The International Agency for Research on Cancer and the World Health Organization have designated airborne particulates, including particulates of median aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5), as Group 1 carcinogens. It has not been determined, however, whether exposure to ambient PM2.5 is associated with an increase in respiratory related diseases. This meta-analysis assessed the association b...

Although wake vortices are known to decay more rapidly near the ground than away from the ground, the details of the ground interaction are not well understood. Propeller anemometer arrays located under the approach path have been used to study vortex transport and provide some information about the vortex interaction with the ground, such as the generation of secondary vortices via boundary-la...

Pollutants in the ambient air result in personal exposure, target tissue exposure and health responses. Ambient air quality measurement using various indicators is important in exposure assessment. Establishment of standard air quality monitoring networks helps in scientific investigation of health effects of air pollution, national and international reporting and to enforce regulations. Partic...

Long-term outdoor experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of elevated ultraviolet-B (UV-B, 280-320 nm) radiation on secondary metabolites (phenolics and terpenoids) and the main soluble sugars (sucrose, raffinose and glucose) in the bark of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) saplings. Saplings were exposed to a constant 50% increase in erythemal UV irradiance (UV-B(CIE); based on ...

Thermodynamic analysis of a novel combined system which is combination of methane fired gas turbine cogeneration system (CGAM) with a supercritical CO2 recompression Brayton cycle (SCO2) and an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is reported. Also, a comprehensive parametric study is performed to investigate the effects on the performance of the proposed system of some important parameters. Finally, a ...

This Thematic Issue focuses on software engineering perspectives on the design, the use and the evaluation of Smart Applications for Ambient Intelligence. It congregates works showing the latest advancements in simulated smart environments as well as successful deployments in the real world, with contributions from revised and extended papers from the ISAmI’11 (International Symposium on Ambien...

The global increase in ambient temperature constitutes a significant challenge to wild and cultivated plant species. Yet, a comprehensive knowledge on morphological responses and molecular mechanisms involved is scarce. Studies published to date have largely focused on a few, isolated temperature-relevant phenotypes such as flowering time or hypocotyl elongation. To systematically describe ther...

According to ITU (2012), digital divide is the difference between countries in terms of levels of ICT development. This difference remains significant. In 2011, the ICT Development Index (IDI) value of developed countries (6.52) was twice as high as that of developing countries (3.24). The need to link the digital divide for universal broadband Internet access is within the key international de...

This Thematic Issue focuses on software engineering perspectives on the design, the use and the evaluation of Smart Applications for Ambient Intelligence. It congregates works showing the latest advancements in simulated smart environments as well as successful deployments in the real world, with contributions from revised and extended papers from the ISAmI’11 (International Symposium on Ambien...