Assessment of Spatial Data Infrastructure from Risk Perspective

This research presents an operational framework to assess organizational Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) from a risk perspective to develop a stable SDI. The core of the framework is constructed based on a survey, fuzzy inference system and cluster analysis, providing quantitative indicators to measure and prioritize the risks to SDI. This framework could mainly contribute to identifying, mitigating or avoiding the potential risks of different aspects of an SDI, such as spatial data and information, organizational and technological aspects. Additionally, it could be considered as an approach that supports multi-view SDI assessment framework toward a more comprehensive assessment of SDIs. A prototype implementation to assess and prioritize the risks of the spatial data and information demonstrates the framework merit, flexibility and usability for assessing the risks of SDI initiatives at different levels, such as organizational, local and national levels; however, the risks and SDIs change over time; thus, the development of stable SDI initiatives depends on a continuous process for coping with the risks

Functional Models in the Search for Pharmacological Treatment of Urinary Incontinence : The Role of Adrenergic, Cholinergic, and Serotonergic Receptors

Stress incontinence and overactive bladder are disorders with a common symptom, urinary incontinence, which is a serious medical and social handicap. Several neurotransmitters regulate the function of the lower urinary tract, including noradrenaline, acetylcholine, and serotonin. The present study is part of the search for pharmacological incontinence drugs. The aims of this thesis were to improve the existing pharmacological treatments of urinary incontinence and to look for alternative treatments: i) an α1-adrenergic agonist that preferentially affects urethral over blood pressure was tested in vivo; ii) a modified cystometry model was developed for screening of muscarinic antagonists, by construction of a complete dose-response curve in each individual animal; iii) a new muscarinic antagonist, PNU-171990, was pharmacologically characterized in vitro and in vivo; iv) functional differences of the isomers of the muscarinic agonist BM-5 were characterized in the urinary bladder and ileum, in vitro and in vivo; v) the role of serotonin 5-HT2A, 5-HT3 and 5-HT4 receptors were characterized on urinary bladder contractions in vivo. In the search for urethra selective compounds, the α1-adrenoceptors agonists phenylephrine and phenylpropanolamine selectively enhanced blood pressure as compared to the urethral pressure in rabbit. This is in contrast to the effect of oxymetazoline and NS-49. Muscarinic antagonists produced a dose-dependent inhibition of the volume-induced micturition pressure in the rat. PNU-171990, a non-selective muscarinic antagonist, revealed selectivity for urinary bladder pressure over salivation (P<0.05). (R)-BM-5 induced bladder contraction and saliva secretion in cats. The selective serotonin 5-HT2A and 5-HT3 receptor antagonists, ketanserin and tropisetron, both inhibited the effect of chemically induced bladder contraction in the anaesthetized cat. In conclusion, an urethral-selective α1A-adrenoceptor agonist may be a good treatment of stress incontinence. A bladder-selective competitive muscarinic antagonist is considered a good pharmacotherapy for overactive bladder. In addition, the 5-HT2A and 5-HT3 receptor antagonist may improve lower urinary tract symptoms

Effects of caloric and nutrient content of oral fluids on gastric emptying in volunteers : a randomised crossover study

Background: Previous studies demonstrated conflicting results regarding the determinants of gastric emptying for fluids. Our aim was to compare gastric emptying times of fluids with different caloric and nutrient content. Methods: Healthy adult volunteers underwent gastric ultrasound assessment for 4 h after consuming beverages with different caloric and nutrient content using a crossover design (oat drink with 3% fat [310 kcal], mango juice [310 kcal], oat drink with 0.5% fat [185 kcal], and blackcurrant juice [175 kcal]). Gastric emptying time, gastric content volume, and the area under the curve (AUC) of gastric content volume -time profiles were calculated. Results: Eight females and eight males completed the study protocol. The mean (SD) gastric emptying times were 89 (32) min for blackcurrant juice, 127 (54) min for oat drink with 0.5% fat, 135 (36) min for mango juice, and 152 (40) min for oat drink with 3% fat. Gastric emptying times were slower for oat drink with 3% fat (P=0.007) and mango juice (P=0.025) than for blackcurrant juice. At 1 h after ingestion, gastric content volume was greater for mango juice (P=0.021) and oat drink with 3% fat (P=0.003) than for blackcurrant juice. The AUC was greater for oat drink with 3% fat than mango juice (P=0.029), oat drink with 0.5% fat (P=0.004), and blackcurrant juice (P=0.002), and for mango juice than blackcurrant juice (P=0.019). Conclusions: Caloric and nutrient content significantly affected gastric emptying times. A high-calorie fruit juice (mango) exhibited delayed emptying times compared with a low-calorie fruit juice (blackcurrant)

Spatial Modelling of Urban Physical Vulnerability to Explosion Hazards Using GIS and Fuzzy MCDA

Most of the world’s population is concentrated in accumulated spaces in the form of cities, making the concept of urban planning a significant issue for consideration by decision makers. Urban vulnerability is a major issue which arises in urban management, and is simply defined as how vulnerable various structures in a city are to different hazards. Reducing urban vulnerability and enhancing resilience are considered to be essential steps towards achieving urban sustainability. To date, a vast body of literature has focused on investigating urban systems’ vulnerabilities with regard to natural hazards. However, less attention has been paid to vulnerabilities resulting from man-made hazards. This study proposes to investigate the physical vulnerability of buildings in District 6 of Tehran, Iran, with respect to intentional explosion hazards. A total of 14 vulnerability criteria are identified according to the opinions of various experts, and standard maps for each of these criteria have been generated in a GIS environment. Ultimately, an ordered weighted averaging (OWA) technique was applied to generate vulnerability maps for different risk conditions. The results of the present study indicate that only about 25 percent of buildings in the study area have a low level of vulnerability under moderate risk conditions. Sensitivity analysis further illustrates the robustness of the results obtained. Finally, the paper concludes by arguing that local authorities must focus more on risk-reduction techniques in order to reduce physical vulnerability and achieve urban sustainability