Natural Environment and its Influence on the Psyche of the Ukrainian Ethnos

On an analytical method to solve singular integrals both in space and time for 2-D elastodynamics by TD-BEM

The boundary element method (BEM) has been used in various fields because it is convenient in comparison with FEM. BEM does not need a volume integral in three-dimensional elastic problems without body forces, but generally in unsteady three-dimensional thermoelastic problems, the volume integral is necessary. Recently, a method transforming the volume integral in BEM for three-dimensional problems of unsteady thermoelasticity has been reported. However, the time integral was not carried out analytically and a numerical example was not shown in that report. This paper describes the three-dimensional problem of unsteady thermoelasticity can be easily solved without a volume integral by means of a thermoelasticity displacement potential and the boundary element method. It is also shown that the time integral can be carried out analytically and a singularity problem caused by imposing virtual heat sources on the boundary element can be easily solved. Some numerical examples are shown for investigating the accuracy of this method.

We investigated how the visual system determines 3D depth from the integration of space and time, specifically spatial and temporal binocular disparity. We carried out psychophysical experiments to investigate whether the binocular disparity gives correct 3D depth of objects moving behind a thin slit that controls the type and amount of information available to the visual system. The results indicate that: (1) Wheatstone stereo in corresponding images gives correct depth, (2) Da Vinci stereo in stationary non-corresponding images does not give correct depth judgment, and (3) the time delay between the two images gives correct depth for a wide range of noncorrespondence. The results suggest the cortical mechanism that processes simultaneously spatial and temporal information; presumably the two are inseparable in the neural system.

Utilization of both space and time integration in acousto optic signal processing over-comes some of the limitations of purely space integrating and purely time integrating techniques. A one-dimensional configuration for coherent hybrid spectrum analysis is used to show that this approach exhibits superior dynamic range characteristics, including a unique sidelobe suppression property. A coherent hybrid ambiguity function processor is discussed to illustrate the important advantages that may be exploited by using both space and time integration in delay-Doppler plane processing.

Introduction: The reproductive performance and management of three cattle breeds under extensive management study was investigated due to a lack of baseline data for animal husbandry practices and planning breeding programs in the study area. This study evaluated the productive and reproductive performance, feed resources, feed management, and major constraints of three breeds of cattle (White Fulani, Sokoto Gudali, and Red Bororo) production under an extensive system in Northern Nigeria. Materials and methods: A structured questionnaire survey and group discussion were used for collecting data. 60 farmers with 30 years of experience in cattle farming were selected to administer the questionnaire. Each breed (White Fulani, Sokoto Gudali, and Red Bororo) was grown by 20 farmers. Results: The results indicated that 70% of the farmers agreed with the first service at the age of 2.3-3 years in the three breeds. The first calving at the age of 3.3-4 years was 40% for White Fulani farmers, while 80% for Sokoto Gudali and Red Bororo farmers respectively. The calving interval in the range of 1-2 years was adequately observed in all three breeds. The age of 13-15 years was reported as the female reproductive period in this study. The total number of calves produced per cow's lifetime in the present study was estimated at 8-11 for White Fulani and Sokoto Gudali, and 4-7 for Red Bororo. Feed resources and management of three breeds of cattle under extensive management indicated that natural pasture was the most common source of feed for cattle in the rainy season. Besides, natural pasture, tree leaves, and shrubs were used as cattle feed in the dry season. The main cattle production constraints reported by the farmers included feed and water in the study area. However, the breeds could survive and produce under these major constraints. Conclusion: Alleviating these constraints could improve the productivity of White Fulani, Sokoto Gudali, and Red Bororo in their natural environment.

Any economic activity involves using the natural environment. At the same time the principle of sustainable development requires to deal with nature as carefully as possible. Therefore it is important to measure how and to which extent nature is used by economy over time. There are three essential classes of input factors from nature into economy that may be distinguished: the supply of goods (such as raw materials), the supply of area for the location of economic activity and nature's function as a sink for the discharge of residuals and pollutants. For these classes more detailed input factors can be specified. In addition to the measurement of mere quantities information on the efficiency of the factor use is of major importance. In German Environmental Economic Accounting (EEA) productivity indicators are used to measure eco-efficiency at the national level. The article describes how productivities are defined and which natural input factors are covered in German EEA. Two examples (raw materials, carbon dioxide emissions) show in detail how the productivities are calculated. The methods described are illustrated by various figures for Germany. 1. Productivity as a measure for eco-efficiency Any economic activity, be it the production of goods and services, be it consumption, involves using our natural environment. There are many ways of using nature. Materials are withdrawn from nature as raw materials, areas are used as a location for economic activities, and for the discharge of residuals and pollutants nature is used as a sink, i.e. substances are taken up by nature. 1 By this the environment provides various inputs - in the form of (non produced) goods or services - to economy which are essential for the generation of economic output. Doing business in line with the principle of sustainable development requires dealing with nature as carefully as possible, that future generations may enjoy an intact environment, too. This means that the quantitative use of nature should be as small as possible or respect natural assimilation capacities. Looking at the quantities of natural input factors exclusively, however, would only give half of the picture: It is also important how much is produced by using one unit of nature as input. In the current debate those aspects are discussed under the principle of eco-efficiency. Both aspects - sufficiency and efficiency - complete each other in showing how any economic activity deals with nature. In this context, eco-efficiency indicators play the role to show how efficient the economic activity under consideration deals with nature's goods and services. This can be measured by establishing a mathematical relationship between economic output and environmental input. Most commonly the ratio

The Full Spectrum of Behavioral Activation in Older Adults: A Scoping Review

The article reveals the prerequisites and reasons for development of nomadic cattle breeding in the paleo-economy of the nomadic population of Mongolia and southern Trans-Baikal Territory. The article analyses the changes that occurred in the economic activities of the archaeological cultures of the region during the Bronze Age. The complex type of economy of the Selenga-Daurian culture of the Eneolithic-Early Bronze Age is characterised, which combined the branches of the producing and appropriating economy. The sedentary lifestyle of representatives of the Selenga-Daurian culture is grounded. The nomadic nature of the economy and lifestyle of the population of the culture of tiled graves of the developed Late Bronze Age is shown. The change of cattle breeding in the local type to nomadic cattle breeding is associated with aridisation of the climate which began at the end of the 3rd millennium BC and ended in the middle of 2nd millennium BC. The economic, biological and natural-climatic prerequisites for the transition to nomadism are highlighted including the accumulation of experience in the field of cattle breeding in the Early Metal Age, the adaptive abilities of farm animals for keeping in the open air, changes in the natural environment in the direction of climate aridisation and xerophytisation of vegetation steppes. The reason for the transition to nomadic cattle breeding was the establishment of severe continental climate with hot, dry summers and winters with little snow in the region in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. The arid climate worsened the conditions for farming, hunting, fishing and gathering. The small thickness of the snow cover in winter made it possible to switch to year-round keeping of animals on pasture with periodic change of pastures as they were depleted. As a result, the economy of the steppe population was reorganised into nomadic cattle breeding and a mobile nomadic way of life of the population was formed

The coronavirus (COVID‐19) pandemic and the global response have dramatically changed people's lifestyles in much of the world. These major changes, as well as the associated changes in impacts on the environment, can alter the dynamics of the direct interactions between humans and nature (hereafter human–nature interactions) far beyond those concerned with animals as sources of novel human coronavirus infections. There may be a variety of consequences for both people and nature.Here, we suggest a conceptual framework for understanding how the COVID‐19 pandemic might affect the dynamics of human–nature interactions. This highlights three different, but not mutually exclusive, pathways: changes in (a) opportunity, (b) capability and (c) motivation.Through this framework, we also suggest that there are several feedback loops by which changes in human–nature interactions induced by the COVID‐19 pandemic can lead to further changes in these interactions such that the impacts of the pandemic could persist over the long term, including after it has ended.The COVID‐19 pandemic, which has had the most tragic consequences, can also be viewed as a ‘global natural experiment’ in human–nature interactions that can provide unprecedented mechanistic insights into the complex processes and dynamics of these interactions and into possible strategies to manage them to best effect. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Sizing of photovoltaic (PV) generators is an important issue which might affect the PV system overall yield and performance ratio. The procedure is realized according to inverter specifications with the most important one being the operating voltage range. The parameter that is affected by this specification is the number of PV modules per string and a software tool was developed in order to study the effects of this parameter on the system performance. Moreover, the PV generator voltage is highly affected by the ambient temperature of a specific location. Thus, the optimum number of PV modules per string will differ in locations with different environmental conditions. The importance of PV string sizing is high, since improper string length can lead to significant deficiencies on the overall inverter performance. A study of the effects of PV string size on annual system energy production and yield has been conducted for several locations in Europe with significantly different weather as well as for locations with extreme climatic conditions such as high altitude and desert areas.

The Possibility of a Selection Process in the Ashkenazi Jewish Population

Today's variety of photovoltaic (PV) technologies imposes new challenges to laboratories and industries to precisely measure the performance of devices and, consequently, to accurately estimate the energy yield once installed in a specific location. Spectroradiometry has become a key discipline for metrology applied to PV: Spectral irradiance is one of the three parameters according to which solar simulators are classified according to IEC 60904‐9; precise spectrum measurements are a key factor in the spectral mismatch calculation. Finally, energy rating calculations according to IEC 61853 involve spectral irradiance conditions different than the AM1.5G standard spectrum. To tackle these issues, since 2011, the International Spectroradiometer Interlaboratory Comparison (ISRC) takes place annually in different locations of Europe with the participation of laboratories, research institutes, and industry partners to assess spectral measurement capabilities and share good measurement practices and protocols. In this paper, several results of the 9th ISRC 2019 are presented, looking in particular at the impact on characterization of new technologies like organic devices (OPV), dye‐sensitized (DSSC), and perovskites.

Eulerian atmospheric long-range dispersion models to predict air pollution episodes are coupled either offline or online with Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models. In the perspective of developing such a mesoscale air pollution forecast system, a version of the Danish Meteorological Institute’s (DMI) NWP model has been implemented with advection/diffusion of passive tracers, resulting in the model DMI-HIRLAM-TRACER (shortened as TRACER in the following). The main objective of this work is to simulate the transport of passive tracers in the model using the best possible advection scheme. A very suitable and realistic way to test the advection of a field of passive tracers is supplied by the first European Tracer Experiment (ETEX-1) performed in 1994. This release started on October 1994 16:00 UTC in Brittany (France) and had a duration of 11 hours and 50 minutes. Its precise location was (2.0083°W, 48.0583°N) at an altitude of 90 m. The total amount of material released was 340 kg of Perfluoro-Methyl-Cyclo-Hexane (PMCH) corresponding to a constant emission rate of 7.95 g/sec. The release was followed during 3 days by a series of measurements of the concentration at specific locations in Europe from which it was possible to observe the plume evolution (Graziani et al., 1998).

Changing seasonal temperature offers a window of opportunity for stricter climate policy

This study reports halogen contents (F and Cl) of amphibole and phlogopite derived from mantle xenoliths and one peridotite massif, for amphibole and phlogopite megacrysts and ultramafic magmatic cumulates (hornblendites) found in alkaline volcanic rocks from 12 localities in Europe and Africa. Amphibole and phlogopite contain more F than Cl with F/Cl ratios reaching about 160 in phlogopites and 50 in amphiboles. Phlogopites are higher in F (median of 3400 μg/g) than amphibole (median of 1000 μg/g), while median Cl contents are higher in amphibole (290 μg/g) compared to phlogopite (180 μg/g). The Cl contents and the F/Cl ratios in amphibole and phlogopite from mantle xenoliths exhibit large differences between samples of the same region, recording very large variations of halogen contents in the continental lithosphere. We suggest that the halogen content in such samples largely depends on the initial composition of percolating melts and fluids in the continental lithosphere. During reaction of these agents with peridotitic wall-rocks, Cl is preferentially retained in the fluid as it is much more incompatible compared to water and F. This desiccation effect continuously increases salinity (Cl content) and decreases the F/Cl ratio in the agent with time, causing variable Cl contents and F/Cl ratios in amphibole and phlogopite at a specific locality. Subsequent partial melting processes may then sequester and re-distribute, especially Cl among amphibole, phlogopite and melts/fluids as a result of its strong incompatibility, whereas F is much less affected as it behaves slightly compatible. The impact of even small amounts of amphibole and mica on the total halogen budget in the continental lithosphere is significant and both minerals can effectively contribute to the high halogen contents typical of alkaline melts.