Hydropower reservoirs on the upper Mekong River modify nutrient bioavailability downstream

Hydropower development is the key strategy in many developing countries for energy supply, climate-change mitigation and economic development. However, it is commonly assumed that river dams retain nutrients and therefore reduce downstream primary productivity and fishery catches, compromising food security and causing trans-boundary disputes. Contrary to expectation, here we found that a cascade of reservoirs along the upper Mekong River increased downstream bioavailability of nitrogen and phosphorus. The dams caused phytoplankton density to increase with hydraulic residence time and stratification of the stagnant reservoirs caused hypoxia at depth. This allowed the release of bioavailable phosphorus from the sediment and an increase in dissolved inorganic nitrogen as well as a shift in nitrogen species from nitrate to ammonium, which were transported downstream by the discharge of water from the base of the dam. Our findings provide a new perspective on the environmental impacts of river dams on nutrient cycling and ecosystem functioning, with potential implications for sustainable development of hydropower worldwide.     

Stiffness,intralimb coordination,and joint modulation during a continuous vertical jump test

This study analysed the modulation of jump performance, vertical stiffness as well as joint and intralimb coordination throughout a 30-s vertical jump test. Twenty male athletes performed the test on a force plate while undergoing kinematic analysis. Jump height, power output, ground contact time, vertical stiffness, maximum knee and hip flexion angles, and coordination by continuous relative phase (CRP) were analysed. Analysis of variance was used to compare variables within deciles, and t-tests were used to compare CRP data between the initial and final jumps. Results showed reduction in jump height, power output, and vertical stiffness, with an increase in contact time found during the test. Maximum knee and hip flexion angles declined, but hip angle decreased earlier (10–20% of the test) than knee angle (90–100%). No changes were observed in CRP for thigh–leg coupling when comparing initial and final jumps, but the trunk–thigh coupling was more in-phase near the end of the test. We conclude that fatigue causes reduction in jump performance, as well as changes in stiffness and joint angles. Furthermore, changes in intralimb coordination appear at the last 10% of the test, suggesting a neuromotor mechanism to counterbalance the loss of muscle strength.     

A comparison of traditional and modified Summated-Heart-Rate-Zones models to measure internal training load in basketball players

The Summated-Heart-Rate-Zones training load (SHRZ TL) model is used to measure internal loading; however, a major limitation of this approach is the use of broad heart rate (HR) zones to quantify exercise intensity. Therefore, this study aimed to compare SHRZ TL outcomes derived using the traditional model and modified approaches using smaller HR zones. HR responses were monitored in 15 semi-professional basketball players during preparatory training to calculate SHRZ TL using the traditional approach with 10%HR_max zones (SHRZ₁₀) and modified approaches with 5%HR_max zones (SHRZ₅) and 2.5%HR_max zones (SHRZ_2.5). Significant (P < 0.001) differences were evident in SHRZ TL between SHRZ₁₀ (254.2 ± 41.7 AU) and SHRZ₅ (275.9 ± 43.3 AU, unclear, small) as well as SHRZ_2.5 (286.7 ± 44.3 AU, very likely, moderate). Use of SHRZ_2.5 provides novel insight regarding internal loading in basketball players and may carry greater sensitivity for detection of maladaptive and adaptive responses to training.     

The FarmBuiLD model (farm building landscape design): First definition of parametric tools

The paper presents a set of synthetic architectural parameters dealing with the morphological aspects of rural buildings. The definition of these parameters represents a fundamental step of the FarmBuiLD research model (farm building landscape design), proposed by the authors as a tool for the analysis of the architectural characteristics of both historical and contemporary rural buildings, as well as the meta-design of new construction and transformation of contemporary rural buildings. The FarmBuiLD's module of physiognomical characterization of rural buildings allows to define the analytical-design parameters through the following phases: a critical analysis of the international scientific literature, a preliminary identification of the essential physiognomical characteristics of rural buildings, and an in-depth study of validation and calibration focusing on specific study cases. This work presents the preliminary definition of the parameters and a discussion about their experimental application through illustrative examples. Given their numeric value and strictly instrumental, thematic and complementary nature, the proposed parameters do not have any geometric, formal or stylistic characterization, and thus can be considered as capable of leaving an appropriate level of freedom within the design of solutions aimed at meeting both contemporary and future functional and aesthetic needs.     

The technology clubs: The distribution of knowledge across nations

The convergence clubs literature in applied growth theory suggests that countries that differ in terms of structural characteristics and initial conditions tend to experience diverging growth performances. What is the role of technological knowledge for the formation of clubs? The paper investigates this unexplored question by carrying out an empirical study of the cross-country distribution of knowledge in a large sample of developed and developing economies in the 1990s. The results indicate the existence of three technology clubs characterized by markedly different levels of development. The clubs also differ with respect to the dynamics of their capabilities over the decade, as the most advanced group and the intermediate one are found to be much more dynamic than the large cluster of less developed economies.     

Is season of birth related to developmental dyslexia?

Different moderators/mediators of risk are involved in developmental dyslexia (DD), but data are inconsistent. We explored the prevalence of season of birth and its association with gender and age of school entry in an Italian sample of dyslexic children compared to an Italian normal control group. The clinical sample included 498 children (345 boys, mean age 10.3 ± 2.1 years) with DD, the control sample 1,276 children (658 boys, mean age 10.8 ± 2.2 years) from four elementary schools from the same urban area, and with the same socio-economic status level. A prevalence of birth in autumn was found among children with DD compared to controls (34% versus 24%, p < 0.0001). Children with DD were more frequently males (p < 0.0001) and had a lower mean age of school entry (p < 0.0001). Regarding the distribution of ages, 11.4% of children with DD, but none of the subjects in the control group, started school before 5.7 years. Therefore, greater risk of DD was related to age of school entry (OR = 2.72), gender (OR = 2.16), and season of birth (OR = 1.21). Significant interactions between boys with DD born in autumn, and correct school of entry (OR = 2.56) were joint predictors of higher risk of DD. The association between birth in autumn and DD may be explained by the earlier age of school entry, which may be a critical element in the youngest children with DD or at risk to DD. Whether Italian school policy is oriented to anticipate the school entry, a closer detection of early learning disorders and associated risk factors (familial load, specific language disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) should be warranted.     

Generating suggestions for queries in the long tail with an inverted index

This paper proposes an efficient and effective solution to the problem of choosing the queries to suggest to web search engine users in order to help them in rapidly satisfying their information needs. By exploiting a weak function for assessing the similarity between the current query and the knowledge base built from historical users’ sessions, we re-conduct the suggestion generation phase to the processing of a full-text query over an inverted index. The resulting query recommendation technique is very efficient and scalable, and is less affected by the data-sparsity problem than most state-of-the-art proposals. Thus, it is particularly effective in generating suggestions for rare queries occurring in the long tail of the query popularity distribution. The quality of suggestions generated is assessed by evaluating the effectiveness in forecasting the users’ behavior recorded in historical query logs, and on the basis of the results of a reproducible user study conducted on publicly-available, human-assessed data. The experimental evaluation conducted shows that our proposal remarkably outperforms two other state-of-the-art solutions, and that it can generate useful suggestions even for rare and never seen queries.     

Synthesis of Ca(OH)2 nanoparticles with the addition of Triton X-100. Protective treatments on natural stones: Preliminary results

Calcium hydroxide is typically used in Cultural Heritage conservation for superficial protective treatments thanks to its conversion into calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is, in fact, compatible with many carbonate-based architectonic surfaces, because its characteristics are similar to those of the restored materials. In order to improve calcium hydroxide treatments, Ca(OH)₂ particles with sub-micrometric dimensions (nanolimes), are synthesised by a chemical precipitation process: a sodium hydroxide solution, used as precipitator, is added, drop by drop, to a calcium chloride one. In this paper, a nanometric calcium hydroxide, to be used in stones treatment, is produced adding in the initial solutions a surfactant agent (Triton X-100); the solutions are then mixed together simultaneously, drastically reducing the time needful for preparation. Different contents of surfactant are employed, and the influence on particles dimension and carbonatation process is analysed too. The obtained Ca(OH)₂ nanoparticles are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron diffraction (ED). The Ca(OH)₂ nanoparticles are regularly shaped, hexagonally plated and with side dimensions less than 200 nm: in particular, increasing the surfactant content, the particle dimension reaches values until 20 nm. Comparing nanolime suspensions obtained without and with the addition of the surfactant agent, the last ones have comparable, if not better, performances in terms of average particle size and morphology, crystallinity and reactivity. Afterwards, the alcoholic nanolime suspension obtained by using Triton X-100 is applied on some natural stones; in fact, the aim of this section is to compare the obtained results with those achieved using a nanolime synthesised without the surfactant agent. To evaluate the treatment effectiveness in a preliminary way, standard tests are performed and compared with the same tests previously obtained by the nanolime synthesised without the surfactant agent: “Scotch Tape Test” and capillarity test.     

Landscape quality of farm buildings: The evolution of the design approach in Italy

Rural buildings have undergone deep changes with the historical transition from traditional agriculture to industrial society. This paper discusses these trends in Italy, focusing on major changes in agriculture, design approach, and land-use planning, referring to some regional cases and relative building typologies. The analysis of the main historical treatises on the subject of farm building design allowed us to evaluate how the evolution of the technical approach influenced the architectural quality of rural buildings. This latter was traditionally based on a close relation between aesthetic values, functionality, and simplicity, broadly acknowledged only recently, as shown by the loss of landscape integration of farm buildings constructed in the last decades. By analysing the processes of reuse of historical buildings and construction of new farm buildings, we have found out different and time-evolving ways of referring to rural heritage and identity. In some cases, they have been considered important references, even through typological evolution aimed at combining traditional values with new needs and available techniques. In other cases, old farm buildings have been considered unsuitable things of the past, or rather have inspired new constructions based on an idealized and mystified concept of rurality. Since landscape integration of rural buildings plays a crucial role in the EU concept of agriculture, the choice of architectural quality postulates to be adopted for the design of new rural buildings is a key theme. Both consistency with pre-industrial tradition and typological discontinuity must necessarily consider consciously the relationships with historical buildings, whose important values have increasingly come to the fore over the last years. Once consistency with historical farm buildings is assumed as a design postulate, contemporary interpretation of traditional typologies through modern building techniques is a very challenging and topical field of study. Various degrees of consistency with traditional typologies are possible. Therefore, this approach calls for the development of analytic and metadesign methods aimed at decomposing rural building typologies into their essential physiognomical features, allowing designers to modulate them to meet ever-changing requirements.     

Attending to Diversity Representation Among Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) Master’s Programs: A Pilot Study

Extant research has neglected to explore the diversity representation of counselor education programs. This pilot study sought to examine the extent to which CACREP-accredited master’s-level programs attend to the representation of people of color, individuals with dis/abilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual (LGB), and transgender persons within admissions, enrollment, and graduation data. The findings indicated little consistency in the maintenance of students’ demographic characteristics among participating programs. The authors contend that counseling programs need to critically analyze their policies and procedures to ensure a responsive milieu for students from diverse backgrounds. Implications for the counseling field are presented.