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The university property management department has been facing a challenge with the strategic management of campus spaces due to the need for informal learning spaces (ILSs) to facilitate students' independent studies. However, there's limited research on how these ILSs perform, particularly concerning human-made sounds. This study delves into the impact of human-made sounds on students, considering their individual differences and positive experiences in various types of ILSs within an Australian university campus. The investigation includes open-ended questions to delve deeper into students' positive experiences with human-made sounds across different ILSs. The research findings demonstrate that the impact of humanmade sounds on students is influenced by certain individual characteristics. Additionally, the study identifies three types of positive experiences regarding human-made sounds in ILSs for students: a sense of relaxation induced by human-made sounds, the sound-masking effect, and increased motivation for learning. This study could assist university property managers in understanding students' perceptions of human-made sounds and aid in strategic management of campus space that aligns with students' needs and preferences for ILSs, improving the overall learning environment and support student success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impermeable infrastructure such as traffic causeways can reduce the natural hydrodynamic flushing of an estuary, resulting in reduced water quality and increased incidence of harmful algal blooms (HABs). A series of cuts through the three causeways spanning Old Tampa Bay, FL, (OTB) are being considered to help restore the natural circulation of the region, but the number of possible location combinations is computationally challenging to fully assess. A prototype genetic algorithm (GA) was developed to identify the optimal configuration of these cuts through one of the bridge sections that maximizes flushing as represented in a numerical ocean circulation model of OTB. Flushing was measured by integrating the trajectories of over 21,000 passive Lagrangian "particles" using the model velocity fields. The rate of loss of particles initialized near Feather Sound (a region subject to frequent HABs) was used to quantify the "fitness" over which the configurations were optimized. The highest-scoring solution produced a 42% increase in net flushing compared to a no-change baseline. Six independently initialized applications of the GA were conducted. All converged to the same solution within no more than 7 generations. The small population size of the prototype allowed testing of the complete solution space, and verification the found solution was optimal. Elitism (preservation of the highest-ranking solution) was required for convergence. The GA also identified configurations that had similar, but slightly slower, flushing rates. These results will help area managers prioritize or rank combinations of causeway modifications to improve overall water quality conditions in Tampa Bay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates a polyvalent heat pump that simultaneously produces hot and cold water and uses natural refrigerants. The novelty of using a 48 V direct current compressor driven by solar photovoltaic (PV) energy and the staged retrofitting improvements to this heat pump are discussed. Empirical testing has indicated that using a suction line heat exchanger yields a 30% improvement in the heating Coefficient of Performance (COP). Rising ambient temperatures could positively and negatively impact its heating and cooling performance, respectively. In addition, an average COP of 3.8 was obtained after a one-hour simultaneous mode operation, with the average hot tank temperature rising from 32.7 to 58.9°C and the average cold tank temperature dropping from 18 to 14.4°C. Being capable of operating the polyvalent heat pump under renewable energy sources and utilizing all its generated heating and cooling energy contributes further to the electrification and decarbonization of residential buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica once supported one of the largest fisheries in the eastern United States. Oyster populations and the reefs they form have suffered chronic long-term decline [...]

Ship wakes generated by vessels moving through ecologically sensitive areas, or near poorly-protected infrastructure, can negatively impact these systems. This is especially true in regions hosting large seaports. Ship wakes in Tampa Bay, Florida, were calculated during two time periods using vessel movement data reported through the Automatic Identification System (AIS). The first period was for the years 2015-2017 using data from a government database. The second was during part of 2018 obtained by local monitoring. Only vessels operating at low Froude numbers were examined. Wake heights were estimated from each AIS record using an empirical equation and partitioned by functional vessel class. The largest estimated wakes were produced by the Passenger class. Cargo class vessels had the largest number of ships estimated to produce high wakes. Egmont Key, a long-eroding barrier island at the mouth of the Bay, was potentially subjected to the highest number of ship wakes and the highest cumulative wake energy. Differences in vessel representation in the two sets of AIS data yielded different distributions of wake energy by vessel class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wastewater utilities in many coastal regions are under threat from extreme climate events, and are particularly vulnerable to sea level rise (SLR) and storm surge as they are often located in regions of flat, low-lying topography. Sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) may become more common due to SLR. A logistic regression model (LRM) was trained using precipitation and coastal water levels as predictor variables to compute the probability of an SSO due to compound flooding in southern Pinellas County, FL. The LRM was then modified to include future SLR. The rate of SSOs was found to roughly double with every 10 cm of SLR. Subtracting SLR in the original LRM reduced the probability of recent SSOs, indicating that climate change is already increasing the rate of SSOs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]