Sample records for changing industrial patterns

  1. [Spatiotemporal patterns and driving forces of land use change in industrial relocation area: a case study of old industrial area in Tiexi of Shenyang, Northeast China].

    PubMed

    Wang, Mei-Ling; Bing, Long-Fei; Xi, Feng-Ming; Wu, Rui; Geng, Yong

    2013-07-01

    Based on the QuickBird remote sensing images and with the support of GIS, this paper analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of land use change and its driving forces in old industrial area of Tiexi, Shenyang City of Liaoning Province in 2000-2010. During the study period, the industrial and mining warehouse land pattern had the greatest change, evolving from the historical pattern of residential land in the south and of industrial land in the north into residential land as the dominant land use pattern. In the last decade, the residential land area increased by 9%, mainly transferred from the industrial and mining warehouse land located in the north of Jianshe Road, while the industrial and mining warehouse land area decreased by 20%. The land areas for the commercial service and for the administrative and public services were increased by 1.3% and 3.1%, respectively. The land area for construction had a greater change, with an overall change rate being 76.9%. The land use change rate in 2000-2005 was greater than that in 2005-2010. National development strategies and policies, regional development planning, administrative reform, and industrial upgrading were the main driving forces of the land use change in old industrial area of Tiexi.

  2. Changing industrial patterns in the metroplitan Chicago area

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Allardice, D.

    1994-12-31

    The industrial base of Chicago, and most Midwestern cities, continues to change. These changes are particularly visible in the manufacturing sector where the exodus of companies has left behind abandoned factories and industrial sites that now blight the urban landscape. As urban centers have seen a steady decline in their ability to attract and maintain their manufacturing base, great interest has been placed in seeing what can be done to attract economic activity back into the urban center. For most Midwestern cities, this often means trying to either replace or stem the tide of manufacturing facilities that have left themore » city for {open_quotes}greenfields{close_quotes} in suburban or rural locations or have simply moved overseas. On the replacement front, to compensate for the loss of manufacturing, some cities such as Chicago have managed to expand other areas of their economies, such as business services, finance, and tourism and recreation to maintain their vitality. This paper discusses three aspects of the changing economic landscape of Chicago and other Midwestern urban areas. First, some historical perspective will be provided on how Chicago came to be a manufacturing center and what factors since World War II have led manufacturing facilities to move away from the urban center. Second, the future prospects for manufacturing in the central city will be examined. Finally, what policies may help increase (or at the very least maintain) the concentration of manufacturing in Chicago will be discussed.« less

  3. Structural change in industry and futures for the electricity industry. Final report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Schwartz, P.; Harris, G.

    1995-06-01

    The electricity supply industry in the United States has been experiencing major technological changes and economics of the business have altered dramatically since the passage of the Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). This opening of power generation business to competition was under-pinned by significant increases in gas turbine efficiency, commercialization of smaller units with high efficiencies, low gas prices, and cost consciousness on the part of independent power producers (IPPs) and major industrial customers. The pace of change continues to accelerate, driven by ongoing technological innovations and customer demands for better, more customized services and lower costs.more » The purpose of this report is to provoke further thought on the likely course of structural change in the electric utility industry over the next twenty years. The prime focus of the report is on technological change and its impact on economics, and the resulting organizational and structural change. This report begins with a brief look at structural change in several capital-intensive industries to identify common patterns applicable to the electricity industry. The industries selected have network-like operations, similar to the electric utility industry. This is followed by two scenarios which illuminate different plausible futures for the electric power industry. The report concludes with insights on the potential course of regulations and suitable strategies to prosper during the transition phase.« less

  4. How industries change.

    PubMed

    McGahan, Anita M

    2004-10-01

    It's fairly obvious: To make intelligent investments within your organization, you need to understand how your whole industry is changing. But such knowledge is not always easy to come by. Companies misread clues and arrive at false conclusions all the time. To truly understand where your industry is headed, you have to take a long-term, high-level look at the context in which you do business, says Boston University professor Anita McGahan. She studied a variety of businesses from a cross section of industries over a ten-year period, examining how industry structure affects business profitability and investor returns. Her research suggests that industries evolve along one of four distinct trajectories--radical, progressive, creative, and intermediating--that set boundaries on what will generate profits in a business. These four trajectories are defined by two types of threats. The first is when new, outside alternatives threaten to weaken or make obsolete core activities that have historically generated profits for an industry. The second is when an industry's core assets--its resources, knowledge, and brand capital--fail to generate value as they once did. Industries undergo radical change when core assets and core activities are both threatened with obsolescence; they experience progressive change when neither are jeopardized. Creative change occurs when core assets are under threat but core activities are stable, and intermediating change happens when core activities are threatened while core assets retain their capacity to create value. If your company's innovation strategy is not aligned with your industry's change trajectory, your plan for achieving returns on invested capital cannot succeed, McGahan says. But if you understand which path you're on, you can determine which strategies will succeed and which will backfire.

  5. Real-Time Pattern Recognition - An Industrial Example

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fitton, Gary M.

    1981-11-01

    Rapid advancements in cost effective sensors and micro computers are now making practical the on-line implementation of pattern recognition based systems for a variety of industrial applications requiring high processing speeds. One major application area for real time pattern recognition is in the sorting of packaged/cartoned goods at high speed for automated warehousing and return goods cataloging. While there are many OCR and bar code readers available to perform these functions, it is often impractical to use such codes (package too small, adverse esthetics, poor print quality) and an approach which recognizes an item by its graphic content alone is desirable. This paper describes a specific application within the tobacco industry, that of sorting returned cigarette goods by brand and size.

  6. Technical change in US industry: A cross-industry analysis

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Nelson, R. R. (Editor)

    1981-01-01

    The nature of the public policies which have influenced the pace and pattern of technical progress in a number of American industries is studied with the view of assessing the broad effects of these policies. The industries studied are agriculture, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, computers, civil aircraft, automobiles and residential construction. The policies considered include research and development funding as well as government procurement, education, information dissemination, patent protection, licensing, regulations, and anti-trust policies.

  7. Structure, dynamics and movement patterns of the Australian pig industry.

    PubMed

    East, I J; Davis, J; Sergeant, E S G; Garner, M G

    2014-03-01

    To assess management practices and movement patterns that could influence the establishment and spread of exotic animal diseases (EAD) in pigs in Australia. A literature review of published information and a telephone survey of 370 pig producers owning >10 pigs who were registered with the PigPass national vendor declaration scheme. The movement and marketing patterns of Australian pig producers interviewed were divided into two groups based predominantly on the size of the herd. Major pig producers maintain closed herds, use artificial insemination and market direct to abattoirs. Smaller producers continue to purchase from saleyards and market to other farms, abattoirs and through saleyards in an apparently opportunistic fashion. The role of saleyards in the Australian pig industry continues to decline, with 92% of all pigs marketed directly from farm to abattoir. This survey described movement patterns that will assist in modelling the potential spread of EAD in the Australian pig industry. Continued movement towards vertical integration and closed herds in the Australian pig industry effectively divides the industry into a number of compartments that mitigate against the widespread dissemination of disease to farms adopting these practices. © 2014 Australian Veterinary Association.

  8. Shifting post production patterns: exploring changes in New Zealand's seafood processing industry.

    PubMed

    Stringer, Christina; Simmons, Glenn; Rees, Eugene

    2011-01-01

    This paper examines the changing nature of New Zealand's seafood companies' production practices. The past 15 years has seen the offshore outsourcing of post-harvest fish gain unprecedented momentum. The growth in offshore processing is a further stage in an increasingly globalised fisheries value chain. Fish is head and gutted, frozen and then transported to processing sites in China where it is thawed, value-added processed and refrozen for export to the original sourcing country or third country markets. Reasons advanced by the industry for this shift in production practices include quota reductions, increasing production costs and the sale of trawlers.

  9. [Changes in the patterns of food consumption in Latin America].

    PubMed

    Tagle, M A

    1988-09-01

    Food consumption patterns have suffered important although not generalized changes in recent years. A series of factors favor these changes, such as variations in family income, rural-urban migration, increase of tertiary activities related to foods, and exposure to commercial propaganda. All of these factors, when compared among them, do not have the same impact or validity. Thus, while the first two induce changes in the food pattern, the last two guide the consumer to certain food products. Modernization of the food pattern in Latin America and the Caribbean has been inspired by the USA food pattern of the previous decade, which from the nutritional and economic points of view, does not prove to be desirable. The average USA diet is rich in both saturated and mono- and polyunsaturated fats, as well as in refined sugar and all types of additives. It is poor in carbohydrates, particular in those of the complex type; most of its protein is of animal origin. It may also be rich in salt and poor in fiber, as it is made up by well-diversified industrialized foods in their presentation, manufactured and marketed by a highly industrialized production-distribution capitalized structure. The adopted model is not in correspondence with out countries' natural resources; it produces a displacement of the consumption patterns based on autochthonous and/or traditional components, and induces an increase in food imports. Since Latin American countries are of poor economic resources, and the model renders expensive products, these are absorbed by the socioeconomic group able to pay for them and/or--intermittently--as a high-cost product by calorie delivered, by the poor groups who are most in need, a situation which would imply serious damage on the quality and quantity of their diet. Changes in food habits and in food consumption patterns are related to a certain socio-demographic process which cannot be stopped. Consequently, this process should be carefully analyzed and

  10. Changes in Occupational Employment in the Food and Kindred Products Industry, 1977-1980. Technical Note No. 1.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lewis, Gary

    The extent to which occupational staffing patterns change over time was examined in a study focusing on the Food and Kindred Products industry--Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) 20. Data were taken from the 1977 and 1980 Occupational Employment Statistics program coordinated by the United States Department of Labor Statistics. Actual 1980…

  11. Industry: Relocation Changes the Landscape.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    World of Work, 1993

    1993-01-01

    Includes "World Industry on the Move"; "The Future Belongs to Those Who Can Adapt" (Fromont); "The Automobile Industry: Engines of Change" (O'Brien); "Negotiating Flexibility to Save Jobs" (Fromont); and "Fixing the Rules of the Game: Partners State Their Case." (JOW)

  12. Career patterns of healthcare executives.

    PubMed

    Fahey, D F; Myrtle, R C

    2001-02-01

    This research examines the job and career changes of healthcare executives and managers working in different segments of the healthcare industry in the western United States. The results suggest that the job and career patterns in the healthcare delivery sector are undergoing significant transformation. One third of the respondents reports that at least one of their last four job changes was involuntary or unplanned. One half of those attempted to make a career change. This study identifies four different executive and management career patterns. The most common was one of multiple career changes. The second pattern was that of a single career change, followed by a 'traditional' career in which one did not seek a career change. The final pattern was characterized as a movement back and forth between two different segments of the healthcare industry. Age, gender, marital status and education were not associated with any specific career pattern. The need to achieve results early in the respondent's career had a strong influence on career patterns. This study confirms the fluidity of career movement and the changing permeability between the various segments of the healthcare industry. It also suggests that career success increasingly will require broad management experience in those different segments.

  13. Changes in Tennessee's secondary hardwood processing and sawmill industries from 2005 to 2009

    Treesearch

    William G. Luppold; Delton Alderman; Doug. Schnabel

    2012-01-01

    Tennessee is in the center of the Eastern hardwood region and has experienced large declines in employment by primary and secondary hardwood processors since 2005 in a pattern similar to the one these processors have experienced nationally. The objective of this article is to examine changes in national hardwood processing industries between 2005 and 2009 and compare...

  14. [Changes of regional environment quality pattern in China since 1986-2008].

    PubMed

    Guan, Wei-Hua; Sun, Ming-Kun; Lu, Yu-Qi

    2011-03-01

    For further study of regional differences and the pattern of changes in environmental quality in China since 1986-2008, we perform the principal component analysis, standard deviation, Mann-Kendall and cluster analysis on 18 environmental quality indexes in 28 provinces of China in this paper. Those indexes refer to pollutant emission, pollutants treatment capacities and pollutant emission of per unit land area, etc. The paper indicates that regional environmental quality in China has been increased slightly during this period. It can be divided into four stages: 1986-2000, 2000-2001, 2001-2005 and 2005-2008. The overall patterns of regional environmental quality is the West is higher than the East in general, while the environmental quality of the eastern part have been changed somewhat. For more details, the regional environmental quality in China in 1986 is composed of two parts, the eastern part and the western part, while in 2000 and 2001 the eastern part, the middle part and the western part appears as the overall pattern. For the year of 2005, the regional environmental quality in the western is higher than that of the eastern; meanwhile, the eastern can be divided into the northern part, the middle part and the southern part, and the environmental quality in northern part is better than that of the southern part, southern part is better than that of the middle part. This pattern hardly changed in 2008, except that the area with poor environment quality region had expanded. Pollutant emission of per unit land area played as a main factor; yet both the pollutant emission and the reuse of pollutants impacted the pattern specifically. In addition, the national macro policies, the regional policies, the regional economic and the industrial structure can be primary reason for the change of regional environmental quality pattern in China as well.

  15. Geographic patterns of industry in the United States. An aid to the study of occupational disease.

    PubMed

    Stone, B J; Blot, W J; Fraumeni, J F

    1978-07-01

    The geographic location of 18 major manufacturing industries within the United States is illustrated by a series of computer-generated county maps. The metal and machinery industries, the two largest employers, an the transportation and rubber industries are concentrated in the northeastern quadrant of the United States, while most counties with textile, apparel, tobacco, and furniture manufacturing are in the South. Other industries had different patterns. The counties where industry was concentrated tended to be more urban and to have higher levels of income and education. The maps and associated demographic data on industrial counties may prove a useful adjunct to county maps illustrating mortality patterns for cancer and other diseases. Despite obvious limitations, the visual patterns and correlation analyses may help to generate and formulate hypothese concerning occupationally induced diease.

  16. Exploring spatial patterns of farmland transactions and farmland use changes.

    PubMed

    Chang, Hsueh-Sheng; Chen, Tzu-Ling

    2015-09-01

    Strong economic incentives stimulate the conversion of farmland to non-farm uses possessing higher economic benefits, and rising land values can result in further conversions in the surrounding areas. However, previous studies focused exclusively on the analysis of attribute data, without concern for location or geographic information. Our study focuses on the application of spatial analysis method by exploring the magnitude and patterns of farmland use changes and farmland transactions in Tainan County in southwestern Taiwan. The results show that farmland use changes and transactions appear to cluster in specific locations-near urban planning areas, industrial parks, and science parks. Clustered farmland use changes indicate both excessive development of some farmland and possible protection of other farmland, while clustered farmland transactions indicate potential pressure for future conversion to non-farming uses. Overall, the spatial analyses indicate (without necessarily implying a cause-and-effect relationship) that the greater the farmland use change, the greater the number of farmland transactions. This approach to exploring the spatial patterns in and the interaction between farmland use change and farmland transactions can be applied to other regions facing increasing competition for farmland conversions and may be a useful tool for monitoring both urban expansion and increased farmland transactions. These occurrences should be closely monitored by governments to avoid excessive loss of farmland.

  17. Recent fertility trends in industrialized countries: toward a fluctuating or a stable pattern?

    PubMed

    Day, L H

    1995-09-01

    The conclusion of this analysis of fertility trends in industrialized countries is that future trends will be evident from accurate data and the inclusion of causal factors such as religion, ethnicity, migration status, marital status, employment status, neighborhood residence, or housing type. Period fertility measures are considered to be unreliable but useful as indicators of potential future changes in fertility. The expectation is that developed countries with low birth rates will have greater fluctuations than trends. Current patterns of fertility in developed countries are thought to have occurred due to substantial control over both the number and the timing of fertility. Patterns in the recent past have reflected further decline, an end to decline and a continued increase, or fluctuation. The most widespread pattern is continued increase following a period of low fertility. This pattern is in evidence in almost every country of northern and western Europe, Canada, the United States, and New Zealand. Countries with continued declines include Japan and eastern and southern European countries, which were the last to experience declines to replacement levels. Countries with fluctuating patterns include Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. Countries with greater fluctuations include Belgium, Iceland, the former West Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland. The argument is made to not count these patterns as fluctuations due to 1) the similarity in magnitude, timing, and direction; 2) the small changes after the low was reached; and 3) their appearance everywhere at the same time. Stability of rates in the future appears to be a reasonable prospect due to the greater openness about human sexuality and the wider roles for women. Changes have occurred in attitudes about family size in the direction of smaller families, and the range in family size has narrowed considerably. Potential increases may occur due to a new emphasis on family and parenthood, the diminished

  18. Clustering of change patterns using Fourier coefficients.

    PubMed

    Kim, Jaehee; Kim, Haseong

    2008-01-15

    To understand the behavior of genes, it is important to explore how the patterns of gene expression change over a time period because biologically related gene groups can share the same change patterns. Many clustering algorithms have been proposed to group observation data. However, because of the complexity of the underlying functions there have not been many studies on grouping data based on change patterns. In this study, the problem of finding similar change patterns is induced to clustering with the derivative Fourier coefficients. The sample Fourier coefficients not only provide information about the underlying functions, but also reduce the dimension. In addition, as their limiting distribution is a multivariate normal, a model-based clustering method incorporating statistical properties would be appropriate. This work is aimed at discovering gene groups with similar change patterns that share similar biological properties. We developed a statistical model using derivative Fourier coefficients to identify similar change patterns of gene expression. We used a model-based method to cluster the Fourier series estimation of derivatives. The model-based method is advantageous over other methods in our proposed model because the sample Fourier coefficients asymptotically follow the multivariate normal distribution. Change patterns are automatically estimated with the Fourier representation in our model. Our model was tested in simulations and on real gene data sets. The simulation results showed that the model-based clustering method with the sample Fourier coefficients has a lower clustering error rate than K-means clustering. Even when the number of repeated time points was small, the same results were obtained. We also applied our model to cluster change patterns of yeast cell cycle microarray expression data with alpha-factor synchronization. It showed that, as the method clusters with the probability-neighboring data, the model-based clustering with our

  19. The pallet industry: a changing hardwood market

    Treesearch

    G.P. Dempsey; D.G. Martens

    1991-01-01

    From its inception during World War II, the wooden pallet industry has grown to become the Nation's largest industrial consumer of hardwood lumber products. Since most of the raw material in wooden pallets is lower grade lumber, the pallet industry's growth, efficiency, and changing raw material inputs must be of concern to the grade hardwood lumber industry...

  20. Change and Innovation in the Funeral Industry.

    PubMed

    Beard, Virginia R; Burger, William C

    2017-05-01

    The "modern" or traditional funeral, as it is known in the funeral industry today, that includes embalming, casket, service, and burial in a cemetery, emerged as a result of four forces in American society: the Industrial Revolution, the Civil War, the emergence of a genteel code of conduct as a result of increased wealth in our society, and changing cultural views toward death. While the traditional funeral ritual remains the most popular funeral selection in the United States today, the industry is experiencing changes that are reshaping the death rituals and methods of body disposal. A meta-analysis of relevant news articles from 1987 through 2014 finds that these changes are occurring as a result of two general motivational themes: a Business-Related Motivation and a Consumer-Related Motivation, each with corresponding subthemes.

  1. Public Health Campaigns to Change Industry Practices that Damage Health: An Analysis of 12 Case Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Freudenberg, Nicholas; Picard Bradley, Sarah; Serrano, Monica

    2009-01-01

    Industry practices such as advertising, production of unsafe products, and efforts to defeat health legislation play a major role in current patterns of U.S. ill health. Changing these practices may be a promising strategy to promote health. The authors analyze 12 campaigns designed to modify the health-related practices of U.S. corporations in…

  2. Patterns-Based IS Change Management in SMEs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Makna, Janis; Kirikova, Marite

    The majority of information systems change management guidelines and standards are either too abstract or too bureaucratic to be easily applicable in small enterprises. This chapter proposes the approach, the method, and the prototype that are designed especially for information systems change management in small and medium enterprises. The approach is based on proven patterns of changes in the set of information systems elements. The set of elements was obtained by theoretical analysis of information systems and business process definitions and enterprise architectures. The patterns were evolved from a number of information systems theories and tested in 48 information systems change management projects. The prototype presents and helps to handle three basic change patterns, which help to anticipate the overall scope of changes related to particular elementary changes in an enterprise information system. The use of prototype requires just basic knowledge in organizational business process and information management.

  3. Design and implementation of integrated solid wastes management pattern in industrial zones, case study of Shahroud, Iran.

    PubMed

    Saeid, Nazemi; Roudbari, Aliakbar; Yaghmaeian, Kamyar

    2014-01-14

    The aim of the study was to design and implementation of integrated solid wastes management pattern in Shahroud industrial zone, evaluates the results and determine possible performance problems. This cross - sectional study was carried out for 4 years in Shahroud industrial zone and the implementation process included:1- Qualitative and quantitative analysis of all solid waste generated in the city, 2- determine the current state of solid waste management in the zone and to identify programs conducted, 3- Design and implementation of integrated solid wastes management pattern including design and implementation of training programs, laws, penalties and incentives and explain and implement programs for all factories and 4- The monitoring of the implementation process and determine the results. Annually, 1,728 tons of solid wastes generated in the town including 1603 tons of industrial wastes and 125 tons of municipal wastes. By implementing this pattern, the two separated systems of collection and recycling of domestic and industrial wastes was launched in this zone. Also consistent with the goals, the amount of solid wastes generated and disposed in 2009 was 51.5 and 28.6 kg per 100 million Rials production, respectively. Results showed that implementation of pattern of separated collection, training programs, capacity building, providing technical services, completing chain of industries and strengthening the cooperation between industrial estate management and industrial units could greatly reduce the waste management problems.

  4. Potential Changes in Disease Patterns and Pharmaceutical Use in Response to Climate Change

    PubMed Central

    Redshaw, Clare H.; Stahl-Timmins, Will M.; Fleming, Lora E.; Davidson, Iain; Depledge, Michael H.

    2013-01-01

    As climate change alters environmental conditions, the incidence and global patterns of human diseases are changing. These modifications to disease profiles and the effects upon human pharmaceutical usage are discussed. Climate-related environmental changes are associated with a rise in the incidence of chronic diseases already prevalent in the Northern Hemisphere, for example, cardiovascular disease and mental illness, leading to greater use of associated heavily used Western medications. Sufferers of respiratory diseases may exhibit exacerbated symptoms due to altered environmental conditions (e.g., pollen). Respiratory, water-borne, and food-borne toxicants and infections, including those that are vector borne, may become more common in Western countries, central and eastern Asia, and across North America. As new disease threats emerge, substantially higher pharmaceutical use appears inevitable, especially of pharmaceuticals not commonly employed at present (e.g., antiprotozoals). The use of medications for the treatment of general symptoms (e.g., analgesics) will also rise. These developments need to be viewed in the context of other major environmental changes (e.g., industrial chemical pollution, biodiversity loss, reduced water and food security) as well as marked shifts in human demographics, including aging of the population. To identify, prevent, mitigate, and adapt to potential threats, one needs to be aware of the major factors underlying changes in the use of pharmaceuticals and their subsequent release, deliberately or unintentionally, into the environment. This review explores the likely consequences of climate change upon the use of medical pharmaceuticals in the Northern Hemisphere. PMID:23909463

  5. Mortality patterns among residents in Louisiana's industrial corridor, USA, 1970–99

    PubMed Central

    Tsai, S; Cardarelli, K; Wendt, J; Fraser, A

    2004-01-01

    Background: Because of the high concentration of oil refining and petrochemical facilities, the industrial area of the lower Mississippi River of South Louisiana has been termed the Industrial Corridor and has frequently been referred to as the "Cancer Corridor". Aims: To quantitatively assess the "Cancer Corridor" controversy based on mortality data available in the public domain, and to identify potential contributing factors to the observed differences in mortality. Methods: Age adjusted mortality rates were calculated for white and non-white males and females in the Industrial Corridor, Louisiana, and the United States for the time periods 1970–79, 1980–89, and 1990–99. Results: All-cause mortality and all cancer combined for white males in the Industrial Corridor were significantly lower than the corresponding Louisiana population while Louisiana had significantly higher rates than the US population for all three time periods. Cancer of the lung was consistently higher in the Industrial Corridor region relative to national rates but lower than or similar to Louisiana. Non-respiratory disease and cerebrovascular disease mortality for white males in the Industrial Corridor were consistently lower than either Louisiana or the USA. However, mortality due to diabetes and heart disease, particularly during the 1990s, was significantly higher in the Industrial Corridor and Louisiana when compared to the USA. Similar mortality patterns were observed for white females. The mortality for non-white males and females in the Industrial Corridor was generally similar to the corresponding populations in Louisiana. There were no consistent patterns for all cancer mortality combined. Stomach cancer was increased among non-whites in both the Industrial Corridor and Louisiana when compared to the corresponding US data. Mortality from diabetes and heart disease among non-whites was significantly higher in the Industrial Corridor and Louisiana than in the USA. Conclusions

  6. Economics of technological change - A joint model for the aircraft and airline industries

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kneafsey, J. T.; Taneja, N. K.

    1981-01-01

    The principal focus of this econometric model is on the process of technological change in the U.S. aircraft manufacturing and airline industries. The problem of predicting the rate of introduction of current technology aircraft into an airline's fleet during the period of research, development, and construction for new technology aircraft arises in planning aeronautical research investments. The approach in this model is a statistical one. It attempts to identify major factors that influence transport aircraft manufacturers and airlines, and to correlate them with the patterns of delivery of new aircraft to the domestic trunk carriers. The functional form of the model has been derived from several earlier econometric models on the economics of innovation, acquisition, and technological change.

  7. Design and implementation of integrated solid wastes management pattern in industrial zones, case study of Shahroud, Iran

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background The aim of the study was to design and implementation of integrated solid wastes management pattern in Shahroud industrial zone, evaluates the results and determine possible performance problems. This cross - sectional study was carried out for 4 years in Shahroud industrial zone and the implementation process included:1- Qualitative and quantitative analysis of all solid waste generated in the city, 2- determine the current state of solid waste management in the zone and to identify programs conducted, 3- Design and implementation of integrated solid wastes management pattern including design and implementation of training programs, laws, penalties and incentives and explain and implement programs for all factories and 4- The monitoring of the implementation process and determine the results. Results Annually, 1,728 tons of solid wastes generated in the town including 1603 tons of industrial wastes and 125 tons of municipal wastes. By implementing this pattern, the two separated systems of collection and recycling of domestic and industrial wastes was launched in this zone. Also consistent with the goals, the amount of solid wastes generated and disposed in 2009 was 51.5 and 28.6 kg per 100 million Rials production, respectively. Conclusion Results showed that implementation of pattern of separated collection, training programs, capacity building, providing technical services, completing chain of industries and strengthening the cooperation between industrial estate management and industrial units could greatly reduce the waste management problems. PMID:24423020

  8. The changing landscape of careers in the chemical industry.

    PubMed

    Watson, Keith J

    2011-08-23

    Changes in the chemical industry over the past decade — ranging from globalization to an increased focus on speciality chemicals — threaten to leave the aspiring industrial chemist unprepared. This Commentary discusses those changes and outlines strategies to enter the job market as well equipped as possible.

  9. Land use/land cover change and their effects on landscape patterns in the Yanqi Basin, Xinjiang (China).

    PubMed

    Wang, Shuixian; Wang, Shengli

    2013-12-01

    Human modification of land use and land cover change (LUCC) drives the change of landscape patterns and limits the availability of products and services for human and livestock. LUCC can undermine environmental health. Thus, this study aimed to develop an understanding of LUCC in the Yanqi Basin, Xinjiang, China, an arid area experiencing dramatic water and land resource use. A time series of satellite images (1964, 1973, 1989, 1999, and 2009) were used to calculate the index of landscape patterns to study the processes involved in changes to land uses and landscape patterns and the influence of this changes on landscape patterns. The results show that land uses in the Yanqi Basin have changed dramatically since 1964 with grassland being mainly converted to cropland. Landscape fragmentation and diversity have decreased in the study area, although landscape fragmentation increased from 1964 to 1999 and then decreased by 2009. The index of landscape diversity decreased from 1.64 in 1964 to 0.71 in 2009. The heterogeneity and complexity of the landscape increased during this period. In contrast, the index of dominance decreased from 0.85 in 1964 to 0.83 in 2009. Land use change drives landscape patterns of the development of the watershed toward diversity and a fragmented structure. Population growth, economic development, and industrial policies were the dominant driving forces behind LUCC in the Yanqi Basin. Sustainable use of land resources is a significant factor in maintaining economic development and environmental protection in this arid inland river basin.

  10. Spatial patterns of hydro-social metrics in the Northeastern United States from the Colonial Era through the Industrial Revolution (1600-1920)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Witherell, B. B.; Bain, D. J.; Salant, N.; Aloysius, N. R.

    2009-12-01

    Humans impact the hydrologic cycle at local, regional and global scales. Understanding how spatial patterns of human water use and hydrologic impact have changed over time is important to future water management in an era of increasing water constraints and globalization of high water-use resources. This study investigates spatial dependence and spatial patterns of hydro-social metrics for the Northeastern United States from 1600 to 1920 through the use of spatial statistical techniques. Several relevant hydro-social metrics, including water residence time, surface water storage (natural and human engineered) and per capita water availability, are analyzed. This study covers a region and period of time that saw significant population growth, landscape change, and industrial growth. These changes had important impacts on water availability. Although some changes such as the elimination of beavers, and the resulting loss of beaver ponds on low-order streams, are felt at a regional scale, preliminary analysis indicates that humans responded to water constraints by acting locally (e.g., mill ponds for water power and water supply reservoirs for public health). This 320-year historical analysis of spatial patterns of hydro-social metrics provides unique insight into long-term changes in coupled human-water systems.

  11. The U. S. nuclear industry; A changing complexion

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zorpette, G

    This article addresses the changes which have occurred in the U.S. nuclear industry as a response to the decline in the construction of new plants. The author focuses on the segments of the industry which chiefly design and produce nuclear power plants, the architect-engineers and the suppliers, and how they have become more service oriented in response to the construction decline. The movement toward diversification to non-nuclear industries is also discussed.

  12. Deforestation and Industrial Forest Patterns in Colombia: a Case Study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huo, L. Z.; Boschetti, L.; Sparks, A. M.; Clerici, N.

    2017-12-01

    The recent peace agreement between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) offers new opportunities for peaceful and sustainable development, but at the same time requires a timely effort to protect biological resources, and ecosystem services (Clerici et al., 2016). In this context, we use the 2001-2017 Landsat data record to prototype a methodology to establish a baseline of deforestation, afforestation and industrial forest practices (i.e. establishment and harvest of forest plantations), and to monitor future changes. Two study areas, which have seen considerable deforestation in recent years, were selected: one in the South of the country, at the edge of the Amazon Forest (WRS path 008 row 059) and one in the center, in mixed forest (WRS path 008 row 055). The time series of all the available cloud free Landsat 5, Landsat 7 and Landsat 8 data was classified into a sequence of binary forest/non forest maps using a deep learning model, successfully used in the natural language processing field, trained to detect forest transitions. Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) is a class of artificial neural network that extends the conventional neural network with loops in the connections (Graves et al., 2013). Unlike a feed-forward neural network, an RNN is able to process the sequential inputs by having a recurrent hidden state whose activation at each step depends on that of the previous steps. In this manner, the RNN provides a good framework to dynamically model time series data, and has been successfully applied to natural language processing in Google (Sutskever et al., 2014). The sequence of forest cover state maps was subsequently post-processed to differentiate between deforestation (e.g. transition from forest to non forest land use) and industrial forest harvest (i.e. timber harvest followed by regrowth), by integrating the detection of temporal patterns, and spatial patterns. References Clerici, N., et al., (2016). Colombia: Dealing

  13. Dietary patterns and changes in body weight in women.

    PubMed

    Schulze, Matthias B; Fung, Teresa T; Manson, Joann E; Willett, Walter C; Hu, Frank B

    2006-08-01

    Our objective was to examine the association between adherence to dietary patterns and weight change in women. Women (51,670, 26 to 46 years old) in the Nurses' Health Study II were followed from 1991 to 1999. Dietary intake and body weight were ascertained in 1991, 1995, and 1999. A Western pattern, characterized by high intakes of red and processed meats, refined grains, sweets and desserts, and potatoes, and a prudent pattern, characterized by high intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, poultry, and salad dressing, were identified with principal component analysis, and associations between patterns and change in body weight were estimated. Women who increased their Western pattern score had greater weight gain (multivariate adjusted means, 4.55 kg for 1991 to 1995 and 2.86 kg for 1995 to 1999) than women who decreased their Western pattern score (2.70 and 1.37 kg for the two time periods), adjusting for baseline lifestyle and dietary confounders and changes in confounders over time (p < 0.001 for both time periods). Furthermore, among women who increased their prudent pattern score, weight gain was smaller (multivariate-adjusted means, 1.93 kg for 1991 to 1995 and 0.66 kg for 1995 to 1999) than among women who decreased their prudent pattern score (4.83 and 3.35 kg for the two time periods) (p < 0.001). The largest weight gain between 1991 and 1995 and between 1995 and 1999 was observed among women who decreased their prudent pattern score while increasing their Western pattern score (multivariate adjusted means, 6.80 and 4.99 kg), whereas it was smallest for the opposite change in patterns (0.87 and -0.64 kg) (p < 0.001). Adoption of a Western dietary pattern is associated with larger weight gain in women, whereas a prudent dietary pattern may facilitate weight maintenance.

  14. Changes and Trends in the Pallet Industry: Alternative Materials and Industry Structure

    Treesearch

    Robert J. Bush; Philip A. Araman

    1998-01-01

    In the first article of this three-part series we described trends in the use of new wood materials for pallets and containers. The second article described changes in pallet recovery and recycling. In this third article, we describe alternative (i.e., other than solid wood) materials used to manufacture pallets as well as changes in the structure of the industry....

  15. Climate Change Impacts and Vulnerability Assessment in Industrial Complexes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, H. J.; Lee, D. K.

    2016-12-01

    Climate change has recently caused frequent natural disasters, such as floods, droughts, and heat waves. Such disasters have also increased industrial damages. We must establish climate change adaptation policies to reduce the industrial damages. It is important to make accurate vulnerability assessment to establish climate change adaptation policies. Thus, this study aims at establishing a new index to assess vulnerability level in industrial complexes. Most vulnerability indices have been developed with subjective approaches, such as the Delphi survey and the Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP). The subjective approaches rely on the knowledge of a few experts, which provokes the lack of the reliability of the indices. To alleviate the problem, we have designed a vulnerability index incorporating objective approaches. We have investigated 42 industrial complex sites in Republic of Korea (ROK). To calculate weights of variables, we used entropy method as an objective method integrating the Delphi survey as a subjective method. Finally, we found our method integrating both subjective method and objective method could generate result. The integration of the entropy method enables us to assess the vulnerability objectively. Our method will be useful to establish climate change adaptation policies by reducing the uncertainties of the methods based on the subjective approaches.

  16. Pattern-histogram-based temporal change detection using personal chest radiographs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ugurlu, Yucel; Obi, Takashi; Hasegawa, Akira; Yamaguchi, Masahiro; Ohyama, Nagaaki

    1999-05-01

    An accurate and reliable detection of temporal changes from a pair of images has considerable interest in the medical science. Traditional registration and subtraction techniques can be applied to extract temporal differences when,the object is rigid or corresponding points are obvious. However, in radiological imaging, loss of the depth information, the elasticity of object, the absence of clearly defined landmarks and three-dimensional positioning differences constraint the performance of conventional registration techniques. In this paper, we propose a new method in order to detect interval changes accurately without using an image registration technique. The method is based on construction of so-called pattern histogram and comparison procedure. The pattern histogram is a graphic representation of the frequency counts of all allowable patterns in the multi-dimensional pattern vector space. K-means algorithm is employed to partition pattern vector space successively. Any differences in the pattern histograms imply that different patterns are involved in the scenes. In our experiment, a pair of chest radiographs of pneumoconiosis is employed and the changing histogram bins are visualized on both of the images. We found that the method can be used as an alternative way of temporal change detection, particularly when the precise image registration is not available.

  17. History of Physicists in Industry. Final Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, R. Joseph; Butler, Orville R.

    2008-01-01

    This project is the first systematic study of the organizational structure, communications patterns, and archival records of industrial physicists in the U.S., and it provides general guidelines for understanding and documenting their work. The study confirms that the organization and management of industrial R&D is volatile, changing in response…

  18. Physiologically induced color-pattern changes in butterfly wings: mechanistic and evolutionary implications.

    PubMed

    Otaki, Joji M

    2008-07-01

    A mechanistic understanding of the butterfly wing color-pattern determination can be facilitated by experimental pattern changes. Here I review physiologically induced color-pattern changes in nymphalid butterflies and their mechanistic and evolutionary implications. A type of color-pattern change can be elicited by elemental changes in size and position throughout the wing, as suggested by the nymphalid groundplan. These changes of pattern elements are bi-directional and bi-sided dislocation toward or away from eyespot foci and in both proximal and distal sides of the foci. The peripheral elements are dislocated even in the eyespot-less compartments. Anterior spots are more severely modified, suggesting the existence of an anterior-posterior gradient. In one species, eyespots are transformed into white spots with remnant-like orange scales, and such patterns emerge even at the eyespot-less "imaginary" foci. A series of these color-pattern modifications probably reveal "snap-shots" of a dynamic morphogenic signal due to heterochronic uncoupling between the signaling and reception steps. The conventional gradient model can be revised to account for these observed color-pattern changes.

  19. Changes in Patterns of Health Care: Plus Forty Years

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sofalvi, Alan J.

    2010-01-01

    In this article, the author presents an update of Herman's article ["Changes in Patterns of Health Care," "School Health Review," 1(9-14)1969] that focuses on the changes in patterns of health care. He discusses the poverty, insurance, and access to medical care as well as the quality of medical care for adults and minors. He stresses that…

  20. Clustering change patterns using Fourier transformation with time-course gene expression data.

    PubMed

    Kim, Jaehee

    2011-01-01

    To understand the behavior of genes, it is important to explore how the patterns of gene expression change over a period of time because biologically related gene groups can share the same change patterns. In this study, the problem of finding similar change patterns is induced to clustering with the derivative Fourier coefficients. This work is aimed at discovering gene groups with similar change patterns which share similar biological properties. We developed a statistical model using derivative Fourier coefficients to identify similar change patterns of gene expression. We used a model-based method to cluster the Fourier series estimation of derivatives. We applied our model to cluster change patterns of yeast cell cycle microarray expression data with alpha-factor synchronization. It showed that, as the method clusters with the probability-neighboring data, the model-based clustering with our proposed model yielded biologically interpretable results. We expect that our proposed Fourier analysis with suitably chosen smoothing parameters could serve as a useful tool in classifying genes and interpreting possible biological change patterns.

  1. Public health implications of changing patterns of recruitment into the South African mining industry, 1973-2012: a database analysis.

    PubMed

    Ehrlich, Rodney; Montgomery, Alex; Akugizibwe, Paula; Gonsalves, Gregg

    2017-08-03

    The triple epidemic of silicosis, tuberculosis and HIV infection among migrant miners from South Africa and neighbouring countries who have worked in the South African mining industry is currently the target of regional and international control efforts. These initiatives are hampered by a lack of information on this population. This study analysed the major South African mining recruitment database for the period 1973 to 2012 by calendar intervals and demographic and occupational characteristics. Changes in area of recruitment were mapped using a geographic information system. The database contained over 10 million contracts, reducible to 1.64 million individuals. Major trends relevant to health projection were a decline in gold mining employment, the major source of silicosis; increasing recruitment of female miners; and shifts in recruitment from foreign to South African miners, from the Eastern to the Northwestern parts of South Africa, and from company employees to contractors. These changes portend further externalisation of the burden of mining lung disease to home communities, as miners, particularly from the gold sector, leave the industry. The implications for health, surveillance and health services of the growing number of miners hired as contractors need further research, as does the health experience of female miners. Overall, the information in this report can be used for projection of disease burden and direction of compensation, screening and treatment services for the ex-miner population throughout Southern Africa.

  2. County business patterns, 1996 : Kansas

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  3. County business patterns, 1997 : Texas

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  4. County business patterns, 1997 : Connecticut

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  5. County business patterns, 1997 : Georgia

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  6. County business patterns, 1997 : Ohio

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  7. County business patterns, 1997 : Indiana

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  8. County business patterns, 1997 : Nevada

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  9. County business patterns, 1997 : Louisiana

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  10. County business patterns, 1997 : Michigan

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  11. County business patterns, 1997 : Iowa

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  12. County business patterns, 1997 : Florida

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  13. County business patterns, 1997 : Arizona

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  14. County business patterns, 1997 : Illinois

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  15. County business patterns, 1997 : Virginia

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  16. County business patterns, 1997 : Pennsylvania

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  17. County business patterns, 1997 : Minnesota

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  18. County business patterns, 1997 : Alabama

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  19. County business patterns, 1997 : Delaware

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  20. County business patterns, 1997 : Hawaii

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  1. County business patterns, 1997 : Vermont

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  2. County business patterns, 1996 : Indiana

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  3. County business patterns, 1997 : Oregon

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  4. County business patterns, 1996 : Texas

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  5. County business patterns, 1996 : Arizona

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  6. County business patterns, 1997 : Kentucky

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  7. County business patterns, 1997 : Tennessee

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  8. County business patterns, 1996 : California

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  9. County business patterns, 1997 : Mississippi

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  10. County business patterns, 1996 : Vermont

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  11. County business patterns, 1996 : Oklahoma

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  12. County business patterns, 1997 : Colorado

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  13. County business patterns, 1996 : Maryland

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  14. County business patterns, 1996 : Wyoming

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  15. County business patterns, 1996 : Missouri

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  16. County business patterns, 1996 : Nevada

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  17. County business patterns, 1997 : Missouri

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  18. County business patterns, 1996 : Michigan

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  19. County business patterns, 1996 : Arkansas

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  20. County business patterns, 1996 : Nebraska

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  1. County business patterns, 1997 : Utah

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  2. County business patterns, 1997 : Wyoming

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  3. County business patterns, 1996 : Massachusetts

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  4. County business patterns, 1996 : Iowa

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  5. County business patterns, 1996 : Alabama

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  6. County business patterns, 1997 : Washington

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  7. County business patterns, 1996 : Pennsylvania

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  8. County business patterns, 1996 : Maine

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  9. County business patterns, 1996 : Delaware

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  10. County business patterns, 1997 : Maine

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  11. County business patterns, 1997 : Oklahoma

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  12. County business patterns, 1997 : Wisconsin

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  13. County business patterns, 1997 : Kansas

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  14. County business patterns, 1996 : Hawaii

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  15. County business patterns, 1996 : Alaska

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  16. County business patterns, 1996 : Louisiana

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  17. County business patterns, 1996 : Ohio

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  18. County business patterns, 1996 : Montana

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  19. County business patterns, 1996 : Georgia

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  20. County business patterns, 1996 : Mississippi

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  1. County business patterns, 1997 : Montana

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  2. County business patterns, 1996 : Wisconsin

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  3. County business patterns, 1997 : Nebraska

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  4. County business patterns, 1996 : Florida

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  5. County business patterns, 1996 : Utah

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  6. County business patterns, 1996 : Virginia

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  7. County business patterns, 1996 : Connecticut

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  8. County business patterns, 1996 : Idaho

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  9. County business patterns, 1996 : Tennessee

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  10. County business patterns, 1997 : Maryland

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  11. County business patterns, 1997 : Massachusetts

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  12. County business patterns, 1997 : Idaho

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  13. County business patterns, 1996 : Colorado

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  14. County business patterns, 1997 : Arkansas

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  15. County business patterns, 1996 : Kentucky

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  16. County business patterns, 1996 : Illinois

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  17. County business patterns, 1996 : Oregon

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  18. County business patterns, 1996 : Minnesota

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  19. County business patterns, 1997 : Alaska

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  20. Real-time optical fiber digital speckle pattern interferometry for industrial applications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chan, Robert K.; Cheung, Y. M.; Lo, C. H.; Tam, T. K.

    1997-03-01

    There is current interest, especially in the industrial sector, to use the digital speckle pattern interferometry (DSPI) technique to measure surface stress. Indeed, many publications in the subject are evident of the growing interests in the field. However, to bring the technology to industrial use requires the integration of several emerging technologies, viz. optics, feedback control, electronics, imaging processing and digital signal processing. Due to the highly interdisciplinary nature of the technique, successful implementation and development require expertise in all of the fields. At Baptist University, under the funding of a major industrial grant, we are developing the technology for the industrial sector. Our system fully exploits optical fibers and diode lasers in the design to enable practical and rugged systems suited for industrial applications. Besides the development in optics, we have broken away from the reliance of a microcomputer PC platform for both image capture and processing, and have developed a digital signal processing array system that can handle simultaneous and independent image capture/processing with feedback control. The system, named CASPA for 'cascadable architecture signal processing array,' is a third generation development system that utilizes up to 7 digital signal processors has proved to be a very powerful system. With our CASPA we are now in a better position to developing novel optical measurement systems for industrial application that may require different measurement systems to operate concurrently and requiring information exchange between the systems. Applications in mind such as simultaneous in-plane and out-of-plane DSPI image capture/process, vibrational analysis with interactive DSPI and phase shifting control of optical systems are a few good examples of the potentials.

  1. Changes in the North American ferroalloys industry structure and trends in the industry during the past 20 years

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Didaleusky, J.R.; Jorgenson, J.D.; Corathers, L.A.; Fenton, M.D.; Kuck, P.H.; Papp, J.F.; Polyak, D.E.; Shedd, Kim B.

    2010-01-01

    This analysis of changes in the North American (Canada, Mexico, and the United States) ferroalloys industry between 1987 and 2007 includes the locations and types of ferroalloy plants in North America and the changes in production, imports, exports, pricing, and the structure of ownership since 1987, which was just prior to the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Significant events affect the supply of and demand for North American ferroalloys -- changes in end uses, global industry structure, political stability, and technology. Mergers and acquisitions in the ferroalloys industries of North America and their impact on trade are other significant issues in international trade as are antidumping and countervailing duty orders, and trade agreements and policies related to ferroalloys occurring during this period and affecting the North American region. Raw materials and energy supply to the ferroalloy industry, the logistics involved in the trade of North American ferroalloys, and the use of ferroalloys within major downstream industries are also important factors. Emphasis is placed on the bulk ferroalloys—ferrochromium, ferromanganese, ferrosilicon, and silicomanganese. Other ferroalloys investigated include those of boron, molybdenum, nickel, niobium, titanium, tungsten, and vanadium.

  2. To and From Campus: Changing Student Transportation Patterns.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fink, Ira Stephen

    A thorough study of changing student transportation patterns is justified on the grounds that (1) campuses are major traffic generators; (2) there is increased concern over the need to develop transportation systems that pose less ecological threat to the urban environment; (3) transportation patterns of students, faculty, and staff are changing…

  3. Investigation of environmental change pattern in Japan

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Maruyasu, T.; Ochiai, H.; Sugimori, Y.; Shoji, D.; Takeda, K.; Tsuchiya, K.; Nakajima, I.; Nakano, T.; Hayashi, S.; Horikawa, S. (Principal Investigator)

    1976-01-01

    The author has identified the following significant results. A detailed land use classification for a large urban area of Tokyo was made using MSS digital data. It was found that residential, commercial, industrial, and wooded areas and grasslands can be successfully classified. A mesoscale vortex associated with large ocean current, Kuroshio, which is a rare phenomenon, was recognized visually through the analysis of MSS data. It was found that this vortex affects the effluent patterns of rivers. Lava flowing from Sakurajima Volcano was clearly classified for three major erruptions (1779, 1914, and 1946) using MSS data.

  4. Fragmented patterns of flood change across the United States

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Archfield, Stacey A.; Hirsch, Robert M.; Viglione, A.; Blöschl, G.

    2016-01-01

    Trends in the peak magnitude, frequency, duration, and volume of frequent floods (floods occurring at an average of two events per year relative to a base period) across the United States show large changes; however, few trends are found to be statistically significant. The multidimensional behavior of flood change across the United States can be described by four distinct groups, with streamgages experiencing (1) minimal change, (2) increasing frequency, (3) decreasing frequency, or (4) increases in all flood properties. Yet group membership shows only weak geographic cohesion. Lack of geographic cohesion is further demonstrated by weak correlations between the temporal patterns of flood change and large-scale climate indices. These findings reveal a complex, fragmented pattern of flood change that, therefore, clouds the ability to make meaningful generalizations about flood change across the United States.

  5. Relevance of the economic crisis in chemical PM10 changes in a semi-arid industrial environment.

    PubMed

    Santacatalina, Milagros; Yubero, Eduardo; Mantilla, Enrique; Carratalá, Adoración

    2012-11-01

    This paper shows the changes in PM(10) levels and chemical composition in a region in southeast Spain between two periods: September 2005-August 2006 and June 2008-May 2009. PM(10) levels in this arid region, with a great number of cement, ceramic and related industries, have decreased in the second period in concordance with the reduction of industrial production due to the economic crisis and the closure of a cement plant. Annual average levels of PM(10) decreased from 41 μg m(-3) in 2005 to 30 μg m(-3) in 2008 (27%) and to 23 μg m(-3) in 2009 (23%). The relative contribution of the different sources has not changed in the area in the latter period and the elements with mineral origin are the main components of the PM(10) composition. There is a reduction in the concentration of the components that have soil-related industries and crustal material resuspension as their main sources, mainly in the case of CO(3) (2-), Ca, Sr, Tl and Pb, but the seasonal patterns were the same in both periods. As a particular case, there is an uncoupling between the seasonal evolution of SO(2) and sulphates in the two study periods, which remarks the existence of a sulphate regional background that does not depend on SO(2) local emissions. The decrease of V, Ni and Tl levels reflects the reduction of the industrial activity during the crisis period, affecting mainly the ceramic sector characterised by a great decrease of Tl levels.

  6. Tolerance adaptation and precipitation changes complicate latitudinal patterns of climate change impacts.

    PubMed

    Bonebrake, Timothy C; Mastrandrea, Michael D

    2010-07-13

    Global patterns of biodiversity and comparisons between tropical and temperate ecosystems have pervaded ecology from its inception. However, the urgency in understanding these global patterns has been accentuated by the threat of rapid climate change. We apply an adaptive model of environmental tolerance evolution to global climate data and climate change model projections to examine the relative impacts of climate change on different regions of the globe. Our results project more adverse impacts of warming on tropical populations due to environmental tolerance adaptation to conditions of low interannual variability in temperature. When applied to present variability and future forecasts of precipitation data, the tolerance adaptation model found large reductions in fitness predicted for populations in high-latitude northern hemisphere regions, although some tropical regions had comparable reductions in fitness. We formulated an evolutionary regional climate change index (ERCCI) to additionally incorporate the predicted changes in the interannual variability of temperature and precipitation. Based on this index, we suggest that the magnitude of climate change impacts could be much more heterogeneous across latitude than previously thought. Specifically, tropical regions are likely to be just as affected as temperate regions and, in some regions under some circumstances, possibly more so.

  7. Suicide by Industry and Occupation: A Structural-change Approach.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reinhart, George R.; Linden, Leonard L.

    1982-01-01

    Examined data on suicide rates for males age 20 to 64 by occupation and industry for 1950. Results indicated variations in suicide are related to changes in the size of the group from which significant others are selected. Conclusions support a structural change approach to suicide. (Author)

  8. Changing Housing Patterns in Metropolitan Washington

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grier, George; Grier, Eunice

    1975-01-01

    This testimony, before a public hearing of the New York City Commission on Human Rights in May 1974, summarizes extensive studies of changing minority residential patterns in metropolitan Washington and less extensive studies of other groups; the prospects for future desegregation and for using the growing economic potential of minority families…

  9. Wildfire patterns and landscape changes in Mediterranean oak woodlands.

    PubMed

    Guiomar, N; Godinho, S; Fernandes, P M; Machado, R; Neves, N; Fernandes, J P

    2015-12-01

    Fire is infrequent in the oak woodlands of southern Portugal (montado) but large and severe fires affected these agro-forestry systems in 2003-2005. We hypothesised transition from forest to shrubland as a fire-driven process and investigated the links between fire incidence and montado change to other land cover types, particularly those related with the presence of pioneer communities (generically designed in this context as "transitions to early-successional communities"). We present a landscape-scale framework for assessing the probability of transition from montado to pioneer communities, considering three sets of explanatory variables: montado patterns in 1990 and prior changes from montado to early-successional communities (occurred between 1960 and 1990), fire patterns, and spatial factors. These three sets of factors captured 78.2% of the observed variability in the transitions from montado to pioneer vegetation. The contributions of fire patterns and spatial factors were high, respectively 60.6% and 43.4%, the influence of montado patterns and former changes in montado being lower (34.4%). The highest amount of explained variation in the occurrence of transitions from montado to early-successional communities was related to the pure effect of fire patterns (19.9%). Low spatial connectedness in montado landscape can increase vulnerability to changes, namely to pioneer vegetation, but the observed changes were mostly explained by fire characteristics and spatial factors. Among all metrics used to characterize fire patterns and extent, effective mesh size provided the best modelling results. Transitions from montado to pioneer communities are more likely in the presence of high values of the effective mesh size of total burned area. This cross-boundary metric is an indicator of the influence of large fires in the distribution of the identified transitions and, therefore, we conclude that the occurrence of large fires in montado increases its probability of

  10. Fragmented patterns of flood change across the United States

    PubMed Central

    Hirsch, R. M.; Viglione, A.; Blöschl, G.

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Trends in the peak magnitude, frequency, duration, and volume of frequent floods (floods occurring at an average of two events per year relative to a base period) across the United States show large changes; however, few trends are found to be statistically significant. The multidimensional behavior of flood change across the United States can be described by four distinct groups, with streamgages experiencing (1) minimal change, (2) increasing frequency, (3) decreasing frequency, or (4) increases in all flood properties. Yet group membership shows only weak geographic cohesion. Lack of geographic cohesion is further demonstrated by weak correlations between the temporal patterns of flood change and large‐scale climate indices. These findings reveal a complex, fragmented pattern of flood change that, therefore, clouds the ability to make meaningful generalizations about flood change across the United States. PMID:27917010

  11. The food-service industry, dietary guidelines and change.

    PubMed

    Hughes, R G; Harvey, P W; Heywood, P F

    1997-08-01

    The influence of the food-service industry on compliance with the Australian dietary guidelines was investigated through three separate methods of data collection and analysis: a telephone survey of 1683 randomly selected Brisbane residents; telephone interviews with 69 food-service-industry operators and 10 face-to-face interviews with key stakeholders in industry and government. Nearly 40 per cent of respondents had consumed foods prepared by the food-service industry at least once on the day before the interview, mainly from restaurants, cafes and takeaway shops, in the form of fast-food or snacks. Consumption of these foods declined with age. Those consuming foods prepared by the food-service industry ate significantly less fruit, vegetables and dairy food and were therefore less likely to comply with the dietary guidelines. Outcomes from interviews with operators in the food-service industry show that food choices offered to consumers were the result of a dynamic interaction between consumer demand and operators' own tastes and perceptions of food quality. Key informant interviews show that public health nutrition programs will have limited effect without supportive environmental changes in the food-service industry supply. An effective means of increasing the likelihood of compliance with the Australian dietary guidelines will be to encourage food suppliers in ways that address their core business concerns simultaneously with the goals of health professionals.

  12. Contrast discrimination, non-uniform patterns and change blindness.

    PubMed Central

    Scott-Brown, K C; Orbach, H S

    1998-01-01

    Change blindness--our inability to detect large changes in natural scenes when saccades, blinks and other transients interrupt visual input--seems to contradict psychophysical evidence for our exquisite sensitivity to contrast changes. Can the type of effects described as 'change blindness' be observed with simple, multi-element stimuli, amenable to psychophysical analysis? Such stimuli, composed of five mixed contrast elements, elicited a striking increase in contrast increment thresholds compared to those for an isolated element. Cue presentation prior to the stimulus substantially reduced thresholds, as for change blindness with natural scenes. On one hand, explanations for change blindness based on abstract and sketchy representations in short-term visual memory seem inappropriate for this low-level image property of contrast where there is ample evidence for exquisite performance on memory tasks. On the other hand, the highly increased thresholds for mixed contrast elements, and the decreased thresholds when a cue is present, argue against any simple early attentional or sensory explanation for change blindness. Thus, psychophysical results for very simple patterns cannot straightforwardly predict results even for the slightly more complicated patterns studied here. PMID:9872004

  13. Changes in the Graphic Arts Industry in Switzerland.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meyer, Rene-Simon

    1992-01-01

    Major changes affecting Swiss graphic arts are photocomposition, replacement of letterpress with offset printing, scanners, and microcomputers and laser printers for desktop publishing. Effects on workers include monotony, alienation, and apprehension. Sex discrimination continues in the industry. (SK)

  14. [Wetland landscape pattern change based on GIS and RS: a review].

    PubMed

    Kong, Fan-Ting; Xi, Min; Li, Yue; Kong, Fan-Long; Chen, Wan

    2013-04-01

    Wetland is an ecological landscape with most biodiversity in nature, which has unique ecological structure and function, and contains abundant natural resources to provide material guarantee for human's living and development. Wetland landscape pattern is the comprehensive result of various ecological processes, and has become a hot issue in wetland ecological study. At present, the combination of geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) technologies is an important way to study the wetland landscape pattern change. This paper reviewed the research progress in the wetland landscape change based on GIS and RS from the aspects of the research methods of wetland landscape pattern, index of wetland landscape pattern, and driving forces of wetland landscape pattern evolution, and discussed the applications of the combination of GIS and RS in monitoring the wetland landscape pattern change, the index selection of wetland landscape pattern, and the driving mechanisms of the combined action of human and nature. Some deficiencies in the current studies were put forward, and the directions of the future-studies were prospected.

  15. Crop yield response to climate change varies with crop spatial distribution pattern

    DOE PAGES

    Leng, Guoyong; Huang, Maoyi

    2017-05-03

    The linkage between crop yield and climate variability has been confirmed in numerous studies using statistical approaches. A crucial assumption in these studies is that crop spatial distribution pattern is constant over time. Here, we explore how changes in county-level corn spatial distribution pattern modulate the response of its yields to climate change at the state level over the Contiguous United States. Our results show that corn yield response to climate change varies with crop spatial distribution pattern, with distinct impacts on the magnitude and even the direction at the state level. Corn yield is predicted to decrease by 20~40%more » by 2050s when considering crop spatial distribution pattern changes, which is 6~12% less than the estimates with fixed cropping pattern. The beneficial effects are mainly achieved by reducing the negative impacts of daily maximum temperature and strengthening the positive impacts of precipitation. Our results indicate that previous empirical studies could be biased in assessing climate change impacts by ignoring the changes in crop spatial distribution pattern. As a result, this has great implications for understanding the increasing debates on whether climate change will be a net gain or loss for regional agriculture.« less

  16. Crop yield response to climate change varies with crop spatial distribution pattern

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Leng, Guoyong; Huang, Maoyi

    The linkage between crop yield and climate variability has been confirmed in numerous studies using statistical approaches. A crucial assumption in these studies is that crop spatial distribution pattern is constant over time. Here, we explore how changes in county-level corn spatial distribution pattern modulate the response of its yields to climate change at the state level over the Contiguous United States. Our results show that corn yield response to climate change varies with crop spatial distribution pattern, with distinct impacts on the magnitude and even the direction at the state level. Corn yield is predicted to decrease by 20~40%more » by 2050s when considering crop spatial distribution pattern changes, which is 6~12% less than the estimates with fixed cropping pattern. The beneficial effects are mainly achieved by reducing the negative impacts of daily maximum temperature and strengthening the positive impacts of precipitation. Our results indicate that previous empirical studies could be biased in assessing climate change impacts by ignoring the changes in crop spatial distribution pattern. As a result, this has great implications for understanding the increasing debates on whether climate change will be a net gain or loss for regional agriculture.« less

  17. Patterns of Change: Forces and Motion

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Phillips, Marianne; Jeffery, Tonya D.

    2016-01-01

    Patterns of Change: Forces and Motion is an integrated science lesson that uses the 5E lesson cycle to tie together science with language arts, mathematics, literature, technology, engineering and social studies in an engaging format applicable for young learners. This lesson has been uniquely designed for the purpose of providing elementary…

  18. The changing structure of the hardwood lumber industry with implications on technology adaptation

    Treesearch

    William Luppold; John Baumgras; John Baumgras

    2000-01-01

    The hardwood sawmilling industry has been changing over the last 50 years as a result of changes in hardwood sawtimber inventory and in the demand for hardwood lumber. In 1950 the industry was composed of numerous individual mills, few of which produced more than 3 million board feet of lumber annually. During this time the furniture industry was the major user of...

  19. Private health insurance: New measures of a complex and changing industry

    PubMed Central

    Arnett, Ross H.; Trapnell, Gordon R.

    1984-01-01

    Private health insurance benefit payments are an integral component of estimates of national health expenditures. Recent analyses indicate that the insurance industry has undergone significant changes since the mid-1970's. As a result of these study findings and corresponding changes to estimating techniques, private health insurance estimates have been revised upward. This has had a major impact on national health expenditure estimates. This article describes the changes that have occurred in the industry, discusses some of the implications of those changes, presents a new methodology to measure private health insurance and the resulting estimate levels, and then examines concepts that underpin these estimates. PMID:10310950

  20. County business patterns, 1997 : New York

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  1. County business patterns, 1997 : North Carolina

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  2. County business patterns, 1997 : New Mexico

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  3. County business patterns, 1996 : North Carolina

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  4. County business patterns, 1996 : New York

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  5. County business patterns, 1997 : Puerto Rico

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  6. County business patterns, 1996 : Rhode Island

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  7. County business patterns, 1996 : New Jersey

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  8. County business patterns, 1997 : Rhode Island

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  9. County business patterns, 1997 : West Virginia

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  10. County business patterns, 1996 : South Dakota

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  11. County business patterns, 1996 : North Dakota

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  12. County business patterns, 1996 : New Mexico

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  13. County business patterns, 1997 : South Dakota

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  14. County business patterns, 1997 : New Jersey

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  15. County business patterns, 1996 : Puerto Rico

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  16. County business patterns, 1997 : South Carolina

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  17. County business patterns, 1996 : New Hampshire

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  18. County business patterns, 1996 : West Virginia

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  19. County business patterns, 1997 : New Hampshire

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  20. County business patterns, 1996 : South Carolina

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  1. County business patterns, 1997 : North Dakota

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  2. Dietary patterns and weight change: 15-year longitudinal study in Australian adults.

    PubMed

    Arabshahi, Simin; Ibiebele, Torukiri I; Hughes, Maria Celia B; Lahmann, Petra H; Williams, Gail M; van der Pols, Jolieke C

    2017-06-01

    Dietary intake is one of the most modifiable risk factors associated with obesity. However, data on the relationship between dietary patterns and long-term weight change are limited. We therefore investigated the association between dietary patterns and 15-year weight change in a sample of 1186 Australian adults (1992-2007). We measured body weight and collected data on socio-demographic and lifestyle characteristics in 1992 and 2007. Applying principal component analysis to 38 food groups from a food frequency questionnaire collected at baseline, we identified two dietary patterns: 'meat-and-fat' and 'fruit-and-vegetable.' Using generalized estimating equations, multivariable regression models, stratified by sex, were adjusted for concurrent changes in socio-demographic and lifestyle variables. The average increase in body weight of men in the highest tertile of the meat-and-fat pattern was more than twice that of men in the lowest tertile; mean weight change (95 % CI): 4.8 (-0.1, 9.7) kg versus 2.3 (-2.6, 7.1) kg, P-for-trend = 0.02. In contrast, average weight gain of men in the highest tertile of the fruit-and-vegetable pattern was only about half that of men in the lowest tertile; mean weight change (95 % CI): 2.9 (-2.0, 7.8) kg versus 5.4 (-1.5, 10.4) kg, P-for-trend = 0.02. Among women, dietary patterns were not related to weight change. These dietary patterns predict change in body weight in men, but not in women. In this cohort, a dietary pattern high in fruit and vegetables was related to less weight gain in men than a dietary pattern high in meat and fat.

  3. Changes to Watershed Hydrology due to Changing Snowmelt Patterns, Michigan, US

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ford, C.; Kendall, A. D.; Hyndman, D. W.

    2017-12-01

    With increasing temperatures and changing precipitation patterns associated with global climate change, the future of hydrologic resources related to snowmelt is less certain than ever. Most existing snowmelt hydrology research focuses on mountainous regions such as the western United States, where snowpack is a primary reservoir of available freshwater. Less research has been done on snowmelt hydrology in non-mountainous, temperate middle to upper latitude regions such as the Midwestern US, where snowmelt is still an important contributor to water budgets (and critically summer water supplies). This study examines the changes to watershed hydrology due to changing snowmelt patterns in Michigan, which has a tension line between seasonally-persistent snowpacks in the north, and episodic snowpacks in the south. This transition varies in space and time, and is likely moving northward as a consequence of climate change. Changes to snow and winter weather were statistically determined from output of the NOAA's Snow Data Assimilation System (SNODAS) model along with historical weather data from the Global Historical Climatology Network. Stream data from the USGS, combined with in-house monitoring data from groundwater and soil moisture networks provide insight into the hydrologic changes. Snowmelt in years with warmer winter temperatures tend to end earlier in the year, resulting in earlier peak stream flows. These changes become more noticeable in the northern regions of the state, where snowfall amounts can be amongst the largest in the country. This study also examines the changing spatial transition zone between regions with snow lasting throughout the season and regions with a more episodic snow presence. In an area with some of the largest freshwater resources in the world, significant changes to streamflow and groundwater recharge could impact already stressed ecosystems and local water supplies.

  4. Changing patterns of gallstone disease in Korea.

    PubMed

    Park, Yong-Hyun; Park, Sang-Jae; Jang, Jin-Young; Ahn, Young Joon; Park, Youn-Chan; Yoon, Yong Bum; Kim, Sun-Whe

    2004-02-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiologic characteristics and changing patterns of gallstone disease in Korea over a recent 20-year period. A total of 4020 gallstone patients who had undergone surgery at Seoul National University Hospital during 1981-2000 were analyzed according to periods: period I (1981-1985: 831 cases); period II (1986-1990: 888 cases); period III (1991-1995: 1040 cases); period IV (1996-2000: 1261 cases). The literature from 13 institutes in Korea reporting a total of 13,101 gallstone cases were reviewed to elucidate the nationwide trend. The number of gallstone cases gradually increased. A female predominance was not noted (F/M = 1.17-1.37) as is seen in Western countries. The patients with common bile duct (CBD) stones were older than those with gallbladder (GB) stones or intrahepatic duct (IHD) stones. Over time, the relative proportion of those with a GB stone increased, plateauing (80-85%) during the 1990s; that of patients with CBD stones decreased (34% --> 19%); and that of those with IHD stones remained unchanged (11-15%). Over the entire period, the rural pattern of gallstone formation (low number of GB stones, high numbers of CBD and IHD stones) has become similar to the urban pattern. The body mass index (BMI) of the GB stone group was above average, as were the BMIs of the CBD stone and IHD stone groups. Throughout the literature review, this same changing pattern of the relative proportion of gallstone disease was confirmed. Thus the pattern of gallstone disease in Korea has become similar to that seen in Western countries except for a high prevalence of hepatolithiasis.

  5. Spectroscopic vector analysis for fast pattern quality monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sohn, Younghoon; Ryu, Sungyoon; Lee, Chihoon; Yang, Yusin

    2018-03-01

    In semiconductor industry, fast and effective measurement of pattern variation has been key challenge for assuring massproduct quality. Pattern measurement techniques such as conventional CD-SEMs or Optical CDs have been extensively used, but these techniques are increasingly limited in terms of measurement throughput and time spent in modeling. In this paper we propose time effective pattern monitoring method through the direct spectrum-based approach. In this technique, a wavelength band sensitive to a specific pattern change is selected from spectroscopic ellipsometry signal scattered by pattern to be measured, and the amplitude and phase variation in the wavelength band are analyzed as a measurement index of the pattern change. This pattern change measurement technique is applied to several process steps and verified its applicability. Due to its fast and simple analysis, the methods can be adapted to the massive process variation monitoring maximizing measurement throughput.

  6. Persistent Differences in Mortality Patterns across Industrialized Countries

    PubMed Central

    d'Albis, Hippolyte; Esso, Loesse Jacques; Pifarré i Arolas, Héctor

    2014-01-01

    The epidemiological transition has provided the theoretical background for the expectation of convergence in mortality patterns. We formally test and reject the convergence hypothesis for a sample of industrialized countries in the period from 1960 to 2008. After a period of convergence in the decade of 1960 there followed a sustained process of divergence with a pronounced increase at the end of the 1980's, explained by trends within former Socialist countries (Eastern countries). While Eastern countries experienced abrupt divergence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, differences within Western countries remained broadly constant for the whole period. Western countries transitioned from a strong correlation between life expectancy and variance in 1960 to no association between both moments in 2008 while Eastern countries experienced the opposite evolution. Taken together, our results suggest that convergence can be better understood when accounting for shared structural similarities amongst groups of countries rather than through global convergence. PMID:25181447

  7. When Industries Change: The Future of Higher Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Collis, David

    2001-01-01

    Factors altering the higher education industry include radical change in the type of students, necessity of lifetime education, and new technologies. These factors are increasing the entry of private-sector players. Strategic university responses may be strengthening of accreditation, cost-cutting and efficiency measures, horizontal…

  8. Changing and Differentiated Urban Landscape in China: Spatiotemporal Patterns and Driving Forces.

    PubMed

    Fang, Chuanglin; Li, Guangdong; Wang, Shaojian

    2016-03-01

    Urban landscape spatiotemporal change patterns and their driving mechanisms in China are poorly understood at the national level. Here we used remote sensing data, landscape metrics, and a spatial econometric model to characterize the spatiotemporal patterns of urban landscape change and investigate its driving forces in China between 1990 and 2005. The results showed that the urban landscape pattern has experienced drastic changes over the past 15 years. Total urban area has expanded approximately 1.61 times, with a 2.98% annual urban-growth rate. Compared to previous single-city studies, although urban areas are expanding rapidly, the overall fragmentation of the urban landscape is decreasing and is more irregular and complex at the national level. We also found a stair-stepping, urban-landscape changing pattern among eastern, central, and western counties. In addition, administrative level, urban size, and hierarchy have effects on the urban landscape pattern. We also found that a combination of landscape metrics can be used to supplement our understanding of the pattern of urbanization. The changes in these metrics are correlated with geographical indicators, socioeconomic factors, infrastructure variables, administrative level factors, policy factors, and historical factors. Our results indicate that the top priority should be strengthening the management of urban planning. A compact and congregate urban landscape may be a good choice of pattern for urban development in China.

  9. Changes of dietary patterns during participation in a web-based weight-reduction programme.

    PubMed

    Luger, Eva; Aspalter, Rosa; Luger, Maria; Longin, Rita; Rieder, Anita; Dorner, Thomas Ernst

    2016-05-01

    To examine the weight-loss success associated with distinct dietary patterns and to determine changes of these dietary patterns during participation in a web-based weight-reduction programme. Factor analysis was used to identify the dietary patterns of twenty-two food groups that were administered in 14 d dietary protocols at baseline and after 3 months. Successful weight loss (≥5% of initial weight) and BMI were calculated. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess the rates of weight-loss success from each dietary pattern and changing or remaining in the initial dietary pattern. A generalised linear mixed model was used to estimate the effects of changing or staying in a dietary pattern on change in BMI. Adults (n 1635) aged 18-81 years. Users of a web-based weight-reduction programme (2006-2012). Participants who aligned to a healthful dietary pattern at baseline (OR=1·8; 95% CI 1·5, 2·3) and after 3 months (OR=1·5; 95% CI 1·2, 1·9) had a greater chance of successfully losing weight. After adjusting for age, sex, initial dietary pattern and BMI, participants who started with or changed to the healthful dietary pattern had a greater chance of being successful (OR=1·4; 95% CI 1·1, 1·7) and a higher BMI reduction of 0·30 (95% CI 0·2, 0·5) kg/m(2) compared with those who started with or changed to the energy-dense or high-carbohydrate dietary pattern. A favourable healthful dietary pattern at the beginning and after 3 months was positively associated with anthropometry. However, successful weight loss was feasible in each dietary pattern.

  10. Pallet recovery, repair and remanufacturing in a changing industry: 1992 to 2006

    Treesearch

    Philip Araman; Les Groom

    2010-01-01

    In a previously published Pallet Enterprise article (Material Use and Production Changes in the U.S. Wood Pallet and Container Industry: 1992 to 2006, June 2009), we provided the results of a series of studies that investigated the use of new wood by the pallet and container industry. As we mentioned in the article, the use of new wood is only one of the changes in raw...

  11. Continuities and changes in infant attachment patterns across two generations.

    PubMed

    Raby, K Lee; Steele, Ryan D; Carlson, Elizabeth A; Sroufe, L Alan

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the intergenerational continuities and changes in infant attachment patterns within a higher-risk longitudinal sample of 55 female participants born into poverty. Infant attachment was assessed using the Strange Situation when participants were 12 and 18 months as well as several decades later with participants' children. Paralleling earlier findings from this sample on the stability of attachment patterns from infancy to young adulthood, results provided evidence for intergenerational continuities in attachment disorganization but not security. Children of adults with histories of infant attachment disorganization were at an increased risk of forming disorganized attachments. Although changes in infant attachment patterns across the two generations were not correlated with individuals' caregiving experiences or interpersonal stresses and supports during childhood and adolescence, higher quality social support during adulthood was associated with intergenerational changes from insecure to secure infant-caregiver attachment relationships.

  12. Continuities and Changes in Infant Attachment Patterns Across Two Generations

    PubMed Central

    Raby, K. Lee; Steele, Ryan D.; Carlson, Elizabeth A.; Sroufe, L. Alan

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the intergenerational continuities and changes in infant attachment patterns within a higher-risk longitudinal sample of 55 female participants born into poverty. Infant attachment was assessed using the Strange Situation when participants were 12 and 18 months as well as several decades later with participants’ children. Paralleling earlier findings from this sample on the stability of attachment patterns from infancy to young adulthood, results provided evidence for intergenerational continuities in attachment disorganization but not security. Children of adults with histories of infant attachment disorganization were at an increased risk of forming disorganized attachments. Although changes in infant attachment patterns across the two generations were not correlated with individuals’ caregiving experiences or interpersonal stresses and supports during childhood and adolescence, higher quality social support during adulthood was associated with intergenerational changes from insecure to secure infant-caregiver attachment relationships. PMID:26213155

  13. Changes in Training Opportunities in South Wales, 1945-1998: The Views of Key Informants. Patterns of Participation in Adult Education and Training. Working Paper 12.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chambers, Paul; Gorard, Stephen; Fevre, Ralph; Rees, Gareth; Furlong, John

    This study is part of a regional study in industrial South Wales on the determinants of participation and non-participation in post-compulsory education and training, with special reference to processes of change in the patterns of these determinants over time and to variations between geographical areas. The study combines analysis of secondary…

  14. County business patterns, 1997 : U.S. summary

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  15. County business patterns, 1997 : District of Columbia

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-09-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that provides : subnational economic data by industry. The series is : useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  16. County business patterns, 1996 : District of Columbia

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  17. County business patterns, 1996 : U.S. summary

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-11-01

    County Business Patterns is an annual series that : provides subnational economic data by industry. The series : is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; : analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark : for statistical...

  18. [Corn plant DNA methylation pattern changes upon fractional UV-C irradiation].

    PubMed

    Kravets, A P; Sokolova, D A; Vengzhen, G S; Grodzinskiĭ, D M

    2013-01-01

    Relationship of changes of methylation pattern of functionally different parts of DNA and chromosomal aberration yield was studied at the conditions of the fractionating of UV-C irradiation. Combination of restriction analysis (Hpall, MspI, MboI enzymes) with the subsequent raising of PCR (internal transcribed space ITS1, 1TS4 and inter simple sequence repeat - ISSR, 14b primers) was used. The got results testify to the changes in methylation pattern of satellite and transcription active part of DNA atan irradiation in the mode of fractionating and depending on fraction time ranges. The role of the methylation DNA pattern change in development of radiation damage and induction of organism protective reactions was discussed.

  19. Patterns of Individual Adjustment Changes During Middle School Transition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chung, HyunHee; Elias, Maurice; Schneider, Kenneth

    1998-01-01

    Examines the patterns of individual adjustment changes in a sample of 99 early adolescents during an ecological transition from elementary school to middle school. Shows significant changes in adjustment as indicated by increased psychological distress or decreased academic achievement. Examines gender differences. Presents implications for…

  20. Seasonal climate change patterns due to cumulative CO 2 emissions

    DOE PAGES

    Partanen, Antti-Ilari; Leduc, Martin; Matthews, H. Damon

    2017-06-28

    Cumulative CO 2 emissions are near linearly related to both global and regional changes in annual-mean surface temperature. These relationships are known as the transient climate response to cumulative CO 2 emissions (TCRE) and the regional TCRE (RTCRE), and have been shown to remain approximately constant over a wide range of cumulative emissions. Here, we assessed how well this relationship holds for seasonal patterns of temperature change, as well as for annual-mean and seasonal precipitation patterns. We analyzed an idealized scenario with CO 2 concentration growing at an annual rate of 1% using data from 12 Earth system models frommore » the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). Seasonal RTCRE values for temperature varied considerably, with the highest seasonal variation evident in the Arctic, where RTCRE was about 5.5 °C per Tt C for boreal winter and about 2.0 °C per Tt C for boreal summer. Also the precipitation response in the Arctic during boreal winter was stronger than during other seasons. We found that emission-normalized seasonal patterns of temperature change were relatively robust with respect to time, though they were sub-linear with respect to emissions particularly near the Arctic. Moreover, RTCRE patterns for precipitation could not be quantified robustly due to the large internal variability of precipitation. Here, our results suggest that cumulative CO 2 emissions are a useful metric to predict regional and seasonal changes in precipitation and temperature. This extension of the TCRE framework to seasonal and regional climate change is helpful for communicating the link between emissions and climate change to policy-makers and the general public, and is well-suited for impact studies that could make use of estimated regional-scale climate changes that are consistent with the carbon budgets associated with global temperature targets.« less

  1. Seasonal climate change patterns due to cumulative CO2 emissions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Partanen, Antti-Ilari; Leduc, Martin; Damon Matthews, H.

    2017-07-01

    Cumulative CO2 emissions are near linearly related to both global and regional changes in annual-mean surface temperature. These relationships are known as the transient climate response to cumulative CO2 emissions (TCRE) and the regional TCRE (RTCRE), and have been shown to remain approximately constant over a wide range of cumulative emissions. Here, we assessed how well this relationship holds for seasonal patterns of temperature change, as well as for annual-mean and seasonal precipitation patterns. We analyzed an idealized scenario with CO2 concentration growing at an annual rate of 1% using data from 12 Earth system models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). Seasonal RTCRE values for temperature varied considerably, with the highest seasonal variation evident in the Arctic, where RTCRE was about 5.5 °C per Tt C for boreal winter and about 2.0 °C per Tt C for boreal summer. Also the precipitation response in the Arctic during boreal winter was stronger than during other seasons. We found that emission-normalized seasonal patterns of temperature change were relatively robust with respect to time, though they were sub-linear with respect to emissions particularly near the Arctic. Moreover, RTCRE patterns for precipitation could not be quantified robustly due to the large internal variability of precipitation. Our results suggest that cumulative CO2 emissions are a useful metric to predict regional and seasonal changes in precipitation and temperature. This extension of the TCRE framework to seasonal and regional climate change is helpful for communicating the link between emissions and climate change to policy-makers and the general public, and is well-suited for impact studies that could make use of estimated regional-scale climate changes that are consistent with the carbon budgets associated with global temperature targets.

  2. Seasonal climate change patterns due to cumulative CO 2 emissions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Partanen, Antti-Ilari; Leduc, Martin; Matthews, H. Damon

    Cumulative CO 2 emissions are near linearly related to both global and regional changes in annual-mean surface temperature. These relationships are known as the transient climate response to cumulative CO 2 emissions (TCRE) and the regional TCRE (RTCRE), and have been shown to remain approximately constant over a wide range of cumulative emissions. Here, we assessed how well this relationship holds for seasonal patterns of temperature change, as well as for annual-mean and seasonal precipitation patterns. We analyzed an idealized scenario with CO 2 concentration growing at an annual rate of 1% using data from 12 Earth system models frommore » the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). Seasonal RTCRE values for temperature varied considerably, with the highest seasonal variation evident in the Arctic, where RTCRE was about 5.5 °C per Tt C for boreal winter and about 2.0 °C per Tt C for boreal summer. Also the precipitation response in the Arctic during boreal winter was stronger than during other seasons. We found that emission-normalized seasonal patterns of temperature change were relatively robust with respect to time, though they were sub-linear with respect to emissions particularly near the Arctic. Moreover, RTCRE patterns for precipitation could not be quantified robustly due to the large internal variability of precipitation. Here, our results suggest that cumulative CO 2 emissions are a useful metric to predict regional and seasonal changes in precipitation and temperature. This extension of the TCRE framework to seasonal and regional climate change is helpful for communicating the link between emissions and climate change to policy-makers and the general public, and is well-suited for impact studies that could make use of estimated regional-scale climate changes that are consistent with the carbon budgets associated with global temperature targets.« less

  3. Regional patterns of the change in annual-mean tropical rainfall under global warming

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, P.

    2013-12-01

    Projection of the change in tropical rainfall under global warming is a major challenge with great societal implications. The current study analyzes the 18 models from the Coupled Models Intercomparison Project, and investigates the regional pattern of annual-mean rainfall change under global warming. With surface warming, the climatological ascending pumps up increased surface moisture and leads rainfall increase over the tropical convergence zone (wet-get-wetter effect), while the pattern of sea surface temperature (SST) increase induces ascending flow and then increasing rainfall over the equatorial Pacific and the northern Indian Ocean where the local oceanic warming exceeds the tropical mean temperature increase (warmer-get-wetter effect). The background surface moisture and SST also can modify warmer-get-wetter effect: the former can influence the moisture change and contribute to the distribution of moist instability change, while the latter can suppress the role of instability change over the equatorial eastern Pacific due to the threshold effect of convection-SST relationship. The wet-get-wetter and modified warmer-get-wetter effects form a hook-like pattern of rainfall change over the tropical Pacific and an elliptic pattern over the northern Indian Ocean. The annual-mean rainfall pattern can be partly projected based on current rainfall climatology, while it also has great uncertainties due to the uncertain change in SST pattern.

  4. Colour and pattern change against visually heterogeneous backgrounds in the tree frog Hyla japonica

    PubMed Central

    Kang, Changku; Kim, Ye Eun; Jang, Yikweon

    2016-01-01

    Colour change in animals can be adaptive phenotypic plasticity in heterogeneous environments. Camouflage through background colour matching has been considered a primary force that drives the evolution of colour changing ability. However, the mechanism to which animals change their colour and patterns under visually heterogeneous backgrounds (i.e. consisting of more than one colour) has only been identified in limited taxa. Here, we investigated the colour change process of the Japanese tree frog (Hyla japonica) against patterned backgrounds and elucidated how the expression of dorsal patterns changes against various achromatic/chromatic backgrounds with/without patterns. Our main findings are i) frogs primarily responded to the achromatic differences in background, ii) their contrasting dorsal patterns were conditionally expressed dependent on the brightness of backgrounds, iii) against mixed coloured background, frogs adopted intermediate forms between two colours. Using predator (avian and snake) vision models, we determined that colour differences against different backgrounds yielded perceptible changes in dorsal colours. We also found substantial individual variation in colour changing ability and the levels of dorsal pattern expression between individuals. We discuss the possibility of correlational selection on colour changing ability and resting behaviour that maintains the high variation in colour changing ability within population. PMID:26932675

  5. Colour and pattern change against visually heterogeneous backgrounds in the tree frog Hyla japonica.

    PubMed

    Kang, Changku; Kim, Ye Eun; Jang, Yikweon

    2016-03-02

    Colour change in animals can be adaptive phenotypic plasticity in heterogeneous environments. Camouflage through background colour matching has been considered a primary force that drives the evolution of colour changing ability. However, the mechanism to which animals change their colour and patterns under visually heterogeneous backgrounds (i.e. consisting of more than one colour) has only been identified in limited taxa. Here, we investigated the colour change process of the Japanese tree frog (Hyla japonica) against patterned backgrounds and elucidated how the expression of dorsal patterns changes against various achromatic/chromatic backgrounds with/without patterns. Our main findings are i) frogs primarily responded to the achromatic differences in background, ii) their contrasting dorsal patterns were conditionally expressed dependent on the brightness of backgrounds, iii) against mixed coloured background, frogs adopted intermediate forms between two colours. Using predator (avian and snake) vision models, we determined that colour differences against different backgrounds yielded perceptible changes in dorsal colours. We also found substantial individual variation in colour changing ability and the levels of dorsal pattern expression between individuals. We discuss the possibility of correlational selection on colour changing ability and resting behaviour that maintains the high variation in colour changing ability within population.

  6. Energy use pattern in rice milling industries-a critical appraisal.

    PubMed

    Goyal, S K; Jogdand, S V; Agrawal, A K

    2014-11-01

    Rice milling industry is one of the most energy consuming industries. Like capital, labour and material, energy is one of the production factors which used to produce final product. In economical term, energy is demand-derived goods and can be regarded as intermediate good whose demand depends on the demand of final product. This paper deals with various types of energy pattern used in rice milling industries viz., thermal energy, mechanical energy, electrical energy and human energy. The important utilities in a rice mill are water, air, steam, electricity and labour. In a rice mill some of the operations are done manually namely, cleaning, sun drying, feeding paddy to the bucket elevators, weighing and packaging, etc. So the man-hours are also included in energy accounting. Water is used for soaking and steam generation. Electricity is the main energy source for these rice mills and is imported form the state electricity board grids. Electricity is used to run motors, pumps, blowers, conveyors, fans, lights, etc. The variations in the consumption rate of energy through the use of utilities during processing must also accounted for final cost of the finished product. The paddy milling consumes significant quantity of fuels and electricity. The major energy consuming equipments in the rice milling units are; boilers and steam distribution, blowers, pumps, conveyers, elevators, motors, transmission systems, weighing, etc. Though, wide variety of technologies has been evolved for efficient use of energy for various equipments of rice mills, so far, only a few have improved their energy efficiency levels. Most of the rice mills use old and locally available technologies and are also completely dependent on locally available technical personnel.

  7. Impacts of changing cropping pattern on virtual water flows related to crops transfer: a case study for the Hetao irrigation district, China.

    PubMed

    Liu, Jing; Wu, Pute; Wang, Yubao; Zhao, Xining; Sun, Shikun; Cao, Xinchun

    2014-11-01

    Analysis of cropping patterns is a prerequisite for their optimisation, and evaluation of virtual water flows could shed new light on water resources management. This study is intended to explore the effects of cropping pattern changes between 1960 and 2008 on virtual water flows related to crops transfer in the Hetao irrigation district, China. (1) The sown area of crops increased at an average rate of 3.57 × 10(3) ha year(-1) while the proportion of sown grain crops decreased from 92.83% in the 1960s to 50.22% in the 2000s. (2) Virtual water content decreased during the study period while net virtual water exports increased since the 1980s. (3) Assuming that the cropping pattern was constant and was equal to the average 1960s value, accumulated net virtual water export in 1980-2008 would have been 4.76 × 10(9) m(3) greater than that in the actual cropping pattern scenario. Cropping pattern changes in the Hetao irrigation district could not only be seen as resulting from the pursuit for higher economic returns, but also as a feedback response to limited water resources. A systematic framework is still needed for future cropping pattern planning by taking food security, continued agricultural expansion and other constraints into consideration. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

  8. Profile Change When Industry Moves Into an Area. Working Paper RID 73.7.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scott, John T., Jr.

    The effects of industrialization on the economic and social profile of a rural community are described in this paper. Some of the major changes when industry moves into a community are in the land use and support systems such as an increase in the demand for water, energy, and waste disposal. Other changes are in the labor force, retail sales and…

  9. Remission death in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: a changing pattern.

    PubMed Central

    Atra, A; Richards, S M; Chessells, J M

    1993-01-01

    The pattern of remission deaths was examined in 842 children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) treated at a single centre over 18 years. The mortality rate from leukaemia fell significantly during three consecutive time periods during which treatment became progressively more intensive and that during remission induction fell from 3.5% to under 1%, but the rate of death in remission stayed constant at 5-6%. The factors associated with an increased risk of remission death were: young age, a higher leucocyte count, bone marrow transplantation, and Down's syndrome. The pattern of remission deaths changed over the years; measles and herpes viruses decreased while deaths associated with periods of intensification and gut toxicity increased. Four children developed second neoplasms. Treatment of ALL is still associated with a significant risk of death in remission but the pattern of infective deaths has changed. Many should be avoidable by provision of adequate supportive care, close supervision after periods of intensive treatment, and appropriate antibiotic, antifungal, and cytokine therapy. PMID:8257173

  10. [Changes of wetland landscape pattern in Dayang River Estuary based on high-resolution remote sensing image].

    PubMed

    Wu, Tao; Zhao, Dong-zhi; Zhang, Feng-shou; Wei, Bao-quan

    2011-07-01

    Based on the comprehensive consideration of the high resolution characteristics of remote sensing data and the current situation of land cover and land use in Dayang River Estuary wetland, a classification system with different resolutions of wetland landscape in the Estuary was established. The landscape pattern indices and landscape transition matrix were calculated by using the high resolution remote sensing data, and the dynamic changes of the landscape pattern from 1984 to 2008 were analyzed. In the study period, the wetland landscape components changed drastically. Wetland landscape transferred from natural wetland into artificial wetland, and wetland core regional area decreased. Natural wetland's largest patch area index descended, and the fragmentation degree ascended; while artificial wetland area expanded, its patch number decreased, polymerization degree increased, and the maximum patch area index had an obvious increasing trend. Increasing human activities, embankment construction, and reclamation for aquaculture were the main causes for the decrease of wetland area and the degradation of the ecological functions of Dayang River Estuary. To constitute long-term scientific and reasonable development plan, establish wetland nature reserves, protect riverway, draft strict inspective regimes for aquaculture reclamation, and energetically develop resource-based tourism industry would be the main strategies for the protection of the estuarine wetland.

  11. County Business Patterns: United States, 2002.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    US Department of Commerce, 2004

    2004-01-01

    In this report, subnational economic data by industry, including Educational Services, is provided. County Business Patterns is useful for studying the economic activity of small areas; analyzing economic changes over time; and as a benchmark for statistical series, surveys, and databases between economic censuses. The number of establishments,…

  12. Evaluating patterns and drivers of spatial change in the recreational guided fishing sector in Alaska.

    PubMed

    Chan, Maggie N; Beaudreau, Anne H; Loring, Philip A

    2017-01-01

    Understanding the impacts of recreational fishing on habitats and species, as well as the social and ecological importance of place to anglers, requires information on the spatial distribution of fishing activities. This study documented long-term changes in core fishing areas of a major recreational fishery in Alaska and identified biological, regulatory, social, and economic drivers of spatial fishing patterns by charter operators. Using participatory mapping and in-person interviews, we characterized the spatial footprint of 46 charter operators in the communities of Sitka and Homer since the 1990s. The spatial footprint differed between Homer and Sitka respondents, with Homer operators consistently using larger areas for Pacific halibut than Sitka operators. Homer and Sitka showed opposite trends in core fishing location area over time, with an overall decrease in Homer and an overall increase in Sitka. For both Sitka and Homer respondents, the range of areas fished was greater for Pacific halibut than for rockfish/lingcod or Pacific salmon. Spatial patterns were qualitatively different between businesses specializing in single species trips and those that operated multispecies trips and between businesses with one vessel and those with multiple vessels. In Homer, the most frequently cited reasons for changes in the location and/or extent of fishing were changes in trip type and the price of fuel, while in Sitka, the most frequently cited reasons for spatial shifts were changes to Pacific halibut regulations and gaining experience or exploring new locations. The diversity of charter fishing strategies in Alaska may allow individual charter operators to respond differently to perturbations and thus maintain resilience of the industry as a whole to social, environmental, and regulatory change. This research also highlights the importance of understanding fishers' diverse portfolio of activities to effective ecosystem-based management.

  13. Evaluating patterns and drivers of spatial change in the recreational guided fishing sector in Alaska

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Understanding the impacts of recreational fishing on habitats and species, as well as the social and ecological importance of place to anglers, requires information on the spatial distribution of fishing activities. This study documented long-term changes in core fishing areas of a major recreational fishery in Alaska and identified biological, regulatory, social, and economic drivers of spatial fishing patterns by charter operators. Using participatory mapping and in-person interviews, we characterized the spatial footprint of 46 charter operators in the communities of Sitka and Homer since the 1990s. The spatial footprint differed between Homer and Sitka respondents, with Homer operators consistently using larger areas for Pacific halibut than Sitka operators. Homer and Sitka showed opposite trends in core fishing location area over time, with an overall decrease in Homer and an overall increase in Sitka. For both Sitka and Homer respondents, the range of areas fished was greater for Pacific halibut than for rockfish/lingcod or Pacific salmon. Spatial patterns were qualitatively different between businesses specializing in single species trips and those that operated multispecies trips and between businesses with one vessel and those with multiple vessels. In Homer, the most frequently cited reasons for changes in the location and/or extent of fishing were changes in trip type and the price of fuel, while in Sitka, the most frequently cited reasons for spatial shifts were changes to Pacific halibut regulations and gaining experience or exploring new locations. The diversity of charter fishing strategies in Alaska may allow individual charter operators to respond differently to perturbations and thus maintain resilience of the industry as a whole to social, environmental, and regulatory change. This research also highlights the importance of understanding fishers’ diverse portfolio of activities to effective ecosystem-based management. PMID:28632745

  14. Rainfall pattern variability as climate change impact in The Wallacea Region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pujiastuti, I.; Nurjani, E.

    2018-04-01

    The objective of the study is to observe the characteristic variability of rainfall pattern in the city located in every rainfall type, local (Kendari), monsoon (Manado), and equatorial (Palu). The result will be compared to determine which has the most significantly precipitation changing due to climate change impact. Rainfall variability in Indonesia illustrates precipitation variation thus the important variability is the variability of monthly rainfall. Monthly precipitation data for the period of 1961-2010 are collected from Indonesian Agency for Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency. This data is calculated with the normal test statistical method to analyze rainfall variability. The result showed the pattern of trend and variability of rainfall in every city with the own characteristic which determines the rainfall type. Moreover, there is comparison of rainfall pattern changing between every rainfall type. This information is useful for climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies especially in water resource management form precipitation as well as the occurrence of meteorological disasters.

  15. Changing Throwing Pattern: Instruction and Control Parameter

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Southard, Dan

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of instruction and scaling up a control parameter (velocity of throw) on changes in throwing pattern. Sixty adult female throwers (ages 20-26 years) were randomly placed into one of four practice conditions: (a) scale up on velocity with no instruction, (b) maintain constant velocity with no…

  16. Using pattern based layout comparison for a quick analysis of design changes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Lucas; Yang, Legender; Kan, Huan; Zou, Elain; Wan, Qijian; Du, Chunshan; Hu, Xinyi; Liu, Zhengfang

    2018-03-01

    A design usually goes through several versions until achieving a most successful one. These changes between versions are not a complete substitution but a continual improvement, either fixing the known issues of its prior versions (engineering change order) or a more optimized design substitution of a portion of the design. On the manufacturing side, process engineers care more about the design pattern changes because any new pattern occurrence may be a killer of the yield. An effective and efficient way to narrow down the diagnosis scope appeals to the engineers. What is the best approach of comparing two layouts? A direct overlay of two layouts may not always work as even though most of the design instances will be kept in the layout from version to version, the actual placements may be different. An alternative way, pattern based layout comparison, comes to play. By expanding this application, it makes it possible to transfer the learning in one cycle to another and accelerate the process of failure analysis. This paper presents a solution to compare two layouts by using Calibre DRC and Pattern Matching. The key step in this flow is layout decomposition. In theory, with a fixed pattern size, a layout can always be decomposed into limited number of patterns by moving the pattern center around the layout, the number is limited but may be huge if the layout is not processed smartly! A mathematical answer is not what we are looking for but an engineering solution is more desired. Layouts must be decomposed into patterns with physical meaning in a smart way. When a layout is decomposed and patterns are classified, a pattern library with unique patterns inside is created for that layout. After individual pattern libraries for each layout are created, run pattern comparison utility provided by Calibre Pattern Matching to compare the pattern libraries, unique patterns will come out for each layout. This paper illustrates this flow in details and demonstrates the

  17. Technological Change in Regulated Industries.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Capron, William M., Ed.

    The articles in this volume discuss how well industries operating under government regulation respond to technical innovation: do the effects of regulations vary among industries, and if so, does this result from variations in the regulatory approach, the organization of the firms, or the nature of the technology? Industries considered include…

  18. Dynamic Changes of Landscape Pattern and Vulnerability Analysis in Qingyi River Basin

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Ziwei; Xie, Chaoying; He, Xiaohui; Guo, Hengliang; Wang, Li

    2017-11-01

    Environmental vulnerability research is one of the core areas of global environmental change research. Over the past 10 years, ecologically fragile zones or transition zones had been significantly affected by environmental degradation and climate change and human activities. In this paper, we analyzed the spatial and temporal changes of landscape pattern and landscape vulnerability degree in Qingyi River Basin by calculating the landscape sensitivity index and landscape restoration degree index based on Landsat images of 2005, 2010 and 2015. The results showed that: (1) The top conversion area was farmland, woodland and grassland area decreased, city land and rural residential land increased fastest. (2) The fragility of the landscape pattern along the Qingyi River gradually increased between 2005 and 2015, the downstream area was influenced by the influence of human activities. (3) Landscape pattern changes and fragility are mainly affected by urbanization. These findings are helpful for understanding the evolution of landscape pattern as well as urban ecology, which both have significant implications for urban planning and minimize the potential environmental impacts of urbanization in Qingyi River Basin.

  19. Recent Warming, Rather than Industrial Emissions of Bioavailable Nutrients, Is the Dominant Driver of Lake Primary Production Shifts across the Athabasca Oil Sands Region

    PubMed Central

    Summers, Jamie C.; Kurek, Joshua; Kirk, Jane L.; Muir, Derek C. G.; Wang, Xiaowa; Wiklund, Johan A.; Cooke, Colin A.; Evans, Marlene S.; Smol, John P.

    2016-01-01

    Freshwaters in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) are vulnerable to the atmospheric emissions and land disturbances caused by the local oil sands industry; however, they are also affected by climate change. Recent observations of increases in aquatic primary production near the main development area have prompted questions about the principal drivers of these limnological changes. Is the enhanced primary production due to deposition of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) from local industry or from recent climatic changes? Here, we use downcore, spectrally-inferred chlorophyll-a (VRS-chla) profiles (including diagenetic products) from 23 limnologically-diverse lakes with undisturbed catchments to characterize the pattern of primary production increases in the AOSR. Our aim is to better understand the relative roles of the local oil sands industry versus climate change in driving aquatic primary production trends. Nutrient deposition maps, generated using geostatistical interpolations of spring-time snowpack measurements from a grid pattern across the AOSR, demonstrate patterns of elevated total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and bioavailable nitrogen deposition around the main area of industrial activity. However, this pattern is not observed for bioavailable phosphorus. Our paleolimnological findings demonstrate consistently greater VRS-chla concentrations compared to pre-oil sands development levels, regardless of morphological and limnological characteristics, landscape position, bioavailable nutrient deposition, and dibenzothiophene (DBT)-inferred industrial impacts. Furthermore, breakpoint analyses on VRS-chla concentrations across a gradient of DBT-inferred industrial impact show limited evidence of a contemporaneous change among lakes. Despite the contribution of bioavailable nitrogen to the landscape from industrial activities, we find no consistency in the spatial pattern and timing of VRS-chla shifts with an industrial fertilizing signal. Instead

  20. The structure, dynamics and movement patterns of the Australian sheep industry.

    PubMed

    East, I J; Foreman, I

    2011-12-01

    To describe the structure of Australia's sheep industries and the movement of sheep to enable examination of the potential for animal movements to spread disease between farms. The structure, size, marketing and movement patterns of Australian sheep farms was determined through (i) review of data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, (ii) interviews with producers and saleyard managers and (iii) expert opinion. Twelve geographic regions are described, based on the type and extent of sheep farming in each region. Five production sectors were identified within the Australian sheep industry, with the proportion of each varying between the geographic regions. Over the past 20 years, the industry has decreased in size and contracted from the northern and central areas of Australia. Movement of sheep onto the majority (79%) of properties was limited to the introduction of less than 50 stud rams annually, although cross-bred- and wether-based farms introduced up to 2000 sheep annually; 75% of sheep movements occurred over distances less than 200 km, but stud rams moved up to 500 km. An increasing percentage of movements off farms was direct to abattoirs and over 80% of sheep sold through saleyards were purchased by abattoirs. The majority of Australian sheep farms operate as self-replacing enterprises and introduce few stock. In addition, most sheep movements occur over distances of less than 200 km and therefore sheep movements within Australia have only a limited potential to spread disease over larger distances. © 2011 The Authors. Australian Veterinary Journal © 2011 Australian Veterinary Association.

  1. Patterns of changes in wheelchair exercise capacity after spinal cord injury.

    PubMed

    van Koppenhagen, Casper F; de Groot, Sonja; Post, Marcel W; Hoekstra, Trynke; van Asbeck, Floris W; Bongers, Helma; Lindeman, Eline; van der Woude, Luc H

    2013-07-01

    (1) To identify different patterns of changes in wheelchair exercise capacity in the period between the start of active spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation and 5 years after discharge; (2) to examine the pattern determinants of the change in wheelchair exercise capacity. Prospective cohort study. Measurements were recorded at the start of active inpatient rehabilitation, 3 months after the start, at discharge of inpatient rehabilitation, 1 year after discharge, and 5 years after discharge. Eight rehabilitation centers. Persons with SCI (N=130; age range, 18-65y), who were wheelchair-dependent, at least for long distances. Not applicable. Wheelchair exercise capacity: peak power output (W). We found 4 different patterns of the change of peak power output (mean ± SD): (1) a pattern with high and progressive scores (33% of total study group): high progressive scores (start of rehabilitation: 49±15W to 5 years after discharge: 77±17.2W); (2) a pattern of improvement during inpatient rehabilitation and deterioration after inpatient rehabilitation (12%): progressive scores during inpatient rehabilitation with deteriorating scores after discharge (start of rehabilitation: 29±8.7W, to discharge: 60±8.4W, to 5 years after discharge: 39±13.1W); (3) a pattern with low and only slightly progressive scores (52%): low progressive scores (start of rehabilitation: 20±10.1W to 5 years after discharge: 31±15.9W); and (4) a pattern with low scores during inpatient rehabilitation and a sharp rise after discharge (3%): low inpatient scores with strong progressive scores after discharge (start of rehabilitation: 29±15.5W to 5 years after discharge: 82±10.6W). A logistic regression of factors that may distinguish between patterns with high and progressive scores and patterns with low and only slightly progressive scores revealed that older age, being a woman, having a tetraplegic lesion, and low functional status were associated with patterns with low and only slightly

  2. Changing Skills in Metalworking Industries: A Review of Research.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Merchiers, Jacques

    1991-01-01

    Transformations in the French metalworking industries have given rise to numerous studies on employment and job content in metallurgy over the past decade. One study related technical transformations to changes in the skills content of certain categories of workers. Although automation results in the elimination of certain know-how belonging to an…

  3. Spatial and temporal variation in distribution of mangroves in Moreton Bay, subtropical Australia: a comparison of pattern metrics and change detection analyses based on aerial photographs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Manson, F. J.; Loneragan, N. R.; Phinn, S. R.

    2003-07-01

    An assessment of the changes in the distribution and extent of mangroves within Moreton Bay, southeast Queensland, Australia, was carried out. Two assessment methods were evaluated: spatial and temporal pattern metrics analysis, and change detection analysis. Currently, about 15,000 ha of mangroves are present in Moreton Bay. These mangroves are important ecosystems, but are subject to disturbance from a number of sources. Over the past 25 years, there has been a loss of more than 3800 ha, as a result of natural losses and mangrove clearing (e.g. for urban and industrial development, agriculture and aquaculture). However, areas of new mangroves have become established over the same time period, offsetting these losses to create a net loss of about 200 ha. These new mangroves have mainly appeared in the southern bay region and the bay islands, particularly on the landward edge of existing mangroves. In addition, spatial patterns and species composition of mangrove patches have changed. The pattern metrics analysis provided an overview of mangrove distribution and change in the form of single metric values, while the change detection analysis gave a more detailed and spatially explicit description of change. An analysis of the effects of spatial scales on the pattern metrics indicated that they were relatively insensitive to scale at spatial resolutions less than 50 m, but that most metrics became sensitive at coarser resolutions, a finding which has implications for mapping of mangroves based on remotely sensed data.

  4. Sediment evidence of industrial leakage-induced asynchronous changes in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and trace metals from a sub-trophic lake, southwest China.

    PubMed

    Wang, Lei; Chen, Guangjie; Kang, Wengang; Wang, Jiaoyuan; Liu, Yuanyuan; Chen, Li

    2018-05-01

    It has been well established that regional patterns of atmosphere-borne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and trace metals were predominantly associated with the trajectory of socio-economic development; however, they could be potentially modulated by anthropogenic fingerprint of local sources such as industrial spill. Here, we established historical pollution data of both PAHs and trace metals from a well-dated sediment core from Yangzong Lake of Southwest China, which experienced a severe tailing leakage accident derived from a zinc concentrate smelting plant in 2007, aiming to evaluate the heterogeneity in their temporal trajectories and their sources of contamination in the context of regional deposition patterns. Sedimentary records show that the concentrations and fluxes of both PAHs and trace metals remained a consistently low level before the 1950s. An increasing trend and the synchronous changes of both PAHs and trace metals during ~ 1950-2002 were well consistent with the temporal pattern of socio-economic development in western China, with coal combustion and smelting industries as the main sources of contamination in this region. However, arsenic (As) and PAHs exhibited a concurrent spike for the period of ~ 2007-2013, contrasting strongly to the regional pattern of these contaminants. The modern concentrations of As revealed a 5- to 14-fold increase over the pre-1950 level, with the contemporary concentrations of PAHs rising by ~ 10-14 times. The sediment records reveal that local fingerprints of smelting activities in the catchment of Yangzong Lake have overridden the temporary pattern of regional atmosphere-borne As and PAHs over the last decade. This highlights the important role of local pollution sources in modulating or even overriding the regional pattern of anthropogenic contamination in highly impacted systems.

  5. Financialization impedes climate change mitigation: Evidence from the early American solar industry

    PubMed Central

    Jerneck, Max

    2017-01-01

    The article investigates how financialization impedes climate change mitigation by examining its effects on the early history of one low-carbon industry, solar photovoltaics in the United States. The industry grew rapidly in the 1970s, as large financial conglomerates acquired independent firms. While providing needed financial support, conglomerates changed the focus from existing markets in consumer applications toward a future utility market that never materialized. Concentration of the industry also left it vulnerable to the corporate restructuring of the 1980s, when the conglomerates were dismantled and solar divisions were pared back or sold off to foreign firms. Both the move toward conglomeration, when corporations became managed as stock portfolios, and its subsequent reversal were the result of increased financial dominance over corporate governance. The American case is contrasted with the more successful case of Japan, where these changes to corporate governance did not occur. Insulated from shareholder pressure and financial turbulence, Japanese photovoltaics manufacturers continued to expand investment throughout the 1980s when their American rivals were cutting back. The study is informed by Joseph Schumpeter’s theory of creative destruction and Hyman Minsky’s theory of financialization, along with economic sociology. By highlighting the tenuous and conflicting relation between finance and production that shaped the early history of the photovoltaics industry, the article raises doubts about the prevailing approach to mitigate climate change through carbon pricing. Given the uncertainty of innovation and the ease of speculation, it will do little to spur low-carbon technology development without financial structures supporting patient capital. PMID:28435862

  6. Financialization impedes climate change mitigation: Evidence from the early American solar industry.

    PubMed

    Jerneck, Max

    2017-03-01

    The article investigates how financialization impedes climate change mitigation by examining its effects on the early history of one low-carbon industry, solar photovoltaics in the United States. The industry grew rapidly in the 1970s, as large financial conglomerates acquired independent firms. While providing needed financial support, conglomerates changed the focus from existing markets in consumer applications toward a future utility market that never materialized. Concentration of the industry also left it vulnerable to the corporate restructuring of the 1980s, when the conglomerates were dismantled and solar divisions were pared back or sold off to foreign firms. Both the move toward conglomeration, when corporations became managed as stock portfolios, and its subsequent reversal were the result of increased financial dominance over corporate governance. The American case is contrasted with the more successful case of Japan, where these changes to corporate governance did not occur. Insulated from shareholder pressure and financial turbulence, Japanese photovoltaics manufacturers continued to expand investment throughout the 1980s when their American rivals were cutting back. The study is informed by Joseph Schumpeter's theory of creative destruction and Hyman Minsky's theory of financialization, along with economic sociology. By highlighting the tenuous and conflicting relation between finance and production that shaped the early history of the photovoltaics industry, the article raises doubts about the prevailing approach to mitigate climate change through carbon pricing. Given the uncertainty of innovation and the ease of speculation, it will do little to spur low-carbon technology development without financial structures supporting patient capital.

  7. Patterns and biases of climate change threats in the IUCN Red List.

    PubMed

    Trull, Nicholas; Böhm, Monika; Carr, Jamie

    2018-02-01

    International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessments rely on published data and expert inputs, and biases can be introduced where underlying definitions and concepts are ambiguous. Consideration of climate change threat is no exception, and recently numerous approaches to assessing the threat of climate change to species have been developed. We explored IUCN Red List assessments of amphibians and birds to determine whether species listed as threatened by climate change display distinct patterns in terms of habitat occupied and additional nonclimatic threats faced. We compared IUCN Red List data with a published data set of species' biological and ecological traits believed to infer high vulnerability to climate change and determined whether distributions of climate change-threatened species on the IUCN Red List concur with those of climate change-threatened species identified with the trait-based approach and whether species possessing these traits are more likely to have climate change listed as a threat on the IUCN Red List. Species in some ecosystems (e.g., grassland, shrubland) and subject to particular threats (e.g., invasive species) were more likely to have climate change as a listed threat. Geographical patterns of climate change-threatened amphibians and birds on the IUCN Red List were incongruent with patterns of global species richness and patterns identified using trait-based approaches. Certain traits were linked to increases or decreases in the likelihood of a species being threatened by climate change. Broad temperature tolerance of a species was consistently related to an increased likelihood of climate change threat, indicating counterintuitive relationships in IUCN assessments. To improve the robustness of species assessments of the vulnerability or extinction risk associated with climate change, we suggest IUCN adopt a more cohesive approach whereby specific traits highlighted by our results are considered in Red List

  8. Technological Change in the Auto Industry. CAW Technology Project.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Robertson, David; Wareham, Jeff

    Today the auto industry is going through the most radical restructuring it has experienced since its birth. Included in this upheaval is a dramatic reorganization of the workplace, and technology has been both a catalyst and a central part of such change. The issues involved touch every facet of workplace life: job classifications and demarcation…

  9. Assessing changes in the U.S. hardwood sawmill industry with a focus on markets and distribution

    Treesearch

    Omar Espinoza; Urs Buehlmann; Matthew Bumgardner; Bob Smith

    2011-01-01

    The U.S. hardwood sawmilling industry has experienced significant changes over the past decade. A slowing housing industry, competition from imported products, higher transportation costs, and high stumpage prices have changed the business of manufacturing and marketing hardwood lumber. Also, hardwood lumber buyers are changing their business practices by shortening...

  10. Brain development and aging: overlapping and unique patterns of change.

    PubMed

    Tamnes, Christian K; Walhovd, Kristine B; Dale, Anders M; Østby, Ylva; Grydeland, Håkon; Richardson, George; Westlye, Lars T; Roddey, J Cooper; Hagler, Donald J; Due-Tønnessen, Paulina; Holland, Dominic; Fjell, Anders M

    2013-03-01

    Early-life development is characterized by dramatic changes, impacting lifespan function more than changes in any other period. Developmental origins of neurocognitive late-life functions are acknowledged, but detailed longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging studies of brain maturation and direct comparisons with aging are lacking. To these aims, a novel method was used to measure longitudinal volume changes in development (n=85, 8-22 years) and aging (n=142, 60-91 years). Developmental reductions exceeded 1% annually in much of the cortex, more than double to that seen in aging, with a posterior-to-anterior gradient. Cortical reductions were greater than the subcortical during development, while the opposite held in aging. The pattern of lateral cortical changes was similar across development and aging, but the pronounced medial temporal reduction in aging was not precast in development. Converging patterns of change in adolescents and elderly, particularly in the medial prefrontal areas, suggest that late developed cortices are especially vulnerable to atrophy in aging. A key question in future research will be to disentangle the neurobiological underpinnings for the differences and the similarities between brain changes in development and aging. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Changes of multispectral soil patterns with increasing crop canopy

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kristof, S. J.; Baumgardner, M. F.

    1972-01-01

    Multispectral data and automatic data processing were used to map surface soil patterns and to follow the changes in multispectral radiation from a field of maize (Zea mays L.) during a period from seeding to maturity. Panchromatic aerial photography was obtained in early May 1970 and multispectral scanner missions were flown on May 6, June 30, August 11 and September 5, 1970 to obtain energy measurements in 13 wavelength bands. The orange portion of the visible spectrum was used in analyzing the May and June data to cluster relative radiance of the soils into eight different radiance levels. The reflective infrared spectral band was used in analyzing the August and September data to cluster maize into different spectral categories. The computer-produced soil patterns had a striking similarity to the soil pattern of the aerial photograph. These patterns became less distinct as the maize canopy increased.

  12. Instructional Materials: The Changing Industry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brodinsky, Ben

    1975-01-01

    The beleaguered educational publishing industry is making a valiant stand against a storm of challenges. From eradicating bias in textbooks to verifying textbook effectiveness, many problems must be faced. The industry responds by cooperating with educators. (Editor)

  13. Change of wandering pattern with anisotropy in step kinetics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sato, Masahide; Uwaha, Makio

    1999-03-01

    We study the effect of anisotropy in step kinetics on the wandering instability of an isolated step. With the asymmetry of the step kinetics, a straight step becomes unstable for long wavelength fluctuations and wanders when the step velocity exceeds a critical value. Near the threshold of the instability, an isotropic step obeys the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation, HT=- HXX- HXXXX+( H2X/2), and shows a chaotic pattern. A step with anisotropic kinetics obeys the Benney equation, HT=- HXX- δHXXX- HXXXX+( H2X/2), and the wandering pattern changes: when the anisotropy is strong, δ≫1, the step shows a regular pattern. Near the threshold of the instability, the anisotropy effect becomes strong while that of the step stiffness becomes weak.

  14. [Changes in the food and beverage consumption pattern in Argentina, 1996-2013].

    PubMed

    Zapata, María Elisa; Rovirosa, Alicia; Carmuega, Esteban

    2016-01-01

    The dietary pattern of the population has shifted in recent years as a result of cultural changes and modifications in food accessibility. In order to describe the changes in food and beverage consumption patterns in the last two decades in Argentina, the National Survey of Household Expenditure [Encuesta Nacional de Gastos de los Hogares] was analyzed for the periods 1996-1997, 2004-2005 and 2012-2013. The average apparent consumption of food and beverages in grams or milliliters of net weight per adult equivalent was estimated for each period. The variation in the amount of food and beverages available for consumption between 1996 and 2013 shows that the structure of the dietary pattern has changed, appearing to indicate shifts in the ways of buying, preparing and consuming foods related to greater convenience and accessibility and less time spent on food preparation.

  15. A need for planned adaptation to climate change in the wine industry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Metzger, Marc J.; Rounsevell, Mark D. A.

    2011-09-01

    The diversity of wine production depends on subtle differences in microclimate and is therefore especially sensitive to climate change. A warmer climate will impact directly on wine-grapes through over-ripening, drying out, rising acidity levels, and greater vulnerability to pests and disease, resulting in changes in wine quality (e.g. complexity, balance and structure) or potentially the style of wine that can be produced. The growing scientific evidence for significant climate change in the coming decades means that adaptation will be of critical importance to the multi-billion dollar global wine-industry in general, and to quality wine producers in particular (White et al 2006, 2009; Hertsgaard 2011). Adaptation is understood as an adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected environmental change, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities (IPCC 2007). Autonomous adaptation has been an integral part of the 20th century wine industry. Technological advances, changes in consumer demand, and global competition have meant that growers and producers have had to adapt to stay in business. The gradual temperature rise in the 20th Century (0.7 °C globally) has been accommodated successfully by gradual changes in vine management, technological measures, production control, and marketing (White et al 2009), although this has in many cases resulted in the production of bolder, more alcoholic wines (Hertsgaard 2011). In spite of this success, the wine industry is surprisingly conservative when it comes to considering longer term planned adaptation for substantial climate change impacts. A few producers are expanding to new locations at higher altitudes or cooler climates (e.g. Torres is developing new vineyards high in the Pyrenees, and Mouton Rothschild is setting up new vineyards in South America), and the legal and cultural restrictions of Appelation d'Origine Cȏntrollée (AOC) systems are being discussed (White et al 2009

  16. Canada's Families Today: Some Policy Implications of Changing Forms and Patterns.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Glossop, Robert

    A summary review of facts, figures, and trends concerning family life in Canada reveals patterns of continuity and patterns of change. Generalizations about the average family no longer suffice (if ever they did) as the basis for government policies and programs, corporate personnel practices, and the organization and administration of schools.…

  17. 78 FR 71869 - Changes To Implement the Hague Agreement Concerning International Registration of Industrial Designs

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-11-29

    ... International Registration of Industrial Designs; Proposed Rule #0;#0;Federal Register / Vol. 78 , No. 230... Changes To Implement the Hague Agreement Concerning International Registration of Industrial Designs... Registration of Industrial Designs (``Hague Agreement'') and is to take effect on the entry into force of the...

  18. IT Knowledge Requirements Identification in Organizational Networks: Cooperation Between Industrial Organizations and Universities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rudzajs, Peteris; Kirikova, Marite

    ICT professionals face rapid technology development, changes in design paradigms, methodologies, approaches, and cooperation patterns. These changes impact relationships between universities that teach ICT disciplines and industrial organizations that develop and use ICT-based products. The required knowledge and skills of university graduates depend mainly on the current industrial situation; therefore the university graduates have to meet industry requirements which are stated at the time point of their graduation, not at the start of their studies. Continuous cooperation between universities and industrial organizations is needed to identify a time and situation-dependent set of knowledge requirements, which lead to situation aware, industry acknowledged, balanced and productive ICT study programs. This chapter proposes information systems solutions supporting cooperation between the university and the industrial organizations with respect to curriculum development in ICT area.

  19. New challenges and opportunities for industrial biotechnology

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Industrial biotechnology has not developed as fast as expected due to some challenges including the emergences of alternative energy sources, especially shale gas, natural gas hydrate (or gas hydrate) and sand oil et al. The weaknesses of microbial or enzymatic processes compared with the chemical processing also make industrial biotech products less competitive with the chemical ones. However, many opportunities are still there if industrial biotech processes can be as similar as the chemical ones. Taking advantages of the molecular biology and synthetic biology methods as well as changing process patterns, we can develop bioprocesses as competitive as chemical ones, these including the minimized cells, open and continuous fermentation processes et al. PMID:22905695

  20. New challenges and opportunities for industrial biotechnology.

    PubMed

    Chen, Guo-Qiang

    2012-08-20

    Industrial biotechnology has not developed as fast as expected due to some challenges including the emergences of alternative energy sources, especially shale gas, natural gas hydrate (or gas hydrate) and sand oil et al. The weaknesses of microbial or enzymatic processes compared with the chemical processing also make industrial biotech products less competitive with the chemical ones. However, many opportunities are still there if industrial biotech processes can be as similar as the chemical ones. Taking advantages of the molecular biology and synthetic biology methods as well as changing process patterns, we can develop bioprocesses as competitive as chemical ones, these including the minimized cells, open and continuous fermentation processes et al.

  1. Amplitude changes in otoacoustic emissions after exposure to industrial noise.

    PubMed

    Baradarnfar, Mohammad Hossein; Karamifar, Kayvan; Mehrparvar, Amir Houshang; Mollasadeghi, Abolfazl; Gharavi, Marjan; Karimi, Ghasem; Vahidy, Mohammad Reza; Baradarnfar, Amin; Mostaghaci, Mehrdad

    2012-01-01

    Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a frequent problem in industrial settings, especially where a high noise level is present. It is permanent, and irreversible, but preventable. Routine audiometry (an objective and time consuming) test is used for NIHL screening. Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) are recently proposed as a more sensitive test for early diagnosis of NIHL. In this study, we aimed to compare the results of pure tone audiometry (PTA) with OAE in the diagnosis of NIHL. In a cross-sectional study on 120 workers (in three groups: Not exposed to noise, exposed to noise without NIHL and exposed to noise with NIHL), we compared the results of PTA and OAE. OAE can detect some changes in the function of hearing system in subjects exposed to noise, and these changes are apparently prior to hearing loss, which is diagnosed by PTA. OAE is a more sensitive method for the early diagnosis of cochlear damage than PTA, and can be performed in industrial settings for NIHL screening.

  2. Applying a Comprehensive Contextual Climate Change Vulnerability Framework to New Zealand's Tourism Industry.

    PubMed

    Hopkins, Debbie

    2015-03-01

    Conceptualisations of 'vulnerability' vary amongst scholarly communities, contributing to a wide variety of applications. Research investigating vulnerability to climate change has often excluded non-climatic changes which may contribute to degrees of vulnerability perceived or experienced. This paper introduces a comprehensive contextual vulnerability framework which incorporates physical, social, economic and political factors which could amplify or reduce vulnerability. The framework is applied to New Zealand's tourism industry to explore its value in interpreting a complex, human-natural environment system with multiple competing vulnerabilities. The comprehensive contextual framework can inform government policy and industry decision making, integrating understandings of climate change within the broader context of internal and external social, physical, economic, and institutional stressors.

  3. A pattern of contractor selection for oil and gas industries in a safety approach using ANP-DEMATEL in a Grey environment.

    PubMed

    Gharedaghi, Gholamreza; Omidvari, Manouchehr

    2018-01-11

    Contractor selection is one of the major concerns of industry managers such as those in the oil industry. The objective of this study was to determine a contractor selection pattern for oil and gas industries in a safety approach. Assessment of contractors based on specific criteria and ultimately selecting an eligible contractor preserves the organizational resources. Due to the safety risks involved in the oil industry, one of the major criteria of contractor selection considered by managers today is safety. The results indicated that the most important safety criterion of contractor selection was safety records and safety investments. This represented the industry's risks and the impact of safety training and investment on the performance of other sectors and the overall organization. The output of this model could be useful in the safety risk assessment process in the oil industry and other industries.

  4. Spatial scaling patterns and functional redundancies in a changing boreal lake landscape

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Angeler, David G.; Allen, Craig R.; Uden, Daniel R.; Johnson, Richard K.

    2015-01-01

    Global transformations extend beyond local habitats; therefore, larger-scale approaches are needed to assess community-level responses and resilience to unfolding environmental changes. Using longterm data (1996–2011), we evaluated spatial patterns and functional redundancies in the littoral invertebrate communities of 85 Swedish lakes, with the objective of assessing their potential resilience to environmental change at regional scales (that is, spatial resilience). Multivariate spatial modeling was used to differentiate groups of invertebrate species exhibiting spatial patterns in composition and abundance (that is, deterministic species) from those lacking spatial patterns (that is, stochastic species). We then determined the functional feeding attributes of the deterministic and stochastic invertebrate species, to infer resilience. Between one and three distinct spatial patterns in invertebrate composition and abundance were identified in approximately one-third of the species; the remainder were stochastic. We observed substantial differences in metrics between deterministic and stochastic species. Functional richness and diversity decreased over time in the deterministic group, suggesting a loss of resilience in regional invertebrate communities. However, taxon richness and redundancy increased monotonically in the stochastic group, indicating the capacity of regional invertebrate communities to adapt to change. Our results suggest that a refined picture of spatial resilience emerges if patterns of both the deterministic and stochastic species are accounted for. Spatially extensive monitoring may help increase our mechanistic understanding of community-level responses and resilience to regional environmental change, insights that are critical for developing management and conservation agendas in this current period of rapid environmental transformation.

  5. The changing pattern of ground-water development on Long Island, New York

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Heath, Ralph C.; Foxworthy, B.L.; Cohen, Philip M.

    1966-01-01

    Ground-water development on Long Island has followed a pattern that has reflected changing population trends, attendant changes in the use and disposal of water, and the response of the hydrologic system to these changes. The historic pattern of development has ranged from individually owned shallow wells tapping glacial deposits to large-capacity public-supply wells tapping deep artesian aquifers. Sewage disposal has ranged from privately owned cesspools to modern large-capacity sewage-treatment plants discharging more than 70 mgd of water to the sea. At present (1965), different parts of long Island are characterized by different stages of ground-water development. In parts of Suffolk County in eastern long Island, development is similar to the earliest historical stages. Westward toward New York City, ground-water development becomes more intensive and complex, and the attendant problems become more acute. The alleviation of present problems and those that arise in the future will require management decisions based on the soundest possible knowledge of the hydrologic system, including an understanding of the factors involved in the changing pattern of ground-water development on the island.

  6. The New England travel market: changes in generational travel patterns

    Treesearch

    Rodney B. Warnick

    1995-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine and explore the New England domestic travel market trends, from 1979 through 1991 within the context of generations. The existing travel markets, who travel to New England, are changing by age cohorts and specifically within different generations. The New England changes in generational travel patterns do not reflect national...

  7. Do patterns of change during treatment for panic disorder predict future panic symptoms?

    PubMed Central

    Steinman, Shari A.; Hunter, Michael D.; Teachman, Bethany A.

    2012-01-01

    Background and Objectives Cognitive-behavioral therapies are currently the gold standard for panic disorder treatment, with well-documented treatment response. However, following interventions, some individuals continue to improve, while others experience a return of symptoms. The field lacks reliable ways to predict follow-up symptomology. In the current study, a cluster analysis with a repeated measures design was conducted to examine change patterns over 12 weeks of cognitive behavioral group therapy for panic disorder. The central aim of the study was to evaluate if change patterns predict level of panic symptom severity at a six month follow-up in this sample. Methods Individuals with panic disorder (N = 36) completed a measure of panic symptoms (Panic Disorder Severity Scale) at the outset of every therapy session and at a six month follow-up. Results Results revealed three patterns of change in this specific trial, which significantly predicted level of panic symptoms six months post-treatment, beyond initial or final level of panic symptoms, and beyond total symptom change. Limitations Given the relatively small, lab-based sample, replications in other settings and samples will be important. Conclusions Overall, results provide initial evidence that change patterns are meaningful predictors of panic symptom severity well after the final session of treatment. PMID:23187115

  8. Pattern of students' conceptual change on magnetic field based on students' mental models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hamid, Rimba; Widodo, Ari; Sopandi, Wahyu

    2017-05-01

    Students understanding about natural phenomena can be identified by analyzing their mental model. Changes in students' mental model are good indicator of students' conceptual change. This research aims at identifying students' conceptual change by analyzing changes in students' mental model. Participants of the study were twenty five elementary school students. Data were collected through throughout the lessons (prior to the lessons, during the lessons and after the lessons) based on students' written responses and individual interviews. Lessons were designed to facilitate students' conceptual change by allowing students to work in groups of students who have the similar ideas. Therefore, lessons were students-directed. Changes of students' ideas in every stage of the lessons were identified and analyzed. The results showed that there are three patterns of students' mental models, namely type of scientific (44%), analogous to everyday life (52%), and intuitive (4%). Further analyses of the pattern of their conceptual change identifies four different patterns, i.e. consistently correct (20%), consistently incomplete (16%), changing from incorrect to incomplete (8%), changing from incomplete to complete (32%), changing from complete to incorrect (4%), and changing from incorrect to complete (4%). This study suggest that the process of learning science does not move in a linear and progressive ways, rather they move in random and may move backward and forward.

  9. Mapping the order and pattern of brain structural MRI changes using change-point analysis in premanifest Huntington's disease.

    PubMed

    Wu, Dan; Faria, Andreia V; Younes, Laurent; Mori, Susumu; Brown, Timothy; Johnson, Hans; Paulsen, Jane S; Ross, Christopher A; Miller, Michael I

    2017-10-01

    Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder that progressively affects motor, cognitive, and emotional functions. Structural MRI studies have demonstrated brain atrophy beginning many years prior to clinical onset ("premanifest" period), but the order and pattern of brain structural changes have not been fully characterized. In this study, we investigated brain regional volumes and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measurements in premanifest HD, and we aim to determine (1) the extent of MRI changes in a large number of structures across the brain by atlas-based analysis, and (2) the initiation points of structural MRI changes in these brain regions. We adopted a novel multivariate linear regression model to detect the inflection points at which the MRI changes begin (namely, "change-points"), with respect to the CAG-age product (CAP, an indicator of extent of exposure to the effects of CAG repeat expansion). We used approximately 300 T1-weighted and DTI data from premanifest HD and control subjects in the PREDICT-HD study, with atlas-based whole brain segmentation and change-point analysis. The results indicated a distinct topology of structural MRI changes: the change-points of the volumetric measurements suggested a central-to-peripheral pattern of atrophy from the striatum to the deep white matter; and the change points of DTI measurements indicated the earliest changes in mean diffusivity in the deep white matter and posterior white matter. While interpretation needs to be cautious given the cross-sectional nature of the data, these findings suggest a spatial and temporal pattern of spread of structural changes within the HD brain. Hum Brain Mapp 38:5035-5050, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. Effect of Food Regulation on the Spanish Food Processing Industry: A Dynamic Productivity Analysis.

    PubMed

    Kapelko, Magdalena; Oude Lansink, Alfons; Stefanou, Spiro E

    2015-01-01

    This article develops the decomposition of the dynamic Luenberger productivity growth indicator into dynamic technical change, dynamic technical inefficiency change and dynamic scale inefficiency change in the dynamic directional distance function context using Data Envelopment Analysis. These results are used to investigate for the Spanish food processing industry the extent to which dynamic productivity growth and its components are affected by the introduction of the General Food Law in 2002 (Regulation (EC) No 178/2002). The empirical application uses panel data of Spanish meat, dairy, and oils and fats industries over the period 1996-2011. The results suggest that in the oils and fats industry the impact of food regulation on dynamic productivity growth is negative initially and then positive over the long run. In contrast, the opposite pattern is observed for the meat and dairy processing industries. The results further imply that firms in the meat processing and oils and fats industries face similar impacts of food safety regulation on dynamic technical change, dynamic inefficiency change and dynamic scale inefficiency change.

  11. Effect of Food Regulation on the Spanish Food Processing Industry: A Dynamic Productivity Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Kapelko, Magdalena; Lansink, Alfons Oude; Stefanou, Spiro E.

    2015-01-01

    This article develops the decomposition of the dynamic Luenberger productivity growth indicator into dynamic technical change, dynamic technical inefficiency change and dynamic scale inefficiency change in the dynamic directional distance function context using Data Envelopment Analysis. These results are used to investigate for the Spanish food processing industry the extent to which dynamic productivity growth and its components are affected by the introduction of the General Food Law in 2002 (Regulation (EC) No 178/2002). The empirical application uses panel data of Spanish meat, dairy, and oils and fats industries over the period 1996-2011. The results suggest that in the oils and fats industry the impact of food regulation on dynamic productivity growth is negative initially and then positive over the long run. In contrast, the opposite pattern is observed for the meat and dairy processing industries. The results further imply that firms in the meat processing and oils and fats industries face similar impacts of food safety regulation on dynamic technical change, dynamic inefficiency change and dynamic scale inefficiency change. PMID:26057878

  12. Technological change, depletion and environmental policy in the offshore oil and gas industry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Managi, Shunsuke

    Technological change is central to maintaining standards of living in modern economies with finite resources and increasingly stringent environmental goals. Successful environmental policies can contribute to efficiency by encouraging, rather than inhibiting, technological innovation. However, little research to date has focused on the design and implementation of environmental regulations that encourage technological progress, or in insuring productivity improvements in the face of depletion of natural resources and increasing stringency of environmental regulations. This study models and measures productivity change, with an application to offshore oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico using Data Envelopment Analysis. This is an important application because energy resources are central to sustaining our economy. The net effects of technological progress and depletion on productivity of offshore oil and gas production are measured using a unique field-level set of data of production from all wells in the Gulf of Mexico over the time period from 1946--1998. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that technological progress has mitigated depletion effects over the study period, but the pattern differs from the conventional wisdom for nonrenewable resource industries. The Porter Hypothesis was recast, and revised version was tested. The Porter Hypothesis states that well designed environmental regulations can potentially contribute to productive efficiency in the long run by encouraging innovation. The Porter Hypothesis was recast to include market and nonmarket outputs. Our results support the recast version of Porter hypothesis, which examine productivity of joint production of market and environmental outputs. But we find no evidence for the standard formulation of the Porter hypothesis, that increased stringency of environmental regulation lead to increased productivity of market outputs and therefore increased industry profits. The model is used to

  13. Post-partum weight change patterns in the WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study.

    PubMed

    Onyango, Adelheid W; Nommsen-Rivers, Laurie; Siyam, Amani; Borghi, Elaine; de Onis, Mercedes; Garza, Cutberto; Lartey, Anna; Baerug, Anne; Bhandari, Nita; Dewey, Kathryn G; Araújo, Cora Luiza; Mohamed, Ali Jaffer; Van den Broeck, Jan

    2011-07-01

    The interplay of factors that affect post-partum loss or retention of weight gained during pregnancy is not fully understood. The objective of this paper is to describe patterns of weight change in the six sites of the World Health Organization (WHO) Multicentre Growth Reference Study (MGRS) and explore variables that explain variation in weight change within and between sites. Mothers of 1743 breastfed children enrolled in the MGRS had weights measured at days 7, 14, 28 and 42 post-partum, monthly from 2 to 12 months and bimonthly thereafter until 24 months post-partum. Height, maternal age, parity and employment status were recorded and breastfeeding was monitored throughout the follow-up. Weight change patterns varied significantly among sites. Ghanaian and Omani mothers lost little or gained weight post-partum. In Brazil, India, Norway and USA, mothers on average lost weight during the first year followed by stabilization in the second year. Lactation intensity and duration explained little of the variation in weight change patterns. In most sites, obese mothers tended to lose less weight than normal-weight mothers. In Brazil and Oman, primiparous mothers lost about 1 kg more than multiparous mothers in the first 6 months. In India and Ghana, multiparous mothers lost about 0.6 kg more than primiparas in the second 6 months. Culturally defined mother-care practices probably play a role in weight change patterns among lactating women. This hypothesis should stimulate investigation into gestational weight gain and post-partum losses in different ethnocultural contexts. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  14. Changing patterns of brain activation during maze learning.

    PubMed

    Van Horn, J D; Gold, J M; Esposito, G; Ostrem, J L; Mattay, V; Weinberger, D R; Berman, K F

    1998-05-18

    Recent research has found that patterns of brain activation involving the frontal cortex during novel task performance change dramatically following practice and repeat performance. Evidence for differential left vs. right frontal lobe activation, respectively, during episodic memory encoding and retrieval has also been reported. To examine these potentially related issues regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured in 15 normal volunteers using positron emission tomography (PET) during the naive and practiced performance of a maze task paradigm. SPM analysis indicated a largely right-sided, frontal lobe activation during naive performance. Following training and practice, performance of the same maze task elicited a more posterior pattern of rCBF activation involving posterior cingulate and precuneus. The change in the pattern of rCBF activation between novel and practiced task conditions agrees with results found in previous studies using repeat task methodology, and indicates that the neural circuitry required for encoding novel task information differs from that required when the same task has become familiar and information is being recalled. The right-sided preponderance of activation during naive performance may relate to task novelty and the spatially-based nature of the stimuli, whereas posterior areas activated during repeat performance are those previously found to be associated with visuospatial memory recall. Activation of these areas, however, does not agree with previously reported findings of left-sided activation during verbal episodic memory encoding and right-sided activation during retrieval, suggesting different neural substrates for verbal and visuospatial processing within memory. Copyright 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.

  15. High Level Manpower and Technological Change in the Steel Industry: Implications for Corporate Manpower Planning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hiestand, Dale L.

    The purpose of this study was to examine the role that high level manpower plays in the establishment of new technologies at the plant and industry level. The steel industry was selected as an appropriate industry to approach these questions due to: its considerable technological changes; its straightforward, easier-to-understand technology; its…

  16. Global Terrestrial Patterns of Precipitation Change under a Warming Climate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, R.

    2017-12-01

    Terrestrial global warming has occurred over the last century, especially since the 1950s. This study analyzes changes in global terrestrial precipitation patterns in period of 1950-2010 in an attempt to identify the influence of climate change on precipitation. The results indicate that there is no significant change globally or across latitude bands; nevertheless significant regional differences in precipitation changes are identified. The lack of a change in precipitation levels, or precipitation balance, at both the global and latitudinal band scales is a result of offsetting by opposing precipitation changes at the regional scales. Clear opposing precipitation change patterns appeared in the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitude band (NHM). Significant increases in precipitation were distributed throughout the western extent of NHM, including the North America, Europe and west of Central Asia, while decreases were observed over the eastern extent, namely, East Asia. A dynamical adjustment methodology was applied to precipitation data, which could identify the roles of atmospheric circulation (dynamic) and the residual (thermodynamic) forcing played in generating the opposing regional precipitation changes in the NHM. Distinct different changes of dynamic and thermodynamic precipitation were found in different regions. Increased precipitation in North America and southern Europe were caused by thermodynamic precipitation, while the dynamic precipitation presented decreased trend due to the positive sea level pressure trend. However, in northern Europe and west of Central Asia, dynamic and thermodynamic precipitation both contributed to the increased precipitation, but thermodynamic precipitation had larger amplitude. In East Asia, the decreased precipitation was a result of simultaneous decrease in dynamic and thermodynamic precipitation.

  17. A novel grey-fuzzy-Markov and pattern recognition model for industrial accident forecasting

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Edem, Inyeneobong Ekoi; Oke, Sunday Ayoola; Adebiyi, Kazeem Adekunle

    2017-10-01

    Industrial forecasting is a top-echelon research domain, which has over the past several years experienced highly provocative research discussions. The scope of this research domain continues to expand due to the continuous knowledge ignition motivated by scholars in the area. So, more intelligent and intellectual contributions on current research issues in the accident domain will potentially spark more lively academic, value-added discussions that will be of practical significance to members of the safety community. In this communication, a new grey-fuzzy-Markov time series model, developed from nondifferential grey interval analytical framework has been presented for the first time. This instrument forecasts future accident occurrences under time-invariance assumption. The actual contribution made in the article is to recognise accident occurrence patterns and decompose them into grey state principal pattern components. The architectural framework of the developed grey-fuzzy-Markov pattern recognition (GFMAPR) model has four stages: fuzzification, smoothening, defuzzification and whitenisation. The results of application of the developed novel model signify that forecasting could be effectively carried out under uncertain conditions and hence, positions the model as a distinctly superior tool for accident forecasting investigations. The novelty of the work lies in the capability of the model in making highly accurate predictions and forecasts based on the availability of small or incomplete accident data.

  18. Assessing and quantifying changes in precipitation patterns using event-driven analysis

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Studies have claimed that climate change may adversely affect precipitation patterns by increasing the occurrence of extreme events. The effects of climate change on precipitation is expected to take place over a long period of time and will require long-term data to demonstrate. Frequency analysis ...

  19. Mapping the changing pattern of local climate as an observed distribution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chapman, Sandra; Stainforth, David; Watkins, Nicholas

    2013-04-01

    It is at local scales that the impacts of climate change will be felt directly and at which adaptation planning decisions must be made. This requires quantifying the geographical patterns in trends at specific quantiles in distributions of variables such as daily temperature or precipitation. Here we focus on these local changes and on the way observational data can be analysed to inform us about the pattern of local climate change. We present a method[1] for analysing local climatic timeseries data to assess which quantiles of the local climatic distribution show the greatest and most robust trends. We demonstrate this approach using E-OBS gridded data[2] timeseries of local daily temperature from specific locations across Europe over the last 60 years. Our method extracts the changing cumulative distribution function over time and uses a simple mathematical deconstruction of how the difference between two observations from two different time periods can be assigned to the combination of natural statistical variability and/or the consequences of secular climate change. This deconstruction facilitates an assessment of the sensitivity of different quantiles of the distributions to changing climate. Geographical location and temperature are treated as independent variables, we thus obtain as outputs the pattern of variation in sensitivity with temperature (or occurrence likelihood), and with geographical location. We find as an output many regionally consistent patterns of response of potential value in adaptation planning. We discuss methods to quantify and map the robustness of these observed sensitivities and their statistical likelihood. This also quantifies the level of detail needed from climate models if they are to be used as tools to assess climate change impact. [1] S C Chapman, D A Stainforth, N W Watkins, 2013, On Estimating Local Long Term Climate Trends, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A, in press [2] Haylock, M.R., N. Hofstra, A.M.G. Klein Tank, E.J. Klok, P

  20. Cognition-emotion interactions: patterns of change and implications for math problem solving

    PubMed Central

    Trezise, Kelly; Reeve, Robert A.

    2014-01-01

    Surprisingly little is known about whether relationships between cognitive and emotional states remain stable or change over time, or how different patterns of stability and/or change in the relationships affect problem solving abilities. Nevertheless, cross-sectional studies show that anxiety/worry may reduce working memory (WM) resources, and the ability to minimize the effects anxiety/worry is higher in individuals with greater WM capacity. To investigate the patterns of stability and/or change in cognition-emotion relations over time and their implications for problem solving, 126 14-year-olds’ algebraic WM and worry levels were assessed twice in a single day before completing an algebraic math problem solving test. We used latent transition analysis to identify stability/change in cognition-emotion relations, which yielded a six subgroup solution. Subgroups varied in WM capacity, worry, and stability/change relationships. Among the subgroups, we identified a high WM/low worry subgroup that remained stable over time and a high WM/high worry, and a moderate WM/low worry subgroup that changed to low WM subgroups over time. Patterns of stability/change in subgroup membership predicted algebraic test results. The stable high WM/low worry subgroup performed best and the low WM capacity-high worry “unstable across time” subgroup performed worst. The findings highlight the importance of assessing variations in cognition-emotion relationships over time (rather than assessing cognition or emotion states alone) to account for differences in problem solving abilities. PMID:25132830

  1. Changes in seafood consumer preference patterns and associated changes in risk exposure.

    PubMed

    Jensen, Helen H

    2006-01-01

    Consumers world-wide are driving changes in the agriculture and food sector. Rising consumer income, changing demographics and lifestyles, and shifting preferences due to new information about the links between diet and health all contribute to new demands for foods. At the same time, technological changes in production, processing and distribution, growth in large-scale retailing, and changes in product availability, as well as expansion of trade world wide, have contributed to a rapidly changing market for food products. Changes in seafood consumption reflect these changes. The changes in consumer consumption patterns, new technologies and trade in product offer both expanded markets as well as new challenges to consumer exposure to food-borne risks. The strict quality control requirements of retail brokers, growth of private labels, and development of value-protecting marketing channels have become increasingly important in food markets. This paper addresses major trends that affect seafood consumption and the market for seafood products and the implications of these changes for consumer risk exposure to food safety hazards. The current economic environment highlights similarities and differences between the developed and developing countries, as well as diversity worldwide in consumption of seafood. Within this context, four major trends affect consumer consumption of foods, including seafood and fish products today: rising income; changing demographics; changing markets for food; and an increasingly global market for food products. Changes in consumer risk exposure to food safety problems are addressed in the context of these trends.

  2. Changing drainage patterns within South Cascade Glacier, Washington, USA, 1964-1992

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Fountain, A.G.; Vaughn, B.H.

    1995-01-01

    The theoretical patterns of water drainage are presented for South Cascade Glacier for four different years between 1964 and 1992, during which the glacier was thinning and receding. The theoretical pattern compares well, in a broad sense, with the flow pattern determined from tracer injections in 1986 and 1987. Differences between the patterns may result from the routing of surface meltwater in crevasses prior to entering the body of the glacier. The changing drainage pattern was caused by glacier thinning. The migration of a drainage divide eventually rerouted most of the surface meltwater from the main stream that drained the glacier in 1987 to another, formerly smaller, stream by 1992. On the basis of projected glacier thinning between 1992 and 1999, we predict that the drainage divide will continue to migrate across the glacier.

  3. Creating a climate for ergonomic changes in the construction industry.

    PubMed

    Boatman, Laura; Chaplan, Debra; Teran, Suzanne; Welch, Laura S

    2015-08-01

    Ergonomic solutions that have gained acceptance in other industries are often considered not applicable to a construction work environment, even though the industry is characterized by high physical work demands. We conducted 50 key informant interviews with 23 contractor representatives and 27 union staff, plus 4 focus groups with a total of 48 workers. Many workers hold the belief that WMSDs are inevitable as part of the job, and did not consistently believe that changing the nature of the work could prevent that injury or pain. The interviewees reported limited availability and accessibility of tested and effective tools that both reduce physical demand and also get the job done efficiently and effectively. Yet for each major obstacle to implementation of ergonomics in the industry identified, the construction professionals we interviewed offered a variety of solutions. Contractors, unions, and workers need to work together to find actions that work within the parameters of the current economic environment. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. Total Factor Productivity Growth, Technical Progress & Efficiency Change in Vietnam Coal Industry - Nonparametric Approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Phuong, Vu Hung

    2018-03-01

    This research applies Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach to analyze Total Factor Productivity (TFP) and efficiency changes in Vietnam coal mining industry from 2007 to 2013. The TFP of Vietnam coal mining companies decreased due to slow technological progress and unimproved efficiency. The decadence of technical efficiency in many enterprises proved that the coal mining industry has a large potential to increase productivity through technical efficiency improvement. Enhancing human resource training, technology and research & development investment could help the industry to improve efficiency and productivity in Vietnam coal mining industry.

  5. Changes in Nitrogen Tropical Deposition Driven by Biomass Burning and Industrialization

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lara, L. B.; Holland, E. A.; Artaxo, P.; Martinelli, L.

    2003-12-01

    Until few years ago, N deposition studies and the consequences for ecosystems were focused on North Hemisphere, where most of the modern N deposition occurs. Nowadays, the pattern of N deposition has changed over the globe, calling attention to other geographical areas, including tropical regions which were the important pre-industrially(Matson et al., 1999). Substantial increases of NOx and SO2 emissions have been observed in Asia and in some regions of the tropics due to the rapid industrialization, urbanization, and deforestation (Ayers et al., 2000; Lara et al., 2001). Nevertheless,little information is available for developing regions of tropical and sub-tropical areas, where land-use changes are intense and followed by rapid urbanization, associated with a large industrial expansion. Such information is relevant, since recent estimates show that in a near future more than half of N inputs related to energy consumption in the Earth will take place in tropical and subtropical regions (Galloway et al., 1994). In addition, tropical terrestrial and aquatic systems appear to function differently from temperate systems, where N limitation is more severe than in the tropics (Matson et al, 1999). Conclusions based only in studies conducted in temperate regions may not be valid for tropical and sub-tropical regions. In the tropics the annual nitrogen wet deposition range from 2 to 10 kg N/ha/yr (Williams et al., 1997; Lara et al., 2001; IGAC 2003), according to the land cover. Brazil is largely tropical. It is considered a developing country, where developed areas with large urban centers, a large number of industries, and a high-technology agricultural system coexists with developing areas with low-technology and frontier-type agricultural systems and remote regions such as Amazon Basin. These anthropogenic activities are increasing the N wet deposition from an annual rate of 3.0 kg N/ha/yr in remote areas to an annual rate of 5.6 kg N/ha/yr in disturbed regions. If

  6. A Display of Patterns of Change in Learners' Motivation: Dynamics Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sel?uk, Özge; Erten, Ismail Hakki

    2017-01-01

    Getting to understand patterns and causes of motivational changes experienced by language learners while studying a foreign language can be of significant value. This paper aims to explore patterns of such fluctuations at the tertiary level. Through a dynamic systems perspective, this study employed Retrodictive Qualitative Modelling to generate…

  7. Patterns and potential drivers of dramatic changes in Tibetan lakes, 1972-2010.

    PubMed

    Li, Yingkui; Liao, Jingjuan; Guo, Huadong; Liu, Zewen; Shen, Guozhuang

    2014-01-01

    Most glaciers in the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau are retreating, and glacier melt has been emphasized as the dominant driver for recent lake expansions on the Tibetan Plateau. By investigating detailed changes in lake extents and levels across the Tibetan Plateau from Landsat/ICESat data, we found a pattern of dramatic lake changes from 1970 to 2010 (especially after 2000) with a southwest-northeast transition from shrinking, to stable, to rapidly expanding. This pattern is in distinct contrast to the spatial characteristics of glacier retreat, suggesting limited influence of glacier melt on lake dynamics. The plateau-wide pattern of lake change is related to precipitation variation and consistent with the pattern of permafrost degradation induced by rising temperature. More than 79% of lakes we observed on the central-northern plateau (with continuous permafrost) are rapidly expanding, even without glacial contributions, while lakes fed by retreating glaciers in southern regions (with isolated permafrost) are relatively stable or shrinking. Our study shows the limited role of glacier melt and highlights the potentially important contribution of permafrost degradation in predicting future water availability in this region, where understanding these processes is of critical importance to drinking water, agriculture, and hydropower supply of densely populated areas in South and East Asia.

  8. The Changing Nature and Patterns of Work and Implications for VET. Review of Research.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Waterhouse, Peter; Wilson, Bruce; Ewer, Peter

    An overview of recent literature on changes in the nature and patterns of work and their implications for vocational education and training (VET) is offered. Changes in the nature and patterns of work present significant challenges to the VET sector. More women have entered the work force; unemployment has reemerged as a significant factor;…

  9. Changing patterns of daily precipitation totals at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, North Carolina, USA

    Treesearch

    T. P. Burt; C. Ford Miniat; S. H. Laseter; W. T. Swank

    2017-01-01

    A pattern of increasing frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall over land has been documented for several temperate regions and is associated with climate change. This study examines the changing patterns of daily precipitation at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, North Carolina, USA, since 1937 for four rain gauges across a range of elevations. We analyse...

  10. Analysis of climate change impact on rainfall pattern of Sambas district, West Kalimantan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Berliana Sipayung, Sinta; Nurlatifah, Amalia; Siswanto, Bambang; Slamet S, Lilik

    2018-05-01

    Climate change is one of the most important issues being discussed globally. It caused by global warming and indirectly affecting the world climate cycle. This research discussed the effect of climate change on rainfall pattern of Sambas District and predicted the future rainfall pattern due to climate change. CRU and TRMM were used and has been validated using in situ data. This research was used Climate Modelling and Prediction using CCAM (Conformal Cubic Atmospheric Model) which also validated by in situ data (correlation= 0.81). The results show that temperature trends in Sambas regency increased to 0.082°C/yr from 1991-2014 according to CRU data. High temperature trigger changes in rainfall patterns. Rainfall pattern in Sambas District has an equatorial type where the peak occurs when the sun is right on the equator. Rainfall in Sambas reaches the maximum in March and September when the equinox occurs. The CCAM model is used to project rainfall in Sambas District in the future. The model results show that rainfall in Sambas District is projected to increase to 0.018 mm/month until 2055 so the flow rate increase 0.006 m3/month and the water balance increase 0.009 mm/month.

  11. Climate Change and Macro-Economic Cycles in Pre-Industrial Europe

    PubMed Central

    Pei, Qing; Zhang, David D.; Lee, Harry F.; Li, Guodong

    2014-01-01

    Climate change has been proven to be the ultimate cause of social crisis in pre-industrial Europe at a large scale. However, detailed analyses on climate change and macro-economic cycles in the pre-industrial era remain lacking, especially within different temporal scales. Therefore, fine-grained, paleo-climate, and economic data were employed with statistical methods to quantitatively assess the relations between climate change and agrarian economy in Europe during AD 1500 to 1800. In the study, the Butterworth filter was adopted to filter the data series into a long-term trend (low-frequency) and short-term fluctuations (high-frequency). Granger Causality Analysis was conducted to scrutinize the associations between climate change and macro-economic cycle at different frequency bands. Based on quantitative results, climate change can only show significant effects on the macro-economic cycle within the long-term. In terms of the short-term effects, society can relieve the influences from climate variations by social adaptation methods and self-adjustment mechanism. On a large spatial scale, temperature holds higher importance for the European agrarian economy than precipitation. By examining the supply-demand mechanism in the grain market, population during the study period acted as the producer in the long term, whereas as the consumer in the short term. These findings merely reflect the general interactions between climate change and macro-economic cycles at the large spatial region with a long-term study period. The findings neither illustrate individual incidents that can temporarily distort the agrarian economy nor explain some specific cases. In the study, the scale thinking in the analysis is raised as an essential methodological issue for the first time to interpret the associations between climatic impact and macro-economy in the past agrarian society within different temporal scales. PMID:24516601

  12. Climate change and macro-economic cycles in pre-industrial europe.

    PubMed

    Pei, Qing; Zhang, David D; Lee, Harry F; Li, Guodong

    2014-01-01

    Climate change has been proven to be the ultimate cause of social crisis in pre-industrial Europe at a large scale. However, detailed analyses on climate change and macro-economic cycles in the pre-industrial era remain lacking, especially within different temporal scales. Therefore, fine-grained, paleo-climate, and economic data were employed with statistical methods to quantitatively assess the relations between climate change and agrarian economy in Europe during AD 1500 to 1800. In the study, the Butterworth filter was adopted to filter the data series into a long-term trend (low-frequency) and short-term fluctuations (high-frequency). Granger Causality Analysis was conducted to scrutinize the associations between climate change and macro-economic cycle at different frequency bands. Based on quantitative results, climate change can only show significant effects on the macro-economic cycle within the long-term. In terms of the short-term effects, society can relieve the influences from climate variations by social adaptation methods and self-adjustment mechanism. On a large spatial scale, temperature holds higher importance for the European agrarian economy than precipitation. By examining the supply-demand mechanism in the grain market, population during the study period acted as the producer in the long term, whereas as the consumer in the short term. These findings merely reflect the general interactions between climate change and macro-economic cycles at the large spatial region with a long-term study period. The findings neither illustrate individual incidents that can temporarily distort the agrarian economy nor explain some specific cases. In the study, the scale thinking in the analysis is raised as an essential methodological issue for the first time to interpret the associations between climatic impact and macro-economy in the past agrarian society within different temporal scales.

  13. The Effects of industrial workers' food choice attribute on sugar intake pattern and job satisfaction with Structural Equcation Model

    PubMed Central

    Park, Young Il

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES This research analyzes the effects of the food choices of industrial workers according to their sugar intake pattern on their job satisfaction through the construction of a model on the relationship between sugar intake pattern and job satisfaction. SUBJECTS/METHODS Surveys were collected from May to July 2015. A statistical analysis of the 775 surveys from Kyungsangnam-do was conducted using SPSS13.0 for Windows and SEM was performed using the AMOS 5.0 statistics package. RESULTS The reliability of the data was confirmed by an exploratory factor analysis through a Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and the measurement model was proven to be appropriate by a confirmatory factor analysis in conjunction with AMOS. The results of factor analysis on food choice, sugar intake pattern and job satisfaction were categorized into five categories. The reliability of these findings was supported by a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.6 and higher for all factors except confection (0.516) and dairy products (0.570). The multicollinearity results did not indicate a problem between the variables since the highest correlation coefficient was 0.494 (P < 0.01). In an attempt to study the sugar intake pattern in accordance with the food choices and job satisfaction of industrial workers, a structural equation model was constructed and analyzed. CONCLUSIONS All tests confirmed that the model satisfied the recommended levels for the goodness of fit index, and thus, the overall research model was proven to be appropriate. PMID:27478555

  14. Cause-specific sickness absence trends by occupational class and industrial sector in the context of recent labour market changes: a Finnish panel data study

    PubMed Central

    Leinonen, Taina; Viikari-Juntura, Eira; Husgafvel-Pursiainen, Kirsti; Solovieva, Svetlana

    2018-01-01

    Objectives We aimed to provide previously unestablished information on population-based differences in cause-specific sickness absence trends between occupational classes and further between four large industrial sectors within the different occupational classes while controlling for other socioeconomic factors and employment patterns. We focused on the period 2005–2013, during which the labour market underwent large economic and structural changes in many countries. Design Register-based panel data study. Setting Large representative datasets on Finnish wage earners aged 25–59 years. Outcome measure Annual risk of sickness absence (>10 working days) based on repeated logistic regression. Results Between 2005 and 2013, the proportion of employees with sickness absence decreased. Occupational class differences in sickness absence trends varied by disease group. Overall, the decrease in absences was smallest among lower non-manual employees. Sickness absence levels were highest in the health and social work sector and in the manufacturing sector within the non-manual and manual classes, respectively. Absences due to musculoskeletal diseases decreased temporarily during the peak of the economic recession in 2009, particularly in the manufacturing sector within the manual class. The decrease in absences due to musculoskeletal diseases was smallest in the trade sector within the lower occupational classes. Overall, education, income and employment patterns partly explained the differences in the absence levels, but not in the trends. Conclusions We found a complex interplay between the associations of occupational class and industrial sector with sickness absence trends. During the economic recession, absences due to musculoskeletal diseases decreased temporarily in a segment of wage earners who were known to have been hit hard by the recession. However, the trend differences were not explained by the measured structural changes in the characteristics of the study

  15. The changing patterns of cropland conversion to built-up land in China from 1987 to 2010

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ju, H.; Zhang, Z.; Zhao, X.; Wu, W.; Wang, X.; Zuo, L.

    2017-12-01

    With the rapid urbanization, industrialization and rural area construction in China, the expansions of built-up land encroached upon a large amount of cropland, and thus placed great challenges on national food security. Previous studies have primarily been focused on the whole effects of built-up land expansion, however, the individual effect of different types of built-up land (urban areas, rural settlements and industrial/transportation land) on cropland loss remains unclear. Based on land use maps interpreted from remote sensing imagery in 1987-2010, we illustrated the spatio-temporal patterns of the speed and the structure of cropland conversion to built-up land. Then, we quantitatively measured the influence of different built-up land on cropland loss from three aspects: the contribution of built-up land expansion to cropland loss, the dependence of built-up land expansion on cropland loss and the conversion's impacts on cropland quality. It was found 42,822 km2 of cropland were converted into built-up land in China, accounting for 43.8% of total cropland loss during 1987-2010. Before 2000, the expansion of rural settlements had the largest influence on cropland loss, however, urban growth showed a greater impact on cropland loss after 2000. Although the effects of rural settlements expansion decreased, rural settlements still saw the highest percentage of the loss of traditional cropland which is generally in high quality. In addition, the impacts of industrial/transportation land expansion increased dramatically and was mainly distributed in major food production regions. These changes were closely related to the economic restructuring, urban-rural transformation and government policies in China. These findings demonstrate that Chinese cropland conservation in both amount and quality should focus not only on finding a reasonable urbanization mode, but also solving the "hollowing village" problem and balancing the industrial transformations in the future.

  16. Spatio-Temporal Pattern Analysis for Regional Climate Change Using Mathematical Morphology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Das, M.; Ghosh, S. K.

    2015-07-01

    Of late, significant changes in climate with their grave consequences have posed great challenges on humankind. Thus, the detection and assessment of climatic changes on a regional scale is gaining importance, since it helps to adopt adequate mitigation and adaptation measures. In this paper, we have presented a novel approach for detecting spatio-temporal pattern of regional climate change by exploiting the theory of mathematical morphology. At first, the various climatic zones in the region have been identified by using multifractal cross-correlation analysis (MF-DXA) of different climate variables of interest. Then, the directional granulometry with four different structuring elements has been studied to detect the temporal changes in spatial distribution of the identified climatic zones in the region and further insights have been drawn with respect to morphological uncertainty index and Hurst exponent. The approach has been evaluated with the daily time series data of land surface temperature (LST) and precipitation rate, collected from Microsoft Research - Fetch Climate Explorer, to analyze the spatio-temporal climatic pattern-change in the Eastern and North-Eastern regions of India throughout four quarters of the 20th century.

  17. Some implications of changing patterns of mineral consumption

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Menzie, W. David; DeYoung,, John H.; Steblez, Walter G.

    2003-01-01

    DeYoung and Menzie (1999) examined the relations among population, Gross Domestic Product, and mineral consumption (aluminum, cement, copper, and salt) for Japan, Korea, and the United States between 1965 and 1995. They noted the extremely rapid growth of consumption in Korea between 1975 and 1995. Concomitantly, Korea's population growth rate declined. This paper extends that earlier work by examining patterns of consumption of these same commodities in the twenty most populous countries for the period 1970 through 1995. Developed countries, such as France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, show patterns of consumption that are stable (cement, copper, and salt) or grow slowly (aluminum). Some developing countries, including China, Thailand, and Turkey, show more rapid growth of consumption, especially of cement, copper, and aluminum. These changing patterns of mineral consumption in developing countries have important implications -- if they continue, there could be major increases in world mineral consumption and major increases in environmental residuals from mineral production and use. If China reaches the level of consumption of copper of developed countries, world consumption could reach levels more than twice that of 1995 (10.5 million tons).

  18. The Negro in the Supermarket Industry. The Racial Policies of American Industry.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bloom, Gordon F.; Fletcher, F. Marion

    The supermarket industry is important in the study of racial employment policies of American industry for several reasons: the ubiquitous nature of the industry, its size, the relatively low skill employment requirements, the high percentage of part-time jobs available, and the comparatively attractive employment patterns. The latter include…

  19. Pattern formation--A missing link in the study of ecosystem response to environmental changes.

    PubMed

    Meron, Ehud

    2016-01-01

    Environmental changes can affect the functioning of an ecosystem directly, through the response of individual life forms, or indirectly, through interspecific interactions and community dynamics. The feasibility of a community-level response has motivated numerous studies aimed at understanding the mutual relationships between three elements of ecosystem dynamics: the abiotic environment, biodiversity and ecosystem function. Since ecosystems are inherently nonlinear and spatially extended, environmental changes can also induce pattern-forming instabilities that result in spatial self-organization of life forms and resources. This, in turn, can affect the relationships between these three elements, and make the response of ecosystems to environmental changes far more complex. Responses of this kind can be expected in dryland ecosystems, which show a variety of self-organizing vegetation patterns along the rainfall gradient. This paper describes the progress that has been made in understanding vegetation patterning in dryland ecosystems, and the roles it plays in ecosystem response to environmental variability. The progress has been achieved by modeling pattern-forming feedbacks at small spatial scales and up-scaling their effects to large scales through model studies. This approach sets the basis for integrating pattern formation theory into the study of ecosystem dynamics and addressing ecologically significant questions such as the dynamics of desertification, restoration of degraded landscapes, biodiversity changes along environmental gradients, and shrubland-grassland transitions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Changing Patterns of Cultural Imperialism in a Developing Country.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Everitt, John

    Using Belize, Central America, as an example, this paper illustrates some of the changing patterns of cultural imperialism that can presently be viewed in the emerging nations of the world. Cultural imperialism is defined as the process whereby the culture of a weaker nation is dominated by that of a stronger nation. In September 1981, Belize,…

  1. Industry Employment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Occupational Outlook Quarterly, 2012

    2012-01-01

    This article illustrates projected employment change by industry and industry sector over 2010-20 decade. Workers are grouped into an industry according to the type of good produced or service provided by the establishment for which they work. Industry employment projections are shown in terms of numeric change (growth or decline in the total…

  2. Recognizing lexical and semantic change patterns in evolving life science ontologies to inform mapping adaptation.

    PubMed

    Dos Reis, Julio Cesar; Dinh, Duy; Da Silveira, Marcos; Pruski, Cédric; Reynaud-Delaître, Chantal

    2015-03-01

    Mappings established between life science ontologies require significant efforts to maintain them up to date due to the size and frequent evolution of these ontologies. In consequence, automatic methods for applying modifications on mappings are highly demanded. The accuracy of such methods relies on the available description about the evolution of ontologies, especially regarding concepts involved in mappings. However, from one ontology version to another, a further understanding of ontology changes relevant for supporting mapping adaptation is typically lacking. This research work defines a set of change patterns at the level of concept attributes, and proposes original methods to automatically recognize instances of these patterns based on the similarity between attributes denoting the evolving concepts. This investigation evaluates the benefits of the proposed methods and the influence of the recognized change patterns to select the strategies for mapping adaptation. The summary of the findings is as follows: (1) the Precision (>60%) and Recall (>35%) achieved by comparing manually identified change patterns with the automatic ones; (2) a set of potential impact of recognized change patterns on the way mappings is adapted. We found that the detected correlations cover ∼66% of the mapping adaptation actions with a positive impact; and (3) the influence of the similarity coefficient calculated between concept attributes on the performance of the recognition algorithms. The experimental evaluations conducted with real life science ontologies showed the effectiveness of our approach to accurately characterize ontology evolution at the level of concept attributes. This investigation confirmed the relevance of the proposed change patterns to support decisions on mapping adaptation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Method of lift-off patterning thin films in situ employing phase change resists

    DOEpatents

    Bahlke, Matthias Erhard; Baldo, Marc A; Mendoza, Hiroshi Antonio

    2014-09-23

    Method for making a patterned thin film of an organic semiconductor. The method includes condensing a resist gas into a solid film onto a substrate cooled to a temperature below the condensation point of the resist gas. The condensed solid film is heated selectively with a patterned stamp to cause local direct sublimation from solid to vapor of selected portions of the solid film thereby creating a patterned resist film. An organic semiconductor film is coated on the patterned resist film and the patterned resist film is heated to cause it to sublime away and to lift off because of the phase change.

  4. [Dynamic changes of landscape pattern and hemeroby in Ximen Island wetland, Zhejiang Province, China].

    PubMed

    Xiao, Cui; Xie, Xue-Fen; Wu, Tao; Jiang, Guo-Jun; Bian, Hua-Jing; Xu, Wei

    2014-11-01

    Abstract: The hemeroby type classification system of Ximen Island wetland of Zhejiang Province was established based on the multiple datasets: SOPT-5 image data with a spatial resolution of 5 m in 2007 and 2010, its wetland land cover and land use status, the National Land Use Classification (on trail), and sea area use classification of marine industry standards as well as remote sensing data features. Meanwhile, the dynamic relationship between the landscape pattern and the degree of hemeroby in Ximen Island was investigated with the landscape indices and hemeroby index (HI) derived from the landscape pattern index and GIS spatial analysis. The results showed that the wetland landscape spatial heterogeneity, fragmentation and dominance index dropped, and the landscape shape index complexity was low. The human disturbance center developed from a dispersion type to a concentration type. The landscape type of the disturbance center was bare land and settlement. The HI rose up from the sea to the land. Settlement, wharf and traffic land had the highest HI. The HI of the mudflat cultivation, mudflats and raft-cultivation dramatically changed. Marine-terrestrial interlaced zone showed a low total HI with unstable characteristics. The number of patches declined of undisturbed, partially disturbed and completely disturbed landscapes. Mean patch areas of partially disturbed and completely disturbed landscapes increased, and that of the undisturbed decreased. Mean shape index of the undisturbed landscape decreased, while the partially disturbed and completely disturbed landscapes showed a trend of shape complication.

  5. Analysis of Prison Industries and Recommendations for Change. Study of the Economic and Rehabilitative Aspects of Prison Industry.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Inst. of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (Dept. of Justice/LEAA), Washington, DC.

    This volume presents a study undertaken in Connecticut to identify short-term and long-term strategies for changing prison industries into self-supporting labor systems while simultaneously promoting the rehabilitation of prison inmates. Individual tasks performed as part of the study include a job market survey, an inmate manpower survey, and a…

  6. Industrial Strength Changes in Engineering Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chatziioanou, Alypios; Sullivan, Edward

    2002-01-01

    Addresses the question of how closely the objectives of industry and engineering education should be aligned. Examines trends in college-business relationships using the example of California Polytechnic State University. Reflects on benefits and problems of closer connections with industry. (SK)

  7. Spatial stabilization and intensification of moistening and drying rate patterns under future climate change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chavaillaz, Yann; Joussaume, Sylvie; Bony, Sandrine; Braconnot, Pascale

    2016-08-01

    Precipitation projections are usually presented as the change in precipitation between a fixed current baseline and a particular time in the future. However, upcoming generations will be affected in a way probably more related to the moving trend in precipitation patterns, i.e. to the rate and the persistence of regional precipitation changes from one generation to the next, than to changes relative to a fixed current baseline. In this perspective, we propose an alternative characterization of the future precipitation changes predicted by general circulation models, focusing on the precipitation difference between two subsequent 20-year periods. We show that in a business-as-usual emission pathway, the moistening and drying rates increase by 30-40 %, both over land and ocean. As we move further over the twenty-first century, more regions exhibit a significant rate of precipitation change, while the patterns become geographically stationary and the trends persistent. The stabilization of the geographical rate patterns that occurs despite the acceleration of global warming can be physically explained: it results from the increasing contribution of thermodynamic processes compared to dynamic processes in the control of precipitation change. We show that such an evolution is already noticeable over the last decades, and that it could be reversed if strong mitigation policies were quickly implemented. The combination of intensification and increasing persistence of precipitation rate patterns may affect the way human societies and natural ecosystems adapt to climate change, especially in the Mediterranean basin, in Central America, in South Asia and in the Arctic.

  8. Climate change induced rainfall patterns affect wheat productivity and agroecosystem functioning dependent on soil types

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tabi Tataw, James; Baier, Fabian; Krottenthaler, Florian; Pachler, Bernadette; Schwaiger, Elisabeth; Whylidal, Stefan; Formayer, Herbert; Hösch, Johannes; Baumgarten, Andreas; Zaller, Johann G.

    2014-05-01

    Wheat is a crop of global importance supplying more than half of the world's population with carbohydrates. We examined, whether climate change induced rainfall patterns towards less frequent but heavier events alter wheat agroecosystem productivity and functioning under three different soil types. Therefore, in a full-factorial experiment Triticum aestivum L. was cultivated in 3 m2 lysimeter plots containing the soil types sandy calcaric phaeozem, gleyic phaeozem or calcic chernozem. Prognosticated rainfall patterns based on regionalised climate change model calculations were compared with current long-term rainfall patterns; each treatment combination was replicated three times. Future rainfall patterns significantly reduced wheat growth and yield, reduced the leaf area index, accelerated crop development, reduced arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonisation of roots, increased weed density and the stable carbon isotope signature (δ13C) of both old and young wheat leaves. Different soil types affected wheat growth and yield, ecosystem root production as well as weed abundance and biomass. The interaction between climate and soil type was significant only for the harvest index. Our results suggest that even slight changes in rainfall patterns can significantly affect the functioning of wheat agroecosystems. These rainfall effects seemed to be little influenced by soil types suggesting more general impacts of climate change across different soil types. Wheat production under future conditions will likely become more challenging as further concurrent climate change factors become prevalent.

  9. Patterns of Change within the Publishing Industry.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sirianni, F. J.

    This is one of several papers presented at a Federal Trade Commission Symposium on Media Concentration. It reviews the controversy between book publishers and the Authors Guild concerning the control of already published materials and the future of publishing, and it analyzes the market structure in order to put the issues into perspective. Some…

  10. 'Power base' tactics for workplace change - an interview study with industrial engineers and ergonomists.

    PubMed

    Berlin, Cecilia; Neumann, W Patrick; Theberge, Nancy; Örtengren, Roland

    2017-05-01

    The work activities of industrial engineers (IEs) and ergonomists drive workplace changes. The purpose of this study is to compare the work practices of the two professions and examine (1) how IEs and ergonomists gain influence over workplace changes and (2) whether there are prevailing types of intentional interaction behaviours called Power bases (PB) present in the interaction tactics they employ. The study identified key behavioural strategies used by the interviewees to successfully influence workplace changes; these were then mapped to their corresponding PB. Results showed that IEs and ergonomists were successfully influencing workplace changes using several tactics across the spectrum of PB, with the exception of Reward and Coercion. The study concludes with a list of recommended workplace change agent tactics, and proposes that a PB 'analytical lens' can serve to increase the budding ergonomists' critical and analytical skills when considering possible workplace change tactics. Practitioner Summary: This interview study examines how workplace ergonomics change agents, represented by the two professions: industrial engineers and ergonomists, perceive and exercise their capacity to influence workplace change. Key behavioural tactics that interviewees have found successful are reported, alongside effects on short- and long-term relations with other workplace-influencing stakeholders.

  11. Changing Schedules of Work: Patterns and Implications. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Glickman, Albert S.; Brown, Zenia H.

    The past few years have been highlighted by management experiments with variants of a 4-day week (particularly in the U.S.) and flexible working time schedules (particularly in Europe). These are illustrations of the changing patterns of work and free time that have begun to assume the status of a new technology, and which are the objects of study…

  12. Emerging European winter precipitation pattern linked to atmospheric circulation changes over the North Atlantic region in recent decades

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ummenhofer, Caroline C.; Seo, Hyodae; Kwon, Young-Oh; Parfitt, Rhys; Brands, Swen; Joyce, Terrence M.

    2017-08-01

    Dominant European winter precipitation patterns over the past century, along with their associated extratropical North Atlantic circulation changes, are evaluated using cluster analysis. Contrary to the four regimes traditionally identified based on daily wintertime atmospheric circulation patterns, five distinct seasonal precipitation regimes are detected here. Recurrent precipitation patterns in each regime are linked to changes in atmospheric blocking, storm track, and sea surface temperatures across the North Atlantic region. Multidecadal variability in the frequency of the precipitation patterns reveals more (fewer) winters with wet conditions in northern (southern) Europe in recent decades and an emerging distinct pattern of enhanced wintertime precipitation over the northern British Isles. This pattern has become unusually common since the 1980s and is associated with changes in moisture transport and more frequent atmospheric river events. The observed precipitation changes post-1950 coincide with changes in storm track activity over the central/eastern North Atlantic toward the northern British Isles.

  13. Investigating the Connections between Oil and Gas Industry Affiliation and Climate Change Concerns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schrader, S. M.; Bunnell, D.; Danielson, C.; Borglum, S.

    2012-12-01

    In addition to the research on scientific aspects of climate change, significant work has also been done on the perception of climate change among various sectors of the population. This is an important area of research as in many cases the science policy of a country is a function of the popular sentiment. One area of interest is the relationship between education, specifically in related areas such as earth sciences and engineering, to one's views on climate change. While research has shown that there is a correlation between higher education and an acceptance of human caused climate change, this work looks into the question more specifically. The question asked here is: given a group of people with education and experience in the earth sciences, does the area of employment affect how they view the issue? In other words, does an engineer or geoscientist working in the oil and gas industry look at the data relating to climate change in the same way an equivalently educated engineer or geoscientist working in another field does? An understanding of whether or not employment in the oil and gas industry has a similar effect on views of climate change as political or religious ideologies may help in fostering communication between disciplines and working together for solutions. In order to look at this question, a survey is being conducted of members in the petroleum engineering community. The survey is designed along the lines of similar surveys to measure the respondents understanding of, concern with, and beliefs about climate change. It also includes other correlating factors such as political and religious views. A second group of engineers in fields that typically place them outside of the oil and gas industry are being surveyed as a control group. The results will determine whether individuals with similar educational backgrounds look at the data connected with climate change differently based on the field in which they work, and if so, are there other

  14. A Study on Effect of Technological Change on the Frequency of Child Labour in the Indian Match Industry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Velayutham, C. Muthu; Palanivel, R. V.; Anbarasan, R.; Sinthuja, M.

    2012-08-01

    The Indian match industry in the southern state of Tamil Nadu has been characterized by child labour and a stagnant technology for over half a century. We investigate the technological changes and industrial restructuring, catalyzed by the changing duty structure that has moved the match industry towards greater mechanization. Our examination indicates that increased mechanization in the production processes has implied greater demand for skilled labour and a decline in child labour.

  15. Prospects for the U.S. energy and refining industries: Markets, profitability and key drivers for change

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Burke, B.F.

    The US refining industry has experienced an extended period of change covering the past 20 years. Growing regulatory requirements, combined with shifting market characteristics, have resulted in massive investments and significant and ongoing structural change. Despite excellent capacity utilization, recent profitability has been poor. Industry psychology can be described as depressed, with honest concern about the long-term attractiveness of domestic refining as an area for continued participation and investment. This paper provides an overview of how the industry arrived at these levels of poor profitability, examines the current situation and future drivers, and presents Chem Systems` views on the outlookmore » for domestic refining.« less

  16. Dietary Patterns Seem to Influence the Development of Perfusion Changes in Cardiac Syndrome X Patients.

    PubMed

    Szot, Wojciech; Zając, Joanna; Kostkiewicz, Magdalena; Kolarzyk, Emilia

    2015-01-01

    Cardiac syndrome X (CSX) is linked with changes in the heart's micro-vasculature, without significant changes in main coronary vessels. According to ESC 2013 stable coronary artery disease criteria, CSX was replaced by Microvascular Angina (MA). While no changes in main coronary vessels are present, most patients still suffer from angina-like chest pains, which significantly diminish their quality of life. CSX is recognized among other coronary diseases and is now considered to be a form of stable angina. In most CSX patients we can visualize perfusion changes in the left ventricle. Since it is well known that the kind of diet can greatly influence the development of coronary disease, our aim was to evaluate the influence of diet on the myocardial perfusion in the group of patients who were diagnosed of CSX. In addition, we tried to verify whether there is any correlation between dietary patterns and perfusion changes visualized in this group of patients. Toward this goal we screened for the presence of CSX a group of 436 women who suffered from angina-like symptoms and whose routinely performed angiography revealed no changes in coronary vessels. Out of these, 55 women with CSX diagnosis, completed questionnaires regarding their nutritional patterns and underwent both myocardial perfusion studies (MPI) and exercise tests. In the studied group dietary patterns were far from normal values, with the majority of women consuming too much protein, animal fats and sugars in their daily diet, and too low amounts of complex carbohydrates and oils. We were not able to find definite correlations between diet and perfusion changes; however, women whose diet included too high fat and protein intake, seemed to have worse perfusion pattern in MPI. Nutritional pattern seems to have an impact on development of myocardial perfusion changes in CSX patients.

  17. Climate change and the macroeconomic structure in pre-industrial europe: new evidence from wavelet analysis.

    PubMed

    Pei, Qing; Zhang, David D; Li, Guodong; Lee, Harry F

    2015-01-01

    The relationship between climate change and the macroeconomy in pre-industrial Europe has attracted considerable attention in recent years. This study follows the combined paradigms of evolutionary economics and ecological economics, in which wavelet analysis (spectrum analysis and coherence analysis) is applied as the first attempt to examine the relationship between climate change and the macroeconomic structure in pre-industrial Europe in the frequency domain. Aside from confirming previous results, this study aims to further substantiate the association between climate change and macroeconomy by presenting new evidence obtained from the wavelet analysis. Our spectrum analysis shows a consistent and continuous frequency band of 60-80 years in the temperature, grain yield ratio, grain price, consumer price index, and real wage throughout the study period. Besides, coherence analysis shows that the macroeconomic structure is shaped more by climate change than population change. In addition, temperature is proven as a key climatic factor that influences the macroeconomic structure. The analysis reveals a unique frequency band of about 20 years (15-35 years) in the temperature in AD1600-1700, which could have contributed to the widespread economic crisis in pre-industrial Europe. Our findings may have indications in re-examining the Malthusian theory.

  18. Climate Change and the Macroeconomic Structure in Pre-Industrial Europe: New Evidence from Wavelet Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Pei, Qing; Zhang, David D.; Li, Guodong; Lee, Harry F.

    2015-01-01

    The relationship between climate change and the macroeconomy in pre-industrial Europe has attracted considerable attention in recent years. This study follows the combined paradigms of evolutionary economics and ecological economics, in which wavelet analysis (spectrum analysis and coherence analysis) is applied as the first attempt to examine the relationship between climate change and the macroeconomic structure in pre-industrial Europe in the frequency domain. Aside from confirming previous results, this study aims to further substantiate the association between climate change and macroeconomy by presenting new evidence obtained from the wavelet analysis. Our spectrum analysis shows a consistent and continuous frequency band of 60–80 years in the temperature, grain yield ratio, grain price, consumer price index, and real wage throughout the study period. Besides, coherence analysis shows that the macroeconomic structure is shaped more by climate change than population change. In addition, temperature is proven as a key climatic factor that influences the macroeconomic structure. The analysis reveals a unique frequency band of about 20 years (15–35 years) in the temperature in AD1600-1700, which could have contributed to the widespread economic crisis in pre-industrial Europe. Our findings may have indications in re-examining the Malthusian theory. PMID:26039087

  19. Patterns and Potential Drivers of Dramatic Changes in Tibetan Lakes, 1972–2010

    PubMed Central

    Li, Yingkui; Liao, Jingjuan; Guo, Huadong; Liu, Zewen; Shen, Guozhuang

    2014-01-01

    Most glaciers in the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau are retreating, and glacier melt has been emphasized as the dominant driver for recent lake expansions on the Tibetan Plateau. By investigating detailed changes in lake extents and levels across the Tibetan Plateau from Landsat/ICESat data, we found a pattern of dramatic lake changes from 1970 to 2010 (especially after 2000) with a southwest-northeast transition from shrinking, to stable, to rapidly expanding. This pattern is in distinct contrast to the spatial characteristics of glacier retreat, suggesting limited influence of glacier melt on lake dynamics. The plateau-wide pattern of lake change is related to precipitation variation and consistent with the pattern of permafrost degradation induced by rising temperature. More than 79% of lakes we observed on the central-northern plateau (with continuous permafrost) are rapidly expanding, even without glacial contributions, while lakes fed by retreating glaciers in southern regions (with isolated permafrost) are relatively stable or shrinking. Our study shows the limited role of glacier melt and highlights the potentially important contribution of permafrost degradation in predicting future water availability in this region, where understanding these processes is of critical importance to drinking water, agriculture, and hydropower supply of densely populated areas in South and East Asia. PMID:25372787

  20. Discovering high-resolution patterns of differential DNA methylation that correlate with gene expression changes

    PubMed Central

    VanderKraats, Nathan D.; Hiken, Jeffrey F.; Decker, Keith F.; Edwards, John R.

    2013-01-01

    Methylation of the CpG-rich region (CpG island) overlapping a gene’s promoter is a generally accepted mechanism for silencing expression. While recent technological advances have enabled measurement of DNA methylation and expression changes genome-wide, only modest correlations between differential methylation at gene promoters and expression have been found. We hypothesize that stronger associations are not observed because existing analysis methods oversimplify their representation of the data and do not capture the diversity of existing methylation patterns. Recently, other patterns such as CpG island shore methylation and long partially hypomethylated domains have also been linked with gene silencing. Here, we detail a new approach for discovering differential methylation patterns associated with expression change using genome-wide high-resolution methylation data: we represent differential methylation as an interpolated curve, or signature, and then identify groups of genes with similarly shaped signatures and corresponding expression changes. Our technique uncovers a diverse set of patterns that are conserved across embryonic stem cell and cancer data sets. Overall, we find strong associations between these methylation patterns and expression. We further show that an extension of our method also outperforms other approaches by generating a longer list of genes with higher quality associations between differential methylation and expression. PMID:23748561

  1. Spatio-Temporal Changes of Lymphatic Contractility and Drainage Patterns following Lymphadenectomy in Mice

    PubMed Central

    Kwon, Sunkuk; Agollah, Germaine D.; Wu, Grace; Sevick-Muraca, Eva M.

    2014-01-01

    Objective To investigate the redirection of lymphatic drainage post-lymphadenectomy using non-invasive near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging, and to subsequently assess impact on metastasis. Background Cancer-acquired lymphedema arises from dysfunctional fluid transport after lymphadenectomy performed for staging and to disrupt drainage pathways for regional control of disease. However, little is known about the normal regenerative processes of the lymphatics in response to lymphadenectomy and how these responses can be accelerated, delayed, or can impact metastasis. Methods Changes in lymphatic “pumping” function and drainage patterns were non-invasively and longitudinally imaged using NIRF lymphatic imaging after popliteal lymphadenectomy in mice. In a cohort of mice, B16F10 melanoma was inoculated on the dorsal aspect of the paw 27 days after lymphadenectomy to assess how drainage patterns affect metastasis. Results NIRF imaging demonstrates that, although lymphatic function and drainage patterns change significantly in early response to popliteal lymph node (PLN) removal in mice, these changes are transient and regress dramatically due to a high regenerative capacity of the lymphatics and co-opting of collateral lymphatic pathways around the site of obstruction. Metastases followed the pattern of collateral pathways and could be detected proximal to the site of lymphadenectomy. Conclusions Both lymphatic vessel regeneration and co-opting of contralateral vessels occur following lymphadenectomy, with contractile function restored within 13 days, providing a basis for preclinical and clinical investigations to hasten lymphatic repair and restore contractile lymphatic function after surgery to prevent cancer-acquired lymphedema. Patterns of cancer metastasis after lymphadenectomy were altered, consistent with patterns of re-directed lymphatic drainage. PMID:25170770

  2. Changes in labor patterns over 50 years.

    PubMed

    Laughon, S Katherine; Branch, D Ware; Beaver, Julie; Zhang, Jun

    2012-05-01

    The objective of the study was to examine differences in labor patterns in a modern cohort compared with the 1960s in the United States. Data from pregnancies at term, in spontaneous labor, with cephalic, singleton fetuses were compared between the Collaborative Perinatal Project (CPP, n = 39,491 delivering 1959-1966) and the Consortium on Safe Labor (CSL; n = 98,359 delivering 2002-2008). Compared with the CPP, women in the CSL were older (26.8 ± 6.0 vs 24.1 ± 6.0 years), heavier (body mass index 29.9 ± 5.0 vs 26.3 ± 4.1 kg/m(2)), had higher epidural (55% vs 4%) and oxytocin use (31% vs 12%), and cesarean delivery (12% vs 3%). First stage of labor in the CSL was longer by a median of 2.6 hours in nulliparas and 2.0 hours in multiparas, even after adjusting for maternal and pregnancy characteristics, suggesting that the prolonged labor is mostly due to changes in practice patterns. Labor is longer in the modern obstetrical cohort. The benefit of extensive interventions needs further evaluation. Published by Mosby, Inc.

  3. Changes in labor patterns over 50 years

    PubMed Central

    Laughon, S. Katherine; Branch, D. Ware; Beaver, Julie; Zhang, Jun

    2013-01-01

    Objective The objective of the study was to examine differences in labor patterns in a modern cohort compared with the 1960s in the United States. Study Design Data from pregnancies at term, in spontaneous labor, with cephalic, singleton fetuses were compared between the Collaborative Perinatal Project (CPP, n = 39,491 delivering 1959-1966) and the Consortium on Safe Labor (CSL; n = 98,359 delivering 2002-2008). Results Compared with the CPP, women in the CSL were older (26.8 ± 6.0 vs 24.1 ± 6.0 years), heavier (body mass index 29.9 ± 5.0 vs 26.3 ±4.1 kg/m2), had higher epidural (55% vs 4%) and oxytocin use (31% vs 12%), and cesarean delivery (12% vs 3%). First stage of labor in the CSL was longer by a median of 2.6 hours in nulliparas and 2.0 hours in multiparas, even after adjusting for maternal and pregnancy characteristics, suggesting that the prolonged labor is mostly due to changes in practice patterns. Conclusion Labor is longer in the modern obstetrical cohort. The benefit of extensive interventions needs further evaluation. PMID:22542117

  4. Industry Self-Regulation to Improve Student Health: Quantifying Changes in Beverage Shipments to Schools

    PubMed Central

    Fitzpatrick, Brendan M.; Phillips, Elizabeth

    2012-01-01

    Objectives. We developed a data collection and monitoring system to independently evaluate the self-regulatory effort to reduce the number of beverage calories available to children during the regular and extended school day. We have described the data collection procedures used to verify data supplied by the beverage industry and quantified changes in school beverage shipments. Methods. Using a proprietary industry data set collected in 2005 and semiannually in 2007 through 2010, we measured the total volume of beverage shipments to elementary, middle, and high schools to monitor intertemporal changes in beverage volumes, the composition of products delivered to schools, and portion sizes. We compared data with findings from existing research of the school beverage landscape and a separate data set based on contracts between schools and beverage bottling companies. Results. Between 2004 and the 2009–2010 school year, the beverage industry reduced calories shipped to schools by 90%. On a total ounces basis, shipments of full-calorie soft drinks to schools decreased by 97%. Conclusions. Industry self-regulation, with the assistance of a transparent and independent monitoring process, can be a valuable tool in improving public health outcomes. PMID:22897528

  5. Industry self-regulation to improve student health: quantifying changes in beverage shipments to schools.

    PubMed

    Wescott, Robert F; Fitzpatrick, Brendan M; Phillips, Elizabeth

    2012-10-01

    We developed a data collection and monitoring system to independently evaluate the self-regulatory effort to reduce the number of beverage calories available to children during the regular and extended school day. We have described the data collection procedures used to verify data supplied by the beverage industry and quantified changes in school beverage shipments. Using a proprietary industry data set collected in 2005 and semiannually in 2007 through 2010, we measured the total volume of beverage shipments to elementary, middle, and high schools to monitor intertemporal changes in beverage volumes, the composition of products delivered to schools, and portion sizes. We compared data with findings from existing research of the school beverage landscape and a separate data set based on contracts between schools and beverage bottling companies. Between 2004 and the 2009-2010 school year, the beverage industry reduced calories shipped to schools by 90%. On a total ounces basis, shipments of full-calorie soft drinks to schools decreased by 97%. Industry self-regulation, with the assistance of a transparent and independent monitoring process, can be a valuable tool in improving public health outcomes.

  6. The Effect of Aging on Muscular Dynamics Underlying Movement Patterns Changes.

    PubMed

    Vernooij, Carlijn A; Rao, Guillaume; Berton, Eric; Retornaz, Frédérique; Temprado, Jean-Jacques

    2016-01-01

    Introduction: Aging leads to alterations not only within the complex subsystems of the neuro-musculo-skeletal system, but also in the coupling between them. Here, we studied how aging affects functional reorganizations that occur both within and between the behavioral and muscular levels, which must be coordinated to produce goal-directed movements. Using unimanual reciprocal Fitts' task, we examined the behavioral and muscular dynamics of older adults (74.4 ± 3.7 years) and compared them to those found for younger adults (23.2 ± 2.0 years). Methods: To achieve this objective, we manipulated the target size to trigger a phase transition in the behavioral regime and searched for concomitant signatures of a phase transition in the muscular coordination. Here, muscular coordination was derived by using the method of muscular synergy extraction. With this technique, we obtained functional muscular patterns through non-negative matrix factorization of the muscular signals followed by clustering the resulting synergies. Results: Older adults showed a phase transition in behavioral regime, although, in contrast to young participants, their kinematic profiles did not show a discontinuity. In parallel, muscular coordination displayed two typical signatures of a phase transition, that is, increased variability of coordination patterns and a reorganization of muscular synergies. Both signatures confirmed the existence of muscular reorganization in older adults, which is coupled with change in dynamical regime at behavioral level. However, relative to young adults, transition occurred at lower index of difficulty (ID) in older participants and the reorganization of muscular patterns lasted longer (over multiple IDs). Discussion: This implies that consistent changes occur in coordination processes across behavior and muscle. Furthermore, the repertoire of muscular patterns was reduced and somewhat modified for older adults, relative to young participants. This suggests that

  7. Estimation of color modification in digital images by CFA pattern change.

    PubMed

    Choi, Chang-Hee; Lee, Hae-Yeoun; Lee, Heung-Kyu

    2013-03-10

    Extensive studies have been carried out for detecting image forgery such as copy-move, re-sampling, blurring, and contrast enhancement. Although color modification is a common forgery technique, there is no reported forensic method for detecting this type of manipulation. In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm for estimating color modification in images acquired from digital cameras when the images are modified. Most commercial digital cameras are equipped with a color filter array (CFA) for acquiring the color information of each pixel. As a result, the images acquired from such digital cameras include a trace from the CFA pattern. This pattern is composed of the basic red green blue (RGB) colors, and it is changed when color modification is carried out on the image. We designed an advanced intermediate value counting method for measuring the change in the CFA pattern and estimating the extent of color modification. The proposed method is verified experimentally by using 10,366 test images. The results confirmed the ability of the proposed method to estimate color modification with high accuracy. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. [Changes of menstruation patterns and adverse effects during the treatment of LNG-IUS for symptomatic adenomyosis].

    PubMed

    Li, L; Leng, J H; Zhang, J J; Jia, S Z; Li, X Y; Shi, J H; Dai, Y; Zhang, J R; Li, T; Xu, X X; Liu, Z Z; You, S S; Chang, X Y; Lang, J H

    2016-09-25

    Objective: To investigate the changes of mestruation patterns and adverse effects during the treatment of levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system(LNG-IUS)for symptomatic adenomyosis in a prospective cohort study. Methods: From December, 2006 to December, 2014, patients of symptomatic adenomyosis diagnosed by transvaginal ultrasound in Peking Union Medical College Hospital were given LNG-IUS. Before and after placement of IUS, all patients' parameters were recorded, including carrying status of IUS, symptoms and scores of dysmenorrhea, menstruation scores, biochemical indicators, physical parameters, menstruation patterns and adverse effects. Risk factors for changes of menstruation patterns and adverse effects, and their impact on treatment effects were analyzed. Results: Totally 1 100 cases met inclusion criteria, with median age 36 years(range 20-44 years), median follow-up 35 months(range 1 -108 months). During follow-up changes of menstruation patterns increased significantly with amenorrhea and shortened-menstruation being the most common manifestations. On 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months after the placement of LNG-IUS, 0, 5.8%(43/744), 6.9%(47/682), 10.1%(60/595), 17.3%(87/502), 27.2%(104/383)and 29.6%(82/277)patients achieved amenorrhea respectively( P <0.01). Total and subclassification of adverse effects decreased significantly( P <0.01). Within 12 months and >12 months after placement, abdominal pain and body weight increasing ≥5 kg/year were the most common adverse effects. Changes of menstruation patterns, total and subclassifications of adverse effects were neither dependent on patient parameters, treatment modes and treatment effects, nor could predict future LNG-IUS carrying status(all P > 0.05). After taking out of LNG-IUS, most changes of menstruation and adverse effects disappeared. Conclusions: During the treatment of LNG-IUS for symptomatic adenomyosis, changes of menstruation patterns increase gradually with amenorrhea and shortened

  9. Genetic profiling links changing sea-ice to shifting beluga whale migration patterns

    PubMed Central

    Mahoney, Andrew R.; Suydam, Robert; Quakenbush, Lori; Whiting, Alex; Lowry, Lloyd; Harwood, Lois

    2016-01-01

    There is increasing concern over how Arctic fauna will adapt to climate related changes in sea-ice. We used long-term sighting and genetic data on beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in conjunction with multi-decadal patterns of sea-ice in the Pacific Arctic to investigate the influence of sea-ice on spring migration and summer residency patterns. Substantial variations in sea-ice conditions were detected across seasons, years and sub-regions, revealing ice–ocean dynamics more complex than Arctic-wide trends suggest. This variation contrasted with a highly consistent pattern of migration and residency by several populations, indicating that belugas can accommodate widely varying sea-ice conditions to perpetuate philopatry to coastal migration destinations. However, a number of anomalous migration and residency events were detected and coincided with anomalous ice years, and in one case with an increase in killer whale (Orcinus orca) sightings and reported predation on beluga whales. The behavioural shifts were likely driven by changing sea-ice and associated changes in resource dispersion and predation risk. Continued reductions in sea-ice may result in increased predation at key aggregation areas and shifts in beluga whale behaviour with implications for population viability, ecosystem structure and the subsistence cultures that rely on them.

  10. Changing conclusions on secondhand smoke in a sudden infant death syndrome review funded by the tobacco industry.

    PubMed

    Tong, Elisa K; England, Lucinda; Glantz, Stanton A

    2005-03-01

    citation patterns for the referenced SIDS reviews. PM executives feared that SHS and maternal and child health issues would create a powerful and emotional impetus for smoke-free areas in the home, public areas, and the workplace. In response to the 1992 US EPA report on SHS, the Science and Technology Department of PM's Switzerland subsidiary, Fabriques de Tabac Reunies, searched for "independent" consultants to publish articles addressing SHS. The first industry-funded article was a literature review focusing on smoking and SIDS, conducted by consultant Peter Lee and co-author Allison Thornton, which stated that the association between parental smoking and SIDS could have been attributable to the failure to control fully for confounders. That first review has only been cited once, in the subsequent industry-funded review. In 1997, PM commissioned a consultant, Frank Sullivan, to write a review, with coauthor Susan Barlow, of all possible risk factors for SIDS. The first draft concluded that prenatal and postnatal smoking exposures are both independent risk factors for SIDS. After receiving comments and meeting with PM scientific executives, Sullivan changed his original conclusions on smoking and SIDS. The final draft was changed to emphasize the effects of prenatal maternal smoking and to conclude that postnatal SHS effects were "less well established." Changes in the draft to support this new conclusion included descriptions of Peter Lee's industry-funded review, a 1999 negative but underpowered study of SIDS risk and urinary cotinine levels, and criticisms of the conclusions of the National Cancer Institute report that SHS was causally associated with SIDS. In April 2001, the Sullivan review was published in the United Kingdom journal Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, with a disclosure statement that acknowledged financial support from PM but did not acknowledge contributions from PM executives in the preparation of the review. By 2004, the Sullivan SIDS review

  11. Changes in breathing pattern in the normal horse at rest up to age one year.

    PubMed

    Koterba, A M; Wozniak, J A; Kosch, P C

    1995-07-01

    Changes in pattern of airflow, sequence of respiratory muscle activation and generated pressures were measured serially in a group of foals during the first year post partum, in order to describe the maturation of the equine breathing pattern. In neonatal foals, inspiration and expiration were both primarily active and airflow pattern was essentially monophasic. By age 1 year, foals displayed essentially the same breathing pattern previously described in adult horses, utilising a combination of active and passive inspiration and expiration to breathe around, rather than from, the relaxation volume of the respiratory system (Vrx). A strong temporal relationship during growth was found between the timing of changes observed in airflow pattern and in the neuromuscular strategy of breathing. The transition to the adult breathing pattern appeared to involve a time delay in activation of both inspiratory and expiratory muscle groups, establishing a passive and active component to both inspiration and expiration. Throughout the study period, concurrent with the increase in delay of abdominal muscle activation, the expiratory flow pattern became progressively more biphasic in appearance. The time of appearance of a consistent biphasic inspiratory flow pattern was considerably later, at approximately age 1 year and coincided with the appearance of a delay in inspiratory muscle activation. From our results, we conclude that the transition from the neonatal to the adult breathing strategy in the horse appears not to be induced by the time course of chest wall stiffening during maturation. While changes in relative body proportions and size of abdominal contents during growth may influence the transition in breathing, our results also indicate that respiratory control mechanisms play an essential role in the expression of the polyphasic breathing pattern.

  12. Can the pattern of vertebral marrow oedema differentiate intervertebral disc infection from degenerative changes?

    PubMed

    Shrot, S; Sayah, A; Berkowitz, F

    2017-07-01

    To evaluate whether various patterns of bone marrow oedema could be used to discriminate between infection and degenerative change. Seventy patients with imaging features suspicious for discitis and available clinical follow-up were blindly reviewed for vertebral marrow oedema on sagittal short-tau inversion recovery (STIR) images according to the following patterns: I, vertebra oedema is adjacent to the intervertebral space and sharply-marginated; II, vertebral oedema is adjacent to the intervertebral space but not sharply marginated from normal marrow or involves the entire vertebral body; and III, vertebral oedema is distant from the endplate with intervening hypointense marrow signal. Of 45 patients with a clinical diagnosis of discitis, pattern II was the most common oedema pattern (64%). Approximately 20% and 9% of discitis patients showed patterns I and III, respectively. In patients with degenerative changes, 44% patients showed pattern I, 32% showed pattern II, and 24% showed pattern III. Pattern II had a sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of 0.64, 0.68, and 0.78 for diagnosing spine infection, respectively. Although bone marrow oedema in infective discitis most often extends from the disc space and has indistinct margins, the oedema may also have sharp margins or be remote from the involved intervertebral space. Bone marrow oedema patterns of infective discitis overlap with those of degenerative disease and are not sufficiently reliable to exclude infection in cases with magnetic resonance imaging findings suggestive of discitis. Copyright © 2017 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Selecting climate simulations for impact studies based on multivariate patterns of climate change.

    PubMed

    Mendlik, Thomas; Gobiet, Andreas

    In climate change impact research it is crucial to carefully select the meteorological input for impact models. We present a method for model selection that enables the user to shrink the ensemble to a few representative members, conserving the model spread and accounting for model similarity. This is done in three steps: First, using principal component analysis for a multitude of meteorological parameters, to find common patterns of climate change within the multi-model ensemble. Second, detecting model similarities with regard to these multivariate patterns using cluster analysis. And third, sampling models from each cluster, to generate a subset of representative simulations. We present an application based on the ENSEMBLES regional multi-model ensemble with the aim to provide input for a variety of climate impact studies. We find that the two most dominant patterns of climate change relate to temperature and humidity patterns. The ensemble can be reduced from 25 to 5 simulations while still maintaining its essential characteristics. Having such a representative subset of simulations reduces computational costs for climate impact modeling and enhances the quality of the ensemble at the same time, as it prevents double-counting of dependent simulations that would lead to biased statistics. The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10584-015-1582-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

  14. 77 FR 24722 - Draft Guidance for Industry: Assessing the Effects of Significant Manufacturing Process Changes...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-25

    ...] Draft Guidance for Industry: Assessing the Effects of Significant Manufacturing Process Changes... Substances, Including Food Ingredients That Are Color Additives; Availability AGENCY: Food and Drug... Manufacturing Process Changes, Including Emerging Technologies, on the Safety and Regulatory Status of Food...

  15. College Student's Health, Drinking and Smoking Patterns: What Has Changed in 20 Years?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hensel, Desiree; Todd, Katherine Leigh; Engs, Ruth C.

    2014-01-01

    Problem: Institutes of higher learning are increasingly trying to address the issue of problem drinking. The purpose of this study was to determine how patterns in alcohol use and smoking by college students, as well as their illness patterns, have changed over 20 years. Methods: A cross-sectional serial survey design was used for this descriptive…

  16. Changes in bird-migration patterns associated with human-induced mortality.

    PubMed

    Palacín, Carlos; Alonso, Juan C; Martín, Carlos A; Alonso, Javier A

    2017-02-01

    Many bird populations have recently changed their migratory behavior in response to alterations of the environment. We collected data over 16 years on male Great Bustards (Otis tarda), a species showing a partial migratory pattern (sedentary and migratory birds coexisting in the same breeding groups). We conducted population counts and radio tracked 180 individuals to examine differences in survival rates between migratory and sedentary individuals and evaluate possible effects of these differences on the migratory pattern of the population. Overall, 65% of individuals migrated and 35% did not. The average distance between breeding and postbreeding areas of migrant individuals was 89.9 km, and the longest average movement of sedentary males was 3.8 km. Breeding group and migration distance had no effect on survival. However, mortality of migrants was 2.4 to 3.5 times higher than mortality of sedentary birds. For marked males, collision with power lines was the main cause of death from unnatural causes (37.6% of all deaths), and migratory birds died in collisions with power lines more frequently than sedentary birds (21.3% vs 6.3%). The percentage of sedentary individuals increased from 17% in 1997 to 45% in 2012. These results were consistent with data collected from radio-tracked individuals: The proportion of migratory individuals decreased from 86% in 1997-1999 to 44% in 2006-2010. The observed decrease in the migratory tendency was not related to climatic changes (temperatures did not change over the study period) or improvements in habitat quality (dry cereal farmland area decreased in the main study area). Our findings suggest that human-induced mortality during migration may be an important factor shaping the migration patterns of species inhabiting humanized landscapes. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

  17. Seasonal changes in quality of wastewater from fruit and vegetable industry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Puchlik, Monika; Ignatowicz, Katarzyna

    2017-11-01

    The paper aimed at evaluating the seasonal changes in quality of wastewater from facilities producing fruit and vegetable juices, processed and frozen products, and vegetable concentrates. The study revealed that wastewater from fruit and vegetable industry contain large amounts of organic substances expressed as BOD5 (minimum - 500 mgO2/dm3, maximum - 6 100 mgO2/dm3) and COD (minimum - 806 mg O2/dm3, maximum - 7 732 mg O2/dm3), while is deficient in nitrogen and phosphorus. Considerable seasonal oscillations in sewage load disposed by industry to sewerage, were observed. An increase of 50%-60% wastewater concentrations was found between June and October in 2013-2016 as compared to the remaining months.

  18. Can spatial patterns along climatic gradients predict ecosystem responses to climate change? Experimenting with reaction-diffusion simulations.

    PubMed

    Roitberg, Elena; Shoshany, Maxim

    2017-01-01

    Following a predicted decline in water resources in the Mediterranean Basin, we used reaction-diffusion equations to gain a better understanding of expected changes in properties of vegetation patterns that evolve along the rainfall transition between semi-arid and arid rainfall regions. Two types of scenarios were investigated: the first, a discrete scenario, where the potential consequences of climate change are represented by patterns evolving at discrete rainfall levels along a rainfall gradient. This scenario concerns space-for-time substitutions characteristic of the rainfall gradient hypothesis. The second, a continuous scenario, represents explicitly the effect of rainfall decline on patterns which evolved at different rainfall levels along the rainfall gradient prior to the climate change. The eccentricity of patterns that emerge through these two scenarios was found to decrease with decreasing rainfall, while their solidity increased. Due to their inverse modes of change, their ratio was found to be a highly sensitive indicator for pattern response to rainfall decline. An eccentricity ratio versus rainfall (ER:R) line was generalized from the results of the discrete experiment, where ERs above this line represent developed (recovered) patterns and ERs below this line represent degraded patterns. For the rainfall range of 1.2 to 0.8 mm/day, the continuous rainfall decline experiment with ERs that lie above the ER:R line, yielded patterns less affected by rainfall decline than would be expected according to the discrete representation of ecosystems' response. Thus, for this range, space-for-time substitution represents an overestimation of the consequences of the expected rainfall decline. For rainfall levels below 0.8 mm/day, eccentricity ratios from the discrete and continuous experiments practically converge to the same trend of pattern change along the ER:R line. Thus, the rainfall gradient hypothesis may be valid for regions characterized by this

  19. Cause-specific sickness absence trends by occupational class and industrial sector in the context of recent labour market changes: a Finnish panel data study.

    PubMed

    Leinonen, Taina; Viikari-Juntura, Eira; Husgafvel-Pursiainen, Kirsti; Solovieva, Svetlana

    2018-04-07

    We aimed to provide previously unestablished information on population-based differences in cause-specific sickness absence trends between occupational classes and further between four large industrial sectors within the different occupational classes while controlling for other socioeconomic factors and employment patterns. We focused on the period 2005-2013, during which the labour market underwent large economic and structural changes in many countries. Register-based panel data study. Large representative datasets on Finnish wage earners aged 25-59 years. Annual risk of sickness absence (>10 working days) based on repeated logistic regression. Between 2005 and 2013, the proportion of employees with sickness absence decreased. Occupational class differences in sickness absence trends varied by disease group. Overall, the decrease in absences was smallest among lower non-manual employees. Sickness absence levels were highest in the health and social work sector and in the manufacturing sector within the non-manual and manual classes, respectively. Absences due to musculoskeletal diseases decreased temporarily during the peak of the economic recession in 2009, particularly in the manufacturing sector within the manual class. The decrease in absences due to musculoskeletal diseases was smallest in the trade sector within the lower occupational classes. Overall, education, income and employment patterns partly explained the differences in the absence levels, but not in the trends. We found a complex interplay between the associations of occupational class and industrial sector with sickness absence trends. During the economic recession, absences due to musculoskeletal diseases decreased temporarily in a segment of wage earners who were known to have been hit hard by the recession. However, the trend differences were not explained by the measured structural changes in the characteristics of the study population. Both occupational class and industrial sector should

  20. Emergent insects, pathogens and drought shape changing patterns in oak decline in North America and Europe

    Treesearch

    Laurel J. Haavik; Sharon A. Billings; James M. Guldin; Fred M. Stephen

    2015-01-01

    Forest declines are well-studied phenomena. However, recent patterns suggest that the traditional sequence of events and factors involved in forest decline are changing. Several reports in recent decades involve emergent mortality agents, many of which are native insects and diseases. In addition, changing climate and weather patterns place increasing emphasis on root...

  1. Development of infant mismatch responses to auditory pattern changes between 2 and 4 months old.

    PubMed

    He, Chao; Hotson, Lisa; Trainor, Laurel J

    2009-02-01

    In order to process speech and music, the auditory cortex must learn to process patterns of sounds. Our previous studies showed that with a stream consisting of a repeating (standard) sound, younger infants show an increase in the amplitude of a positive slow wave in response to occasional changes (deviants) in pitch or duration, whereas older infants show a faster negative response that resembles mismatch negativity (MMN) in adults (Trainor et al., 2001, 2003; He et al., 2007). MMN reflects an automatic change-detection process that does not require attention, conscious awareness or behavioural response for its elicitation (Picton et al., 2000; Näätänen et al., 2007). It is an important tool for understanding auditory perception because MMN reflects a change-detection mechanism, and not simply that repetition of a stimulus results in a refractory state of sensory neural circuits while occasional changes to a new sound activate new non-refractory neural circuits (Näätänen et al., 2005). For example, MMN is elicited by a change in the pattern of a repeating note sequence, even when no new notes are introduced that could activate new sensory circuits (Alain et al., 1994, 1999;Schröger et al., 1996). In the present study, we show that in response to a change in the pattern of two repeating tones, MMN in 4-month-olds remains robust whereas the 2-month-old response does not. This indicates that the MMN response to a change in pattern at 4 months reflects the activation of a change-detection mechanism similarly as in adults.

  2. Associated symptoms of depression: patterns of change during pregnancy.

    PubMed

    Amiel Castro, Rita T; Pinard Anderman, Claudia; Glover, Vivette; O'Connor, Thomas G; Ehlert, Ulrike; Kammerer, Martin

    2017-02-01

    Little is known about the natural course of depressive symptoms and associated features throughout pregnancy. We examined the course of some psychological and somatic symptoms in each month of pregnancy in a normative sample. A consecutive, unselected sample of women (N = 374) were interviewed retrospectively at 6 weeks postpartum with the Structured Clinical Interview (DSM-IV). Women were asked whether they had experienced each symptom at any time during pregnancy and the occurrence of the symptom for each month of pregnancy. Associated symptoms of depression showed complex changes across pregnancy. Depressed mood (F(df) = 5.15(1); p = 0.02) showed a quadratic pattern with elevations at the beginning and end of pregnancy. Both linear increases ( a ) and quadratic ( b ) changes over time were observed for sensitivity to criticism (F a (df) = 20.9(1), p a  = 0.00; F b (df) = 7.02(1), p b  = 0.00), lack of concentration (F a (df) = 37.0(1), p a  = 0.00; F b (df) = 10.3(1); p b  = 0.00), decreased energy (F a (df) = 13.4(1); p a  = 0.00; F b (df) = 62.6(1); p b  = 0.00) and feelings of heavy limbs (F a (df) = 92.9(1); p a  = 0.00; F b (df) = 67.7(1); p b  = 0.00). Only guilt (F(df) = 0.00(1); p = 0.93) showed no significant change over pregnancy. Psychological symptoms changed throughout pregnancy as much as somatic symptoms. A linear increase was found for most symptoms, but significant non-linear changes were also found. The discrepancy between the patterns of depressed mood and most somatic and psychological symptoms suggest complex interactions and potentially important implications for assessment and monitoring treatment.

  3. Determinants of changes in dietary patterns among Chinese immigrants: a cross-sectional analysis.

    PubMed

    Rosenmöller, Doenja L; Gasevic, Danijela; Seidell, Jaap; Lear, Scott A

    2011-05-18

    Chinese individuals who have immigrated to a Western country initially tend to have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to people who are already living there. Some studies have found, however, that CVD risk increases over time in immigrants and that immigration to a western country is associated with changes in dietary patterns. This could have unfavourable effects on the risk of CVD. There is limited knowledge on the food patterns, awareness and knowledge about healthy nutrition among Chinese immigrants. The objective for this study is to explore changes in food patterns, and levels of awareness and knowledge of healthy nutrition by length of residence among Chinese immigrants to Canada. 120 Chinese individuals born in China but currently living in Canada completed an assessment on socio-demographic characteristics, changes in dietary patterns and variables of awareness and knowledge about healthy foods. With ordinal logistic regression the associations between the quartiles of length of residence and dietary patterns, variables of awareness and knowledge about healthy foods were explored, adjusting for age, sex, education and body mass index. More than 50% of the participants reported increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables, decreasing the use of deep-frying after immigration. Increased awareness and knowledge about healthy foods was reported by more than 50% of the participants. Ordinal regression indicated that Chinese immigrants who lived in Canada the longest, compared to Chinese immigrants who lived in Canada the shortest, consumed significant greater portion sizes (OR: 9.9; 95% CI: 3.11 - 31.15), dined out more frequently (OR: 15.8; 95% CI: 5.0 - 49.85), and consumed convenience foods more often (OR: 3.5; 95% CI: 1.23 - 10.01). Chinese immigrants reported some favourable changes in their dietary intake and greater awareness and more knowledge about healthy foods after immigration. However, an increase in portion size, an increased

  4. Patterns of contact within the New Zealand poultry industry.

    PubMed

    Lockhart, C Y; Stevenson, M A; Rawdon, T G; Gerber, N; French, N P

    2010-07-01

    Members of the Poultry Industry Association and the Egg Producers Federation of New Zealand (n=420) were sent a questionnaire asking them to describe the type and frequency of on- and off-enterprise movements relating to feed, live birds and hatching eggs, table eggs and poultry product, and manure and waste litter. Social network analyses were used to describe patterns of contact among poultry enterprises and their associates for these four movement types. The response rate to the survey was 58% (244 out of 420). Network structures for enterprise-to-enterprise movements of feed, live birds and hatching eggs, and table egg and poultry product were characterised by 'hub and spoke' type structures with small-world characteristics. Small worlds were created by network hubs (e.g. feed suppliers and hatcheries) providing goods and services to larger numbers of client farms. In addition to hubs acting as the predominant source of material moving onto farms we identified enterprises acting as bridges between identified small worlds. The presence of these bridges is a concern, since their presence has the potential to facilitate the spread of hazards (e.g. feed contaminants, infectious agents carried within feed) more readily throughout the population. An ability to predict enterprises with these network characteristics on the basis of factors such as shed capacity, enterprise type, geographic location would be useful for developing risk-based approaches to disease prevention, surveillance, detection, response and control activities. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Changing patterns of microcalcification on screening mammography for prediction of breast cancer.

    PubMed

    Kim, Kwan Il; Lee, Kyung Hee; Kim, Tae Ryung; Chun, Yong Soon; Lee, Tae Hoon; Choi, Hye Young; Park, Heung Kyu

    2016-05-01

    The presence of microcalcification on mammography is one of the earliest signs in breast cancer detection. However, it is difficult to distinguish malignant calcifications from benign calcifications. The aim of this study is to evaluate correlation between changing patterns of microcalcification on screening mammography and malignant breast lesions. Medical records and diagnostic images of 67 women who had previously undergone at least two digital mammograms at least 6 months apart and underwent mammography-guided needle localization and surgical excision between 2011 and 2013 were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. Breast cancer was detected in the surgical specimens of 20 patients (29.9 %). Annual change of extent of microcalcification on mammography showed statistically significant correlation with pathologic outcome (P = 0.023). The changing pattern of new appearance or increased extent of microcalcification on mammography had positive predictive value of 54.8 % for breast cancer, and it was a statistically significant predictor for breast cancer (P = 0.012). Shape or number change of microcalcification without increased extent had less accurate predictive value for breast cancer, particularly in women younger than 50 years (P < 0.001). This study showed that the pattern of increased extent of microcalcification on screening mammography was a significant predictor for breast cancer. We suggest that mammography-guided needle localization and surgical excision should be considered when increased extent of microcalcification is observed on screening mammography and closed follow-up without pathologic confirmation can be permitted if absence of extension of microcalcification was confirmed in women younger than 50 years.

  6. Changing gender roles and health impacts among female workers in export-processing industries in Sri Lanka.

    PubMed

    Attanapola, Chamila T

    2004-06-01

    Since the economic liberalization in 1977, a large number of Sri Lankan women have entered the labour market and engaged in income-generating activities. Some women choose to travel abroad as domestic workers, while others choose to work in export-processing industries. This process has a profound impact on gender and gender roles in Sri Lanka. Young rural women have changed their traditional women's roles to become independent daughters, efficient factory workers and partially modernized women. Even though changing gender roles are identified as a positive impact of industrial work, the new social, cultural, and legal environments of industrial work have negative impacts on these women's lives. This paper explores health impacts of changing gender roles and practices of young rural women, focusing on the experiences of female workers in export-processing industries. Further, it contributes to the literature on gender and health, and on qualitative approaches within health geographic studies. A model is formulated to suggest a conceptual framework for studying women's health. The model describes the determinant factors of individual health status based on the question of who (personal attributes) does what (type of work) where (place), when and how (behaviours). These are also determinant factors of gender and gender roles of a society. The three types of health problems (reproductive, productive and mental health) of a woman, in this case a female industrial worker, are determined by her gender roles and practices associated with these roles.

  7. Cross-industry dimensionality of the commitment to change scale in China.

    PubMed

    Chen, Jingqiu; Wang, Lei

    2011-06-01

    Commitment to organizational change can explain a range of employees' attitudes and behaviors during organizational change, and its measurement is central to explaining such organizational linkages. The purpose of this study is to re-examine the dimensionality of Herscovitch and Meyer's Commitment to Change Scale across two different industrial samples in a non-Western cultural context (China). The two samples were 198 civil servants (60.0% men; M age = 29.3 yr., M organizational tenure = 62.7 mo.) and 442 high-tech company employees (58.2% men; M age = 30.5 yr., M organizational tenure = 66.5 mo.) who had respectively undergone major changes in compensation and performance appraisal systems in their organizations at the time of the research. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed that a four-factor model with 14 items fit the data best in both samples. The generality of the scale's structure as well as its implications for change-management practices are discussed.

  8. [Spatiotemporal changes of wetlands in Hangzhou Bay Industrial Belt].

    PubMed

    Lu, Zhang-Wei; Wu, Ci-Fang; Yue, Wen-Ze; Liu, Yong; Ren, Li-Yan

    2009-07-01

    By using RS and GIS techniques, the spatiotemporal changes of wetlands in Hangzhou Bay Industrial Belt, one of the most developed zones in Zhejiang Province, from 1990 to 2005 were studied. There was a frequent conversion between the wetlands and other land use types and between the wetlands themselves, mainly manifested in the conversion between wetland and farmland, and from wetland to construction land and from tidal flat to aquiculture area. The comparative advantage of other land use types and the policy of cultivated land's requisition-compensation balance decided the inherent mechanisms of these spatiotemporal changes. Driven by the aquaculture's comparative advantage to traditional agriculture, large areas of inland farmland and of the tidal flat along the coast of Hangzhou Bay were reclaimed into aquiculture area, and the rapid expansion of construction land, limited land resources, and the implement of cultivated land's requisition-compensation balance policy induced the wetlands being occupied.

  9. Evolution of stationary wave patterns in mesospheric water vapor due to climate change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Demirhan Barı, Deniz; Gabriel, Axel; Sezginer Ünal, Yurdanur

    2016-07-01

    The variability in the observed stationary wave patterns of the mesospheric water vapor (H2O) is investigated using CMIP5 RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 projections. The change in the vertical and meridional wave structure at northern mid- and polar latitudes associated to the zonal and meridional eddy heat fluxes is discussed by analyzing the advection of H2O due to residual wind components. The alteration in the characteristics of the stationary wave-1 pattern of the lower mesospheric H2O (up to about 75km) related to change in the projected radiative forcing is observed for the years from 2006 to 2100. Additionally the remarkable effect of the increase in global temperature on the zonal asymmetries in small-scale transient waves and parameterized gravity waves, which largely contribute to the observed stationary wave patterns of H2O in the upper mesosphere, is analyzed. For validation purposes, the derived stratospheric patterns are verified against the eddy heat fluxes and residual advection terms derived from Aura/MLS satellite data between 2004-2010 and the reference period of the CMIP5 MPI dataset (1976-2005) providing confidence in the applied method.

  10. MONITORING CHANGES IN STRESSED ECOSYSTEMS USING SPATIAL PATTERNS OF ANT COMMUNITIES

    EPA Science Inventory

    We examined the feasibility of using changes in spatial patterns of ants-distribution on experimental plots as an indicator of response to environmental stress. We produced contour maps based on relative abundances of the three most common genera of ants based on pit-fall trap ca...

  11. The Adaptation of Workers to Industrial Change. European Seminar (Toulouse, France, January 22-23, 1996). Summary of the Debates.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Social Europe, 1996

    1996-01-01

    This document summarizes the debates that occurred at a European seminar on the adaptation of workers to industrial change. The document begins with the following three speeches: "The Challenges of Adapting Workers to Industrial Change" (Dominique Balmary); "Objective 4 of the Structural Funds: A Response to the Double Challenge of…

  12. Decomposition of toxicity emission changes on the demand and supply sides: empirical study of the US industrial sector

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fujii, Hidemichi; Okamoto, Shunsuke; Kagawa, Shigemi; Managi, Shunsuke

    2017-12-01

    This study investigated the changes in the toxicity of chemical emissions from the US industrial sector over the 1998-2009 period. Specifically, we employed a multiregional input-output analysis framework and integrated a supply-side index decomposition analysis (IDA) with a demand-side structural decomposition analysis (SDA) to clarify the main drivers of changes in the toxicity of production- and consumption-based chemical emissions. The results showed that toxic emissions from the US industrial sector decreased by 83% over the studied period because of pollution abatement efforts adopted by US industries. A variety of pollution abatement efforts were used by different industries, and cleaner production in the mining sector and the use of alternative materials in the manufacture of transportation equipment represented the most important efforts.

  13. Does the diurnal pattern of enteric methane emissions from dairy cows change over time?

    PubMed

    Bell, M J; Craigon, J; Saunders, N; Goodman, J R; Garnsworthy, P C

    2018-02-22

    Diet manipulation and genetic selection are two important mitigation strategies for reducing enteric methane (CH4) emissions from ruminant livestock. The aim of this study was to assess whether the diurnal pattern of CH4 emissions from individual dairy cows changes over time when cows are fed on diets varying in forage composition. Emissions of CH4 from 36 cows were measured during milking in an automatic (robotic) milking station in three consecutive feeding periods, for a total of 84 days. In Periods 1 and 2, the 36 cows were fed a high-forage partial mixed ration (PMR) containing 75% forage, with either a high grass silage or high maize silage content. In Period 3, cows were fed a commercial PMR containing 69% forage. Cows were offered PMR ad libitum plus concentrates during milking and CH4 emitted by individual cows was sampled during 8662 milkings. A linear mixed model was used to assess differences among cows, feeding periods and time of day. Considerable variation was observed among cows in daily mean and diurnal patterns of CH4 emissions. On average, cows produced less CH4 when fed on the commercial PMR in feeding Period 3 than when the same cows were fed on high-forage diets in feeding Periods 1 and 2. The average diurnal pattern for CH4 emissions did not significantly change between feeding periods and as lactation progressed. Emissions of CH4 were positively associated with dry matter (DM) intake and forage DM intake. It is concluded that if the management of feed allocation remains constant then the diurnal pattern of CH4 emissions from dairy cows will not necessarily alter over time. A change in diet composition may bring about an increase or decrease in absolute emissions over a 24-h period without significantly changing the diurnal pattern unless management of feed allocation changes. These findings are important for CH4 monitoring techniques that involve taking measurements over short periods within a day rather than complete 24-h observations.

  14. [Effects of land use change on landscape pattern vulnerability in Yinchuan Basin, Northwest China].

    PubMed

    Ren, Zhi-yuan; Zhang, Han

    2016-01-01

    Landscape pattern vulnerability reflects the instability and sensitivity of ecological system to external disturbances and helps to understand the status and trend of ecological environment. This paper used landscape sensitivity index and landscape adaptability index to construct the landscape pattern vulnerability index of Yinchuan Basin, and got the distribution of the landscape pattern vulnerability in 2001 and 2013. Our study explored the effect of the land use degree composite index, the integrated land use dynamic degree, the importance index of land use change and various types of land transfer on landscape pattern vulnerability. Results showed that the land use degree composite index was mainly caused by the increase of the arable land, forest and the construction land. The higher proportion of the arable land or forest, the lower the vulnerability was, and the construction land had the opposite effect. With the increase of integrated land use dynamic degree, the construction land significantly increased the vulnerability, followed by grassland, and the forest significantly decreased the vulnerability, followed by the arable land. As the importance index of land use change increasing, the arable land could significantly decrease the vulnerability, followed by the forest, the grassland had a weaker trend with no obvious pattern, and the construction land significantly increased the vulnerability. When the arable land, forest and the grassland were the maintypes of land use transfer, the increasing proportion of the construction land increased the vulnerability. When the construction land was the main type of land use transfer, the grassland and forest improved the vulnerability and the arable land had the opposite effect. Changes in the number of land use types influenced the spatial structure of land use to a certain extent, which could offer a reference on using and developing the land resources scientifically. The ternary diagram could reflect the impact

  15. Climate change and air pollution jointly creating nightmare for tourism industry.

    PubMed

    Sajjad, Faiza; Noreen, Umara; Zaman, Khalid

    2014-11-01

    The objective of the study is to examine the long-run and causal relationship between climate change (i.e., greenhouse gas emissions, hydrofluorocarbons, per fluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride), air pollution (i.e., methane emissions, nitrous oxide emissions, and carbon dioxide emissions), and tourism development indicators (i.e., international tourism receipts, international tourism expenditures, natural resource depletion, and net forest depletion) in the World's largest regions. The aggregate data is used for robust analysis in the South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and East Asia and the Pacific regions, over a period of 1975-2012. The results show that climatic factors and air pollution have a negative impact on tourism indicators in the form of deforestation and natural resource depletion. The impact is evident, as we have seen the systematic eroding of tourism industry, due to severe changes in climate and increasing strain of air pollution. There are several channels of cause-effect relationship between the climatic factors, air pollution, and tourism indicators in the World's region. The study confirms the unidirectional, bidirectional, and causality independent relationship between climatic factors, air pollution, and tourism indicators in the World. It is conclusive that tourism industry is facing all time bigger challenges of reduce investment, less resources, and minor importance from the government agencies because of the two broad challenges, i.e., climate change and air pollution, putting them in a dismal state.

  16. Change detection for synthetic aperture radar images based on pattern and intensity distinctiveness analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Xiao; Gao, Feng; Dong, Junyu; Qi, Qiang

    2018-04-01

    Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image is independent on atmospheric conditions, and it is the ideal image source for change detection. Existing methods directly analysis all the regions in the speckle noise contaminated difference image. The performance of these methods is easily affected by small noisy regions. In this paper, we proposed a novel change detection framework for saliency-guided change detection based on pattern and intensity distinctiveness analysis. The saliency analysis step can remove small noisy regions, and therefore makes the proposed method more robust to the speckle noise. In the proposed method, the log-ratio operator is first utilized to obtain a difference image (DI). Then, the saliency detection method based on pattern and intensity distinctiveness analysis is utilized to obtain the changed region candidates. Finally, principal component analysis and k-means clustering are employed to analysis pixels in the changed region candidates. Thus, the final change map can be obtained by classifying these pixels into changed or unchanged class. The experiment results on two real SAR images datasets have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method.

  17. Industrial Relations in Canada: Contemporary Comparisons and Change.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blyton, Paul; Goodman, John, Eds.

    1990-01-01

    Includes "Canadian Industrial Relations: An Introductory Overview" (Blyton, Goodman); "Overview of Canadian Labour Law" (Miller); "Industrial Conflict and Resolution in Canada and Britain" (Haiven); "Collective Bargaining in the Public Sector in Canada" (Calvert); "Canadian Automobile Industry: Work…

  18. How did the Master Settlement Agreement change tobacco industry expenditures for cigarette advertising and promotions?

    PubMed

    Pierce, John P; Gilpin, Elizabeth A

    2004-07-01

    The 1998 multistate Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) with the tobacco industry restricted cigarette advertising and promotions. The MSA monetary settlement was also associated with an average cigarette price increase of U.S.$1.19/pack between 1998 and 2001 to fund, in part, industry payments to the states. We examined Federal Trade Commission reports on how the tobacco industry spends its cigarette advertising and promotional dollars to see if changes expected as a result of the MSA occurred. Expected changes included reduced total expenditures and reductions for outdoor advertising, specialty promotional items identified with a brand (e.g., caps, t-shirts, lighters), and public entertainment. However, tobacco industry spending for advertising and promotions increased 96% between 1995 and 2001, with large increases in 1998 and 1999, as the MSA took effect. Between 1997 and 2001, outdoor advertising declined 98%, expenditures for specialty promotional items decreased 41%, although public entertainment increased 45%. However, in 2001, these categories represented only a small fraction of the total budget. Expenditures for retail-value-added increased 344% between 1997 and 2001 (to 42.5% of total), perhaps to mitigate increased cigarette prices. In 2001, the incentives-to-merchants and retail-value-added categories comprised more than 80% of total expenditures. To adequately monitor tobacco industry expenditures as they adapt to the MSA and other tobacco control efforts, more refined reporting categories are essential.

  19. Soil Landscape Pattern Changes in Response to Rural Anthropogenic Activity across Tiaoxi Watershed, China

    PubMed Central

    Xiao, Rui; Jiang, Diwei; Christakos, George; Fei, Xufeng; Wu, Jiaping

    2016-01-01

    Soil sealing (loss of soil resources due to extensive land covering for the purpose of house building, road construction etc.) and subsequent soil landscape pattern changes constitute typical environmental problems in many places worldwide. Previous studies concentrated on soil sealing in urbanized regions, whereas rural areas have not been given sufficient attention. Accordingly, this paper studies soil landscape pattern dynamics (i.e., landscape pattern changes in response to rural anthropogenic activities) in the Tiaoxi watershed (Zhejiang province, eastern China), in which surface sealing is by far the predominant component of human forcing with respect to environmental change. A novel approach of quantifying the impacts of rural anthropogenic activities on soil resources is presented. Specifically, quantitative relationships were derived between five soil landscape pattern metrics (patch density, edge density, shape index, Shannon’s diversity index and aggregation index) and three rural anthropogenic activity indicators (anthropogenic activity intensity, distance to towns, and distance to roads) at two landscape block scales (3 and 5 km) between 1985 and 2010. The results showed that the Tiaoxi watershed experienced extensive rural settlement expansion and high rates of soil sealing. Soil landscapes became more fragmented, more irregular, more isolated, and less diverse. Relationships between soil landscape pattern changes and rural anthropogenic activities differed with the scale (spatial and temporal) and variable considered. In particular, the anthropogenic activity intensity was found to be the most important indicator explaining social development intensity, whereas the other two proximity indicators had a significant impact at certain temporal interval. In combination with scale effects, spatial dependency (correlation) was shown to play a key role that should be carefully taken into consideration in any relevant environmental study. Overall, the

  20. Soil Landscape Pattern Changes in Response to Rural Anthropogenic Activity across Tiaoxi Watershed, China.

    PubMed

    Xiao, Rui; Jiang, Diwei; Christakos, George; Fei, Xufeng; Wu, Jiaping

    2016-01-01

    Soil sealing (loss of soil resources due to extensive land covering for the purpose of house building, road construction etc.) and subsequent soil landscape pattern changes constitute typical environmental problems in many places worldwide. Previous studies concentrated on soil sealing in urbanized regions, whereas rural areas have not been given sufficient attention. Accordingly, this paper studies soil landscape pattern dynamics (i.e., landscape pattern changes in response to rural anthropogenic activities) in the Tiaoxi watershed (Zhejiang province, eastern China), in which surface sealing is by far the predominant component of human forcing with respect to environmental change. A novel approach of quantifying the impacts of rural anthropogenic activities on soil resources is presented. Specifically, quantitative relationships were derived between five soil landscape pattern metrics (patch density, edge density, shape index, Shannon's diversity index and aggregation index) and three rural anthropogenic activity indicators (anthropogenic activity intensity, distance to towns, and distance to roads) at two landscape block scales (3 and 5 km) between 1985 and 2010. The results showed that the Tiaoxi watershed experienced extensive rural settlement expansion and high rates of soil sealing. Soil landscapes became more fragmented, more irregular, more isolated, and less diverse. Relationships between soil landscape pattern changes and rural anthropogenic activities differed with the scale (spatial and temporal) and variable considered. In particular, the anthropogenic activity intensity was found to be the most important indicator explaining social development intensity, whereas the other two proximity indicators had a significant impact at certain temporal interval. In combination with scale effects, spatial dependency (correlation) was shown to play a key role that should be carefully taken into consideration in any relevant environmental study. Overall, the

  1. Learning to Recognize Patterns: Changes in the Visual Field with Familiarity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bebko, James M.; Uchikawa, Keiji; Saida, Shinya; Ikeda, Mitsuo

    1995-01-01

    Two studies were conducted to investigate changes which take place in the visual information processing of novel stimuli as they become familiar. Japanese writing characters (Hiragana and Kanji) which were unfamiliar to two native English speaking subjects were presented using a moving window technique to restrict their visual fields. Study time for visual recognition was recorded across repeated sessions, and with varying visual field restrictions. The critical visual field was defined as the size of the visual field beyond which further increases did not improve the speed of recognition performance. In the first study, when the Hiragana patterns were novel, subjects needed to see about half of the entire pattern simultaneously to maintain optimal performance. However, the critical visual field size decreased as familiarity with the patterns increased. These results were replicated in the second study with more complex Kanji characters. In addition, the critical field size decreased as pattern complexity decreased. We propose a three component model of pattern perception. In the first stage a representation of the stimulus must be constructed by the subject, and restricting of the visual field interferes dramatically with this component when stimuli are unfamiliar. With increased familiarity, subjects become able to reconstruct a previous representation from very small, unique segments of the pattern, analogous to the informativeness areas hypothesized by Loftus and Mackworth [J. Exp. Psychol., 4 (1978) 565].

  2. Climate change trade measures : estimating industry effects

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-06-01

    Estimating the potential effects of domestic emissions pricing for industries in the United States is complex. If the United States were to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, production costs could rise for certain industries and could cause output, ...

  3. a Case Study: Exploring Industrial Agglomeration of Manufacturing Industries in Shanghai Using Duranton and Overman's K-Density Function

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tian, S.; Wang, J.; Gui, Z.; Wu, H.; Wang, Y.

    2017-09-01

    There has wide academic and policy attention on the issue of scale economy and industrial agglomeration, with most of the attention paid to industrial geography concentration. This paper adopted a scale-independent and distance-based measurement method, K-density function or known as Duranton and Overman (DO) index, to study the manufacturing industries localization in Shanghai, which is the most representative economic development zone in China and East Asia. The result indicates the industry has a growing tendency of localization, and various spatial distribution patterns in different distances. Furthermore, the class of industry also show significant influence on the concentration pattern. Besides, the method has been coded and published on GeoCommerce, a visualization and analysis portal for industrial big data, to provide geoprocessing and spatial decision support.

  4. The globalization of the arms industry: The next proliferation challenge

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bitzinger, R.A.

    1994-12-31

    The globalization of the arms industry entails a significant shift away from traditional, single-country patterns of weapons production toward internationalization of the development, production, and marketing of arms. While wholly indigenous armaments production may be on the decline, multinational arms production - through collaboration on individual weapon systems and increasingly via interfirm linkages across the international arms industry - appears actually to be expanding. In several instances, in fact, multinational armaments production is increasingly supplementing or even supplanting indigenous or autonomous weapons production or arms imports. The emergence of an increasingly transnational defense technology and industrial base is fundamentally affectingmore » the shape and content of much of the global arms trade. This changing defense market, in turn, will have a profound impact on a number of national security issues concerning the Western industrialized nations. 3 figs., 2 tabs.« less

  5. Retention of movement pattern changes after a lower extremity injury prevention program is affected by program duration.

    PubMed

    Padua, Darin A; DiStefano, Lindsay J; Marshall, Stephen W; Beutler, Anthony I; de la Motte, Sarah J; DiStefano, Michael J

    2012-02-01

    Changes in movement patterns have been repeatedly observed immediately after completing a lower extremity injury prevention program. However, it is not known if movement pattern changes are maintained after discontinuing the training program. The ability to maintain movement pattern changes after training has ceased may be influenced by the program's duration. The authors hypothesized that among individuals who completed either a 3-month or 9-month training program and who demonstrated immediate movement pattern changes, only those who completed the 9-month training program would maintain movement pattern changes after a 3-month period of no longer performing the exercises. Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. A total of 140 youth soccer athletes from 15 separate teams volunteered to participate. Athletes' movement patterns were assessed using the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) at pretest, posttest, and 3 months after ceasing the program (retention test). Eighty-four of the original 140 participants demonstrated improvements in their LESS scores between pretest and posttest (change in LESS score >0) and were included in the final analyses for this study (n = 84; 20 boys and 64 girls; mean age, 14 ± 2 years; age range, 11-17 years). Teams performed 3-month (short-duration group) and 9-month (extended-duration group) injury prevention programs. The exercises performed were identical for both groups. Teams performed the programs as part of their normal warm-up routine. Although both groups improved their total LESS scores from pretest to posttest, only the extended-duration training group retained their improvements 3 months after ceasing the injury prevention program (F(2,137) = 3.38; P = .04). Results suggest that training duration may be an important factor to consider when designing injury prevention programs that facilitate long-term changes in movement control.

  6. Technological Diversification of Japanese Industry.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kodama, Fumio

    1986-01-01

    Describes an approach for measuring industrial technological diversification behavior. Identifies sectoral patterns of Japanese industry as related to diversification behaviors. Delineates the mechanisms and effectiveness of Japanese corporate and government policies relevant to diversification. (ML)

  7. A climate-change scenario for the Columbia River Basin.

    Treesearch

    Sue A. Ferguson

    1997-01-01

    This work describes the method used to generate a climate-change scenario for the Columbia River basin. The scenario considers climate patterns that may change if the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide (C02), or its greenhouse gas equivalent, were to double over pre-Industrial Revolution values. Given the current rate of increase in...

  8. Changes in patterns of injecting drug use in Hungary: a shift to synthetic cathinones.

    PubMed

    Péterfi, Anna; Tarján, Anna; Horváth, Gergely Csaba; Csesztregi, Tamás; Nyírády, Adrienn

    2014-01-01

    The spread of synthetic cathinone injecting is a new phenomenon observed in recent years in Hungary. Until 2010, when the first anecdotal reports on cathinone injecting appeared, injecting was associated with the use of heroin and amphetamine. In this paper we review available evidence of the changes in the drug market and a concurrent shift in patterns of injecting drug use that have been taking place in Hungary since 2010. Remarkable changes have been observed in police seizures data since 2010. While new psychoactive substances have appeared, the availability of heroin has dropped significantly. A qualitative study in 2011 revealed that these market changes correlate with changes in patterns of injecting drug use: decreasing heroin use and the appearance of mephedrone injecting were reported by treatment and needle and syringe programme (NSP) personnel. These changes are detectable in other routine epidemiological data collection systems in the following years as well (i.e. treatment, drug-related deaths, NSP clientele). Heroin-related treatment demand dropped, as did heroin-related mortality. Parallel to this, a growing number of clients appeared in treatment and in NSPs who were primarily injecting cathinones. The shift to cathinones can be observed in amphetamine and heroin injectors as well. Monitoring changes in patterns of injecting drug use are especially important because of the vulnerability of this drug-user population and the consequences of this high-risk route of drug administration. The realignment observed in Hungary is to be further investigated with regard to its determinants, changes in risk behaviour, and in treatment needs. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  9. Eating patterns, diet quality and energy balance: a perspective about applications and future directions for the food industry.

    PubMed

    Layman, Donald K

    2014-07-01

    The food industry is the point of final integration of consumer food choices with dietary guidelines. For more than 40 years, nutrition recommendations emphasized reducing dietary intake of animal fats, cholesterol, and protein and increasing intake of cereal grains. The food industry responded by creating a convenient, low cost and diverse food supply that featured fat-free cookies, cholesterol-free margarines, and spaghetti with artificial meat sauce. However, research focused on obesity, aging, and Metabolic Syndrome has demonstrated merits of increased dietary protein and reduced amounts of carbohydrates. Dietary guidelines have changed from a conceptual framework of a daily balance of food groups represented as building blocks in a pyramid designed to encourage consumers to avoid fat, to a plate design that creates a meal approach to nutrition and highlights protein and vegetables and minimizes grain carbohydrates. Coincident with the changing dietary guidelines, consumers are placing higher priority on foods for health and seeking foods with more protein, less sugars and minimal processing that are fresh, natural, and with fewer added ingredients. Individual food companies must adapt to changing nutrition knowledge, dietary guidelines, and consumer priorities. The impact on the food industry will be specific to each company based on their products, culture and capacity to adapt. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Increase in flood risk resulting from climate change in a developed urban watershed - the role of storm temporal patterns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hettiarachchi, Suresh; Wasko, Conrad; Sharma, Ashish

    2018-03-01

    The effects of climate change are causing more frequent extreme rainfall events and an increased risk of flooding in developed areas. Quantifying this increased risk is of critical importance for the protection of life and property as well as for infrastructure planning and design. The updated National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Atlas 14 intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) relationships and temporal patterns are widely used in hydrologic and hydraulic modeling for design and planning in the United States. Current literature shows that rising temperatures as a result of climate change will result in an intensification of rainfall. These impacts are not explicitly included in the NOAA temporal patterns, which can have consequences on the design and planning of adaptation and flood mitigation measures. In addition there is a lack of detailed hydraulic modeling when assessing climate change impacts on flooding. The study presented in this paper uses a comprehensive hydrologic and hydraulic model of a fully developed urban/suburban catchment to explore two primary questions related to climate change impacts on flood risk. (1) How do climate change effects on storm temporal patterns and rainfall volumes impact flooding in a developed complex watershed? (2) Is the storm temporal pattern as critical as the total volume of rainfall when evaluating urban flood risk? We use the NOAA Atlas 14 temporal patterns, along with the expected increase in temperature for the RCP8.5 scenario for 2081-2100, to project temporal patterns and rainfall volumes to reflect future climatic change. The model results show that different rainfall patterns cause variability in flood depths during a storm event. The changes in the projected temporal patterns alone increase the risk of flood magnitude up to 35 %, with the cumulative impacts of temperature rise on temporal patterns and the storm volume increasing flood risk from 10 to 170 %. The results also show that regional

  11. The Negro in the Drugstore Industry. The Racial Policies of American Industry.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fletcher, F. Marion; Keeney, Marie R.

    This study examines the historical and current levels of Negro employment in drugstores, the reasons for the employment patterns, the prospects for greater Negro employment in high status jobs, and the effects of industry employment policies on the retail drug industry employment of Negroes. The report explores the nature of the retail drug…

  12. Climate change and farmers’ cropping patterns in Cemoro watershed area, Central Java, Indonesia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sugihardjo; Sutrisno, J.; Setyono, P.; Suntoro

    2018-03-01

    Cropping pattern applied by farmers is usually based on the availability of water. Farmers cultivate rice when water is available. If it is unavailable, farmers will choose to plant crops that need less water. Climate change greatly affects to farmers in determining the cropping pattern as it alters the rainfall pattern and distribution in the region. This condition requires farmers to adjust the cropping pattern so that they can do the farming successfully. This study aims to examine the application of cropping patterns applied by the farmers in the Cemoro Watershed, Central Java, Indonesia. Descriptive analysis approach is employed in this research. The results showed that farmers’ cropping pattern is not based on the availability of water. However, it adopts a habit that has been practiced since long time ago or just adopt others farmer's habit. The cropping pattern applied by irrigated paddy farmers in Cemoro watershed area consists of two types: rice-rice-rice and rice-rice-secondary crops. Among those two types, most farmers apply the rice-rice-rice pattern. Meanwhile, there are three cropping patterns applied in the rain-land, namely rice-rice-rice, rice-rice-secondary crop, and rice-rice-fallow. The majority of farmers apply the second pattern (rice-rice-secondary crops). It was also found that farmers’ cropping pattern was not in accordance with the recommendation of the local government.

  13. Changing Patterns of Blood Borne Sepsis in Special Care Baby Unit, Khoula Hospital

    PubMed Central

    Gupta, Bhaskar; El Amin, Eisa

    2010-01-01

    Objectives Infection is a frequent and important cause of morbidity and mortality in neonatal units all over the world. Over the years, there has been a shift in the microorganisms responsible for neonatal septicemia. This study aims to analyze the changing patterns of blood borne organisms in the neonatal unit. Methods This retrospective study was undertaken at the neonatal intensive care unit of Khoula Hospital in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman to analyze the incidence of blood borne sepsis and its changing pattern from 1997-2000. Results Out of a total 2181 admissions to the neonatal intensive care unit, 71 (3.25%) babies had positive blood culture. A reduction in the incidence of blood borne sepsis with changing patterns of organisms was seen over the period of four years with incidence of Group B Streptococcus declining from 34% in 1997-1998 to 17.8% in 1999-2000 and the incidence of CONS (Staphylococcus epidermidis) increasing from 20% in 1997-1998 to 35% in 1999-2000. Conclusion Overall, due to survival and prolonged hospitalization of extremely low birth weight babies who need frequent invasive procedures, and the use of powerful antibiotics, the incidence of Staphylococcus epidermidis which was previously thought to be non pathogenic has increased over the years in neonatal intensive care units. PMID:22125709

  14. Experience drives innovation of new migration patterns of whooping cranes in response to global change.

    PubMed

    Teitelbaum, Claire S; Converse, Sarah J; Fagan, William F; Böhning-Gaese, Katrin; O'Hara, Robert B; Lacy, Anne E; Mueller, Thomas

    2016-09-06

    Anthropogenic changes in climate and land use are driving changes in migration patterns of birds worldwide. Spatial changes in migration have been related to long-term temperature trends, but the intrinsic mechanisms by which migratory species adapt to environmental change remain largely unexplored. We show that, for a long-lived social species, older birds with more experience are critical for innovating new migration behaviours. Groups containing older, more experienced individuals establish new overwintering sites closer to the breeding grounds, leading to a rapid population-level shift in migration patterns. Furthermore, these new overwintering sites are in areas where changes in climate have increased temperatures and where food availability from agriculture is high, creating favourable conditions for overwintering. Our results reveal that the age structure of populations is critical for the behavioural mechanisms that allow species to adapt to global change, particularly for long-lived animals, where changes in behaviour can occur faster than evolution.

  15. Experience drives innovation of new migration patterns of whooping cranes in response to global change

    PubMed Central

    Teitelbaum, Claire S.; Converse, Sarah J.; Fagan, William F.; Böhning-Gaese, Katrin; O'Hara, Robert B.; Lacy, Anne E.; Mueller, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    Anthropogenic changes in climate and land use are driving changes in migration patterns of birds worldwide. Spatial changes in migration have been related to long-term temperature trends, but the intrinsic mechanisms by which migratory species adapt to environmental change remain largely unexplored. We show that, for a long-lived social species, older birds with more experience are critical for innovating new migration behaviours. Groups containing older, more experienced individuals establish new overwintering sites closer to the breeding grounds, leading to a rapid population-level shift in migration patterns. Furthermore, these new overwintering sites are in areas where changes in climate have increased temperatures and where food availability from agriculture is high, creating favourable conditions for overwintering. Our results reveal that the age structure of populations is critical for the behavioural mechanisms that allow species to adapt to global change, particularly for long-lived animals, where changes in behaviour can occur faster than evolution. PMID:27597446

  16. Experience drives innovation of new migration patterns of whooping cranes in response to global change

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Teitelbaum, Claire S.; Converse, Sarah J.; Fagan, William F.; Böhning-Gaese, Katrin; O'Hara, Robert B.; Lacy, Anne E; Mueller, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    Anthropogenic changes in climate and land use are driving changes in migration patterns of birds worldwide. Spatial changes in migration have been related to long-term temperature trends, but the intrinsic mechanisms by which migratory species adapt to environmental change remain largely unexplored. We show that, for a long-lived social species, older birds with more experience are critical for innovating new migration behaviours. Groups containing older, more experienced individuals establish new overwintering sites closer to the breeding grounds, leading to a rapid population-level shift in migration patterns. Furthermore, these new overwintering sites are in areas where changes in climate have increased temperatures and where food availability from agriculture is high, creating favourable conditions for overwintering. Our results reveal that the age structure of populations is critical for the behavioural mechanisms that allow species to adapt to global change, particularly for long-lived animals, where changes in behaviour can occur faster than evolution.

  17. Patterns and comparisons of human-induced changes in river flood impacts in cities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Clark, Stephanie; Sharma, Ashish; Sisson, Scott A.

    2018-03-01

    In this study, information extracted from the first global urban fluvial flood risk data set (Aqueduct) is investigated and visualized to explore current and projected city-level flood impacts driven by urbanization and climate change. We use a novel adaption of the self-organizing map (SOM) method, an artificial neural network proficient at clustering, pattern extraction, and visualization of large, multi-dimensional data sets. Prevalent patterns of current relationships and anticipated changes over time in the nonlinearly-related environmental and social variables are presented, relating urban river flood impacts to socioeconomic development and changing hydrologic conditions. Comparisons are provided between 98 individual cities. Output visualizations compare baseline and changing trends of city-specific exposures of population and property to river flooding, revealing relationships between the cities based on their relative map placements. Cities experiencing high (or low) baseline flood impacts on population and/or property that are expected to improve (or worsen), as a result of anticipated climate change and development, are identified and compared. This paper condenses and conveys large amounts of information through visual communication to accelerate the understanding of relationships between local urban conditions and global processes.

  18. Changing interactions between physician trainees and the pharmaceutical industry: a national survey.

    PubMed

    Austad, Kirsten E; Avorn, Jerry; Franklin, Jessica M; Kowal, Mary K; Campbell, Eric G; Kesselheim, Aaron S

    2013-08-01

    strength of institutional conflict of interest policies was not associated with this variable. Despite recent policy changes, a substantial number of trainees continue to receive gifts from pharmaceutical representatives. We found no relation between these outcomes and a school's policies concerning interactions with industry.

  19. Inactivity periods and postural change speed can explain atypical postural change patterns of Caenorhabditis elegans mutants.

    PubMed

    Fukunaga, Tsukasa; Iwasaki, Wataru

    2017-01-19

    With rapid advances in genome sequencing and editing technologies, systematic and quantitative analysis of animal behavior is expected to be another key to facilitating data-driven behavioral genetics. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a model organism in this field. Several video-tracking systems are available for automatically recording behavioral data for the nematode, but computational methods for analyzing these data are still under development. In this study, we applied the Gaussian mixture model-based binning method to time-series postural data for 322 C. elegans strains. We revealed that the occurrence patterns of the postural states and the transition patterns among these states have a relationship as expected, and such a relationship must be taken into account to identify strains with atypical behaviors that are different from those of wild type. Based on this observation, we identified several strains that exhibit atypical transition patterns that cannot be fully explained by their occurrence patterns of postural states. Surprisingly, we found that two simple factors-overall acceleration of postural movement and elimination of inactivity periods-explained the behavioral characteristics of strains with very atypical transition patterns; therefore, computational analysis of animal behavior must be accompanied by evaluation of the effects of these simple factors. Finally, we found that the npr-1 and npr-3 mutants have similar behavioral patterns that were not predictable by sequence homology, proving that our data-driven approach can reveal the functions of genes that have not yet been characterized. We propose that elimination of inactivity periods and overall acceleration of postural change speed can explain behavioral phenotypes of strains with very atypical postural transition patterns. Our methods and results constitute guidelines for effectively finding strains that show "truly" interesting behaviors and systematically uncovering novel gene

  20. Interfacial pattern changes of imprinted multilayered material in milli- and microscales

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yonekura, Kazuhiro; Tokumaru, Kazuki; Tsumori, Fujio

    2018-06-01

    Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a technique that transfers a mold pattern of nanometer order to the surface of a resist material by heating and pressing. NIL is an excellent technology in terms of high productivity, accuracy, and resolution. Recently, NIL has been applied to the processing of different multilayered materials, in which it is possible to process multiple materials simultaneously. In this processing of multilayered materials, it is possible to form an interfacial pattern between the upper layer and the lower layer simultaneously with patterning on the mold surface. This interface pattern can be controlled by the deformation characteristics, initial thickness, and so forth. In this research, we compared the interfacial pattern changes of imprinted multilayered materials in milli- and microscales. For multilayered imprint using multiple materials, it is important to know the flow of the resist and its dependence on the scale. If there is similarity in the relationship produced by the scale on the imprinted samples, a process design with a number of feedbacks could be realized. It also becomes easier to treat structures in the millimeter scale for the experiment. In this study, we employed micropowder imprint (µPI) for multilayered material imprint. A compound sheet of alumina powder and polymer binder was used for imprint. Two similar experiments in different scales, micro- and millimeter scales, were carried out. Results indicate that the interfacial patterns of micro- and millimeter-scale-imprinted samples are similar.

  1. Landscape Pattern Dynamic Change Research of Harbin Songbei Based on GIS Technology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chenyang, Ding; Kun, Wang; Kang, Li Kang

    2018-05-01

    With the rapid development of social economy in the Songhua River basin, there are big dynamic change of the landscape of the new area beside the river bank, which is represented by Harbin Songbei. This paper selects 13 representative indexes from landscape and patch level, analyzes the cause and process of the change of landscape pattern in Songbei during 2005-2015, and probes into the characteristics of the change based on the principle of landscape ecology, using remote sensing and GIS technology and Fragstats3.3 software data statistics.

  2. [The changing clinical pattern of rheumatic fever (author's transl)].

    PubMed

    Jüngst, B K

    1975-08-01

    During the last years a remarkable change in the pattern of rheumatic fever has been observed. Severe carditis and polyarthritis have almost disappeared. Accordingly the mortality rate decreased considerably milder forms of rheumatic fever may become a diagnostical problem so that adequate therapy may be delayed. These cases may present as chronic heart disease with an unspecific history. The modified Jones criteria alone have limited value. Laboratory tests are increasingly important. Not only improvement of hygiene or therapy with Penicillin are causes for the declining incidence of rheumatic fever, but also the change in the behaviour of Streptococci. This assumption will be supported if the equally dranged course of scarlet fever and the uniform ASO-titers in children as a measure for contacts with Streptococci are taken into account.

  3. Impacts of changes in climate and landscape pattern on ecosystem services.

    PubMed

    Hao, Ruifang; Yu, Deyong; Liu, Yupeng; Liu, Yang; Qiao, Jianmin; Wang, Xue; Du, Jinshen

    2017-02-01

    The restoration of degraded vegetation can effectively improve ecosystem services, increase human well-being, and promote regional sustainable development. Understanding the changing trends in ecosystem services and their drivers is an important step in informing decision makers for the development of reasonable landscape management measures. From 2001 to 2014, we analyzed the changing trends in five critical ecosystem services in the Xilingol Grassland, which is typical of grasslands in North China, including net primary productivity (NPP), soil conservation (SC), soil loss due to wind (SL), water yield (WY) and water retention (WR). Additionally, we quantified how climatic factors and landscape patterns affect the five ecosystem services on both annual and seasonal time scales. Overall, the results indicated that vegetation restoration can effectively improve the five grassland ecosystem services, and precipitation (PPT) is the most critical climatic factor. The impact of changes in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was most readily detectable on the annual time scale, whereas the impact of changes in landscape pattern was most readily detectable on the seasonal time scale. A win-win situation in terms of grassland ecosystem services (e.g., vegetation productivity, SC, WR and reduced SL) can be achieved by increasing grassland aggregation, partitioning the largest grasslands, dividing larger areas of farmland into smaller patches, and increasing the area of appropriate forest stands. Our work may aid policymakers in developing regional landscape management schemes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Consistent role of Quaternary climate change in shaping current plant functional diversity patterns across European plant orders.

    PubMed

    Ordonez, Alejandro; Svenning, Jens-Christian

    2017-02-23

    Current and historical environmental conditions are known to determine jointly contemporary species distributions and richness patterns. However, whether historical dynamics in species distributions and richness translate to functional diversity patterns remains, for the most part, unknown. The geographic patterns of plant functional space size (richness) and packing (dispersion) for six widely distributed orders of European angiosperms were estimated using atlas distribution data and trait information. Then the relative importance of late-Quaternary glacial-interglacial climate change and contemporary environmental factors (climate, productivity, and topography) as determinants of functional diversity of evaluated orders was assesed. Functional diversity patterns of all evaluated orders exhibited prominent glacial-interglacial climate change imprints, complementing the influence of contemporary environmental conditions. The importance of Quaternary glacial-interglacial climate change factors was comparable to that of contemporary environmental factors across evaluated orders. Therefore, high long-term paleoclimate variability has imposed consistent supplementary constraints on functional diversity of multiple plant groups, a legacy that may permeate to ecosystem functioning and resilience. These findings suggest that strong near-future anthropogenic climate change may elicit long-term functional disequilibria in plant functional diversity.

  5. Mortality and economic instability: detailed analyses for Britain and comparative analyses for selected industrialized countries.

    PubMed

    Brenner, M H

    1983-01-01

    This paper discusses a first-stage analysis of the link of unemployment rates, as well as other economic, social and environmental health risk factors, to mortality rates in postwar Britain. The results presented represent part of an international study of the impact of economic change on mortality patterns in industrialized countries. The mortality patterns examined include total and infant mortality and (by cause) cardiovascular (total), cerebrovascular and heart disease, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide, homicide and motor vehicle accidents. Among the most prominent factors that beneficially influence postwar mortality patterns in England/Wales and Scotland are economic growth and stability and health service availability. A principal detrimental factor to health is a high rate of unemployment. Additional factors that have an adverse influence on mortality rates are cigarette consumption and heavy alcohol use and unusually cold winter temperatures (especially in Scotland). The model of mortality that includes both economic changes and behavioral and environmental risk factors was successfully applied to infant mortality rates in the interwar period. In addition, the "simple" economic change model of mortality (using only economic indicators) was applied to other industrialized countries. In Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Sweden, the simple version of the economic change model could be successfully applied only if the analysis was begun before World War II; for analysis beginning in the postwar era, the more sophisticated economic change model, including behavioral and environmental risk factors, was required. In France, West Germany, Italy, and Spain, by contrast, some success was achieved using the simple economic change model.

  6. Invited review: Changes in the dairy industry affecting dairy cattle health and welfare.

    PubMed

    Barkema, H W; von Keyserlingk, M A G; Kastelic, J P; Lam, T J G M; Luby, C; Roy, J-P; LeBlanc, S J; Keefe, G P; Kelton, D F

    2015-11-01

    The dairy industry in the developed world has undergone profound changes over recent decades. In this paper, we present an overview of some of the most important recent changes in the dairy industry that affect health and welfare of dairy cows, as well as the science associated with these changes. Additionally, knowledge gaps are identified where research is needed to guide the dairy industry through changes that are occurring now or that we expect will occur in the future. The number of farms has decreased considerably, whereas herd size has increased. As a result, an increasing number of dairy farms depend on hired (nonfamily) labor. Regular professional communication and establishment of farm-specific protocols are essential to minimize human errors and ensure consistency of practices. Average milk production per cow has increased, partly because of improvements in nutrition and management but also because of genetic selection for milk production. Adoption of new technologies (e.g., automated calf feeders, cow activity monitors, and automated milking systems) is accelerating. However, utilization of the data and action lists that these systems generate for health and welfare of livestock is still largely unrealized, and more training of dairy farmers, their employees, and their advisors is necessary. Concurrently, to remain competitive and to preserve their social license to operate, farmers are increasingly required to adopt increased standards for food safety and biosecurity, become less reliant on the use of antimicrobials and hormones, and provide assurances regarding animal welfare. Partly because of increasing herd size but also in response to animal welfare regulations in some countries, the proportion of dairy herds housed in tiestalls has decreased considerably. Although in some countries access to pasture is regulated, in countries that traditionally practiced seasonal grazing, fewer farmers let their dairy cows graze in the summer. The proportion of

  7. Changes in the pattern of protein synthesis during zoospore germination in Blastocladiella emersonii.

    PubMed Central

    Silva, A M; Maia, J C; Juliani, M H

    1987-01-01

    Using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, we analyzed the pattern of proteins synthesized during Blastocladiella emersonii zoospore germination in an inorganic solution, in both the presence and absence of actinomycin D. During the transition from zoospore to round cells (the first 25 min), essentially no qualitative differences were noticeable, indicating that the earliest stages of germination are entirely preprogrammed with stored RNA. Later in germination (after 25 min), however, changes in the pattern of protein synthesis were found. Some of these proteins (a total of 6 polypeptides) correspond possibly to a selective translation of stored messages, whereas the majority of the changed proteins (22 polypeptides) corresponds to newly synthesized mRNA. Thus, multiple levels of protein synthesis regulation seem to occur during zoospore germination, involving both transcriptional and translational controls. We also analyzed the pattern of protein synthesis during germination in a nutrient medium; synthesis of specific polypeptides occurred during late germination. During early germination posttranslational control was also observed, several labeled proteins from zoospores being specifically degraded or charge modified. Images PMID:3571161

  8. Global pattern of trends in streamflow and water availability in a changing climate.

    PubMed

    Milly, P C D; Dunne, K A; Vecchia, A V

    2005-11-17

    Water availability on the continents is important for human health, economic activity, ecosystem function and geophysical processes. Because the saturation vapour pressure of water in air is highly sensitive to temperature, perturbations in the global water cycle are expected to accompany climate warming. Regional patterns of warming-induced changes in surface hydroclimate are complex and less certain than those in temperature, however, with both regional increases and decreases expected in precipitation and runoff. Here we show that an ensemble of 12 climate models exhibits qualitative and statistically significant skill in simulating observed regional patterns of twentieth-century multidecadal changes in streamflow. These models project 10-40% increases in runoff in eastern equatorial Africa, the La Plata basin and high-latitude North America and Eurasia, and 10-30% decreases in runoff in southern Africa, southern Europe, the Middle East and mid-latitude western North America by the year 2050. Such changes in sustainable water availability would have considerable regional-scale consequences for economies as well as ecosystems.

  9. Short-term changes in running mechanics and foot strike pattern after introduction to minimalistic footwear.

    PubMed

    Willson, John D; Bjorhus, Jordan S; Williams, D S Blaise; Butler, Robert J; Porcari, John P; Kernozek, Thomas W

    2014-01-01

    Minimalistic footwear has garnered widespread interest in the running community, based largely on the premise that the footwear may reduce certain running-related injury risk factors through adaptations in running mechanics and foot strike pattern. To examine short-term adaptations in running mechanics among runners who typically run in conventional cushioned heel running shoes as they transition to minimalistic footwear. A 2-week, prospective, observational study. A movement science laboratory. Nineteen female runners with a rear foot strike (RFS) pattern who usually train in conventional running shoes. The participants trained for 20 minutes, 3 times per week for 2 weeks by using minimalistic footwear. Three-dimensional lower extremity running mechanics were analyzed before and after this 2-week period. Hip, knee, and ankle joint kinematics at initial contact; step length; stance time; peak ankle joint moment and joint work; impact peak; vertical ground reaction force loading rate; and foot strike pattern preference were evaluated before and after the intervention. The knee flexion angle at initial contact increased 3.8° (P < .01), but the ankle and hip flexion angles at initial contact did not change after training. No changes in ankle joint kinetics or running temporospatial parameters were observed. The majority of participants (71%), before the intervention, demonstrated an RFS pattern while running in minimalistic footwear. The proportion of runners with an RFS pattern did not decrease after 2 weeks (P = .25). Those runners who chose an RFS pattern in minimalistic shoes experienced a vertical loading rate that was 3 times greater than those who chose to run with a non-RFS pattern. Few systematic changes in running mechanics were observed among participants after 2 weeks of training in minimalistic footwear. The majority of the participants continued to use an RFS pattern after training in minimalistic footwear, and these participants experienced higher

  10. Sensitivity of peak flow to the change of rainfall temporal pattern due to warmer climate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fadhel, Sherien; Rico-Ramirez, Miguel Angel; Han, Dawei

    2018-05-01

    The widely used design storms in urban drainage networks has different drawbacks. One of them is that the shape of the rainfall temporal pattern is fixed regardless of climate change. However, previous studies have shown that the temporal pattern may scale with temperature due to climate change, which consequently affects peak flow. Thus, in addition to the scaling of the rainfall volume, the scaling relationship for the rainfall temporal pattern with temperature needs to be investigated by deriving the scaling values for each fraction within storm events, which is lacking in many parts of the world including the UK. Therefore, this study analysed rainfall data from 28 gauges close to the study area with a 15-min resolution as well as the daily temperature data. It was found that, at warmer temperatures, the rainfall temporal pattern becomes less uniform, with more intensive peak rainfall during higher intensive times and weaker rainfall during less intensive times. This is the case for storms with and without seasonal separations. In addition, the scaling values for both the rainfall volume and the rainfall fractions (i.e. each segment of rainfall temporal pattern) for the summer season were found to be higher than the corresponding results for the winter season. Applying the derived scaling values for the temporal pattern of the summer season in a hydrodynamic sewer network model produced high percentage change of peak flow between the current and future climate. This study on the scaling of rainfall fractions is the first in the UK, and its findings are of importance to modellers and designers of sewer systems because it can provide more robust scenarios for flooding mitigation in urban areas.

  11. The Impact of Service Sector Growth on Changing Patterns of Stratification among Communities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kassab, Cathy

    This paper examines the impact of increasing service sector employment and decreasing manufacturing employment on the distribution of income across communities on the urban-rural continuum. Changes in the differential distribution of industries and family income across this continuum have important consequences for local services, including…

  12. Dynamic Rainfall Patterns and the Simulation of Changing Scenarios: A behavioral watershed response

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chu, M.; Guzman, J.; Steiner, J. L.; Hou, C.; Moriasi, D.

    2015-12-01

    Rainfall is one of the fundamental drivers that control hydrologic responses including runoff production and transport phenomena that consequently drive changes in aquatic ecosystems. Quantifying the hydrologic responses to changing scenarios (e.g., climate, land use, and management) using environmental models requires a realistic representation of probable rainfall in its most sensible spatio-temporal dimensions matching that of the phenomenon under investigation. Downscaling projected rainfall from global circulation models (GCMs) is the most common practice in deriving rainfall datasets to be used as main inputs to hydrologic models which in turn are used to assess the impacts of climate changes on ecosystems. Downscaling assumes that local climate is a combination of large-scale climatic/atmospheric conditions and local conditions. However, the representation of the latter is generally beyond the capacity of current GCMs. The main objective of this study was to develop and implement a synthetic rainfall generator to downscale expected rainfall trends to 1 x 1 km rainfall daily patterns that mimic the dynamic propagation of probability distribution functions (pdf) derived from historic rainfall data (rain-gauge or radar estimated). Future projections were determined based on actual and expected changes in the pdf and stochastic processes to account for variability. Watershed responses in terms of streamflow and nutrients loads were evaluated using synthetically generated rainfall patterns and actual data. The framework developed in this study will allow practitioners to generate rainfall datasets that mimic the temporal and spatial patterns exclusive to their study area under full disclosure of the uncertainties involved. This is expected to provide significantly more accurate environmental models than is currently available and would provide practitioners with ways to evaluate the spectrum of systemic responses to changing scenarios.

  13. Rotation and scale change invariant point pattern relaxation matching by the Hopfield neural network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sang, Nong; Zhang, Tianxu

    1997-12-01

    Relaxation matching is one of the most relevant methods for image matching. The original relaxation matching technique using point patterns is sensitive to rotations and scale changes. We improve the original point pattern relaxation matching technique to be invariant to rotations and scale changes. A method that makes the Hopfield neural network perform this matching process is discussed. An advantage of this is that the relaxation matching process can be performed in real time with the neural network's massively parallel capability to process information. Experimental results with large simulated images demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the method to perform point patten relaxation matching invariant to rotations and scale changes and the method to perform this matching by the Hopfield neural network. In addition, we show that the method presented can be tolerant to small random error.

  14. CME, Physicians, and Pavlov: Can We Change What Happens When Industry Rings the Bell?

    PubMed Central

    Lichter, Paul R.

    2008-01-01

    Purpose To show how physicians’ conditioned response to “keeping up” has helped industry’s opportunistic funding of continuing medical education (CME) and to propose ways to counter the conditioned response to the benefit of patients and the public. Methods Review of the literature and commentary on it. Results The pharmaceutical and device industries (hereafter referred to as industry) have a long history of bribing physicians to prescribe and use their products. Increasing pressure from Congress and the public has been brought to bear on industry gifting. This pressure, coinciding with increasing financial problems for the providers of CME, provided industry with reason and opportunity to expand its role in the financing of CME. Industry’s incentive to make its CME funding appear to be an arm’s-length transaction has spawned medical education service supplier (MESS) companies. Industry makes “unrestricted grants” to the MESS, and the MESS puts on the CME program. Helped by these CME programs, industry is able to subtly “buy” physicians one at a time, so that under the cover of “education” they and their academic institutions and medical organizations lose sight of being CME pawns in industry’s sole objective: profit. Conclusions Despite a vast literature showing how physician integrity is easy prey to industry, the medical profession continues to allow industry to have a detrimental influence on the practice of medicine and on physician respectability. It will take resolute action to change the medical profession’s conditioned response to industry’s CME bell and its negative effect on patients and the public. PMID:19277219

  15. Shorebird Migration Patterns in Response to Climate Change: A Modeling Approach

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Smith, James A.

    2010-01-01

    The availability of satellite remote sensing observations at multiple spatial and temporal scales, coupled with advances in climate modeling and information technologies offer new opportunities for the application of mechanistic models to predict how continental scale bird migration patterns may change in response to environmental change. In earlier studies, we explored the phenotypic plasticity of a migratory population of Pectoral sandpipers by simulating the movement patterns of an ensemble of 10,000 individual birds in response to changes in stopover locations as an indicator of the impacts of wetland loss and inter-annual variability on the fitness of migratory shorebirds. We used an individual based, biophysical migration model, driven by remotely sensed land surface data, climate data, and biological field data. Mean stop-over durations and stop-over frequency with latitude predicted from our model for nominal cases were consistent with results reported in the literature and available field data. In this study, we take advantage of new computing capabilities enabled by recent GP-GPU computing paradigms and commodity hardware (general purchase computing on graphics processing units). Several aspects of our individual based (agent modeling) approach lend themselves well to GP-GPU computing. We have been able to allocate compute-intensive tasks to the graphics processing units, and now simulate ensembles of 400,000 birds at varying spatial resolutions along the central North American flyway. We are incorporating additional, species specific, mechanistic processes to better reflect the processes underlying bird phenotypic plasticity responses to different climate change scenarios in the central U.S.

  16. [Professional strategy and institutional isomorphism: the dental health insurance industry in Brazil].

    PubMed

    Vieira, Cristine; Costa, Nilson do Rosário

    2008-01-01

    This article analyzes the organizational model of the dental health industry. The main organizational leaders in this industry are the professional cooperatives and group dental insurance companies. The theoretical basis of the article is the organizational theory developed by Di Maggio and Powell. The dental health industry consists of a great number of small and very dynamic companies, however an expressive part of clients and profit are concentrated in a few large companies. The results show that the industry has expanded the number of clients after the creation of the National Health Insurance Agency. The regulation regime has forced institutional changes in the firms with regard to the market entry, permanence or exit patterns. There was no evidence that the regulatory rules have interfered with the development and financial conditions of the industry. The average profitability of the sector, especially among the group dental insurance companies, is extremely high.

  17. Patterns of change in tree islands in Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge from 1950 to 1991

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Brandt, L.A.; Portier, Kenneth M.; Kitchens, W.M.

    2000-01-01

    Size, shape, orientation, and distribution of tree islands in a remnant of northern Everglades wetland were examined from 1950 and 1991 aerial photography. The objectives were to quantify the patterns of tree islands in Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, to determine if the patterns of tree islands had changed between the two dates, and to relate the tree island patterns to modeled pre- and post-drainage hydrologic patterns. There was considerable variation in the patterns of tree islands spatially and temporally. Changes in the size and shape of tree islands from 1950 to 1991 are consistent with changes in the modeled pre- and post-drainage hydrologic patterns. Photo plots along the edges of the refuge, where hydroperiods are longer and depths deeper than they were historically, show a decrease in tree island size and in overall area of tree islands in the plots. Photo plots in the interior, where hydroperiods are shorter than they were pre-drainage, show an increase in tree island area. Overall, there is a tendency for more tree islands to be irregularly shaped in the 1991 photo plots than in the 1950 plots, a reflection of the loss of water flow, reduction of pulse magnitude, and the ponding of water along the perimeter dikes. This study illustrates the importance of considering long-term changes in hydroperiod, depths, and water flows in the restoration of this area.

  18. Bacterial community changes in an industrial algae production system.

    PubMed

    Fulbright, Scott P; Robbins-Pianka, Adam; Berg-Lyons, Donna; Knight, Rob; Reardon, Kenneth F; Chisholm, Stephen T

    2018-04-01

    While microalgae are a promising feedstock for production of fuels and other chemicals, a challenge for the algal bioproducts industry is obtaining consistent, robust algae growth. Algal cultures include complex bacterial communities and can be difficult to manage because specific bacteria can promote or reduce algae growth. To overcome bacterial contamination, algae growers may use closed photobioreactors designed to reduce the number of contaminant organisms. Even with closed systems, bacteria are known to enter and cohabitate, but little is known about these communities. Therefore, the richness, structure, and composition of bacterial communities were characterized in closed photobioreactor cultivations of Nannochloropsis salina in F/2 medium at different scales, across nine months spanning late summer-early spring, and during a sequence of serially inoculated cultivations. Using 16S rRNA sequence data from 275 samples, bacterial communities in small, medium, and large cultures were shown to be significantly different. Larger systems contained richer bacterial communities compared to smaller systems. Relationships between bacterial communities and algae growth were complex. On one hand, blooms of a specific bacterial type were observed in three abnormal, poorly performing replicate cultivations, while on the other, notable changes in the bacterial community structures were observed in a series of serial large-scale batch cultivations that had similar growth rates. Bacteria common to the majority of samples were identified, including a single OTU within the class Saprospirae that was found in all samples. This study contributes important information for crop protection in algae systems, and demonstrates the complex ecosystems that need to be understood for consistent, successful industrial algae cultivation. This is the first study to profile bacterial communities during the scale-up process of industrial algae systems.

  19. Changing the texture of footwear can alter gait patterns.

    PubMed

    Nurse, Matthew A; Hulliger, Manuel; Wakeling, James M; Nigg, Benno M; Stefanyshyn, Darren J

    2005-10-01

    The foot provides an important source of afferent feedback for balance and locomotion. Sensory feedback from the feet can be altered by standing or walking on different surfaces. The purpose was to determine the effects of textured footwear on lower extremity muscle activity, limb kinematics, and joint kinetics while walking. Three-dimensional kinematics and kinetics, as well as muscle EMG, were collected as subjects walked with a smooth and textured shoe insert. Muscle activity was analyzed using a wavelet technique. The textured shoe insert caused a significant reduction in both soleus and tibialis anterior intensity during periods when these muscles are most active. Furthermore, the changes in muscle activity were only seen in the low frequency content of the EMG signal. The foot was significantly more plantar flexed at heel strike with the textured inserts. Small changes were also seen in vertical ground reaction forces and joint moments. It was assumed that the changes in gait patterns were due to a change in sensory feedback caused by the textured shoe insert. The possibilities of altered sensory feedback with footwear are discussed. Sensory feedback from the feet may affect specific motor unit pools during different activities. Changing the texture, without changing the geometry, of a shoe insert can alter muscle activity during walking. This may be useful in the prescription of footwear interventions and suggests that footwear may have sensory as well as mechanical effects.

  20. The role of local sea surface temperature pattern changes in shaping climate change in the North Atlantic sector

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hand, Ralf; Keenlyside, Noel S.; Omrani, Nour-Eddine; Bader, Jürgen; Greatbatch, Richard J.

    2018-03-01

    Beside its global effects, climate change is manifested in many regionally pronounced features mainly resulting from changes in the oceanic and atmospheric circulation. Here we investigate the influence of the North Atlantic SST on shaping the winter-time response to global warming. Our results are based on a long-term climate projection with the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM) to investigate the influence of North Atlantic sea surface temperature pattern changes on shaping the atmospheric climate change signal. In sensitivity experiments with the model's atmospheric component we decompose the response into components controlled by the local SST structure and components controlled by global/remote changes. MPI-ESM simulates a global warming response in SST similar to other climate models: there is a warming minimum—or "warming hole"—in the subpolar North Atlantic, and the sharp SST gradients associated with the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic Current shift northward by a few a degrees. Over the warming hole, global warming causes a relatively weak increase in rainfall. Beyond this, our experiments show more localized effects, likely resulting from future SST gradient changes in the North Atlantic. This includes a significant precipitation decrease to the south of the Gulf Stream despite increased underlying SSTs. Since this region is characterised by a strong band of precipitation in the current climate, this is contrary to the usual case that wet regions become wetter and dry regions become drier in a warmer climate. A moisture budget analysis identifies a complex interplay of various processes in the region of modified SST gradients: reduced surface winds cause a decrease in evaporation; and thermodynamic, modified atmospheric eddy transports, and coastal processes cause a change in the moisture convergence. The changes in the the North Atlantic storm track are mainly controlled by the non-regional changes in the forcing. The impact of

  1. Neural pattern change during encoding of a narrative predicts retrospective duration estimates

    PubMed Central

    Lositsky, Olga; Chen, Janice; Toker, Daniel; Honey, Christopher J; Shvartsman, Michael; Poppenk, Jordan L; Hasson, Uri; Norman, Kenneth A

    2016-01-01

    What mechanisms support our ability to estimate durations on the order of minutes? Behavioral studies in humans have shown that changes in contextual features lead to overestimation of past durations. Based on evidence that the medial temporal lobes and prefrontal cortex represent contextual features, we related the degree of fMRI pattern change in these regions with people’s subsequent duration estimates. After listening to a radio story in the scanner, participants were asked how much time had elapsed between pairs of clips from the story. Our ROI analyses found that duration estimates were correlated with the neural pattern distance between two clips at encoding in the right entorhinal cortex. Moreover, whole-brain searchlight analyses revealed a cluster spanning the right anterior temporal lobe. Our findings provide convergent support for the hypothesis that retrospective time judgments are driven by 'drift' in contextual representations supported by these regions. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.16070.001 PMID:27801645

  2. Animal perception of seasonal thresholds: changes in elephant movement in relation to rainfall patterns.

    PubMed

    Birkett, Patricia J; Vanak, Abi T; Muggeo, Vito M R; Ferreira, Salamon M; Slotow, Rob

    2012-01-01

    The identification of temporal thresholds or shifts in animal movement informs ecologists of changes in an animal's behaviour, which contributes to an understanding of species' responses in different environments. In African savannas, rainfall, temperature and primary productivity influence the movements of large herbivores and drive changes at different scales. Here, we developed a novel approach to define seasonal shifts in movement behaviour by examining the movements of a highly mobile herbivore (elephant; Loxodonta africana), in relation to local and regional rainfall patterns. We used speed to determine movement changes of between 8 and 14 GPS-collared elephant cows, grouped into five spatial clusters, in Kruger National Park, South Africa. To detect broad-scale patterns of movement, we ran a three-year daily time-series model for each individual (2007-2009). Piecewise regression models provided the best fit for elephant movement, which exhibited a segmented, waveform pattern over time. Major breakpoints in speed occurred at the end of the dry and wet seasons of each year. During the dry season, female elephant are constrained by limited forage and thus the distances they cover are shorter and less variable. Despite the inter-annual variability of rainfall, speed breakpoints were strongly correlated with both local and regional rainfall breakpoints across all three years. Thus, at a multi-year scale, rainfall patterns significantly affect the movements of elephant. The variability of both speed and rainfall breakpoints across different years highlights the need for an objective definition of seasonal boundaries. By using objective criteria to determine behavioural shifts, we identified a biologically meaningful indicator of major changes in animal behaviour in different years. We recommend the use of such criteria, from an animal's perspective, for delineating seasons or other extrinsic shifts in ecological studies, rather than arbitrarily fixed definitions

  3. Occupational Employment Statistics Program. Staffing Patterns in Selected Nonmanufacturing Industries.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Indiana State Employment Security Div., Indianapolis. Research and Statistics Section.

    The material in the publication is intended to acquaint users with the occupational composition of the various nonmanufacturing industries in the State of Indiana. It is directed particularly to those who are concerned with designing academic and vocational education programs in order to supply workers to fill the needs of industry and to…

  4. CHANGING PATTERNS IN CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR BUSINESS.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    OLEAN, SALLY J.

    AFTER WORLD WAR II, BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY MOVED INTO THE ADULT EDUCATION FIELD, AND ARE NOW SPENDING A REPORTED $20 BILLION ANNUALLY IN HIGHER EDUCATION FOR THEIR SCIENTIFIC PERSONNEL AND MANAGEMENT. LARGE INDUSTRIES, LIKE IBM, HAVE COMPLETE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND FACILITIES FOR THEIR PERSONNEL. FORD AND GENERAL MOTORS USE OUTSIDE EDUCATIONAL…

  5. International labour migration in the Asian-Pacific region: patterns, policies and economic implications.

    PubMed

    Athukorala, P

    1993-11-01

    "This paper reviews the literature on international labour migration from and within the Asian-Pacific region. It deals with patterns and characteristics of migration flows, government policies towards labour migration, and economic implications of labour migration for both labour-exporting and importing countries in the region. The indications are that, despite gradual slowing down of labour flows to the western industrial countries and the Middle East, labour migration will continue to be a major economic influence on surplus-labour countries in the region. As an integral part of the growth dynamism in the region, labour migration has now begun to take on a regional dimension, with immense implications for the process of industrial restructuring in high growth economies and the changing pattern of economic interdependence among countries." excerpt

  6. Psychological stress exposure to aged mice causes abnormal feeding patterns with changes in the bout number.

    PubMed

    Yamada, Chihiro; Mogami, Sachiko; Hattori, Tomohisa

    2017-11-09

    Stress responses are affected by aging. However, studies on stress-related changes in feeding patterns with aging subject are minimal. We investigated feeding patterns induced by two psychological stress models, revealing characteristics of stress-induced feeding patterns as "meal" and "bout" (defined as the minimum feeding behavior parameters) in aged mice. Feeding behaviors of C57BL/6J mice were monitored for 24 h by an automatic monitoring device. Novelty stress reduced the meal amount over the 24 h in both young and aged mice, but as a result of a time course study it was persistent in aged mice. In addition, the decreased bout number was more pronounced in aged mice than in young mice. The 24-h meal and bout parameters did not change in either the young or aged mice following water avoidance stress (WAS). However, the meal amount and bout number increased in aged mice for 0-6 h after WAS exposure but remained unchanged in young mice. Our findings suggest that changes in bout number may lead to abnormal stress-related feeding patterns and may be one tool for evaluating eating abnormality in aged mice.

  7. Global patterns in endemism explained by past climatic change.

    PubMed

    Jansson, Roland

    2003-03-22

    I propose that global patterns in numbers of range-restricted endemic species are caused by variation in the amplitude of climatic change occurring on time-scales of 10-100 thousand years (Milankovitch oscillations). The smaller the climatic shifts, the more probable it is that palaeoendemics survive and that diverging gene pools persist without going extinct or merging, favouring the evolution of neoendemics. Using the change in mean annual temperature since the last glacial maximum, estimated from global circulation models, I show that the higher the temperature change in an area, the fewer endemic species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and vascular plants it harbours. This relationship was robust to variation in area (for areas greater than 10(4) km2), latitudinal position, extent of former glaciation and whether or not areas are oceanic islands. Past climatic change was a better predictor of endemism than annual temperature range in all phylads except amphibians, suggesting that Rapoport's rule (i.e. species range sizes increase with latitude) is best explained by the increase in the amplitude of climatic oscillations towards the poles. Globally, endemic-rich areas are predicted to warm less in response to greenhouse-gas emissions, but the predicted warming would cause many habitats to disappear regionally, leading to species extinctions.

  8. The impact of half-a-degree Celsius upon the spatial pattern of future sea-level change.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jackson, Luke

    2017-04-01

    It has been shown that the global thermal expansion of sea level and ocean dynamics are linearly related to global temperature change. On this basis one can estimate the difference in local sea-level change between a 1.5°C and 2.0°C world. The mitigation scenario RCP 2.6 shows an end-of-century global temperature range of 0.9 to 2.3°C (median 1.6°C). Additional sea-level components, such as mass changes in ice sheets, glaciers and land-water storage have unique spatial patterns that contribute to sea-level change and will be indirectly affected by global temperature change. We project local sea-level change for RCP 2.6 using sub-sets of models in the CMIP5 archive that follow different global temperature pathways. The method used to calculate local sea-level change is probabilistic and combines the normalised spatial patterns of sea-level components with global average projections of individual sea-level components.

  9. SUMMARY REPORT: CONTROL AND TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY FOR THE METAL FINISHING INDUSTRY: IN -PLANT CHANGES

    EPA Science Inventory

    This 30 - page Technology Transfer Report ummarizes how he metal finishing industry in the United States is subject to a variety of changing business conditions. wo of the most significant factors are the increasing costs of materials, such as plating chemicals and process water,...

  10. Establishing the common patterns of future tropospheric ozone under diverse climate change scenarios

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jimenez-Guerrero, Pedro; Gómez-Navarro, Juan J.; Jerez, Sonia; Lorente-Plazas, Raquel; Baro, Rocio; Montávez, Juan P.

    2013-04-01

    The impacts of climate change on air quality may affect long-term air quality planning. However, the policies aimed at improving air quality in the EU directives have not accounted for the variations in the climate. Climate change alone influences future air quality through modifications of gas-phase chemistry, transport, removal, and natural emissions. As such, the aim of this work is to check whether the projected changes in gas-phase air pollution over Europe depends on the scenario driving the regional simulation. For this purpose, two full-transient regional climate change-air quality projections for the first half of the XXI century (1991-2050) have been carried out with MM5+CHIMERE system, including A2 and B2 SRES scenarios. Experiments span the periods 1971-2000, as a reference, and 2071-2100, as future enhanced greenhouse gas and aerosol scenarios (SRES A2 and B2). The atmospheric simulations have a horizontal resolution of 25 km and 23 vertical layers up to 100 mb, and were driven by ECHO-G global climate model outputs. The analysis focuses on the connection between meteorological and air quality variables. Our simulations suggest that the modes of variability for tropospheric ozone and their main precursors hardly change under different SRES scenarios. The effect of changing scenarios has to be sought in the intensity of the changing signal, rather than in the spatial structure of the variation patterns, since the correlation between the spatial patterns of variability in A2 and B2 simulation is r > 0.75 for all gas-phase pollutants included in this study. In both cases, full-transient simulations indicate an enhanced enhanced chemical activity under future scenarios. The causes for tropospheric ozone variations have to be sought in a multiplicity of climate factors, such as increased temperature, different distribution of precipitation patterns across Europe, increased photolysis of primary and secondary pollutants due to lower cloudiness, etc

  11. Spatial patterns of development drive water use

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Sanchez, G.M.; Smith, J.W.; Terando, Adam J.; Sun, G.; Meentemeyer, R.K.

    2018-01-01

    Water availability is becoming more uncertain as human populations grow, cities expand into rural regions and the climate changes. In this study, we examine the functional relationship between water use and the spatial patterns of developed land across the rapidly growing region of the southeastern United States. We quantified the spatial pattern of developed land within census tract boundaries, including multiple metrics of density and configuration. Through non‐spatial and spatial regression approaches we examined relationships and spatial dependencies between the spatial pattern metrics, socio‐economic and environmental variables and two water use variables: a) domestic water use, and b) total development‐related water use (a combination of public supply, domestic self‐supply and industrial self‐supply). Metrics describing the spatial patterns of development had the highest measure of relative importance (accounting for 53% of model's explanatory power), explaining significantly more variance in water use compared to socio‐economic or environmental variables commonly used to estimate water use. Integrating metrics characterizing the spatial pattern of development into water use models is likely to increase their utility and could facilitate water‐efficient land use planning.

  12. Spatial Patterns of Development Drive Water Use

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sanchez, G. M.; Smith, J. W.; Terando, A.; Sun, G.; Meentemeyer, R. K.

    2018-03-01

    Water availability is becoming more uncertain as human populations grow, cities expand into rural regions and the climate changes. In this study, we examine the functional relationship between water use and the spatial patterns of developed land across the rapidly growing region of the southeastern United States. We quantified the spatial pattern of developed land within census tract boundaries, including multiple metrics of density and configuration. Through non-spatial and spatial regression approaches we examined relationships and spatial dependencies between the spatial pattern metrics, socio-economic and environmental variables and two water use variables: a) domestic water use, and b) total development-related water use (a combination of public supply, domestic self-supply and industrial self-supply). Metrics describing the spatial patterns of development had the highest measure of relative importance (accounting for 53% of model's explanatory power), explaining significantly more variance in water use compared to socio-economic or environmental variables commonly used to estimate water use. Integrating metrics characterizing the spatial pattern of development into water use models is likely to increase their utility and could facilitate water-efficient land use planning.

  13. Circulation pattern-based assessment of projected climate change for a catchment in Spain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gupta, Hoshin V.; Sapriza-Azuri, Gonzalo; Jódar, Jorge; Carrera, Jesús

    2018-01-01

    We present an approach for evaluating catchment-scale hydro-meteorological impacts of projected climate change based on the atmospheric circulation patterns (ACPs) of a region. Our approach is motivated by the conjecture that GCMs are especially good at simulating the atmospheric circulation patterns that control moisture transport, and which can be expected to change in response to global warming. In support of this, we show (for the late 20th century) that GCMs provide much better simulations of ACPs than those of precipitation amount for the Upper Guadiana Basin in central Spain. For the same period, four of the twenty GCMs participating in the most recent (5th) IPCC Assessment provide quite accurate representations of the spatial patterns of mean sea level pressure, the frequency distribution of ACP type, the 'number of rainy days per month', and the daily 'probability of rain' (they also reproduce the trend of 'wet day amount', though not the actual magnitudes). A consequent analysis of projected trends and changes in hydro-climatic ACPology between the late 20th and 21st Centuries indicates that (1) actual changes appear to be occurring faster than predicted by the models, and (2) for two greenhouse gas emission scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5) the expected decline in precipitation volume is associated mainly with a few specific ACPs (primarily directional flows from the Atlantic Ocean and Cantabric Sea), and with decreasing probability of rain (linked to increasing temperatures) rather than wet day amount. Our approach is a potentially more insightful alternative for catchment-scale climate impacts assessments than the common approach of statistical downscaling and bias correction.

  14. 78 FR 45930 - Guidance for Industry: Safety Labeling Changes-Implementation of Section 505(o)(4) of the Federal...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-07-30

    ...] Guidance for Industry: Safety Labeling Changes--Implementation of Section 505(o)(4) of the Federal Food...: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of a guidance for industry..., Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Bldg. 51...

  15. Mapping patterns of change in emotion-focused psychotherapy: Implications for theory, research, practice, and training.

    PubMed

    Watson, Jeanne C

    2018-05-01

    An important objective in humanistic-experiential psychotherapies and particularly emotion-focused psychotherapy (EFT) is to map patterns of change. Effective mapping of the processes and pathways of change requires that in-session processes be linked to in-session resolutions, immediate post-session changes, intermediate outcome, final therapy outcome, and longer-term change. This is a challenging and long-term endeavour. Fine-grained descriptions of in-session processes that lead to resolution of specific interpersonal and intrapersonal issues linked with longer-term outcomes are the foundation of EFT, the process-experiential approach. In this paper, evidence in support of EFT as a treatment approach will be reviewed along with research on two mechanisms of change, viewed as central to EFT, clients' emotional processing and the therapeutic relationship conditions. The implications for psychotherapy research are discussed. Given the methodological constraints, there is a need for more innovative methodologies and strategies to investigate specific psychotherapy processes within and across different approaches to map patterns and mechanisms of change to enhance theory, research, practice, and training.

  16. Spatial pattern of reference evapotranspiration change and its temporal evolution over Southwest China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sun, Shanlei; Wang, Guojie; Huang, Jin; Mu, Mengyuan; Yan, Guixia; Liu, Chunwei; Gao, Chujie; Li, Xing; Yin, Yixing; Zhang, Fangmin; Zhu, Siguang; Hua, Wenjian

    2017-11-01

    Due to the close relationship of climate change with reference evapotranspiration (ETo), detecting changes in ETo spatial distribution and its temporal evolution at local and regional levels is favorable to comprehensively understand climate change-induced impacts on hydrology and agriculture. In this study, the objective is to identify whether climate change has caused variation of ETo spatial distribution in different analysis periods [i.e., long- (20-year), medium- (10-year), and short-term (5-year)] and to investigate its temporal evolution (namely, when these changes happened) at annual and monthly scales in Southwest China (SWC). First, we estimated ETo values using the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Penman-Monteith equation, based on historical climate data measured at 269 weather sites during 1973-2012. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) results indicated that the spatial pattern of annual ETo had significantly changed during the past 40 years, particularly in west SWC for the long-term analysis period, and west and southeast SWC in both medium- and short-term periods, which corresponded to the percent area of significant differences which were 21.9, 58.0, and 48.2 %, respectively. For investigating temporal evolution of spatial patterns of annual ETo, Duncan's multiple range test was used, and we found that the most significant changes appeared during 1988-2002 with the significant area of higher than 25.0 %. In addition, for long-, medium-, and short-term analysis periods, the spatial distribution has significantly changed during March, September, November, and December, especially in the corresponding periods of 1988-1997, 1983-1992, 1973-1977, and 1988-2002. All in all, climate change has resulted in significant ETo changes in SWC since the 1970s. Knowledge of climate change-induced spatial distribution of ETo and its temporal evolution would aid in formulating strategies for water resources and agricultural managements.

  17. Logistics Response to the Industry 4.0: the Physical Internet

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Maslarić, Marinko; Nikoličić, Svetlana; Mirčetić, Dejan

    2016-11-01

    Today's mankind and all human activities are constantly changing and evolving in response to changes in technology, social and economic environments and climate. Those changes drive a "new" way of manufacturing industry. That novelty could be described as the organization of production processes based on technology and devices autonomously communicating with each other along the value chain. Decision-makers have to address this novelty (usually named as Industry 4.0) and try to develop appropriate information systems, physical facilities, and different kind of technologies capable of meeting the future needs of economy. As a consequence, there is a need for new paradigms of the way freight is move, store, realize, and supply through the world (logistics system). One of the proposed solutions is the Physical Internet, concept of open global logistics system which completely redefines current supply chain configuration, business models, and value-creation patterns.However, further detailed research on this topic is much needed. This paper aims to provide a balanced review of the variety of views considered among professionals in the field of Physical Internet with the final aim to identify the biggest challenges (technological, societal, business paradigm) of proposed new logistics paradigm as a practical solution in supporting Industry 4.0.

  18. Global pattern of trends in streamflow and water availability in a changing climate

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Milly, P.C.D.; Dunne, K.A.; Vecchia, A.V.

    2005-01-01

    Water availability on the continents is important for human health, economic activity, ecosystem function and geophysical processes. Because the saturation vapour pressure of water in air is highly sensitive to temperature, perturbations in the global water cycle are expected to accompany climate warming. Regional patterns of warming-induced changes in surface hydroclimate are complex and less certain than those in temperature, however, with both regional increases and decreases expected in precipitation and runoff. Here we show that an ensemble of 12 climate models exhibits qualitative and statistically significant skill in simulating observed regional patterns of twentieth-century multidecadal changes in streamflow. These models project 10–40% increases in runoff in eastern equatorial Africa, the La Plata basin and high-latitude North America and Eurasia, and 10–30% decreases in runoff in southern Africa, southern Europe, the Middle East and mid-latitude western North America by the year 2050. Such changes in sustainable water availability would have considerable regional-scale consequences for economies as well as ecosystems.

  19. Changing Patterns of the Floating Population in China during 2000-2010*

    PubMed Central

    Liang, Zai; Li, Zhen; Ma, Zhongdong

    2015-01-01

    Using data from the 2000 and 2010 Chinese Population Censuses and applying a consistent definition of migration, this paper examines changing patterns of China's floating population during 2000-2010. We find that during the first decade of the 21st century, there have been significant changes in China's floating population, as reflected in continuing rise of interprovincial floating population and the rise of the floating population in China's western and interior regions, geographic diversification of destinations for the floating population, a major increase in interprovincial return migration, and significant improvement in education and occupational profiles among the floating population. We argue that these patterns are driven by a combination of complex domestic and international factors, including the newly released Labor Law, removal of agricultural tax, the western China development program, increased investment in education by the Chinese government, and the global financial crisis. We also discuss several challenges facing the floating population in the coming years, which include equality of educational opportunity for migrant children and adequate housing and social welfare protection for the floating population. Finally, we reflect on the future of migration research in China. PMID:26213427

  20. Industry Relationships Among Academic Institutional Review Board Members: Changes From 2005 Through 2014.

    PubMed

    Campbell, Eric G; Vogeli, Christine; Rao, Sowmya R; Abraham, Melissa; Pierson, Roz; Applebaum, Sandra

    2015-09-01

    For the past decade, more attention and concern has been directed toward financial relationships between the life science industry and physicians. Relationships between industry and institutional review board (IRB) members represent an important subclass that has the potential to broadly influence decisions regarding medical research. To study the nature, extent, and perceived consequences of industry relationships among IRB members in academic health centers and to compare our results with findings from 2005. A survey mailed to IRB members from the 115 most research-intensive medical schools and teaching hospitals in the United States from January 16 through May 16, 2014. The survey included questions identical to those used in 2005. Data analysis was conducted from June through October 2014. The frequency of industry relationships among IRB members and the perceived effect of those relationships on IRB-related activities. We found no significant change in the percentage of IRB members with an industry relationship from 2005 through 2014 (2005: 37.2%; 95% CI, 32.7%-42.0%; 2014: 32.1%; 95% CI, 28.0%-36.4%; P = .09). However, since 2005, the percentage of members who felt another member did not properly disclose a financial relationship decreased from 10.8% (95% CI, 8.0%-14.4%) to 6.7% (95% CI, 4.7%-9.4%) (P = .04), as did the percentage who felt pressure from their institution or department to approve a protocol (2005: 18.6%; 95% CI, 15.0%-22.9%; 2014: 10.0%; 95% CI, 7.6%-13.0%; P < .001). The percentage of members with a conflict of interest who voted on protocols with which they have a conflict has not changed, although the percentage who said they always disclose relationships increased significantly from 54.9% in 2005 (95% CI, 42.2%-66.9%) to 80.0% in 2014 (95% CI, 65.3%-89.4%) (P = .01). We also found evidence of anti-industry bias in the presentation of protocols to the IRB. The results show significant positive progress in the reporting and

  1. Work-related musculoskeletal disorder surveillance using the Washington state workers' compensation system: Recent declines and patterns by industry, 1999-2013.

    PubMed

    Marcum, Jennifer; Adams, Darrin

    2017-05-01

    Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are common and place large economic and social burdens on workers and their communities. We describe recent WMSD trends and patterns of WMSD incidence among the Washington worker population by industry. We used Washington State's workers' compensation compensable claims from 1999 to 2013 to describe incidence and cost of WMSD claims by body part and diagnosis, and to identify high-risk industries. WMSD claim rates declined by an estimated annual 5.4% (95% CI: 5.0-5.9%) in Washington State from 1999 to 2013, but WMSDs continue to account for over 40% of all compensable claims. High risk industries identified were Construction; Transportation and Warehousing; Health Care and Social Assistance; and Manufacturing. As documented in other North American contexts, this study describes an important decline in the incidence of WMSDs. The Washington State workers' compensation system provides a rich data source for the surveillance of WMSDs. © Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  2. Changing Occupational Profiles in the Hotel Industry: Case Studies in France, Italy and Spain. Synthesis Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gatti, Mario; Grazia Mereu, Maria; Tagliaferro, Claudio

    Changing occupational profiles in the hotel industry in France, Italy, and Spain were examined in case studies that included interviews with hotel managers, human resource managers, and individuals employed in hotel occupations identified as new or entailing new skills. The study focused on the following topics: (1) changes in the hotel industry…

  3. RS- and GIS-based study on landscape pattern change in the Poyang Lake wetland area, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Xiaoling; Li, Hui; Bao, Shuming; Wu, Zhongyi; Fu, Weijuan; Cai, Xiaobin; Zhao, Hongmei; Guo, Peng

    2006-10-01

    As wetland has been recognized as an important component of ecosystem, it is received ever-increasing attention worldwide. Poyang Lake wetlands, the international wetlands and the largest bird habitat in Asia, play an important role in biodiversity and ecologic protection. However, with the rapid economic growth and urbanization, landscape patterns in the wetlands have dramatically changed in the past three decades. To better understand the wetland landscape dynamics, remote sensing, geographic information system technologies, and the FRAGSTATS landscape analysis program were used to measure landscape patterns. Statistical approach was employed to illustrate the driving forces. In this study, Landsat images (TM and ETM+) from 1989 and 2000 were acquired for the wetland area. The landscapes in the wetland area were classified as agricultural land, urban, wetland, forest, grassland, unused land, and water body using a combination of supervised and unsupervised classification techniques integrated with Digital Elevation Model (DEM). Landscape indices, which are popular for the quantitative analysis of landscape pattern, were then employed to analyze the landscape pattern changes between the two dates in a GIS. From this analysis an understanding of the spatial-temporal patterns of landscape evolution was generated. The results show that wetland area was reduced while fragmentation was increased over the study period. Further investigation was made to examine the relationship between landscape metrics and some other parameters such as urbanization to address the driving forces for those changes. The urban was chosen as center to conduct buffer analysis in a GIS to study the impact of human-induced activities on landscape pattern dynamics. It was found that the selected parameters were significantly correlated with the landscape metrics, which may well indicate the impact of human-induced activities on the wetland landscape pattern dynamics and account for the driving

  4. Declines in moose population density at Isle Royle National Park, MI, USA and accompanied changes in landscape patterns

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    De Jager, N. R.; Pastor, J.

    2009-01-01

    Ungulate herbivores create patterns of forage availability, plant species composition, and soil fertility as they range across large landscapes and consume large quantities of plant material. Over time, herbivore populations fluctuate, producing great potential for spatio-temporal landscape dynamics. In this study, we extend the spatial and temporal extent of a long-term investigation of the relationship of landscape patterns to moose foraging behavior at Isle Royale National Park, MI. We examined how patterns of browse availability and consumption, plant basal area, and soil fertility changed during a recent decline in the moose population. We used geostatistics to examine changes in the nature of spatial patterns in two valleys over 18 years and across short-range and long-range distance scales. Landscape patterns of available and consumed browse changed from either repeated patches or randomly distributed patches in 1988-1992 to random point distributions by 2007 after a recent record high peak followed by a rapid decline in the moose population. Patterns of available and consumed browse became decoupled during the moose population low, which is in contrast to coupled patterns during the earlier high moose population. Distributions of plant basal area and soil nitrogen availability also switched from repeated patches to randomly distributed patches in one valley and to random point distributions in the other valley. Rapid declines in moose population density may release vegetation and soil fertility from browsing pressure and in turn create random landscape patterns. ?? Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009.

  5. Reshaping the energy industry

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Payne, F.W.

    1988-01-01

    Our energy industry has gone through the dynamic restructuring. The changes taking place in the energy industry will affect the pocketbooks, thus the lives, of every American, at every level. The geopolitical/militaristic intrigues which surround the international oil segment of this industry must be left to the dubious talents of others. But as motivators, planners, and executors of the powerful changes which are restructuring the other aspects of our industry, the author believes the American people share grave responsibilities. The author defines the scope, the meaning, the results of these changes, and applies the new techniques and technologies they provide.

  6. Changing incidence patterns of hepatocellular carcinoma among age groups in Taiwan.

    PubMed

    Hung, Giun-Yi; Horng, Jiun-Lin; Yen, Hsiu-Ju; Lee, Chih-Ying; Lin, Li-Yih

    2015-12-01

    This study examined and compared the incidence patterns of hepatocellular carcinoma among age groups in Taiwan, 30 years after a universal hepatitis B virus immunization program was launched. Data for hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosed in 2003-2011 were collected from the population-based Taiwan Cancer Registry. Age-standardized incidence rates were calculated to analyze and compare the changes in incidence rates and trends. More specific analyses were performed on four age groups separated by sex. A total of 82,856 patients were diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma in 2003-2011 in Taiwan, yielding an age-standardized incidence rate of 32.97 per 100,000 person-years. Hepatocellular carcinoma was predominantly diagnosed in middle-aged adults (50.1%) and elderly people (49.1%), in contrast to the low incidences in children (0.04%) and adolescents and young adults (0.8%). Striking variations in trends were found for children (annual percent change: -16.6%, 2003-2010) and adolescents and young adults (annual percent change: -7.9%, 2003-2011). The incidence rate of hepatocellular carcinoma in children decreased to zero in 2011; only a slight decline in trends occurred for the middle-aged group (annual percent change: -2%, 2003-2011), and a slight upward trend was observed for elderly people (1.3%), specifically in women (1.7%). In Taiwan, hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma was nearly eradicated in children in 2011. The findings on age-specific incidence patterns and trends of hepatocellular carcinoma suggest that different control strategies for treating this devastating disease in the future be made according to age. Copyright © 2015 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Microhabitat and Climatic Niche Change Explain Patterns of Diversification among Frog Families.

    PubMed

    Moen, Daniel S; Wiens, John J

    2017-07-01

    A major goal of ecology and evolutionary biology is to explain patterns of species richness among clades. Differences in rates of net diversification (speciation minus extinction over time) may often explain these patterns, but the factors that drive variation in diversification rates remain uncertain. Three important candidates are climatic niche position (e.g., whether clades are primarily temperate or tropical), rates of climatic niche change among species within clades, and microhabitat (e.g., aquatic, terrestrial, arboreal). The first two factors have been tested separately in several studies, but the relative importance of all three is largely unknown. Here we explore the correlates of diversification among families of frogs, which collectively represent ∼88% of amphibian species. We assemble and analyze data on phylogeny, climate, and microhabitat for thousands of species. We find that the best-fitting phylogenetic multiple regression model includes all three types of variables: microhabitat, rates of climatic niche change, and climatic niche position. This model explains 67% of the variation in diversification rates among frog families, with arboreal microhabitat explaining ∼31%, niche rates ∼25%, and climatic niche position ∼11%. Surprisingly, we show that microhabitat can have a much stronger influence on diversification than climatic niche position or rates of climatic niche change.

  8. [Thinking on development of Shanxi Astragali Radix industry].

    PubMed

    Qin, Xue-Mei; Li, Ai-Ping; Li, Ke; Li, An-Ping; Ning, Lu-Hong

    2016-12-01

    Shanxi, a traditional production area to produce genuine Astragali Radix of high quality, has experienced major changes in the pattern of resources. This area once accounted for half of Astragali Radix industry, but now only serves as the largest supply area of traditional wild Astragali Radix. Furthermore, the strategic position of Shanxi Astragali Radix industry will become more prominent and more important to economic and social development in face of the diversity of market demands, especially for the strong demands of high-end Astragali Radix. In addition, Astragalus industry involves the simultaneous development of the first, second and tertiary industries in many areas, and it is typical and representative in the traditional Chinese medicine industry development. However, the application and industrial development of Shanxi Astragali Radix have been restricted due to the problems such as blind promotion of transplanting cultivation technology, and lack of science and technology including efficacy investigation, safety evaluation, standardization and controllability studies. Therefore, we would analyze the production history, resource structure, the current situation and progress of industry development, scientific research foundation and existing problem in this paper, and put forward countermeasures for development and technical innovation in order to make Astragali Radix industry bigger and stronger through innovation-driven and make benefits for demos. This thought provides a reference for the exploratory development of other large varieties of Chinese medicinal materials. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

  9. Detecting changes in riparian habitat conditions based on patterns of greenness change: a case study from the upper San Pedro River Basin, USA

    Treesearch

    K. Bruce Jones; Curtis E. Edmonds; E. Terrance Slonecker; James D. Wickham; Anne C. Neale; Timothy G. Wade; Kurt H. Riitters; William G. Kepner

    2008-01-01

    Healthy riparian ecosystems in arid and semi-arid regions exhibit shifting patterns of vegetation in response to periodic flooding. Their conditions also depend upon the amount of grazing and other human uses. Taking advantage of these system properties, we developed and tested an approach that utilizes historical Landsat data to track changes in the patterns...

  10. The sequencing batch reactor as an excellent configuration to treat wastewater from the petrochemical industry.

    PubMed

    Caluwé, Michel; Daens, Dominique; Blust, Ronny; Geuens, Luc; Dries, Jan

    2017-02-01

    In the present study, the influence of a changing feeding pattern from continuous to pulse feeding on the characteristics of activated sludge was investigated with a wastewater from the petrochemical industry from the harbour of Antwerp. Continuous seed sludge, adapted to the industrial wastewater, was used to start up three laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactors. After an adaptation period from the shift to pulse feeding, the effect of an increasing organic loading rate (OLR) and volume exchange ratio (VER) were investigated one after another. Remarkable changes of the specific oxygen uptake rate (sOUR), microscopic structure, sludge volume index (SVI), SVI 30 /SVI 5 ratio, and settling rate were observed during adaptation. sOUR increased two to five times and treatment time decreased 43.9% in 15 days. Stabilization of the SVI occurred after a period of 20 days and improved significantly from 300 mL·g -1 to 80 mL·g -1 . Triplication of the OLR and VER had no negative influence on sludge settling and effluent quality. Adaptation time of the microorganisms to a new feeding pattern, OLR and VER was relatively short and sludge characteristics related to aerobic granular sludge were obtained. This study indicates significant potential of the batch activated sludge system for the treatment of this industrial petrochemical wastewater.

  11. Economic Restructuring and Emerging Patterns of Industrial Relations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sleigh, Stephen R., Ed.

    This book contains nine papers presented during a year-long series of seminars and a conference that analyzed the relationship between economic restructuring and industrial relations involving the joint academics, union leaders, government officials, business executives, and graduate fellows. These analyses include case studies from Western…

  12. The impact of changes in China's family patterns on family pension functions.

    PubMed

    Su, Zhongxin; Hu, Z; Peng, Xizhe

    2017-07-01

    Using data from the Chinese census and the China Statistical Yearbook, this paper will analyze the historical changes and future trends of family households in China over the past 30 years and explore the changes of family pension functions and corresponding policies. Our analysis yielded 3 notable results. First, in family size miniaturization and structural simplification, 1- and 2-generation family households are the main body of contemporary China. Second, for family aging and changes in living patterns, which primarily manifest as an increase in; the proportion of elderly households and in middle-aged and elderly people in the family, the elderly model and the "multigenerational model" have become the 2 major residence models for the elderly in China. Third, nontraditional families have emerged in large numbers, such as the exclusively elderly family, empty nest family, grandparents family, Double Income, No Kids (DINK) family, older single family, and single-parent family. We argue that in the process of simplification, China's family structure is increasingly showing characteristics of networking. The change in family patterns entails the restoration of traditional functions and taking on new functions of the family by issuing relevant social policies. Only when these social policies are based on family functions and demands can they provide effective help to social members, particularly regarding the family's responsibilities to parent children and support the elderly. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  13. Effects of rainfall patterns on toxic cyanobacterial blooms in a changing climate: between simplistic scenarios and complex dynamics.

    PubMed

    Reichwaldt, Elke S; Ghadouani, Anas

    2012-04-01

    Toxic cyanobacterial blooms represent a serious hazard to environmental and human health, and the management and restoration of affected waterbodies can be challenging. While cyanobacterial blooms are already a frequent occurrence, in the future their incidence and severity are predicted to increase due to climate change. Climate change is predicted to lead to increased temperature and changes in rainfall patterns, which will both have a significant impact on inland water resources. While many studies indicate that a higher temperature will favour cyanobacterial bloom occurrences, the impact of changed rainfall patterns is widely under-researched and therefore less understood. This review synthesizes the predicted changes in rainfall patterns and their potential impact on inland waterbodies, and identifies mechanisms that influence the occurrence and severity of toxic cyanobacterial blooms. It is predicted that there will be a higher frequency and intensity of rainfall events with longer drought periods in between. Such changes in the rainfall patterns will lead to favourable conditions for cyanobacterial growth due to a greater nutrient input into waterbodies during heavy rainfall events, combined with potentially longer periods of high evaporation and stratification. These conditions are likely to lead to an acceleration of the eutrophication process and prolonged warm periods without mixing of the water column. However, the frequent occurrence of heavy rain events can also lead to a temporary disruption of cyanobacterial blooms due to flushing and de-stratification, and large storm events have been shown to have a long-term negative effect on cyanobacterial blooms. In contrast, a higher number of small rainfall events or wet days can lead to proliferation of cyanobacteria, as they can rapidly use nutrients that are added during rainfall events, especially if stratification remains unchanged. With rainfall patterns changing, cyanobacterial toxin concentration in

  14. Changes in spatiotemporal land use patterns in selected hydrogeomorphic areas of China and the USA

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Differences exist in land use/cover pattern and its change between the P. R. China and the USA. In order to describe those differences, land use changes in representative regions were quantitatively analyzed and compared. Xiamen City, Changzhutan region and Liupan Mountains regions were selected to ...

  15. Change commitment in low-status merger partners: The role of information processing, relative ingroup prototypicality, and merger patterns.

    PubMed

    Rosa, Miriam; Kavanagh, Eithne; Kounov, Pavel; Jarosz, Sywlia; Waldzus, Sven; Collins, Elizabeth C; Giessner, Steffen

    2017-09-01

    Merger announcements cause stress among employees, often leading to low change commitment, especially among employees from the lower-status merger partner. Such stress influences how deeply employees process merger-relevant information. Previous research examined how merger patterns that preserve versus change status differences impact merger support, but did not address how employees' information processing may influence this relationship. The current research addresses this gap through a scenario experiment, focusing on the low-status merger partner. The interplay between merger patterns and information processing was examined regarding employees' prototypicality claims in relation to merger support. Results suggest that an integration-equality merger pattern increases change commitment via prototypicality claims in the new organization, conditional to employees' systematic information processing. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

  16. Dietary patterns and longitudinal change in hip bone mineral density among older men.

    PubMed

    Rogers, T S; Harrison, S; Judd, S; Orwoll, E S; Marshall, L M; Shannon, J; Langsetmo, L; Lane, N E; Shikany, J M

    2018-05-01

    Studying dietary patterns is often more informative than individual nutrients or foods. We found that a Prudent dietary pattern (rich in vegetables and fish) was associated with reduced loss of total hip BMD in older men. A Prudent dietary pattern may be a potential lifestyle strategy for minimizing bone loss. This study aimed to identify baseline dietary patterns using factor analysis in a cohort of older men and to evaluate whether the dietary patterns were associated with bone mineral density change (%ΔBMD) at the total hip and femoral neck over time. Participants (n = 4379; mean age 72.9 ± 5.5 years) were from the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) prospective cohort study and had dietary data collected at baseline (March 2000-April 2002) and BMD measured at baseline and Visit 2 (March 2005-May 2006). Dietary intake was assessed with a brief Block food frequency questionnaire (FFQ); factor analysis was used to derive dietary patterns. BMD was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA); %ΔBMD was calculated from baseline to Visit 2. We used generalized linear regression to estimate least square (LS) means of %ΔBMD in quartiles of the dietary pattern scores adjusted for potential confounding factors. Two major dietary patterns were derived: Prudent (abundant in vegetables, salad, and non-fried fish) and Western (rich in hamburger, fries, processed meats, cheese, and sweets/desserts). There was an inverse association between adherence to the Prudent pattern and total hip %ΔBMD (p-trend = 0.028 after adjusting for age and clinical site; p-trend = 0.033 after further adjustment for smoking, calcium supplement use, diabetes, hypertension, and total energy intake). No other consistent associations between dietary patterns and %ΔBMD were observed. Greater adherence to a Prudent dietary pattern may attenuate total hip BMD loss (%ΔBMD) in older men.

  17. River capture controlling changes in the drainage pattern and river slope

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Castelltort, Xavier; Colombo, Ferran

    2016-04-01

    The crystalline block of Les Guilleries, in the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula, is part of the Hercynian basement over which Palaeogene materials of the Ebro basinwere deposited . This massif is affected by a family of basement fractures of NW-SE direction which continue under the Paleogene cover. This is evident in the areas of contact between the two units. One of these areas affected by fractures was used by the primitive river Ter to transition, through a process of river capture, from the crystal unit Guilleries, with a rectangular drainage pattern, toward the sedimentary cover of the Ebro basin, with a meander drainage pattern. The fractured material that the river Ter used to deepen against the dip of the layers is more evident due to it being rigid and resistant to erosion, the Sandstones of Folgueroles Fm. The use of fractures resulted in a course of the river Ter that can be divided into three subparallel reaches with a shape of Z, which can be described as structural pseudomeanders. The change in the drainage pattern of the river between its passage accross the basement and the cover can never be the product of a process of antecedence or superimposition as has been proclaimed earlier. The rectangular pattern fits the structure of the crystalline massif. The meandering pattern on the cover is due to the difficulty of flowing through the Sandstones of Folgueroles Fm, and to the subsequent pressure loss affecting the current of the river that moves upstream beyond the Bellmunt Anticline. Up to the point where the pattern meander is conserved, river slope is below 1%. Upstream, the river slope increases significantly due to the adaptation of the river to a new layout.

  18. Patterns of Change in Children's Loneliness: Trajectories from Third through Fifth Grades

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jobe-Shields, Lisa; Cohen, Robert; Parra, Gilbert R.

    2011-01-01

    Latent growth-mixture modeling was used to investigate patterns of change in loneliness for 170 children from third through fifth grades. A three-class model representing unique trajectories of loneliness provided the best overall fit to the data, including a Stable Low group (65%), as well as groups of Increasers (23%) and Decreasers (12%).…

  19. Climate change patterns in Amazonia and biodiversity.

    PubMed

    Cheng, Hai; Sinha, Ashish; Cruz, Francisco W; Wang, Xianfeng; Edwards, R Lawrence; d'Horta, Fernando M; Ribas, Camila C; Vuille, Mathias; Stott, Lowell D; Auler, Augusto S

    2013-01-01

    Precise characterization of hydroclimate variability in Amazonia on various timescales is critical to understanding the link between climate change and biodiversity. Here we present absolute-dated speleothem oxygen isotope records that characterize hydroclimate variation in western and eastern Amazonia over the past 250 and 20 ka, respectively. Although our records demonstrate the coherent millennial-scale precipitation variability across tropical-subtropical South America, the orbital-scale precipitation variability between western and eastern Amazonia exhibits a quasi-dipole pattern. During the last glacial period, our records imply a modest increase in precipitation amount in western Amazonia but a significant drying in eastern Amazonia, suggesting that higher biodiversity in western Amazonia, contrary to 'Refugia Hypothesis', is maintained under relatively stable climatic conditions. In contrast, the glacial-interglacial climatic perturbations might have been instances of loss rather than gain in biodiversity in eastern Amazonia, where forests may have been more susceptible to fragmentation in response to larger swings in hydroclimate.

  20. Changes in mood stabilizer prescription patterns in bipolar disorder.

    PubMed

    Karanti, Alina; Kardell, Mathias; Lundberg, Ulrika; Landén, Mikael

    2016-05-01

    Lithium is a first line treatment option in bipolar disorder, but several alternative treatments have been introduced in recent years, such as antiepileptic and atypical antipsychotic drugs. Little is known about how this has changed the prescription patterns. We investigated possible changes in the use of mood stabilizers and antidepressants in Sweden during 2007-2013. Data was collected from Swedish registers: the National Quality Assurance Register for bipolar disorder (BipoläR), the Prescribed Drug Register, and the Patient Register. Logistic regression models with drug use as outcomes were used to adjust for confounding factors such as sex, age, year of registration, and subtypes of bipolar disorder. In both bipolar subtypes, lithium use decreased steadily during the study period, while the use of lamotrigine and quetiapine increased. The use of valproate decreased in bipolar II disorder and the use of olanzapine decreased among women. The use of antidepressant remained principally unchanged but increased somewhat in bipolar I disorder. We only report data from 2007 as the coverage of BipoläR prior to 2007 was too low to allow for reliable analyses. Significant changes in the prescription of drugs in the treatment of bipolar disorder have occurred in recent years in Sweden. Further studies are needed to clarify whether these changes alter the outcome in bipolar disorder. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Identifying polar bear resource selection patterns to inform offshore development in a dynamic and changing Arctic

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Wilson, Ryan R.; Horne, Jon S.; Rode, Karyn D.; Regehr, Eric V.; Durner, George M.

    2014-01-01

    Although sea ice loss is the primary threat to polar bears (Ursus maritimus), little can be done to mitigate its effects without global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Other factors, however, could exacerbate the impacts of sea ice loss on polar bears, such as exposure to increased industrial activity. The Arctic Ocean has enormous oil and gas potential, and its development is expected to increase in the coming decades. Estimates of polar bear resource selection will inform managers how bears use areas slated for oil development and to help guide conservation planning. We estimated temporally-varying resource selection patterns for non-denning adult female polar bears in the Chukchi Sea population (2008–2012) at two scales (i.e., home range and weekly steps) to identify factors predictive of polar bear use throughout the year, before any offshore development. From the best models at each scale, we estimated scale-integrated resource selection functions to predict polar bear space use across the population's range and determined when bears were most likely to use the region where offshore oil and gas development in the United States is slated to occur. Polar bears exhibited significant intra-annual variation in selection patterns at both scales but the strength and annual patterns of selection differed between scales for most variables. Bears were most likely to use the offshore oil and gas planning area during ice retreat and growth with the highest predicted use occurring in the southern portion of the planning area. The average proportion of predicted high-value habitat in the planning area was >15% of the total high-value habitat for the population during sea ice retreat and growth and reached a high of 50% during November 2010. Our results provide a baseline on which to judge future changes to non-denning adult female polar bear resource selection in the Chukchi Sea and help guide offshore development in the region. Lastly, our study provides a

  2. Dust control technology usage patterns in the drywall finishing industry.

    PubMed

    Young-Corbett, Deborah E; Nussbaum, Maury A

    2009-06-01

    A telephone survey was conducted to quantify drywall finishing industry usage rates of dust control technology, identify barriers to technology adoption, and explore firm owner perception of risk. Industry use of the following technologies was described: wet methods, respiratory protection, pole sanders, ventilated sanders, and low-dust joint compound. A survey instrument composed of both Likert-type scaled items and open-ended items was developed and administered by telephone to the census population of the owners of member firms of trade associations: Finishing Contractors Association and Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industries. Of 857 firms, 264 interviews were completed. Along with descriptive statistics, results were analyzed to examine effects of firm size and union affiliation on responses. Responses to open-ended items were analyzed using content analysis procedures. Firm owners rated the risk of dust to productivity and customer satisfaction as low-moderate. Half rated the dust as having some impact on worker health, with higher impacts indicated by owners of small firms. Among the available control technologies, respiratory protection was used most frequently. Several barriers to implementation of the more effective control technologies were identified. Barriers associated with technology usability, productivity, and cost, as well as misperceptions of risk, should be addressed to improve dust control in the drywall finishing industry.

  3. Nutrition in transition: dietary patterns of rural Amazonian women during a period of economic change.

    PubMed

    Piperata, Barbara A; Ivanova, Sofia A; Da-gloria, Pedro; Veiga, Gonçalo; Polsky, Analise; Spence, Jennifer E; Murrieta, Rui S S

    2011-01-01

    The goal of this study was to understand the relationship between economic change (wage labor, retirement, and the Bolsa Família program) and dietary patterns in the rural Amazon and to determine the extent to which these changes followed the pattern of the nutrition transition. The study was longitudinal. The weighed-inventory method and economic interviews were used to collect data on dietary intake and household economics in a sample of 30 and 52 women in 2002 and 2009, respectively. Twenty of the women participated in both years and make-up the longitudinal sub-sample. Comparative statistics were used to identify changes in dietary patterns over time and multiple linear regressions were used to explore the relationship between economics, subsistence strategies, and diet. There was a significant decline in kcal (P < 0.01) and carbohydrate (P < 0.01) but no change in protein intake over time in both the larger and smaller, longitudinal subsample. The percent of energy, carbohydrate, protein, and fat purchased increased in the larger and longitudinal samples (P ≤ 0.02) and there was an increase in refined carbohydrate and processed, fatty-meat consumption over time. The abandonment of manioc gardens was associated with increased dependence on purchased food (P = 0.03) while receipt of the Bolsa Família was associated with increased protein intake and adequacy (P = 0.02). The dietary changes observed are only in partial agreement with predictions of the nutrition transition literature. The relationship between the economic and diet changes was shaped by the local context which should be considered when implementing CCT programs, like the Bolsa Família. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  4. Seasonal changes in spatial patterns of two annual plants in the Chihuahuan Desert, USA

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Yin, Z.-Y.; Guo, Q.; Ren, H.; Peng, S.-L.

    2005-01-01

    Spatial pattern of a biotic population may change over time as its component individuals grow or die out, but whether this is the case for desert annual plants is largely unknown. Here we examined seasonal changes in spatial patterns of two annuals, Eriogonum abertianum and Haplopappus gracilis, in initial (winter) and final (summer) densities. The density was measured as the number of individuals from 384 permanent quadrats (each 0.5 m × 0.5 m) in the Chihuahuan Desert near Portal, Arizona, USA. We used three probability distributions (binomial, Poisson, and negative binomial or NB) that represent three basic spatial patterns (regular, random, and clumped) to fit the observed frequency distributions of densities of the two annuals. Both species showed clear clumped patterns as characterized by the NB and had similar inverse J-shaped frequency distribution curves in two density categories. Also, both species displayed a reduced degree of aggregation from winter to summer after the spring drought (massive die-off), as indicated by the increased k-parameter of the NB and decreased values of another NB parameter p, variance/mean ratio, Lloyd’s Index of Patchiness, and David and Moore’s Index of Clumping. Further, we hypothesized that while the NB (i.e., Poisson-logarithmic) well fits the distribution of individuals per quadrat, its components, the Poisson and logarithmic, may describe the distributions of clumps per quadrat and of individuals per clump, respectively. We thus obtained the means and variances for (1) individuals per quadrat, (2) clumps per quadrat, and (3) individuals per clump. The results showed that the decrease of the density from winter to summer for each plant resulted from the decrease of individuals per clump, rather than from the decrease of clumps per quadrat. The great similarities between the two annuals indicate that our observed temporal changes in spatial patterns may be common among desert annual plants.

  5. Effect of climate change on crop production patterns with implications to transport flows and inland waterways.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-12-01

    This project analyzed the demand for transportation capacity and changes in transportation flows on : inland waterways due to shifts in crop production patterns induced by climate change. Shifts in the crop : production mix have been observed in rece...

  6. Changes in gluteal muscle forces with alteration of footstrike pattern during running.

    PubMed

    Vannatta, Charles Nathan; Kernozek, Thomas W; Gheidi, Naghmeh

    2017-10-01

    Gait retraining is a common form of treatment for running related injuries. Proximal factors at the hip have been postulated as having a role in the development of running related injuries. How altering footstrike affects hip muscles forces and kinematics has not been described. Thus, we aimed to quantify differences in hip muscle forces and hip kinematics that may occur when healthy runners are instructed to alter their foot strike pattern from their habitual rear-foot strike to a forefoot strike. This may gain insight on the potential etiology and treatment methods of running related lower extremity injury. Twenty-five healthy female runners completed a minimum of 10 running trials in a controlled laboratory setting under rear-foot strike and instructed forefoot strike conditions. Kinetic and kinematic data were used in an inverse dynamic based static optimization to estimate individual muscle forces during running. Within subject differences were investigated using a repeated measures multi-variate analysis of variance. Peak gluteus medius and minimus and hamstring forces were reduced while peak gluteus maximus force was increased when running with an instructed forefoot strike pattern. Peak hip adduction, hip internal rotation, and heel-COM distance were also reduced. Therefore, instructing habitual rearfoot strike runners to run with a forefoot strike pattern resulted in changes in peak gluteal and hamstring muscle forces and hip kinematics. These changes may be beneficial to the development and treatment of running related lower extremity injury. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Examining patterns of change in the critical thinking skills of graduate nursing students.

    PubMed

    McMullen, Maureen A; McMullen, William F

    2009-06-01

    Although critical thinking in undergraduate nursing education has been explored in depth, little is known about the critical thinking skills of graduate nursing students. Prior research on change in critical thinking scores is based primarily on pretest and posttest assessments that provide minimal information about change. This study used individual growth modeling to investigate how critical thinking skills change during a 2-year graduate nurse program. Scores from the evaluation, inference, and analysis subscales of the California Critical Thinking Skills Test comprised the empirical growth record. Change in the three critical thinking skills was more dynamic than that reported in previous studies. Patterns of change differed by critical thinking skill and in relation to students' initial critical thinking skill levels at program entry.

  8. The U.S. South’s timber sector in 2005: a prospective analysis of recent change

    Treesearch

    David N. Wear; Douglas R. Carter; Jeffrey Prestemon

    2007-01-01

    Forest product markets are an important part of rural economies of the U.S. South, but recent changes in timber markets have raised questions about the future. Several factors have altered forest products markets since the late 1990s, including industry consolidations and associated changes in land ownership, changes in domestic consumption patterns and international...

  9. Changing Adolescent Sleep Patterns: Factors Affecting them and the Related Problems.

    PubMed

    Kaur, Harpreet; Bhoday, Harpreet Singh

    2017-03-01

    Sleep affects physical growth, behavior and emotional development besides determining cognitive functioning, learning and attention especially of a growing child. Adolescence represents one of the critical transitions in the life span and is characterized by a tremendous pace in growth and change that is second only to that of infancy. Adolescent sleep patterns deserve particular attention because of the potential impact on school performance. Average sleep period in adolescents is reduced during school days to around seven hours. The reasons may be biological mainly the sleep phase delay or psychosocial and environmental. These include academic demands, social activities, sports, internet, television viewing, part-time employment, and use of mobile phone at night, peer and parental influence and socioeconomic status. These changing patterns of sleep in adolescents lead to many behavioral sleep problems like Delayed Sleep-phase Syndrome; Difficulties in falling asleep (insomnia); excessive daytime sleepiness, poor academic performance. Decreased sleep in adolescents also causes obesity and other cardio-metabolic abnormalities. This needs an integrated approach involving adolescents themselves, their parents, teachers and specialized physicians to help improve the sleep quantity and quality and lead to a better quality of life and daytime functioning in adolescents. © Journal of the Association of Physicians of India 2011.

  10. [Landscape pattern change and its driving forces in Xixi National Wetland Park since 1993].

    PubMed

    Cheng, Qian; Wu, Xiuju

    2006-09-01

    Under the support of GIS technology and the TM images of Xixi National Wetland Park, this paper studied the past ten years' landscape pattern change and its driving forces of Xixi Wetland. The results showed that the landscape diversity index increased from 1.7854 in 1993 to 1.8438 in 2001 and 2.2096 in 2003, and the landscape fragmentation index increased from 0.0036 in 1993 to 0.0042 in 2001, and 0.0047 in 2003, suggesting that the landscape fragmentation was increased with time. Human activity was the main driving force, while the exploitation of real estate was the main internal factor of the landscape pattern change of Xixi wetland. In addition, social and economic development level had a strong effect on the overall diversity of the landscape.

  11. Worker participation in change processes in a Danish industrial setting.

    PubMed

    Rasmussen, Kurt; Glasscock, David J; Hansen, Ole N; Carstensen, Ole; Jepsen, Jette F; Nielsen, Kent J

    2006-09-01

    Improving the design, management and organization of work may be an important step in improving occupational health. An intervention, guided by the principles of participatory action research (PAR), is directed at traditional work environment problems in the epoxy plastic industry, that is, eczema and accident-related injuries. The study population consisted of employees at two wind turbine- manufacturing plants. A quasi-experimental design was employed with before and after measurements and a comparison group with a 3(1/2) year follow-up period. The role of employee elected safety representatives was changed from one of controlling and "policing" to that of safety advisors. The attitudes of employees also changed, from an individualistic understanding of safety as the responsibility of the single employee, to a more collective understanding of safety as being everyone's shared responsibility. Structural changes led to a less hierarchical management system. This process led eventually to the establishment of self-governing work groups in which each member had a well-defined area of responsibility. The change process was associated with improvements in the psychosocial work environment and safety climate, a 66% reduction in the incidence of eczema, and a 48.6% reduction in the incidence of occupational accidents. In the comparison population, a twin factory under the same company, similar but delayed and less dramatic changes also occurred. Implementation of a comprehensive intervention was followed by improved employee perceptions of the company's safety standards and the psychosocial work environment, as well as by substantial reductions in the incidence of eczema and occupational accidents.

  12. Historical Pattern and Future Trajectories of Terrestrial N2O Emission driven by Multi-factor Global Changes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lu, C.; Tian, H.; Yang, J.; Zhang, B.; Xu, R.

    2015-12-01

    Nitrous oxide (N2O) is among the most important greenhouse gases only next to carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) due to its long life time and high radiative forcing (with a global warming potential 265 times as much as CO2 at 100-year time horizon). The Atmospheric concentration of N2O has increased by 20% since pre-industrial era, and this increase plays a significant role in shaping anthropogenic climate change. However, compared to CO2- and CH4-related research, fewer studies have been performed in assessing and predicting the spatiotemporal patterns of N2O emission from natural and agricultural soils. Here we used a coupled biogeochemical model, DLEM, to quantify the historical and future changes in global terrestrial N2O emissions resulting from natural and anthropogenic perturbations including climate variability, atmospheric CO2 concentration, nitrogen deposition, land use and land cover changes, and agricultural land management practices (i.e., synthetic nitrogen fertilizer use, manure application, and irrigation etc.) over the period 1900-2099. We focused on inter-annual variation and long-term trend of terrestrial N2O emission driven by individual and combined environmental changes during historical and future periods. The sensitivity of N2O emission to climate, atmospheric composition, and human activities has been examined at biome-, latitudinal, continental and global scales. Future projections were conducted to identify the hot spots and hot time periods of global N2O emission under two emission scenarios (RCP2.6 and RCP8.5). It provides a modeling perspective for understanding human-induced N2O emission growth and developing potential management strategies to mitigate further atmospheric N2O increase and climate warming.

  13. Local processes and regional patterns - Interpreting a multi-decadal altimetry record of Greenland Ice Sheet changes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Csatho, B. M.; Schenk, A. F.; Babonis, G. S.; van den Broeke, M. R.; Kuipers Munneke, P.; van der Veen, C. J.; Khan, S. A.; Porter, D. F.

    2016-12-01

    This study presents a new, comprehensive reconstruction of Greenland Ice Sheet elevation changes, generated using the Surface Elevation And Change detection (SERAC) approach. 35-year long elevation-change time series (1980-2015) were obtained at more than 150,000 locations from observations acquired by NASA's airborne and spaceborne laser altimeters (ATM, LVIS, ICESat), PROMICE laser altimetry data (2007-2011) and a DEM covering the ice sheet margin derived from stereo aerial photographs (1970s-80s). After removing the effect of Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) and the elastic crustal response to changes in ice loading, the time series were partitioned into changes due to surface processes and ice dynamics and then converted into mass change histories. Using gridded products, we examined ice sheet elevation, and mass change patterns, and compared them with other estimates at different scales from individual outlet glaciers through large drainage basins, on to the entire ice sheet. Both the SERAC time series and the grids derived from these time series revealed significant spatial and temporal variations of dynamic mass loss and widespread intermittent thinning, indicating the complexity of ice sheet response to climate forcing. To investigate the regional and local controls of ice dynamics, we examined thickness change time series near outlet glacier grounding lines. Changes on most outlet glaciers were consistent with one or more episodes of dynamic thinning that propagates upstream from the glacier terminus. The spatial pattern of the onset, duration, and termination of these dynamic thinning events suggest a regional control, such as warming ocean and air temperatures. However, the intricate spatiotemporal pattern of dynamic thickness change suggests that, regardless of the forcing responsible for initial glacier acceleration and thinning, the response of individual glaciers is modulated by local conditions. We use statistical methods, such as principal

  14. Spatial Exposure Analysis for Threatened and Endangered Species from Changing Pesticide Use Pattern in Southern Georgia

    EPA Science Inventory

    In recent decades, pesticide use patterns and crop distributions have changed; however, because there has not been a significant increase in usage disclosures, it is difficult to estimate the changes in potential exposure zones, this analysis focuses on the intersection of agricu...

  15. Changing stream temperatures in a changing world: evaluating spatio-temporal patterns and trends across the eastern US

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kelleher, C.; Archfield, S. A.

    2016-12-01

    Stream temperatures drive biogeochemical processes and influence ecosystem health and extent, with patterns of stream temperature arising from complex interactions between climate, land cover, and in-stream diversions and dams. While each of these individual drivers may have well-understood implications for changing stream temperatures, considering the concomitant impacts of these drivers along the stream network is much more difficult. This is true especially for the eastern United States, where downstream temperature integrates many different upstream impacts. To begin to decipher the influence of these different drivers on changing stream temperatures and how these impacts may manifest through time, we examined trends for 66 sites with continuous stream temperature measurements across the eastern United States. Stream temperature records were summarized as daily mean, maximum, and mimimum values, and sites consisting of 15 or more years of data were selected for analysis. While annual stream temperatures at 53 locations were warming, a few sites on larger rivers (n = 13) have been cooling. To explore the timing of these changes as well as their implications for aquatic species, we calculated trends for seasonal extremes (average of the five warmest and coolest daily stream temperatures) during spring, summer, and fall. Interestingly, while some streams displayed strong warming trends in peak summer temperatures (n = 43), many streams also displayed cooling trends (n = 23). We also found that peak stream temperatures were warming faster in fall than in summer for many locations (n = 36). Results of this analysis show that warming (and cooling) happens at different times in different places, as a function of climate and anthropogenic impacts. Finally, we explore potential drivers of these different patterns, to determine the relative impacts of climate, land cover, and in-stream water diversions on stream temperature change. Given that the number of regulated

  16. Patterns of Changing Knowledge Orders: Insights from German and British Labour Market Policy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krapp, Max-Christopher; Pannowitsch, Sylvia

    2017-01-01

    Following an interpretative approach this paper investigates the role of knowledge orders, understood as settings which attribute relevance to specific expertise. The changing patterns of incorporation of expertise in policy formulation as well as public justification are analysed for German and British labour market policy. From a comparative…

  17. Changing NPP consumption patterns in the Holocene: from Megafauna "liberated" NPP to "ecological bankruptcy"

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Doughty, C.

    2015-12-01

    There have been vast changes in how net primary production (NPP) is consumed by humans and animals during the Holocene beginning with a potential increase in availability following the Pleistocene megafauna extinctions. This was followed by the development of agriculture which began to gradually restrict availability of NPP for wild animals. Finally, humans entered the industrial era using non-plant based energies to power societies. Here I ask the following questions about these three energy transitions: 1. How much NPP energy may have become available following the megafauna extinctions? 2. When did humans, through agriculture and domestic animals, consume more NPP than wild mammals in each country? 3. When did humans and wild mammals use more energy than was available in total NPP in each country? To answer this last question I calculate NPP consumed by wild animals, crops, livestock, and energy use (all converted to units of MJ) and compare this with the total potential NPP (also in MJ) for each country. We develop the term "ecological bankruptcy" to refer to the level of consumption where not all energy needs can be met by the country's NPP. Currently, 82 countries and a net population of 5.4 billion are in the state of ecologically bankruptcy, crossing this threshold at various times over the past 40 years. By contrast, only 52 countries with a net population of 1.2 billion remain ecologically solvent. Overall, the Holocene has seen remarkable changes in consumption patterns of NPP, passing through three distinct phases. Humans began in a world where there was 1.6-4.1% unclaimed NPP to consume. From 1700-1850, humans began to consume more than wild animals (globally averaged). At present, >82% of people live in countries where not even all available plant matter could satisfy our energy demands.

  18. The Advanced Industrial Materials (AIM) program office of industrial technologies fiscal year 1995

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sorrell, C.A.

    1997-04-01

    In many ways, the Advanced Industrial Materials (AIM) Program underwent a major transformation in FY95 and these changes have continued to the present. When the Program was established in 1990 as the Advanced Industrial Concepts (AIC) Materials Program, the mission was to conduct applied research and development to bring materials and processing technologies from the knowledge derived from basic research to the maturity required for the end use sectors for commercialization. In 1995, the Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT) made radical changes in structure and procedures. All technology development was directed toward the seven `Vision Industries` that use about 80%more » of industrial energy and generated about 90% of industrial wastes. These are: aluminium; chemical; forest products; glass; metal casting; refineries; and steel. OIT is working with these industries, through appropriate organizations, to develop Visions of the desired condition of each industry some 20 to 25 years in the future and then to prepare Road Maps and Implementation Plans to enable them to reach their goals. The mission of AIM has, therefore, changed to `Support development and commercialization of new or improved materials to improve productivity, product quality, and energy efficiency in the major process industries.`« less

  19. Mortality from accidents, disease, suicide and homicide in the British fishing industry from 1900 to 2010.

    PubMed

    Roberts, Stephen E; Carter, Tim

    2015-01-01

    To establish the causes of mortality in the British fishing industry from 1900 up to 2010, to investigate long term trends in mortality and to identify causal factors in the mortality patterns and rates. A longitudinal study, based on examinations of official death inquiry files, marine accident investigation files and reports, death registers and annual death returns. Mortality rates from accidents while working at sea remain high in the British fishing industry. Over the twentieth century there has been a progressive fall in the numbers of deaths, much of this relates to changes in fishing methods and in the types of vessels used. However in recent years, and with a fleet of smaller vessels, the mortality rates from accidents have shown little change and a larger proportion of deaths than in the past have arisen from personal injuries and drowning as compared to vessel losses. Disease makes a relatively small contribution to mortality at sea and this has dwindled with the decline in distant water fishing. Suicide and homicide both feature in a small way, but rates cannot readily be compared with those ashore. The pattern of change in vessels, fisheries and fishing techniques over the study period are complex. However, improved injury and drowning prevention is the most important way to reduce deaths, coupled with attention to vessel stability and maintenance. The social, economic and organisational features of the fishing industry mean that securing improvements in these areas is a major challenge.

  20. Industrial process surveillance system

    DOEpatents

    Gross, Kenneth C.; Wegerich, Stephan W.; Singer, Ralph M.; Mott, Jack E.

    1998-01-01

    A system and method for monitoring an industrial process and/or industrial data source. The system includes generating time varying data from industrial data sources, processing the data to obtain time correlation of the data, determining the range of data, determining learned states of normal operation and using these states to generate expected values, comparing the expected values to current actual values to identify a current state of the process closest to a learned, normal state; generating a set of modeled data, and processing the modeled data to identify a data pattern and generating an alarm upon detecting a deviation from normalcy.

  1. Industrial Process Surveillance System

    DOEpatents

    Gross, Kenneth C.; Wegerich, Stephan W; Singer, Ralph M.; Mott, Jack E.

    2001-01-30

    A system and method for monitoring an industrial process and/or industrial data source. The system includes generating time varying data from industrial data sources, processing the data to obtain time correlation of the data, determining the range of data, determining learned states of normal operation and using these states to generate expected values, comparing the expected values to current actual values to identify a current state of the process closest to a learned, normal state; generating a set of modeled data, and processing the modeled data to identify a data pattern and generating an alarm upon detecting a deviation from normalcy.

  2. The Influence of Business and Industry as Drivers for Change in UK Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McLernon, Tim

    2008-01-01

    The rationale underpinning UK higher education (HE) has changed significantly over the last 20 years. Government policy dictates that 50% of 18-30 year-olds should be in HE by the year 2010. Students enter HE almost solely for the exchange value of the qualification and the expectation of enhanced career prospects in business and industry. This…

  3. Investigation of environmental change pattern in Japan

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Maruyasu, T. (Principal Investigator)

    1977-01-01

    The author has identified the following significant results. In the Plains of Tokachi, where the scale of agricultural field was comparatively large in Japan, LANDSAT data with its accuracy have proved to be useful enough to observe the actual condition of agricultural land use and changes more accurately than present methods. Species and ages of grasses in pasture were identified and soils were classified into several types. The actual land cover and ecological environment were remarkably changeable at the rapidly industrialized area by the urbanization in the flat plane and also by the forest works and road construction in the mountainous area. The practical use of the recognition results was proved as the base map of the field survey or the retouching work of the vegetation and land use. There was a 10% cut in cost, labor, and time. Vegetation cover in Tokyo districts was estimated by both the multiregression model and the parametric model. Multicorrelation coefficient between observed value and estimated value was 0.87 and standard deviation was + or - 15%. Vegetation cover in Tokyo was mapped into five levels with equal intervals of 20%.

  4. Changes in the Geographic Patterns of Heart Disease Mortality in the United States

    PubMed Central

    Casper, Michele; Kramer, Michael R.; Quick, Harrison; Schieb, Linda J.; Vaughan, Adam S.; Greer, Sophia

    2016-01-01

    Background Although many studies have documented the dramatic declines in heart disease mortality in the United States at the national level, little attention has been given to the temporal changes in the geographic patterns of heart disease mortality. Methods and Results Age-adjusted and spatially smoothed county-level heart disease death rates were calculated for 2-year intervals from 1973 to 1974 to 2009 to 2010 for those aged ≥35 years. Heart disease deaths were defined according to the International Classification of Diseases codes for diseases of the heart in the eighth, ninth, and tenth revisions of the International Classification of Diseases. A fully Bayesian spatiotemporal model was used to produce precise rate estimates, even in counties with small populations. A substantial shift in the concentration of high-rate counties from the Northeast to the Deep South was observed, along with a concentration of slow-decline counties in the South and a nearly 2-fold increase in the geographic inequality among counties. Conclusions The dramatic change in the geographic patterns of heart disease mortality during 40 years highlights the importance of small-area surveillance to reveal patterns that are hidden at the national level, gives communities the historical context for understanding their current burden of heart disease, and provides important clues for understanding the determinants of the geographic disparities in heart disease mortality. PMID:27002081

  5. Residual flow patterns and morphological changes along a macro- and meso-tidal coastline

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leonardi, Nicoletta; Plater, Andrew James

    2017-11-01

    The hydrodynamic and residual transport patterns arising from oscillating tidal motion have important consequences for the transport of sediments, and for the evolution of the shoreline, especially under macro- and meso-tidal conditions. For many locations there are significant uncertainties about residual currents and sediment transport characteristics, and their possible influence on the morphological evolution of the coastline and on the character of the bed. Herein we use the coastline of SE England as a test case to investigate possible changes in residual currents, and residual transport patterns from neap to spring tide, the reciprocal interaction between residuals and the character of the bed, and the morphological evolution of the coastline at a century timescale. We found that in the long term the morphology of the system evolves toward a dynamic equilibrium configuration characterized by smaller, and spatially constant residual transport patterns. While the spatial distribution of residual currents maintains a similar trend during both neap and spring tide, during spring tide and for large areas residual currents switch between northerly and southerly directions, and their magnitude is doubled. Residual eddies develop in regions characterized by the presence of sand bars due to the interaction of the tide with the varying topography. Residual transport patterns are also computed for various sediment fractions, and based on the hydrodynamics and sediment availability at the bottom. We found that the distribution of sediments on the bed is significantly correlated with the intensity of residuals. Finally, the majority of long-term morphological changes tend to develop or augment sand banks features, with an increase in elevation and steepening of the bank contours.

  6. Transformation of industrial territories

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Plotnikova, N. I.; Kolocova, I. I.

    2017-08-01

    The problem of removing industrial enterprises from the historical center of the city and the subsequent effective use of the territories has been relevant for Western countries. Nowadays, the problem is crucial for Russia, its megacities and regional centers. The paper analyzes successful projects of transforming industrial facilities into cultural, business and residential objects in the world and in Russia. The patterns of the project development have been determined and presented in the paper.

  7. Changing Patterns of Fungal Toxins in Crops: Challenges for Analysts.

    PubMed

    Miller, J David

    2016-07-01

    This short review discusses the need to manage climate-driven expansion of old toxins in new geographic areas (e.g., aflatoxin or fumonisin in corn in historically cooler areas, and ergot where rainfall and cropping patterns have changed). In addition, a renewed consideration of the toxins that can occur in feed sources used in cool-season dairy areas is needed (e.g., silage and distillers dry grains with solubles). A separate issue concerns genetic changes that are occurring in the species that cause Fusarium head blight/Gibberella ear rot. Small differences in climate appear to determine the distribution of the two dominant populations (native to the new world and from Asia). The chemotype that produces deoxynivalenol via the monoacetate at the 3 position results in the accumulation of somewhat more deoxynivalenol than the native population, which involves the monoacetate at the 15 position. There are also genetic changes occurring that have resulted in populations that produce different metabolites. Similarly, an increase in the area where Aspergillus flavus can thrive and the discovery of the sexual stage of this fungus have raised the potential of genetic change accelerated by climate. To address all these issues, new methods and increased availability of reference standards, as well as training and awareness, will be required.

  8. Detection of changes in SEMG signals with myofascial pain using the pattern-classifier

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, Ching-Fen; Huang, Pao-Tieh

    2013-10-01

    Myofascial pain on the upper back (MFPUB) has been a common occupational hazard associated with consistent computer use. Investigations into any sort neuromuscular functional changes due to myofascial pain are rare. This study aims to differentiate the wavelet energy patterns of the surface electromyography signals measured from 30 normal and 26 patient subjects using the K-means clustering process. The results show that the wavelet energy pattern of patient subjects was different to that of normal subject and reveals a sensitivity of 57.69% at a specificity of 76.67% in the identification of myofascial pain. Therefore, this model could provide a reliable feature for clinical diagnosis of myofascial pain.

  9. Heterogeneity and Change in the Patterning of Adolescents' Perceptions of the Legitimacy of Parental Authority: A Latent Transition Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cumsille, Patricio; Darling, Nancy; Flaherty, Brian; Martinez, Maria Loreto

    2009-01-01

    Changes in the patterning of adolescents' beliefs about the legitimate domains of parental authority were modeled in 2,611 Chilean adolescents, 11-16 years old. Transitions in adolescents' belief patterns were studied over 3 years. Latent transition analysis (LTA) revealed 3 distinct patterns of beliefs--"parent control," "shared…

  10. Financing the Air Transportation Industry

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lloyd-Jones, D. J.

    1972-01-01

    The basic characteristics of the air transportation industry are outlined and it is shown how they affect financing requirements and patterns of production. The choice of financial timing is imperative in order to get the best interest rates available and to insure a fair return to investors. The fact that the industry cannot store its products has a fairly major effect on the amount of equipment to purchase, the amount of capital investment required, and the amount of return required to offset industry depriciation.

  11. Minimal evidence for consistent changes in maize DNA methylation patterns following environmental stress.

    PubMed

    Eichten, Steven R; Springer, Nathan M

    2015-01-01

    DNA methylation is a chromatin modification that is sometimes associated with epigenetic regulation of gene expression. As DNA methylation can be reversible at some loci, it is possible that methylation patterns may change within an organism that is subjected to environmental stress. In order to assess the effects of abiotic stress on DNA methylation patterns in maize (Zea mays), seeding plants were subjected to heat, cold, and UV stress treatments. Tissue was later collected from individual adult plants that had been subjected to stress or control treatments and used to perform DNA methylation profiling to determine whether there were consistent changes in DNA methylation triggered by specific stress treatments. DNA methylation profiling was performed by immunoprecipitation of methylated DNA followed by microarray hybridization to allow for quantitative estimates of DNA methylation abundance throughout the low-copy portion of the maize genome. By comparing the DNA methylation profiles of each individual plant to the average of the control plants it was possible to identify regions of the genome with variable DNA methylation. However, we did not find evidence of consistent DNA methylation changes resulting from the stress treatments used in this study. Instead, the data suggest that there is a low-rate of stochastic variation that is present in both control and stressed plants.

  12. REGIONAL AND GLOBAL PATTERNS OF POPULATION, LAND USE AND LAND COVER CHANGE: AN OVERVIEW OF STRESSORS AND IMPACTS

    EPA Science Inventory

    This paper provides an overview of land use and land cover (LULC) change and regional to global patterns of that change and responses. Human activities now dominate the Earth's global ecosystem and LULC change is one of the most pervasive and influential activities. LULC change a...

  13. Interdecadal Change in the Tropical Pacific Precipitation Anomaly Pattern around the Late 1990s during Boreal Spring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wen, Zhiping; Guo, Yuanyuan; Wu, Renguang

    2017-04-01

    The leading mode of boreal spring precipitation variability over the tropical Pacific experienced a pronounced interdecadal change around the late 1990s. The pattern before 1998 features positive precipitation anomalies over the equatorial eastern Pacific (EP) with positive principle component years. The counterpart after 1998 exhibits a westward shift of the positive center to the equatorial central Pacific (CP). Observational evidence shows that this interdecadal change in the leading mode of precipitation variability is closely associated with a distinctive sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly pattern. The westward shift of the anomalous precipitation center after 1998 is in tandem with a similar shift of maximum warming from the EP to CP. Diagnostic analyses based on a linear equation of the mixed layer temperature anomaly exhibit that an interdecadal enhancement of zonal advection (ZA) feedback process plays a vital role in the shift in the leading mode of both the tropical Pacific SST and the precipitation anomaly during spring. Moreover, the variability of the anomalous zonal current at the upper ocean dominates the ZA feedback change, while the mean zonal SST gradient associated with a La Niña-like pattern of the mean state only accounts for a relatively trivial proportion of the ZA feedback change. It was found that both the relatively rapid decaying of the SST anomalies in the EP and the La Niña-like mean state make it conceivable that the shift of the leading mode of the tropical precipitation anomaly only occurs in spring. In addition, the largest variance of the anomalous zonal current in spring might contribute to the unique interdecadal change in the tropical spring precipitation anomaly pattern.

  14. Novice medical students: individual patterns in the use of learning strategies and how they change during the first academic year.

    PubMed

    Fabry, Götz; Giesler, Marianne

    2012-01-01

    Adequate use of different learning strategies is one of the most important prerequisites of academic success. The actual use of learning strategies is the result of an interaction between individual and situational variables. Against this background we conducted a longitudinal study with first year medical students to investigate whether individuals show different patterns in their use of learning strategies and whether these patterns change during the first academic year. Medical students (N=175, 58% female) were surveyed three times in their first academic year regarding their use of learning strategies. A hierarchical cluster analysis (Ward) was conducted in order to identify groups of students with different patterns of learning strategies. We identified four different patterns in approaches to learning among novice medical students ("easy-going", "flexible", "problematic" and "hardworking" learners). Compared to their peers, the problematic learners had the worst final school grades. In addition changes in the use of learning strategies were identified, most of them occurred during the first term. Students start their academic studies with different patterns of learning strategies; the characteristics of these patterns change during the first academic year. Further research is necessary to better understand how individual and situational variables determine students' learning.

  15. The effect of the feeding pattern of complex industrial wastewater on activated sludge characteristics and the chemical and ecotoxicological effluent quality.

    PubMed

    Caluwé, Michel; Dobbeleers, Thomas; Daens, Dominique; Blust, Ronny; Geuens, Luc; Dries, Jan

    2017-04-01

    Research has demonstrated that the feeding pattern of synthetic wastewater plays an important role in sludge characteristics during biological wastewater treatment. Although considerable research has been devoted to synthetic wastewater, less attention has been paid to industrial wastewater. In this research, three different feeding strategies were applied during the treatment of tank truck cleaning (TTC) water. This industry produces highly variable wastewaters that are often loaded with hazardous chemicals, which makes them challenging to treat with activated sludge (AS). In this study, it is shown that the feeding pattern has a significant influence on the settling characteristics. Pulse feeding resulted in AS with a sludge volume index (SVI) of 68 ± 15 mL gMLSS -1 . Slowly and continuously fed AS had to contend with unstable SVI values that fluctuated between 100 and 600 mL gMLSS -1 . These fluctuations were clearly caused by the feeding solution. The obtained settling characteristics are being supported by the microscopic analysis, which revealed a clear floc structure for the pulse fed AS. Ecotoxicological effluent assessment with bacteria, Crustacea and algae identified algae as the most sensitive organism for all effluents from all different reactors. Variable algae growth inhibitions were measured between the different reactors. The chemical and ecotoxicological effluent quality was comparable between the reactors.

  16. Changing Patterns of Finance in Higher Education. Country Study: Denmark. OECD Educational Monographs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Enslev, Lisbeth; And Others

    A country study on Denmark is presented as part of a series prepared by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED) Education Committee activity on changing patterns of finance in higher education. In Denmark, postsecondary institutions are the direct responsibility of the state. Some central problems are to strike a balance…

  17. Changing Patterns of Finance in Higher Education. Country Study: Japan. OECD Educational Monographs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kaneko, Motohisa

    This report is one in a series of country studies prepared in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Education Committee activity on changing patterns of finance in higher education. In order to contribute to the OECD activity from the Japanese perspective, the Research Institute for Higher Education at…

  18. Pharmaceutical Industry-Sponsored Meals and Physician Prescribing Patterns for Medicare Beneficiaries.

    PubMed

    DeJong, Colette; Aguilar, Thomas; Tseng, Chien-Wen; Lin, Grace A; Boscardin, W John; Dudley, R Adams

    2016-08-01

    The association between industry payments to physicians and prescribing rates of the brand-name medications that are being promoted is controversial. In the United States, industry payment data and Medicare prescribing records recently became publicly available. To study the association between physicians' receipt of industry-sponsored meals, which account for roughly 80% of the total number of industry payments, and rates of prescribing the promoted drug to Medicare beneficiaries. Cross-sectional analysis of industry payment data from the federal Open Payments Program for August 1 through December 31, 2013, and prescribing data for individual physicians from Medicare Part D, for all of 2013. Participants were physicians who wrote Medicare prescriptions in any of 4 drug classes: statins, cardioselective β-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin-receptor blockers (ACE inhibitors and ARBs), and selective serotonin and serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs and SNRIs). We identified physicians who received industry-sponsored meals promoting the most-prescribed brand-name drug in each class (rosuvastatin, nebivolol, olmesartan, and desvenlafaxine, respectively). Data analysis was performed from August 20, 2015, to December 15, 2015. Receipt of an industry-sponsored meal promoting the drug of interest. Prescribing rates of promoted drugs compared with alternatives in the same class, after adjustment for physician prescribing volume, demographic characteristics, specialty, and practice setting. A total of 279 669 physicians received 63 524 payments associated with the 4 target drugs. Ninety-five percent of payments were meals, with a mean value of less than $20. Rosuvastatin represented 8.8% (SD, 9.9%) of statin prescriptions; nebivolol represented 3.3% (7.4%) of cardioselective β-blocker prescriptions; olmesartan represented 1.6% (3.9%) of ACE inhibitor and ARB prescriptions; and desvenlafaxine represented 0.6% (2.6%) of

  19. Patterns of Late Quaternary hydrologic variability and atmospheric change inferred from a Northern California speleothem

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oster, J. L.; Weisman, I. E.; Sharp, W. D.; Ibarra, D. E.

    2017-12-01

    The synthesis of hydrologically sensitive proxy records across western North America reveals spatial patterns of variability that persist, with some variation, over multiple temporal scales. For example, tree ring records from the last century highlight a distinct north-south dipole pattern in the response of regional precipitation anomalies to ENSO and the PDO, while a similar dipole pattern of wet and dry precipitation anomalies developed across the region in response to climate forcing at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Hydrologically sensitive proxy records from the intervening transition zone can shed light on the stationarity and spatial scale of this pattern over time. Here we present records of δ18O and δ13C from a Lake Shasta Caverns stalagmite (LSC3) from Northern California that grew from 36 to 14 ka. This cave, located at 40.8°N, is situated within the transition zone and is well-positioned to enhance our understanding of regional precipitation patterns and moisture transport variability during the last glacial period and deglaciation. Six years of weekly rain isotope data indicate that varying atmospheric temperatures and moisture sources are primary controls on δ18O in Northern California precipitation. Increased δ18O and δ13C in LSC3 and slower stalagmite growth rates during MIS 2 suggest increased subtropical moisture but also dry conditions in Northern California. The δ13C record displays distinct millennial-scale oscillations during MIS 3, suggesting drier conditions also occurred during interstadials associated with Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles. The LSC3 δ18O record documents changes synchronous with δ18O in the Fort Stanton stalagmite in New Mexico, though sometimes in phase (e.g. during Heinrich Stadial 1; HS1) and sometimes anti-phased (e.g. during the Bölling-Alleröd). Likewise, the LSC3 δ13C record suggests a transition from wet to drier conditions during HS1 in marked contrast to many more southerly records that indicate wetter

  20. Patterns of change in high frequency precipitation variability over North America.

    PubMed

    Roque-Malo, Susana; Kumar, Praveen

    2017-09-18

    Precipitation variability encompasses attributes associated with the sequencing and duration of events of the full range of magnitudes. However, climate change studies have largely focused on extreme events. Using analyses of long-term weather station data, we show that high frequency events, such as fraction of wet days in a year and average duration of wet and dry periods, are undergoing significant changes across North America. Further, these changes are more prevalent and larger than those associated with extremes. Such trends also exist for events of a range of magnitudes. Existence of localized clusters with opposing trend to that of broader geographic variation illustrates the role of microclimate and other drivers of trends. Such hitherto unknown patterns over the entire North American continent have the potential to significantly inform our characterization of the resilience and vulnerability of a broad range of ecosystems and agricultural and socio-economic systems. They can also set new benchmarks for climate model assessments.

  1. How Much are Built Environments Changing, and Where?: Patterns of Change by Neighborhood Sociodemographic Characteristics across Seven U.S. Metropolitan Areas

    PubMed Central

    Hirsch, Jana A.; Grengs, Joe; Schulz, Amy; Adar, Sara D.; Rodriguez, Daniel A.; Brines, Shannon J.; Diez Roux, Ana V.

    2016-01-01

    Investments in neighborhood built environments could increase physical activity and overall health. Disproportionate distribution of these changes in advantaged neighborhoods could inflate health disparities. Little information exists on where changes are occurring. This paper aims to 1) identify changes in the built environment in neighborhoods and 2) investigate associations between high levels of change and sociodemographic characteristics. Using Geographic Information Systems, neighborhood land-use, local destinations (for walking, social engagement, and physical activity), and sociodemographics were characterized in 2000 and 2010 for seven U.S. cities. Linear and change on change models estimated associations of built environment changes with baseline (2000) and change (2010–2000) in sociodemographics. Spatial patterns were assessed using Global Moran’s I to measure overall clustering of change and Local Moran’s I to identify statistically significant clusters of high increases surrounded by high increases (HH). Sociodemographic characteristics were compared between HH cluster and other tracts using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). We observed small land-use changes but increases in the destination types. Greater increases in destinations were associated with higher percentage non-Hispanic whites, percentage households with no vehicle, and median household income. Associations were present for both baseline sociodemographics and changes over time. Greater increases in destinations were associated with lower baseline percentage over 65 but higher increases in percentage over 65 between 2000 and 2010. Global Moran’s indicated changes were spatially clustered. HH cluster tracts started with a higher percentage non-Hispanic whites and higher percentage of households without vehicles. Between 2000 and 2010, HH cluster tracts experienced increases in percent non-Hispanic white, greater increases in median household income, and larger decreases in percent of

  2. Effects of El Niño-driven changes in wind patterns on North Pacific albatrosses.

    PubMed

    Thorne, L H; Conners, M G; Hazen, E L; Bograd, S J; Antolos, M; Costa, D P; Shaffer, S A

    2016-06-01

    Changes to patterns of wind and ocean currents are tightly linked to climate change and have important implications for cost of travel and energy budgets in marine vertebrates. We evaluated how El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-driven wind patterns affected breeding Laysan and black-footed albatross across a decade of study. Owing to latitudinal variation in wind patterns, wind speed differed between habitat used during incubation and brooding; during La Niña conditions, wind speeds were lower in incubating Laysan (though not black-footed) albatross habitat, but higher in habitats used by brooding albatrosses. Incubating Laysan albatrosses benefited from increased wind speeds during El Niño conditions, showing increased travel speeds and mass gained during foraging trips. However, brooding albatrosses did not benefit from stronger winds during La Niña conditions, instead experiencing stronger cumulative headwinds and a smaller proportion of trips in tailwinds. Increased travel costs during brooding may contribute to the lower reproductive success observed in La Niña conditions. Furthermore, benefits of stronger winds in incubating habitat may explain the higher reproductive success of Laysan albatross during El Niño conditions. Our findings highlight the importance of considering habitat accessibility and cost of travel when evaluating the impacts of climate-driven habitat change on marine predators. © 2016 The Author(s).

  3. Effects of El Niño-driven changes in wind patterns on North Pacific albatrosses

    PubMed Central

    Thorne, L. H.; Conners, M. G.; Hazen, E. L.; Bograd, S. J.; Antolos, M.; Costa, D. P.; Shaffer, S. A.

    2016-01-01

    Changes to patterns of wind and ocean currents are tightly linked to climate change and have important implications for cost of travel and energy budgets in marine vertebrates. We evaluated how El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)-driven wind patterns affected breeding Laysan and black-footed albatross across a decade of study. Owing to latitudinal variation in wind patterns, wind speed differed between habitat used during incubation and brooding; during La Niña conditions, wind speeds were lower in incubating Laysan (though not black-footed) albatross habitat, but higher in habitats used by brooding albatrosses. Incubating Laysan albatrosses benefited from increased wind speeds during El Niño conditions, showing increased travel speeds and mass gained during foraging trips. However, brooding albatrosses did not benefit from stronger winds during La Niña conditions, instead experiencing stronger cumulative headwinds and a smaller proportion of trips in tailwinds. Increased travel costs during brooding may contribute to the lower reproductive success observed in La Niña conditions. Furthermore, benefits of stronger winds in incubating habitat may explain the higher reproductive success of Laysan albatross during El Niño conditions. Our findings highlight the importance of considering habitat accessibility and cost of travel when evaluating the impacts of climate-driven habitat change on marine predators. PMID:27278360

  4. How do molecular marker patterns of BC change at increasing age of chars?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schneider, M. P. W.; Hilf, M.; Schmidt, M. W. I.

    2009-04-01

    Black carbon (BC) is considered to be a relatively stable form of organic carbon. However, previous results have shown that the physical and chemical properties of BC can vary considerably with formation temperature. Thus, to understand the long-term carbon sink potential of BC there is increasing interest to gain more information about i) the conditions under which BC was formed, and ii) the resulting degradability of BC under natural conditions. In a first step, we synthesised chars from two different sources of biomass (chestnut wood, rice straw) under well-defined conditions as model substances to analyse the changes in their molecular structure at increasing formation temperature. Results are presented obtained from a set of laboratory produced char samples pyrolysed at increasing temperatures with a high resolution between 200 and 1000 °C. The chars were characterized by a molecular marker method for pyrogenic carbon quantification, which additionally provides information about the degree of condensation of chars. At temperatures between 275 and 500°C, which typically are observed during wildfires and thus are relevant for natural char formation, the molecular marker pattern of the chars remains almost constant. In a next step, we analysed changes in the molecular marker patterns of chars from a chronosequence, with BC deposited between 0 and 100 years ago. Based on the data obtained from the laboratory char series, we compare changes in the molecular marker patterns of the chars from the chronosequence over time. These results show if less condensed forms of BC are degraded preferentially and more condensed, aromatic backbone of BC becomes enriched in the soils with time of degradation. Our results provide information about the fate of BC in the environment, which has important implications in the context of carbon sequestration strategies.

  5. Marital stability and cancer of the uterine cervix: changing patterns in post-war Britain.

    PubMed

    Murphy, M F; Goldblatt, P O; Mant, D

    1993-06-01

    This study investigates the extent to which the distinctive cross-sectional marital status picture of risk for cancer of the uterine cervix (single, married, widowed, divorced in ascending order of risk) has persisted in post-war Britain. Incidence and mortality due to invasive cervical cancer amongst single women now exceeds that of the married, and for both has become much closer to that of the widowed and divorced. A dramatic increase in carcinoma in situ in Scotland, seen particularly in the single since 1982, must partly reflect changes in screening and diagnostic classification, but is also consistent with the later occurrence of the sexual revolution in Scotland. Overall in Britain, the distribution of screening and hysterectomy cannot account for the present day pattern of the disease. Available data on patterns of smoking and oral contraceptive use are broadly consistent with a role for them in determining the current disease pattern associated with marital status but their possible involvement cannot be disentangled from the more likely effect of changing levels of sexual activity increasing the risk of sexually transmitted disease. As marital status becomes a less important social indicator of sexual behaviour, it has also become a much less reliable marker of cervical cancer risk.

  6. Decadal changes in North Atlantic atmospheric circulation patterns recorded by sand spits since 1800 CE

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Poirier, Clément; Tessier, Bernadette; Chaumillon, Éric; Bertin, Xavier; Fruergaard, Mikkel; Mouazé, Dominique; Noël, Suzanne; Weill, Pierre; Wöppelmann, Guy

    2017-03-01

    Present-day coastal barriers represent around 15% of the world's oceanic shorelines, and play an important role as early warning indicators of environmental change. Among them, wave-dominated barriers are dynamic landforms that tend to migrate landward in response to storms and sea-level change. High rates of sediment supply can locally offset the global retrogradation trend, providing valuable records of past environmental change occurring on transgressive coasts. However, geochronological control limits the temporal resolution of such records to millennial or centennial timescales, and the decadal or even faster response of wave-built barriers to historical climate changes is therefore poorly understood. In this study, we show that shoreline dynamics of sand spits reconstructed from old cartographic documents has been synchronous on both margins of the North Atlantic Ocean since about 1800 CE. Spit growth accelerated drastically during three periods lasting about 15 years, characterised by positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and negative East Atlantic-West Russia (EA-WR) atmospheric circulation patterns. These changes are in phase with periods of increased volcanic activity. We use a high-resolution wave hindcast (1948-2014 CE) in a reference area to confirm the association between NAO and EA-WR as a proxy for offshore and nearshore wave height and for associated longshore sediment transport (LST) involved in spit growth. A 24-month lagged correlation between sediment transport and volcanic aerosol optical thickness (concentration of ashes in the atmosphere) is observed, suggesting that spit shoreline dynamics at the decadal timescale is partially forced by external climate drivers via cascading effects on atmospheric circulation patterns and wave climate. Our results imply that NAO variability alone is not sufficient to understand the evolution of wave-built coastal environments. The associated sediment record can be used to reconstruct multi

  7. Industrial process surveillance system

    DOEpatents

    Gross, K.C.; Wegerich, S.W.; Singer, R.M.; Mott, J.E.

    1998-06-09

    A system and method are disclosed for monitoring an industrial process and/or industrial data source. The system includes generating time varying data from industrial data sources, processing the data to obtain time correlation of the data, determining the range of data, determining learned states of normal operation and using these states to generate expected values, comparing the expected values to current actual values to identify a current state of the process closest to a learned, normal state; generating a set of modeled data, and processing the modeled data to identify a data pattern and generating an alarm upon detecting a deviation from normalcy. 96 figs.

  8. Changing patterns of clinical malaria since 1965 among a tea estate population located in the Kenyan highlands*

    PubMed Central

    Shanks, G. D.; Biomndo, K.; Hay, S. I.; Snow, R. W.

    2012-01-01

    The changing epidemiology of clinical malaria since 1965 among hospitalized patients was studied at a group of tea estates in the western highlands of Kenya. These data indicate recent dramatic increases in the numbers of malaria admissions (6·5 to 32·5% of all admissions), case fatality (1·3 to 6%) and patients originating from low-risk, highland areas (34 to 59%). Climate change, environmental management, population migration, and breakdown in health service provision seem unlikely explanations for this changing disease pattern. The coincident arrival of chloroquine resistance during the late 1980s in the sub-region suggests that drug resistance is a key factor in the current pattern and burden of malaria among this highland population. PMID:10974991

  9. Patterns of Change in Psychological Variables Leading up to Competition in Superior Versus Inferior Performers.

    PubMed

    Boat, Ruth; Taylor, Ian M

    2015-06-01

    The study explored patterns of change in a number of potentially performance-related variables (i.e., fatigue, social support, self-efficacy, autonomous motivation, mental skills) during the lead-up to a competitive triathlon, and whether these patterns of change differed for relatively superior versus inferior performers. Forty-two triathletes completed an inventory measuring the study variables every other day during a 2-week period leading up to competition. Performance was assessed using participants' race time, and using a self-referenced relative score compared with personal best times. Multilevel growth curve analyses revealed significant differences in growth trajectories over the 2-week period in mental skills use, social support, and fatigue. The results provide novel insight into how athletes' fluctuating psychological state in the 2 weeks before competition may be crucial in determining performance.

  10. Patterned changes in urge ratings with tic suppression in youth with chronic tic disorders.

    PubMed

    Brabson, Laurel A; Brown, Jessica L; Capriotti, Matthew R; Ramanujam, Krishnapriya; Himle, Michael B; Nicotra, Cassandra M; Ostrander, Rick; Kelly, Laura M; Grados, Marco A; Walkup, John T; Perry-Parrish, Carisa; Reynolds, Elizabeth K; Hankinson, Jessica C; Specht, Matt W

    2016-03-01

    Premonitory urges are central to emerging behavioral models of chronic tic disorders (CTD). Urge reduction has been proposed as a behavioral explanation for tic maintenance and exacerbation as well as the efficacy of behavioral treatments. Prior investigations have produced inconsistent findings despite common methodologies. The current study evaluated the possibility that data aggregation obscures distinct and meaningful patterns of change in urge ratings when tics are freely expressed versus suppressed. Participants (n = 12) included children with moderate-to-marked tic severity and noticeable premonitory urges. Tic frequencies and urge ratings were obtained at 15 s and 10-s intervals, respectively, across an alternating sequence of 10-min tic freely and 40-min tic suppression conditions. Patterns were established using a two step approach. Five distinct patterns of urge rating change emerged, suggesting data aggregation may obscure meaningful patterns in the urge-tic relationship when tics are completed versus suppressed. Eligibility criteria may have unintentionally excluded younger affected children and included older participants with more severe tic disorders than commonly seen. Additional research with less stringent eligibility criteria and a larger sample size will help validate the results. The relationship between urges and tics is much more complex than previously theorized. Investigations that rely on global assessments of urge and tic severity and/or assume uniformity when aggregating participant data may obscure meaningful differences in the urge-tic relationship. Future investigations should examine the possibility that individual differences and/or developmental considerations modulate the functional urge-tic relationship. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  11. Changes in speckle patterns induced by load application onto an optical fiber and its possible application for sensing purpose

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hasegawa, Makoto; Okumura, Jyun-ya; Hyuga, Akio

    2015-08-01

    Speckle patterns to be observed in an output light spot from an optical fiber are known to be changed due to external disturbances applied onto the optical fiber. In order to investigate possibilities of utilizing such changes in speckle patterns for sensing application, a certain load was applied onto a jacket-covered communication-grade multi-mode glass optical fiber through which laser beams emitted from a laser diode were propagating, and observed changes in speckle patterns in the output light spot from the optical fiber were investigated both as image data via a CCD camera and as an output voltage from a photovoltaic panel irradiated with the output light spot. The load was applied via a load application mechanism in which several ridges were provided onto opposite flat plates and a certain number of weights were placed there so that corrugated bending of the optical fiber was intentionally induced via load application due to the ridges. The obtained results showed that the number of speckles in the observed pattern in the output light spot as well as the output voltage from the photovoltaic panel irradiated with the output light spot showed decreases upon load application with relatively satisfactory repeatability. When the load was reduced, i.e., the weights were removed, the number of speckles then showed recovery. These results indicate there is a certain possibility of utilizing changes in speckle patterns for sensing of load application onto the optical fiber.

  12. 12 weeks of simulated barefoot running changes foot-strike patterns in female runners.

    PubMed

    McCarthy, C; Fleming, N; Donne, B; Blanksby, B

    2014-05-01

    To investigate the effect of a transition program of simulated barefoot running (SBR) on running kinematics and foot-strike patterns, female recreational athletes (n=9, age 29 ± 3 yrs) without SBR experience gradually increased running distance in Vibram FiveFingers SBR footwear over 12 weeks. Matched controls (n=10, age 30 ± 4 yrs) continued running in standard footwear. A 3-D motion analysis of treadmill running at 12 km/h(-1) was performed by both groups, barefoot and shod, pre- and post-intervention. Post-intervention data indicated a more-forefoot strike pattern in the SBR group compared to controls; both running barefoot (P>0.05), and shod (P<0.001). When assessed barefoot, there were significant kinematic differences across time in the SBR group for ankle flexion angle at toe-off (P<0.01). When assessed shod, significant kinematic changes occurred across time, for ankle flexion angles at foot-strike (P<0.001) and toe-off (P<0.01), and for range of motion (ROM) in the absorptive phase of stance (P<0.01). A knee effect was recorded in the SBR group for flexion ROM in the absorptive phase of stance (P<0.05). No significant changes occurred in controls. Therefore, a 12-week transition program in SBR could assist athletes seeking a more-forefoot strike pattern and "barefoot" kinematics, regardless of preferred footwear. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  13. Study of irradiation induced surface pattern and structural changes in Inconel 718 alloy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wan, Hao; Si, Naichao; Zhao, Zhenjiang; Wang, Jian; Zhang, Yifei

    2018-05-01

    Helium ions irradiation induced surface pattern and structural changes of Inconel 718 alloy were studied with the combined utilization of atomic force microscopy (AFM), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In addition, SRIM-2013 software was used to calculate the sputtering yield and detailed collision events. The result shows that, irradiation dose play an important role in altering the pattern of the surface. Enhanced irradiation aggravated the surface etching and increased the surface roughness. In ion irradiated layer, large amount of interstitials, vacancies and defect sinks were produced. Moreover, in samples with increasing dose irradiation, the dependence of interplanar spacing variation due to point defects clustering on sink density was discussed.

  14. Climate Change Readiness Assessment and Planning for the Nation's Drinking Water and Wastewater Utilities

    EPA Science Inventory

    The performance and sustainability of the Nation’s urban water resources infrastructure may be adversely impacted by changes in global climate, population patterns, economic stability and other emerging issues. How does the Nation’s water industry view these impending challenges...

  15. Trend of cancer risk of Chinese inhabitants to dioxins due to changes in dietary patterns: 1980-2009

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Tao; Jiang, Wanyanhan; Ling, Zaili; Zhao, Yuan; Gao, Hong; Ma, Jianmin

    2016-02-01

    Food ingestion is a major route for human exposure and body burden to dioxins. We estimated the potential influence of changes in dietary patterns in Chinese population on human health risk to 2,3,7,8-TCDD (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin) over the last three decades. We performed multiple modeling scenario investigations to discriminate the contribution of 2,3,7,8-TCDD emissions and changes in dietary patterns to the cancer risks (CR) to dioxins. Results showed that changes in dietary patterns, featured by decreasing consumption of total grain (including all unprocessed grains) and vegetables and increasing intake of animal-derived foodstuffs, caused increasing CR from 7.3 × 10-8 in 1980 to 1.1 × 10-7 in 2009. Varying dietary patterns contributed 17% to the CR of Chinese population in 2009 under the fixed emission in 1980. The CR to 2,3,7,8-TCDD in urban and eastern China residents was higher considerably than those who lived in rural area and western China, attributable to higher emissions, household income, and greater intake of animal-derived foodstuffs in urban and eastern China inhabitants. On the other hand, more rapid increasing trend of the CR was found in rural residents due to their more rapid increase in the consumption of fat-dominated foods as compared with urban residents.

  16. Flow pattern changes influenced by variation of viscosities of a heterogeneous gas-liquid mixture flow in a vertical channel

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Keska, Jerry K.; Hincapie, Juan; Jones, Richard

    In the steady-state flow of a heterogeneous mixture such as an air-liquid mixture, the velocity and void fraction are space- and time-dependent parameters. These parameters are the most fundamental in the analysis and description of a multiphase flow. The determination of flow patterns in an objective way is extremely critical, since this is directly related to sudden changes in spatial and temporal changes of the random like characteristic of concentration. Flow patterns can be described by concentration signals in time, amplitude, and frequency domains. Despite the vital importance and countless attempts to solve or incorporate the flow pattern phenomena intomore » multiphase models, it has still been a very challenging topic in the scientific community since the 1940's and has not yet reached a satisfactory solution. This paper reports the experimental results of the impact of fluid viscosity on flow patterns for two-phase flow. Two-phase flow was created in laboratory equipment using air and liquid as phase medium. The liquid properties were changed by using variable concentrations of glycerol in water mixture which generated a wide-range of dynamic viscosities ranging from 1 to 1060 MPa s. The in situ spatial concentration vs. liquid viscosity and airflow velocity of two-phase flow in a vertical ID=50.8 mm pipe were measured using two concomitant computer-aided measurement systems. After acquiring data, the in situ special concentration signals were analyzed in time (spatial concentration and RMS of spatial concentration vs. time), amplitude (PDF and CPDF), and frequency (PSD and CPSD) domains that documented broad flow pattern changes caused by the fluid viscosity and air velocity changes. (author)« less

  17. Visual Learning Induces Changes in Resting-State fMRI Multivariate Pattern of Information.

    PubMed

    Guidotti, Roberto; Del Gratta, Cosimo; Baldassarre, Antonello; Romani, Gian Luca; Corbetta, Maurizio

    2015-07-08

    When measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in the resting state (R-fMRI), spontaneous activity is correlated between brain regions that are anatomically and functionally related. Learning and/or task performance can induce modulation of the resting synchronization between brain regions. Moreover, at the neuronal level spontaneous brain activity can replay patterns evoked by a previously presented stimulus. Here we test whether visual learning/task performance can induce a change in the patterns of coded information in R-fMRI signals consistent with a role of spontaneous activity in representing task-relevant information. Human subjects underwent R-fMRI before and after perceptual learning on a novel visual shape orientation discrimination task. Task-evoked fMRI patterns to trained versus novel stimuli were recorded after learning was completed, and before the second R-fMRI session. Using multivariate pattern analysis on task-evoked signals, we found patterns in several cortical regions, as follows: visual cortex, V3/V3A/V7; within the default mode network, precuneus, and inferior parietal lobule; and, within the dorsal attention network, intraparietal sulcus, which discriminated between trained and novel visual stimuli. The accuracy of classification was strongly correlated with behavioral performance. Next, we measured multivariate patterns in R-fMRI signals before and after learning. The frequency and similarity of resting states representing the task/visual stimuli states increased post-learning in the same cortical regions recruited by the task. These findings support a representational role of spontaneous brain activity. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/359786-13$15.00/0.

  18. Is "Warm Arctic, Cold Continent" A Fingerprint Pattern of Climate Change?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hoerling, M. P.; Sun, L.; Perlwitz, J.

    2015-12-01

    Cold winters and cold waves have recently occurred in Europe, central Asia and the Midwest to eastern United States, even as global mean temperatures set record highs and Arctic amplification of surface warming continued. Since 1979, Central Asia winter temperatures have in fact declined. Conjecture has it that more cold extremes over the mid-latitude continents should occur due to global warming and the impacts of Arctic sea ice loss. A Northern Hemisphere temperature signal termed the "Warm Arctic, Cold Continent" pattern has thus been surmised. Here we use a multi-model approach to test the hypothesis that such a pattern is indeed symptomatic of climate change. Diagnosis of a large model ensemble of historical climate simulations shows some individual realizations to yield cooling trends over Central Asia, but importantly the vast majority show warming. The observed cooling has thus likely been a low probability state of internal variability, not a fingerprint of forced climate change. We show that daily temperature variations over continents decline in winter due to global warming, and cold waves become less likely. This is partly related to diminution of Arctic cold air reservoirs due to warming-induced sea ice loss. Nonetheless, we find some evidence and present a physical basis that Arctic sea ice loss alone can induce a winter cooling over Central Asia, though with a magnitude that is appreciably smaller than the overall radiative-forced warming signal. Our results support the argument that recent cooling trends over central Asia, and cold extreme events over the winter continents, have principally resulted from atmospheric internal variability and have been neither a forced response to Arctic seas ice loss nor a symptom of global warming. The paradigm of climate change is thus better expressed as "Warm Arctic, Warm Continent" for the NH winter.

  19. Analysis of an industry in transition.

    PubMed

    Baliga, B R; Johnson, B

    1986-12-01

    The health care industry is undergoing major structural changes. The significance of these changes for individual competitors moving toward the 1990s is not yet clear. This article assesses the implications of the current changes by applying Porter's industry structure and generic strategy frameworks to the health care industry. Present trends are compared to this analysis to highlight areas where individual hospitals might improve their competitive positioning.

  20. Organizational change, restructuring and downsizing: The experience of employees in the electric utility industry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Korns, Michael T.

    This research examines the experience of employees working in the electric utility industry during a time when it was undergoing significant transformation. It was undertaken to examine this phenomenon in the context of how the history and nature of the industry's environment, and specifically regulatory effect of regulation, led to an organizational form characterized by stability, structure and inertial resistance to change. A case study approach was used to examine the effect of deregulation on an organization in the industry, and specifically how their actions impacted employees working there. A phenomenological approach was used to explore employee perceptions of the organizational culture and employment relationship there both prior to and after implementation of a reorganization and downsizing that resulted in the first significant employee layoffs in the history of the organization. Data gathering consisted of conducting semi-structured interviews with current and former employees of the company who experienced the phenomena. Analysis of the data show that employees in this organization perceived an unusually strong psychological contract for stable employment and the expectation that it would continue, despite the prevalence of corporate downsizing and restructuring at the time. This psychological contract and the importance of career employment was found to be particularly significant for women who were hired during a period of time when gender and pregnancy discrimination was prevalent. Findings demonstrate that, given the historical stability and strong inertial resistance in the organization, company leadership did not effectively communicate the need, or prepare employees sufficiently for the significance of the changes or the effect they had on the organization. Findings also revealed that employees perceived the methods used to select individuals for layoff and exit from the company violated principles of organizational justice for distributional

  1. Novice medical students: Individual patterns in the use of learning strategies and how they change during the first academic year

    PubMed Central

    Fabry, Götz; Giesler, Marianne

    2012-01-01

    Background: Adequate use of different learning strategies is one of the most important prerequisites of academic success. The actual use of learning strategies is the result of an interaction between individual and situational variables. Against this background we conducted a longitudinal study with first year medical students to investigate whether individuals show different patterns in their use of learning strategies and whether these patterns change during the first academic year. Methods: Medical students (N=175, 58% female) were surveyed three times in their first academic year regarding their use of learning strategies. A hierarchical cluster analysis (Ward) was conducted in order to identify groups of students with different patterns of learning strategies. Results: We identified four different patterns in approaches to learning among novice medical students (“easy-going”, “flexible”, “problematic” and “hardworking” learners). Compared to their peers, the problematic learners had the worst final school grades. In addition changes in the use of learning strategies were identified, most of them occurred during the first term. Conclusion: Students start their academic studies with different patterns of learning strategies; the characteristics of these patterns change during the first academic year. Further research is necessary to better understand how individual and situational variables determine students’ learning. PMID:22916082

  2. Forecasting the Development of the Tourism Industry in the Regions of Russia in Light of Global Climate Change and Environmental Situation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Evreinov, O. B.; Maksimova, E. M.; Bakanova, A. A.; Yakovleva, M. P.

    2014-12-01

    Forecasting the development of the tourism industry is a strategic planning for periods ranging from 20 to 50 years. Basis for the development of tourism in the region is the presence of the necessary infrastructure - roads, communications, accommodation facilities and hospitality. Thus, all investments in the tourism industry are very long-term. Current approaches to long-term planning in tourism based on the most efficient use of the region's resources - natural, cultural, etc. But what will happen to these resources in 20-30 years? Global warming and climate change, a change in environmental conditions - all this gives the real impact today. Summer 2010 in Moscow and in the whole of Europe, warm snowless winters in St. Petersburg, monthly temperature records, permafrost thawing in Siberia - all this can affect the characteristics of the tourist regions in the future. In the presentation, the authors have tried to reflect the basic principles of strategic planning with regard to global and regional changes and to show the possible impact of such changes on Tourism industry in specific regions of Russia for the next 30-50 years.

  3. Bio-monitoring of the most industrialized area in Poland: Trees' response to climate and anthropogenic environmental changes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sensuła, Barbara; Wilczyński, Sławomir; Piotrowska, Natalia

    2017-04-01

    Silesia is one of the regions with the highest levels of air pollution in Europe, highly industrialized over the years and highly populated. In this study, trees (Pinus Sylvestris L.)growing in the heavily urbanized area in close proximity to point-source pollution emitters, such as a heat and power plant, nitrogen plant, and steelworks in Silesia (Poland), were analyzed as bio-indicators of contemporary environmental changes. Trees are a very good archive of ecosystem changes, becouse they are sensitive to climate changes and anthropogenic pollution. The pollution impacts human, plants and animal life and different ecosystem processes. The changes in the ecosystem can disturb the metabolism and physiological processes of trees, and consequently, they also have an effect on the wood structure, tree ring width and the isotopic composition of wood and its components. The analysed samples covered the time period of the development of industrialization and the modernization in the industrial sector in Poland. In Poland, the systematic long-term monitoring of air pollutants is generally restricted to rural point-source regions in urban areas. Even for those areas, air pollution emissions were not continually monitored and data is only available for the last decades. Tree ring series that present long-term data can be used to analyse the ecosystem changes, caused by human activities. The conifers investigated in this study have grown for many years under the stress of environmental contamination. We analysed the spatiotemporal distribution of growth reductions, the depth of reduction with respect to the distance from the emitter, the relationship between tree growth and radiocarbon and stable isotope composition and climate during the industry development period and during pro-ecological strategy application. Pines chronologies indicate that trees have a similar sensitivity to most climatic elements of the previous and given year, but there is also observed a different

  4. THE CHANGING PATTERN OF BIREFRINGENCE IN PLASMODIA OF THE SLIME MOLD, PHYSARUM POLYCEPHALUM

    PubMed Central

    Nakajima, Hiromichi; Allen, Robert D.

    1965-01-01

    Plasmodia of the acellular slime mold, Physarum polycephalum, reveal a complex and changing pattern of birefringence when examined with a sensitive polarizing microscope. Positively birefringent fibrils are found throughout the ectoplasmic region of the plasmodium. In the larger strands they may be oriented parallel to the strand axis, or arranged circularly or spirally along the periphery of endoplasmic channels. Some fibrils exist for only a few minutes, others for a longer period. Some, particularly the circular fibrils, undergo changes in birefringence as they undergo cyclic deformations. In the ramifying strand region and the advancing margin there is a tendency for fibrils of various sizes to become organized into mutually orthogonal arrays. In some plasmodia the channel wall material immediately adjacent to the endoplasm has been found to be birefringent. The sign of endoplasmic birefringence is negative, and its magnitude is apparently constant over the streaming cycle. The pattern of plasmodial birefringence and its changes during the shuttle streaming cycle of Physarum are considered in the light of several models designed to explain either cytoplasmic streaming alone or the entire gamut of plasmodial motions. The results of this and other recent physical studies suggest that both streaming and the various other motions of the plasmodium may very likely be explained in terms of coordinated contractions taking place in the fibrils which are rendered visible in polarized light. PMID:14287186

  5. Climate Change and ENSO Effects on Southeastern US Climate Patterns and Maize Yield.

    PubMed

    Mourtzinis, Spyridon; Ortiz, Brenda V; Damianidis, Damianos

    2016-07-19

    Climate change has a strong influence on weather patterns and significantly affects crop yields globally. El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has a strong influence on the U.S. climate and is related to agricultural production variability. ENSO effects are location-specific and in southeastern U.S. strongly connect with climate variability. When combined with climate change, the effects on growing season climate patterns and crop yields might be greater than expected. In our study, historical monthly precipitation and temperature data were coupled with non-irrigated maize yield data (33-43 years depending on the location) to show a potential yield suppression of ~15% for one °C increase in southeastern U.S. growing season maximum temperature. Yield suppression ranged between -25 and -2% among locations suppressing the southeastern U.S. average yield trend since 1981 by 17 kg ha(-1)year(-1) (~25%), mainly due to year-to-year June temperature anomalies. Yields varied among ENSO phases from 1971-2013, with greater yields observed during El Niño phase. During La Niña years, maximum June temperatures were higher than Neutral and El Niño, whereas June precipitation was lower than El Niño years. Our data highlight the importance of developing location-specific adaptation strategies quantifying both, climate change and ENSO effects on month-specific growing season climate conditions.

  6. Laser interference patterning methods: Possibilities for high-throughput fabrication of periodic surface patterns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lasagni, Andrés Fabián

    2017-06-01

    Fabrication of two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) structures in the micro- and nano-range allows a new degree of freedom to the design of materials by tailoring desired material properties and, thus, obtaining a superior functionality. Such complex designs are only possible using novel fabrication techniques with high resolution, even in the nanoscale range. Starting from a simple concept, transferring the shape of an interference pattern directly to the surface of a material, laser interferometric processing methods have been continuously developed. These methods enable the fabrication of repetitive periodic arrays and microstructures by irradiation of the sample surface with coherent beams of light. This article describes the capabilities of laser interference lithographic methods for the treatment of both photoresists and solid materials. Theoretical calculations are used to calculate the intensity distributions of patterns that can be realized by changing the number of interfering laser beams, their polarization, intensity and phase. Finally, different processing systems and configurations are described and, thus, demonstrating the possibility for the fast and precise tailoring of material surface microstructures and topographies on industrial relevant scales as well as several application cases for both methods.

  7. Industrially induced changes in Earth structure at the geysers geothermal area, California

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Foulger, G.R.; Grant, C.C.; Ross, A.; Julian, B.R.

    1997-01-01

    Industrial exploitation is causing clearly-measurable changes in Earth structure at The Geysers geothermal area, California. Production at The Geysers peaked in the late 1980s at ???3.5 ?? 103 kg s-1 of steam and 1800 MW of electricity. It subsequently decreased by about 10% per year [Barker et al., 1992] because of declining reservoir pressure. The steam reservoir coincides with a strong negative anomaly (???0.16, ???9%) in the compressional-to-shear seismic wave speed ratio vP/vS, consistent with the expected effects of low-pressure vapor-phase pore fluid [Julian et al., 1996]. Between 1991 and 1994 this anomaly increased in amplitude by up to about 0.07 (???4%). This is consistent with the expected effects of continued pressure reduction and conversion of pore water to steam as a result of exploitation. These unique results show that vP/vS tomography can easily detect saturation changes caused by exploitation of reservoirs, and is a potentially valuable technique for monitoring environmental change. They also provide geophysical observational evidence that geothermal energy is not a renewable energy source.

  8. Reconstructing Early Industrial Contributions to Legacy Trace Metal Contamination in Southwestern Pennsylvania

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rossi, R.; Bain, D.; Hillman, A. L.; Pompeani, D. P.; Abbott, M. B.

    2015-12-01

    The remobilization of legacy contamination stored in floodplain sediments remains a threat to ecosystem and human health, particularly with potential changes in global precipitation patterns and flooding regimes. Vehicular and industrial emissions are often the dominant, recognized source of anthropogenic trace metal loadings to ecosystems today. However, loadings from early industrial activities are poorly characterized and potential sources of trace metal inputs. While potential trace metal contamination from these activities is recognized (e.g., the historical use of lead arsenate as a pesticide), the magnitude and distribution of legacy contamination is often unknown. This presentation reconstructs a lake sediment record of trace metal inputs from an oxbow lake in Southwestern Pennsylvania. Sediment cores were analyzed for major and trace metal chemistry, carbon to nitrogen ratios, bulk density, and magnetic susceptibility. Sediment trace metal chemistry in this approximately 250 year record (180 cm) record changes in land use and industry both in the 19th century and the 20th century. Of particular interest is early 19th century loadings of arsenic and calcium to the lake, likely attributable to pesticides and lime used in tanning processes near the lake. After this period of tanning dominated inputs, sediment barium concentrations rise, likely reflecting the onset of coal mining operations and resulting discharge of acid mine drainage to surface waters. In the 20th century portion of our record (70 -20 cm), patterns in sediment zinc, cadmium, and lead concentrations are dominated by the opening and closing of the nearby Donora Zinc Works and the American Steel & Wire Works, infamous facilities in the history of air quality regulation. The most recent sediment chemistry records periods include the enactment of air pollution legislation (~ 35 cm), and the phase out of tetraethyl leaded gasoline (~30 cm). Our study documents the impact of early industry in the

  9. Genomic structural variation contributes to phenotypic change of industrial bioethanol yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Ke; Zhang, Li-Jie; Fang, Ya-Hong; Jin, Xin-Na; Qi, Lei; Wu, Xue-Chang; Zheng, Dao-Qiong

    2016-03-01

    Genomic structural variation (GSV) is a ubiquitous phenomenon observed in the genomes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains with different genetic backgrounds; however, the physiological and phenotypic effects of GSV are not well understood. Here, we first revealed the genetic characteristics of a widely used industrial S. cerevisiae strain, ZTW1, by whole genome sequencing. ZTW1 was identified as an aneuploidy strain and a large-scale GSV was observed in the ZTW1 genome compared with the genome of a diploid strain YJS329. These GSV events led to copy number variations (CNVs) in many chromosomal segments as well as one whole chromosome in the ZTW1 genome. Changes in the DNA dosage of certain functional genes directly affected their expression levels and the resultant ZTW1 phenotypes. Moreover, CNVs of large chromosomal regions triggered an aneuploidy stress in ZTW1. This stress decreased the proliferation ability and tolerance of ZTW1 to various stresses, while aneuploidy response stress may also provide some benefits to the fermentation performance of the yeast, including increased fermentation rates and decreased byproduct generation. This work reveals genomic characters of the bioethanol S. cerevisiae strain ZTW1 and suggests that GSV is an important kind of mutation that changes the traits of industrial S. cerevisiae strains. © FEMS 2016. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  10. Global change impacts on large-scale biogeographic patterns of marine organisms on Atlantic oceanic islands.

    PubMed

    Ávila, Sérgio P; Cordeiro, Ricardo; Madeira, Patrícia; Silva, Luís; Medeiros, António; Rebelo, Ana C; Melo, Carlos; Neto, Ana I; Haroun, Ricardo; Monteiro, António; Rijsdijk, Kenneth; Johnson, Markes E

    2018-01-01

    Past climate changes provide important clues for advancement of studies on current global change biology. We have tested large-scale biogeographic patterns through four marine groups from twelve Atlantic Ocean archipelagos and searched for patterns between species richness/endemism and littoral area, age, isolation, latitude and mean annual sea-surface temperatures. Species richness is strongly correlated with littoral area. Two reinforcing effects take place during glacial episodes: i) species richness is expected to decrease (in comparison with interglacial periods) due to the local disappearance of sandy/muddy-associated species; ii) because littoral area is minimal during glacial episodes, area per se induces a decrease on species richness (by extirpation/extinction of marine species) as well as affecting speciation rates. Maximum speciation rates are expected to occur during the interglacial periods, whereas immigration rates are expected to be higher at the LGM. Finally, sea-level changes are a paramount factor influencing marine biodiversity of animals and plants living on oceanic islands. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Potential reduced exposure products (PREPs) in industry trial testimony.

    PubMed

    Wayne, Geoffrey Ferris

    2006-12-01

    To identify patterns in trial testimony that may reflect on the intentions or expectations of tobacco manufacturers with regard to the introduction of potential reduced exposure products (PREPs). Research was conducted using the Deposition and Trial Testimony Archive (DATTA) collection of trial testimony and depositions housed online at Tobacco Documents Online (www.tobaccodocuments.org). Relevant testimony was identified through full-text searches of terms indicating PREPs or harm reduction strategies. The role and function of PREPs in testimony were classified according to common and contrasting themes. These were analysed in the context of broader trial arguments and against changes in time period and the market. Analysis of testimony suggests that the failure of PREPs in the market tempered initial industry enthusiasm and made protection of the conventional cigarette market its major priority. The "breakthrough" character of PREPs has been de-emphasised, with trial arguments instead positioning PREPs as simply another choice for consumers. This framework legitimises the sale of conventional brands, and shifts the responsibility for adoption of safer products from the manufacturer to the consumer. Likewise, testimony has abandoned earlier dramatic health claims made with regard to PREPs, which had undermined industry arguments regarding efforts to reduce harm in conventional products. More recent testimony advocates the broad acceptance of independent guidelines that would validate use of health claims and enable the industry to market PREPs to consumers. Trial testimony reflects the changing role and positioning of PREPs by the tobacco industry. The findings are of particular importance with regard to future evaluation and potential regulation of reduced harm products.

  12. Restructuring: The Changing Face of Motor Gasoline Marketing

    EIA Publications

    2001-01-01

    This report reviews the U.S. motor gasoline marketing industry during the period 1990 to 1999, focusing on changes that occurred during the period. The report incorporates financial and operating data from the Energy Information Administration's Financial Reporting System (FRS), motor gasoline outlet counts collected by the National Petroleum News from the states, and U.S. Census Bureau salary and employment data published in County Business Patterns.

  13. [The effect of new industries on changes in population].

    PubMed

    Meng, C; Zou, N

    1985-05-29

    Since 1978, China's Qionggang township (population, 8023; area, 3 sq. km), traditionally a fishing village on Jiangsu province's Huanghai coast, has been investing its local capital in an effort to establish several industrial enterprises including its own full-time local labor force. Currently, the rapidly expanding factory work force exceeds the number of fishermen. In addition to providing a statistically detailed chronology of the socioeconomic transition from a small fishing settlement to a rapidly growing industrial town, free-time activities, educational pursuits, and life styles of the newly formed labor force are discussed. From 1981 to 1983, Qionggang's industrial sector produced 4 metal vessels which were delivered directly to the town's fishing sector. With the town's newly generated economic wealth, commercial and public service facilities (i.e., a hospital, a kindergarten, several stores, a bank, and a credit union) have emerged. The economic development of Qionggang township has inspired other rural villages to clear and develop nearby land for similar industrial growth.

  14. Changes in intrapopulation resource use patterns of an endangered raptor in response to a disease-mediated crash in prey abundance.

    PubMed

    Moleón, Marcos; Sebastián-González, Esther; Sánchez-Zapata, José A; Real, Joan; Pires, Mathias M; Gil-Sánchez, José M; Bautista, Jesús; Palma, Luís; Bayle, Patrick; Guimarães, Paulo R; Beja, Pedro

    2012-11-01

    1. A long-standing question in ecology is how natural populations respond to a changing environment. Emergent optimal foraging theory-based models for individual variation go beyond the population level and predict how its individuals would respond to disturbances that produce changes in resource availability. 2. Evaluating variations in resource use patterns at the intrapopulation level in wild populations under changing environmental conditions would allow to further advance in the research on foraging ecology and evolution by gaining a better idea of the underlying mechanisms explaining trophic diversity. 3. In this study, we use a large spatio-temporal scale data set (western continental Europe, 1968-2006) on the diet of Bonelli's Eagle Aquila fasciata breeding pairs to analyse the predator trophic responses at the intrapopulation level to a prey population crash. In particular, we borrow metrics from studies on network structure and intrapopulation variation to understand how an emerging infectious disease [the rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD)] that caused the density of the eagle's primary prey (rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus) to dramatically drop across Europe impacted on resource use patterns of this endangered raptor. 4. Following the major RHD outbreak, substantial changes in Bonelli's Eagle's diet diversity and organisation patterns at the intrapopulation level took place. Dietary variation among breeding pairs was larger after than before the outbreak. Before RHD, there were no clusters of pairs with similar diets, but significant clustering emerged after RHD. Moreover, diets at the pair level presented a nested pattern before RHD, but not after. 5. Here, we reveal how intrapopulation patterns of resource use can quantitatively and qualitatively vary, given drastic changes in resource availability. 6. For the first time, we show that a pathogen of a prey species can indirectly impact the intrapopulation patterns of resource use of an endangered predator

  15. Changes in Spatial Patterns of Caragana stenophylla along a Climatic Drought Gradient on the Inner Mongolian Plateau

    PubMed Central

    Xie, Li-Na; Guo, Hong-Yu; Gabler, Christopher A.; Li, Qing-Fang; Ma, Cheng-Cang

    2015-01-01

    Few studies have investigated the influence of water availability on plant population spatial patterns. We studied changes in the spatial patterns of Caragana stenophylla along a climatic drought gradient within the Inner Mongolian Plateau, China. We examined spatial patterns, seed density, “nurse effects” of shrubs on seedlings, transpiration rates and water use efficiency (WUE) of C. stenophylla across semi-arid, arid, and intensively arid zones. Our results showed that patches of C. stenophylla populations shifted from a random to a clumped spatial pattern towards drier environments. Seed density and seedling survival rate of C. stenophylla decreased from the semi-arid zone to the intensively arid zone. Across the three zones, there were more C. stenophylla seeds and seedlings underneath shrub canopies than outside shrub canopies; and in the intensively arid zone, there were almost no seeds or seedlings outside shrub canopies. Transpiration rates of outer-canopy leaves and WUE of both outer-canopy and inner-canopy leaves increased from the semi-arid zone to the intensively arid zone. In the intensively arid zone, transpiration rates and WUE of inner-canopy leaves were significantly lower and higher, respectively, than those of outer-canopy leaves. We conclude that, as drought stress increased, seed density decreased, seed proportions inside shrubs increased, and “nurse effects” of shrubs on seedlings became more important. These factors, combined with water-saving characteristics associated with clumped spatial patterns, are likely driving the changes in C. stenophylla spatial patterns. PMID:25785848

  16. [Changes in the forms of industrial production and their effects on workers' health].

    PubMed

    Fernandes, Rita de Cássia Pereira; Assunção, Ada Avila; Carvalho, Fernando Martins

    2010-06-01

    This study aimed to identify determinants of health in workers of plastic industries. Production organization, machinery from maintenance and productive areas, and workers' characteristics of 14 plastic industries from Greater Salvador, Bahia State, Brazil, were described. Data were collected about development policy of each company; marketing, operational procedures; production and quality requirements, and formal rules of work organization. High strain management techniques for production time reduction have been implemented. The increase of work rhythm, reduction of break time, and a situation of high cognitive demand impose to workers anomalous body positioning for performing tasks that imply repetitive movements. Physical and psychosocial demands (repetitive work, lower control of the worker on his own tasks, time pressure and job dissatisfaction) compose a complex of conditions adverse to workers' health. Changes in production management, personnel and business impose new strains into the development of task by the workers and bringing in new risk factors to workers' health.

  17. Monitoring changes in landscape pattern: use of Ikonos and Quickbird images.

    PubMed

    Alphan, Hakan; Çelik, Nil

    2016-02-01

    This paper aimed to analyze short-term changes in landscape pattern that primarily results from building development in the east coast of Mersin Province (Turkey). Three sites were selected. Ikonos (2003) and Quickbird (2009) images for these sites were classified, and land cover transformations were quantitatively analyzed using cross-tabulation of classification results. Changes in landscape structure were assessed by comparing the calculated values of area/edge and shape metrics for the earlier and later dates. Area/edge metrics included percentage of land and edge density, while shape metrics included perimeter-area ratio, fractal dimension, and related circumscribing circle (RCC) metrics. Orchards and buildings were dominating land cover classes. Variations in patch edge, size, and shapes were also analyzed and discussed. Degradation of prime agricultural areas due to building development and implications of such development on habitat fragmentation were highlighted.

  18. Prospect for the development of salted egg agro industry: an analysis on marketing distribution aspect

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sumekar, W.; Al-Baarri, A. N.; Kurnianto, E.

    2018-01-01

    Marketing distribution is an important of the strategy in business development in agroindustries. The aim of the research was to introduce marketing (distribution pattern, margin and marketing efficiency) at the salted egg agro industries in Brebes Regency. Survey method had been conducted on 52 salted egg agro industries which had active PIRT certificate. The data collection was conducted by means of interview and observation. Descriptive analysis was used to determine the marketing distribution of salted eggs. Marketing efficiency was obtained by calculating marketing margin and farmer share. The results show that the salted egg agro industries implemented two marketing distribution patterns; direct marketing pattern (consumer→producers) and indirect marketing pattern (producer→retailer→consumer). The number of the salted egg agro industries which apply indirect marketing pattern is 57.69%. The implementation of direct and indirect marketing patterns was classified as efficient according to the farmer’s share values of 87.13% and 78.21%. It can be recommended the direct marketing.

  19. Large-Scale Atmospheric Teleconnection Patterns Associated with the Interannual Variability of Heatwaves in East Asia and Its Decadal Changes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Choi, N.; Lee, M. I.; Lim, Y. K.; Kim, K. M.

    2017-12-01

    Heatwave is an extreme hot weather event which accompanies fatal damage to human health. The heatwave has a strong relationship with the large-scale atmospheric teleconnection patterns. In this study, we examine the spatial pattern of heatwave in East Asia by using the EOF analysis and the relationship between heatwave frequency and large-scale atmospheric teleconnection patterns. We also separate the time scale of heatwave frequency as the time scale longer than a decade and the interannual time scale. The long-term variation of heatwave frequency in East Asia shows a linkage with the sea surface temperature (SST) variability over the North Atlantic with a decadal time scale (a.k.a. the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation; AMO). On the other hands, the interannual variation of heatwave frequency is linked with the two dominant spatial patterns associated with the large-scale teleconnection patterns mimicking the Scandinavian teleconnection (SCAND-like) pattern and the circumglobal teleconnection (CGT-like) pattern, respectively. It is highlighted that the interannual variation of heatwave frequency in East Asia shows a remarkable change after mid-1990s. While the heatwave frequency was mainly associated with the CGT-like pattern before mid-1990s, the SCAND-like pattern becomes the most dominant one after mid-1990s, making the CGT-like pattern as the second. This study implies that the large-scale atmospheric teleconnection patterns play a key role in developing heatwave events in East Asia. This study further discusses possible mechanisms for the decadal change in the linkage between heatwave frequency and the large-scale teleconnection patterns in East Asia such as early melting of snow cover and/or weakening of East Asian jet stream due to global warming.

  20. Changing Transmission Pattern of Plasmodium vivax Malaria in the Republic of Korea: Relationship with Climate Change.

    PubMed

    Park, Jae-Won

    2011-01-01

    Plasmodium vivax malaria has occurred annually in the Republic of Korea (ROK) since its re-emergence in 1993. P. vivax malaria in ROK has been strongly influenced by infected mosquitoes originating from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Korean P. vivax malaria has shown typical characteristics of unstable malaria transmitted only during the summer season, and displays short and long incubation periods. The changing pattern of the transmission period can be predicted by analyzing the seasonal characteristics of early primary attack cases with a short incubation period. Such cases began to gradually occur earlier in the 1990s after the re-emergence. Most of the malaria cases after mid-August are presumed to be early primary attack, short incubation period cases. Only primary transmission was possible until the early 2000s, whereas up to fourth or fifth transmission occurred in the mid-2000s. The results indicate that the length of transmission period has been gradually extending, which may be ascribed to a climate change-mediated temperature rise. Malaria and climate data should be integrated to analyze and predict the influence of climate change on malaria occurrence in ROK.

  1. Climatic change and wildland recreation: Examining the changing patterns of wilderness recreation in response to the effects of global climate change and the El Nino phenomenon

    Treesearch

    Vinod Sasidharan

    2000-01-01

    Impacts of global climate change on the biophysical components of wilderness areas have the potential to alter their recreational utility of wilderness areas. Concomitantly, the frequency and patterns of both land-based and water-based wilderness recreation activities will be affected. Despite the difficulty of responding to the unclear dimensions of global climate...

  2. Changing Patterns of Information Storage and Retrieval in American Libraries and Educational Resource Centers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Didier, Elaine K.

    At most schools and universities, the traditional roles of the library and computing services organizations have begun to converge as the technologies they use to store, transmit, and retrieve information and, in some cases, the information itself, become increasingly similar. Examples of the changing patterns of information storage and retrieval…

  3. Accident patterns for construction-related workers: a cluster analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liao, Chia-Wen; Tyan, Yaw-Yauan

    2012-01-01

    The construction industry has been identified as one of the most hazardous industries. The risk of constructionrelated workers is far greater than that in a manufacturing based industry. However, some steps can be taken to reduce worker risk through effective injury prevention strategies. In this article, k-means clustering methodology is employed in specifying the factors related to different worker types and in identifying the patterns of industrial occupational accidents. Accident reports during the period 1998 to 2008 are extracted from case reports of the Northern Region Inspection Office of the Council of Labor Affairs of Taiwan. The results show that the cluster analysis can indicate some patterns of occupational injuries in the construction industry. Inspection plans should be proposed according to the type of construction-related workers. The findings provide a direction for more effective inspection strategies and injury prevention programs.

  4. Accident patterns for construction-related workers: a cluster analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liao, Chia-Wen; Tyan, Yaw-Yauan

    2011-12-01

    The construction industry has been identified as one of the most hazardous industries. The risk of constructionrelated workers is far greater than that in a manufacturing based industry. However, some steps can be taken to reduce worker risk through effective injury prevention strategies. In this article, k-means clustering methodology is employed in specifying the factors related to different worker types and in identifying the patterns of industrial occupational accidents. Accident reports during the period 1998 to 2008 are extracted from case reports of the Northern Region Inspection Office of the Council of Labor Affairs of Taiwan. The results show that the cluster analysis can indicate some patterns of occupational injuries in the construction industry. Inspection plans should be proposed according to the type of construction-related workers. The findings provide a direction for more effective inspection strategies and injury prevention programs.

  5. Changes in the age pattern of New Zealand suicide rates.

    PubMed

    Snowdon, John

    2017-01-13

    It is timely to examine changes in male and female suicide rates across the age range in New Zealand, comparing them to some of the changes recorded in Australia. Data regarding suicide and population figures in New Zealand and Australia were obtained. The suicide rates of different age-groups in the two countries were calculated and compared. Data concerning 'open verdicts' were also obtained. The age patterns of suicide rates in New Zealand and Australia have changed markedly and similarly. Suicide rates of New Zealand males in their twenties increased threefold between the 1960s and 1990s, with a fall since then. Nevertheless, the 2009-13 youth suicide rates in New Zealand were double the corresponding rates in Australia. Since 1979-88 a decrease in suicide rates of men and women aged 60-79 has been even greater than in Australia. The Māori suicide rate is high in young men but almost zero in old age. The persistently high suicide rate of New Zealand youths (Māori much more than non-Māori) remains of concern. The rate is equally high among indigenous young Australians. There has been a welcome decrease in late-life suicide rates in New Zealand and Australia.

  6. Facilitating Adaptation to Changing Storm Surge Patterns in Western Alaska.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Murphy, K. A.; Holman, A.; Reynolds, J.

    2014-12-01

    Coastal regions of North America are already experiencing the effects of climate change and the consequences of new storm patterns and sea level rise. These climate change effects are even more pronounced in western Alaska where the loss of sea ice in early winter and spring are exposing the coast to powerful winter storms that are visibly altering the landscape, putting coastal communities at risk, and are likely impacting important coastal wildlife habitat in ways we don't yet understand. The Western Alaska Landscape Conservation Cooperative has funded a suite of projects to improve the information available to assist managers and communities to adapt changes in coastal storms and their impacts. Projects range from modeling tide, wave and storm surge patters, to ShoreZone and NHD mapping, to bathymetry mapping, community vulnerability assessments and risks to important wildlife habitat. This group of diverse projects has helped stimulate momentum among partners which will lead to better tools for communities to respond to dangerous storms. For example, the State of Alaska and NOAA are working together to compile a series of community-scale maps that utilize best-available datasets to streamline communication about forecasted storm surges, local elevations and potentially impacted infrastructure during storm events that may lead to coastal flooding.

  7. HISTORICAL PATTERNS OF HABITAT CHANGES AND GENETIC DIVERGENCE IN THE DESERT AND SHORT HORNED LIZARDS

    EPA Science Inventory


    Historical environmental change is thought to have played an important role in the diversification of the biota of western North America. Many patterns of diversification have been associated with glacial-interglacial cycles of the latest Pleistocene. To evaluate the relativ...

  8. Recent Changes in Tree Species Abundance: Patterns, Trends, and Drivers Across Northeastern US Forests

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gudex-Cross, D.; Pontius, J.; Adams, A.

    2017-12-01

    Monitoring trends in the abundance and distribution of tree species is essential to understanding potential impacts of climate change on forested ecosystems. Related studies to date have largely focused on modeling distributional shifts according to future climate scenarios or used field inventory data to examine compositional changes across broader landscapes. Here, we leverage a novel remote sensing technique that utilizes field data, multitemporal Landsat imagery, and spectral unmixing to model regional changes in the abundance (percent basal area) of key northeastern US species over a 30-year period (1985-2015). We examine patterns in how species abundance has changed, as well as their relationship with climate, landscape, and soil characteristics using spatial regression models. Results show significant declines in overall abundance for sugar maple ( 8.6% 30-yr loss), eastern hemlock ( 7.8% 30-yr loss), balsam fir ( 5.0% 30-yr loss), and red spruce ( 3.8% total 30-yr loss). Species that saw significant increasing abundance include American beech ( 7.0% 30-yr gain) and red maple ( 2.5% 30-yr gain). However, these changes were not consistent across the landscape. For example, red spruce is increasing at upper elevations with concurrent losses in balsam fir and birch species. Similarly, sugar maple decreases are concentrated at lower elevations, likely due to increases in American beech. Various abiotic factors were significantly associated with changes in species composition including landscape position (e.g. longitude, elevation, and heat load index) and ecologically-relevant climate variables (e.g. growing season precipitation and annual temperature range). Interestingly, there was a stronger relationship in abundance changes across longitudes, rather than latitudes or elevations as predicted in modeled species migration scenarios.These results indicate that the dominant composition of northeastern forests is changing in ways that run counter to accepted

  9. Changing patterns of traumatic bile duct injuries: a review of forty years experience

    PubMed Central

    Huang, Zhi-Qiang; Huang, Xiao-Qiang

    2002-01-01

    AIM: To summarize the experiences of treating bile duct injuries in 40 years of clinical practice. MATHODS: Based on the experience of more than 40 years of clinical work, 122 cases including a series of 61 bile duct injuries of the Southwest Hospital, Chongqing, and 42 cases (1989-1997) and 19 cases (1998-2001) of the General Hospital of PLA, Beijing, were reviewed with special reference to the pattern of injury. A series of cases of the liver and the biliary tract injuries following interventional therapy for hepatic tumors, most often hemangioma of the liver, were collected. Chinese medical literature from 1995 to 1999 dealing with 2742 traumatic bile duct strictures were reviewed. RESULTS: There was a changing pattern of the bile duct injury. Although most of the cases of bile duct injuries resulted from open cholecystectomy. Other types of trauma such as laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) and hepatic surgery were increased in recent years. Moreover, serious hepato-biliary injuries following HAE using sclerotic agents such as sodium morrhuate and absolute ethanol for the treatment of hepatic hemangiomas were encountered in recent years. Experiences in how to avoid bile duct injury and to treat traumatic biliary strictures were presented. CONCLUSION: Traumatic bile duct stricture is one of the serious complications of hepato-biliary surgery, its prevalence seemed to be increased in recent years. The pattern of bile duct injury was also changed and has become more complicated. Interventional therapy with sclerosing agents may cause serious hepatobiliary complications and should be avoided. PMID:11833062

  10. Patterns of database citation in articles and patents indicate long-term scientific and industry value of biological data resources.

    PubMed

    Bousfield, David; McEntyre, Johanna; Velankar, Sameer; Papadatos, George; Bateman, Alex; Cochrane, Guy; Kim, Jee-Hyub; Graef, Florian; Vartak, Vid; Alako, Blaise; Blomberg, Niklas

    2016-01-01

    Data from open access biomolecular data resources, such as the European Nucleotide Archive and the Protein Data Bank are extensively reused within life science research for comparative studies, method development and to derive new scientific insights. Indicators that estimate the extent and utility of such secondary use of research data need to reflect this complex and highly variable data usage. By linking open access scientific literature, via Europe PubMedCentral, to the metadata in biological data resources we separate data citations associated with a deposition statement from citations that capture the subsequent, long-term, reuse of data in academia and industry.  We extend this analysis to begin to investigate citations of biomolecular resources in patent documents. We find citations in more than 8,000 patents from 2014, demonstrating substantial use and an important role for data resources in defining biological concepts in granted patents to both academic and industrial innovators. Combined together our results indicate that the citation patterns in biomedical literature and patents vary, not only due to citation practice but also according to the data resource cited. The results guard against the use of simple metrics such as citation counts and show that indicators of data use must not only take into account citations within the biomedical literature but also include reuse of data in industry and other parts of society by including patents and other scientific and technical documents such as guidelines, reports and grant applications.

  11. Patterns of database citation in articles and patents indicate long-term scientific and industry value of biological data resources

    PubMed Central

    Bousfield, David; McEntyre, Johanna; Velankar, Sameer; Papadatos, George; Bateman, Alex; Cochrane, Guy; Kim, Jee-Hyub; Graef, Florian; Vartak, Vid; Alako, Blaise; Blomberg, Niklas

    2016-01-01

    Data from open access biomolecular data resources, such as the European Nucleotide Archive and the Protein Data Bank are extensively reused within life science research for comparative studies, method development and to derive new scientific insights. Indicators that estimate the extent and utility of such secondary use of research data need to reflect this complex and highly variable data usage. By linking open access scientific literature, via Europe PubMedCentral, to the metadata in biological data resources we separate data citations associated with a deposition statement from citations that capture the subsequent, long-term, reuse of data in academia and industry.  We extend this analysis to begin to investigate citations of biomolecular resources in patent documents. We find citations in more than 8,000 patents from 2014, demonstrating substantial use and an important role for data resources in defining biological concepts in granted patents to both academic and industrial innovators. Combined together our results indicate that the citation patterns in biomedical literature and patents vary, not only due to citation practice but also according to the data resource cited. The results guard against the use of simple metrics such as citation counts and show that indicators of data use must not only take into account citations within the biomedical literature but also include reuse of data in industry and other parts of society by including patents and other scientific and technical documents such as guidelines, reports and grant applications. PMID:27092246

  12. Thank goodness it's Friday: weekly pattern of workplace incivility.

    PubMed

    Nicholson, Tahnee; Griffin, Barbara

    2017-01-01

    Recent research has shown day-level differences in an individual's experience of uncivil behavior; however, it is unknown if that experience follows a consistent weekly change pattern. This study extends incivility theory and research by applying latent growth curve (LGC) modeling to diary study data to understand day-to-day changes in incivility. The authors took a theory-driven approach, reviewing both mood and recovery theory that would support a decrease in incivility over the working week. Diary survey methodology was used, with a morning and evening survey completed on five consecutive workdays by 171 (73% of the 235 who initially volunteered, 95% of those who completed any surveys) employees in the legal industry. LGC analysis was used to identify patterns of experienced incivility, mood (both measured after work), and recovery (assessed the following morning). Regardless of job demands and gender, a weekly pattern was identified with the likelihood of experiencing incivility (coded as 0 = none, 1 = some) decreasing from Monday to Friday by .78 each day (p < .001) in a relatively linear fashion with a slope factor of .34 (SE = 0.23; p > .05), indicating invariance between individuals. This weekly pattern was not explained by changes in mood or recovery. Results emphasize the impact of contextual factors such as time on workplace incivility and the need to consider weekly rhythms of other behaviors that are likely to affect employee well-being and productivity. Although limited to one week of data per person, the findings are likely to be relevant to studies of other forms of interpersonal mistreatment, such as social undermining and interpersonal conflict.

  13. The impact of climate change on the BRICS economies: The case of insurance demand.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ranger, N.; Surminski, S.

    2012-04-01

    Session ERE5.1 Climate change impact on economical and industrial activities The impact of climate change on the BRICS economies: The case of insurance demand. Over the past decade, growth in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) economies has been a key driver of global economic growth. Current forecasts suggest that these markets will continue to be areas of significant growth for a large number of industries. We consider how climate change may influence these trends in the period to 2030, a time horizon that is long in terms of strategic planning in industry, but relatively short for climate change analysis, where the impacts are predicted to be most significant beyond around 2050. Based on current evidence, we expect climate change to affect the BRICS economies in four main ways: 1. The impact of physical climatic changes on the productivity of climate-sensitive economic activity, the local environment, human health and wellbeing, and damages from extreme weather. 2. Changing patterns of investment in climate risk management and adaptation 3. Changing patterns of investments in areas affected by greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation policy, 4. The impacts of the above globally, including on international trade, growth, investment, policy, migration and commodity prices, and their impacts on the BRICS. We review the evidence on the impacts of climate change in the BRICS and then apply this to one particular industry sector: non-life insurance. We propose five potential pathways through which climate change could influence insurance demand: economic growth; willingness to pay for insurance; public policy and regulation; the insurability of natural catastrophe risks; and new opportunities associated with adaptation and greenhouse gas mitigation. We conclude that, with the exception of public policy and regulation, the influence of climate change on insurance demand to 2030 is likely to be small when compared with the expected growth due to rising

  14. Macroscale patterns in body size of intertidal crustaceans provide insights on climate change effects

    PubMed Central

    Dugan, Jenifer E.; Hubbard, David M.; Contreras, Heraldo; Duarte, Cristian; Acuña, Emilio; Schoeman, David S.

    2017-01-01

    Predicting responses of coastal ecosystems to altered sea surface temperatures (SST) associated with global climate change, requires knowledge of demographic responses of individual species. Body size is an excellent metric because it scales strongly with growth and fecundity for many ectotherms. These attributes can underpin demographic as well as community and ecosystem level processes, providing valuable insights for responses of vulnerable coastal ecosystems to changing climate. We investigated contemporary macroscale patterns in body size among widely distributed crustaceans that comprise the majority of intertidal abundance and biomass of sandy beach ecosystems of the eastern Pacific coasts of Chile and California, USA. We focused on ecologically important species representing different tidal zones, trophic guilds and developmental modes, including a high-shore macroalga-consuming talitrid amphipod (Orchestoidea tuberculata), two mid-shore scavenging cirolanid isopods (Excirolana braziliensis and E. hirsuticauda), and a low-shore suspension-feeding hippid crab (Emerita analoga) with an amphitropical distribution. Significant latitudinal patterns in body sizes were observed for all species in Chile (21° - 42°S), with similar but steeper patterns in Emerita analoga, in California (32°- 41°N). Sea surface temperature was a strong predictor of body size (-4% to -35% °C-1) in all species. Beach characteristics were subsidiary predictors of body size. Alterations in ocean temperatures of even a few degrees associated with global climate change are likely to affect body sizes of important intertidal ectotherms, with consequences for population demography, life history, community structure, trophic interactions, food-webs, and indirect effects such as ecosystem function. The consistency of results for body size and temperature across species with different life histories, feeding modes, ecological roles, and microhabitats inhabiting a single widespread coastal

  15. Macroscale patterns in body size of intertidal crustaceans provide insights on climate change effects.

    PubMed

    Jaramillo, Eduardo; Dugan, Jenifer E; Hubbard, David M; Contreras, Heraldo; Duarte, Cristian; Acuña, Emilio; Schoeman, David S

    2017-01-01

    Predicting responses of coastal ecosystems to altered sea surface temperatures (SST) associated with global climate change, requires knowledge of demographic responses of individual species. Body size is an excellent metric because it scales strongly with growth and fecundity for many ectotherms. These attributes can underpin demographic as well as community and ecosystem level processes, providing valuable insights for responses of vulnerable coastal ecosystems to changing climate. We investigated contemporary macroscale patterns in body size among widely distributed crustaceans that comprise the majority of intertidal abundance and biomass of sandy beach ecosystems of the eastern Pacific coasts of Chile and California, USA. We focused on ecologically important species representing different tidal zones, trophic guilds and developmental modes, including a high-shore macroalga-consuming talitrid amphipod (Orchestoidea tuberculata), two mid-shore scavenging cirolanid isopods (Excirolana braziliensis and E. hirsuticauda), and a low-shore suspension-feeding hippid crab (Emerita analoga) with an amphitropical distribution. Significant latitudinal patterns in body sizes were observed for all species in Chile (21° - 42°S), with similar but steeper patterns in Emerita analoga, in California (32°- 41°N). Sea surface temperature was a strong predictor of body size (-4% to -35% °C-1) in all species. Beach characteristics were subsidiary predictors of body size. Alterations in ocean temperatures of even a few degrees associated with global climate change are likely to affect body sizes of important intertidal ectotherms, with consequences for population demography, life history, community structure, trophic interactions, food-webs, and indirect effects such as ecosystem function. The consistency of results for body size and temperature across species with different life histories, feeding modes, ecological roles, and microhabitats inhabiting a single widespread coastal

  16. Spatial-temporal changes of maximum and minimum temperatures in the Wei River Basin, China: Changing patterns, causes and implications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Saiyan; Huang, Shengzhi; Xie, Yangyang; Huang, Qiang; Leng, Guoyong; Hou, Beibei; Zhang, Ying; Wei, Xiu

    2018-05-01

    Due to the important role of temperature in the global climate system and energy cycles, it is important to investigate the spatial-temporal change patterns, causes and implications of annual maximum (Tmax) and minimum (Tmin) temperatures. In this study, the Cloud model were adopted to fully and accurately analyze the changing patterns of annual Tmax and Tmin from 1958 to 2008 by quantifying their mean, uniformity, and stability in the Wei River Basin (WRB), a typical arid and semi-arid region in China. Additionally, the cross wavelet analysis was applied to explore the correlations among annual Tmax and Tmin and the yearly sunspots number, Arctic Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and soil moisture with an aim to determine possible causes of annual Tmax and Tmin variations. Furthermore, temperature-related impacts on vegetation cover and precipitation extremes were also examined. Results indicated that: (1) the WRB is characterized by increasing trends in annual Tmax and Tmin, with a more evident increasing trend in annual Tmin, which has a higher dispersion degree and is less uniform and stable than annual Tmax; (2) the asymmetric variations of Tmax and Tmin can be generally explained by the stronger effects of solar activity (primarily), large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns, and soil moisture on annual Tmin than on annual Tmax; and (3) increasing annual Tmax and Tmin have exerted strong influences on local precipitation extremes, in terms of their duration, intensity, and frequency in the WRB. This study presents new analyses of Tmax and Tmin in the WRB, and the findings may help guide regional agricultural production and water resources management.

  17. Changing patterns of daily rhythmicity across reproductive states in diurnal female Nile grass rats (Arvicanthis niloticus)

    PubMed Central

    Schradera, Jessica A.; Walaszczykb, Erin J.; Smalea, Laura

    2009-01-01

    SCHRADER, J.A., E. J. WALASZCZYK, AND L. SMALE. Changing patterns of daily rhythmicity across reproductive states in diurnal female Nile grass rats (Arvicanthis niloticus). PHYSIOL BEHAV XX(X) XXX-XXX, XXXX. -- A suite of changes in circadian rhythms have been described in nocturnal rodents as females go through pregnancy and lactation, but there is no information on such patterns in diurnal species. As the challenges faced by these two groups of animals are somewhat different, we characterized changes in activity and core body temperature (Tb) in female diurnal Nile grass rats (Arvicanthis niloticus) as they went through a series of reproductive states: virgin, pregnant, pregnant and lactating, lactating only, and post-weaning. The phase of neither rhythm varied, but the amplitude did. Females increased their overall levels of daily activity from early to late pregnancy, regardless of whether they were also lactating. The pattern of activity was less rhythmic during early than mid-lactation, in both non-pregnant and pregnant females, as a consequence of a decrease in daytime relative to nighttime activity. The Tb rhythm amplitude dropped from mid-pregnancy through mid-lactation, and there were rises in Tb troughs during the mid-light and mid-dark phases of the day, though pregnancy and lactation affected Tb at these times in somewhat different ways. This study demonstrates that rhythms in diurnal grass rats change during pregnancy and lactation in different ways than those of nocturnal species that have been studied to date and that the effects of pregnancy and lactation are not additive in any simple way. PMID:19744504

  18. Preservice Elementary Teachers' Knowledge of Observable Moon Phases and Pattern of Change in Phases

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Trundle, Kathy Cabe; Atwood, Ronald K.; Christopher, John E.

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to describe selected content knowledge held by 52 preservice elementary teachers about the observable phases of the moon and the monthly pattern of change in observable phases. Data were obtained from participants in a physics course before and after they received inquiry-based instruction designed to promote…

  19. EXPRESSION PATTERNS OF ESTROGEN RECEPTORS IN THE CENTRAL AUDITORY SYSTEM CHANGE IN PREPUBERTAL AND AGED MICE

    PubMed Central

    Charitidi, K.; Frisina, R. D.; Vasilyeva, O. N.; Zhu, X.; Canlon, B.

    2011-01-01

    Estrogens are important in the development, maintenance and physiology of the CNS. Several studies have shown their effects on the processing of hearing in both males and females, and these effects, in part, are thought to result from regulation of the transcription of genes via their classical estrogen receptor (ER) pathway. In order to understand the spatiotemporal changes that occur with age, we have studied the expression of ERs in the central auditory pathway in prepubertal and aged CBA mice with immunohistochemistry. In prepubertal mice a clear dichotomy was noted between the expression of ERα and ERβ. ERβ-positive neurons were found in the metencephalon whereas the majority of ERα was found in mesencephalon, diencephalon or the telencephalon. In the aged animals a different pattern of ER expression was found in terms of location and overall intensity. These age-induced changes in the expression pattern were generally not uniform, suggesting that region-specific mechanisms regulate the ERs’ age-related expression. Neither the prepubertal nor the aged animals showed sex differences in any auditory structure. Our results demonstrate different age-dependent spatial and temporal changes in the pattern of expression of ERα and ERβ, suggesting that each ER type may be involved in distinct roles across the central auditory pathway in different periods of maturation. PMID:20736049

  20. Gestational dietary patterns are not associated with blood pressure changes during pregnancy and early postpartum in a Brazilian prospective cohort.

    PubMed

    Eshriqui, Ilana; Vilela, Ana Amélia Freitas; Rebelo, Fernanda; Farias, Dayana Rodrigues; Castro, Maria Beatriz Trindade; Kac, Gilberto

    2016-02-01

    To identify gestational dietary patterns and evaluate the association between these patterns and the blood pressure (BP) rate of change during pregnancy and the postpartum. Prospective cohort study composed of 191 healthy pregnant women. Systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) were obtained at the 5th-13th, 20th-26th, 30th-36th gestational weeks, and with 30-45 days postpartum. A food frequency questionnaire administered at the 30th-36th gestational week was used to measure dietary intake during pregnancy. Principal component analysis was performed to identify the dietary patterns. A longitudinal linear mixed-effects regression model was used to evaluate the association between the dietary patterns and BP (adjusted for time elapsed after conception and the women's age, education, parity, body mass index and total energy intake). Three gestational dietary patterns were identified: healthy, common-Brazilian and processed. SBP/DBP mean values (SD) were 110.1 (9.0)/66.9 (7.5), 108.7 (9.0)/64.9 (6.7), 111.3 (9.2)/67.0 (6.9) and 115.0 (10.7)/73.7 (8.6) mmHg at the first, second and third gestational trimesters and postpartum, respectively. Women with higher/lower adherence to the processed pattern presented SBP of 117.9 and 113.0 mmHg (P = 0.037), respectively, during postpartum. No association was found between any of the three dietary patterns and SBP in the multiple longitudinal linear regression models, whereas 1 SD increase in the common-Brazilian pattern was associated with a small change of DBP (β = 0.0006; 95% CI 4.66e-06, 0.001; P = 0.048). The three dietary patterns identified revealed no association with changes of SBP and DBP levels during pregnancy and at early postpartum in this sample of healthy Brazilian women.

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