SDI

The water characterisation is generally challenging regarding the pre-treatment operation up-stream reverse osmosis. The classical parameters are not applicable due to analytical limitations, and/or the sensibility of those parameters is too low compared to the water fluctuation behaviour measured on full-scale water treatment plants. The evaluation of the water fouling potential could be a more sensible parameter, supplementing the analytical tools actually used for design purpose.

The aim of the present review is to highlight the possibilities of a sustainable crop production in the arid Mediterranean region, which is predicted to suffer from increasingly severe droughts in the future due to climate changes, in addition to increased problems with soil salinity and increased temperatures. Annual rainfall in the region varies between 300 and 1000 mm, covering arid, semi-arid and wet ecosystems. As stress factors often act together, it is important sometimes to focus on multiple stresses affecting the crop, instead of looking at the individual stress separated from the rest. The rainfed farming systems are the most important in the Mediterranean countries. The question is if we can overcome mild to medium level of abiotic stresses by agronomic means. It might be done by using different crops of increased drought and salinity tolerance, and utilizing their stress adaptation mechanisms to optimize crop productivity. However supplemental irrigation used as deficit irrigation has the potential to overcome periods of low rainfall or high temperatures. It is suggested that improvements in crop production may arise from several strategies such as early sowing enabled by minimum tillage, increased use of organic manure, and an efficient weed control. Further, crop rotations will play an important role in improving weed control, minimizing disease risk, and increasing nitrogen availability. Introduction of drought and salt tolerant crop species as quinoa, amaranth and Andean lupin may result in more resilient crop rotations and high value cash crop products. Genotypic increases may arise from selection for early vigour, deep roots, increased transpiration efficiency, improved disease resistance, and high assimilate storage and remobilization. A range of crop and management strategies might be combined for a specific target environment in order to optimize crop productivity. These combinations can then be used as a guidance to future decision support systems for crop production at limited water supply under arid Mediterranean conditions.

Οι ΗΠΑ προσπαθούν για τέταρτη φορά στα τελευταία 35 χρόνια να αποκαταστήσουν την
ασφάλεια που ένοιωθαν πριν την εμφάνιση των πυρηνικών όπλων και των διηπειρωτικών
βαλλιστικών πυραύλων που τα μεταφέρουν: να αναπτύξουν μία άμυνα που θα τις προστατεύει από
επίθεση πυραύλων που θα είναι εξοπλισμένοι με μέσα μαζικής καταστροφής (πυρηνικά, χημικά,
βιολογικά όπλα).
α. Η πρώτη φορά ήταν επί Προεδρίας Johnson το 1967. Το αμυντικό πρόγραμμα Safeguard
που αναπτύχθηκε για την προστασία των ΗΠΑ από την μελλοντική απειλή κινεζικών πυραύλων
(αφού δεν μπορούσε να αμυνθεί κατά της κύριας ρωσικής απειλής), εγκαταλείφθηκε λίγους μήνες
μετά την εγκατάστασή του, αφού βρέθηκε ότι δεν δούλευε.
β. Η δεύτερη φορά ήταν η «Στρατηγική Αμυντική Πρωτοβουλία (SDI)» του Προέδρου
Reagan το 1983. Το πρόγραμμα αυτό, που κατά βάση τοποθετούσε όπλα στο Διάστημα,
εστιαζόταν στην υπεράσπιση των ΗΠΑ έναντι της απειλής από ρωσικούς πυραύλους, είχε
προκαλέσει οξύτατες αντιδράσεις τόσο στις ΗΠΑ, όσο και σε διεθνές επίπεδο (Ρωσία, Κίνα,
ευρωπαϊκές χώρες), κυρίως γιατί τροφοδοτούσε τον ανταγωνισμό εξοπλισμών μεταξύ ΗΠΑ-
Ρωσίας.
γ. Οι αλλαγές στο διεθνές περιβάλλον ασφαλείας οδήγησαν την κυβέρνηση Bush στις αρχές
του 1991 να μετατρέψει το SDI σε ένα νέο πρόγραμμα με το όνομα “Παγκόσμια Προστασία έναντι
Περιορισμένων Πληγμάτων (GPALS)”. Το νέο πρόγραμμα δεν θα προστάτευε μόνο τις ΗΠΑ όπως
το SDI, αλλά θα παρείχε παγκόσμια προστασία σε οποιαδήποτε περιοχή υπήρχαν συμφέροντα
τους, όχι από μαζική επίθεση από την ΕΣΣΔ, αλλά από περιορισμένα πλήγματα τρίτων χωρών.
Τέλος η τρίτη κύρια διαφορά υπήρξε η στροφή στην επίγεια αμυντική συνιστώσα (Theater Missile
Defense-TMD) για την αντιμετώπιση τακτικών απειλών από πυραύλους μικρού-μέσου βεληνεκούς
(τύπου Scud) όπως στον πόλεμο του Περσικού. Το σημαντικό σε αυτή την περίπτωση είναι ότι για
πρώτη φορά το 1992 οι Πρόεδροι Bush-Yeltsin αναγνώρισαν ότι υπάρχει απειλή από την διασπορά
των πυραύλων και μέσων μαζικής καταστροφής και συμφώνησαν να αναπτύξουν από κοινού ένα
«Παγκόσμιο Σύστημα Προστασίας», πρόγραμμα που δεν υλοποίησε η κυβέρνηση Clinton.
δ. Η τέταρτη προσπάθεια ξεκίνησε στο τέλος της δεκαετίας του ’90, μετά από πίεση του
κυριαρχούμενου από ρεπουμπλικανούς Κογκρέσου επί της κυβέρνησης Clinton. Η τελευταία αν
και δεν σταμάτησε να επιχορηγεί τις έρευνες τόσο για μία αντιβαλλιστική άμυνα που θα κάλυπτε
όλη την Αμερική (NMD) από επιθέσεις «κρατών-παριών» όπως η Β. Κορέα, ή το Ιράν, όσο και για
τοπικές άμυνες κατά πυραύλων που θα εκτοξεύονταν σε θέατρα επιχειρήσεων (TMD), είχε δώσει
προτεραιότητα στις τελευταίες. Στις αρχές όμως του 1999, η κυβέρνηση υπέγραψε νόμο που έλεγε
ότι αποτελεί πολιτική των ΗΠΑ η ανάπτυξη NMD όταν αυτή θα ήταν τεχνολογικά δυνατή. Η
κυβέρνηση Clinton αν και είχε δεσμευτεί ότι το φθινόπωρο του 2000 θα αποφάσιζε για την
ανάπτυξη της, λαμβάνοντας υπόψη και τις σημαντικές εξελίξεις που παρουσιάστηκαν στον τομέα
της απειλής (βελτίωση σχέσεων με Β. Κορέα και Ιράν) άφησε την απόφαση στην νέα κυβέρνηση
Bush.
Η ανάπτυξη μίας NMD αφορά στην πρώτη τουλάχιστον φάση μία περιορισμένη ικανότητα
αναχαίτησης μικρού αριθμού πυραύλων, στην ενδιάμεση φάση τροχιάς τους. Η τεχνική
δυνατότητα δεν έχει ακόμα αποδειχθεί από τις απλές πειραματικές δοκιμές που έχουν γίνει (με μία
πυρηνική κεφαλή και ένα ομοίωμά της) αφού υπάρχουν σημαντικές δυσκολίες για να χτυπηθεί
«μία σφαίρα με μία άλλη στο Διάστημα». Αλλά ακόμα και αυτές να ήσαν επιτυχείς, δεν θα2
μπορούσε η NMD να είναι 100% αποτελεσματική (έστω και μία κεφαλή να ξεφύγει θα
καταστρέψει μία μεγάλη πόλη) ενώ πρόσθετα θα μπορούσε να οδηγήσει τους πιθανούς αντιπάλους
των ΗΠΑ στον εκσυγχρονισμό του επιθετικού οπλοστασίου τους, ξεκινώντας ένα ανταγωνισμό
εξοπλισμών.
Η απόφαση για την ανάπτυξη μίας εθνικής αντιπυραυλικής άμυνας από τις ΗΠΑ
παραβιάζει την διμερή Αντιβαλλιστική Συνθήκη (ΑΒΜ, 1972) μεταξύ ΗΠΑ-ΕΣΣΔ, που θεωρείται
ως θεμελιώδης για την παγκόσμια στρατηγική σταθερότητα. Σε αυτή, η κάθε μία πλευρά ανέλαβε
την υποχρέωση να μην αποκτήσει αμυντικά συστήματα εθνικής κλίμακας (NMD) εναντίον
βαλλιστικών πυραύλων ή να δημιουργήσει υποδομή για αυτά (ενώ αντίθετα επιτρέπεται η
ανάπτυξη μίας μικρής επίγειας υποδομής για περιφερειακή άμυνα σημαντικών στόχων). Αφού δεν
θα υπήρχαν άμυνες, τότε δεν υπήρχε λόγος ανάπτυξης νέων επιθετικών όπλων, αφού και τα παλαιά
θα μπορούσαν να καταστρέψουν άνετα τις δύο χώρες (θεωρία της Βέβαιης Αμοιβαίας
Καταστροφής, Mutually Assured Destruction-MAD), συνεπώς το πλεόνασμα του οπλοστασίου
μπορούσε να υποστεί σημαντικές περικοπές. Οι επακόλουθες συνθήκες μείωσης εξοπλισμών
START υπήρξαν αποτέλεσμα αυτής της φιλοσοφίας.
Αντίθετα, η ΑΒΜ επιτρέπει την αεράμυνα ή την τακτική αντιπυραυλική άμυνα (TMD-όπως
οι Patriot που χρησιμοποιήθηκαν στον Περσικό κόλπο) κατά πυραύλων μικρότερης εμβέλειας,
χωρίς να καθορίζει σαφή όρια μεταξύ των στρατηγικών αμυνών και των μη. Οι ΗΠΑ
εκμεταλλευόμενες την πρόοδο της τεχνολογίας που έκανε δυσδιάκριτη την διαφορά μεταξύ των
επιτρεπομένων (τακτικών) και απαγορευμένων (στρατηγικών) αμυνών, κατάφεραν στο Ελσίνκι το
1997 να πείσουν την Ρωσία για την ανάπτυξη νέων τακτικών αμυνών (TMD), με πολύ υψηλές
δυνατότητες που ενδεχομένως θα μπορούσαν να χρησιμοποιηθούν είτε άμεσα ως άμυνα κατά
στρατηγικών πυραύλων είτε για την δημιουργία υποδομής για μία εθνική NMD. Καμία όμως από
τις δύο πλευρές δεν έχει επικυρώσει την συμφωνία του 1997: To Κογκρέσο γιατί δεν θέλει η
άμυνα της χώρας να εξαρτάται από τρίτους και η Δούμα γιατί δεν θέλει αλλαγές στην ΑΒΜ. Για
την κυβέρνηση Bush η ΑΒΜ αποτελεί «αρχαία ιστορία».
Οι κύριες αντιδράσεις προέρχονται από την Ρωσία και την Κίνα. Η πρώτη έχει εκφράσει
την αντίθεσή της σε αλλαγές στην Συνθήκη ABM, υποστηρίζοντας ότι θα έχει επιπτώσεις σε
ολόκληρο το καθεστώς ελέγχου εξοπλισμών, απειλεί δε ότι η παραβίαση ή αποχώρηση των ΗΠΑ
από την ΑΒΜ θα έχει ως αποτέλεσμα την αποχώρηση της από την START II. Η Ρωσία αποδέχεται
την ύπαρξη απειλής από πυραύλους τρίτων χωρών, αφού πρότεινε στις ΗΠΑ και ΝΑΤΟ την από
κοινού ανάπτυξη άλλου προγράμματος, συμβατού με την ΑΒΜ τοποθετώντας κοντά στις χώρες
ενδιαφέροντος άμυνες θεάτρου επιχειρήσεων TMD, οι οποίες θα μπορούν να καταστρέφουν τους
πυραύλους μόλις εκτοξεύονται, πριν προλάβουν να απελευθερώσουν τις πυρηνικές κεφαλές τους.
Η άμυνα αυτή είναι ευκολότερη από την αντιμετώπιση των πολλαπλών κεφαλών στο Διάστημα
που επιδιώκουν οι ΗΠΑ και είναι τεχνολογικά εφικτή. Το γεγονός αυτό, σε συνδυασμό με την
συμφωνία του 1997 για τις προηγμένες άμυνες TMD, δείχνει ότι υπάρχουν περιθώρια
συμβιβασμού μεταξύ ΗΠΑ-Ρωσίας.
Η περίπτωση της Κίνας είναι δυσκολότερη. Η τελευταία φοβάται ότι έστω και μία
περιορισμένη NMD θα αδρανοποιήσει την αποτροπή της, η οποία βασίζεται σε 20 περίπου
απαρχαιωμένους διηπειρωτικούς πυραύλους. Η Κίνα έχει απειλήσει ότι θα επεκτείνει το πυρηνικό
πρόγραμμά της αναπτύσσοντας νέους πυραύλους με πολλαπλές κεφαλές. Κύρια όμως πηγή
ανησυχίας είναι η αποτροπή των περιφερειακών συσχετισμών ισχύος σε βάρος της, ως αποτέλεσμα
της διασποράς των TMD. Ειδικότερα το Πεκίνο ανησυχεί για τις άμυνες θεάτρου επιχειρήσεων
που μπορεί να αποκτήσει η Ταϊβάν ή η Ιαπωνία.3
Τέλος η Ευρώπη θα έχει ουσιαστικό ρόλο στην ανάπτυξη της πρώτης φάσης της NMD αφού για
τον εντοπισμό των πυραύλων θα απαιτηθεί και η εγκατάσταση 2 RADAR σε ευρωπαϊκό έδαφος.
Οι Ευρωπαίοι, επιθυμούν την διατήρηση της ΑΒΜ, και αν και δεν συμμερίζονται όλοι την ύπαρξη
απειλής, προτιμούν την άμβλυνση τους μέσω διπλωματικών διαδικασιών που οδηγούν σε
συμφωνίες αφοπλισμού. Τέλος επιθυμούν μία συνεργασιακή αντιμετώπιση του ζητήματος μεταξύ
ΗΠΑ-Ρωσίας που δεν θα φέρει την Ευρώπη σε σύγκρουση με την τελευταία.

In order to clarify the fouling mechanism during silt density index (SDI) measurements of seawater in the seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination process, 11 runs were conducted under constant-pressure (207 kPa) dead-end filtration mode according to the standard protocol for SDI measurement, in which two kinds of 0.45 m membranes of different material and seawater samples from the Mediterranean including raw seawater and seawater pre-treated by coagulation followed by sand filtration (CSF) and coagulation followed by microfiltration (CMF) technologies were tested. Fouling mechanisms based on the constant-pressure filtration equation were fully analyzed. For all runs, only t/(V/A) ∼ t showed very good linearity (correlation coefficient R 2 > 0.99) since the first moment of the filtration, indicating that standard blocking rather than cake filtration was the dominant fouling mechanism during the entire filtration process. The very low concentration of suspended solids rejected by MF of 0.45 m in seawater was the main reason why a cake layer was not formed. High turbidity removal during filtration indicated that organic colloids retained on and/or adsorbed in membrane pores governed the filtration process (i.e., standard blocking) due to the important contribution of organic substances to seawater turbidity in this study. Therefore the standard blocking coefficient k s , i.e., the slope of t/(V/A) ∼ t, could be used as a good fouling index for seawater because it showed good linearity with feed seawater turbidity. The correlation of SDI with k s and feed seawater quality indicated that SDI could be reliably used for seawater with low fouling potential (SDI 15 min < 5) like pre-treated seawater in this study. From both k s and SDI, the order of fouling potential was raw seawater > seawater pre-treated by CSF > seawater pre-treated by CMF, indicating the better performance of CMF than CSF.

Spatial data infrastructure (SDI) actors have great expectations for the second-generation SDI currently under development. However, SDIs have many implementation problems at different levels that are delaying the development of the SDI framework. The aims of this article are to identify these difficulties, in the literature and based on our own experience, in order to determine how mature and useful the current SDI phenomena are. We can then determine whether a general reconceptualization is necessary or rather a set of technical improvements and good practices needs to be developed before the second-generation SDI is completed. This study is based on the following aspects: metadata about data and services, data models, data download, data and processing services, data portrayal and symbolization, and mass market aspects. This work aims to find an equilibrium between user-focused geoportals and web service interconnection (the user side vs. the server side). These deep reflections are motivated by a use case in the healthcare area in which we employed the Catalan regional SDI. The use case shows that even one of the best regional SDI implementations can fail to provide the required information and processes even when the required data exist. Several previous studies recognize the value of applying Web 2.0 and user participation approaches but few of these studies provide a real implementation. Another objective of this work is to show that it is easy to complement the classical, international standard-based SDI with a participative Web 2.0 approach. To do so, we present a mash-up portal built on top of the Catalan SDI catalogues.

Before any spatial data infrastructure (SDI) is implemented as fully operational, many relevant testing procedures should take place. Such procedures should evaluate the compliancy level of particular SDI components against the relevant standards and implementing rules. Hence, they should ensure a high interoperability level. Many testing activities have already been performed within the implementation of the European SDI (INSPIRE -Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community). Nevertheless, a common and versatile testing methodology, which is possible to use at any level of SDI realization is still lacking. This paper proposes a conformance testing methodology for selected SDI components applicable via network services for the discovery, view and downloading of data. An example of such an implementation has taken place within an environmental SDI developed by the Slovak Environmental Agency. A testing report template summarizing the results of the tests is proposed to be considered as a common template on a national level to be used within the implementation of a National Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the Slovak Republic.

SUMMARY While many country reports have been compiled in the area of land administration over the last decade, there has not much attention been given to the basic cadastral issues. As a result, one of the objectives of Working Group 3 &quot;Cadastre&quot; of the PCGIAP is the establishment of a cadastral template, which is basically a standard form to be filled out by cadastral organizations presenting their national cadastral system. The aims are to understand the role that a cadastre plays in a state or national SDI and to compare best practice as a basis for improving cadastres as a key component of SDIs. The work of the PCGIAP-Working Group 3 &quot;Cadastre&quot; is being done in collaboration with Commission 7 &quot;Cadastre and Land Management&quot; of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), which has extensive experience in comparative cadastral studies. This article describes the creation and the content of the cadastral template and the expected outcomes.

The perception of geographic information system and spatial data infrastructure in the developing societies is vague. Developing societies in the context of this paper are societies that are disadvantaged in the provision of geographic information system and spatial data infrastructure. The notion is that there is no clear cut understanding of geographic information system and spatial data infrastructure as perceived by societies who are still lagging in these technological ideas. Previous studies and web based sources on this subject matter form the basis for analysis, case study of three geospatial regions were viewed and analyzed. In this paper, different reasons for these information gaps were looked into, from the terms used in describing the two, to the models used for their implementation and the provision of facilities for implementation. The result obtained showed a lack of basic geographic information science background, failure in achieving a spatial data infrastructure standard and component system failure resulted in the perception. A model that is specific to developing societies in the opinion of this paper is what is needed. A suggested model to assist in refocusing the quest for national geographic information system and spatial data infrastructure towards people oriented spatial information services is made.

Apoptosis was induced in immature and mature sperm in the presence or absence of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor. The association of cleaved (cPARP) with sperm morphology was examined using sperm deformity index (SDI) score. The SDI scores are associated with PARP cleavage as an early marker of apoptosis. (Fertil Steril Ò 2011;95:2481-4. Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is a nuclear enzyme that is thought to play a role in the changes in chromatin structure and male germ cell function during postmeiotic differentiation, including chromatin condensation, transcriptional inhibition, and the sequential replacement of histones by transition proteins and protamines. It also catalyzes the poly(ADP-ribosyl), and the cleaved (c-PARP) represents the active form of the enzyme and leads to an immediate DNA-damage dependent post-translational modification of nuclear proteins that contributes to the survival of injured proliferating cells. Cleavage and inactivation of PARP is a wellcharacterized caspase-dependent marker of apoptosis (1, 2). Recently, we reported the presence of PARP homologs in ejaculated human spermatozoa and identified these as PARP-1 (75 kDa), PARP-9 (63 kDa), and PARP-2 (60 kDa) (3) and demonstrated a positive correlation between PARP and sperm maturity, suggesting a role for PARP proteins in sperm DNA damage/repair (3).

Abstract: The increasing popularity of web map services has motivated the development of more scalable services in the Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI). Tiled map services have emerged as an scalable alternative to traditional map services. Instead of rendering image maps ...

Features from the past in present cities have been identified as valua-ble and as potential assets for future urban development. Transferring knowledge about the history and heritage of the urban landscape is considered to be a challenging matter. This paper discusses how the process of knowledge transfer between past and future oriented disciplines can be optimized by com-bining mobile geospatial app technologies with the methodological framework of the biography of the urban landscape. A digital cultural biography app for Testaccio, a district in Rome, is presented which aims to optimize the process of knowledge transfer, thus optimizing the use of urban cultural heritage. This best practice is considered to be highly innovative for the integration of heritage in current and future cities.

Efficient environment monitoring has become a major concern for society to guarantee sustainable development. For instance, forest fire detection and analysis is important to provide early warning systems and identify impact. In this environmental context, availability of up-to-date information is very important for reducing damages caused. Environmental applications are deployed on top of Geospatial Information Infrastructures (GIIs) to manage information pertaining to our environment. Such infrastructures are traditionally top-down infrastructures that do not consider user participation. This provokes a bottleneck in content publication and therefore a lack of content availability. On the contrary mainstream IT systems and in particular the emerging Web 2.0 Services allow active user participation that is becoming a massive source of dynamic geospatial resources. In this paper, we present a web service, that implements a standard interface, offers a unique entry point for spatial data discovery, both in GII services and web 2.0 services. We introduce a prototype as proof of concept in a forest fire scenario, where we illustrate how to leverage scientific data and web 2.0 content.

Indices for characterising hydrological drought are, in general, data demanding and computationally intensive. A very simple and effective index, the Streamflow Drought Index (SDI), has been recently proposed. It is based on cumulative streamflow volumes for overlapping periods of three, six, nine and twelve months within each hydrological year. It allows defining drought states which are modelled as a non-stationary Markov chain. The methodology is validated using data from two river basins in Greece (Evinos and Boeoticos Kephisos). Water from these basins is diverted for water supply of the Athens Metropolitan Area. Thus, the methodology is tested on a realworld system which allows for assessing its applicability within a Drought Watch System in river basins with significant storage works.

Apoptosis was induced in immature and mature sperm in the presence or absence of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor. The association of cleaved (cPARP) with sperm morphology was examined using sperm deformity index (SDI) score. The SDI scores are associated with PARP cleavage as an early marker of apoptosis. (Fertil Steril Ò 2011;95:2481-4. Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is a nuclear enzyme that is thought to play a role in the changes in chromatin structure and male germ cell function during postmeiotic differentiation, including chromatin condensation, transcriptional inhibition, and the sequential replacement of histones by transition proteins and protamines. It also catalyzes the poly(ADP-ribosyl), and the cleaved (c-PARP) represents the active form of the enzyme and leads to an immediate DNA-damage dependent post-translational modification of nuclear proteins that contributes to the survival of injured proliferating cells. Cleavage and inactivation of PARP is a wellcharacterized caspase-dependent marker of apoptosis (1, 2). Recently, we reported the presence of PARP homologs in ejaculated human spermatozoa and identified these as PARP-1 (75 kDa), PARP-9 (63 kDa), and PARP-2 (60 kDa) (3) and demonstrated a positive correlation between PARP and sperm maturity, suggesting a role for PARP proteins in sperm DNA damage/repair (3).

While many country reports have been compiled in the area of land administration over the last decade, there has not much attention been given to the basic cadastral issues. As a result, one of the objectives of Working Group 3 "Cadastre" of the PCGIAP is the establishment of a cadastral template, which is basically a standard form to be filled out by cadastral organizations presenting their national cadastral system. The aims are to understand the role that a cadastre plays in a state or national SDI and to compare best practice as a basis for improving cadastres as a key component of SDIs. The work of the PCGIAP-Working Group 3 "Cadastre" is being done in collaboration with Commission 7 "Cadastre and Land Management" of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG), which has extensive experience in comparative cadastral studies. This article describes the creation and the content of the cadastral template and the expected outcomes.

This paper addresses the need to develop a Local Geospatial Data Infrastructure (LGDI) for sustainable urban development. This research will highlight the effective and efficient framework for the development of local infrastructure. This paper presents a framework (a combination of domain based and goal based frameworks) for developing a Local Geospatial Data Infrastructure. The basis of this research is on a case study conducted in a Malaysian city. The main focus of the case study was on measuring and assessing sustainability. Six conceptual frameworks were produced based on 6 key dimensions of sustainability. The developed framework consists of 6 conceptual data models and 6 conceptual data structures. It was concluded that 30 spatial data layers are needed of which 12 data layers are categorized as point shape, 17 data layers are categorized as polygon shape and 1 data layer as line shape category.

We adapted and optimized a method to quantify the cellulose, hemicellulose, xylan, arabinan, mannan, galactan contents in lignocellulosic biomass. This method is based on a neutral detergent extraction (NDE) of the interfering biomass components, followed by a sulfuric acid hydrolysis (SAH) of the structural polysaccharides, and a liquid chromatography with charged aerosol detection (LC-CAD) to analyze the released monosaccharides. The first step of this NDE-SAH-LC-CAD method aims at removing all compounds that interfere with the subsequent sulphuric acid hydrolysis or with the subsequent chromatographic quantification of the cellulosic and hemicellulosic monosaccharides. This step includes starch hydrolysis with an analytical thermostable α-amylase followed by an extraction of soluble compounds by a Van Soest neutral detergent solution (NDE). The aim of this paper was to assess the precision of this method when choosing fiber sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench), tall fescue (Fest...

This publication dicusses the interplay between various political factions, the scientific community and the media regarding the rise and decline of the SDI program in the 1980s. It also explores the implications of ABM technologies and the responsibilities of various parties in its development.

RESUMO. A fundamentação teórica que norteia este trabalho provém de estudos do Interacionismo Sociodiscursivo (ISD) realizados no grupo de pesquisa DIALE-Diálogos Linguísticos e Ensino (CNPq/UENP)-, bem como contribuições teóricas provenientes de estudos sobre o gênero textual como 'megainstrumento' do trabalho no processo de ensino e aprendizagem de língua. O objetivo principal da pesquisa é responder à questão: carta ao leitor/do editor e editorial são o mesmo gênero textual ou práticas discursivas singulares? Para responder a esse questionamento, o trabalho busca respaldo na noção de modelização teórica de Barros (2012), advinda do conceito de modelo didático do ISD, para a elaboração de modelos teóricos dos dois gêneros estudados. A pesquisa enquadra-se na abordagem qualitativa, de cunho interpretativista, a partir do enquadre da Linguística Aplicada, perpassando três fases: 1) bibliográfica e exploratória; 2) análise documental; 3) analítico-interpretativa. O corpus de análise da segunda fase é formado por textos dos gêneros em foco, coletados de diferentes suportes-Jornal Folha de Londrina, Jornal O Estado de São Paulo, Revista IstoÉ, Veja, Aventuras na História, Gol, Super Interessante, Saúde, Mundo Estranho, Galileu, Todateen. Os resultados apontam a existência de dois gêneros distintos-editorial e carta ao leitor/do editor-, os quais foram modelizados, teoricamente, pela pesquisa. O intuito é contribuir com os estudos em relação à esfera jornalística e servir como instrumento de observação das potencialidades ensináveis dos gêneros pesquisados, auxiliando na elaboração de materiais didáticos. Palavras-chave: ISD; gênero textual editorial e carta ao leitor; modelo teórico de gênero. Editorial or letter to reader/editor's letter? are we talking about the same textual genre? ABSTRACT. The theoretical framework of this research comes from studies of the Socio-Discursive Interactionism (SDI) performed by the research group DIALE-Diálogos Linguísticos e Ensino (CNPq/UENP), as well as theoretical contributions from studies about the text genre as an megainstrument of work in the process of language teaching and learning. The main purpose of the study is to answer the question: are the letter to reader/editor and the editorial the same text genre or singular discursive practices? To answer this questioning, the paper search to support the notion of theoretical modeling of Barros (2012), coming from the concept of didactic model of SDI, for the elaboration of theoretical models of both studied genres. This research joins a qualitative, approach from an interpretative nature of Applied Linguistics, going by three steps: 1) bibliographical and exploratory, 2) documentary analysis; 3) analytical interpretive. The corpus of analysis of the second research phase consists of texts of the genres in focus, it is collected by texts from different supports-Folha de Londrina, O Estado de São Paulo, Magaziane IstoÉ, Veja, Aventuras na História, Gol, Super Interessante, Saúde, Mundo Estranho, Galileu, Todateen. The results show the existence of two different text genres-the editorial and the letter to the editor-which were, theoretically, model by the research. The goal is to add to the studies of the journalistic field and to serve as an observation instrument of the teaching potentialities of the genres researched, assisting the process of elaboration of teaching materials.
Keywords: SDI; editorial textual genre and letter to reader; theoretical model of genre.

Steady technological progress has led to a noticeable advancement in disciplines associated with Earth observation. This has enabled information transition regarding changing scenarios, both natural and urban, to occur in (almost) real time. In particular, the need for integration on a local scale with the wider territorial framework has occurred in analysis and monitoring of built environments over the last few decades. The progress of Geographic Information (GI) science has provided significant advancements when it comes to spatial analysis, while the almost free availability of the internet has ensured a fast and constant exchange of geo-information, even for everyday users' requirements. Due to its descriptive and semantic nature, geo-spatial information is capable of providing a complete overview of a certain phenomenon and of predicting the implications within the natural, social and economic context. However, in order to integrate geospatial data into decision making processes, it is necessary to provide a specific context, which is well supported by verified data. This paper investigates the potentials of geo-portals as planning instruments developed to share multi-temporal/multi-scale spatial data, responding to specific end-users' demands in the case of Energy efficiency in Buildings (EeB) across European countries. The case study regards the GeoCluster geo-portal and mapping tool (Project GE2O, FP7), built upon a GeoClustering methodology for mapping of indicators relevant for energy efficiency technologies in the construction sector. Keywords: SDI • Web geospatial services • open-source geo-portal • geo-clusters • energy efficiency in buildings © Versita sp. z o.o. GIS = Geographical information Systems OGC = Open GIS Consortium SDI = Spatial Data Infrastructure WFS = Web Feature Service WMS = Web Map Service WPS = Web Processing Services

Environmental modelling often requires a long iterative process of sourcing, reformatting, analyzing, and introducing various types of data into the model. Much of the data to be analyzed are geospatial data—digital terrain models (DTM), river basin boundaries, snow cover from satellite imagery, etc.—and so the modelling workflow typically involves the use of multiple desktop GIS and remote sensing software packages, with limited compatibility among them. Recent advances in service-oriented architectures (SOA) are allowing users to migrate from dedicated desktop solutions to on-line, loosely coupled, and standards-based services which accept source data, process them, and pass results as basic parameters to other intermediate services and/or then to the main model, which also may be made available on-line. This contribution presents a service-oriented application that addresses the issues of data accessibility and service interoperability for environmental models. Key model capabilities are implemented as geospatial services, which are combined to form complex services, and may be reused in other similar contexts. This work was carried out under the auspices of the AWARE project funded by the European programme Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES). We show results of the service-oriented application applied to alpine runoff models, including the use of geospatial services facilitating discovery, access, processing and visualization of geospatial data in a distributed manner.

Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) are envisioned to increase efficiency, transparency and equity, but realising this potential has proven problematic. We argue that insights from studies of large-scale, integrated but distributed information systems, dubbed "information infrastructures," are applicable. This perspective may help address an important dimension of SDIs: their character of being public goods rather than private assets. We identify and illustrate four key aspects of information infrastructures that underpin such a public good's focus. First, we advocate the necessity of deploying a socio-technical rather than a limited technical perspective. We further argue that the notion of installed base is central, that it is important to be aware of the "politics of representations" and to accept the unavoidable "messiness" of reality. We illustrate these concepts through examples from health care in developing countries, an area particularly concerned with the potential to increase equity. C 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Apoptosis was induced in immature and mature sperm in the presence or absence of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor. The association of cleaved (cPARP) with sperm morphology was examined using sperm deformity index (SDI) score. The SDI scores are associated with PARP cleavage as an early marker of apoptosis. (Fertil Steril Ò 2011;95:2481-4. Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) is a nuclear enzyme that is thought to play a role in the changes in chromatin structure and male germ cell function during postmeiotic differentiation, including chromatin condensation, transcriptional inhibition, and the sequential replacement of histones by transition proteins and protamines. It also catalyzes the poly(ADP-ribosyl), and the cleaved (c-PARP) represents the active form of the enzyme and leads to an immediate DNA-damage dependent post-translational modification of nuclear proteins that contributes to the survival of injured proliferating cells. Cleavage and inactivation of PARP is a wellcharacterized caspase-dependent marker of apoptosis (1, 2). Recently, we reported the presence of PARP homologs in ejaculated human spermatozoa and identified these as PARP-1 (75 kDa), PARP-9 (63 kDa), and PARP-2 (60 kDa) (3) and demonstrated a positive correlation between PARP and sperm maturity, suggesting a role for PARP proteins in sperm DNA damage/repair (3).

One of the essential components for the construction of a geographic spatial data infrastructure at a regional, national or global level is the geographic information catalog server. But, for the catalog to be a useful component, it must enable access to geographic information metadata independently of the nature of search client applications, in other words, client applications do not need to be developed by the same company or same technology that implemented the server. In this sense, the contribution of the OpenGIS Consortium, an organization which promotes the standardization mechanisms for catalog services, is to provide the tool that makes possible this enterprise and technological independence. The objective of this paper is to review current approaches, provide some inside on the software implementation of catalogs, and show the applicability of these catalogs in real world scenarios.

Geoportals are established to function as main gateways to find, evaluate, and start "using" geographic information. Still, current geoportal implementations face problems in optimizing the discovery process due to semantic heterogeneity issues, which leads to low recall and low precision in performing text-based searches. Therefore, we propose an enhanced semantic discovery approach that supports multilingualism and information domain context. Thus, we present workflow that enriches existing structured metadata with synonyms, toponyms, and translated terms derived from user-defined keywords based on multilingual thesauri and ontologies. To make the results easier and understandable, we also provide automated translation capabilities for the resource metadata to support the user in conceiving the thematic content of the descriptive metadata, even if it has been documented using a language the user is not familiar with. In addition, to text-enable spatial filtering capabilities, we add additional location name keywords to metadata sets. These are based on the existing bounding box and shall tweak discovery scores when performing single text line queries. In order to improve the user's search experience, we tailor faceted search strategies presenting an enhanced query interface for geo-metadata discovery that are transparently leveraging the underlying thesauri and ontologies.

The need to improve access to spatial data has attracted both research and policy attention because it is considered as one of the key requirements for sustainable development. Since multiple stakeholders are involved in the spectrum from spatial data production to use, an effort to make spatial data widely accessible requires multi-stakeholder approaches to foster consensus over multiple decision criteria. The objective of this study was to explore and structure a multi-criteria decision-making problem regarding access to spatial data in Ghana from a multi-stakeholder perspective; and to prioritize (rank) spatial data accessibility components and influencing factors for policy decisions. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used as a tool to support the structuring of the multi-criteria decision problem and the multi-stakeholder process. A three-level AHP structure was constructed to examine the spatial data access problem, with a main objective, four sub-objectives and five al...

INSPIRE Conference 2018, Antwerp, Belgium 18-21 September

Thought very complex in technical requirements, the INSPIRE Directive made a huge progress in building an European Union (EU) Spatial Data Infrastructure. The further challenges will be on one side for the data providers to apply the most efficient Tools and Technologies that will streamline and simplify as much as possible the process of reporting, updating and maintaining new or available spatial datasets. On the other side new challenges will raise for the users in valuing these data assets.

The presentation will go step by step through an integrated Technical Solution for addressing each stage in the technical implementation of INSPIRE Datasets and Network Services of the Romanian Hydrographic Network with an emphasize on data harmonization stage. This project was recently implemented in a joint effort between Esri Romania and the National Administration „Romanian Waters” (NARW), a public national institution, responsible for the implementation of Hydrographic Network INSPIRE Theme (Annex I), which manages the waters of the state public domain and the infrastructure of the National System of Water Management (basins, reservoirs, flood protection dikes, channels, other man-made objects, lakes and water courses). The Technical Solution includes best practices and the most efficient tools and technologies as an approach to support the INSPIRE implementation in an effective, sustainable and streamlined process. The following topics will be discussed, as related to each stage of the implementation:

- Data completeness and preparedness for INSPIRE using Tools for GIS QAQC (available authoritative sources of data, tools to derive new data or to enrich the existing data, quality control and quality assurance for topological consistency).

- Schema mapping between the optimized source database and INSPIRE data model.

- Data harmonization by developing Custom Spatial ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) Tools, that are reusable workspaces for other themes, packing the INSPIRE specific transformers extended to meet national requirements, specific code lists and validation rules, and specific mapping and network modeling practices.

- Implementing INSPIRE Network Services by using ArcGIS for INSPIRE technology and tools, followed by the dissemination of web services through the Romanian National INSPIRE Geoportal deployed since 2010.

The framework was successfully applied in other NSDI projects in Romania which focused on the implementation of INSPIRE Datasets and Network Services for the Transport Network (Road and Air), having other national authorities as stakeholders – The National Company for Road Infrastructure Administration (CNAIR) and The Romanian Air Traffic Services Administration (ROMATSA).

https://inspire.ec.europa.eu/events/conferences/inspire_2018/submissions/29.html

Digital Earth (DE) is a powerful metaphor for the organisation and access to digital information through a multi-scale three-dimensional representation of the globe. Recent progress gave a concrete body to this vision. However, this body is not yet self-aware: further integration of the temporal and voluntary dimension is needed to better portray the event-based nature of our world. We thus aim to extend DE vision with a Nervous System in order to provide decision makers with improved alerting mechanisms. Practical applications are foreseen for crisis management, where up-to-date situational awareness is needed. While it is traditionally built through trusted sources, citizens can play a complementary role by providing geo-referenced information known as Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI). Although workflows have been implemented to create, validate and distribute VGI datasets for various thematic domains, its exploitation in real time and its integration into existing concepts of DE, such as spatial data infrastructures, still needs to be further addressed. In this paper we suggest to bridge this gap through Sensor Web Enablement for VGI, where VGI sensing becomes a sense of the DE's Nervous System. We discuss this approach and its applicability in the context of a forest fire scenario.

Environmental modelling often requires a long iterative process of sourcing, reformatting, analyzing, and introducing various types of data into the model. Much of the data to be analyzed are geospatial data—digital terrain models (DTM), river basin boundaries, snow cover from satellite imagery, etc.—and so the modelling workflow typically involves the use of multiple desktop GIS and remote sensing software packages, with limited compatibility among them. Recent advances in service-oriented architectures (SOA) are allowing users to migrate from dedicated desktop solutions to on-line, loosely coupled, and standards-based services which accept source data, process them, and pass results as basic parameters to other intermediate services and/or then to the main model, which also may be made available on-line. This contribution presents a service-oriented application that addresses the issues of data accessibility and service interoperability for environmental models. Key model capabilities are implemented as geospatial services, which are combined to form complex services, and may be reused in other similar contexts. This work was carried out under the auspices of the AWARE project funded by the European programme Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES). We show results of the service-oriented application applied to alpine runoff models, including the use of geospatial services facilitating discovery, access, processing and visualization of geospatial data in a distributed manner.

Housing, an essential aspect of quality of life, is also significant for sustainable development (SD). All of the major international statements on SD refer to housing or settlement strategies. However, indicator sets derived from these statements often fail to include good indicators of sustainable housing. This article outlines the conceptualisation of SD and housing from the international statements. It proceeds by describing the international indicator sets which have been constructed based on these policy statements. International organisations such as the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Union (EU) have all produced indicator sets. However, this article contends that housing is an underdeveloped indicator and calls for more attention to be paid to the importance of aspects of housing for SD and the measurement of progress towards it via social indicators.

Steady technological progress has led to a noticeable advancement in disciplines associated with Earth observation. This has enabled information transition regarding changing scenarios, both natural and urban, to occur in (almost) real time. In particular, the need for integration on a local scale with the wider territorial framework has occurred in analysis and monitoring of built environments over the last few decades. The progress of Geographic Information (GI) science has provided significant advancements when it comes to spatial analysis, while the almost free availability of the internet has ensured a fast and constant exchange of geo-information, even for everyday users’ requirements. Due to its descriptive and semantic nature, geo-spatial information is capable of providing a complete overview of a certain phenomenon and of predicting the implications within the natural, social and economic context. However, in order to integrate geospatial data into decision making processe...

Efficient environment monitoring has become a major concern for society to guarantee sustainable development. For instance, forest fire detection and analysis is important to provide early warning systems and identify impact. In this environmental context, availability of up-to-date information is very important for reducing damages caused. Environmental applications are deployed on top of Geospatial Information Infrastructures (GIIs) to manage information pertaining to our environment. Such infrastructures are traditionally top-down infrastructures that do not consider user participation. This provokes a bottleneck in content publication and therefore a lack of content availability. On the contrary mainstream IT systems and in particular the emerging Web 2.0 Services allow active user participation that is becoming a massive source of dynamic geospatial resources. In this paper, we present a web service, that implements a standard interface, offers a unique entry point for spatial data discovery, both in GII services and web 2.0 services. We introduce a prototype as proof of concept in a forest fire scenario, where we illustrate how to leverage scientific data and web 2.0 content.

In Italia la Direttiva INSPIRE ha avuto sino ad ora l'impatto maggiore sulle Regioni Italiane ed ovviamente sugli utenti dei dati e dei servizi da esse messi a disposizione secondo i dettami della Direttiva. Per questo motivo il CISIS-CPSG ha ritenuto di mettere a punto (marzo 2013) uno studio dal titolo "PROPOSTA DI DEFINIZIONE DELLE LINEE GUIDA STRATEGICHE , TECNICHE ED AMMINISTRATIVE PER LA REALIZZAZIONE DI IDT REGIONALI E PER UN SISTEMA FEDERATO DI IDT REGIONALI" al quale si rimanda per la completa trattazione e gli approfondimenti.

Metaplanning can be considered as a necessary step for improving collaboration, transparency and accountability in sustainable and democratic spatial decision-making process. This paper reports current findings on the operational implementation of the metaplanning concept developed by the authors relying on Business Process Management methods and techniques. Two solutions are presented which implement spatial planning process workflows thanks to the development of original spatial data and processing services connectors to a Business Process Management suite. These results can be considered as a first step towards the development of 2nd generation Planning Support Systems.

Spatial data and related technologies have proven to be crucial for effective collaborative decisionmaking in disaster management. However, there are currently substantial problems with availability, access and usage of reliable, up-to-date and accurate data for disaster management. This is a very important aspect to disaster response as timely, up-to-date and accurate spatial data describing the current situation is paramount to successfully responding to an emergency. This includes information about available resources, access to roads and damaged areas, required resources, and required disaster response operations that should be available and accessible for use in a short period of time. Any problem or delay in data collection, access, usage and dissemination has negative impacts on the quality of decision-making and hence the quality of disaster response. Therefore, it is necessary to utilize appropriate frameworks and technologies to resolve current spatial data problems for disaster management.