Mitigation and screening for environmental assessment

This article considers how, as a matter of law and policy, mitigation measures should be taken into account in determining whether a project will have significant environmental effects and therefore be subject to assessment under the EU Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive. This is not straightforward: it is problematic to distinguish clearly between an activity and the measures proposed to minimise or mitigate for the adverse consequences of the activity. The issue is a salient one in impact assessment law, but under-explored in the literature and handled with some difficulty by the courts. I argue that there is an unnecessarily and undesirably narrow approach currently taken under the EIA Directive, which could be improved upon by taking a more adaptive approach; alternatively a heightened standard of review of ‘significance’, and within this of the scope for mitigation measures to bring projects beneath the significance threshold, may also be desirable

Vision and visual history in elite-/near-elite level cricketers and rugby-league players

Background: The importance of optimal and/or superior vision for participation in high-level sport remains the subject of considerable clinical research interest. Here we examine the vision and visual history of elite/near-elite cricketers and rugby-league players. Methods: Stereoacuity (TNO), colour vision, and distance (with/without pinhole) and near visual acuity (VA) were measured in two cricket squads (elite/international-level, female, n=16; near-elite, male, n=23) and one professional rugby-league squad (male, n=20). Refractive error was determined, and details of any correction worn and visual history were recorded. Results: Overall, 63% had their last eye-examination within 2 years. However, some had not had an eye examination for 5 years, or had never had one (near-elite-cricketers: 30%; rugby-league players: 15%; elite-cricketers: 6%). Comparing our results for all participants to published data for young, optimally-corrected, non-sporting adults, distance VA was ~1 line of letters worse than expected. Adopting α=0.01, the deficit in distance-VA deficit was significant, but only for elite-cricketers (p0.02 for all comparisons). On average, stereoacuity was better than in young adults, but only in elite-cricketers (p<0.001; p=0.03, near-elite-cricketers; p=0.47, rugby-league -players). On-field visual issues were present in 27% of participants, and mostly (in 75% of cases) comprised uncorrected ametropia. Some cricketers (near-elite: 17.4%; elite: 38%) wore refractive correction during play but no rugby-league player did. Some individuals with prescribed correction choose not to wear it when playing. Conclusion: Aside from near stereoacuity in elite-cricketers, these basic visual abilities were not better than equivalent, published data for optimally-corrected adults. 20-25% exhibited sub-optimal vision, suggesting that the clearest possible vision might not be critical for participation at the highest levels in the sports of cricket or rugby-league. Although vision could be improved in a sizeable proportion of our sample, the impact of correcting these, mostly subtle, refractive anomalies on playing performance is unknown

LEND ME YOUR EAAR: ENHANCING THE AFTER ACTION REVIEW TO INCREASE TACTICAL LEARNING

Leaders need more opportunities to train with their units to hone their skills. Leaders use After Action Reviews to improve themselves and their units. The After Action Review has existed since the 1970s and has not substantially changed in that time. New technological advancements in the last several years offer the opportunity to enhance the efficacy of the After Action Review for future leaders and units. One of these new technologies is virtual reality. Virtual reality presents trainers the ability to control all aspects of the training environment. It also enables thorough data collection and the ability to rapidly run through a scenario again. This project sought to identify the information gaps in live training and determine whether virtual reality enables tactical learning at the individual level. Using surveys and experimentation, the team concluded that virtual reality scenarios in concert with After Action Reviews can be used for tactical learning at the individual level. Through the course of the experiment, the team also discovered that servicemembers take advantage of opportunities to improve themselves regardless of their performance.Major, United States ArmyMajor, United States ArmyCaptain, United States ArmyMajor, United States ArmyMajor, United States ArmyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

The Sales of Life in Southwest Michigan

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ACUTE EFFECTS OF EXERCISE: IMMEDIATE DEPRESSION AND SUBSEQUENT ELEVATION OF INTRAOCULAR PRESSURE

A. Casayuran, S. Henry, R. Bulson, M. Czerwinski, L. Bassik Pacific University, Forest Grove, OR Intraocular pressure (IOP), the fluid pressure within the eye, is the main treatable risk factor for glaucoma. Although numerous research studies have shown IOP is decreased immediately following exercise, very few studies have addressed IOP alterations during recovery and return to baseline. PURPOSE: To investigate the acute effects of exercise intensity on IOP, including return to baseline. METHODS: Nineteen (9 males, 10 females; age = 20.26 ± 0.87 years; stature = 172.27 ± 13.51cm; mass = 72.23 ± 16.64 kg) with no history of ocular hypertension or glaucoma completed the study. Baseline measurements of heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), and IOP were assessed. Participants completed Queen’s College Step Test to estimate VO2 max and prescribe treadmill speeds for 2.0 km at each intensity to keep work performed constant. Measurements continued immediately after exercise, and in 10 min intervals until IOP returned to within 10% of stable baseline value. Repeated measures ANOVA and post hoc tests compared IOP for baseline, moderate, and high intensity exercise. RESULTS: Immediately following high intensity exercise, IOP was reduced (12.27 ± 4.7 mmHg) compared to either baseline (16.25 ± 4.19 mmHg, pCONCLUSION:High intensity exercise elicited an immediate and transient decrease in IOP, in agreement with existing research. However, a subsequent elevation of IOP, or overshoot, also occurred during the recovery period of both exercise conditions. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to document the transient elevation of IOP that occurs during recovery from exercise

Microplasma light tiles: thin sheet lamps for general illumination

Flat, thin and lightweight lamps providing spatially uniform and dimmable illumination from active areas as large as 400 cm2 are being developed for general illumination and specialty applications. Comprising an array of low-temperature, nonequilibrium microplasmas driven by a dielectric barrier structure and operating at pressures of typically 400–700 Torr, these lamps have a packaged thickness &lt;4 mm and yet produce luminance values beyond 26 000 cd m−2 with a luminous efficacy approaching 30 lm W−1. Third generation lamps, presently in limited production, offer a correlated colour temperature in the 3000–4100 K interval and a colour rendering index of 80. Current lamps employ Xe2 (λ ∼ 172 nm) as the primary emitter photoexciting a mixture of phosphors, and the pressure dependence of the wavelength-integrated fluorescence from the electronically excited dimer has been investigated with a vacuum ultraviolet spectrometer. In contrast to other promising lighting technologies, the decline in luminous efficacy of microplasma lamps with increasing power delivered to the lamp is small. For a 6 × 6 inch2 (∼225 cm2) lamp, efficacy falls &lt;16% when the radiant output (luminance) is raised from 2000 cd m−2 to &gt; 10 000 cd m−2.</jats:p