Regional impacts of climate change on irrigation water demands

This paper presents an approach to model the expected impacts of climate change on irrigation water demand in a reservoir command area. A statistical downscaling model and an evapotranspiration model are used with a general circulation model (GCM) output to predict the anticipated change in the monthly irrigation water requirement of a crop. Specifically, we quantify the likely changes in irrigation water demands at a location in the command area, as a response to the projected changes in precipitation and evapotranspiration at that location. Statistical downscaling with a canonical correlation analysis is carried out to develop the future scenarios of meteorological variables (rainfall, relative humidity (RH), wind speed (U-2), radiation, maximum (Tmax) and minimum (Tmin) temperatures) starting with simulations provided by a GCM for a specified emission scenario. The medium resolution Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate GCM is used with the A1B scenario, to assess the likely changes in irrigation demands for paddy, sugarcane, permanent garden and semidry crops over the command area of Bhadra reservoir, India. Results from the downscaling model suggest that the monthly rainfall is likely to increase in the reservoir command area. RH, Tmax and Tmin are also projected to increase with small changes in U-2. Consequently, the reference evapotranspiration, modeled by the Penman-Monteith equation, is predicted to increase. The irrigation requirements are assessed on monthly scale at nine selected locations encompassing the Bhadra reservoir command area. The irrigation requirements are projected to increase, in most cases, suggesting that the effect of projected increase in rainfall on the irrigation demands is offset by the effect due to projected increase/change in other meteorological variables (viz., Tmax and Tmin, solar radiation, RH and U-2). The irrigation demand assessment study carried out at a river basin will be useful for future irrigation management systems. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Statutory protection of freshwater flora and fauna

The aim of this paper is to summarize the present legislation aimed at protecting freshwater species in Britain, and briefly to review its effectiveness. Some areas have been deliberately omitted, such as fisheries legislation designed to conserve stocks, and the statutory protection of birds associated with fresh waters which forms a large subject area in its own right.

Histórias da psicologia e dos seus atores no cenário da saúde: o hospital geral e seus nós

A inserção do psicólogo no campo da saúde vem crescendo de forma considerável no âmbito nacional, principalmente nas últimas duas décadas. Está concentrada aí, atualmente, a maior oferta de vagas em concursos públicos para psicólogos, bem como uma ampliação de oportunidades na rede privada. Trata-se de um cenário bastante amplo, que inclui a atenção básica (postos de saúde, Programa de Saúde da Família, entre outros), a assistência às demandas de saúde mental (Centros de Atenção Psicossocial, rede ambulatorial e hospitais psiquiátricos), além de institutos, hospitais especializados e hospitais gerais (HGs). Em franco processo de estruturação, o campo da psicologia na saúde é marcado por pluralidades de papéis, demandas e histórias, principalmente no que tange ao contexto do HG, onde a especificidade da psicologia permanece até hoje um tanto quanto enigmática. A escassez dos dados sobre a entrada de psicólogos em HGs no Rio de Janeiro apontou o caminho que nossas buscas deveriam assumir. Assim, o objeto desta tese é discutir alguns dos diferentes fazeres do psicólogo no HG. Para tanto, optamos por um percurso que inevitavelmente nos levou a uma perspectiva histórica. Na busca de elementos que pudessem contar quando e como a psicologia se tornou uma especialidade presente nos hospitais gerais, procuramos os agentes precursores desta empreitada, aqueles que participaram ativamente da construção desse espaço como um dos lugares da psicologia na saúde. Foram realizadas cinco entrevistas com personagens dessa história no contexto fluminense, psicólogas que, cada uma em seu hospital e em um dado momento histórico, tiveram papel decisivo para que a psicologia se tornasse uma especialidade legitimada nesse cenário. Tivemos ainda como fontes de pesquisa alguns relatórios, conversas de bastidores, visitas a alguns HGs e a própria vivência da autora desta tese como psicóloga vinculada à Secretaria Estadual de Saúde e Defesa Civil do Rio de Janeiro (SESDEC/RJ). Verificamos que a história da psicologia nos HG no Rio de Janeiro é significativamente recente, oficializando-se em 1990 com a realização do primeiro concurso público com provimento de vagas para psicólogos em HGs vinculados à SES/RJ (atual SESDEC). Outros concursos ampliaram as equipes e a configuração de uma rotina na qual a palavra de ordem passou a ser a atenção ao risco psicossocial. Até esse ponto, no entanto, foram travadas muitas batalhas: entre os psicólogos e as demais equipes, entre os novos psicólogos e as direções das suas unidades de saúde, entre psicólogos estatutários e psicólogos prestadores, entre psicólogos e a própria psicologia. Nossa empreitada privilegiou a narrativa desses personagens, as histórias por eles contadas, que nos auxiliaram na composição pregressa e atual da psicologia no HG no Rio de Janeiro. São memórias que contam das dificuldades e das vitórias de cada um desses momentos, na tentativa de se definir o quase indefinível lugar da psicologia no HG. Nosso trabalho pretendeu construir um dos possíveis mapas desse campo, objetivando, com isso, fornecer subsídios para que psicólogos possam ampliar seus estilos e coletivos de pensamento em prol de um exercício profissional ético e responsável.

Energy demands of diverse spiking cells from the neocortex, hippocampus, and thalamus

It has long been known that neurons in the brain are not physiologically homogeneous. In response to current stimulus, they can fire several distinct patterns of action potentials that are associated with different physiological classes ranging from regular-spiking cells, fast-spiking cells, intrinsically bursting cells, and low-threshold cells. In this work we show that the high degree of variability in firing characteristics of action potentials among these cells is accompanied with a significant variability in the energy demands required to restore the concentration gradients after an action potential. The values of the metabolic energy were calculated for a wide range of cell temperatures and stimulus intensities following two different approaches. The first one is based on the amount of Na+ load crossing the membrane during a single action potential, while the second one focuses on the electrochemical energy functions deduced from the dynamics of the computational neuron models. The results show that the thalamocortical relay neuron is the most energy-efficient cell consuming between 7 and 18 nJ/cm(2) for each spike generated, while both the regular and fast spiking cells from somatosensory cortex and the intrinsically-bursting cell from a cat visual cortex are the least energy-efficient, and can consume up to 100 nJ/cm(2) per spike. The lowest values of these energy demands were achieved at higher temperatures and high external stimuli.

Fisheries statutory instruments 1950-93 [collection of salmon and fisheries legislation with special respect to Cumbria]

This document is a collection of legislative documents relating to fisheries, especially Statutory Instruments, with special regards to the county Cumbria in the north of England. This includes Orders on salmon and trout spanning the years 1950-1993.

Number of Players and Relative Pitch Area per Player: Comparing Their Influence on Heart Rate and Physical Demands in Under-12 and Under-13 Football Players

The aim of the present study is to analyse the influence of different large-sided games (LSGs) on the physical and physiological variables in under-12s (U12) and -13s (U13) soccer players. The effects of the combination of different number of players per team, 7, 9, and 11 (P7, P9, and P11, respectively) with three relative pitch areas, 100, 200, and 300 m(2) (A100, A200, and A300, respectively), were analysed in this study. The variables analysed were: 1) global indicator such as total distance (TD); work:rest ratio (W:R); player-load (PL) and maximal speed (V-max); 2) heart rate (HR) mean and time spent in different intensity zones of HR (<75%, 75-84%, 84-90% and >90%), and; 3) five absolute (<8, 8-13, 13-16 and >16 Km h(-1)) and three relative speed categories (<40%, 40-60% and >60% V-max). The results support the theory that a change in format (player number and pitch dimensions) affects no similarly in the two players categories. Although it can seem that U13 players are more demanded in this kind of LSG, when the work load is assessed from a relative point of view, great pitch dimensions and/or high number of player per team are involved in the training task to the U12 players. The results of this study could alert to the coaches to avoid some types of LSGs for the U12 players such as:P11 played in A100, A200 or A300, P9 played in A200 or A300 and P7 played in A300 due to that U13>U12 in several physical and physiological variables (W:R, time spent in 84-90% HRmax, distance in 8-13 and 13-16 Km h(-1) and time spent in 40-60% V-max). These results may help youth soccer coaches to plan the progressive introduction of LSGs so that task demands are adapted to the physiological and physical development of participants.

Investigating the relationships between user capabilities and product demands for older and disabled users

This paper presents the results of a study that specifically looks at the relationships between measured user capabilities and product demands in a sample of older and disabled users. An empirical study was conducted with 19 users performing tasks with four consumer products (a clock-radio, a mobile phone, a blender and a vacuum cleaner). The sensory, cognitive and motor capabilities of each user were measured using objective capability tests. The study yielded a rich dataset comprising capability measures, product demands, outcome measures (task times and errors), and subjective ratings of difficulty. Scatter plots were produced showing quantified product demands on user capabilities, together with subjective ratings of difficulty. The results are analysed in terms of the strength of correlations observed taking into account the limitations of the study sample. Directions for future research are also outlined. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.

User responses to the learning demands of consumer products

Designers are typically male, under 35 years old and unimpaired. Users can be of any age and currently over 15% will have some form of impairment. As a result a vast array of consumer products suit youthful males and in many cases exclude other demographics (e.g. Keates and Clarkson, 2004). In studying the way a range of users learn how to use new products, key cognitive difficulties are revealed and linked back to the areas of the product causing the problems. The trials were structured so each user had to complete a specific set of tasks and were consistent across the user spectrum. The tasks set aimed to represent both everyday usage and less familiar functions. Whilst the knowledge gained could provide designers with valuable guidelines for the specific products examined, a more general abstraction provides knowledge of the pitfalls to avoid in the design of other product families.

The temporal evolution of feedback gains rapidly update to task demands.

Recent theoretical frameworks such as optimal feedback control suggest that feedback gains should modulate throughout a movement and be tuned to task demands. Here we measured the visuomotor feedback gain throughout the course of movements made to "near" or "far" targets in human subjects. The visuomotor gain showed a systematic modulation over the time course of the reach, with the gain peaking at the middle of the movement and dropping rapidly as the target is approached. This modulation depends primarily on the proportion of the movement remaining, rather than hand position, suggesting that the modulation is sensitive to task demands. Model-predictive control suggests that the gains should be continuously recomputed throughout a movement. To test this, we investigated whether feedback gains update when the task goal is altered during a movement, that is when the target of the reach jumped. We measured the visuomotor gain either simultaneously with the jump or 100 ms after the jump. The visuomotor gain nonspecifically reduced for all target jumps when measured synchronously with the jump. However, the visuomotor gain 100 ms later showed an appropriate modulation for the revised task goal by increasing for jumps that increased the distance to the target and reducing for jumps that decreased the distance. We conclude that visuomotor feedback gain shows a temporal evolution related to task demands and that this evolution can be flexibly recomputed within 100 ms to accommodate online modifications to task goals.