Digital Commons Network^™

Organ Transplants: Ethical, Social, And Religious Issues In A Multicultural Society, Noor Zurani Robson, A.H. Razack, N. Dublin

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

Recent advances in the fields of organ donation and organ transplant have introduced new hope for the treatment of serious diseases. However, this promise has been accompanied by several issues. The most common issue raised is ethical implications, but in a multicultural society like Malaysia, additional concerns arise pertaining to social and religious issues. These concerns needs to be addressed as attitudes toward and acceptability of organ donation varies according to social, culture, and religion. The diverse cultural, religious, and traditional concepts pertaining to organ donation may hamper its acceptability and cause a lack of willingness to donate organs. The …

Jorge Perez V. Atty Gen Usa

2010 Decisions

Agency

End Matter, Religious Educator

Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel

No abstract provided.

The Daily Egyptian, July 01, 2010, Daily Egyptian Staff

July 2010

No abstract provided.

Vol. 5, No. 4, Summer 2010

Cornerstone

Cornerstone is Morris Library's quarterly newsletter.

Implementation Of Physiologic Pressure Conditions In A Blood Vessel Mimic Bioreactor System, Kevin Mark Okarski

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Implementation of Physiologic Pressure Conditions in a Blood Vessel Mimic Bioreactor System

Kevin Mark Okarski

Tissue engineering has traditionally been pursued as a therapeutic science intended for restoring or replacing diseased or damaged biologic tissues or organs. Cal Poly’s Blood Vessel Mimic Laboratory is developing a novel application of tissue engineering as a tool for the preclinical evaluation of intravascular devices. The blood vessel mimic (BVM) system has been previously used to assess the tissue response to deployed stents, but under non-physiologic conditions. Since then, efforts have been made to improve the vessel and bioreactor’s ability to emulate in …

Theoretical Environmental Disciplines In Support Of Sustainable Chemistry, Kristina Voigt, Hagen Scherb, Rainer Brüggemann

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

It has been evident for decades that environmental chemicals pose an enormousrisk to the environment as well as to humans. However, this important topic is stillunderestimated in every part of society. The effects of environmental contaminants onhealth are a major concern because exposure is associated with a number of diseases,including cancer, diabetes, congenital malformations and infertility. Sustainable Chemistryis a chemical philosophy encouraging the design of products and processes that reduce oreliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances. Sustainability and sustainabledevelopment are effectively ethical concepts, expressing desirable outcomes fromeconomic and social decisions. The important matter of principle, therefore, becomes avictim …

Study On The Effect Of Biogas Project On The Development Of Low-Carbon Circular Economy —A Case Study Of Beilangzhong Eco-Village, N. Duana, C. Lina, X. D. Liu, Y. Wang, X. J. Zhang, Y. Hou

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

With Beilangzhong eco-village as an example, the effects of the biogas project on thereduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and its economic effects are analyzed. The resultsshow that 1833.45t GHG (CO2 equivalent) was reduced, and an income of 1,117,000 Yuan (RMB),a net income of 958,500 Yuan (RMB), was gained by biogas sales, alternative energy,comprehensive utilization of anaerobic fermentation residues and the reduction of GHG emission,so the biogas project can greatly promote the establishment of low-carbon circular economy modeand sustainable development of ecological agriculture in Beilangzhong eco-village.

Co2 Embodied In China's Foreign Trade 2007 With Global Policy Implications, Lei Liu, Xiaoming Ma

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This article estimated the carbon emissions embodied in China's foreign trade in2007 with an input-output method. The results showed that China was a net exporter of atleast 484.18MT carbon emissions in 2007, which accounted for 8.59% of total on aproduction basis. In total emissions, imported carbon accounted for 21.97% while exportedcarbon occupied 30.56%. In terms of sectors, Manufacture of Textile was the biggest netexporter, which was followed by Smelting and Pressing of Ferrous Metals, Manufacture ofMetal Products, and so on. In terms of trading partners, Hong Kong was the biggestrecipient of exported emissions of mainland China, which was followed by …

Calibrating Environmental Models Using Paramesh, Daniel Princz, L. Shawn Matott

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

ParaMESH (Parameter management for Models of Environmental Systems andHydrology) is a graphical interface for advanced parameter management. Originally developedto be compatible with selected hydrologic and climatologic models, recent enhancementssupport any environmental model or evaluation tool that uses text-based input-output files.ParaMESH provides an intuitive graphical environment in which to configure arbitrary models.Additional features include parameter verification and execution management. To demonstrateParaMESH as a flexible tool-independent graphical interface, a new extension was developedwhich links ParaMESH with OSTRICH (Optimization Software Tool for Research InComputational Heuristics), a model-independent optimization toolkit. The linkage provides aconvenient user interface for configuring and executing a model calibration exercise. …

Agent Based Modelling Of Caribou Environmental Interactions In The Canadian Arctic, Glen Lesins, Kaz Higuchi

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Agent or individual based modelling (IBM) is recognized as an important tool in biological modelling for simulating animal behaviour and interactions with the environment at the level of the individual while maintaining a collective perspective. The method allows rules to be programmed for the interactions between like and unlike species, responses to geographic factors and impacts from human activities. By emphasizing the development of appropriate rules for the individual, one can avoid imposing ad hoc assumptions concerning the population as a whole and instead allow emergent phenomena to unfold at the larger scale. Here we report on preliminary results using …

A Framework For Integrated Modeling Using A Knowledge-Driven Approach, Jean-Pierre Müller

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In this paper, we argue that integrated modeling is about integrating disciplinary discourses reflecting various points of view on a given system rather than only setting up a very complex model from the start, or putting together independently designed models . In our approach, we propose an integrated modeling environment, based on ontologies, to represent and articulate the various points of view. Accordingly the proposed framework, called MIMOSA, is based on two components: 1) a declarative component based on ontologies to describe the concepts, the modeled system using the described concepts, and its dynamics using an extensible set of formalisms, …

Study On The Effect Of Biogas Project On The Development Of Low-Carbon Circular Economy —A Case Study Of Beilangzhong Eco-Village, N. Duana, C. Lina, X. D. Liu, Y. Wang, X. J. Zhang, Y. Hou

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

With Beilangzhong eco-village as an example, the effects of the biogas project on thereduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and its economic effects are analyzed. The resultsshow that 1833.45t GHG (CO2 equivalent) was reduced, and an income of 1,117,000 Yuan (RMB),a net income of 958,500 Yuan (RMB), was gained by biogas sales, alternative energy,comprehensive utilization of anaerobic fermentation residues and the reduction of GHG emission,so the biogas project can greatly promote the establishment of low-carbon circular economy modeand sustainable development of ecological agriculture in Beilangzhong eco-village.

Evaluation Of The Changed Properties Of Aquatic Animals After Dam Construction Using Ecological Network Analysis, Chen Shaoqing, Liao Xueqin, Yang Jin, Chen Bin

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Dam construction results in variations of hydrology, river morphology and habitat and thebiota associated with the reservoir change significantly compared to the assemblage before damconstruction in order to match these changed environmental conditions. Some attempts so far havebeen made to ascertain the changed properties of aquatilia due to dam construction. Most of them,however, were focused on perturbances to single factors, such as rearing habitats, reproduction andmigration routes, etc. Few have been done on the performance of aquatilia from the whole-ecosystemperspective. Herein, we evaluate the structural properties of aquatic animals and their complexecological relationships within the ecosystem before and after dam …

Risk Management In An Uncertain Environment - A Study From Semi-Arid Grazing Systems, O. Jakoby, M. F. Quaas, Birgit Müller, Karin Frank

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Since livestock grazing is the most important type of land-use in arid and semi-arid rangelands with uncertain and highly variable climatic conditions, well adapted grazing strategies are crucial for effective risk management. However, local environmental characteristics and individual needs and perception lead to a broad range of different management forms used in practice. In this paper we (i) analyse how uncertain climate conditions and the individual farmer’s characteristics like risk aversion, economic constraints and effort cost affect the choice of management, (ii) evaluate the viability of different management options, and in particular (iii) their robustness under climate variability. We use …

Bio-Economic Effects Of Water Shortages On Shellfish Farming. An Integrated Dynamic Modelling Approach, J. A. Pérez Agúndez, Johanna Ballé-Béganton, Rémi Mongruel, Cédric Bacher, O. Le Moine, P. Soletchnik, S. Robert, S. Guesdon

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The land-sea interfaces are geographical areas rich in ecosystemic services. However, the increase of anthropogenic pressures is frequently the factor explaining environmental damages phenomena and generating many use conflicts. The integrated coastal zones management has been acknowledged by the different environment international conferences as a sustainability framework. Integration is the key concept on which must be based the reformulation of scientific knowledge required for supporting sustainable governance. That directly questions on the pertinent methods and tools to build for contributing to those decision making processes. This paper explores these topics by focusing on the example of the fresh water share …

Mirana: A Socio-Ecological Model For Assessing Sustainability Of Community-Based Regulations, Sigrid Aubert, Jean-Pierre Müller, Julliard Ralihalizara

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The Malagasy local communities managing forest resources have difficulties in assessing the impacts of the management plans they decide upon. To help them, we have designed an integrated model with the ecological processes, the various regulations (zoning, quota, etc..) and the resulting inhabitants behavior in order to explore the impacts of scenarios. The model MIRANA has been designed using the MIMOSA framework in which one must design a conceptual model using ontologies, annotate the conceptual model with the necessary processes, and design a concrete model from which to generate the simulation model. In MIRANA, the conceptual model is made of …

Using An Integrated, Multi-Disciplinary Framework To Support Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessments, Gene Whelan, Michael E. Tryby, Mitchell A. Pelton, Jeffery A. Soller, Karl J. Castleton

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The Framework for Risk Analysis in Multimedia Environmental Systems (FRAMES) provides the infrastructure to link disparate models and databases seamlessly, giving an assessor the ability to construct an appropriate conceptual site model from a host of modeling choices, so a number of modeling analyses can be supported and reproduced. FRAMES is a Windows-based system that can incorporate and communicate with a array of software models and databases and that is uniquely designed to allow users, by themselves, to visualize the problem and add and link disparate models – even older legacy models – and databases to the system. Quantitative Microbial …

The Environmental Systems Modelling Platform (Ensym) To Assess Effects Of Land Use Changes On Groundwater Recharge, J. Ha, M. Eigenraam, G. Forbes, W. Lewis, J. Chua

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This paper describes an application of EnSym (Environmental Systems Modelling Platform)to assess the impacts of climate change on the groundwater levels in Victoria. EnSym isa modular and user-friendly software platform to facilitate the use of environmental modellingtools. It enables easy and rapid evaluation of environmental outcomes due to changes in landmanagement and climatic conditions. It contains a number of toolboxes that deal with differentaspects of the environment including land based biophysical process, groundwater dynamics,spatial and contextual connectivity, and finally, a set of tools for systematic spatial and temporalreporting. In this paper, we apply the biophysical modelling (BioSym) toolbox of EnSym …

A Dynamic Model Of Primary Production And Plant Coverage In An Oligotrophic Tropical River, Barbara J. Robson

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Many of Australia's tropical rivers are amongst the most ecologically intact inthe world, but have been relatively little studied. Now, however, there is pressure forfurther development of these tropical land and water resources. To avoid repeatingmanagement mistakes that have been made elsewhere, it is essential to improve ourunderstanding of how these rivers function. As part of the Tropical Rivers and CoastalKnowledge Research hub, we studied flow, nutrients, and primary production in the DalyRiver (N.T.), a perennial tropical river maintained in the dry season by ground-water anddeveloped a dynamic simulation model to predict the coverage and biomass of each of fivekey …

Extended Exergy-Based Ecological Accounting Of China During 2000-2007, Jing Dai, Bin Chen, H. Lin

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Since the resources from environment are in short supply, it is necessary to alleviate the conflict between high-speed economic construction and limited resources in the Chinese society. This paper aims to analysis the variation of natural resources input into China during 2000-2007 based on extended exergy as an eco-centric metric. With the materials, labor, capital and environmental renovation quantified by exergy numeraire grounding on the second-law metric in view of ecological accounting, the composition and proportion of extended exergy clearly revealed the whole condition of available energy input into society in China. Moreover, two indexes, i.e., extended exergy consumption intensity …

Ecological And Economic Analysis Of Planting Greenhouse Cucumbers With Anaerobic Fermentation Residues, N. Duan, C. Lin, R. Y. Gao, Y. Wang, J. H. Wang, J. Hou

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In this study, the effect of different fertilizers on the nutritional quality, sanitaryquality and the yield of greenhouse cucumbers were analyzed by comparative experimentswith chemical fertilizer and anaerobic fermentation residues (biogas fertilizer). Particularlythe properties of bio-fertilizer and diseases and pests inhibition of biogas fertilizer weredemonstrated and its comprehensive benefits were evaluated. The results show that comparedwith chemical fertilizer, biogas fertilizer increased the dry matter, solids, reductive sugar, Vc,soluble protein of cucumbers by 4.62%, 4.08%, 29.05%, 20.83%, 10.85% respectively; thechlorophyll of leaf was 9.18% higher and the incidence of aphids and mildew 20% and 25%lower respectively. After calculation, the yield was …

What Can We Learn From Systems Based Approaches: From Systems Biology To Earth Systems Science?, C. J. A. Macleod

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Systems based approaches have been developed and applied in a broad range ofdisciplines. These cover a wide range of processes, structures and scales. Ludwig vonBertalanffy is often credited with establishing and developing ‘general systems theory’.The ecosystem based approach to ecology developed by the Odum brothers (EugenePleasants and Howard Thomas) instigated approaches to understanding ecological systemsthat are still advancing within the frameworks of ecosystem services and ecologicalthermodynamics. West Churchman and Russel Ackoff were early pioneers in the field ofoperations research following on from techniques developed during the Second WorldWar. Jay Forrester was also influenced by his work on feedback systems during …

The Comparision Among Four Carbon Footprint Estimation Boundaries Of The Sectors Using Chongqing As A Case, Liping Ju, Bin Chen

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

International negotiations of reducing CO2 emissions address the question of how to meet commitments with more explicit engagment with subnational action and how to account annual CO2 emissions of each sector of one city. This study is to establish the CO2 inventories focused on four tiers of CO2 emissions form each sector, e.g. agriculture, industry, transportation and tertiary industry. Carbon footprint is chosen to evaluate 28 sectors of Chongqing, from four tiers, including direct emissions, emissions from purchased energy, the total supply chain, supply chain plus industrial process. Results showed that the first two tiers, only cover a small fraction …

An Agent Based Model Of Climate Change And Conflict Among Pastoralists In East Africa, Atesmachew B. Hailegiorgis, William G. Kennedy, Mark Rouleau, Jeffrey K. Bassett, Mark Coletti, Gabriel C. Balan, Tim Gulden

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

We present an agent-based model of human-environment interaction and conflict in East Africa using the MASON agent-based simulation environment. Our model focuses on the complex interaction of pastoral groups with their environment and other emerging external actors. Our model supports the observation that increased seasonal rainfall variability and droughts create tremendous stress on pastoralists groups and challenges their long-term resilience and adaptive response mechanisms.

Evaluating Ecosystem Services Of Afforestation On Erosion-Prone Land: A Case Study In The Manawatu Catchment, New Zealand, Anne-Gaelle Ausseil, John Dymond

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Land-use change from pasture to forestry can have multiple effects on the environment. In this project, we assessed the impacts of afforestation on erosion-prone land on several ecosystem services in the Manawatu catchment, New Zealand. For 500 high priority farms requiring soil conservation, the land mapped as highly erodible was assumed to be afforested, with two distinct scenarios: conversion of pasture into pine forest or indigenous shrubland. Several models were used to quantify indicators of different ecosystem services including carbon sequestration, non-CO2 gas emission, sediment yield, nitrate export, natural habitat provision, and water yield. The results showed that the pine …

A Framework For Integrated Modeling Using A Knowledge-Driven Approach, Jean-Pierre Müller

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In this paper, we argue that integrated modeling is about integrating disciplinary discourses reflecting various points of view on a given system rather than only setting up a very complex model from the start, or putting together independently designed models . In our approach, we propose an integrated modeling environment, based on ontologies, to represent and articulate the various points of view. Accordingly the proposed framework, called MIMOSA, is based on two components: 1) a declarative component based on ontologies to describe the concepts, the modeled system using the described concepts, and its dynamics using an extensible set of formalisms, …

Carma: Scalability With Approximate-Model-Based Adaptation, John D. Hastings, Alexandre V. Latchininsky, Scott P. Schell

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Many complex physical systems such as biological systems are characterized both by incomplete models and limited empirical data. Accurate prediction of the behavior of such systems requires exploitation of multiple, individually incomplete, knowledge sources. Our approach, called approximate-model-based adaptation, utilizes case-based reasoning to provide an approximate solution and model-based reasoning to adapt this approximation into a more precise solution. This approach is implemented in CARMA, a decision-support system for grasshopper infestation advising which models experts and has been successfully used since 1996. Initially focused on rangeland grasshoppers within the state of Wyoming, CARMA’s capabilities have been extended to support the …

Carma: Scalability With Approximate-Model-Based Adaptation, John D. Hastings, Alexandre V. Latchininsky, Scott P. Schell

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Many complex physical systems such as biological systems are characterized both by incomplete models and limited empirical data. Accurate prediction of the behavior of such systems requires exploitation of multiple, individually incomplete, knowledge sources. Our approach, called approximate-model-based adaptation, utilizes case-based reasoning to provide an approximate solution and model-based reasoning to adapt this approximation into a more precise solution. This approach is implemented in CARMA, a decision-support system for grasshopper infestation advising which models experts and has been successfully used since 1996. Initially focused on rangeland grasshoppers within the state of Wyoming, CARMA’s capabilities have been extended to support the …

Aquisys – A Computer System To Support Good Practices Of Management For Brazilian Tilapiculture, Maria Conceição Peres Young Pessoa, Ana Flávia Rodrigues Seixas, Marcos Eliseu Losekann, Julio Ferraz De Queiroz, Mariana Silveira Guerra Moura|E Silva, Carlos Pazzianotto

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Brazilian psiculture has been increasing about 30% per year, having as main factors its profitability and source of quality protein. Its strong interaction with water resources and its interference on the biodiversity turns it both potentially exposed to, as well as, source of negative environmental impacts, requiring the adoption of less impactant management practices. The producer needs information on these practices and computer tools that allow access to them in a single repository could motivate the fast incorporation of these activities to the property. Despite of African origin, the tilapiculture is nowadays present at a large part of Brazilian territory, …