Standardised methods of categorising environmental data are needed at European and international levels for effective international policies. A recent study has concluded that a European framework that harmonises environmental data at the continental scale corresponds well with national classification systems, although some modifications may be needed to capture small-scale regional variations.

A new framework to help decide whether to translocate species that are threatened by climate change has been developed. The framework provides a simple method of assessing different strategies and ensuring that limited budgets are used effectively.

To solve the problem of food waste we need to radically rethink how our food is produced and consumed, researchers argue in a recent study. They propose a new framework that considers how to reduce wastage throughout the supply chain. Preventing excess levels of food production and consumption in the first place is its most important step.

Ecosystem services, such as coastal protection or water supply, form an integral part of ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change. However, preserving and restoring ecosystems and their services relies on the economic system that supports these efforts. Ecosystem services will not be best protected by the classic market framework, new research suggests.

Marine protected areas (MPAs) have well-reported ecological benefits, but may also have important socioeconomic effects on local communities. Existing methods to assess these effects have been hampered by a number of limitations. This paper describes a new framework to monitor and assess the socioeconomic effects of MPAs, which overcomes many of these limitations to provide greater value for decision makers.

Ten years ago the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) introduced a shift in water management, placing ecology at the centre of decision-making. A new review of its implementation identifies both the achievements of the WFD and its ongoing challenges, providing recommendations on how to overcome these.

The importance of addressing eutrophication to improve the ecological health of coastal and marine waters has been identified in the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive1. A new study discusses possible methods for assessing and monitoring eutrophication, including which indicators to monitor.

For successful implementation of the Water Framework Directive, local planners will need specific targets, guidance on interpretation, and adequate resources to monitor progress, according to a recent study from Sweden.

Researchers have proposed a new framework to assess the potential for redeveloping large contaminated brownfield sites. The framework applies a range of spatial assessment methods to analyse remediation costs, economic value and the sustainability of different land-use types, and to recommend suitably mixed land-use options for redevelopment.

Improvements to EU water policy have been proposed in a recent study, to help ensure that temporary rivers and streams in the Mediterranean are adequately protected in line with the goals of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The researchers suggest new classifications for river types, and highlight the importance of distinguishing between natural and human-derived causes of intermittent water flow.

A recent study has analysed research on implementing the Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Europe and identified a number of research gaps that could be filled. For example, some countries, such as Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, have not been well studied and more research on the experiences of such countries would build up knowledge on the implementation of the WFD across Europe.

A new framework has been developed to assess how effective Flood Emergency Management Systems (FEMS) are in Europe. Examining FEMS in five European countries, this study highlights the strengths and weaknesses of existing systems and makes recommendations for improving their effectiveness, particularly in relation to institutional learning, community preparedness and recovery.

An international group of researchers has proposed a new way of describing payments for environmental services (PES). The new definition supplies a framework, incorporating the social aspects of PES, which can be used by practitioners, such as governments, to design and implement a variety of PES schemes.

With over half of Europe’s species dependent on agricultural habitats, protecting ‘high nature value’ farmland is vital to biodiversity conservation. However, the identification and assessment of such farmland requires careful co-ordination, concludes a recent study. The researchers present a framework to help with this process and make a set of key recommendations.

Rewilding, a process of passive management focused on restoring natural ecological processes and reducing human influence on landscapes, could be used to restore the increasing amounts of abandoned agricultural land in Europe to more biodiverse wilderness. A new study has designed a framework to measure potential for rewilding in areas across Europe, highlighting in particular the potential of Natura 2000 sites and suggesting specific aspects of wilderness that future policies could address.

Invasive alien species pose a threat to biodiversity, human health and the economy. This study describes six alien species indicators for Europe, showing that the scale and impact of biological invasions are increasing across all indicators. The societal response has also increased in recent years. The researchers say their framework could serve as a basis for monitoring the efficacy of recent EU legislation.

There are differences in the assessment and restriction of chemicals exempt from the EU’s regulatory instrument REACH. A new study has analysed the differences between several regulatory frameworks that govern these chemicals and recommended greater harmonisation in assessment criteria and regulatory follow-up.

A recent study has evaluated frameworks and tools used in Europe to assess the potential health and environmental risks of manufactured nanomaterials. The study identifies a trend towards tools that provide protocols for conducting experiments, which enable more flexible and efficient hazard testing. Among its conclusions, however, it notes that no existing frameworks meet all the study’s evaluation criteria and calls for a new, more comprehensive framework.

Currently laws and regulations governing nanotechnology are fragmented and do not take account of the unique properties of nanomaterials, the effect of which on humans and the environment are not yet fully understood, argue researchers in a new study. In the study, a network of European researchers propose a new universal regulatory framework that deals specifically with nanomaterials. The framework should help policymakers, organisations and researchers evaluate the risks of any existing materials and new nanomaterials entering the market. It should also help SMEs and large companies use safer products and processes, limit the potential adverse effects of nanomaterials on workers and consumers, reduce the cost of insurance and reduce the risk of governments having to pay out money in the future due to unforeseen accidents or diseases.

Agriculture is a significant source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Researchers have developed a framework for estimating emissions of methane and nitrous oxides from agriculture, by updating the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) approach, which captures more detail about differences between locations.

A recent study develops a framework for implementing IAMs using the Lombardy region of Italy as a case study. Researchers have run an uncertainty and sensitivity analysis with an environmental model, specifically with an Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) for air quality, demonstrating how model components are sources of uncertainty in the output of an integrated assessment. Policy responses should therefore consider uncertainty and sensitivity when developing measures to improve air quality.

Michael Pollan lays out his ideas about what it would take to reform the food system.

The Novara 360° Framework provides a comprehensive, practical, automated and cost-effective approach to compliance and risk management tailored to an operator's specific size and complexity.

The new framework uses contrastive learning to improve image analysis in unlabeled datasets.

In 1979, Professor Michael E. Porter published “How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy” in the Harvard Business Review. Thirty-five years later, the framework developed by Professor Porter is still being used by business valuators to assess the competitive position of an… Read More

The post A Framework To Analyze Industry Competition appeared first on Anders CPAs.

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has voted to propose a new rule that would establish a framework for fund valuation practices.  The rule is designed to clarify how fund boards can satisfy their valuation obligations in…

Let’s go a bit deeper into two aspects of the last episode: frameworks and how they can help you with your photography and perspectives.. but not just those that we photographers love so much. [sc:podlovebutton] Links: Baltic Sea – Photos by Chris Marquardt Inbox Zero – YouTube Pomodoro Technique – Wikipedia Getting Things Done – … Continue reading "880 Perspectives and Frameworks"

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The U.S. Department of the Interior has released a proposed framework for adaptively managing Glen Canyon Dam over the next 20 years with the goal of creating certainty and predictability for power and water users while protecting environmental and cultural resources in Grand Canyon National Park and the Colorado River ecosystem. The draft environmental impact statement (EIS) is available to the public for review and comment for 90 days. https://www.nps.gov/grca/learn/news/interior-proposes-adaptive-management-framework-for-glen-canyon-dam.htm

Agencies and organizations deploy various strategies in response to environmental challenges, including the formulation of policy, programs, and regulations. Citizen-based environmental stewardship is increasingly seen as an innovative and important approach to improving and conserving landscape health. A new research focus on the stewardship of urban natural resources is being launched by the U.S. Forest Service in the Pacific Northwest region. Early scoping efforts are addressing various scales of human systems ranging from individuals to organizations to the entire positive "footprint" of stewardship on the land. This report addresses a fundamental need—to understand and describe civic environmental stewardship in urban settings. Stewardship has been described and defined in diverse ways within a variety of contexts, including the philosophical literature of environmentalism, agency program descriptions, and outreach by sponsoring organizations. Constructing a framework to convey the layered meanings of stewardship will help to focus and guide future research. A cognitive mapping technique was used to elicit responses to the question "What is environmental stewardship?" Semistructured interviews were conducted with representatives of nine Seattle environmental organizations, a group of practitioners who collectively represent over 100 years of experience in the field. Program planners and managers have particularly direct experiences of stewardship. Cognitive mapping enables participants to explore, then display, their particular knowledge and perceptions about an idea or activity. Analysis generated thematic, structural representations of shared concepts. Results show that the practitioners have multilayered perceptions of stewardship, from environmental improvement to community building, and from actions to outcomes. The resulting conceptual framework demonstrates the full extent of stewardship activity and meaning, which can aid stewardship sponsors to improve stewardship programs, leading to better experiences for participants and higher quality outcomes for projects and environments.

Public land managers are confronted with an ever-growing and diversifying set of demands for providing recreation opportunities. Coupled with a variety of trends (devolution of governance and decisionmaking, population growth, technological innovation, shifts in public values, economic restructuring) and reduced organizational capacity, these demands represent a significant and complex challenge to public land management. One way of dealing with this situation is to use a framework to assist in working through this complexity. A framework, for the purpose of this report, is a process using a set of steps, based on sound science, that assists managers in framing a particular problem, working through it, and arriving at a set of defendable decisions. Several such frameworks exist for providing recreation opportunities on public lands. These include the Recreation Opportunity Spectrum, Limits of Acceptable Change, Visitor Experience and Resource Protection, Visitor Impact Management, and Benefits-Based Management. The report traces the development of each of these frameworks, describes the fundamental premises and concepts used within them, and provides an assessment of the experience with their use. Each of the frameworks has been used with varying success, depending on the organization's will, its technical capacity, the extent to which the process is inclusive of varying value systems, how open and deliberative the process is, the extent to which the organization is concerned with effectiveness, and the extent to which issues are confronted at the systems level.

The concept of ecosystem services has emerged as a way of framing and describing the comprehensive set of benefits that people receive from nature. These include commonly recognized goods like timber and fresh water, as well as processes like climate regulation and water purification, and aesthetic, spiritual, and cultural benefits. The USDA Forest Service has been exploring use of the framework of ecosystem services as a way to describe goods and services provided by federal lands and attract and build partnerships with stakeholders and nongovernmental organizations. More recently, the agency has sought place-based example applications of the ecosystem service framework to explore its possible use as a tool to guide forest management, and better illustrate the concept for policymakers, managers, and potential national forest partners.

AHA COVID-19 newsroom     DALLAS, May 4, 2020 — The American Heart Association, together with 14 cardiovascular societies in North America, today issued joint guidance, “Safe Reintroduction of Cardiovascular Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic:...

With pleasure we can now announce that Xtreme One 1.6 was released as a beta last week! Xtreme One WordPress […]

Recent studies of optimization methods and GNC of spacecraft near small bodies focusing on descent, landing, rendezvous, etc., with key safety constraints such as line-of-sight conic zones and soft landings have shown promising results; this paper considers descent missions to an asteroid surface with a constraint that consists of an onboard camera and asteroid surface markers while using a stochastic convex MPC law. An undermodeled asteroid gravity and spacecraft technology inspired measurement model is established to develop the constraint. Then a computationally light stochastic Linear Quadratic MPC strategy is presented to keep the spacecraft in satisfactory field of view of the surface markers while trajectory tracking, employing chance based constraints and up-to-date estimation uncertainty from navigation. The estimation uncertainty giving rise to the tightened constraints is particularly addressed. Results suggest robust tracking performance across a variety of trajectories.

High-performance implementations of graph algorithms are challenging to implement on new parallel hardware such as GPUs, because of three challenges: (1) difficulty of coming up with graph building blocks, (2) load imbalance on parallel hardware, and (3) graph problems having low arithmetic intensity. To address these challenges, GraphBLAS is an innovative, on-going effort by the graph analytics community to propose building blocks based in sparse linear algebra, which will allow graph algorithms to be expressed in a performant, succinct, composable and portable manner. In this paper, we examine the performance challenges of a linear algebra-based approach to building graph frameworks and describe new design principles for overcoming these bottlenecks. Among the new design principles is exploiting input sparsity, which allows users to write graph algorithms without specifying push and pull direction. Exploiting output sparsity allows users to tell the backend which values of the output in a single vectorized computation they do not want computed. Load-balancing is an important feature for balancing work amongst parallel workers. We describe the important load-balancing features for handling graphs with different characteristics. The design principles described in this paper have been implemented in "GraphBLAST", the first open-source linear algebra-based graph framework on GPU targeting high-performance computing. The results show that on a single GPU, GraphBLAST has on average at least an order of magnitude speedup over previous GraphBLAS implementations SuiteSparse and GBTL, comparable performance to the fastest GPU hardwired primitives and shared-memory graph frameworks Ligra and Gunrock, and better performance than any other GPU graph framework, while offering a simpler and more concise programming model.

How to generate testing scenario libraries for connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) is a major challenge faced by the industry. In previous studies, to evaluate maneuver challenge of a scenario, surrogate models (SMs) are often used without explicit knowledge of the CAV under test. However, performance dissimilarities between the SM and the CAV under test usually exist, and it can lead to the generation of suboptimal scenario libraries. In this paper, an adaptive testing scenario library generation (ATSLG) method is proposed to solve this problem. A customized testing scenario library for a specific CAV model is generated through an adaptive process. To compensate the performance dissimilarities and leverage each test of the CAV, Bayesian optimization techniques are applied with classification-based Gaussian Process Regression and a new-designed acquisition function. Comparing with a pre-determined library, a CAV can be tested and evaluated in a more efficient manner with the customized library. To validate the proposed method, a cut-in case study was performed and the results demonstrate that the proposed method can further accelerate the evaluation process by a few orders of magnitude.

Introduction of spectrum-sharing in 5G and subsequent generation networks demand base-station(s) with the capability to characterize the wideband spectrum spanned over licensed, shared and unlicensed non-contiguous frequency bands. Spectrum characterization involves the identification of vacant bands along with center frequency and parameters (energy, modulation, etc.) of occupied bands. Such characterization at Nyquist sampling is area and power-hungry due to the need for high-speed digitization. Though sub-Nyquist sampling (SNS) offers an excellent alternative when the spectrum is sparse, it suffers from poor performance at low signal to noise ratio (SNR) and demands careful design and integration of digital reconstruction, tunable channelizer and characterization algorithms. In this paper, we propose a novel deep-learning framework via a single unified pipeline to accomplish two tasks: 1)~Reconstruct the signal directly from sub-Nyquist samples, and 2)~Wideband spectrum characterization. The proposed approach eliminates the need for complex signal conditioning between reconstruction and characterization and does not need complex tunable channelizers. We extensively compare the performance of our framework for a wide range of modulation schemes, SNR and channel conditions. We show that the proposed framework outperforms existing SNS based approaches and characterization performance approaches to Nyquist sampling-based framework with an increase in SNR. Easy to design and integrate along with a single unified deep learning framework make the proposed architecture a good candidate for reconfigurable platforms.

Bayesian predictive coding is a putative neuromorphic method for acquiring higher-level neural representations to account for sensory input. Although originating in the neuroscience community, there are also efforts in the machine learning community to study these models. This paper reviews some of the more well known models. Our review analyzes module connectivity and patterns of information transfer, seeking to find general principles used across the models. We also survey some recent attempts to cast these models within a deep learning framework. A defining feature of Bayesian predictive coding is that it uses top-down, reconstructive mechanisms to predict incoming sensory inputs or their lower-level representations. Discrepancies between the predicted and the actual inputs, known as prediction errors, then give rise to future learning that refines and improves the predictive accuracy of learned higher-level representations. Predictive coding models intended to describe computations in the neocortex emerged prior to the development of deep learning and used a communication structure between modules that we name the Rao-Ballard protocol. This protocol was derived from a Bayesian generative model with some rather strong statistical assumptions. The RB protocol provides a rubric to assess the fidelity of deep learning models that claim to implement predictive coding.

The increasing ubiquity of low-cost wireless sensors in smart homes and buildings has enabled users to easily deploy systems to remotely monitor and control their environments. However, this raises privacy concerns for third-party occupants, such as a hotel room guest who may be unaware of deployed clandestine sensors. Previous methods focused on specific modalities such as detecting cameras but do not provide a generalizable and comprehensive method to capture arbitrary sensors which may be "spying" on a user. In this work, we seek to determine whether one can walk in a room and detect any wireless sensor monitoring an individual. As such, we propose SnoopDog, a framework to not only detect wireless sensors that are actively monitoring a user, but also classify and localize each device. SnoopDog works by establishing causality between patterns in observable wireless traffic and a trusted sensor in the same space, e.g., an inertial measurement unit (IMU) that captures a user's movement. Once causality is established, SnoopDog performs packet inspection to inform the user about the monitoring device. Finally, SnoopDog localizes the clandestine device in a 2D plane using a novel trial-based localization technique. We evaluated SnoopDog across several devices and various modalities and were able to detect causality 96.6% percent of the time, classify suspicious devices with 100% accuracy, and localize devices to a sufficiently reduced sub-space.

A system and method for detecting, filtering, prioritizing and reporting shared memory hazards are disclosed. The method includes, for a unit of hardware operating on a block of threads, mapping a plurality of shared memory locations assigned to the unit to a tracking table. The tracking table comprises initialization information for each shared memory location. The method also includes, for an instruction of a program within a barrier region, identifying a potential conflict by identifying a second access to a location in shared memory within a block of threads executed by the hardware unit. First information associated with a first access and second information associated with the second access to the location is determined. Filter criteria is applied to the first and second information to determine whether the instruction causes a reportable hazard. The instruction is reported when it causes the reportable hazard.

A framework for implementing multitenant architecture is provided. The framework comprises a framework services module which is configured to provide framework services that facilitate abstraction of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) services and crosscutting services for a Greenfield application and a non SaaS based web application. Further the abstraction results in a SaaS based multitenant web application. The framework further comprises a runtime module configured to automatically integrate and consume the framework services and APIs to facilitate monitoring and controlling of features associated with the SaaS based multitenant web application. The framework further comprises a metadata services module configured to provide a plurality of metadata services to facilitate abstraction of storage structure of metadata associated with the framework and act as APIs for managing the metadata. The framework further comprises a role based administration module that facilitates management of the metadata through a tenant administrator and a product administrator.

Described herein is a descriptive framework to facilitate large scale demand responsive transit. In accordance with one aspect of the framework, one or more trip requests from one or more commuter devices are received. A trip request indicates at least one start location and at least one end location. In addition, vehicle information is received from one or more available vehicles. The vehicle information indicates at least one current location of a vehicle. An adaptive route for the vehicle may be planned based on the one or more trip requests and the vehicle information. Update information of the adaptive route may be communicated to the vehicle and the one or more commuter devices.

A method of synthesizing a crystalline molecular sieve having an MSE framework type comprises crystallizing a reaction mixture comprising a source of water, a source of an oxide of a tetravalent element, Y, selected from at least one of silicon, tin, titanium, vanadium, and germanium, optionally a source of a trivalent element, X, a source of an alkali or alkaline earth metal, M, and a source of organic dications, Q, such as 3-hydroxy-1-(4-(1-methylpiperidin-1-ium-1-yl)butyl)quinuclidin-1-ium, 3-hydroxy-1-(5-(1-methylpiperidin-1-ium-1-yl)pentyl)quinuclidin-1-ium, 1,1'-(butane-1,4-diyl)bis(1-methylpiperidin-1-ium), 1,1'-(pentane-1,5-diyl)bis(1-methylpiperidin-1-ium), 1,1'-(hexane-1,6-diyl)bis(1-methylpiperidin-1-ium), and 1,1'-((3as,6as)-octahydropentalene-2,5-diyl)bis(1-methylpiperidin-1-ium).

A component instance manager of a database system generates an instance of the application function. The component instance manager then generates an executor for the application function, and requests an instance of a component class of the application function from a package manager of the database system. A void pointer associated with the instance of the component class and a wrapper function address associated with the application function are accessed by the component instance manager, where the void pointer and wrapper function address comprise runtime parameters of the application function. The application function is thereafter executed by the executor according to the runtime parameters.

A dispatcher framework to provide non-blocking inter-application communication is disclosed. In various embodiments, a call to a service that is blocking with respect to the service is received from a calling process. The service is called on behalf of the calling process in a manner that does not require the calling process to remain blocked during at least a portion of a time during which the call to the service is performed.

The invention provides an improved design for the construction of extensible nucleic acid-based, ligand-controlled regulatory systems, and the nucleic acid regulatory systems resulting therefrom. The invention contemplates improving the design of the switches (ligand-controlled regulatory systems) through the design of an information transmission domain (ITD). The improved ITD eliminates free-floating ends of the switching and the competing strands, and localizes competitive hybridization events to a contiguous strand of competing and switching strands in a strand-displacement mechanism-based switch, thereby improving the kinetics of strand-displacement. The improved regulatory systems have many uses in various biological systems, including gene expression control or ligand-concentration sensing.

A mobile device includes a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions. The instructions include, in response to a state of a first application being instantiated from a first state template of the first application, selecting a first function module identifier from a plurality of predetermined function module identifiers. Each predetermined function module identifier corresponds to a first function offered by the first state template. The instructions include transmitting a function module request to a developer exchange system using a wireless transceiver. The function module request includes the first function module identifier, which uniquely identifies a first function module. The instructions include receiving the first function module from the developer exchange system, storing and executing the first function module, and presenting display data generated by execution of the first function module. The display data is presented in an area reserved for the first function by the first state template.

A system and a method for providing a query building logic for supporting testing requirements are disclosed. The system receives one or more business inputs from one or more users. An application database is configured for rendering one or more unique database schemas and a set of predefined parameters. The application database is accessed by at least one user to select one or more database schemas and identify a set of predefined parameters, based on one or more business conditions set for the at least one user. Further, the system comprises a TDS (Test Data Specification) framework that is configured to dynamically frame one or more queries based on one or more business inputs, selected database schemas and the identified predefined parameters by the one or more users.

Described herein is an extensible extract, transform and load (ETL) framework. In accordance with one aspect of the framework, a file location object and a corresponding file format object are retrieved from a repository. The file location object stores file location parameters that specify a remote file system directory and a local file system directory, while the file format object stores location configuration parameters that specify a data file and the file location object. The data file may be transferred from the remote file system directory to the local file system directory according to the file location parameters and the location configuration parameters. An extract, transform and load (ETL) job may then be performed on the data file to generate an output file.

A carbon dioxide capture and release method of forming a MOF matrix material including at least one metal-organic-framework crystal that includes at least one metal ion or metal ion cluster coordinated to polydentate organic ligands. The method includes forming a positive moisture swing CO2 host by application of at least a portion of the MOF matrix material to at least a portion of a good, and exposing the good to a feed gas. The method also includes altering the absorption and desorption of CO2 in the CO2 host through a swing absorption/desorption process of moisture content, where an equilibrium pressure of CO2 over the CO2 host is based at least in part on the moisture content. The metal-organic-framework crystal can be UIO-66 including Zr6O4(OH)4(CO2)12 clusters linked by terephthalate acid ligands, and/or Zr6O4(OH)4(CO2)12 clusters linked by amino-terephthalic acid ligands, and/or Zr6O4(OH)4(CO2)12 clusters linked by nitro-terephthalic acid ligands.