area of fisheries economics by creating a forum in which fisheries economists, fisheries managers and Ph.D. students can share research ideas and results, as well as news of upcoming research opportunities and events. These activities were undertaken by a core Project team, comprising economic researchers and teachers from each of the four participating institutions (namely the University of Tasmania, the University of Adelaide, Queensland University of Technology and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), spanning three States and the Commonwealth. The Project team reported to and was guided by a project Steering Committee. Commensurate with the long term nature of the project objectives and some of its activities the project was extended (without additional resources) in 2012 to 30th June 2015.

Building Information Modelling – Experts�� Views on Standardisation and Industry Deployment

The goal of the single building information model has existed for at least thirty years and various standards have been published leading up to the ten-year development of the Industry Foundation Classes. These have been initiatives from researchers, software developers and standards committees. Now large property owners are becoming aware of the benefits of moving IT tools from specific applications towards more comprehensive solutions. This study addresses the state of Building Information Models and the conditions necessary for them to become more widely used. It is a qualitative study based on information from a number of international experts and has asked a series of questions about the feasibility of BIMs, the conditions necessary for their success, and the role of standards with particular reference to the IFCs. Some key statements were distilled from the diverse answers received and indicate that BIM solutions appear too complex for many and may need to be applied in limited areas initially. Standards are generally supported but not applied rigorously and a range of these are relevant to BIM. Benefits will depend upon the building procurement methods used and there should be special roles within the project team to manage information. Case studies are starting to appear and these could be used for publicity. The IFCs are rather oversold and their complexities should be hidden within simple-to-use software. Inevitably major questions remain and property owners may be the key to answering some of these. A framework for presenting standards, backed up by case studies of successful projects, is the solution proposed to provide better information on where particular BIM standards and solutions should be applied in building projects.

Precoder Designs for MIMO Broadcast Channels with Imperfect CSI

[1] D. Tse and P. Viswanath, Fundamentals of Wireless Communication.Cambridge University Press, 2006. [2] H. Bolcskei, D. Gesbert, C. B. Papadias, and A.-J. van der Veen, Spacetime Wireless Systems: From Array Processing to MIMO Communications.Cambridge University Press, 2006. [3] Q. H. Spencer, C. B. Peel, A. L. Swindlehurst, and M. Haardt, ���An introduction to the multiuser MIMO downlink,��� IEEE Commun. Mag.,vol. 42, pp. 60–67, Oct. 2004. [4] K. Kusume, M. Joham,W. Utschick, and G. Bauch, ���Efficient tomlinsonharashima precoding for spatial multiplexing on flat MIMO channel,���in Proc. IEEE ICC���2005, May 2005, pp. 2021–2025. [5] R. Fischer, C. Windpassinger, A. Lampe, and J. Huber, ���MIMO precoding for decentralized receivers,��� in Proc. IEEE ISIT���2002, 2002, p.496. [6] M. Schubert and H. Boche, ���Iterative multiuser uplink and downlink beamforming under SINR constraints,��� IEEE Trans. Signal Process.,vol. 53, pp. 2324–2334, Jul. 2005. [7] ������, ���Solution of multiuser downlink beamforming problem with individual SINR constraints,��� IEEE Trans. Veh. Technol., vol. 53, pp.18–28, Jan. 2004. [8] A. Wiesel, Y. C. Eldar, and Shamai, ���Linear precoder via conic optimization for fixed MIMO receivers,��� IEEE Trans. Signal Process., vol. 52,pp. 161–176, Jan. 2006. [9] N. Jindal, ���MIMO broadcast channels with finite rate feed-back,��� in Proc. IEEE GLOBECOM���2005, Nov. 2005. [10] R. Hunger, F. Dietrich, M. Joham, and W. Utschick, ���Robust transmit zero-forcing filters,��� in Proc. ITG Workshop on Smart Antennas, Munich,Mar. 2004, pp. 130–137. [11] M. B. Shenouda and T. N. Davidson, ���Linear matrix inequality formulations of robust QoS precoding for broadcast channels,��� in Proc.CCECE���2007, Apr. 2007, pp. 324–328. [12] M. Payaro, A. Pascual-Iserte, and M. A. Lagunas, ���Robust power allocation designs for multiuser and multiantenna downlink communication systems through convex optimization,��� IEEE J. Sel. Areas Commun.,vol. 25, pp. 1392–1401, Sep. 2007. [13] M. Biguesh, S. Shahbazpanahi, and A. B. Gershman, ���Robust downlink power control in wireless cellular systems,��� EURASIP Jl. Wireless Commun. Networking, vol. 2, pp. 261–272, 2004. [14] B. Bandemer, M. Haardt, and S. Visuri, ���Liner MMSE multi-user MIMO downlink precoding for users with multple antennas,��� in Proc.PIMRC���06, Sep. 2006, pp. 1–5. [15] J. Zhang, Y. Wu, S. Zhou, and J. Wang, ���Joint linear transmitter and receiver design for the downlink of multiuser MIMO systems,��� IEEE Commun. Lett., vol. 9, pp. 991–993, Nov. 2005. [16] S. Shi, M. Schubert, and H. Boche, ���Downlink MMSE transceiver optimization for multiuser MIMO systems: Duality and sum-mse minimization,���IEEE Trans. Signal Process., vol. 55, pp. 5436–5446, Nov.2007. [17] A. Mezghani, M. Joham, R. Hunger, and W. Utschick, ���Transceiver design for multi-user MIMO systems,��� in Proc. WSA 2006, Mar. 2006. [18] R. Doostnejad, T. J. Lim, and E. Sousa, ���Joint precoding and beamforming design for the downlink in a multiuser MIMO system,��� in Proc.WiMob���2005, Aug. 2005, pp. 153–159. [19] N. Vucic, H. Boche, and S. Shi, ���Robust transceiver optimization in downlink multiuser MIMO systems with channel uncertainty,��� in Proc.IEEE ICC���2008, Beijing, China, May 2008. [20] A. Ben-Tal and A. Nemirovsky, ���Selected topics in robust optimization,���Math. Program., vol. 112, pp. 125–158, Feb. 2007. [21] D. Bertsimas and M. Sim, ���Tractable approximations to robust conic optimization problems,��� Math. Program., vol. 107, pp. 5–36, Jun. 2006. [22] P. Ubaidulla and A. Chockalingam, ���Robust Transceiver Design for Multiuser MIMO Downlink,��� in Proc. IEEE Globecom���2008, New Orleans, USA, Dec. 2008, to appear. [23] S. Boyd and L. Vandenberghe, Convex Optimization. Cambridge University Press, 2004. [24] G. H. Golub and C. F. V. Loan, Matrix Computations. The John Hopkins University Press, 1996.

An experimental study on loading rate effect on acoustic emission based b-values related to reinforced concrete fracture

This article reports on analysis of fracture processes in reinforced concrete (RC) beams with acoustic emission (AE) technique. An emphasis was given to study the effect of loading rate on variation in AE based b-values with the development of cracks in RC structures. RC beams of length 3.2 m were tested under load control at a rate of 4 kN/s, 5 kN/s and 6 kN/s and the b-value analysis available in seismology was used to study the fracture process in RC structures. Moreover, the b-value is related to the strain in steel to assess the damage state. It is observed that when the loading rate is higher, quick cracking development lead to rapid fluctuations and drops in the b-values. Also it is observed that concrete behaves relatively more brittle at higher loading rates (or at higher strain rates). The average b-values are lower as a few but larger amplitudes of AE events occur in contrast to more number of low amplitude AE events occur at low loading rates (or at low strain rates). (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Study of H/D exchange rates to derive the strength of intramolecular hydrogen bonds in halo substituted organic building blocks: An NMR spectroscopic investigation

Rates of hydrogen/deuterium (H/D) exchange determined by H-1 NMR spectroscopy are utilized to derive the strength of hydrogen bonds and to monitor the electronic effects in the site-specific halogen substituted benzamides and anilines. The theoretical fitting of the time dependent variation of the integral areas of H-1 NMR resonances to the first order decay function permitted the determination of HID exchange rate constants (k) and their precise half-lives (t(1/2)) with high degree of reproducibility. The comparative study also permitted the unambiguous determination of relative strength of hydrogen bonds and the contribution from electronic effects on the HID exchange rate. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Non-governmental organizations and multi-sited marine conservation science: A case study

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are now major players in the realm of environmental conservation. While many environmental NGOs started as national organizations focused around single-species protection, governmental advocacy, and preservation of wilderness, the largest now produce applied conservation science and work with national and international stakeholders to develop conservation solutions that work in tandem with local aspirations. Marine managed areas (MMAs) are increasingly being used as a tool to manage anthropogenic stressors on marine resources and protect marine biodiversity. However, the science of MMA is far from complete. Conservation International (CI) is concluding a 5 year, $12.5 million dollar Marine Management Area Science (MMAS) initiative. There are 45 scientific projects recently completed, with four main ���nodes��� of research and conservation work: Panama, Fiji, Brazil, and Belize. Research projects have included MMA ecological monitoring, socioeconomic monitoring, cultural roles monitoring, economic valuation studies, and others. MMAS has the goals of conducting marine management area research, building local capacity, and using the results of the research to promote marine conservation policy outcomes at project sites. How science is translated into policy action is a major area of interest for science and technology scholars (Cash and Clark 2001; Haas 2004; Jasanoff et al. 2002). For science to move policy there must be work across ���boundaries��� (Jasanoff 1987). Boundaries are defined as the ���socially constructed and negotiated borders between science and policy, between disciplines, across nations, and across multiple levels��� (Cash et al. 2001). Working across the science-policy boundary requires boundary organizations (Guston 1999) with accountability to both sides of the boundary, among other attributes. (Guston 1999; Clark et al. 2002). This paper provides a unique case study illustrating how there are clear advantages to collaborative science. Through the MMAS initiative, CI built accountability into both sides of the science-policy boundary primarily through having scientific projects fed through strong in-country partners and being folded into the work of ongoing conservation processes. This collaborative, boundary-spanning approach led to many advantages, including cost sharing, increased local responsiveness and input, better local capacity building, and laying a foundation for future conservation outcomes. As such, MMAS can provide strong lessons for other organizations planning to get involved in multi-site conservation science. (PDF contains 3 pages)

Validade e confiabilidade do Question��rio de Qualidade de Vida para Pacientes Orto-cir��rgicos (B-OQLQ)

O Orthognathic Quality of Life Questionnaire (OQLQ) foi desenvolvido em 2000 e validado em 2002, com o objetivo de analisar os impactos e benef��cios do tratamento orto-cir��rgico na qualidade de vida dos pacientes. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a validade de construto e confiabilidade da vers��o brasileira deste instrumento, B-OQLQ, para verificar se, no processo de adapta����o transcultural, as propriedades psicom��tricas do question��rio original foram mantidas. Para tal, foi realizado um estudo seccional com uma amostra composta por cento e um pacientes com necessidade de tratamento ortod��ntico-cir��rgico no Hospital Universit��rio Pedro Ernesto (HUPE) e na Faculdade de Odontologia da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), utilizando o B-OQLQ na forma de autopreenchimento. A m��dia de idade dos pacientes foi de 26,51 (dp= 9,25), sendo a maioria do sexo feminino (58,42%; n=59) e maior que 21 anos (n=68, 67,33%). Quanto ao tipo de cirurgia, 42,57% (n=43) da amostra necessitavam fazer procedimento cir��rgico que envolveria as duas bases ��sseas, 16,83% (n=17) necessitavam operar apenas uma das bases ��sseas e para 40,59% (n=41) dos pacientes ainda n��o era poss��vel definir qual o tipo de cirurgia seria necess��ria. Uma ortodontista treinada examinou os dentes dos pacientes para registrar o ��ndice de Dentes Cariados, Perdidos e Obturados (CPOD). A validade de construto foi acessada atrav��s do teste de correla����o de Spearman entre as pontua����es do B-OQLQ e do question��rio Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) e das pontua����es do B-OQLQ com as pontua����es obtidas atrav��s de indicadores subjetivos e objetivos de sa��de. A confiabilidade foi acessada em termos de consist��ncia interna e estabilidade (teste-reteste), utilizando-se o alfa de Cronbach e o Coeficiente de Correla����o Intraclasse (CCI), respectivamente. Os escores do B-OQLQ se correlacionaram significativamente com: o escore total do OHIP-14 (rs=0,70, p<0,001), a sa��de bucal percebida (rs=-0,24, p=0,02), a qualidade de vida medida por um item ��nico de avalia����o (rs=-0,29, p=0,03), a satisfa����o com a apar��ncia f��sica (rs=-0,40, p<0,001) e a satisfa����o com a apar��ncia facial (rs=-0,39, p=0,0001). Foi encontrada uma associa����o entre a faixa et��ria e o escore total do B-OQLQ (p=0,0012), sendo que pacientes maiores de 21 anos obtiveram escores mais elevados que pacientes mais novos. A associa����o entre o escore total do B-OQLQ e o tipo de cirurgia n��o foi estatisticamente significativa. O alfa de Cronbach e o CCI foram 0,95 e 0,90, respectivamente. Os dom��nios do B-OQLQ que mais causaram impacto na qualidade de vida foram aspectos sociais da deformidade (13,0; dp= 10,54) e est��tica facial (11,81; dp= 6,23). A vers��o brasileira do question��rio OQLQ se mostrou um instrumento v��lido e confi��vel, com boas propriedades psicom��tricas podendo, portanto, ser considerada um instrumento apropriado para acessar o impacto da deformidade dentofacial na qualidade de vida de pacientes portadores desta condi����o.

Specific Interaction with Cardiolipin Triggers Functional Activation of Dynamin-Related Protein 1

Dynamin-Related Protein 1 (Drp1), a large GTPase of the dynamin superfamily, is required for mitochondrial fission in healthy and apoptotic cells. Drp1 activation is a complex process that involves translocation from the cytosol to the mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM) and assembly into rings/spirals at the MOM, leading to membrane constriction/division. Similar to dynamins, Drp1 contains GTPase (G), bundle signaling element (BSE) and stalk domains. However, instead of the lipid-interacting Pleckstrin Homology (PH) domain present in the dynamins, Drp1 contains the so-called B insert or variable domain that has been suggested to play an important role in Drp1 regulation. Different proteins have been implicated in Drp1 recruitment to the MOM, although how MOM-localized Drp1 acquires its fully functional status remains poorly understood. We found that Drp1 can interact with pure lipid bilayers enriched in the mitochondrion-specific phospholipid cardiolipin (CL). Building on our previous study, we now explore the specificity and functional consequences of this interaction. We show that a four lysine module located within the B insert of Drp1 interacts preferentially with CL over other anionic lipids. This interaction dramatically enhances Drp1 oligomerization and assembly-stimulated GTP hydrolysis. Our results add significantly to a growing body of evidence indicating that CL is an important regulator of many essential mitochondrial functions.

Acordo Aeroespacial Teuto-Brasileiro (1969-1989; 1990-2001 e 2002-2011): uma coopera����o complementar

Este projeto de disserta����o se prop��e a analisar a coopera����o aeroespacial entre o Brasil e a Alemanha de 1969 a 2011 em tr��s recortes temporais: 1969 a 1989, 1990 a 2001 e 2002 a 2011. Seguindo as bases te��ricas de classifica����o da CID (Coopera����o Internacional para o Desenvolvimento), e apoiada em pesquisa de campo conduzida em ambos os pa��ses, este trabalho apresenta um novo conceito de coopera����o que, at�� onde a pesquisa bibliogr��fica aqui conduzida avaliou, constitui uma contribui����o original deste trabalho: a Coopera����o Complementar. A coopera����o aeroespacial teuto-brasileira �� pouco conhecida e divulgada, embora tenha completado vigorosas quatro d��cadas de exitosa exist��ncia. A conclus��o de ��xito desta coopera����o encontrou lastro em pesquisa de campo conduzida pela autora no Brasil (IAE Instituto de Aeron��utica e Espa��o) e na Alemanha (DLR Deutsche Zentrum f��r Luft- und Raumfahrt), consubstanciada por quatro entrevistas (SILVA, 2011a), (SILVA, 2011c), (SILVA, 2011d) e (SILVA, 2011e) realizadas junto a importantes representantes destes dois centros. Os conhecimentos extra��dos por meio destas entrevistas agregaram, no entender desta autora, importantes informa����es �� bibliografia espec��fica e relativamente escassa dispon��vel em ambos os pa��ses.O ��xito defendido nesta disserta����o fundamenta-se n��o apenas na longevidade advinda dos 40 anos de exist��ncia desta Coopera����o, na sua capacidade de renova����o e na complementaridade atingida, mas sobretudo pela consecu����o dos diversos objetivos t��cnico-cient��ficos integrantes do escopo do referido Tratado, muitos dos quais respons��veis por importantes desdobramentos de tecnologias em outras ��reas do saber, tais como o projeto DEBRA 25 (SCHUSTER, 2011), de energia e��lica, e o projeto VLS (Ve��culo Lan��ador de Sat��lites), que utiliza como seus motores os foguetes desenvolvidos no escopo desta Coopera����o.

Ongoing rehabilitation of coastal communities in Aceh province : a new project

This article presents an overview of the project on Rehabilitation of Fisheries and Aquaculture in Tsunami-affected Coastal Communities in Aceh Province. Building on the research results from the recently completed projects detailed in the previous articles, this project shall synthesize information on coastal fishing communities and resources in order to develop site-specific management options to support rehabilitation of fisheries and aquaculture.

From drawing board to dining table: the success story of the GIFT project

As compared to crops and livestock, the genetic enhancement of fish is in its infancy. While significant progress has been achieved in the genetic improvement of temperate fish such as salmonids, no efforts were made until the late 1980s for the genetic improvement of tropical finfish, which account for about 90 percent of global aquaculture production. This paper traces the history of the Genetic Improvement of Farmed Tilapia (GIFT) project initiated in 1988 by the WorldFish Center and its partners for the development of methods for genetic enhancement of tropical finfish using Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) as a test species. It also describes the impacts of the project on the adoption of these methods for other species and the dissemination of improved breeds in several countries in Asia and the Pacific.