A Resource Centric Approach For Advancing Collaboration Through Hydrologic Data And Model Sharing

HydroShare is an online, collaborative system being developed for open sharing of hydrologic data and models. The goal of HydroShare is to enable scientists to easily discover and access hydrologic data and models, retrieve them to their desktop or perform analyses in a distributed computing environment that may include grid, cloud or high performance computing model instances as necessary. Scientists may also publish outcomes (data, results or models) into HydroShare, using the system as a collaboration platform for sharing data, models and analyses. HydroShare is expanding the data sharing capability of the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System by broadening the classes of data accommodated, creating new capability to share models and model components, and taking advantage of emerging social media functionality to enhance information about and collaboration around hydrologic data and models. One of the fundamental concepts in HydroShare is that of a Resource. All content is represented using a Resource Data Model that separates system and science metadata and has elements common to all resources as well as elements specific to the types of resources HydroShare will support. These will include different data types used in the hydrology community and models and workflows that require metadata on execution functionality. The HydroShare web interface and social media functions are being developed using the Drupal content management system. A geospatial visualization and analysis component enables searching, visualizing, and analyzing geographic datasets. The integrated Rule-Oriented Data System (iRODS) is being used to manage federated data content and perform rule-based background actions on data and model resources, including parsing to generate metadata catalog information and the execution of models and workflows. This presentation will introduce the HydroShare functionality developed to date, describe key elements of the Resource Data Model and outline the roadmap for future development.

Environmental management system and human resource practices: is there a link between them in four Brazilian companies?

The aim of this article is to analyze the theoretical model proposed by [Jabbour CJC, Santos FCA. Relationships between human resource dimensions and environmental management in companies: proposal of a model. Journal of Cleaner Production 2008;16(1):5 1-8.] based on the data collected in four Brazilian companies. This model investigates how the phases of the environmental management system can be linked to human resource practices in order to attain continuous improvement of a company's environmental performance. Our aim is to contribute to a field, which has little empirical evidence. Although the interaction between the phases of the environmental management system and human resource practices is recommended by the specialized literature [Daily BE Huang S. Achieving sustainability through attention to human resource factors in environmental management. International Journal of Operations and Production Management 2001:21(12):1539-52.], the results indicate that most of the theoretical assumptions could not be confirmed in these Brazilian companies. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Continuous measurement of cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO 2) for assessment of cardiovascular status during hemorrhagic shock in a swine model

Background: Early trauma care is dependent on subjective assessments and sporadic vital sign assessments. We hypothesized that near-infrared spectroscopy-measured cerebral oxygenation (regional oxygen saturation [rSO 2]) would provide a tool to detect cardiovascular compromise during active hemorrhage. We compared rSO 2 with invasively measured mixed venous oxygen saturation (SvO2), mean arterial pressure (MAP), cardiac output, heart rate, and calculated pulse pressure. Methods: Six propofol-anesthetized instrumented swine were subjected to a fixed-rate hemorrhage until cardiovascular collapse. rSO 2 was monitored with noninvasively measured cerebral oximetry; SvO2 was measured with a fiber optic pulmonary arterial catheter. As an assessment of the time responsiveness of each variable, we recorded minutes from start of the hemorrhage for each variable achieving a 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% change compared with baseline. Results: Mean time to cardiovascular collapse was 35 minutes ± 11 minutes (54 ± 17% total blood volume). Cerebral rSO 2 began a steady decline at an average MAP of 78 mm Hg ± 17 mm Hg, well above the expected autoregulatory threshold of cerebral blood flow. The 5%, 10%, and 15% decreases in rSO 2 during hemorrhage occurred at a similar times to SvO2, but rSO 2 lagged 6 minutes behind the equivalent percentage decreases in MAP. There was a higher correlation between rSO 2 versus MAP (R =0.72) than SvO2 versus MAP (R =0.55). Conclusions: Near-infrared spectroscopy- measured rSO 2 provided reproducible decreases during hemorrhage that were similar in time course to invasively measured cardiac output and SvO2 but delayed 5 to 9 minutes compared with MAP and pulse pressure. rSO 2 may provide an earlier warning of worsening hemorrhagic shock for prompt interventions in patients with trauma when continuous arterial BP measurements are unavailable. © 2012 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Programas modelos de capacitación en gestión integral para administradores de recursos hídricos = Model programmes for training water resource administrators in integrated management

Incluye Bibliografía

Least-cost Disjoint Paths with Dependent Cost Structure in Wavelength Continuous Optical WDM Networks

One of the important issues in establishing a fault tolerant connection in a wavelength division multiplexing optical network is computing a pair of disjoint working and protection paths and a free wavelength along the paths. While most of the earlier research focused only on computing disjoint paths, in this work we consider computing both disjoint paths and a free wavelength along the paths. The concept of dependent cost structure (DCS) of protection paths to enhance their resource sharing ability was proposed in our earlier work. In this work we extend the concept of DCS of protection paths to wavelength continuous networks. We formalize the problem of computing disjoint paths with DCS in wavelength continuous networks and prove that it is NP-complete. We present an iterative heuristic that uses a layered graph model to compute disjoint paths with DCS and identify a free wavelength.

Skin Penetration Time-Profiles for Continuous 810nm and Superpulsed 904nm Lasers in a Rat Model

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the rat skin penetration abilities of two commercially available low-level laser therapy (LLLT) devices during 150 sec of irradiation. Background data: Effective LLLT irradiation typically lasts from 20 sec up to a few minutes, but the LLLT time-profiles for skin penetration of light energy have not yet been investigated. Materials and methods: Sixty-two skin flaps overlaying rat's gastrocnemius muscles were harvested and immediately irradiated with LLLT devices. Irradiation was performed either with a 810 nm, 200mW continuous wave laser, or with a 904 nm, 60mW superpulsed laser, and the amount of penetrating light energy was measured by an optical power meter and registered at seven time points (range, 1-150 sec). Results: With the continuous wave 810nm laser probe in skin contact, the amount of penetrating light energy was stable at similar to 20% (SEM +/- 0.6) of the initial optical output during 150 sec irradiation. However, irradiation with the superpulsed 904 nm, 60mW laser showed a linear increase in penetrating energy from 38% (SEM +/- 1.4) to 58% (SEM +/- 3.5) during 150 sec of exposure. The skin penetration abilities were significantly different (p < 0.01) between the two lasers at all measured time points. Conclusions: LLLT irradiation through rat skin leaves sufficient subdermal light energy to influence pathological processes and tissue repair. The finding that superpulsed 904nm LLLT light energy penetrates 2-3 easier through the rat skin barrier than 810nm continuous wave LLLT, corresponds well with results of LLLT dose analyses in systematic reviews of LLLT in musculoskeletal disorders. This may explain why the differentiation between these laser types has been needed in the clinical dosage recommendations of World Association for Laser Therapy.

Continuous intrathecal glyceryl trinitrate prevents delayed cerebral vasospasm in the single-SAH rabbit model in vivo

Delayed cerebral vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a major cause of high morbidity and mortality. The reduced availability of nitric oxide (NO) in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is well established as a key mechanism of vasospasm. Systemic administration of glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), an NO donor also known as nitroglycerin, has failed to be established in clinical settings to prevent vasospasm because of its adverse effects, particularly hypotension. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of intrathecally administered GTN on vasospasm after experimental SAH in the rabbit basilar artery.

Effects of local continuous release of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) on peripheral nerve regeneration in a rat model

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of continuously released BDNF on peripheral nerve regeneration in a rat model. Initial in vitro evaluation of calcium alginate prolonged-release-capsules (PRC) proved a consistent release of BDNF for a minimum of 8 weeks. In vivo, a worst case scenario was created by surgical removal of a 20-mm section of the sciatic nerve of the rat. Twenty-four autologous fascia tubes were filled with calcium alginate spheres and sutured to the epineurium of both nerve ends. The animals were divided into 3 groups. In group 1, the fascial tube contained plain calcium alginate spheres. In groups 2 and 3, the fascial tube contained calcium alginate spheres with BDNF alone or BDNF stabilized with bovine serum albumin, respectively. The autocannibalization of the operated extremity was clinically assessed and documented in 12 additional rats. The regeneration was evaluated histologically at 4 weeks and 10 weeks in a blinded manner. The length of nerve fibers and the numbers of axons formed in the tube was measured. Over a 10-week period, axons have grown significantly faster in groups 2 and 3 with continuously released BDNF compared to the control. The rats treated with BDNF (groups 2 and 3) demonstrated significantly less autocannibalization than the control group (group 1). These results suggest that BDNF may not only stimulate faster peripheral nerve regeneration provided there is an ideal, biodegradable continuous delivery system but that it significantly reduces the neuropathic pain in the rat model.

A genetically explicit model of speciation by sensory drive within a continuous population in aquatic environments

BACKGROUND: The sensory drive hypothesis predicts that divergent sensory adaptation in different habitats may lead to premating isolation upon secondary contact of populations. Speciation by sensory drive has traditionally been treated as a special case of speciation as a byproduct of adaptation to divergent environments in geographically isolated populations. However, if habitats are heterogeneous, local adaptation in the sensory systems may cause the emergence of reproductively isolated species from a single unstructured population. In polychromatic fishes, visual sensitivity might become adapted to local ambient light regimes and the sensitivity might influence female preferences for male nuptial color. In this paper, we investigate the possibility of speciation by sensory drive as a byproduct of divergent visual adaptation within a single initially unstructured population. We use models based on explicit genetic mechanisms for color vision and nuptial coloration. RESULTS: We show that in simulations in which the adaptive evolution of visual pigments and color perception are explicitly modeled, sensory drive can promote speciation along a short selection gradient within a continuous habitat and population. We assumed that color perception evolves to adapt to the modal light environment that individuals experience and that females prefer to mate with males whose nuptial color they are most sensitive to. In our simulations color perception depends on the absorption spectra of an individual's visual pigments. Speciation occurred most frequently when the steepness of the environmental light gradient was intermediate and dispersal distance of offspring was relatively small. In addition, our results predict that mutations that cause large shifts in the wavelength of peak absorption promote speciation, whereas we did not observe speciation when peak absorption evolved by stepwise mutations with small effect. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that speciation can occur where environmental gradients create divergent selection on sensory modalities that are used in mate choice. Evidence for such gradients exists from several animal groups, and from freshwater and marine fishes in particular. The probability of speciation in a continuous population under such conditions may then critically depend on the genetic architecture of perceptual adaptation and female mate choice.

Prevention of delayed cerebral vasospasm by continuous intrathecal infusion of glyceroltrinitrate and nimodipine in the rabbit model in vivo

OBJECTIVE: Intrathecal bolus administration of nitric oxide donors and calcium channel antagonists has been proposed to reduce cerebral vasospasm (CVS) in animal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) models. Intrathecal continuous administration of these substances for CVS prevention has not been extensively evaluated. This study compared the efficacy of continuous intrathecal infusions of the NO donor glyceroltrinitrate and nimodipine in preventing delayed CVS associated with SAH in an animal model in vivo. METHODS: New Zealand White rabbits were randomly assigned to six groups: no SAH/NaCl, no SAH/NO, no SAH/nimodipine, SAH/NaCl, SAH/NO, or SAH/nimodipine. Glyceroltrinitrate (GTN) at 0.5 microg/microl (0.5 microl/h) or nimodipine at 0.2 microg/microl (10 microl/h) or NaCl was continuously infused into the cisterna magna via an Alzet osmotic pump from day 0 to day 5 after injection of 1.0 ml autologous blood. The magnitude of spasm in the basilar artery was determined by comparison of pre- and posttreatment angiography and was calculated as proportional change in intraluminal diameter based on automatic measurements. RESULTS: A total of 55 experiments and 110 angiograms were performed. SAH was associated with vasoconstriction of the basilar artery (SAH/NaCl group 19.85+/-2.94%). Continuous intrathecal injection of GTN and nimodipine prevented SAH-induced CVS. There was significant prevention of CVS in animals treated with GTN (SAH/NO group 5.93+/-5.2%, n=11) and nimodipine (SAH/nimodipine group: 0.55+/-2.66%, n=9). There was no significant difference between the treatment groups and controls in prevention of CVS. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that prophylactic continuous intrathecal administration of either GTN or nimodipine equally prevents SAH-associated CVS in an animal model.

A continuous-time MILP model for short-term scheduling of make-and-pack production processes

In process industries, make-and-pack production is used to produce food and beverages, chemicals, and metal products, among others. This type of production process allows the fabrication of a wide range of products in relatively small amounts using the same equipment. In this article, we consider a real-world production process (cf. Honkomp et al. 2000. The curse of reality – why process scheduling optimization problems are diffcult in practice. Computers & Chemical Engineering, 24, 323–328.) comprising sequence-dependent changeover times, multipurpose storage units with limited capacities, quarantine times, batch splitting, partial equipment connectivity, and transfer times. The planning problem consists of computing a production schedule such that a given demand of packed products is fulfilled, all technological constraints are satisfied, and the production makespan is minimised. None of the models in the literature covers all of the technological constraints that occur in such make-and-pack production processes. To close this gap, we develop an efficient mixed-integer linear programming model that is based on a continuous time domain and general-precedence variables. We propose novel types of symmetry-breaking constraints and a preprocessing procedure to improve the model performance. In an experimental analysis, we show that small- and moderate-sized instances can be solved to optimality within short CPU times.

Validation of a Spatially Continuous EDEN Water-Surface Model for the Everglades, Florida

The Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) is an integrated network of realtime water-level monitoring, ground-elevation modeling, and water-surface modeling that provides scientists and managers with current (2000-present), online water-stage and water-depth information for the entire freshwater portion of the Greater Everglades. Continuous daily spatial interpolations of the EDEN network stage data are presented on grid with 400-square-meter spacing. EDEN offers a consistent and documented dataset that can be used by scientists and managers to: (1) guide large-scale field operations, (2) integrate hydrologic and ecological responses, and (3) support biological and ecological assessments that measure ecosystem responses to the implementation of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1999). The target users are biologists and ecologists examining trophic level responses to hydrodynamic changes in the Everglades. The first objective of this report is to validate the spatially continuous EDEN water-surface model for the Everglades, Florida developed by Pearlstine et al. (2007) by using an independent field-measured data-set. The second objective is to demonstrate two applications of the EDEN water-surface model: to estimate site-specific ground elevation by using the validated EDEN water-surface model and observed water depth data; and to create water-depth hydrographs for tree islands. We found that there are no statistically significant differences between model-predicted and field-observed water-stage data in both southern Water Conservation Area (WCA) 3A and WCA 3B. Tree island elevations were derived by subtracting field water-depth measurements from the predicted EDEN water-surface. Water-depth hydrographs were then computed by subtracting tree island elevations from the EDEN water stage. Overall, the model is reliable by a root mean square error (RMSE) of 3.31 cm. By region, the RMSE is 2.49 cm and 7.77 cm in WCA 3A and 3B, respectively. This new landscape-scale hydrological model has wide applications for ongoing research and management efforts that are vital to restoration of the Florida Everglades. The accurate, high-resolution hydrological data, generated over broad spatial and temporal scales by the EDEN model, provides a previously missing key to understanding the habitat requirements and linkages among native and invasive populations, including fish, wildlife, wading birds, and plants. The EDEN model is a powerful tool that could be adapted for other ecosystem-scale restoration and management programs worldwide.

A novel method for evaluating an interaction effect of correlated continuous covariates in a linear model

Interaction effect is an important scientific interest for many areas of research. Common approach for investigating the interaction effect of two continuous covariates on a response variable is through a cross-product term in multiple linear regression. In epidemiological studies, the two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) type of method has also been utilized to examine the interaction effect by replacing the continuous covariates with their discretized levels. However, the implications of model assumptions of either approach have not been examined and the statistical validation has only focused on the general method, not specifically for the interaction effect.^ In this dissertation, we investigated the validity of both approaches based on the mathematical assumptions for non-skewed data. We showed that linear regression may not be an appropriate model when the interaction effect exists because it implies a highly skewed distribution for the response variable. We also showed that the normality and constant variance assumptions required by ANOVA are not satisfied in the model where the continuous covariates are replaced with their discretized levels. Therefore, naïve application of ANOVA method may lead to an incorrect conclusion. ^ Given the problems identified above, we proposed a novel method modifying from the traditional ANOVA approach to rigorously evaluate the interaction effect. The analytical expression of the interaction effect was derived based on the conditional distribution of the response variable given the discretized continuous covariates. A testing procedure that combines the p-values from each level of the discretized covariates was developed to test the overall significance of the interaction effect. According to the simulation study, the proposed method is more powerful then the least squares regression and the ANOVA method in detecting the interaction effect when data comes from a trivariate normal distribution. The proposed method was applied to a dataset from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) stroke trial, and baseline age-by-weight interaction effect was found significant in predicting the change from baseline in NIHSS at Month-3 among patients received t-PA therapy.^

Community health workers: The critical link to sustainable, healthy societies in low-resource settings---A model for the Baylor Shoulder to Shoulder Foundation

Community health workers (CHWs) can serve as a bridge between healthcare providers and communities to positively impact social determinants of health and, thus, the overall health of the population. The potential to effect lasting change is particularly significant within resource-poor settings with limited access to formally trained health care providers such as the small, rural village of Santa Ana Intibucá, Honduras and surrounding areas—located on the geographically and politically isolated border of Honduras and El Salvador. The Baylor Shoulder to Shoulder Foundation (BSTS) works in conjunction with Santa Ana's volunteer health committee to bring a health brigade that has provided health care and public health projects to the area at least twice a year since 2001. They have also hired a full-time Honduran physician, a Honduran in-country administrative director, and built a clinic; yet, no community health worker program exists. This CHW program model is the response to a clear need for a CHW program within the area served by BSTS and presents a CHW program model specific to Santa Ana Intibucá and surrounding areas to be implemented by BSTS. Methods used to develop this model include reviewing the literature for recommendations from leading authorities as well as successfully implemented CHW programs in comparable regions. This information was incorporated into existing knowledge and materials currently being used in the area. Using the CHW model proposed here, each brigade, in conjunction with the communities served, can help develop new modules to respond to the specific health priorities of the region at that time, incorporating consistent modes of contact with the local physician and the CHWs to provide refresher courses, training in new topics of interest, and to be reminded of the importance of community health workers' role as the critical link to healthy societies. With cooperation, effort, and support, the brigade can continue to help integrate a sustainable CHW system in which communities may be able to maximize the care they receive while also learning to care for their own health and the future of their communities.^

Land Surface Temperature continuous time series from SSM/I passive microwave radiometers, over northern latitudes (Latitudes > 45°N), during summer snow free period (2000-2011), with links to NetCDF files

Remote sensing instruments are key players to map land surface temperature (LST) at large temporal and spatial scales. In this paper, we present how we combine passive microwave and thermal infrared data to estimate LST during summer snow-free periods over northern high latitudes. The methodology is based on the SSM/I-SSMIS 37 GHz measurements at both vertical and horizontal polarizations on a 25 km × 25 km grid size. LST is retrieved from brightness temperatures introducing an empirical linear relationship between emissivities at both polarizations as described in Royer and Poirier (2010). This relationship is calibrated at pixel scale, using cloud-free independent LST data from MODIS instruments. The SSM/I-SSMIS and MODIS data are synchronized by fitting a diurnal cycle model built on skin temperature reanalysis provided by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The resulting temperature dataset is provided at 25 km scale and at an hourly time step during the ten-year analysis period (2000-2011). This new product was locally evaluated at five experimental sites of the EU-PAGE21 project against air temperature measurements and meteorological model reanalysis, and compared to the MODIS LST product at both local and circumpolar scale. The results giving a mean RMSE of the order of 2.2 K demonstrate the usefulness of the microwave product, which is unaffected by clouds as opposed to thermal infrared products and offers a better resolution compared to model reanalysis.