Renewal Intervals Research Articles

Maximizing soil organic carbon stocks through optimal ploughing and renewal strategies in (Ley) grassland

Grassland management effects on soil organic carbon storage under future climate are unknown. Here we examine the impact of ley grassland durations in crop rotations on soil organic carbon in temperate climate from 2005 to 2100, considering two IPCC scenarios, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, with and without atmospheric CO2 enhancements. We used the DailyDayCent model and a long-term experiment to show that ley grasslands increase soil organic carbon storage by approximately 10 Mg ha−1 over 96 years compared with continuous cropping. Surprisingly, extending ley duration from 3 to 6 years does not enhance soil organic carbon. Furthermore, in comparison with non-renewed grasslands, those renewed every three years demonstrated a notable increase in soil organic carbon storage, by 0.3 Mg ha−1 yr−1. We concluded that management of ploughing and renewal intervals is crucial for maximizing soil organic carbon stocks, through balancing biomass carbon inputs during regrowth and carbon losses through soil respiration.

Evaluating the Renewal Degree for Expressway Regeneration Projects Based on a Model Integrating the Fuzzy Delphi Method, the Fuzzy AHP Method, and the TOPSIS Method

As the volume and scale of urban expressways continue to increase, renewal remains a concern for urban development. The renewal and decision-making of an urban expressway need to be endowed with new concepts to adapt to the rapid development of cities. Nevertheless, in addition to considering road factors such as facility conditions, driving conditions, and environmental protection, the existing evaluation system lacks comprehensive consideration of factors that improve resilience and adapt to future urban development, and it lacks a quantifiable general update evaluation system. Thus, the establishment of a comprehensive renewal indicator system and a mixed evaluation framework is a challenge. This study proposes an evaluation framework of expressway renewal indicators that integrates the three dimensions of macro, meso, and micro based on the fuzzy Delphi method, the fuzzy AHP method, and the TOPSIS method. A q-rung orthopair fuzzy linguistic set was used to handle expert uncertainty information in the process of conducting fuzzy evaluations. The indicators were refined into general and quantifiable evaluation indicators to improve their versatility. Moreover, the renewal value of expressways was measured and calculated using the TOPSIS method, and four renewal intervals were divided according to the calculation results. As a result, 28 renewal indicators were screened out, and the five factors with the greatest impact on renewal were the demand for transport development, the renewal of facility and service functions, the upgrading of institutional resilience, structural renewal, and economic development. The model was applied to eight expressways in Shanghai to calculate the renewal degree value and divide the renewal status. The model could identify the renewal needs of each road to guide the renewal decision. This study proposes an evaluation model to measure urban expressway renewal studies and provides a reference for urban renewal in the area of sustainable development

Life history traits of the deep-water medusa Periphylla periphylla as revealed through failure and recovery of recruitment

Extended recruitment failure and subsequent success of the coronate medusa Periphylla periphylla in a Norwegian fjord provided a unique opportunity to estimate age-related biological traits by combining individual size distribution in the population over time with previously published data. The average growth rate decreased exponentially with age, from 0.55% day−1 during the first year to <0.17% day−1 after four years. This species becomes mature at the third year, when females carry approximately 10 mature oocytes. At an age of 9 years, the medusa is on average 12 cm in diameter and carries over 1000 mature oocytes. Recruitment of juveniles, 0.5–1 cm diameter, was estimated to be 15 female−1 year−1 in Halsafjord; mortality from egg to juvenile 1 cm in diameter, using oocyte turnover times (T) of 1–12 months, was 93% (T = 12 months) to 99.95% (T = 1 month). Eggs and juveniles younger than 10 months are not capable of vertical migration and remain deeper than the sill depth where regular fjord circulation occurs. Therefore they are only vulnerable to deep-water renewal, and a fjord population of P. periphylla is estimated to gradually decrease recruitment with increased frequency of deep-water renewal and reach zero recruitment with renewal intervals of 10 months or less. It is hypothesized that differences in regular and intermittent deep-water renewal is the main factor causing variability in size (age) distribution between fjord populations.

An evaluation method of preventive renewal strategies of railway vehicles selected parts

The aim of the work was to develop a method of verification of the preventive renewal strategies, which enables a simulation evaluation of the effects of the application of a specific schedule of inspections of parts that are important in the operation of complex renewable technical objects. Using it requires having an already established schedule of inspections, and the result of applying the method is determined by indicators that assess the usefulness of the strategy, even before implementation. The developed computational tool was used to evaluate the renewal strategy of the current collector contact plates. Based on the real operational data, several renewal intervals were considered, determining the frequency of events involving the plate covering a specific mileage, from exceeding the wear control limit value to the next inspection (replacement). The proposed verification method is an important tool for testing and planning technical inspections for systems and elements with planned wear, and parts are periodically replaced.

Mandrills learn two-day time intervals in a naturalistic foraging situation

Primates display high efficiency in finding food in complex environments. Knowledge that many plant species produce fruit simultaneously, can help primates to anticipate fruit finding at the start of fruiting seasons. Knowledge of elapsed time can help primates decide when to revisit food trees to find ripened fruit and to return before competitors find these fruits. To investigate whether mandrills are able to learn time intervals of recurring food, we recorded the foraging choices of captive mandrills in a group setting. We used a procedure with renewable food rewards that could be searched for: carrots and grapes, hidden underground in specific places with different renewal intervals (2 and 5 days, respectively). We monitored the first choice of location for individuals, if other individuals had not already searched at the same location, to exclude possible effects of individuals following others rather than relying on memory. Throughout the study, the mandrills became increasingly likely to first search at carrot locations on carrot days, while the probability of them searching at carrot locations decreased on days without carrot. Due to model instability, our results were inconclusive about an effect of grape days on the choice of the mandrills. Cues provided by conspecifics indicating the availability of simultaneously emerging food rewards did not affect the choice of the mandrills. We conclude that mandrills can take into account elapsed time in a foraging context. Thereby, this study indicates how mandrills can use temporal cognitive abilities to overcome temporal challenges of food-finding in a group setting.

Evidence for Synchronization in the Global Earthquake Catalog

AbstractPhase alignment (synchronization) is a generalized property of interacting oscillators. If such interactions apply to earthquakes, they should manifest as time‐dependent variations in earthquake productivity organized according to a characteristic elastic loading period. Defining this period as renewal interval, the time required to accumulate the elastic potential energy released in a rupture, gives a consistent scaling property that can be used to search for temporal organization. We test for the expected structure in earthquake productivity using three different statistical tools optimized for different temporal sensitivities: Schuster spectra for events with short renewal intervals (0–25 years), Fourier power spectra for events with short and intermediate renewal intervals (0–100 years), and topological data analysis (TDA) for events with long renewal intervals (&gt;100 years). All three indicate that earthquakes are organized in time according to renewal interval. Accounting for such unsteady temporal organization may improve forecasting skill by providing time‐dependent event probabilities.

New Insights into the Toxicokinetics of 3,4-Dichloroaniline in Early Life Stages of Zebrafish (Danio rerio).

In the fish embryo toxicity (FET) test with zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos, 3,4-dichloroaniline (3,4-DCA) is often employed as a positive control substance. Previous studies have characterized bioconcentration and transformation of 3,4-DCA in this test under flow-through conditions. However, the dynamic changes of chemical concentrations in exposure media and embryos were not studied systematically under the commonly used semi-static exposure conditions in multiwell plates. To overcome these limitations, we conducted semi-static exposures experiments where embryolarval zebrafish were exposed to 0.5, 2.0, and 4.0 mg L−1 of 3,4-DCA for up to 120 hpf, with 24-h renewal intervals. During each renewal interval, concentrations of 3,4-DCA were quantified in water samples at 0, 6, 18, and 24 h using high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection. Levels of 3,4-DCA in larvae were measured after 120 h exposure. Concentrations of 3,4-DCA in the test vessels decreased rapidly during exposure. Taking these dynamics into account, bioconcentration factors in the present study ranged from 12.9 to 29.8 L kg−1, depending on exposure concentration. In summary, this study contributed to our knowledge of chemical dynamics in the FET test with embryolarval zebrafish, which will aid in defining suitable exposure conditions for future studies.

Beware the Trademark Echo Chamber: Why Federal Courts Should Not Defer to USPTO Decisions

This Article explains why federal courts should not defer to United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) trademark decisions. Under United States trademark law, actual use of a mark on specific goods or services is required to support federal trademark registration. The USPTO processes a tremendous volume of applications to register trademarks. In order to do so expeditiously, trademark examiners use heuristics drawn from past USPTO registration data. While markets continually change, each trademark registration is updated at five or ten-year renewal intervals. Accordingly, much of the data does not reflect current market use. A recent audit established that many federal trademark registrations would be cancelled if their factual foundations were challenged. In stark contrast, courts examine market evidence in evaluating the core trademark issues of use, validity, and availability. Examining the factual context of each mark is especially important because, unlike other forms of intellectual property, trademarks have no fixed duration. They are functions of market use. Over time, trademark rights may shrink, be forfeited or expand and last indefinitely as use and public perceptions change. If courts apply de novo review to Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) decisions, they will ensure that a forum remains for trademark decisions to be adjudicated based on facts, instead of shortcuts, and current, not past, understandings. While the USPTO does have significant trademark expertise, it does not have the authority to consider Constitutional limits on trademark protection. As seen in the administrative history of the “SLANTS” mark, the USPTO does not adjudicate whether trademark registration decisions violate constitutional rights. Too much deference to the USPTO could result in a trademark echo chamber where litigants never have the opportunity for a court to examine the entire factual record or consider how trademark decisions impact expressive speech. For all of these reasons, federal courts should review USPTO trademark decisions de novo to preserve the opportunity for adjudication based on genuine fact-finding and an openness to modes of inquiry in addition to trademark law.

Retention rate of first antiepileptic drug in poststroke epilepsy: A nationwide study

PurposeTo describe the retention rates of first antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in patients with poststroke epilepsy on a nationwide scale. MethodsThe Swedish Stroke Register, which has 94% coverage and high-resolution data on stroke, comorbidities, and disability, was cross-referenced to the National Patient Register, Drug Register, and Cause-of-Death Register. Patients with onset of AED-treated epilepsy after stroke in 2005–2010 were included. An algorithm based on prescription renewal intervals was used to analyze treatment data until the end of 2014. ResultsA total of 4991 patients were included. First AEDs analyzed were carbamazepine (n = 2373), valproic acid (n = 943), levetiracetam (n = 555), lamotrigine (n = 519), phenytoin (n = 176), and oxcarbazepine (n = 89). The five-year retention rate was highest for lamotrigine (75%, 95%CI:70.4–79.4), followed by levetiracetam (69%, 95%CI:62.9–74.3), oxcarbazepine (68%, 95%CI:55.2–79.8), valproic acid (62%, 95%CI:57.8–66.4), carbamazepine (60%, 95%CI:57.6–62.4), and phenytoin (55%, 95%CI:45.2–64.0). There were minor differences in baseline characteristics with low levels of disability being slightly more common in patients treated with lamotrigine and levetiracetam. Atrial fibrillation and hypertension were more common in patients treated with levetiracetam, and atrial fibrillation was less common in patients treated with carbamazepine. In a Cox model adjusted for baseline characteristics, the risk of discontinuation was lower for lamotrigine (HR 0.53, 95%CI:0.43-0.67) and levetiracetam (HR 0.75, 95%CI:0.60-0.94) when compared to carbamazepine. ConclusionsLamotrigine and levetiracetam have higher retention rates than carbamazepine in poststroke epilepsy. This is in agreement with existing small RCTs in this patient group.

Improving reliability of repairable systems using preventive maintenance and time-between-failures monitoring

The purpose of this article is to investigate how to assess the rate of occurrence of failure (ROCOF) of a multi-component repairable system and improve its reliability. A procedure was developed and tested on closed-circuit television dome cameras operated in an airport in the United Arab Emirates. Optimum replacement times for critical components were calculated, and then a practical preventive maintenance schema was suggested to reduce the overall cost. Finally, a control chart was developed to monitor the time between failures (TBFs) on the basis of the calculated ROCOF. The results of the case study show that optimising the maintenance renewal intervals generated a saving of approximately 77% in maintenance costs, reduced the ROCOF by approximately 94%, and increased the level of planned maintenance by approximately 97%. Furthermore, monitoring the TBFs of repairable systems could detect changes that might lead to failures over time, thus improving the reliability and ensuring the effectiveness of preventive maintenance. [Received 12 April 2015; Revised 27 December 2015; Revised 3 March 2016; Accepted 18 March 2016]

Effects of Renewal Pattern of Recycled Nutrient Solution on the Ion Balance in Nutrient Solutions and Root Media and the Growth and Ion Uptake of Paprika (Capsicum annuum L.) in Closed Soilless Cultures

Ion imbalance in recycled nutrient solutions is caused by selective ion uptake of plants, which occurs at different rates in different growth stages. The objectives of this study were to investigate the ion balances in both recycled nutrient solutions and rockwool media using different renewal patterns for the nutrient solutions, and to analyze the subsequent effects on uptake of water and nutrients. Over 12 weeks of paprika cultivation, two different renewal patterns (week units) of 6-4-2 and 8-2-2 weeks were compared with a constant renewal pattern of 4-4-4 weeks (control). The nutrient solution in the reservoir tank was constantly maintained at EC <TEX>$2.5dS{\cdot}m^{-1}$</TEX> and pH 5.5-6.5. The changes in the ion balance with the 4-4-4 week pattern were smaller than those with the other treatments. In the early growth stage, however, the ion balances similarly changed among all treatments. Greater changes were subsequently observed for the 6-4-2 week pattern. Although fruit yield and shoot fresh weight of paprika were the lowest with 6-4-2 renewal pattern, no significant differences were observed. Our results indicate that renewal intervals can be extended in consideration of growth stage for more efficient and practical operations in closed soilless cultures.

A protocol for conducting 7-day daily renewal tests with Lemna gibba

Lemna gibba (a duckweed) is a freshwater macrophyte commonly used in toxicity testing, and Lemna spp are currently the only aquatic higher plants required for evaluation of pesticides under the pesticide registration guidelines of the EPA. The methods currently available for toxicity testing by various organizations and agencies, including ASTM, OECD, EPA and Environment Canada, are largely static or semistatic tests with unspecified renewal intervals (OECD) and may not provide a consistent means of exposure owing to short toxicant half-life in aquatic media, uptake of chemical by plants and evaporation of nutrient media. The procedure outlined here details a simple and efficient 7-day daily static renewal procedure for conducting toxicity tests with L. gibba, the appropriate end points to assess, the statistical criteria necessary for analyzing the toxicity data, as well as the steps required to culture and maintain L. gibba. This protocol is based on a modified version of a widely accepted static method.

Australian dentists' views on toothbrush wear and renewal.

The purpose of this study was to survey the views of Australian dentists on toothbrush wear, toothbrush renewal periods and recommendations to patients and to investigate the relationship between dentists' views on patients' toothbrush renewal intervals and dentists' own renewal habits. Questionnaires were mailed to 5,596 Australian general dental practitioners and replies received from 3,406 (61 per cent response rate). The majority of respondents (85.7 per cent) felt patients should renew their toothbrushes more often. However, only 45.3 per cent usually made a recommendation to their patients as to when they should renew their toothbrush and only 41.7 per cent thought patients actually followed such recommendations. Most respondents (56.6 per cent) thought the average adult patient should renew a toothbrush every two-three months. A renewal period of one month or earlier was recommended by 23.8 per cent of dentists; four-five months by 8 per cent; and six months or longer by 11.5 per cent. A highly significant correlation was found between the renewal periods recommended for patients and the intervals selected by the dentists for their personal brushes (p < 0.001; chi-square test). Bending and splaying of bristles was the sign identified by the majority of dentists (70 per cent) as indicating the need for a new brush. The findings suggest dentists' recommendations concerning toothbrush renewal intervals may be based on their own toothbrush renewal habits. It is also concluded that dentists think patients comply poorly with their recommendations on toothbrush renewal.

A note on block and bad‐as‐old renewal of components with limited system time horizon

As the time to dispose of a system approaches, renewal of wearing components becomes progressively less attractive. The traditional optimization method for this situation is through net present value and dynamic programming. Presents a much simpler solution for rapidly‐wearing components founded on finding the optimum number of equal renewal intervals. Unequal intervals increase expected failures for any fixed number of intervals, and it is argued that it is unnecessary to discount costs. The model can be used with either the Cox renewal function or the cumulative hazard function representing the expected number of failures between scheduled renewals of the component, the choice depending on whether the component is minimally repaired or renewed at these failures.

Delayed density dependence and oscillatory population dynamics in overlapping-generation systems of a seed beetle Callosobruchus chinensis: matrix population model.

Long-term experimental systems with overlapping generations using a seed beetle, Callosobruchus chinensis, were maintained by providing 5 g of azuki beans (Vigna angularis) in two different renewal intervals: either 7 days or 10 days. The 7-day-renewal system (system 1) showed oscillatory dynamics with a constant periodic cycle of ca. 7 weeks. More stable population dynamics were seen in the 10-day-interval system (system 2). Short-term experiments showed that survivorship of adults increased with higher adult density, and that the survival rate of adults up to the age of 7 days was much higher than up to 10 days of age. In addition, the per capita production of hatched eggs by females which had survived for 7 days increased with increasing density experienced by the females. Females aged 10 days rarely laid eggs which hatched. We constructed a matrix population model based on either 1 week for system 1 or 10 days for system 2. The model included five stages in system 1: the hatched egg, the final instar larva, the pupa, the young adult and the old adult. Four stages were incorporated in the model for system 2: the young instar larva, the pupa, the young adult, and the old adult. Logistic-difference equations were applied to formulate both overcompensatory density dependence in the hatched-egg production by adults and undercompensatory response in the larval development up to the pupa. The survivorship of young adults to the old stage and the per capita hatched-egg productivity of the old females followed a linear regression against the young adult density. Inside-bean processes were adjusted to be equivalent in the two models, irrespective of the resource renewal intervals. The model predicted that system 1 would oscillate for a long time but that system 2 would rapidly converge to the equilibrium point. Multiplicative effects of both the delayed density dependence through interstage restraint effects and the overcompensatory density dependence in hatched-egg production generated various dynamic patterns ranging from a quickly disappearing damped oscillation to stable limit cycles in system 1. The relationship between resource renewal cycles and delayed density dependence was discussed based on these simulations.

Excess-time Renewal Theory with Applications

In this paper, the renewal theory is investigated from the point of view of the excess-time (non-excess-time) renewal intervals. Useful results are derived, and applications to several renewal models are given.

Excess-time Renewal Theory with Applications

In this paper, the renewal theory is investigated from the point of view of the excess-time (non-excess-time) renewal intervals. Useful results are derived, and applications to several renewal models are given.