... identify the strength ofthe individual linkage by determining the relative importance ofthe linkage types The goal is at the top ofthe model 4.4.2 The Actors Like the AHP model formulated for overall ... preparation of questionnaire, pre-testing of questionnaire forthe confirmation and interpretation ofthe factors and then processing ofthe completed questionnaire and reporting The second part ofthe ... all are there Another type of decision is one in which people are unsure ofthe importance of their criteria In this case to sharpen their knowledge ofthe criteria a wide selection of alternatives...
... results, the RDQ may have the potential to meet some ofthe questionnaire needs for GERD clinical trials In this study, the performance ofthe RDQ was assessed in a clinical treatment trial for patients ... treatment of selected RDQ scales; 2) assessmentofthe concordance between RDQand physician-generated ratings of disease severity; and 3) assessmentofthe internal consistency reliability ofthe translated ... Consistency of performance in two languages was also observed The study population, being highly enriched for GERD, precluded determination ofthe predictive validity ofthe RDQ for a GERD diagnosis The...
... of SSR of over 0.7 The segmentation ofthe test image set using the edgebased algorithm provided a value forthe geometric mean of SSR of between and 0.88, where most ofthe combinations ofthe ... the list of pairs, Length(PL) is the number of pairs in the pair list, PL Es[k] is the found edge in the kth position ofthe pair list, and PL Ei[k] is the ideal edge in the kth position ofthe ... degree ofthe position of a found edge to the fuzzy set which describes the position of an ideal edge; in other words, the match value ofthe found edge and the ideal edge Fuzzy logic fits the desirable...
... adjustment The need for these adjustments is usually evaluated by the care teams, with the bedside nurse having a leading role in this assessment because they are with the patient most ofthe time The ... but other reports could not confirm better performance when compared with standard subjective assessment scores [15-19] A major drawback of these studies was the fact that theassessmentofthe ... continuous assessmentofthe level of sedation, and thereby predict the patient's responsiveness Methods and devices based on processed EEG signals are widely used to monitor the depth of anaesthesia They...
... ofthe other chapters (chapters to 15) by presenting: A discussion ofthe selection of ecological indicators forassessmentof ecosystem health A classification of indicators The definition of ... processes Maximum degradation of exergy is a consequence ofthedevelopmentof ecosystems from the early to the mature state, but APPLICATION OF INDICATORS FORTHEASSESSMENTOF ECOSYSTEM HEALTH as ... Curves106 The K-dominance curve is the representation ofthe accumulated percentage of abundance vs the logarithm ofthe sequence of species ordered in a decreasing order The slope ofthe straight...
... accuracy ofthe data analysis References Authors' contributions JB: Had full access to all the data in the study and take responsibility forthe integrity ofthe data and the accuracy ofthe data ... draft ofthe manuscript MD: involved with recruitment of subjects, setting up the design ofthe study and editing the initial draft ofthe manuscript SS: Generated the literature search, edited the ... procedures for adjusting the seat, the visual presentation ofthe rearview mirror and using the OEM speedometer Participants were told that they would receive a base compensation of $40 for their...
... publish reliable data and information, but the author and the publisher cannot assume responsibility forthe validity of all materials or forthe consequences of their use Neither this book nor any ... discussion ofthe selection of ecological indicators forassessmentof ecosystem health A classification of indicators The definition of some important holistic indicators An overview of all the applied ... cases The first international conference on the application of ecological indicators fortheassessmentof ecosystem health was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in October 1900 Since then there...
... components, which is represented by the network The information ofthe network encompasses the information ofthe components and the relationships ofthe components The latter contribution has been ... Curves106 The K-dominance curve is the representation ofthe accumulated percentage of abundance vs the logarithm ofthe sequence of species ordered in a decreasing order The slope ofthe straight ... In the sample, the real value of pi is unknown, but it is estimated through the ratio Ni/N, where Ni is the number of individuals ofthe species i and N is the total number of individuals The...
... variations ofthe exergy index may provide us a much better understanding ofthe system development in the scope of a broader theoretical framework However, at the present stage, in simple snapshots the ... measure the enrichment ofthe species, such as the Margalef s one, which are, in essence, a measurement in the number of species in a defined sampling unit Models ofthe abundance of species, as the ... pattern of spatial variation along the gradient of eutrophication in the south arm ofthe estuary, exhibiting a higher value in the noneutrophied area (16549 g AFDW/m/y bits; 42.3% ofthe total development...
... composed of five necessary steps: TheTheTheTheThe identification of anthropogenic stresses analysis of ecosystem responses to the stresses developmentof indicators determination ofassessment ... single lake only; while the EHIM can be used forthe absolute assessmentof more than one lake The DMM can be used forthe rough assessmentof a lake ecosystem health in the case of insufficient data ... means of fuzzy mathematics, each data point in the second type of relationship and in the first and the third kind of relationships can be determined to belong to the first or to the third type of...
... by the EU funded project DITTY (Development of Information Technology Tools forthe management of European Southern lagoons under the influence of river-basin runoff, EVK3-CT-2002-00084) in the ... Taylor & Francis accounts for one-half ofthe total surface area and for one fourth ofthe water volume ofthe lagoon The bottom is flat and the sediment is composed of typical alluvial mud with ... ofthe rapid degradation of environmental conditions and of an increase in the eutrophication of this ecosystem The decomposition of Ulva in summer (at temperatures of 25 to 30 C) produces the...
... 1993) The extent to which the ecological indicators are correlated with the thermodynamic indicators will be explained A recommendation on the application of thermodynamic indicators fortheassessment ... (measured simply as the product of number of state variables in the model and the connectivity), which is consistent with the results of several other chapters in this volume On the other hand, specific ... again gives the opportunity to increase the information further The correlation between the respiration level and the rate of exergy destruction in Figure 7.6 is not surprising, as the exergy...
... rises as does the emergy flow through the forest On the other hand, the exergy ofthe forest is likely to decrease because ofthe loss of biomass density and ofthe consequent loss of biodiversity ... that the emergy/information ratio is a measure ofthe information hierarchy: the higher the energy hierarchy of a system, the higher the ratio in sej/bit (Odum, 1988) He also discussed the results ... 50.0 values of a higher order of magnitude than in any ofthe other systems used for comparison: man and nature are acting in synergy to enhance the performance ofthe ecosystem The fact that...
... determination of energy equivalents for these flows Thereby, it allowed the determination ofthe intensity of all inflows and outflows in the same energy units and the calculation ofthe ratio of outputs ... as a transformer ofthe inflows of ‘‘natural’’ and ‘‘artificial’’ energy into the outflow of agricultural production The ratio ofthe latter to the expended ‘‘artificial’’ energy is then naturally ... some other resources The energy content ofthe flows is estimated by taking into account the total primary energy expenses needed for their formation Thus, for example, the energy equivalent of...
... to the necessary database, the demanded measuring efforts, the complexity ofthe aggregation methodology, and the comprehensibility ofthe results as well as the cognitive transparency forthe ... 1999) The percentage of transpiration from the total evapotranspiration loss was 63% in the case ofthe forest ecosystem and 34% in the case ofthe field This signals the distinct significance of ... by these variables They also represent the basic trends of ecosystem development, thus they show the developmental stageof an ecosystem or a landscape As a whole this variable set represents the...
... representative ofthe typical series of watersheds located along the same side ofthe northern Apennines ridge The watershed is approximately 174.63 km2, and is located on the Emilian side ofthe northern ... Liebermann, 1994) In the past, this watershed was almost fully covered by ancient forests, still present during the ducat of Parma at the end ofthe eighteenth century Around the end ofthe nineteenth ... dynamic models has been often suggested or adopted, together with the size of stability domains, or the magnitude of disturbance the system can tolerate and still persist before the system changes...
... efficiencies of about 10% (Brown et al., 1993) The transformity, which is a ratio ofthe emergy input to the available energy output, is an expression of quality ofthe output energy; the higher the transformity, ... to a simplified structure ofthe system These performance changes translate into different values ofthe transformities, the variations of which become clear measures of lost or decreased system ... maintenance of DNA in leaves (i.e., copying), and the maintenance of information ofthe population of trees (emergy in seed DNA which is the storing and disseminating information) The second concept...
... converted into their RME, the weight ofthe RME includes the weight ofthe imports or exports Forthe purpose of economy-wide MFA and balances, the indirect flows of type (i.e., those based on the RME) ... kinds of industrial processes, but is very often disregarded, and calls for a careful assessmentofthe consequences that the technological choices of a country may have on other areas ofthe world ... all the production sites ofthe components ofthe finished product It is possible that some ofthe emissions have not been fully accounted for due to incomplete available data A further source of...