A product life cycle approach to urban waterfronts: The revitalization of Galveston

Abstract

Urban waterfronts are increasingly the focus of revitalization efforts designed to enhance tourism and recreation. The evolution of urban waterfronts suggests that these resources experience distinct stages of introduction, growth, maturity, decline, and sometimes revitalization. In this paper the product life cycle is broadened to describe the evolution of the waterfront district of Galveston, Texas. Implications of the product life cycle model of urban waterfront revitalization pertain to public policy formation, “product”; development, and management response to different life cycle stages.     

The compressive behavior of advanced double hull structure—A review of current research at David Taylor

It has long been recognized that the compressive behavior of primary ship structural components plays a vital role in the design of surface ship hulls. This is equally as true for the new advanced double hull concept as it is for the more conventional surface ship configurations. What is different, however, is the nature of the structural mechanics phenomena which must be addressed due to the double hull's more radical departure from conventional design and construction practices. With increasing interest and attention being shown in this new concept, the David Taylor Model Basin has over the past few years initiated a number of research efforts which have and are continuing to address various aspects of the behavior of double hulls and their components to primary compressive loadings. These studies have as their ultimate goal the development of practical, user oriented design methods for double hull structure and as such currently focus on more approximate, rather than mathematically rigorous, approaches to the various structural phenomena being considered. This paper is in essence a progress report on a selected number of these efforts and describes the results achieved to date as well as the ongoing efforts and those planned for the future. This report focuses primarily on three recent studies: (1) a preliminary look at the relative significance of local versus general instability failure of double hull structure; (2) small scale experimental analysis of double hull sections using rigid vinyl modelling; and (3) the application of beam-on-elastic-foundation analysis methods for high aspect stiffened plates as it relates to double hull structure. In addition to these major topics, the report also includes a brief discussion of other ongoing and planned efforts relevant to the advanced double hull.     

长株潭港口体系空间结构的定量分析

运用吉尼系数法、赫佛因得指数法、港口不平衡指数法三种定量分析技术研究了长株潭港口体系空间结构的演化规律,可为合理建设长株潭港口体系提供依据。     

Understanding Recreational Boater Attitudes to Zoning in a Proposed Marine Protected Area

Although the success of marine protected areas (MPAs) and associated zoning schemes is largely dependent on stakeholder acceptance and support, there have been relatively few studies examining the response of recreational stakeholders to MPA proposals. This study investigates the response of recreational boaters to a proposed MPA in British Columbia, Canada. Using a structured questionnaire (n = 543) and a focus group (n = 6), the research examines the level of support for the concept of marine zoning and identifies key factors influencing support or opposition. Results indicate that a small majority of recreational boaters support the concept of marine zoning, but that there are areas of concern that ought to be addressed as MPA implementation proceeds. Support for zoning was strongly related to perceived benefits, particularly environmental benefits. Furthermore, perceived benefits overall were found to outweigh concerns as determinants of recreational boater support for zoning. Major dimensions of opposition included perceptions of over-regulation, loss of access for boating, and mistrust of the government. A suggestion is that such concerns may be mitigated through focused communication and meaningful involvement of boaters in the zoning process.     

The coastal edge of the Northeast Water polynya in spring 1993

Multidisciplinary, marine ecological observations were conducted at the shallow water edge of the Northeast Water in June, 1993. Although variable in size and shape, a small polynya was constantly present at Eskimonaes, at the fast-ice edge of Ingolfsfjord. A shallow stratified layer developed at the water sufface at negative water and air temperatures—an effect of sea ice melting in cold water early in the season. Nutrients were recorded in considerable quantities, although by mid July NO₃ had become depleted. The chlorophyll and phytoplankton maxima at 8–12 m depth had peak values of 2 mg chl a m⁻³, typical for Arctic algal blooms. The phytoplankton included over 90 species and was dominated by the Fragillariopsis group. Zooplankton was poor in biomass and density, but over 23 taxa were found, with the copepods Oithona similis and Pseudocalanus acuspes being numerically dominant. Sedimentation was approximately 0.2 g dry weight m⁻² d⁻¹ and suspended matter concentrations ranged from 4 to 19 mg l⁻¹. The benthos was represented by hard bottom forms only, with a surprisingly dense cover of macrophytes. Juvenile sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis), brittle stars (Ophiocten sericeum) and amphipods were dominant. Higher trophic levels were represented by benthic feeders, such as eiders and walruses. The area observed was more similar to high Arctic fjord ecosystems than to the offshore central Northeast Water polynya.     

Direct resolution of the pitch of DNA on positively charged lipid bilayers by frequency-modulation AFM

High resolution structural studies of DNA and DNA binding proteins by atomic force microscopy (AFM) require well-bound samples on suitably flat substrates. Adsorbing the DNA onto a positively charged supported lipid bilayer has previously been shown to be a potentially effective strategy for structural studies with AFM. Here, using our home-built frequency-modulation AFM (FM-AFM), we show that these bilayer substrates are only maximally effective for high resolution AFM when the samples are short, linear DNA, compared with circular plasmid DNA. We find that, with the former sample, the measured width of the DNA is about 2 nm, the known DNA diameter, and there is a clear height modulation along the length of the DNA with a periodicity of about 3.4 nm, in excellent agreement with the known pitch of the double helix. This sample preparation strategy is expected to enable higher resolution studies of DNA and DNA binding proteins with FM-AFM than that can presently be achieved.     

Surface reconstruction of scanned human body using radial basis functions and adaptive partition of unity

It is important to reconstruct a continuous surface representation of the point cloud scanned from a human body. In this paper a new implicit surface method is proposed to reconstruct the human body surface from the points based on the combination of radial basis functions (RBFs) and adaptive partition of unity (PoU). The whole 3D domain of the scanned human body is firstly subdivided into a set of overlapping subdomains based on the improved octrees. The smooth local surfaces are then computed in the subdomains based on RBFs. And finally the global human body surface is reconstructed by blending the local surfaces with the adaptive PoU functions. This method is robust for the surface reconstruction of the scanned human body even with large or non-uniform point cloud which has a sharp density variation. Foundation item: the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 50575139) and the Shanghai Special Fund of Informatization (No. 088)     

利用TRIzol(R)试剂和液氮提取大鼠胰腺高质量总RNA

目的 建立胰腺高质量总RNA快速、经济、稳定的提取方法.方法 应用TRIzol(R)试剂和液氮提取大鼠胰腺总RNA,通过总RNA含量和A260/280比值的测定及10g/L非变性琼脂糖凝胶电泳评估总RNA的质量,并用RT-PCR检测大鼠胰岛素1、胰高血糖素、胰α-淀粉酶和β-actin的表达.结果 利用TRIzol(R)和液氮提取的大鼠胰腺总RNA量可达到3～6μg/mg胰腺组织,A260/280比值在1.75～1.89之间.在10g/L非变性琼脂糖凝胶电泳时,均可见28S及18S条带,并且在28S、18S条带间可见明显的云雾状阴影.大鼠胰岛素1、胰高血糖素、胰α-淀粉酶、β-actin RT-PCR产物电泳结果显示均有清晰的条带.结论 应用TRIzol(R)试剂和液氮成功地提取了大鼠胰腺高质量的总RNA,后者可用于RT-PCR研究.     

Protective effect of glutamine pretreatment on ischemia-reperfusion injury of spinal cord in rabbits

Objective To investigate the effect of glutamine (Gln) on the content of reduced glutathione hormone (GSH) and aminoglutaminic acid (Glu) of spinal cord following ischemia-reperfusion injury. Methods Totally 40 healthy adult male rabbits were randomly divided into five groups: sham-operation group (S group), ischemia-reperfusion injury group (I/R group), low-dose glutamine group (L Gln group), median-dose glutamine group (M Gln group) and high-dose glutamine group (H Gln group). After glutamine preconditioning, the model of spinal cord ischemia-reporfasion injury was established according to Zivin's method. The general status of animals was observed and the changes of Jacobs scoring were recorded in each group. Malondialdehydes (MDA), GSH, Glu and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in lumbar spinal cord tissues were determined using chemical colorimetry. The neuron number and deviation rate in spinal cord anterior horn were observed histopathologically. Results There was no significant difference between L Gin group and I/R group in behavior scoring, SOD activity, content of MDA and Glu, neuron number and deviation rate of spinal cord (P>0.05); however, there was a significant difference in GSH content of spinal cord (P<0.05). M Gln group and I/R group differed significantly (P<0.05) in behavior scoring, SOD activity, content of MDA, Glu, GSH, neuron number and deviation rate of spinal cord. Between H Gln group and M Gln group, there was no significant difference in behavior scoring, content of MDA and Glu, SOD activity, neuron number and aberration rate in spinal cord (P>0.05), whereas there was a significant difference in SOD activity and Giu content (P<0.05). Conclusion Pretreatment with medium-dose glutamine has a protective effect on spinal cord ischemia-reporfasion injury in rabbits, which may be related to the maintenance of GSH content, increase of SOD activity and reduction of MDA.     

核受体免疫组织化学染色时抗原修复方法的选择

目的 探讨不同抗原修复法对DA.1U大鼠肝组织内核受体检测结果的影响.方法 应用微波修复法、高压修复法、酶修复法和高压加酶修复法对DA.1U大鼠肝组织切片进行修复,然后进行免疫组化染色.结果 DA.1U大鼠肝组织内核受体LXR-α、LXR-β、PPAR-γ和FXR经高压抗原修复后,染色阳性强度较其他修复方法明显增强,而且定位较佳.结论 在核受体免疫组化染色中高压抗原修复法染色效果优于其他抗原修复法.