Using WorldView-2 Imagery to Track Flooding in Thailand in a Multi-Asset Sensorweb

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McLaren, David; Doubleday, Joshua; Chien, Steve

2012-01-01

For the flooding seasons of 2011-2012 multiple space assets were used in a "sensorweb" to track major flooding in Thailand. Worldview-2 multispectral data was used in this effort and provided extremely high spatial resolution (2m / pixel) multispectral (8 bands at 0.45-1.05 micrometer spectra) data from which mostly automated workflows derived surface water extent and volumetric water information for use by a range of NGO and national authorities. We first describe how Worldview-2 and its data was integrated into the overall flood tracking sensorweb. We next describe the use of Support Vector Machine learning techniques that were used to derive surface water extent classifiers. Then we describe the fusion of surface water extent and digital elevation map (DEM) data to derive volumetric water calculations. Finally we discuss key future work such as speeding up the workflows and automating the data registration process (the only portion of the workflow requiring human input).

Principles and Practices for Championship Performances in Wheelchair Track Events.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Practical Pointers, 1979

1979-01-01

The booklet discusses training methods and approaches for wheelchair track and field. Detailed information and charts are presented on types of workouts (such as interval, distance, rhythm, speed play, and pace work) and mechanics of track events. A section on relay strategy and coaching approaches concludes the document. (CL)

Carnivorous arthropods after spring flood

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Spring flooding is a common practice in Wisconsin cranberries, but flooding as insect control produces variable results among marshes. This project is aimed at figuring out why it works, and why it sometimes doesn’t. We have focused on tracking arthropod populations to explain the observed patterns ...

Tracking Dissipation Reduction, Externalities, Stability and Sustainability for Environmental Management of New Orleans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McNamara, D.; Werner, B. T.

2014-12-01

Sustainability requires stability, but in promoting economic development, modern economies and political systems reduce stabilizing dissipation by facilitating use and management of the environment through engineered mitigation of disturbances, which externalizes dissipation over the short to medium term. To quantitatively investigate the relationship between a range of environmental management approaches and sustainability, and the implications for Earth's future, we track the impact of management strategies on dissipation within the system and its externalities in a numerical model for the coupled economic, political/management and flooding dynamics of New Orleans. The model simulates river floods, hurricane storm-surge-induced floods, subsidence, and agent-based market interactions leading to development of port services, hotels, homes and labor relations. Flood protection decisions for levee construction based on the baseline case of cost-benefit analyses designed to prevent short-term economic loss from future floods qualitatively reproduce historical expansion of New Orleans and increases in levee height. Alternative management strategies explored include majority voting, consensus-based decision-making, and variations in discounting of costs and benefits. Enhanced dissipation is measured relative to optimal economic development without floods. The focus of modern economies on commodification is exploited to track dissipation as a scalar representing value or power, but this approach might not be applicable to more complicated traditional/indigenous cultures or cultures of resistance. For the baseline case, short-to-medium-term reductions in dissipation destabilize the coupled system, resulting in episodic bursts of externalized dissipation during flooding. Comparisons of results for a range of management options and generalizations of this approach for alternative cultural systems will be discussed.

Tracking Planets around the Sun

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Riddle, Bob

2008-01-01

In earlier columns, the celestial coordinate system of hour circles of right ascension and degrees of declination was introduced along with the use of an equatorial star chart (see SFA Star Charts in Resources). This system shows the planets' motion relative to the ecliptic, the apparent path the Sun follows during the year. An alternate system,…

How To Better Track Effective School Indicators: The Control Chart Techniques.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coutts, Douglas

1998-01-01

Control charts are practical tools to monitor various school indicators (attendance rates, standardized test scores, grades, and graduation rates) by displaying data on the same scale over time. This article shows how principals can calculate the upper natural-process limit, lower natural-process limit, and upper control limit for attendance. (15…

Usability Testing and Workflow Analysis of the TRADOC Data Visualization Tool

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-01

software such as blink data, saccades, and cognitive load based on pupil contraction. Eye-tracking was only a component of the data evaluated and as...line charts were a pain to read) Yes Yes Projecting the charts directly onto the regions increased clutter on the screen and is a bad stylistic

Design and field test equipment of river water level detection based on ultrasonic sensor and SMS gateway as flood early warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sulistyowati, Riny; Sujono, Hari Agus; Musthofa, Ahmad Khamdi

2017-06-01

Due to the high rainfall, flood often occurs in some regions, especially in the area adjacent to the river banks that led to the idea to make the river water level detection system as a flood early warning. Several researches have produced flood detection equipment based on ultrasonic sensors and android as flood early warning system. This paper reported the results of a field test detection equipment to measure the river water level of the Bengawansolo River that was conducted in three villages in the district of Bungah, Dukun, and Manyar in Gresik regency. Tests were conducted simultaneously for 21 hours during heavy rainfall. The test results demonstrated the accuracy of the equipment of 97.28% for all categories of observation. The application of AFD (Android Flood Detection) via android smartphone demonstrated its precision in conveying the information of water level as represented by the status of SAFE, STAND, WARNING, and DANGER. Some charts presented from the analysis of data was derived from the data acquisition time of testing that can be used as an evaluation of flooding at some points prone to flood.

NASA MISR Tracks Massive Flooding in Pakistan

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-08-18

In late July 2010, flooding caused by heavy monsoon rains began in several regions of Pakistan, including the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and parts of Baluchistan. This image was acquired by NASA Terra spacecraft on August 11, 2010.

49 CFR 213.367 - Special inspections.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TRACK SAFETY STANDARDS Train Operations at Track Classes 6 and Higher § 213.367 Special inspections. In the event of fire, flood, severe storm, temperature extremes or other occurrence...

Patient Treatment Tracking Chart

MedlinePlus

... Performance VA Plans, Budget, & Performance VA Center for Innovation (VACI) Agency Financial Report ... Management Services Veterans Service Organizations Office of Accountability & Whistleblower ...

Spring Outlook: Moderate flood risk for drenched Louisiana, east Texas |

Science.gov Websites

Climate Oceans & Coasts Fisheries Satellites Research Marine & Aviation Charting Sanctuaries improve drought in Northern California; little relief for rest of state Weather Climate climate outlooks weather and climate tools that NOAA provides emergency managers, water managers, state and local officials

Energy Dynamics: A Fast Track Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schmidt, Stan M.; Hrynyshyn, Alec

2004-01-01

Students investigate energy conversions by collaborating to develop a free standing track of plastic tubing through which a ball bearing moves at the fastest possible speed. Friendly competition leads to discussion of what worked and did not work and to the identification and investigation of underlying principles. (Contains 4 charts.)

The connectivity Pitt, and how to avoid it

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durham, Brian

2017-04-01

UK government's newly announced intention to reconstitute its railway industry offers a chance to revisit an issue of hydrological connectivity. Following increased flooding nationally documented by the Pitt Review 2008, major industries have sought to improve resilience: this is especially relevant to the railway where a single company holds an infrastructure portfolio with major flood plain embankments and consequent drainage implications. At Oxford, following repeated railway flooding it was proposed in 2015 to raise a section of track. The flooding occurred at a location where the rail embankment intersects with a road embankment. The proposed mitigation flow matches the sectional area of track-raising measured in the plane of the road embankment, yet the applicant proposed its mitigation culvert in the plane of the rail embankment which already had original (I K Brunel, 1840s) culverts four times the Environment Agency's target flow for the entire flood plain. In terms of impact on neighbouring properties the company's Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) could be read in two ways, one being relatively benign (10-20mm rise), the other being an order of magnitude larger in locations where it was possible to relate proposed water level to individual properties, with implications in one case for an estate of 180 houses built to a nominal 100-year return flood standard. Assessment of impact was made harder by confidentiality. This might have been transparent to the regulating authorities, but in the event the local press attributed the award of planning permission to the company's claim that it had a fall-back position, i.e. it could raise its track without offering flood mitigation. Was this true? When the company proposed a local engineering operation in 2010 it published four pages from its Act of Parliament of 1843, one of which included a drainage term not relevant in that operation. Drainage duly became relevant five years later with the track raising discussed here, but the drainage term in this case was not disclosed in the proposal documentation. Correspondence with company officers at the highest level has at time of writing not elucidated this position, which on a wider scale might tend to transfer historic drainage obligations to the state, thus potentially relevant to the newly announced reorganisation of the industry. This presentation looks at the wording of the 1843 Act relative to: bye-laws administered by leet and baron courts; drainage boards; and modern case law ( http://www.6pumpcourt.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/common-law-liabilities-for-flooding-WU.pdf )

Grand Challenges Emerging Perspectives For Embedded Processing (BRIEFING CHARTS)

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-06

track before detect Small... Track - before - detect (dim targets) Change detection 16Mpixel 2 Hz 1 km2 1 ft res. STAPBOY Φ1 60W .3k$ AMD server 120 W ~.8k...60 X (m) Y ( m ) −50 0 50 −60 −40 −20 0 20 40 60 X (m) Y ( m ) EO/IR Track - before - detect (dim targets) Change detection RISC/DSP AMD

Readability of New Aviation Chart Symbology in Day and NVG Reading Conditions.

PubMed

Wagstaff, Anthony S; Larsen, Terje

2017-11-01

The Swedish Air Force (SwAF) conducted a study in 2010 to harmonize portrayal of aeronautical info (AI) on SwAF charts with NATO standards. A mismatch was found concerning vertical obstructions (VO). Norway regarded Sweden's existing symbology as a way to solve the problem of overcrowded air charts and the two countries started to cooperate. The result of this development was a new set of symbology for obstacles. The aim of this study was to test the readability of the new obstacle and power line symbols compared to the old symbols. We also wished to assess the readability in NVG illumination conditions, particularly regarding the new symbols compared to the old. In a randomized controlled study design, 21 volunteer military pilots from the Norwegian and Swedish Air Force were asked to perform tracking and chart-reading tests. The chart-reading test scored both errors and readability using a predefined score index. Subjective scoring was also done at the end of the test day. Overall response time improved by approximately 20% using the new symbology and error rate decreased by approximately 30-90% where statistically significant differences were found. The tracking test turned out to be too difficult due to several factors in the experimental design. Even though some caution should be shown in drawing conclusions from this study, the general trends seem well supported with the number of aircrew subjects we were able to recruit.Wagstaff AS, Larsen T. Readability of new aviation chart symbology in day and NVG reading conditions. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2017; 88(11):978-984.

Towards a Flood Severity Index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kettner, A.; Chong, A.; Prades, L.; Brakenridge, G. R.; Muir, S.; Amparore, A.; Slayback, D. A.; Poungprom, R.

2017-12-01

Flooding is the most common natural hazard worldwide, affecting 21 million people every year. In the immediate moments following a flood event, humanitarian actors like the World Food Program need to make rapid decisions ( 72 hrs) on how to prioritize affected areas impacted by such an event. For other natural disasters like hurricanes/cyclones and earthquakes, there are industry-recognized standards on how the impacted areas are to be classified. Shake maps, quantifying peak ground motion, from for example the US Geological Survey are widely used for assessing earthquakes. Similarly, cyclones are tracked by Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) and Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS) who release storm nodes and tracks (forecasted and actual), with wind buffers and classify the event according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. For floods, the community is usually able to acquire unclassified data of the flood extent as identified from satellite imagery. Most often no water discharge hydrograph is available to classify the event into recurrence intervals simply because there is no gauging station, or the gauging station was unable to record the maximum discharge due to overtopping or flood damage. So, the question remains: How do we methodically turn a flooded area into classified areas of different gradations of impact? Here, we present a first approach towards developing a global applicable flood severity index. The flood severity index is set up such that it considers relatively easily obtainable physical parameters in a short period of time like: flood frequency (relating the current flood to historical events) and magnitude, as well as land cover, slope, and where available pre-event simulated flood depth. The scale includes categories ranging from very minor flooding to catastrophic flooding. We test and evaluate the postulated classification scheme against a set of past flood events. Once a severity category is determined, socio-economic data, such as population density, infrastructure, urbanization or equivalent information, is required for humanitarian actors to respond properly. In the end, expanded monitoring of floods, improved mitigation measures, but also effective communication of the severity of an event has the potential to reduce loss of life in future flood events.

Disaster mobile health technology: lessons from Haiti.

PubMed

Callaway, David W; Peabody, Christopher R; Hoffman, Ari; Cote, Elizabeth; Moulton, Seth; Baez, Amado Alejandro; Nathanson, Larry

2012-04-01

Mobile health (mHealth) technology can play a critical role in improving disaster victim tracking, triage, patient care, facility management, and theater-wide decision-making. To date, no disaster mHealth application provides responders with adequate capabilities to function in an austere environment. The Operational Medicine Institute (OMI) conducted a qualitative trial of a modified version of the off-the-shelf application iChart at the Fond Parisien Disaster Rescue Camp during the large-scale response to the January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The iChart mHealth system created a patient log of 617 unique entries used by on-the-ground medical providers and field hospital administrators to facilitate provider triage, improve provider handoffs, and track vulnerable populations such as unaccompanied minors, pregnant women, traumatic orthopedic injuries and specified infectious diseases. The trial demonstrated that even a non-disaster specific application with significant programmatic limitations was an improvement over existing patient tracking and facility management systems. A unified electronic medical record and patient tracking system would add significant value to first responder capabilities in the disaster response setting.

Research on infrared small-target tracking technology under complex background

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Lei; Wang, Xin; Chen, Jilu; Pan, Tao

2012-10-01

In this paper, some basic principles and the implementing flow charts of a series of algorithms for target tracking are described. On the foundation of above works, a moving target tracking software base on the OpenCV is developed by the software developing platform MFC. Three kinds of tracking algorithms are integrated in this software. These two tracking algorithms are Kalman Filter tracking method and Camshift tracking method. In order to explain the software clearly, the framework and the function are described in this paper. At last, the implementing processes and results are analyzed, and those algorithms for tracking targets are evaluated from the two aspects of subjective and objective. This paper is very significant in the application of the infrared target tracking technology.

Do You Know Whats In Your Community A Strategic Risk Management Approach to Better Prepare for Chemical Emergencies

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-01

existing, or out-of-service process equipment • Track historical data concerning natural disasters such as tornados , hurricanes, floods, fires, or...hydrological, and meteorological (wildfire, flood, hurricane, tornado , earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, etc.) • Identification of other

The feasibility of paper-based Tracking Codes and electronic medical record systems to monitor tobacco-use assessment and intervention in an Individual Practice Association (IPA) Model health maintenance organization (HMO).

PubMed

Bentz, Charles J; Davis, Nancy; Bayley, Bruce

2002-01-01

Despite evidence of its effectiveness, tobacco cessation is not systematically addressed in routine healthcare settings. Its measurement is part of the problem. A pilot study was designed to develop and implement two different tobacco tracking systems in two independent primary care offices that participated in an IPA Model health maintenance organization in Portland, Oregon. The first clinic, which utilized a paper-based charting system, implemented CPT-like tracking codes to measure and report tobacco-cessation activities, which were eventually included in the managed-care organization's (MCO) claims database. The second clinic implemented an electronic tracking system based on its computerized electronic medical record (EMR) charting system. This paper describes the pilot study, including the processes involved in building provider acceptance for the new tracking systems in these two clinics, the barriers and successes encountered during implementation, and the resources expended by the clinics and by the MCO during the pilot. The findings from the 3-month implementation period were that documentation of tobacco-use status remained stable at 42-45% in the paper-based clinic and increased from 79% to 88% in the EMR clinic. This pilot study demonstrated that Tracking Codes are a feasible preventive-care tracking system in paper-based medical offices. However, high levels of effort and support are needed, and a critical mass of insurers and health plans would need to adopt Tracking Codes before widespread use could be expected. Results of the EMR-based tracking system are also reviewed and discussed.

Coupling channel evolution monitoring and RFID tracking in a large, wandering, gravel-bed river: Insights into sediment routing on geomorphic continuity through a riffle-pool sequence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chapuis, Margot; Dufour, Simon; Provansal, Mireille; Couvert, Bernard; de Linares, Matthieu

2015-02-01

Bedload transport and bedform mobility in large gravel-bed rivers are not easily monitored, especially during floods. Large reaches present difficulties in bed access during flows for flow measurements. Because of these logistical issues, the current knowledge about bedload transport processes and bedform mobility lacks field-based information, while this missing information would precisely match river management needs. The lack of information linking channel evolution and particle displacements is even more striking in wandering reaches. The Durance River is a large, wandering, gravel-bed river (catchment area: 14,280 km2; mean width: 240 m), located in the southern French Alps and highly impacted by flow diversion and gravel mining. In order to improve current understanding of the link between sediment transport processes and river bed morphodynamics, we set up a sediment particle survey in the channel using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tracking and topographic surveys (GPS RTK and scour chains) for a 4-year recurrence interval flood. By combining topographic changes before and after a flood, intraflood erosion/deposition patterns from scour chains, differential routing of tracer particles, and spatial distribution of bed shear stress through a complex reach, this paper aims to define the critical shear stress for significant sediment mobility in this setting. Gravel tracking highlights displacement patterns in agreement with bar downstream migration and transport of particles across the riffle within this single flood event. Because no velocity measurements were possible during flood, a TELEMAC three-dimensional model helped interpret particle displacements by estimating spatial distribution of shear stresses and flow directions at peak flow. Although RFID tracking in a large, wandering, gravel-bed river does have some technical limitations (burial, recovery process time-consuming), it provides useful information on sediment routing through a riffle-pool sequence.

Wave Height and Water Level Variability on Lakes Michigan and St Clair

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-10-01

Observations: http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/sose/glwx_activity.html 4. NASA Atlas of Extratropical Storm Tracks: http://data.giss.nasa.gov/stormtracks...term meteorological, ice, wave, and water level measurements. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Base flood elevation Coastal flood Extratropical storms Great...Box 1027 Detroit, MI 48231-1027 ERDC/CHL TR-12-23 ii Abstract The Great Lakes are subject to coastal flooding as a result of severe storms

Monitoring Seawall Deformation With Repeat-Track Space-Borne SAR Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pei, Yuanyuan; Wan, Qing; Wei, Lianhuan; Fang, Zhilei; Liao, Mingsheng

2010-10-01

Seawalls are constructed to protect coastal cities from typhoon, flood and sea tide. It is necessary to monitor the deformation of seawalls in real time. Repeat-track space-borne SAR images are useful for environment monitoring, especially ground deformation monitoring. Shanghai sits on the Yangtze River Delta on China's eastern coast. Each year, the city is hit by typhoons from Pacific Ocean and threatened by the flood of the Yangtze River. PS-InSAR technique is carried out to monitor the deformation of the seawalls. Experiment exhibits that the seawalls around Pudong airport and Lingang town suffered serious deformation.

Probability of Flood-Induced Overtopping of Barriers in Watershed-Reservoir-Dam Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-01

developed empirical charts to estimate the historical 6-h, 10 mi2 PMP attributable to a uniform storm on such a point within the basin area (USBR 1976, 1977...ENGINEERING © ASCE / SEPTEMBER 2011 / 11 Queries 1. Please provide 10 mi2 in SI units. 2. The double parentheses in the spillway outflow have been

Robust Flood Monitoring Using Sentinel-1 SAR Time Series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeVries, B.; Huang, C.; Armston, J.; Huang, W.

2017-12-01

The 2017 hurricane season in North and Central America has resulted in unprecedented levels of flooding that have affected millions of people and continue to impact communities across the region. The extent of casualties and damage to property incurred by these floods underscores the need for reliable systems to track flood location, timing and duration to aid response and recovery efforts. While a diverse range of data sources provide vital information on flood status in near real-time, only spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors can ensure wall-to-wall coverage over large areas, mostly independently of weather conditions or site accessibility. The European Space Agency's Sentinel-1 constellation represents the only SAR mission currently providing open access and systematic global coverage, allowing for a consistent stream of observations over flood-prone regions. Importantly, both the data and pre-processing software are freely available, enabling the development of improved methods, tools and data products to monitor floods in near real-time. We tracked flood onset and progression in Southeastern Texas, Southern Florida, and Puerto Rico using a novel approach based on temporal backscatter anomalies derived from times series of Sentinel-1 observations and historic baselines defined for each of the three sites. This approach was shown to provide a more objective measure of flood occurrence than the simple backscatter thresholds often employed in operational flood monitoring systems. Additionally, the use of temporal anomaly measures allowed us to partially overcome biases introduced by varying sensor view angles and image acquisition modes, allowing increased temporal resolution in areas where additional targeted observations are available. Our results demonstrate the distinct advantages offered by data from operational SAR missions such as Sentinel-1 and NASA's planned NISAR mission, and call attention to the continuing need for SAR Earth Observation missions that provide systematic repeat observations to facilitate continuous monitoring of flood-affected regions.

Growth charts of human development.

PubMed

van Buuren, Stef

2014-08-01

This article reviews and compares two types of growth charts for tracking human development over age. Both charts assume the existence of a continuous latent variable, but relate to the observed data in different ways. The D-score diagram summarizes developmental indicators into a single aggregate score measuring global development. The relations between the indicators should be consistent with the Rasch model. If true, the D-score is a measure with interval scale properties, and allows for the calculation of meaningful differences both within and across age. The stage line diagram describes the natural development of ordinal indicators. The method models the transition probabilities between successive stages of the indicator as smoothly varying functions of age. The location of each stage is quantified by the mid-P-value. Both types of diagrams assist in identifying early and delayed development, as well as finding differences in tempo. The relevant techniques are illustrated to track global development during infancy and early childhood (0-2 years) and Tanner pubertal stages (8-21 years). New reference values for both applications are provided. © The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Ice flood velocity calculating approach based on single view metrology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, X.; Xu, L.

2017-02-01

Yellow River is the river in which the ice flood occurs most frequently in China, hence, the Ice flood forecasting has great significance for the river flood prevention work. In various ice flood forecast models, the flow velocity is one of the most important parameters. In spite of the great significance of the flow velocity, its acquisition heavily relies on manual observation or deriving from empirical formula. In recent years, with the high development of video surveillance technology and wireless transmission network, the Yellow River Conservancy Commission set up the ice situation monitoring system, in which live videos can be transmitted to the monitoring center through 3G mobile networks. In this paper, an approach to get the ice velocity based on single view metrology and motion tracking technique using monitoring videos as input data is proposed. First of all, River way can be approximated as a plane. On this condition, we analyze the geometry relevance between the object side and the image side. Besides, we present the principle to measure length in object side from image. Secondly, we use LK optical flow which support pyramid data to track the ice in motion. Combining the result of camera calibration and single view metrology, we propose a flow to calculate the real velocity of ice flood. At last we realize a prototype system by programming and use it to test the reliability and rationality of the whole solution.

Frequent floods in the European Alps coincide with cooler periods of the past 2500 years.

PubMed

Glur, Lukas; Wirth, Stefanie B; Büntgen, Ulf; Gilli, Adrian; Haug, Gerald H; Schär, Christoph; Beer, Jürg; Anselmetti, Flavio S

2013-09-26

Severe floods triggered by intense precipitation are among the most destructive natural hazards in Alpine environments, frequently causing large financial and societal damage. Potential enhanced flood occurrence due to global climate change would thus increase threat to settlements, infrastructure, and human lives in the affected regions. Yet, projections of intense precipitation exhibit major uncertainties and robust reconstructions of Alpine floods are limited to the instrumental and historical period. Here we present a 2500-year long flood reconstruction for the European Alps, based on dated sedimentary flood deposits from ten lakes in Switzerland. We show that periods with high flood frequency coincide with cool summer temperatures. This wet-cold synchronism suggests enhanced flood occurrence to be triggered by latitudinal shifts of Atlantic and Mediterranean storm tracks. This paleoclimatic perspective reveals natural analogues for varying climate conditions, and thus can contribute to a better understanding and improved projections of weather extremes under climate change.

Urban nuisance flooding and topographic wetness index: does excess runoff collect where we think it should in urban landscapes?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelleher, C.; McPhillips, L. E.

2017-12-01

Urban landscapes translate water in a variety of ways that diverge from more natural systems. In particular, due to the presence of impervious surfaces and alteration of topography, they are prone to nuisance flooding when it rains. To track the locations of areas of minor flooding and other complaints, many cities are now facilitating nuisance reports from residents via information technology services like 311. These reports provide useful information for tracking where in the landscape water may collect during rain events; we sought to use this information to test potential geospatial indices for predictively identifying locations prone to nuisance flooding in urban areas. In this study, we utilized a tool commonly applied in natural systems, topographic indices, to create spatially contiguous estimates of topographic wetness index (TWI), a value that can be used to identify areas within a watershed expected to be preferentially wetter or drier based on topographic slope and surface flow pathways. For several watersheds across Baltimore and New York City (USA), we tested three different resolutions of LiDAR-derived topography and two different methods of flow routing to calculate continuous distributions of TWI. When comparing these values to nuisance flooding locations, we found that distributions of TWI values within a radius of reported nuisance floods were higher, on average, than the distribution of TWI values across each watershed. We also employed a spatial Monte Carlo sampling strategy, randomly selecting grid cells within each watershed to determine if these randomly selected grid cells have preferentially lower TWI values than those near nuisance flooding locations. Overall, we demonstrate that topographic indices may be useful predictors of localized flooding within urban environments.

Remote Viewer for Maritime Robotics Software

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuwata, Yoshiaki; Wolf, Michael; Huntsberger, Terrance L.; Howard, Andrew B.

2013-01-01

This software is a viewer program for maritime robotics software that provides a 3D visualization of the boat pose, its position history, ENC (Electrical Nautical Chart) information, camera images, map overlay, and detected tracks.

User compliance with documenting on a track and trigger-based observation and response chart: a two-phase multi-site audit study.

PubMed

Elliott, Doug; Allen, Emily; McKinley, Sharon; Perry, Lin; Duffield, Christine; Fry, Margaret; Gallagher, Robyn; Iedema, Rick; Roche, Michael

2017-12-01

To examine user compliance and completeness of documentation with a newly designed observation and response chart and whether a rapid response system call was triggered when clinically indicated. Timely recognition and responses to patient deterioration in hospital general wards remain a challenge for healthcare systems globally. Evaluating practice initiatives to improve recognition and response are required. Two-phase audit. Following introduction of the charts in ten health service sites in Australia, an audit of chart completion was conducted during a short trial for initial usability (Phase 1; 2011). After chart adoption as routine use in practice, retrospective and prospective chart audits were conducted (Phase 2; 2012). Overall, 818 and 1,058 charts were audited during the two phases respectively. Compliance was mixed but improved with the new chart (4%-14%). Contrary to chart guidelines, numbers rather than dots were written in the graphing section in 60% of cases. Rates of recognition of abnormal vital signs improved slightly with new charts in use, particularly for higher levels of surveillance and clinical review. Based on local calling criteria, an emergency call was initiated in 33% of cases during the retrospective audit and in 41% of cases with the new chart. User compliance was less than optimal, limiting full function of the chart sections and compliance with local calling criteria. Overcoming apparent behavioural and work culture barriers may improve chart completion, aiding identification of abnormal vital signs and triggering a rapid response system activation when clinical deterioration is detected. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Advanced Nursing Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Daily GRACE gravity field solutions track major flood events in the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gouweleeuw, Ben T.; Kvas, Andreas; Gruber, Christian; Gain, Animesh K.; Mayer-Gürr, Thorsten; Flechtner, Frank; Güntner, Andreas

2018-05-01

Two daily gravity field solutions based on observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission are evaluated against daily river runoff data for major flood events in the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta (GBD) in 2004 and 2007. The trends over periods of a few days of the daily GRACE data reflect temporal variations in daily river runoff during major flood events. This is especially true for the larger flood in 2007, which featured two distinct periods of critical flood level exceedance in the Brahmaputra River. This first hydrological evaluation of daily GRACE gravity field solutions based on a Kalman filter approach confirms their potential for gravity-based large-scale flood monitoring. This particularly applies to short-lived, high-volume floods, as they occur in the GBD with a 4-5-year return period. The release of daily GRACE gravity field solutions in near-real time may enable flood monitoring for large events.

Frequent floods in the European Alps coincide with cooler periods of the past 2500 years

PubMed Central

Glur, Lukas; Wirth, Stefanie B.; Büntgen, Ulf; Gilli, Adrian; Haug, Gerald H.; Schär, Christoph; Beer, Jürg; Anselmetti, Flavio S.

2013-01-01

Severe floods triggered by intense precipitation are among the most destructive natural hazards in Alpine environments, frequently causing large financial and societal damage. Potential enhanced flood occurrence due to global climate change would thus increase threat to settlements, infrastructure, and human lives in the affected regions. Yet, projections of intense precipitation exhibit major uncertainties and robust reconstructions of Alpine floods are limited to the instrumental and historical period. Here we present a 2500-year long flood reconstruction for the European Alps, based on dated sedimentary flood deposits from ten lakes in Switzerland. We show that periods with high flood frequency coincide with cool summer temperatures. This wet-cold synchronism suggests enhanced flood occurrence to be triggered by latitudinal shifts of Atlantic and Mediterranean storm tracks. This paleoclimatic perspective reveals natural analogues for varying climate conditions, and thus can contribute to a better understanding and improved projections of weather extremes under climate change. PMID:24067733

Charting the Progress

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

CURRENTS, 2010

2010-01-01

Advancement technology is reshaping the business of fundraising, alumni relations, communications, and marketing. Through all of these innovations, the backbone of advancement systems remains the constituent database. This article takes a look at advancement databases that track constituent data.

Ultrasonographic fetal growth charts: an informatic approach by quantitative analysis of the impact of ethnicity on diagnoses based on a preliminary report on Salentinian population.

PubMed

Tinelli, Andrea; Bochicchio, Mario Alessandro; Vaira, Lucia; Malvasi, Antonio

2014-01-01

Clear guidance on fetal growth assessment is important because of the strong links between growth restriction or macrosomia and adverse perinatal outcome in order to reduce associated morbidity and mortality. Fetal growth curves are extensively adopted to track fetal sizes from the early phases of pregnancy up to delivery. In the literature, a large variety of reference charts are reported but they are mostly up to five decades old. Furthermore, they do not address several variables and factors (e.g., ethnicity, foods, lifestyle, smoke, and physiological and pathological variables), which are very important for a correct evaluation of the fetal well-being. Therefore, currently adopted fetal growth charts are inadequate to support the melting pot of ethnic groups and lifestyles of our society. Customized fetal growth charts are needed to provide an accurate fetal assessment and to avoid unnecessary obstetric interventions at the time of delivery. Starting from the development of a growth chart purposely built for a specific population, in the paper, authors quantify and analyse the impact of the adoption of wrong growth charts on fetal diagnoses. These results come from a preliminary evaluation of a new open service developed to produce personalized growth charts for specific ethnicity, lifestyle, and other parameters.

The August 1975 Flood over Central China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Long; Smith, James; Liu, Maofeng; Baeck, MaryLynn

2016-04-01

The August 1975 flood in Central China was one of the most destructive floods in history, resulting in 26 000 fatalities, leaving about 10 million people with insufficient shelter, and producing long-lasting famine and disease. Extreme rainfall responsible for this flood event was associated with typhoon Nina during 5-7 August 1975. Despite the prominence of the August 1975 flood, analyses of the storms producing the flood and the resulting flood are sparse. Even fewer attempts were made from the perspective of numerical simulations. We examine details of extreme rainfall for the August 1975 flood based on downscaling simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model driven by 20th Century Reanalysis fields. We further placed key hydrometeorological features for the flood event in a climatological context through the analyses of the 20th Century Reanalysis fields. Results indicate interrelated roles of multiple mesoscale ingredients for deep, moist convection in producing extreme rainfall for the August 1975 flood, superimposed over an anomalous synoptic environment. Attribution analyses on the source of water vapor for this flood event will be conducted based on a Lagrangian parcel tracking algorithm LAGRANTO. Analytical framework developed in this study aims to explore utilization of hydrometeorological approach in flood-control engineering designs by providing details on key elements of flood-producing storms.

Flood monitoring network in southeastern Louisiana

USGS Publications Warehouse

McCallum, Brian E.

1994-01-01

A flood monitoring network has been established to alert emergency operations personnel and the public about hydrologic conditions in the Amite River Basin. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness (LOEP), has installed a real-time data acquisition system to monitor rainfall and river stages in the basin. These data will be transmitted for use by emergency operations personnel to develop flood control and evacuation strategies. The current river stages at selected gaging stations in the basin also will be broadcast by local television and radio stations during a flood. Residents can record the changing river stages on a basin monitoring map, similar to a hurricane tracking map.

NASA Spacecraft Tracks Argentine Flooding

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-08-19

Northwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina, seven straight days of torrential rains of up to 16 inches 40 centimeters in August 2015 resulted in flooding between the cities of Escobar and Campana as seen by NASA Terra spacecraft. The flooding has since eased, allowing some evacuated residents of the 39 affected municipalities to return to their homes. The flooding was captured in this satellite image acquired Aug. 16, 2015, by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument on NASA's Terra spacecraft. The image covers an area of 16.7 by 17.4 miles (26.9 by 28 kilometers), and is located at 34.2 degrees south, 58.6 degrees west. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19871

Movement patterns and trajectories of ovigerous blue crabs Callinectes sapidus during the spawning migration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carr, Sarah D.; Tankersley, Richard A.; Hench, James L.; Forward, Richard B.; Luettich, Richard A.

2004-08-01

Female blue crabs ( Callinectes sapidus Rathbun) migrate from low salinity estuarine regions to high salinity regions near the ocean to release larvae. During this migration, ovigerous females use ebb-tide transport, a vertical migratory behavior in which they ascend into the water column during ebb tides, to move seaward to larval release areas. In order to determine the relationship of ebb-tide vertical migrations to local currents and the influence of these vertical migrations on the horizontal transport of blue crabs in the estuary, ovigerous females with mature embryos (˜1-3 days from hatching) were tracked near Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina (USA), in July and August 2001 and 2002. Crabs were tagged and tracked using ultrasonic telemetry, and currents near the crabs were measured simultaneously with a shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler. During the two seasons, eight crabs were successfully tracked for periods ranging from 3.9-37.0 h and for distances ranging from 1.9-10.6 km. All crabs migrated seaward during the tracking periods. Crabs moved episodically during all tidal phases with periods of movement on the order of minutes to an hour. They moved with local currents in terms of both speed and direction during ebb tides, consistent with ebb-tide transport, and moved down-estuary (seaward) in opposition to local currents during flood tides. The percentage of time that crabs were active was higher during night ebb tides than during day ebb tides or flood tides and increased with increasing ebb-tide current speed. Mean migratory speeds were 0.11, 0.04, 0.08 and 0.02 m s -1 during night ebb, night flood, day ebb and day flood tides, respectively, and net migratory speeds were on the order of 5 km day -1. Due to the episodic nature of the crabs' movements, the total distances that crabs traveled during ebb tides ranged from 10-40% of the distances that passive particles could have traveled under the same conditions.

Seismic tremor signals from Bárðarbunga, Grímsvötn and other glacier covered volcanoes in Iceland's Vatnajökull ice cap

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vogfjörd, Kristin S.; Eibl, Eva; Bean, Chris; Roberts, Matthew; Ófeigsson, Benedikt; Jóhannesson, Tómas

2016-04-01

Many of Iceland's most active volcanoes, like Grímsvötn and Bárðarbunga are located under glaciers giving rise to a range of volcanic hazards having both local and cross-border effects on humans, infrastructures and aviation. Volcanic eruptions under ice can lead to explosive hydromagmatic volcanism and generate small to catastrophic subglacial floods that may take hours to days to emerge from the glacier edge. Unrest in subglacial hydrothermal systems and the draining of subglacial meltwater can also lead to flood hazards. These processes and magma-ice interactions in general, generate seismic tremor signals that are commonly observed on seismic systems during volcanic unrest and/or eruptions. The tremor signals exhibit certain characteristics in frequency content, amplitude and behavior with time, but their characteristics overlap. Ability to discriminate between the different processes in real-time or near-real time can support early eruption and flood warnings and help mitigate their detrimental effects. One of the goals set forth in the FUTUREVOLC volcano supersite project was in fact to understand and discriminate between the different types of seismic tremor recorded at subglacial volcanoes. In that pursuit, the seismic network was expanded into the Vatnajökull glacier with four permanent stations on rock and in the ice, in addition to three seismic arrays installed at the ice margin, to enable location and possible tracking of the tremor sources. To track subglacial floods with better resolution three GPS receivers were also installed on the ice, one in an ice cauldron above the Skaftárkatlar geothermal melting area and two down glacier, above the track of the expected subglacial flood. During FUTUREVOLC this infrastructure has recorded all the types of process expected: Magmatic dyke intrusion and propagation from Bárðarbunga, subaerial fissure eruption of that magma at Holuhraun, two subglacial floods, one small and one large, draining from the Skaftárkatlar area, a small flood from Grímsvötn and a small hydrothermal explosion at Kverkfjöll volcano. During the Bárðarbunga dyke propagation under the ice several sequences of tremor were observed, some particularly energetic. Examination of these signals in relation to the advancing dyke intrusion shows that they occurred when the migrating seismicity moved through the areas that later developed cauldrons on the ice surface, indicating increased melting at the bedrock-ice interface and possible magma-ice interaction. The subglacial flood from the Eastern Skaftár cauldron geothermal area, generated a strong tremor signal as well as small ice quakes recorded on near-by stations. Continuous real-time transmission of the GPS signal from inside the cauldron enabled near-real time processing and webcasting of the subsiding cauldron and thus early warning of the oncoming flood and its expected size. The signals recorded above the subglacial track also showed the glacier uplifting and advancing as the flood peak passed underneath. These observations allowed joint interpretation of the seismic single stations and array signals with the GPS signals. Results from the different processes will be presented and explained.

Reduction and analysis of data collected during the electromagnetic tornado experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davisson, L. D.; Bradbury, J.

1975-01-01

Progress is reviewed on the reduction and analysis of tornado data collected on analog tape. The strip chart recording of 7 tracks from all available analog data for quick look analysis is emphasized.

Flood basalts and mass extinctions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morgan, W. Jason

1988-01-01

There appears to be a correlation between the times of flood basalts and mass-extinction events. There is a correlation of flood basalts and hotspot tracks--flood basalts appear to mark the beginning of a new hotspot. Perhaps there is an initial instability in the mantle that bursts forth as a flood basalt but then becomes a steady trickle that persists for many tens of millions of years. Suppose that flood basalts and not impacts cause the environmental changes that lead to mass-extinctions. This is a very testable hypothesis: it predicts that the ages of the flows should agree exactly with the times of extinctions. The Deccan and K-T ages agree with this hypothesis; An iridium anomaly at extinction boundaries apparently can be explained by a scaled-up eruption of the Hawaiian type; the occurrence of shocked-quartz is more of a problem. However if the flood basalts are all well dated and their ages indeed agree with extinction times, then surely some mechanism to appropriately produce shocked-quartz will be found.

High Pass Filtering of Satellite Altimeter Data,

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-10-01

bathymetry [7] and filtered data tracks (N = 3, X = 200 km) near the Clipperton Fracture Zone just East of the Christmas Island Ridge. Along the multiple...We also notice a negative signature associated with the Clipperton Fracture Zone and extending over all the tracks. It may indicate a trough covered...in Mid-Pacific Seamount Province..Mid-Iat tic and near the Western Clipperton Fracture Zone respectively. These charts arc to he overlaid by Figures

Connections: Tracking the Links between Jobs and Family. Job, Family and Stress among Husbands, Wives and Lone-Parents 15-64 from 1990 to 2000. Contemporary Family Trends.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sauve, Roger

Noting that most reports on work-family relationships are based on limited data, this report attempts to establish a foundation for ongoing analysis of job and family patterns in Canada based on both historical and current labor force data and other sources. The report tracks and charts the connections between paid work and family trends for…

Effects of sea level rise, land subsidence, bathymetric change and typhoon tracks on storm flooding in the coastal areas of Shanghai.

PubMed

Wang, Jun; Yi, Si; Li, Mengya; Wang, Lei; Song, Chengcheng

2018-04-15

We compared the effects of three key environmental factors of coastal flooding: sea level rise (SLR), land subsidence (LS) and bathymetric change (BC) in the coastal areas of Shanghai. We use the hydrological simulation model MIKE 21 to simulate flood magnitudes under multiple scenarios created from combinations of the key environmental factors projected to year 2030 and 2050. Historical typhoons (TC9711, TC8114, TC0012, TC0205 and TC1109), which caused extremely high surges and considerable losses, were selected as reference tracks to generate potential typhoon events that would make landfalls in Shanghai (SHLD), in the north of Zhejiang (ZNLD) and moving northwards in the offshore area of Shanghai (MNS) under those scenarios. The model results provided assessment of impact of single and compound effects of the three factors (SLR, LS and BC) on coastal flooding in Shanghai for the next few decades. Model simulation showed that by the year 2030, the magnitude of storm flooding will increase due to the environmental changes defined by SLR, LS, and BC. Particularly, the compound scenario of the three factors will generate coastal floods that are 3.1, 2.7, and 1.9 times greater than the single factor change scenarios by, respectively, SLR, LS, and BC. Even more drastically, in 2050, the compound impact of the three factors would be 8.5, 7.5, and 23.4 times of the single factors. It indicates that the impact of environmental changes is not simple addition of the effects from individual factors, but rather multiple times greater of that when the projection time is longer. We also found for short-term scenarios, the bathymetry change is the most important factor for the changes in coastal flooding; and for long-term scenarios, sea level rise and land subsidence are the major factors that coastal flood prevention and management should address. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Image-guided radiotherapy quality control: Statistical process control using image similarity metrics.

PubMed

Shiraishi, Satomi; Grams, Michael P; Fong de Los Santos, Luis E

2018-05-01

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate an objective quality control framework for the image review process. A total of 927 cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) registrations were retrospectively analyzed for 33 bilateral head and neck cancer patients who received definitive radiotherapy. Two registration tracking volumes (RTVs) - cervical spine (C-spine) and mandible - were defined, within which a similarity metric was calculated and used as a registration quality tracking metric over the course of treatment. First, sensitivity to large misregistrations was analyzed for normalized cross-correlation (NCC) and mutual information (MI) in the context of statistical analysis. The distribution of metrics was obtained for displacements that varied according to a normal distribution with standard deviation of σ = 2 mm, and the detectability of displacements greater than 5 mm was investigated. Then, similarity metric control charts were created using a statistical process control (SPC) framework to objectively monitor the image registration and review process. Patient-specific control charts were created using NCC values from the first five fractions to set a patient-specific process capability limit. Population control charts were created using the average of the first five NCC values for all patients in the study. For each patient, the similarity metrics were calculated as a function of unidirectional translation, referred to as the effective displacement. Patient-specific action limits corresponding to 5 mm effective displacements were defined. Furthermore, effective displacements of the ten registrations with the lowest similarity metrics were compared with a three dimensional (3DoF) couch displacement required to align the anatomical landmarks. Normalized cross-correlation identified suboptimal registrations more effectively than MI within the framework of SPC. Deviations greater than 5 mm were detected at 2.8σ and 2.1σ from the mean for NCC and MI, respectively. Patient-specific control charts using NCC evaluated daily variation and identified statistically significant deviations. This study also showed that subjective evaluations of the images were not always consistent. Population control charts identified a patient whose tracking metrics were significantly lower than those of other patients. The patient-specific action limits identified registrations that warranted immediate evaluation by an expert. When effective displacements in the anterior-posterior direction were compared to 3DoF couch displacements, the agreement was ±1 mm for seven of 10 patients for both C-spine and mandible RTVs. Qualitative review alone of IGRT images can result in inconsistent feedback to the IGRT process. Registration tracking using NCC objectively identifies statistically significant deviations. When used in conjunction with the current image review process, this tool can assist in improving the safety and consistency of the IGRT process. © 2018 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Multi-objective Operation Chart Optimization for Aquatic Species Habitat Conservation of Cascaded Hydropower System on Yuan River, Southwestern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, X.; Lei, X.; Fang, G.; Huang, X.

2017-12-01

Extensive cascading hydropower exploitation in southwestern China has been the subject of debate and conflict in recent years. Introducing limited ecological curves, a novel approach for derivation of hydropower-ecological joint operation chart of cascaded hydropower system was proposed, aiming to optimize the general hydropower and ecological benefits, and to alleviate the ecological deterioration in specific flood/dry conditions. The physical habitat simulation model is proposed initially to simulate the relationship between streamflow and physical habitat of target fish species and to determine the optimal ecological flow range of representative reach. The ecological—hydropower joint optimization model is established to produce the multi-objective operation chart of cascaded hydropower system. Finally, the limited ecological guiding curves were generated and added into the operation chart. The JS-MDS cascaded hydropower system on the Yuan River in southwestern China is employed as the research area. As the result, the proposed guiding curves could increase the hydropower production amount by 1.72% and 5.99% and optimize ecological conservation degree by 0.27% and 1.13% for JS and MDS Reservoir, respectively. Meanwhile, the ecological deterioration rate also sees a decrease from 6.11% to 1.11% for JS Reservoir and 26.67% to 3.89% for MDS Reservoir.

Probabilistic Design Storm Method for Improved Flood Estimation in Ungauged Catchments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berk, Mario; Å pačková, Olga; Straub, Daniel

2017-12-01

The design storm approach with event-based rainfall-runoff models is a standard method for design flood estimation in ungauged catchments. The approach is conceptually simple and computationally inexpensive, but the underlying assumptions can lead to flawed design flood estimations. In particular, the implied average recurrence interval (ARI) neutrality between rainfall and runoff neglects uncertainty in other important parameters, leading to an underestimation of design floods. The selection of a single representative critical rainfall duration in the analysis leads to an additional underestimation of design floods. One way to overcome these nonconservative approximations is the use of a continuous rainfall-runoff model, which is associated with significant computational cost and requires rainfall input data that are often not readily available. As an alternative, we propose a novel Probabilistic Design Storm method that combines event-based flood modeling with basic probabilistic models and concepts from reliability analysis, in particular the First-Order Reliability Method (FORM). The proposed methodology overcomes the limitations of the standard design storm approach, while utilizing the same input information and models without excessive computational effort. Additionally, the Probabilistic Design Storm method allows deriving so-called design charts, which summarize representative design storm events (combinations of rainfall intensity and other relevant parameters) for floods with different return periods. These can be used to study the relationship between rainfall and runoff return periods. We demonstrate, investigate, and validate the method by means of an example catchment located in the Bavarian Pre-Alps, in combination with a simple hydrological model commonly used in practice.

SynopSIS: integrating physician sign-out with the electronic medical record.

PubMed

Sarkar, Urmimala; Carter, Jonathan T; Omachi, Theodore A; Vidyarthi, Arpana R; Cucina, Russell; Bokser, Seth; van Eaton, Erik; Blum, Michael

2007-09-01

Safe delivery of care depends on effective communication among all health care providers, especially during transfers of care. The traditional medical chart does not adequately support such communication. We designed a patient-tracking tool that enhances provider communication and supports clinical decision making. To develop a problem-based patient-tracking tool, called Sign-out, Information Retrieval, and Summary (SynopSIS), in order to support patient tracking, transfers of care (ie, sign-outs), and daily rounds. Tertiary-care, university-based teaching hospital. SynopSIS compiles and organizes information from the electronic medical record to support hospital discharge and disposition decisions, daily provider decisions, and overnight or cross-coverage decisions. It reflects the provider's patient-care and daily work-flow needs. We plan to use Web-based surveys, audits of daily use, and interdisciplinary focus groups to evaluate SynopSIS's impact on communication between providers, quality of sign-out, patient continuity of care, and rounding efficiency. We expect SynopSIS to improve care by facilitating communication between care teams, standardizing sign-out, and automating daily review of clinical and laboratory trends. SynopSIS redesigns the clinical chart to better serve provider and patient needs. (c) 2007 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Sensor and Processing COI (Briefing Charts)

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-05-27

Persistent Surveillance • Target Detection, Recognition & ID at Standoff Ranges • Force/Platform/Sensor Protection • Target Tracking • Early Warning • BDA ...inhomogeneous and complex media is also a foundational challenge for President’s BRAIN initiative. 38 Explore Advanced Sensors And Processing

Monitoring and Management of Coastal Zones Which are Under Flooding Risk with Remote Sensing and GIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Direk, S.; Seker, D. Z.; Musaoglu, N.; Gazioglu, C.

2012-12-01

Coastal zone areas play an important role in value to the welfare of nations and provides natural, social, cultural and economic benefits and increased quality of life. A great majority of the earth population live in coastal zone areas and they are under flooding risk due to tsunamies, storm surge, typhoon, sea level rise, precipitation and dam destruction. Global warming from the grenhouse effect raises sea level by expanding seawater, melting water and causing ice sheets to melt. Based on a selection of nine long, high quality tide gauge records, Holgate analyzed that the Mean Sea Level (MSL) rise over the period of 1904-2003 was found to be 1.74 ± 0.16 mm/year. Consider the whole century showed that the high decadal rates of change in global MSL was observed during the last 20 years of the records. Based on 4 tide gauge records in Marmara Sea, Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, Yildiz analyzed that MSL rise during 1984-2002 was found to be 9.6 ± 0.9 mm/year, 5.1 ± 1 mm/year and 8.7 ± 0.8 mm/year respectively. By analyzing the whole recorded data, it is found that the annual MSL rise in eastern mediterranean was 4-7 mm/year which was higher than the global prediction. A rise in sea level would accelerate coastal erosion, aggravate flooding, threaten coastal area structures and inundate wetlands. The salinity of rivers and bays would increase. A 1 meter in sea level rise would enable a 15-20 year storm to flood many areas. Higher water levels would reduce coastal drainage which would cause an increase flooding by rain storms. Finally, a rise in sea level would raise water tables and would flood basements. Geographic Information System (GIS) is a state of art technology and operationally being used more frequently by commercial and scientific society. GIS system provides a stable platform for the integration of data from different sources, allows a large quantity of data to be stored and processed, provides a seamless geographical database and provides a great flexibility for the display and visualization of data to a wider audience. Today GIS, plays a key role in monitoring and management procedures and re-shaping the environment. The capability of GIS in handling spatial data, presented new opportunities for adaptation of more cost-effective and efficient procedures. By using remote sensing and GIS, coastal zone could be monitored and managed more easily. The map/chart of interested coastal areas could be done more accurately and rapidly. Maps/charts of areas before and after flooding could be done by using satellites or areal images and the effect of damage could be analyzed in a short time.

Natural disasters online

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Showstack, Randy

Wildfires, severe storms, floods, volcanic eruptions, and major air pollution events are types of major natural hazards that NASA will track on a new Web site unveiled on 16 January. The site, part of the agency's Earth Observatory, will track these hazards in near-real time with imagery acquired from NASA's Earth Science Enterprise and Earth Observing System satellite missions, along with related descriptive information.

Natural Hazards within the West Indies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cross, John A.

1992-01-01

Outlines the vulnerability of the West Indies to various natural hazards, especially hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. Reviews the geologic and meteorologic causes and consequences of the hazards. Suggests methods of incorporating hazards information in geography classes. Includes maps and a hurricane tracking chart. (DK)

Data-Base Software For Tracking Technological Developments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aliberti, James A.; Wright, Simon; Monteith, Steve K.

1996-01-01

Technology Tracking System (TechTracS) computer program developed for use in storing and retrieving information on technology and related patent information developed under auspices of NASA Headquarters and NASA's field centers. Contents of data base include multiple scanned still images and quick-time movies as well as text. TechTracS includes word-processing, report-editing, chart-and-graph-editing, and search-editing subprograms. Extensive keyword searching capabilities enable rapid location of technologies, innovators, and companies. System performs routine functions automatically and serves multiple users.

Tracking change over time: River flooding

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2014-01-01

The objective of the Tracking Change Over Time lesson plan is to get students excited about studying the changing Earth. Intended for students in grades 5-8, the lesson plan is flexible and may be used as a student self-guided tutorial or as a teacher-led class lesson. Enhance students' learning of geography, map reading, earth science, and problem solving by seeing landscape changes from space.

Archaeological Test Sampling of Sites within the La Quinta Flood Control Channel Easement,

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-03-01

J L CRAIB MAR 80UNCLASSIFIED DACW@9-80-M-0975 F/G 5/6 NL | EmhhhhhhommhhlmEEIE hhhhhl I E5Ehhhhhhhhlh IIllfllfflfflffllfllf U-IIIIII a J 12 !EM imi.I...ima ii~ti -- I .u 1111125 11114 111116 MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART NATIONAL BUR.AU OF STANDARDS-1963- A K- Lo’ • ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ e 4e...66 REFERENCES CITED ............................................... 71 APPENDIX A - Triangulation Points for Site Datum Stakes ........ 73

Preliminary bathymetry; Ester Passage to Eaglek Island, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Post, Austin

1980-01-01

A map, scale 1:20,000, shows water depths, rocks, and hazards to navigation. These data are noted on track lines run by the Research Vessel Growler in Alaskan waters, where data on navigation shown on published charts are nonexistant, preliminary, or out dated. (USGS)

Preliminary bathymetry; approaches to Unakwik Inlet, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Post, Austin

1980-01-01

A map, scale 1:20,000, shows water depths, rocks, and hazards to navigation. These data are noted on track lines run by the Research Vessel Growler in Alaskan waters, where data on navigation shown on published charts are nonexistant, preliminary, or out dated. (USGS)

Metagenomic profiling of historic Colorado Front Range flood impact on distribution of riverine antibiotic resistance genes.

PubMed

Garner, Emily; Wallace, Joshua S; Argoty, Gustavo Arango; Wilkinson, Caitlin; Fahrenfeld, Nicole; Heath, Lenwood S; Zhang, Liqing; Arabi, Mazdak; Aga, Diana S; Pruden, Amy

2016-12-05

Record-breaking floods in September 2013 caused massive damage to homes and infrastructure across the Colorado Front Range and heavily impacted the Cache La Poudre River watershed. Given the unique nature of this watershed as a test-bed for tracking environmental pathways of antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) dissemination, we sought to determine the impact of extreme flooding on ARG reservoirs in river water and sediment. We utilized high-throughput DNA sequencing to obtain metagenomic profiles of ARGs before and after flooding, and investigated 23 antibiotics and 14 metals as putative selective agents during post-flood recovery. With 277 ARG subtypes identified across samples, total bulk water ARGs decreased following the flood but recovered to near pre-flood abundances by ten months post-flood at both a pristine site and at a site historically heavily influenced by wastewater treatment plants and animal feeding operations. Network analysis of de novo assembled sequencing reads into 52,556 scaffolds identified ARGs likely located on mobile genetic elements, with up to 11 ARGs per plasmid-associated scaffold. Bulk water bacterial phylogeny correlated with ARG profiles while sediment phylogeny varied along the river's anthropogenic gradient. This rare flood afforded the opportunity to gain deeper insight into factors influencing the spread of ARGs in watersheds.

Recurring middle Pleistocene outburst floods in east-central Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Froese, D.G.; Smith, D.G.; Westgate, J.A.; Ager, T.A.; Preece, S.J.; Sandhu, A.; Enkin, R.J.; Weber, F.

2003-01-01

Recurring glacial outburst floods from the Yukon-Tanana Upland are inferred from sediments exposed along the Yukon River near the mouth of Charley River in east-central Alaska. Deposits range from imbricate gravel and granules indicating flow locally extending up the Yukon valley, to more distal sediments consisting of at least 10 couplets of planar sands, granules, and climbing ripples with up-valley paleocurrent indicators overlain by massive silt. An interglacial organic silt, occurring within the sequence, indicates at least two flood events are associated with an earlier glaciation, and at least three flood events are associated with a later glaciation which postdates the organic silt. A minimum age for the floods is provided by a glass fission track age of 560,000 ?? 80,000 yr on the GI tephra, which occurs 8 m above the flood beds. A maximum age of 780,000 yr for the floods is based on normal magnetic polarity of the sediments. These age constraints allow us to correlate the flood events to the early-middle Pleistocene. And further, the outburst floods indicate extensive glaciation of the Yukon-Tanana Upland during the early-middle Pleistocene, likely representing the most extensive Pleistocene glaciation of the area. ?? 2003 University of Washington. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Metagenomic profiling of historic Colorado Front Range flood impact on distribution of riverine antibiotic resistance genes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garner, Emily; Wallace, Joshua S.; Argoty, Gustavo Arango; Wilkinson, Caitlin; Fahrenfeld, Nicole; Heath, Lenwood S.; Zhang, Liqing; Arabi, Mazdak; Aga, Diana S.; Pruden, Amy

2016-12-01

Record-breaking floods in September 2013 caused massive damage to homes and infrastructure across the Colorado Front Range and heavily impacted the Cache La Poudre River watershed. Given the unique nature of this watershed as a test-bed for tracking environmental pathways of antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) dissemination, we sought to determine the impact of extreme flooding on ARG reservoirs in river water and sediment. We utilized high-throughput DNA sequencing to obtain metagenomic profiles of ARGs before and after flooding, and investigated 23 antibiotics and 14 metals as putative selective agents during post-flood recovery. With 277 ARG subtypes identified across samples, total bulk water ARGs decreased following the flood but recovered to near pre-flood abundances by ten months post-flood at both a pristine site and at a site historically heavily influenced by wastewater treatment plants and animal feeding operations. Network analysis of de novo assembled sequencing reads into 52,556 scaffolds identified ARGs likely located on mobile genetic elements, with up to 11 ARGs per plasmid-associated scaffold. Bulk water bacterial phylogeny correlated with ARG profiles while sediment phylogeny varied along the river’s anthropogenic gradient. This rare flood afforded the opportunity to gain deeper insight into factors influencing the spread of ARGs in watersheds.

Online Sources of Competitive Intelligence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagers, Robert

1986-01-01

Presents an approach to using online sources of information for competitor intelligence (i.e., monitoring industry and tracking activities of competitors); identifies principal sources; and suggests some ways of making use of online databases. Types and sources of information and sources and database charts are appended. Eight references are…

From chart tracking to workflow management.

PubMed Central

Srinivasan, P.; Vignes, G.; Venable, C.; Hazelwood, A.; Cade, T.

1994-01-01

The current interest in system-wide integration appears to be based on the assumption that an organization, by digitizing information and accepting a common standard for the exchange of such information, will improve the accessibility of this information and automatically experience benefits resulting from its more productive use. We do not dispute this reasoning, but assert that an organization's capacity for effective change is proportional to the understanding of the current structure among its personnel. Our workflow manager is based on the use of a Parameterized Petri Net (PPN) model which can be configured to represent an arbitrarily detailed picture of an organization. The PPN model can be animated to observe the model organization in action, and the results of the animation analyzed. This simulation is a dynamic ongoing process which changes with the system and allows members of the organization to pose "what if" questions as a means of exploring opportunities for change. We present, the "workflow management system" as the natural successor to the tracking program, incorporating modeling, scheduling, reactive planning, performance evaluation, and simulation. This workflow management system is more than adequate for meeting the needs of a paper chart tracking system, and, as the patient record is computerized, will serve as a planning and evaluation tool in converting the paper-based health information system into a computer-based system. PMID:7950051

1975 Annual Typhoon Report

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-01-01

southwest monsoon. Tropical Cyclone 24-75 formed just off the southwest tip of the Indian subcontinent. 3X tracked northwest and dissipated over water ...Tropical Cyclone 33-75 formed in late November and described an erratic track in the southwest portion of the Bay. The storm dissipated over water ...Leyte leaving 15 dead rains were spawned over the caused widespread flooding Choppy waters near capsized a crowded motorboat and 30 missing. FIGURE 4

Real-time data collection of scour at bridges

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mueller, David S.; Landers, Mark N.

1994-01-01

The record flood on the Mississippi River during the summer of 1993 provided a rare opportunity to collect data on scour of the streambed at bridges and to test data collection equipment under extreme hydraulic conditions. Detailed bathymetric and hydraulic information were collected at two bridges crossing the Mississippi River during the rising limb, near the peak, and during the recession of the flood. Bathymetric data were collected using a digital echo sounder. Three-dimensional velocities were collected using Broadband Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (BB-ADCP) operating at 300 kilohertz (kHz), 600 kHz, and 1,200 kHz. Positioning of the data collected was measured using a range-azimuth tracking system and two global positioning systems (GPS). Although differential GPS was able to provide accurate positions and tracking information during approach- and exit-reach data collection, it was unable to maintain lock on a sufficient number of satellites when the survey vessel was under the bridge or near the piers. The range-azimuth tracking system was used to collect position and tracking information for detailed data collection near the bridge piers. These detailed data indicated local scour ranging from 3 to 8 meters and will permit a field-based evaluation of the ability of various numerical models to compute the hydraulics, depth, geometry, and time-dependent development of local scour.

Direct numerical simulation of annular flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Batchvarov, Assen; Kahouadji, Lyes; Chergui, Jalel; Juric, Damir; Shin, Seungwon; Craster, Richard V.; Matar, Omar K.

2017-11-01

Vertical counter-current two-phase flows are investigated using direct numerical simulations. The computations are carried out using Blue, a front-tracking-based CFD solver. Preliminary results show good qualitative agreement with experimental observations in terms of interfacial phenomena; these include three-dimensional, large-amplitude wave formation, the development of long ligaments, and droplet entrainment. The flooding phenomena in these counter current systems are closely investigated. The onset of flooding in our simulations is compared to existing empirical correlations such as Kutateladze-type and Wallis-type. The effect of varying tube diameter and fluid properties on the flooding phenomena is also investigated in this work. EPSRC, UK, MEMPHIS program Grant (EP/K003976/1), RAEng Research Chair (OKM).

Introduction of an Emergency Response Plan for flood loading of Sultan Abu Bakar Dam in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Said, N. F. Md; Sidek, L. M.; Basri, H.; Muda, R. S.; Razad, A. Z. Abdul

2016-03-01

Sultan Abu Bakar Dam Emergency Response Plan (ERP) is designed to assist employees for identifying, monitoring, responding and mitigation dam safety emergencies. This paper is outlined to identification of an organization chart, responsibility for emergency management team and triggering level in Sultan Abu Bakar Dam ERP. ERP is a plan that guides responsibilities for proper operation of Sultan Abu Bakar Dam in respond to emergency incidents affecting the dam. Based on this study four major responsibilities are needed for Abu Bakar Dam owing to protect any probable risk for downstream which they can be Incident Commander, Deputy Incident Commander, On-Scene Commander, Civil Engineer. In conclusion, having organization charts based on ERP studies can be helpful for decreasing the probable risks in any projects such as Abu Bakar Dam and it is a way to identify and suspected and actual dam safety emergencies.

The acquisition, storage, and dissemination of LANDSAT and other LACIE support data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abbotts, L. F.; Nelson, R. M. (Principal Investigator)

1979-01-01

Activities performed at the LACIE physical data library are described. These include the researching, acquisition, indexing, maintenance, distribution, tracking, and control of LACIE operational data and documents. Much of the data available can be incorporated into an Earth resources data base. Elements of the data collection that can support future remote sensing programs include: (1) the LANDSAT full-frame image files; (2) the microfilm file of aerial and space photographic and multispectral maps and charts that encompasses a large portion of the Earth's surface; (3) the map/chart collection that includes various scale maps and charts for a good portion of the U.S. and the LACIE area in foreign countries; (4) computer-compatible tapes of good quality LANDSAT scenes; (5) basic remote sensing data, project data, reference material, and associated publications; (6) visual aids to support presentation on remote sensing projects; and (7) research acquisition and handling procedures for managing data.

Catastrophe loss modelling of storm-surge flood risk in eastern England.

PubMed

Muir Wood, Robert; Drayton, Michael; Berger, Agnete; Burgess, Paul; Wright, Tom

2005-06-15

Probabilistic catastrophe loss modelling techniques, comprising a large stochastic set of potential storm-surge flood events, each assigned an annual rate of occurrence, have been employed for quantifying risk in the coastal flood plain of eastern England. Based on the tracks of the causative extratropical cyclones, historical storm-surge events are categorized into three classes, with distinct windfields and surge geographies. Extreme combinations of "tide with surge" are then generated for an extreme value distribution developed for each class. Fragility curves are used to determine the probability and magnitude of breaching relative to water levels and wave action for each section of sea defence. Based on the time-history of water levels in the surge, and the simulated configuration of breaching, flow is time-stepped through the defences and propagated into the flood plain using a 50 m horizontal-resolution digital elevation model. Based on the values and locations of the building stock in the flood plain, losses are calculated using vulnerability functions linking flood depth and flood velocity to measures of property loss. The outputs from this model for a UK insurance industry portfolio include "loss exceedence probabilities" as well as "average annualized losses", which can be employed for calculating coastal flood risk premiums in each postcode.

Color-coding and human factors engineering to improve patient safety characteristics of paper-based emergency department clinical documentation.

PubMed

Kobayashi, Leo; Boss, Robert M; Gibbs, Frantz J; Goldlust, Eric; Hennedy, Michelle M; Monti, James E; Siegel, Nathan A

2011-01-01

Investigators studied an emergency department (ED) physical chart system and identified inconsistent, small font labeling; a single-color scheme; and an absence of human factors engineering (HFE) cues. A case study and description of the methodology with which surrogate measures of chart-related patient safety were studied and subsequently used to reduce latent hazards are presented. Medical records present a challenge to patient safety in EDs. Application of HFE can improve specific aspects of existing medical chart organization systems as they pertain to patient safety in acute care environments. During 10 random audits over 5 consecutive days (573 data points), 56 (9.8%) chart binders (range 0.0-23%) were found to be either misplaced or improperly positioned relative to other chart binders; 12 (21%) were in the critical care area. HFE principles were applied to develop an experimental chart binder system with alternating color-based chart groupings, simple and prominent identifiers, and embedded visual cues. Post-intervention audits revealed significant reductions in chart binder location problems overall (p < 0.01), for Urgent Care A and B pods (6.4% to 1.2%; p < 0.05), Fast Track C pod (19.3% to 0.0%; p < 0.05) and Behavioral/Substance Abuse D pod (15.7% to 0.0%; p < 0.05) areas of the ED. The critical care room area did not display an improvement (11.4% to 13.2%; p = 0.40). Application of HFE methods may aid the development, assessment, and modification of acute care clinical environments through evidence-based design methodologies and contribute to safe patient care delivery.

A Study to Develop an Implementation Plan for a Centralized Materiel Management System at the US Army Medical Department Activity, Ft. Sill, OK

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-08-01

provide consumable medical and surgical supplies to patient care areas. In an environment of limited resources, the supply system uti - lized by the Fort... uti - lizing the Uniform Chart of Accounts in the Comptroller Division to get a list of cost centers, then cross-referencing this list 28 with the...ACTIVE-AISLE track can be utilized in the new facility, or, if ample space is available, the shelving could be uti - lized without the track with the

Hurricane Rita Track Radar Image with Topographic Overlay

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Animation

About the animation: This simulated view of the potential effects of storm surge flooding on Galveston and portions of south Houston was generated with data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. Although it is protected by a 17-foot sea wall against storm surges, flooding due to storm surges caused by major hurricanes remains a concern. The animation shows regions that, if unprotected, would be inundated with water. The animation depicts flooding in one-meter increments.

About the image: The Gulf Coast from the Mississippi Delta through the Texas coast is shown in this satellite image from NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) overlain with data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), and the predicted storm track for Hurricane Rita. The prediction from the National Weather Service was published Sept. 22 at 4 p.m. Central Time, and shows the expected track center in black with the lighter shaded area indicating the range of potential tracks the storm could take.

Low-lying terrain along the coast has been highlighted using the SRTM elevation data, with areas within 15 feet of sea level shown in red, and within 30 feet in yellow. These areas are more at risk for flooding and the destructive effects of storm surge and high waves.

Data used in this image were acquired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on Feb. 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect 3-D measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60-meter (approximately 200-foot) mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between NASA, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) of the U.S. Department of Defense and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C.

Location: 28 degrees North latitude, 23.5 degrees West longitude Orientation: North toward the top Size:890 by 1447 kilometers (552 by 897 miles) Image Data: MODIS image and colored SRTM elevation model Date Acquired: February 2000

Nesting of Morelet's crocodile, Crocodylus moreletii (Dumeril and Bibron), in Los Tuxtlas, Mexico.

PubMed

Villegas, A; Mendoza, G D; Arcos-García, J L; Reynoso, V H

2017-11-01

We evaluated the nesting by Crocodylus moreletii in Lago de Catemaco, Veracruz, southeastern, Mexico. During the nesting and hatching seasons, we searched for nests along the northern margins of the lake and small associated streams. We investigated egg mortality by weekly monitoring each of the nests found, recording sign of predation (tracks and holes dug into the nest) and the effect of water level fluctuations. We not found differences to nest between inland or flooded zones. However, we found that egg size varied among nests. In nests built inland, predation was the major cause of egg mortality whereas flooding resulted in more deaths of eggs in the flooding zone. Flooding killed 25% of eggs monitored in this study. We suggest that to increase nest success in the Morelet's crocodile it is necessary to promote conservation of nesting areas around the lake, recently occupied by urban or tourist developments.

Predicting impact of SLR on coastal flooding in Banda Aceh coastal defences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al'ala, Musa; Syamsidik, Kato, Shigeru

2017-10-01

Banda Aceh is a low-lying city located at the northern tip of Sumatra Island and situated at the conjuncture of Malacca Strait and the Andaman Sea. A Sea Level Rise (SLR) rate at 7 mm/year has been observed around this region. In the next 50 years, this city will face a serious challenge to encounter impacts of the sea level rise, such as frequent coastal floodings. This study is aimed at estimating impacts of the sea level rise induced coastal floodings on several types of coastal structures and city drainage system. Numerical simulations of Delft3D were applied to investigate the influence of the gradual sea level rise in 50 years. The hydrodynamic process of coastal flooding and sediment transport were simulated by Delft3D-Flow. Topography and bathymetry data were collected from GEBCO and updated with the available nautical chart (DISHIDROS, JICA, and field measurements). Hydrodynamic process gains the flow process revealing the level of the sea water intrusion also observed in the model. Main rivers (Krueng Aceh, Krueng Neng, and Alue Naga Flood Canal) and the drainage system were observed to see the tides effects on coastal structures and drainage system. The impact on coastal community focusing on affected area, shoreline retreat, the rate of sea intrusion was analyzed with spatial tools. New coastal line, coastal flooding vulnerable area, and the community susceptibility properties map influenced by 50 years sea level rise is produced. This research found that the city needs to address strategies to anticipate the exacerbating impacts of the sea level rise by managing its coastal spatial planning and modify its drainage system, especially at the drainage outlets.

Coastal Piloting & Charting: Navigation 101.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osinski, Alison

This curriculum guide for a beginning course on marine navigation describes marine navigation (the art of and science of determining position of a ship and its movement from one position to another in order to keep track of where the ship is and where it is going) and defines dead reckoning, piloting, electronic navigation, and celestial…

Charting the Maturation of the Frontal Lobe: An Electrophysiological Strategy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Segalowitz, S. J.; Davies, Patricia L.

2004-01-01

Tracking the functional development of specific regions of the prefrontal cortex in children using event-related potentials (ERPs) is challenging for both technical and conceptual reasons. In this paper we outline our strategy for studying frontal lobe development and present preliminary results from children aged 7-17 years and young adults using…

Candidates, Campaigns, & Elections: Projects, Activities, Literature Links. Grades 4-8.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scher, Linda; Johnson, Mary Oates

This resource book provides activities about elections and campaigns that involve students in active learning. The book introduces students to the organization of government and how politicians present themselves and are covered by the media. The activities include literature links, primary sources, and maps and charts for tracking results. The…

Energy Blocks--A Physical Model for Teaching Energy Concepts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hertting, Scott

2016-01-01

Most physics educators would agree that energy is a very useful, albeit abstract topic. It is therefore important to use various methods to help the student internalize the concept of energy itself and its related ideas. These methods include using representations such as energy bar graphs, energy pie charts, or energy tracking diagrams.…

Student-Involved Data Use: Establishing the Evidence Base

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jimerson, Jo Beth; Reames, Ellen

2015-01-01

In this conceptual paper, we map the research terrain on what we term "student-involved data use" (SIDU)--that is, the practice of having students track, chart, and analyze their own data in formal and structured ways. Drawing on peer-reviewed research as well as practitioner-oriented literature, social media, and district websites, we…

Tracking, sensing and predicting flood wave propagation using nomadic satellite communication systems and hydrodynamic models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hostache, R.; Matgen, P.; Giustarini, L.; Tailliez, C.; Iffly, J.-F.

2011-11-01

The main objective of this study is to contribute to the development and the improvement of flood forecasting systems. Since hydrometric stations are often poorly distributed for monitoring the propagation of extreme flood waves, the study aims at evaluating the hydrometric value of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Integrated with satellite telecommunication systems, drifting or anchored floaters equipped with navigation systems such as GPS and Galileo, enable the quasi-continuous measurement and near real-time transmission of water level and flow velocity data, from virtually any point in the world. The presented study investigates the effect of assimilating GNSS-derived water level and flow velocity measurements into hydraulic models in order to reduce the associated predictive uncertainty.

Changing flood frequencies under opposing late Pleistocene eastern Mediterranean climates.

PubMed

Ben Dor, Yoav; Armon, Moshe; Ahlborn, Marieke; Morin, Efrat; Erel, Yigal; Brauer, Achim; Schwab, Markus Julius; Tjallingii, Rik; Enzel, Yehouda

2018-05-31

Floods comprise a dominant hydroclimatic phenomenon in aridlands with significant implications for humans, infrastructure, and landscape evolution worldwide. The study of short-term hydroclimatic variability, such as floods, and its forecasting for episodes of changing climate therefore poses a dominant challenge for the scientific community, and predominantly relies on modeling. Testing the capabilities of climate models to properly describe past and forecast future short-term hydroclimatic phenomena such as floods requires verification against suitable geological archives. However, determining flood frequency during changing climate is rarely achieved, because modern and paleoflood records, especially in arid regions, are often too short or discontinuous. Thus, coeval independent climate reconstructions and paleoflood records are required to further understand the impact of climate change on flood generation. Dead Sea lake levels reflect the mean centennial-millennial hydrological budget in the eastern Mediterranean. In contrast, floods in the large watersheds draining directly into the Dead Sea, are linked to short-term synoptic circulation patterns reflecting hydroclimatic variability. These two very different records are combined in this study to resolve flood frequency during opposing mean climates. Two 700-year-long, seasonally-resolved flood time series constructed from late Pleistocene Dead Sea varved sediments, coeval with significant Dead Sea lake level variations are reported. These series demonstrate that episodes of rising lake levels are characterized by higher frequency of floods, shorter intervals between years of multiple floods, and asignificantly larger number of years that experienced multiple floods. In addition, floods cluster into intervals of intense flooding, characterized by 75% and 20% increased frequency above their respective background frequencies during rising and falling lake-levels, respectively. Mean centennial precipitation in the eastern Mediterranean is therefore coupled with drastic changes in flood frequencies. These drastic changes in flood frequencies are linked to changes in the track, depth, and frequency of mid-latitude eastern Mediterranean cyclones, determining mean climatology resulting in wetter and drier regional climatic episodes.

Solar modulation of flood frequency in Central Europe during spring and summer on inter-annual to millennial time-scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czymzik, M.; Muscheler, R.; Brauer, A.

2015-10-01

Solar influences on climate variability are one of the most controversially discussed topics in climate research. We analyze solar forcing of flood frequency in Central Europe on inter-annual to millennial time-scales using daily discharge data of River Ammer (southern Germany) back to AD 1926 and revisiting the 5500 year flood layer time-series from varved sediments of the downstream Lake Ammersee. Flood frequency in the discharge record is significantly correlated to changes in solar activity during solar cycles 16-23 (r = -0.47, p < 0.0001, n = 73). Flood layer frequency (n = 1501) in the sediment record depicts distinct multi-decadal variability and significant correlations to 10Be fluxes from a Greenland ice core (r = 0.45, p < 0.0001) and 14C production rates (r =0.36, p < 0.0001), proxy records of solar activity. Flood frequency is higher when solar activity is reduced. These correlations between flood frequency and solar activity might provide empirical support for the solar top-down mechanism expected to modify the mid-latitude storm tracks over Europe by model studies. A lag of flood frequency responses in the Ammer discharge record to changes in solar activity of about one to three years could be explained by a modelled ocean-atmosphere feedback delaying the atmospheric reaction to solar activity variations up to a few years.

Evaluating changes to reservoir rule curves using historical water-level data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mower, Ethan; Miranda, Leandro E.

2013-01-01

Flood control reservoirs are typically managed through rule curves (i.e. target water levels) which control the storage and release timing of flood waters. Changes to rule curves are often contemplated and requested by various user groups and management agencies with no information available about the actual flood risk of such requests. Methods of estimating flood risk in reservoirs are not easily available to those unfamiliar with hydrological models that track water movement through a river basin. We developed a quantile regression model that uses readily available daily water-level data to estimate risk of spilling. Our model provided a relatively simple process for estimating the maximum applicable water level under a specific flood risk for any day of the year. This water level represents an upper-limit umbrella under which water levels can be operated in a variety of ways. Our model allows the visualization of water-level management under a user-specified flood risk and provides a framework for incorporating the effect of a changing environment on water-level management in reservoirs, but is not designed to replace existing hydrological models. The model can improve communication and collaboration among agencies responsible for managing natural resources dependent on reservoir water levels.

Historical Analysis of Champion Photovoltaic Module Efficiencies

DOE PAGES

Kurtz, Sarah; Repins, Ingrid; Metzger, Wyatt K.; ...

2018-02-14

Champion photovoltaic (PV) cell and module efficiencies have been reported in Progress in PV since 1993. Following the evolution of these efficiencies enables researchers to track the progress of various technologies. National Renewable Energy Laboratory has maintained a historical chart of the champion cell efficiencies, but has not published a similar chart of champion module efficiencies. Here, we analyze champion module efficiencies and compare them to champion cell efficiencies to better understand technology trends over the last three decades, highlighting that, in some cases, module efficiencies exceed 90% of cell efficiencies. Recommendations are provided on how to change the datamore » collection and reporting for champion efficiencies to increase the value of these records.« less

Historical Analysis of Champion Photovoltaic Module Efficiencies

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

Kurtz, Sarah; Repins, Ingrid; Metzger, Wyatt K.

Champion photovoltaic (PV) cell and module efficiencies have been reported in Progress in PV since 1993. Following the evolution of these efficiencies enables researchers to track the progress of various technologies. National Renewable Energy Laboratory has maintained a historical chart of the champion cell efficiencies, but has not published a similar chart of champion module efficiencies. Here, we analyze champion module efficiencies and compare them to champion cell efficiencies to better understand technology trends over the last three decades, highlighting that, in some cases, module efficiencies exceed 90% of cell efficiencies. Recommendations are provided on how to change the datamore » collection and reporting for champion efficiencies to increase the value of these records.« less

'Correction:'Peer chart audits: A tool to meet Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) competency in practice-based learning and improvement

PubMed Central

Staton, Lisa J; Kraemer, Suzanne M; Patel, Sangnya; Talente, Gregg M; Estrada, Carlos A

2007-01-01

Background The Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) supports chart audit as a method to track competency in Practice-Based Learning and Improvement. We examined whether peer chart audits performed by internal medicine residents were associated with improved documentation of foot care in patients with diabetes mellitus. Methods A retrospective electronic chart review was performed on 347 patients with diabetes mellitus cared for by internal medicine residents in a university-based continuity clinic from May 2003 to September 2004. Residents abstracted information pertaining to documentation of foot examinations (neurological, vascular, and skin) from the charts of patients followed by their physician peers. No formal feedback or education was provided. Results Significant improvement in the documentation of foot exams was observed over the course of the study. The percentage of patients receiving neurological, vascular, and skin exams increased by 20% (from 13% to 33%) (p = 0.001), 26% (from 45% to 71%) (p < 0.001), and 18% (51%–72%) (p = 0.005), respectively. Similarly, the proportion of patients receiving a well-documented exam which includes all three components – neurological, vascular and skin foot exam – increased over time (6% to 24%, p < 0.001). Conclusion Peer chart audits performed by residents in the absence of formal feedback were associated with improved documentation of the foot exam in patients with diabetes mellitus. Although this study suggests that peer chart audits may be an effective tool to improve practice-based learning and documentation of foot care in diabetic patients, evaluating the actual performance of clinical care was beyond the scope of this study and would be better addressed by a randomized controlled trial. PMID:17662124

Peer chart audits: a tool to meet Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) competency in practice-based learning and improvement.

PubMed

Staton, Lisa J; Kraemer, Suzanne M; Patel, Sangnya; Talente, Gregg M; Estrada, Carlos A

2007-07-27

The Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) supports chart audit as a method to track competency in Practice-Based Learning and Improvement. We examined whether peer chart audits performed by internal medicine residents were associated with improved documentation of foot care in patients with diabetes mellitus. A retrospective electronic chart review was performed on 347 patients with diabetes mellitus cared for by internal medicine residents in a university-based continuity clinic from May 2003 to September 2004. Residents abstracted information pertaining to documentation of foot examinations (neurological, vascular, and skin) from the charts of patients followed by their physician peers. No formal feedback or education was provided. Significant improvement in the documentation of foot exams was observed over the course of the study. The percentage of patients receiving neurological, vascular, and skin exams increased by 20% (from 13% to 33%) (p = 0.001), 26% (from 45% to 71%) (p < 0.001), and 18% (51%-72%) (p = 0.005), respectively. Similarly, the proportion of patients receiving a well-documented exam which includes all three components - neurological, vascular and skin foot exam - increased over time (6% to 24%, p < 0.001). Peer chart audits performed by residents in the absence of formal feedback were associated with improved documentation of the foot exam in patients with diabetes mellitus. Although this study suggests that peer chart audits may be an effective tool to improve practice-based learning and documentation of foot care in diabetic patients, evaluating the actual performance of clinical care was beyond the scope of this study and would be better addressed by a randomized controlled trial.

Recommendations for the user-specific enhancement of flood maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, V.; Kuhlicke, C.; Luther, J.; Fuchs, S.; Priest, S.; Dorner, W.; Serrhini, K.; Pardoe, J.; McCarthy, S.; Seidel, J.; Palka, G.; Unnerstall, H.; Viavattene, C.; Scheuer, S.

2012-05-01

The European Union Floods Directive requires the establishment of flood maps for high risk areas in all European member states by 2013. However, the current practice of flood mapping in Europe still shows some deficits. Firstly, flood maps are frequently seen as an information tool rather than a communication tool. This means that, for example, local stocks of knowledge are not incorporated. Secondly, the contents of flood maps often do not match the requirements of the end-users. Finally, flood maps are often designed and visualised in a way that cannot be easily understood by residents at risk and/or that is not suitable for the respective needs of public authorities in risk and event management. The RISK MAP project examined how end-user participation in the mapping process may be used to overcome these barriers and enhance the communicative power of flood maps, fundamentally increasing their effectiveness. Based on empirical findings from a participatory approach that incorporated interviews, workshops and eye-tracking tests, conducted in five European case studies, this paper outlines recommendations for user-specific enhancements of flood maps. More specific, recommendations are given with regard to (1) appropriate stakeholder participation processes, which allow incorporating local knowledge and preferences, (2) the improvement of the contents of flood maps by considering user-specific needs and (3) the improvement of the visualisation of risk maps in order to produce user-friendly and understandable risk maps for the user groups concerned. Furthermore, "idealised" maps for different user groups are presented: for strategic planning, emergency management and the public.

Measurement of strong Marangoni flow near a contact line of a water droplet on hydrophobic surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Joonsik; Breuer, Kenneth S.

2015-11-01

Strong Marangoni flow from a water droplet on unheated substrate has been theoretically predicted but not been quantitatively measured. Using two different experimental techniques, multi-layer flood illumination and Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy (TIRFM), we report Marangoni flows with large (O(100 μm/s)) velocity near a contact line of a water droplet on hydrophobic substrates. The flow is measured by tracking the motion of nanoparticles with respect to the contact line, using statistical particle tracking velocimetry combined with sub-pixel edge detection algorithm. Under multi-layer flood illumination, the recirculating convective flow is identified within 5 μm vertically from the substrate. From the TIRFM measurement, the changes in the bulk-averaged velocity (O(100 μm/s)) and the shear rate (O(100 s-1)) as the distance from the contact line are identified within 550 nm vertically from the substrate, and compared to the characteristic shear rate and speed from Marangoni effect, respectively. Surprisingly, both Flood and TIRFM measurements indicate high slip velocities extending as far as 33 μm from the contact line. One possible explanation is that the high slip velocity is due to the accumulation of nanobubbles near the contact line which were formed at the deposition of a droplet.

Development of a flood early warning system and communication with end-users: the Vipava/Vipacco case study in the KULTURisk FP7 project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grossi, Giovanna; Caronna, Paolo; Ranzi, Roberto

2014-05-01

Within the framework of risk communication, the goal of an early warning system is to support the interaction between technicians and authorities (and subsequently population) as a prevention measure. The methodology proposed in the KULTURisk FP7 project aimed to build a closer collaboration between these actors, in the perspective of promoting pro-active actions to mitigate the effects of flood hazards. The transnational (Slovenia/ Italy) Soča/Isonzo case study focused on this concept of cooperation between stakeholders and hydrological forecasters. The DIMOSHONG_VIP hydrological model was calibrated for the Vipava/Vipacco River (650 km2), a tributary of the Soča/Isonzo River, on the basis of flood events occurred between 1998 and 2012. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) provided the past meteorological forecasts, both deterministic (1 forecast) and probabilistic (51 ensemble members). The resolution of the ECMWF grid is currently about 15 km (Deterministic-DET) and 30 km (Ensemble Prediction System-EPS). A verification was conducted to validate the flood-forecast outputs of the DIMOSHONG_VIP+ECMWF early warning system. Basic descriptive statistics, like event probability, probability of a forecast occurrence and frequency bias were determined. Some performance measures were calculated, such as hit rate (probability of detection) and false alarm rate (probability of false detection). Relative Opening Characteristic (ROC) curves were generated both for deterministic and probabilistic forecasts. These analysis showed a good performance of the early warning system, in respect of the small size of the sample. A particular attention was spent to the design of flood-forecasting output charts, involving and inquiring stakeholders (Alto Adriatico River Basin Authority), hydrology specialists in the field, and common people. Graph types for both forecasted precipitation and discharge were set. Three different risk thresholds were identified ("attention", "pre-alarm" or "alert", "alarm"), with an "icon-style" representation, suitable for communication to civil protection stakeholders or the public. Aiming at showing probabilistic representations in a "user-friendly" way, we opted for the visualization of the single deterministic forecasted hydrograph together with the 5%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 95% percentiles bands of the Hydrological Ensemble Prediction System (HEPS). HEPS is generally used for 3-5 days hydrological forecasts, while the error due to incorrect initial data is comparable to the error due to the lower resolution with respect to the deterministic forecast. In the short term forecasting (12-48 hours) the HEPS-members show obviously a similar tendency; in this case, considering its higher resolution, the deterministic forecast is expected to be more effective. The plot of different forecasts in the same chart allows the use of model outputs from 4/5 days to few hours before a potential flood event. This framework was built to help a stakeholder, like a mayor, a civil protection authority, etc, in the flood control and management operations, and was designed to be included in a wider decision support system.

Flight data file: STS-4 crew activity plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pippert, E. B., Jr.

1982-01-01

The STS-4 Crew Activity Plan contains the on-orbit timeline, which is a flight data file article. Various time scales such as Mission Elapsed Time (MET), Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), and time until deorbit ignition as well as crew activities, day/night, orbit position, ground tracking, communication coverage, attitude, and maneuvers are presented in chart form.

Identifying, Tracking, and Prioritizing Parts Unavailability

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-03-01

of RFM with MRP Equivalents in Parentheses ................ 13 Figure 2. Flow Chart of Repair Process...by the Air Force is the Reparability Forecast Model (RFM). The RFM operates similar to a Material Requirements Planning ( MRP ) system, where it...Outputs of RFM with MRP Equivalents in Parentheses (Gaudette et al, 2002: 7) The Reparability Forecast Model does not determine stock levels or

Optical data processing and projected applications of the ERTS-1 imagery covering the 1973 Mississippi River Valley floods

USGS Publications Warehouse

Deutsch, Morris; Ruggles, Fred

1974-01-01

Flooding along the Mississippi River and some of its tributaries was detected by the multispectral scanner (MSS) on the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS-1) on at least three orbits during the spring of 1973. The ERTS data provided the first opportunity for mapping the regional extent of flooding at the time of the imagery. Special optical data processing techniques were used to produce a variety of multispectral color composites enhancing flood-plain details. One of these, a 2-color composite of near infrared bands 6 and 7, was enlarged and registered to 1:250,000-scale topographic maps and used as the basis for preparation of flood image maps. Two specially filtered 3-color composites of MSS bands 5, 6, and 7 and 4, 5, and 7 were prepared to aid in the interpretation of the data. The extent of the flooding was vividly depicted on a single image by 2-color temporal composites produced on the additive-color viewer using band 7 flood data superimposed on pre-flood band 7 images. On May 24, when the floodwaters at St. Louis receded to bankfull stage, imagery was again obtained by ERTS. Analysis of temporal data composites of the pre-flood and post-flood band 7 images indicate that changes in surface reflectance characteristics caused by the flooding can be delineated, thus making it possible to map the overall area flooded without the necessity of a real-time system to track and image the peak flood waves. Regional planning and disaster relief agencies such as the Corps of Engineers, Office of Emergency Preparedness, Soil Conservation Service, interstate river basin commissions and state agencies, as well as private lending and insurance institutions, have indicated strong potential applications for ERTS image-maps of flood-prone areas.

Flood hazard, vulnerability, and risk assessment for human life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, T.; Chang, T.; Lai, J.; Hsieh, M.; Tan, Y.; Lin, Y.

2011-12-01

Flood risk assessment is an important issue for the countries suffering tropical cyclones and monsoon. Taiwan is located in the hot zone of typhoon tracks in the Western Pacific. There are three to five typhoons landing Taiwan every year. Typhoons and heavy rainfalls often cause inundation disaster rising with the increase of population and the development of social economy. The purpose of this study is to carry out the flood hazard, vulnerability and risk in term of human life. Based on the concept that flood risk is composed by flood hazard and vulnerability, a inundation simulation is performed to evaluate the factors of flood hazard for human life according to base flood (100-year return period). The flood depth, velocity and rising ratio are the three factors of flood hazards. Furthermore, the factors of flood vulnerability are identified in terms of human life that are classified into two main factors, residents and environment. The sub factors related to residents are the density of population and the density of vulnerable people including elders, youngers and disabled persons. The sub factors related to environment include the the number of building floors, the locations of buildings, the and distance to rescue center. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is adopted to determine the weights of these factors. The risk matrix is applied to show the risk from low to high based on the evaluation of flood hazards and vulnerabilities. The Tseng-Wen River watershed is selected as the case study because a serious flood was induced by Typhoon Morakot in 2009, which produced a record-breaking rainfall of 2.361mm in 48 hours in the last 50 years. The results of assessing the flood hazard, vulnerability and risk in term of human life could improve the emergency operation for flood disaster to prepare enough relief goods and materials during typhoon landing.

Correcting acoustic Doppler current profiler discharge measurement bias from moving-bed conditions without global positioning during the 2004 Glen Canyon Dam controlled flood on the Colorado River

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gartner, J.W.; Ganju, N.K.

2007-01-01

Discharge measurements were made by acoustic Doppler current profiler at two locations on the Colorado River during the 2004 controlled flood from Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona. Measurement hardware and software have constantly improved from the 1980s such that discharge measurements by acoustic profiling instruments are now routinely made over a wide range of hydrologic conditions. However, measurements made with instruments deployed from moving boats require reliable boat velocity data for accurate measurements of discharge. This is normally accomplished by using special acoustic bottom track pings that sense instrument motion over bottom. While this method is suitable for most conditions, high current flows that produce downstream bed sediment movement create a condition known as moving bed that will bias velocities and discharge to lower than actual values. When this situation exists, one solution is to determine boat velocity with satellite positioning information. Another solution is to use a lower frequency instrument. Discharge measurements made during the 2004 Glen Canyon controlled flood were subject to moving-bed conditions and frequent loss of bottom track. Due to site conditions and equipment availability, the measurements were conducted without benefit of external positioning information or lower frequency instruments. This paper documents and evaluates several techniques used to correct the resulting underestimated discharge measurements. One technique produces discharge values in good agreement with estimates from numerical model and measured hydrographs during the flood. ?? 2007, by the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Inc.

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

Hardin, M; Harrison, A; Lockamy, V

Purpose: Desire to improve efficiency and throughput inspired a review of our physics chart check procedures. Departmental policy mandates plan checks pre-treatment, after first treatment and weekly every 3–5 days. This study examined the effectiveness of the “after first” check with respect to improving patient safety and clinical efficiency. Type and frequency of variations discovered during this redundant secondary review was examined over seven months. Methods: A community spreadsheet was created to record variations in care discovered during chart review following the first fraction of treatment and before the second fraction (each plan reviewed prior to treatment). Entries were recordedmore » from August 2014 through February 2015, amounting to 43 recorded variations out of 906 reviewed charts. The variations were divided into categories and frequencies were assessed month-to-month. Results: Analysis of recorded variations indicates an overall variation rate of 4.7%. The initial rate was 13.5%; months 2–7 average 3.7%. The majority of variations related to discrepancies in documentation at 46.5%, followed by prescription, plan deficiency, and dose tracking related variations at 25.5%, 12.8%, and 12.8%, respectively. Minor variations (negligible consequence on patient treatment) outweighed major variations 3 to 1. Conclusion: This work indicates that this redundant secondary check is effective. The first month spike in rates could be due to the Hawthorne/observer effect, but the consistent 4% variation rate suggests the need for periodical re-training on variations noted as frequent to improve awareness and quality of the initial chart review process, which may lead to improved treatment quality, patient safety and increased clinical efficiency. Utilizing these results, a continuous quality improvement process following Deming’s Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) methodology was generated. The first iteration of this PDSA was adding a specific dose tracking checklist item in the pre-treatment plan check assessment; the ramification of which will be assessed in future data.« less

A New Method for Tracking Individual Particles During Bed Load Transport in a Gravel-Bed River

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tremblay, M.; Marquis, G. A.; Roy, A. G.; Chaire de Recherche Du Canada En Dynamique Fluviale

2010-12-01

Many particle tracers (passive or active) have been developed to study gravel movement in rivers. It remains difficult, however, to document resting and moving periods and to know how particles travel from one deposition site to another. Our new tracking method uses the Hobo Pendant G acceleration Data Logger to quantitatively describe the motion of individual particles from the initiation of movement, through the displacement and to the rest, in a natural gravel river. The Hobo measures the acceleration in three dimensions at a chosen temporal frequency. The Hobo was inserted into 11 artificial rocks. The rocks were seeded in Ruisseau Béard, a small gravel-bed river in the Yamaska drainage basin (Québec) where the hydraulics, particle sizes and bed characteristics are well known. The signals recorded during eight floods (Summer and Fall 2008-2009) allowed us to develop an algorithm which classifies the periods of rest and motion. We can differentiate two types of motion: sliding and rolling. The particles can also vibrate while remaining in the same position. The examination of the movement and vibration periods with respect to the hydraulic conditions (discharge, shear stress, stream power) showed that vibration occurred mostly before the rise of hydrograph and allowed us to establish movement threshold and response times. In all cases, particle movements occurred during floods but not always in direct response to increased bed shear stress and stream power. This method offers great potential to track individual particles and to establish a spatiotemporal sequence of the intermittent transport of the particle during a flood and to test theories concerning the resting periods of particles on a gravel bed.

Tracking sedimentation from the historic A.D. 2011 Mississippi River flood in the deltaic wetlands of Louisiana, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Khan, Nicole S.; Horton, Benjamin P.; McKee, Karen L.; Jerolmack, Douglas; Falcini, Federico; Enache, Mihaela D.; Vane, Christopher H.

2013-01-01

Management and restoration of the Mississippi River deltaic plain (southern United States) and associated wetlands require a quantitative understanding of sediment delivery during large flood events, past and present. Here, we investigate the sedimentary fingerprint of the 2011 Mississippi River flood across the Louisiana coast (Atchafalaya Delta, Terrebonne, Barataria, and Mississippi River Delta basins) to assess spatial patterns of sedimentation and to identify key indicators of sediment provenance. The sediment deposited in wetlands during the 2011 flood was distinguished from earlier deposits based on biological characteristics, primarily absence of plant roots and increased presence of centric (planktonic) diatoms indicative of riverine origin. By comparison, the lithological (bulk density, organic matter content, and grain size) and chemical (stable carbon isotopes of bulk organic matter) properties of flood sediments were nearly identical to the underlying deposit. Flood sediment deposition was greatest in wetlands near the Atchafalaya and Mississippi Rivers and accounted for a substantial portion (37% to 85%) of the annual accretion measured at nearby monitoring stations. The amount of sediment delivered to those basins (1.1–1.6 g cm−2) was comparable to that reported previously for hurricane sedimentation along the Louisiana coast (0.8–2.1 g cm−2). Our findings not only provide insight into how large-scale river floods influence wetland sedimentation, they lay the groundwork for identifying previous flood events in the stratigraphic record.

Geophysical Tracking of a Subglacial Flood in Near Real-Time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eibl, Eva P. S.; Jóhannesson, Tómas; Ofeigsson, Benedikt G.; Roberts, Matthew J.; Bean, Christopher J.; Vogfjörd, Kristin S.; Jones, Morgan T.; Pfeffer, Melissa A.; Bergsson, Baldur; Pálsson, Finnur

2017-04-01

Subglacial lakes and volcanoes in Iceland pose a risk to people, livestock and infrastructure when water drains in subglacial floods. Many of these floods occur every year and efforts are made to forecast them and evacuate in time. The two Skaftá cauldrons are located at the southwestern part of Vatnajökull glacier and usually drain once every two years. However, following drainage in 2010, the eastern cauldron did not drain before October 2015. While water accumulated over these five years, scientists - within the EU-funded project FutureVolc - improved the monitoring network around southwest Vatnajökull in order to record the flood in great detail. The network finally comprised two seismic arrays, a GPS instrument on top of the cauldron, two GPS instruments above the flood path, gas measurements at the glaciers' edge, hydrological measurements at river gauges and osmotic sampler data. We present how the GPS, gas and hydrological instruments allow us to detect the start of and subglacial propagation of the flood. The derived timing is consistent with the approximate time of rupturing of the ice close to the glacier edge and the source movement observed in the seismic signals. The subglacial flow of water is accompanied by seismic tremor, whose source location moves downslope with the flood front. This tremor is followed by about 24 hours of stronger tremor bursts from the direction of the empty cauldron.

Policy learning for flood mitigation: a longitudinal assessment of the community rating system in Florida.

PubMed

Brody, Samuel D; Zahran, Sammy; Highfield, Wesley E; Bernhardt, Sarah P; Vedlitz, Arnold

2009-06-01

Floods continue to inflict the most damage upon human communities among all natural hazards in the United States. Because localized flooding tends to be spatially repetitive over time, local decisionmakers often have an opportunity to learn from previous events and make proactive policy adjustments to reduce the adverse effects of a subsequent storm. Despite the importance of understanding the degree to which local jurisdictions learn from flood risks and under what circumstances, little if any empirical, longitudinal research has been conducted along these lines. This article addresses the research gap by examining the change in local flood mitigation policies in Florida from 1999 to 2005. We track 18 different mitigation activities organized into four series of activities under the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Community Rating System (CRS) for every local jurisdiction in Florida participating in the FEMA program on a yearly time step. We then identify the major factors contributing to policy changes based on CRS scores over the seven-year study period. Using multivariate statistical models to analyze both natural and social science data, we isolate the effects of several variables categorized into the following groups: hydrologic conditions, flood disaster history, socioeconomic and human capital controls. Results indicate that local jurisdictions do in fact learn from histories of flood risk and this process is expedited under specific conditions.

Truck circuits diagnosis for railway lines equipped with an automatic block signalling system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Spunei, E.; Piroi, I.; Muscai, C.; Răduca, E.; Piroi, F.

2018-01-01

This work presents a diagnosis method for detecting track circuits failures on a railway traffic line equipped with an Automatic Block Signalling installation. The diagnosis method uses the installation’s electrical schemas, based on which a series of diagnosis charts have been created. Further, the diagnosis charts were used to develop a software package, CDCBla, which substantially contributes to reducing the diagnosis time and human error during failure remedies. The proposed method can also be used as a training package for the maintenance staff. Since the diagnosis method here does not need signal or measurement inputs, using it does not necessitate additional IT knowledge and can be deployed on a mobile computing device (tablet, smart phone).

A Hydrological Modeling Framework for Flood Risk Assessment for Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ashouri, H.; Chinnayakanahalli, K.; Chowdhary, H.; Sen Gupta, A.

2016-12-01

Flooding has been the most frequent natural disaster that claims lives and imposes significant economic losses to human societies worldwide. Japan, with an annual rainfall of up to approximately 4000 mm is extremely vulnerable to flooding. The focus of this research is to develop a macroscale hydrologic model for simulating flooding toward an improved understanding and assessment of flood risk across Japan. The framework employs a conceptual hydrological model, known as the Probability Distributed Model (PDM), as well as the Muskingum-Cunge flood routing procedure for simulating streamflow. In addition, a Temperature-Index model is incorporated to account for snowmelt and its contribution to streamflow. For an efficient calibration of the model, in terms of computational timing and convergence of the parameters, a set of A Priori parameters is obtained based on the relationships between the model parameters and the physical properties of watersheds. In this regard, we have implemented a particle tracking algorithm and a statistical model which use high resolution Digital Terrain Models to estimate different time related parameters of the model such as time to peak of the unit hydrograph. In addition, global soil moisture and depth data are used to generate A Priori estimation of maximum soil moisture capacity, an important parameter of the PDM model. Once the model is calibrated, its performance is examined during the Typhoon Nabi which struck Japan in September 2005 and caused severe flooding throughout the country. The model is also validated for the extreme precipitation event in 2012 which affected Kyushu. In both cases, quantitative measures show that simulated streamflow depicts good agreement with gauge-based observations. The model is employed to simulate thousands of possible flood events for the entire Japan which makes a basis for a comprehensive flood risk assessment and loss estimation for the flood insurance industry.

Flooding Risk for Coastal Infrastructure: a Stakeholder-Oriented Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plater, A. J.; Prime, T.; Brown, J. M.; Knight, P. J.; Morrissey, K.

2015-12-01

A flood risk assessment for coastal energy infrastructure in the UK with respect to long-term sea-level rise and extreme water levels has been conducted using a combination of numerical modelling approaches (LISFLOOD-FP, SWAB, XBeach-G, POLCOMS). Model outputs have been incorporated into a decision-support tool that enables users from a wide spectrum of coastal stakeholders (e.g. nuclear energy, utility providers, local government, environmental regulators, communities) to explore the potential impacts of flooding on both operational (events to 10 years) and strategic (10 to 50 years) timescales. Examples illustrate the physical and economic impacts of flooding from combined extreme water levels, wave overtopping and high river flow for Fleetwood, NW England; changes in the extent of likely flooding arising from an extreme event due to sea-level rise for Oldbury, SW England; and the relative vulnerability to overtopping and breaching of sea defences for Dungeness, SE England. The impacts of a potential large-scale beach recharge scheme to mitigate coastal erosion and flood risk along the southern shoreline of Dungeness are also examined using a combination of coastal evolution and particle-tracking modelling. The research goal is to provide an evidence base for resource allocation, investment in interventions, and communication and dialogue in relation to sea-level rise to 2500 AD.

Do I Really Teach for America? Reflections of a Teach for America Teacher

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diamond, Alex

2010-01-01

If one knows what to look for, it is not hard to spot a Teach for America (TFA) classroom. Typically, on one wall, a "Big Goal" poster proclaims the class objective: "Students will, on average, achieve 80 percent of their learning goals based on state standards." On another, tracking charts show the progress of individual students toward meeting…

Partnership for Excellence Goals. A Review by the Office of Planning, Research, and Grants Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

San Joaquin Delta Coll., Stockton, CA.

This document displays information that tracks the success at San Joaquin Delta College (California) in assisting the California Community Colleges to meet established Partnership for Excellence goals. Each of the goals is displayed along with a chart that compares the performance of Delta College with the average of a comparison group of colleges…

Effect of detention basin release rates on flood flows - Application of a model to the Blackberry Creek Watershed in Kane County, Illinois

USGS Publications Warehouse

Soong, David T.; Murphy, Elizabeth A.; Straub, Timothy D.

2009-01-01

The effects of stormwater detention basins with specified release rates are examined on the watershed scale with a Hydrological Simulation Program - FORTRAN (HSPF) continuous-simulation model. Modeling procedures for specifying release rates from detention basins with orifice and weir discharge configurations are discussed in this report. To facilitate future detention modeling as a tool for watershed management, a chart relating watershed impervious area to detention volume is presented. The report also presents a case study of the Blackberry Creek watershed in Kane County, Ill., a rapidly urbanizing area seeking to avoid future flood damages from increased urbanization, to illustrate the effects of various detention basin release rates on flood peaks and volumes and flood frequencies. The case study compares flows simulated with a 1996 land-use HSPF model to those simulated with four different 2020 projected land-use HSPF model scenarios - no detention, and detention basins with release rates of 0.08, 0.10, and 0.12 cubic feet per second per acre (ft3/s-acre), respectively. Results of the simulations for 15 locations, which included the downstream ends of all tributaries and various locations along the main stem, showed that a release rate of 0.10 ft3/s-acre, in general, can maintain postdevelopment 100-year peak-flood discharge at a similar magnitude to that of 1996 land-use conditions. Although the release rate is designed to reduce the 100-year peak flow, reduction of the 2-year peak flow is also achieved for a smaller proportion of the peak. Results also showed that the 0.10 ft3/s-acre release rate was less effective in watersheds with relatively high percentages of preexisting (1996) development than in watersheds with less preexisting development.

Wetland Classification for Black Duck Habitat Management Using Combined Polarimetric RADARSAT 2 and SPOT Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, W.; Hu, B.; Brown, G.

2018-04-01

The black duck population has decreased significantly due to loss of its breeding habitat. Wetlands are an important feature that relates to habitat management and requires monitoring. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems are helpful to map the wetland as the microwave signals are sensitive to water content and can be used to map surface water extent, saturated soils, and flooded vegetation. In this study, RadarSat 2 Polarimetric data is employed to map surface water and track changes in extent over the years through image thresholding and reviewed different approaches of Polarimetric decompositions for detecting flooded vegetation. Also, object-based analysis associated with beaver activity is conducted with combined multispectral SPOT satellite imagery. Results show SAR data has proven ability to improve mapping open water areas and locate flooded vegetation areas.

Water Management Applications of Advanced Precipitation Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, L. E.; Braswell, G.; Delaney, C.

2012-12-01

Advanced precipitation sensors and numerical models track storms as they occur and forecast the likelihood of heavy rain for time frames ranging from 1 to 8 hours, 1 day, and extended outlooks out to 3 to 7 days. Forecast skill decreases at the extended time frames but the outlooks have been shown to provide "situational awareness" which aids in preparation for flood mitigation and water supply operations. In California the California-Nevada River Forecast Centers and local Weather Forecast Offices provide precipitation products that are widely used to support water management and flood response activities of various kinds. The Hydrometeorology Testbed (HMT) program is being conducted to help advance the science of precipitation tracking and forecasting in support of the NWS. HMT high-resolution products have found applications for other non-federal water management activities as well. This presentation will describe water management applications of HMT advanced precipitation products, and characterization of benefits expected to accrue. Two case examples will be highlighted, 1) reservoir operations for flood control and water supply, and 2) urban stormwater management. Application of advanced precipitation products in support of reservoir operations is a focus of the Sonoma County Water Agency. Examples include: a) interfacing the high-resolution QPE products with a distributed hydrologic model for the Russian-Napa watersheds, b) providing early warning of in-coming storms for flood preparedness and water supply storage operations. For the stormwater case, San Francisco wastewater engineers are developing a plan to deploy high resolution gap-filling radars looking off shore to obtain longer lead times on approaching storms. A 4 to 8 hour lead time would provide opportunity to optimize stormwater capture and treatment operations, and minimize combined sewer overflows into the Bay.ussian River distributed hydrologic model.

NASA's AVE 7 experiment: 25-mb sounding data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, J. G.; Fuelberg, H. E.; Turner, R. E.

1978-01-01

The AVE 7 Experiment is described and tabulated rawinsonde data at 25 mb internals from the surface to 25 mb for the 24 stations participating in the experiment are presented. Soundings were taken between 0000GMT May 2 and 1200 GMT May 3, 1978. The methods of data processing and the accuracy are briefly discussed. Selected synoptic charts prepared from the data are presented as well as an example of contact data. A tabulation of adverse weather events that occured during the AVE 7 period, including freezing temperature, snow, tornadoes, damaging winds, and flooding, is presented.

In Debt and in the Dark: It's Time for Better Information on Student Loan Defaults. Charts You Can Trust

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillen, Andrew

2013-01-01

Student college loan default rates have nearly doubled in recent years. The three-year default rate exceeds 13 percent nationally. Tracking and reporting default rates is a crucial means of monitoring how well higher education dollars are spent. Yet, the way default data is gathered, measured, and reported by the federal government clouds…

Design and Flood Control Assessment of 5MWp Fishing and Photovoltaic Power Project in Xinghua City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Liuchao; Hu, Xiaodong; Su, Yuyan; Wu, Peipei; Weng, Songgan

2017-12-01

In order to reduce coal consumption in Jiangsu Province and develop new energy sources, considering on the distribution of geology, solar energy resources, traffic and grid connection in Xinghua City, the aim is to determine the configuration of photovoltaic modules and photovoltaic array tracking mode, design photovoltaic array and layout scheme. But the project is a wading project, it is built in Dong Tan Lake polder I115, it needs scientific and reasonable evaluation to the effect of Dong Tan Lake’s flood storage and discharge. The results can provide guidance for similar engineering’s design.

Monitoring The Stability Of Levees With Time-Series ENVISAT ASAR Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pei, Yuanyuan; Liao, Mingsheng; Wang, Teng; Zhang, Lu

2012-01-01

Levees are constructed to protect coastal cities from typhoon, flood, and sea tide. Since the stability of levees is important, it is necessary to monitor their deformation regularly. Repeat-track space-borne SAR images are useful for environment monitoring, especially for ground deformation monitoring. Shanghai resides on the Yangtze River Delta on China’s eastern coast. Each year, the city is hit by typhoons from the Pacific Ocean and threatened by the flood of the Yangtze River. We used Persistent Scatterer Interferometry to monitor the deformation of the levees. Our experiments show that the levees around Pudong airport and Lingang town suffer from serious deformation.

3D environment modeling and location tracking using off-the-shelf components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luke, Robert H.

2016-05-01

The remarkable popularity of smartphones over the past decade has led to a technological race for dominance in market share. This has resulted in a flood of new processors and sensors that are inexpensive, low power and high performance. These sensors include accelerometers, gyroscope, barometers and most importantly cameras. This sensor suite, coupled with multicore processors, allows a new community of researchers to build small, high performance platforms for low cost. This paper describes a system using off-the-shelf components to perform position tracking as well as environment modeling. The system relies on tracking using stereo vision and inertial navigation to determine movement of the system as well as create a model of the environment sensed by the system.

A twenty-first century California observing network for monitoring extreme weather events

USGS Publications Warehouse

White, A.B.; Anderson, M.L.; Dettinger, M.D.; Ralph, F.M.; Hinojosa, A.; Cayan, D.R.; Hartman, R.K.; Reynolds, D.W.; Johnson, L.E.; Schneider, T.L.; Cifelli, R.; Toth, Z.; Gutman, S.I.; King, C.W.; Gehrke, F.; Johnston, P.E.; Walls, C.; Mann, Dorte; Gottas, D.J.; Coleman, T.

2013-01-01

During Northern Hemisphere winters, the West Coast of North America is battered by extratropical storms. The impact of these storms is of paramount concern to California, where aging water supply and flood protection infrastructures are challenged by increased standards for urban flood protection, an unusually variable weather regime, and projections of climate change. Additionally, there are inherent conflicts between releasing water to provide flood protection and storing water to meet requirements for water supply, water quality, hydropower generation, water temperature and flow for at-risk species, and recreation. In order to improve reservoir management and meet the increasing demands on water, improved forecasts of precipitation, especially during extreme events, is required. Here we describe how California is addressing their most important and costliest environmental issue – water management – in part, by installing a state-of-the-art observing system to better track the area’s most severe wintertime storms.

Adult Education and the Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Field, John

2008-01-01

Due to the effects of global warming, writes Field, everyone now lives in times of plague, floods, and famine. While the UK government's track record on green issues is not all bad, still it is vulnerable to criticism. In this article, the author discusses what adult education has to offer to the environmental movement, despite existing…

Impact of climate change on New York City's coastal flood hazard: Increasing flood heights from the preindustrial to 2300 CE.

PubMed

Garner, Andra J; Mann, Michael E; Emanuel, Kerry A; Kopp, Robert E; Lin, Ning; Alley, Richard B; Horton, Benjamin P; DeConto, Robert M; Donnelly, Jeffrey P; Pollard, David

2017-11-07

The flood hazard in New York City depends on both storm surges and rising sea levels. We combine modeled storm surges with probabilistic sea-level rise projections to assess future coastal inundation in New York City from the preindustrial era through 2300 CE. The storm surges are derived from large sets of synthetic tropical cyclones, downscaled from RCP8.5 simulations from three CMIP5 models. The sea-level rise projections account for potential partial collapse of the Antarctic ice sheet in assessing future coastal inundation. CMIP5 models indicate that there will be minimal change in storm-surge heights from 2010 to 2100 or 2300, because the predicted strengthening of the strongest storms will be compensated by storm tracks moving offshore at the latitude of New York City. However, projected sea-level rise causes overall flood heights associated with tropical cyclones in New York City in coming centuries to increase greatly compared with preindustrial or modern flood heights. For the various sea-level rise scenarios we consider, the 1-in-500-y flood event increases from 3.4 m above mean tidal level during 1970-2005 to 4.0-5.1 m above mean tidal level by 2080-2100 and ranges from 5.0-15.4 m above mean tidal level by 2280-2300. Further, we find that the return period of a 2.25-m flood has decreased from ∼500 y before 1800 to ∼25 y during 1970-2005 and further decreases to ∼5 y by 2030-2045 in 95% of our simulations. The 2.25-m flood height is permanently exceeded by 2280-2300 for scenarios that include Antarctica's potential partial collapse. Copyright © 2017 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

Impact of climate change on New York City’s coastal flood hazard: Increasing flood heights from the preindustrial to 2300 CE

PubMed Central

Mann, Michael E.; Emanuel, Kerry A.; Alley, Richard B.; Horton, Benjamin P.; DeConto, Robert M.; Donnelly, Jeffrey P.; Pollard, David

2017-01-01

The flood hazard in New York City depends on both storm surges and rising sea levels. We combine modeled storm surges with probabilistic sea-level rise projections to assess future coastal inundation in New York City from the preindustrial era through 2300 CE. The storm surges are derived from large sets of synthetic tropical cyclones, downscaled from RCP8.5 simulations from three CMIP5 models. The sea-level rise projections account for potential partial collapse of the Antarctic ice sheet in assessing future coastal inundation. CMIP5 models indicate that there will be minimal change in storm-surge heights from 2010 to 2100 or 2300, because the predicted strengthening of the strongest storms will be compensated by storm tracks moving offshore at the latitude of New York City. However, projected sea-level rise causes overall flood heights associated with tropical cyclones in New York City in coming centuries to increase greatly compared with preindustrial or modern flood heights. For the various sea-level rise scenarios we consider, the 1-in-500-y flood event increases from 3.4 m above mean tidal level during 1970–2005 to 4.0–5.1 m above mean tidal level by 2080–2100 and ranges from 5.0–15.4 m above mean tidal level by 2280–2300. Further, we find that the return period of a 2.25-m flood has decreased from ∼500 y before 1800 to ∼25 y during 1970–2005 and further decreases to ∼5 y by 2030–2045 in 95% of our simulations. The 2.25-m flood height is permanently exceeded by 2280–2300 for scenarios that include Antarctica’s potential partial collapse. PMID:29078274

Dynamics of Extreme Floods in Southeast and South Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ribeiro Lima, C. H.; Lall, U.

2015-12-01

Many extreme floods result from a causal chain, where exceptional rain and floods in water basins from different sizes are related to large scale, anomalous and persistent patterns in atmospheric and oceanic circulation. Organized moisture plumes from oceanic sources are often implicated. One could use an Eulerian-Lagrangian climate model to test a causal chain hypothesis, but the parameterization and testing of such a model covering convection and transport continues to be a challenge. Consequently, empirical data based studies can be useful to establish the need to formally model such events using this approach. Here we consider two flood-prone regions in Southeast and South Brazil as case studies. A hypothesis of the causal chain of extreme floods in these regions is investigated by means of observed streamflow and reanalysis data and some machine learning tools. The signatures of the organization of the large scale atmospheric circulation in the days prior to the flood events are evaluated based on the integrated moisture flux and its divergence field and storm track data, so that a better understanding of the relations between the flood magnitude and duration, strength of moisture convergence and role of regional moisture recycling or teleconnected moisture is established. Persistent patterns and anomalies in the sea surface temperature (SST) field in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans that may be associated with disturbances in the atmospheric circulation and with the flood dynamics are investigated through composite analysis. Finally, machine learning algorithms for nonlinear dimension reduction are employed to visualize and understand some of the spatio-temporal patterns of the dominated climate variables in a reduced dimensional space. Prospects for prediction are discussed.

Impact of climate change on New York City's coastal flood hazard: Increasing flood heights from the preindustrial to 2300 CE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garner, Andra J.; Mann, Michael E.; Emanuel, Kerry A.; Kopp, Robert E.; Lin, Ning; Alley, Richard B.; Horton, Benjamin P.; DeConto, Robert M.; Donnelly, Jeffrey P.; Pollard, David

2017-11-01

The flood hazard in New York City depends on both storm surges and rising sea levels. We combine modeled storm surges with probabilistic sea-level rise projections to assess future coastal inundation in New York City from the preindustrial era through 2300 CE. The storm surges are derived from large sets of synthetic tropical cyclones, downscaled from RCP8.5 simulations from three CMIP5 models. The sea-level rise projections account for potential partial collapse of the Antarctic ice sheet in assessing future coastal inundation. CMIP5 models indicate that there will be minimal change in storm-surge heights from 2010 to 2100 or 2300, because the predicted strengthening of the strongest storms will be compensated by storm tracks moving offshore at the latitude of New York City. However, projected sea-level rise causes overall flood heights associated with tropical cyclones in New York City in coming centuries to increase greatly compared with preindustrial or modern flood heights. For the various sea-level rise scenarios we consider, the 1-in-500-y flood event increases from 3.4 m above mean tidal level during 1970–2005 to 4.0–5.1 m above mean tidal level by 2080–2100 and ranges from 5.0–15.4 m above mean tidal level by 2280–2300. Further, we find that the return period of a 2.25-m flood has decreased from ˜500 y before 1800 to ˜25 y during 1970–2005 and further decreases to ˜5 y by 2030–2045 in 95% of our simulations. The 2.25-m flood height is permanently exceeded by 2280–2300 for scenarios that include Antarctica's potential partial collapse.

Development of a global river-coastal coupling model and its application to flood simulation in Asian mega-delta regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikeuchi, Hiroaki; Hirabayashi, Yukiko; Yamazaki, Dai; Muis, Sanne; Ward, Philip; Verlaan, Martin; Winsemius, Hessel; Kanae, Shinjiro

2017-04-01

The world's mega-delta regions and estuaries are susceptible to various water-related disasters, such as river flooding and storm surge. Moreover, simultaneous occurrence of them would be more devastating than a situation where they occur in isolation. Therefore, it is important to provide information about compound risks of fluvial and coastal floods at a large scale, both their statistical dependency as well as their combined resulting flooding in delta regions. Here we report on a first attempt to address this issue globally by developing a method to couple a global river model (CaMa-Flood) and a global tide and surge reanalysis (GTSR) dataset. A state-of-the-art global river routing model, CaMa-Flood, was modified to represent varying sea levels due to tides and storm surges as downstream boundary condition, and the GTSR dataset was post-processed to serve as inputs to the CaMa-Flood river routing simulation and a long-term simulation was performed to incorporate the temporal dependency between coastal tide and surge on the one hand, and discharge on the other. The coupled model was validated against observations, showing better simulation results of water levels in deltaic regions than simulation without GTSR. For example in the Ganges Delta, correlation coefficients were increased by 0.06, and root mean square errors were reduced by 0.22 m. Global coupling simulations revealed that storm surges affected river water levels in coastal regions worldwide, especially in low-lying flat areas with increases in water level larger than 0.5 m. By employing enhanced storm surge simulation with tropical storm tracks, we also applied the model to examine impacts of past hurricane and cyclone storm events on river flood inundation.

Risk assessment of tropical cyclone rainfall flooding in the Delaware River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, P.; Lin, N.; Smith, J. A.; Emanuel, K.

2016-12-01

Rainfall-induced inland flooding is a leading cause of death, injury, and property damage from tropical cyclones (TCs). In the context of climate change, it has been shown that extreme precipitation from TCs is likely to increase during the 21st century. Assessing the long-term risk of inland flooding associated with landfalling TCs is therefore an important task. Standard risk assessment techniques, which are based on observations from rain gauges and stream gauges, are not broadly applicable to TC induced flooding, since TCs are rare, extreme events with very limited historical observations at any specific location. Also, rain gauges and stream gauges can hardly capture the complex spatial variation of TC rainfall and flooding. Furthermore, the utility of historically based assessments is compromised by climate change. Regional dynamical downscaling models can resolve many features of TC precipitation. In terms of risk assessment, however, it is computationally demanding to run such models to obtain long-term climatology of TC induced flooding. Here we apply a computationally efficient climatological-hydrological method to assess the risk of inland flooding associated with landfalling TCs. It includes: 1) a deterministic TC climatology modeling method to generate large numbers of synthetic TCs with physically correlated characteristics (i.e., track, intensity, size) under observed and projected climates; 2) a simple physics-based tropical cyclone rainfall model which is able to simulate rainfall fields associated with each synthetic storm; 3) a hydrologic modeling system that takes in rainfall fields to simulate flood peaks over an entire drainage basin. We will present results of this method applied to the Delaware River Basin in the mid-Atlantic US.

Development of paediatric biochemistry centile charts as a complement to laboratory reference intervals.

PubMed

Loh, Tze Ping; Antoniou, Georgia; Baghurst, Peter; Metz, Michael P

2014-06-01

Age-specific paediatric reference intervals are used in interpretation of laboratory results. However, interpretation may be problematic when a child just crosses an age bracket and the difference between the original and the subsequent age-specific reference interval is large. Moreover, details about the physiological changes with age may be masked. For the 12 months ending 30 September 2013, results of 16 common clinical biochemistry tests of ambulatory paediatric patients aged 0-19, requested by primary care physicians, were retrospectively collected in a large pathology service, and used to construct smoothed centile charts using a penalised maximum likelihood method. From the developed centile charts, the concentrations of sodium, bicarbonate, creatinine, urate, total protein, and albumin all increased with increasing age of the children. In contrast, the concentrations of potassium, chloride, anion gap, calcium, phosphate and lactate dehydrogenase decreased with increasing age of the children. Changes in the concentrations of urea, alkaline phosphatase, glucose, and total cholesterol varied by age. Generally, the boys and girls shared similar trend patterns until 10-15 years of age, when variations in the age of onset of puberty and development caused the trends of some biochemical measures to differ. The paediatric biochemistry centile charts are intuitive tools to use. They complement age-specific reference intervals in the tracking, interpretation and discussion of laboratory results. They also enhance the understanding of underlying physiological changes in biochemistry in children.

Heavy winter precipitation in southwest Arizona

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guttman, Nathaniel B.; Lee, Jung Jin; Wallis, James R.

During December 1992, according to the Weekly Climate Bulletin of the Climate Analysis Center in Washington, D.C., heavy precipitation inundated parts of Arizona causing more than 400% of normal precipitation to fall in the southwestern part of the state. Heavy precipitation continued to fall during the next 2 months, causing extensive flooding along the Gila River.Phoenix Weather Service Forecast Office monthly storm data reports indicated flooding along the Santa Cruz and San Pedro Rivers on December 29. From January 7 to 20, roads, bridges, homes, businesses, and farmland suffered considerable flood damage from Graham County westward to Yuma County as rivers and streams swelled. Several thousand people were isolated in their homes as flood waters cut off roads. The January storm data report shows that the combination of a northward-displaced subtropical jet stream, with its abundant moisture supply and associated low pressure disturbances and a southward-displaced polar jet stream, with its storm track, led to the abnormally wet period from late December to mid-January. In February, severe flooding was reported in several areas as water rose in the Painted Rock Reservoir; water accumulating behind the dam produced the largest lake in the state. After exceeding the 2.5 million acre-feet capacity of the reservoir, water began spilling over the dam and damaging homes, crops, farmland, roads, and bridges. About 3,500 residents were evacuated, and the National Guard responded to the flooding with various relief efforts including helicopter support operations. The U.S. and Arizona Departments of Agriculture reported flood damage in excess of $50 million.

The Impact of Climate Change on New York City's Coastal Flood Hazard: Increasing Flood Heights from the Pre-Industrial to 2300 CE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garner, A. J.; Mann, M. E.; Emanuel, K.; Kopp, R. E.; Lin, N.; Alley, R. B.; Horton, B.; Deconto, R. M.; Donnelly, J. P.; Pollard, D.

2017-12-01

The flood hazard in New York City depends on both storm surges and rising sea levels. We combine modeled storm surges with probabilistic sea-level rise projections to assess future coastal inundation in New York City from the pre-industrial through 2300 CE. The storm surges are derived from large sets of synthetic tropical cyclones, downscaled from RCP 8.5 runs of three CMIP5 models. The sea-level rise projections include the collapse of the Antarctic ice sheet to assess future coastal inundation. CMIP5 models indicate that there will be minimal change in storm-surge heights from 2010 to 2100 or 2300, because the predicted strengthening of the strongest storms will be compensated by storm tracks moving offshore at the latitude of New York City. However, projected sea-level rise causes overall flood heights associated with tropical cyclones in New York City in coming centuries to increase greatly compared to pre-industrial or modern flood heights. We find that the 1-in-500-year flood event increases from 3.4 m above mean tidal level during 1970-2005 to 3.9 - 4.8 m above mean tidal level by 2080-2100, and ranges from 2.8 - 13.0 m above mean tidal level by 2280-2300. Further, we find that the return period of a 2.25 m flood has decreased from 500 years prior to 1800 to 25 years during 1970-2005, and further decreases to 5 years by 2030 - 2045 in 95% of our simulations.

Identification of characteristic frequencies of damaged railway tracks using field hammer test measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oregui, M.; Li, Z.; Dollevoet, R.

2015-03-01

In this paper, the feasibility of the Frequency Response Function (FRF)-based statistical method to identify the characteristic frequencies of railway track defects is studied. The method compares a damaged track state to a healthy state based on non-destructive field hammer test measurements. First, a study is carried out to investigate the repeatability of hammer tests in railway tracks. By changing the excitation and measurement locations it is shown that the variability introduced by the test process is negligible. Second, following the concepts of control charts employed in process monitoring, a method to define an approximate healthy state is introduced by using hammer test measurements at locations without visual damage. Then, the feasibility study includes an investigation into squats (i.e. a major type of rail surface defect) of varying severity. The identified frequency ranges related to squats agree with those found in an extensively validated vehicle-borne detection system. Therefore, the FRF-based statistical method in combination with the non-destructive hammer test measurements has the potential to be employed to identify the characteristic frequencies of damaged conditions in railway tracks in the frequency range of 300-3000 Hz.

Catastrophic floods and tropical storms over the last 120 years on the Dak Bla River, Central Vietnam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tran, Trang; Stevens, Lora; Vu, Tich; Le, Thuyen

2017-04-01

Catastrophic floods are a common natural disaster in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. Given the region's rapid economic development, including an expanding agricultural base and hydroelectric dams, it is important to understand past flood frequency and magnitude. Although mountainous, the highly weathered landscape is not conducive to significant preservation of slack water deposits. Thus, grain size, magnetic susceptibility and carbon/nitrogen ratios of sediment cores from two abandoned channels of the Dak Bla River were used to identify major flood events during the last 120 years. There is a notable increase in magnitude during the late 20th century, with the most pronounced flood occurring in 1972 during the Second Indochina (American-Vietnam) War. The dramatic increase in sediment deposition during the late 20th century is believed to result from anthropogenic alteration of the catchment, including deforestation by bombing during the Second Indochina War and conversion of forest to cropland. Meteorological and river gauge data are rare in Vietnam and span only the last 40 years on the Dak Bla River. For the duration of these records, all major modern floods are triggered by tropical storms bringing excessive rain late in the wet season. Although non-conformable and young radiocarbon dates limit our ability to correlate earlier floods with known tropical storms, the number of direct typhoon strikes and floods during the last 120 years are similar suggesting a possible link beyond the instrumental record. From these data we propose that neither wet years (e.g strong monsoon years) or typhoons are individually responsible for major floods. Catastrophic flooding is a result of a direct tropical storm strike after a normal to wet monsoon season saturates the landscape. If this model is correct, it may be possible to create short-term predictions of flooding help mitigate large-scale disasters. The caveat is that the occurrence and tracks of tropical storms are difficult to predict. There is no correlation between tropical storms in the Central Highlands and ENSO events or global warming.

Seasonal Ice Zone Reconnaissance Surveys Coordination

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-30

of SIZRS are covered in separate reports. Our long-term goal is to track and understand the interplay among the ice, atmosphere, and ocean...OMB control number. 1. REPORT DATE 30 SEP 2013 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-2013 to 00-00-2013 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Seasonal Ice Zone...sensing resources include MODIS visible and IR imagery, NSIDC ice extent charts based on a composite of passive microwave products (http://nsidc.org

Innovative Visualization Techniques applied to a Flood Scenario

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Falcão, António; Ho, Quan; Lopes, Pedro; Malamud, Bruce D.; Ribeiro, Rita; Jern, Mikael

2013-04-01

The large and ever-increasing amounts of multi-dimensional, time-varying and geospatial digital information from multiple sources represent a major challenge for today's analysts. We present a set of visualization techniques that can be used for the interactive analysis of geo-referenced and time sampled data sets, providing an integrated mechanism and that aids the user to collaboratively explore, present and communicate visually complex and dynamic data. Here we present these concepts in the context of a 4 hour flood scenario from Lisbon in 2010, with data that includes measures of water column (flood height) every 10 minutes at a 4.5 m x 4.5 m resolution, topography, building damage, building information, and online base maps. Techniques we use include web-based linked views, multiple charts, map layers and storytelling. We explain two of these in more detail that are not currently in common use for visualization of data: storytelling and web-based linked views. Visual storytelling is a method for providing a guided but interactive process of visualizing data, allowing more engaging data exploration through interactive web-enabled visualizations. Within storytelling, a snapshot mechanism helps the author of a story to highlight data views of particular interest and subsequently share or guide others within the data analysis process. This allows a particular person to select relevant attributes for a snapshot, such as highlighted regions for comparisons, time step, class values for colour legend, etc. and provide a snapshot of the current application state, which can then be provided as a hyperlink and recreated by someone else. Since data can be embedded within this snapshot, it is possible to interactively visualize and manipulate it. The second technique, web-based linked views, includes multiple windows which interactively respond to the user selections, so that when selecting an object and changing it one window, it will automatically update in all the other windows. These concepts can be part of a collaborative platform, where multiple people share and work together on the data, via online access, which also allows its remote usage from a mobile platform. Storytelling augments analysis and decision-making capabilities allowing to assimilate complex situations and reach informed decisions, in addition to helping the public visualize information. In our visualization scenario, developed in the context of the VA-4D project for the European Space Agency (see http://www.ca3-uninova.org/project_va4d), we make use of the GAV (GeoAnalytics Visualization) framework, a web-oriented visual analytics application based on multiple interactive views. The final visualization that we produce includes multiple interactive views, including a dynamic multi-layer map surrounded by other visualizations such as bar charts, time graphs and scatter plots. The map provides flood and building information, on top of a base city map (street maps and/or satellite imagery provided by online map services such as Google Maps, Bing Maps etc.). Damage over time for selected buildings, damage for all buildings at a chosen time period, correlation between damage and water depth can be analysed in the other views. This interactive web-based visualization that incorporates the ideas of storytelling, web-based linked views, and other visualization techniques, for a 4 hour flood event in Lisbon in 2010, can be found online at http://www.ncomva.se/flash/projects/esa/flooding/.

FlooDSuM - a decision support methodology for assisting local authorities in flood situations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwanbeck, Jan; Weingartner, Rolf

2014-05-01

Decision making in flood situations is a difficult task, especially in small to medium-sized mountain catchments (30 - 500 km2) which are usually characterized by complex topography, high drainage density and quick runoff response to rainfall events. Operating hydrological models driven by numerical weather prediction systems, which have a lead-time of several hours up to few even days, would be beneficial in this case as time for prevention could be gained. However, the spatial and quantitative accuracy of such meteorological forecasts usually decrease with increasing lead-time. In addition, the sensitivity of rainfall-runoff models to inaccuracies in estimations of areal rainfall increases with decreasing catchment size. Accordingly, decisions on flood alerts should ideally be based on areal rainfall from high resolution and short-term numerical weather prediction, nowcasts or even real-time measurements, which is transformed into runoff by a hydrological model. In order to benefit from the best possible rainfall data while retaining enough time for alerting and for prevention, the hydrological model should be fast and easily applicable by decision makers within local authorities themselves. The proposed decision support methodology FlooDSuM (Flood Decision Support Methodology) aims to meet those requirements. Applying FlooDSuM, a few successive binary decisions of increasing complexity have to be processed following a flow-chart-like structure. Prepared data and straightforwardly applicable tools are provided for each of these decisions. Maps showing the current flood disposition are used for the first step. While danger of flooding cannot be excluded more and more complex and time consuming methods will be applied. For the final decision, a set of scatter-plots relating areal precipitation to peak flow is provided. These plots take also further decisive parameters into account such as storm duration, distribution of rainfall intensity in time as well as the catchment's antecedent moisture conditions. The proposed approach is currently tested in two catchments in the Swiss Pre-Alps and Alps. We will show the general setup and selected results. The findings of those case studies will lead to further improvements of the proposed approach.

Changes of paddy rice planting areas in Northeastern Asia from 1986 to 2014 based on Landsat data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, J.; Xiao, X.; Kou, W.; Qin, Y.; Wang, J.; Zhang, G.; Jin, C.; Zhou, Y.; Menarguez, M. A.; Moore, B., III

2014-12-01

Paddy rice is an important cereal crop and main grain source for more than half of the global human population. However, knowledge about its area and spatial pattern is still limited due to large changes in agriculture in different regions; for example, higher latitude areas underwent increase (e.g., northeastern China) and decrease (e.g., South Korea) of paddy rice planting areas due to climatic warming, urbanization and other drivers. It is necessary to track paddy rice planting area changes in these regions in the past decades. We developed a pixel- and phenology-based image analysis system, Landsat-RICE, to map the paddy rice by using Landsat imagery. The algorithm was based on the unique physical and spectral characteristics of paddy rice fields during the flooding and transplanting phases. First, Landsat images are preprocessed and time series vegetation indices (NDVI, EVI, and LSWI) are generated. Second, MODIS Land Surface Temperature (LST) data were used to define thermal plant growing season (0 oC, 5 oC and 10 oC), which provides a guide for selection of Landsat images within the period of flooding and transplanting. Third, several non-cropland land cover maps (e.g., permanent water bodies, built-up and barren lands, sparsely vegetated lands, and evergreen vegetation) are produced through analysis of Landsat-based vegetation indices within the plant growing season and combined as a mask. Fourthly, vegetation index data within the time window of flooded and rice transplanting were analyzed to identify flood/transplanting signals. Finally, the maps of paddy rice planting areas were generated through overlying the results from Step 3 and 4. Paddy rice planting area changes were investigated in some hotspots of Northeastern Asia from 1986 to 2014 at 30-m spatial resolution and 5-year interval. This study has demonstrated that our newly developed Landsat-Rice system is robust and effective for tracking paddy rice changes in cold temperate and temperate zones.

Episodic Sediment Supply from Mountains and Downstream Emplacement within Large Lowland Basins: Seeking a Sink-to-Source Synthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aalto, R. E.

2009-12-01

Application of a new geochronological method for high-resolution 210-Pb dating over the past 5 years has facilitated the identification of individual floodplain sedimentation events across disparate large river basins: three examples from ongoing research include a pristine 720,000 km2 basin in northern Bolivia, a 36,000 km2 basin in Papua New Guinea, and the 70,000 km2 Sacramento River Basin in California. Published and new research suggests that large, rapid-rise, cold-phase ENSO floods account for the preponderance of sediment accumulation within the two tropical systems, and that extreme floods associated with ENSO similarly correspond to transport and deposition of material within the extensive floodways along the Sacramento River. The vast scale of these temporally discrete deposits within such large river systems (typically 10s to 100s of millions of tonnes) begs the question: where did all this material come from? Huge deposits require similarly massive episodic supply and transport of material from upstream, often specifically within the very short timescale of a single large flood event. What data and techniques are available to track and balance such enormous mass budgets? This presentation explores this general theme with new data from the three iconic systems identified above. New daily discharge data are coupled with 210-Pb concentrations and particle size distribution in sediment to elucidate the considerable inter-annual variation of sediment supply from the Andes, resulting from the interaction of Andean erosion, anthropogenic effects, and the dynamics of extreme climate. Biogeochemical and/or geochemical tracers can be employed for all three study basins to track sediment from source to sink (or alternatively, working from the well-defined sink to the less-constrained source), providing insight into the geomorphic processes that modulate the efflux, transport, intermediate channel/floodplain storage, and downstream delivery of sediment during extreme flooding events. Landslide in the Bolivian Andes: Does episodic erosion correlate with episodic deposition?

Origin, enzymatic response and fate of dissolved organic matter during flood and non-flood conditions in a river-floodplain system of the Danube (Austria).

PubMed

Sieczko, Anna; Peduzzi, Peter

2014-01-01

Spectroscopic techniques and extracellular enzyme activity measurements were combined with assessments of bacterial secondary production (BSP) to elucidate flood-pulse-linked differences in carbon (C) sources and related microbial processes in a river-floodplain system near Vienna (Austria). Surface connection with the main channel significantly influenced the quantity and quality of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in floodplain backwaters. The highest values of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and chromophoric DOM (CDOM) were observed during the peak of the flood, when DOC increased from 1.36 to 4.37 mg l -1 and CDOM from 2.94 to 14.32 m -1 . The flood introduced DOC which consisted of more allochthonously-derived, aromatic compounds. Bacterial enzymatic activity, as a proxy to track the response to changes in DOM, indicated elevated utilization of imported allochthonous material. Based on the enzyme measurements, new parameters were calculated: metabolic effort and enzymatic indices (EEA 1 and EEA 2). During connection, bacterial glucosidase and protease activity were dominant, whereas during disconnected phases a switch to lignin degradation (phenol oxidase) occurred. The enzymatic activity analysis revealed that flooding mobilized reactive DOM, which then supported bacterial metabolism. No significant differences in overall BSP between the two phases were detected, indicating that heterogeneous sources of C sufficiently support BSP. The study demonstrates that floods are important for delivering DOM, which, despite its allochthonous origin, is reactive and can be effectively utilized by aquatic bacteria in this river-floodplain systems. The presence of active floodplains, characterized by hydrological connectivity with the main channel, creates the opportunity to process allochthonous DOC. This has potential consequences for carbon flux, enhancing C sequestration and mineralization processes in this river-floodplain system.

Mitigation of Flood Hazards Through Modification of Urban Channels and Floodplains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, A. J.; Lee, G.; Bledsoe, B. P.; Stephens, T.

2017-12-01

Small urban watersheds with high percent impervious cover and dense road and storm-drain networks are highly responsive to short-duration high-intensity rainfall events that lead to flash floods. The Baltimore metropolitan area has some of the flashiest urban watersheds in the conterminous U.S., high frequency of channel incision in affected areas, and a large number of watershed restoration projects designed to restore ecosystem services through reconnection of the channel with the floodplain. A question of key importance in these and other urban watersheds is to what extent we can mitigate flood hazards and urban stream syndrome through restoration activities that modify the channel and valley floor. Local and state governments have invested resources in repairing damage caused by extreme events like the July 30, 2016 Ellicott City flood in the Tiber River watershed, as well as more frequent high flows in other local urban streams. Recent reports have investigated how much flood mitigation may be achieved through modification of the channel and floodplain to enhance short-term storage of flood waters on the valley floor or in other subsurface structures, as compared with increasing stormwater management in the headwaters. Ongoing research conducted as part of the UWIN (Urban Water Innovation Network) program utilizes high-resolution topographic point clouds derived by processing of photographs from hand-held cameras or video frames from drone overflights. These are used both to track geomorphic change and to assess flood response with 2d hydraulic modeling tools under alternative mitigation scenarios. Assessment metrics include variations in inundation extent, water depth, hydrograph attenuation, and temporal and spatial characteristics of the 2d depth-averaged velocity field. Examples from diverse urban watersheds are presented to illustrate the range of anticipated outcomes and potential constraints on the effectiveness of downstream vs. headwater mitigation efforts.

A Prototype Visualization of Real-time River Drainage Network Response to Rainfall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demir, I.; Krajewski, W. F.

2011-12-01

The Iowa Flood Information System (IFIS) is a web-based platform developed by the Iowa Flood Center (IFC) to provide access to and visualization of flood inundation maps, real-time flood conditions, flood forecasts both short-term and seasonal, and other flood-related data for communities in Iowa. The key element of the system's architecture is the notion of community. Locations of the communities, those near streams and rivers, define basin boundaries. The IFIS streams rainfall data from NEXRAD radar, and provides three interfaces including animation for rainfall intensity, daily rainfall totals and rainfall accumulations for past 14 days for Iowa. A real-time interactive visualization interface is developed using past rainfall intensity data. The interface creates community-based rainfall products on-demand using watershed boundaries of each community as a mask. Each individual rainfall pixel is tracked in the interface along the drainage network, and the ones drains to same pixel location are accumulated. The interface loads recent rainfall data in five minute intervals that are combined with current values. Latest web technologies are utilized for the development of the interface including HTML 5 Canvas, and JavaScript. The performance of the interface is optimized to run smoothly on modern web browsers. The interface controls allow users to change internal parameters of the system, and operation conditions of the animation. The interface will help communities understand the effects of rainfall on water transport in stream and river networks and make better-informed decisions regarding the threat of floods. This presentation provides an overview of a unique visualization interface and discusses future plans for real-time dynamic presentations of streamflow forecasting.

A Web-based Data Intensive Visualization of Real-time River Drainage Network Response to Rainfall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demir, I.; Krajewski, W. F.

2012-04-01

The Iowa Flood Information System (IFIS) is a web-based platform developed by the Iowa Flood Center (IFC) to provide access to and visualization of flood inundation maps, real-time flood conditions, flood forecasts both short-term and seasonal, and other flood-related data for communities in Iowa. The key element of the system's architecture is the notion of community. Locations of the communities, those near streams and rivers, define basin boundaries. The IFIS streams rainfall data from NEXRAD radar, and provides three interfaces including animation for rainfall intensity, daily rainfall totals and rainfall accumulations for past 14 days for Iowa. A real-time interactive visualization interface is developed using past rainfall intensity data. The interface creates community-based rainfall products on-demand using watershed boundaries of each community as a mask. Each individual rainfall pixel is tracked in the interface along the drainage network, and the ones drains to same pixel location are accumulated. The interface loads recent rainfall data in five minute intervals that are combined with current values. Latest web technologies are utilized for the development of the interface including HTML 5 Canvas, and JavaScript. The performance of the interface is optimized to run smoothly on modern web browsers. The interface controls allow users to change internal parameters of the system, and operation conditions of the animation. The interface will help communities understand the effects of rainfall on water transport in stream and river networks and make better-informed decisions regarding the threat of floods. This presentation provides an overview of a unique visualization interface and discusses future plans for real-time dynamic presentations of streamflow forecasting.

Cartographic Design in Flood Risk Mapping - A Challenge for Communication and Stakeholder Involvement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fuchs, S.; Serrhini, K.; Dorner, W.

2009-12-01

In order to mitigate flood hazards and to minimise associated losses, technical protection measures have been additionally and increasingly supplemented by non-technical mitigation, i.e. land-use planning activities. This is commonly done by creating maps which indicate such areas by different cartographic symbols, such as colour, size, shape, and typography. Hazard and risk mapping is the accepted procedure when communicating potential threats to stakeholders, and is therefore required in the European Member States in order to meet the demands of the European Flood Risk Directive. However, available information is sparse concerning the impact of such maps on different stakeholders, i.e., specialists in flood risk management, politicians, and affected citizens. The lack of information stems from a traditional approach to map production which does not take into account specific end-user needs. In order to overcome this information shortage the current study used a circular approach such that feed-back mechanisms originating from different perception patterns of the end user would be considered. Different sets of small-scale as well as large-scale risk maps were presented to different groups of test persons in order to (1) study reading behaviour as well as understanding and (2) deduce the most attractive components that are essential for target-oriented communication of cartographic information. Therefore, the method of eye tracking was applied using a video-oculography technique. This resulted in a suggestion for a map template which fulfils the requirement to serve as an efficient communication tool for specialists and practitioners in hazard and risk mapping as well as for laypersons. Taking the results of this study will enable public authorities who are responsible for flood mitigation to (1) improve their flood risk maps, (2) enhance flood risk awareness, and therefore (3) create more disaster-resilient communities.

Automatic Detection and Vulnerability Analysis of Areas Endangered by Heavy Rain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krauß, Thomas; Fischer, Peter

2016-08-01

In this paper we present a new method for fully automatic detection and derivation of areas endangered by heavy rainfall based only on digital elevation models. Tracking news show that the majority of occuring natural hazards are flood events. So already many flood prediction systems were developed. But most of these existing systems for deriving areas endangered by flooding events are based only on horizontal and vertical distances to existing rivers and lakes. Typically such systems take not into account dangers arising directly from heavy rain events. In a study conducted by us together with a german insurance company a new approach for detection of areas endangered by heavy rain was proven to give a high correlation of the derived endangered areas and the losses claimed at the insurance company. Here we describe three methods for classification of digital terrain models and analyze their usability for automatic detection and vulnerability analysis for areas endangered by heavy rainfall and analyze the results using the available insurance data.

Primary Care-Based Memory Clinics: Expanding Capacity for Dementia Care.

PubMed

Lee, Linda; Hillier, Loretta M; Heckman, George; Gagnon, Micheline; Borrie, Michael J; Stolee, Paul; Harvey, David

2014-09-01

The implementation in Ontario of 15 primary-care-based interprofessional memory clinics represented a unique model of team-based case management aimed at increasing capacity for dementia care at the primary-care level. Each clinic tracked referrals; in a subset of clinics, charts were audited by geriatricians, clinic members were interviewed, and patients, caregivers, and referring physicians completed satisfaction surveys. Across all clinics, 582 patients were assessed, and 8.9 per cent were referred to a specialist. Patients and caregivers were very satisfied with the care received, as were referring family physicians, who reported increased capacity to manage dementia. Geriatricians' chart audits revealed a high level of agreement with diagnosis and management. This study demonstrated acceptability, feasibility, and preliminary effectiveness of the primary-care memory clinic model. Led by specially trained family physicians, it provided timely access to high-quality collaborative dementia care, impacting health service utilization by more-efficient use of scarce geriatric specialist resources.

On the nature of rainfall in dry climate: Space-time patterns of convective rain cells over the Dead Sea region and their relations with synoptic state and flash flood generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belachsen, Idit; Marra, Francesco; Peleg, Nadav; Morin, Efrat

2017-04-01

Space-time patterns of rainfall are important climatic characteristics that influence runoff generation and flash flood magnitude. Their derivation requires high-resolution measurements to adequately represent the rainfall distribution, and is best provided by remote sensing tools. This need is further emphasized in dry climate regions, where rainfall is scarce and, often, local and highly variable. Our research is focused on understanding the nature of rainfall events in the dry Dead Sea region (Eastern Mediterranean) by identifying and characterizing the spatial structure and the dynamics of convective storm cores (known as rain cells). To do so, we take advantage of 25 years of corrected and gauge-adjusted weather radar data. A statistical analysis of convective rain-cells spatial and temporal characteristics was performed with respect to synoptic pattern, geographical location, and flash flood generation. Rain cells were extracted from radar data using a cell segmentation method and a tracking algorithm and were divided into rain events. A total of 10,500 rain cells, 2650 cell tracks and 424 rain events were elicited. Rain cell properties, such as mean areal and maximal rain intensity, area, life span, direction and speed, were derived. Rain events were clustered, according to several ERA-Interim atmospheric parameters, and associated with three main synoptic patterns: Cyprus Low, Low to the East of the study region and Active Red Sea Trough. The first two originate from the Mediterranean Sea, while the third is an extension of the African monsoon. On average, the convective rain cells in the region are 90 km2 in size, moving from West to East in 13 ms-1 and living 18 minutes. Several significant differences between rain cells of the various synoptic types were observed. In particular, Active Red Sea Trough rain cells are characterized by higher rain intensities and lower speeds, suggesting a higher flooding potential for small catchments. The north-south negative gradient of mean annual rainfall in the study region was found to be negatively correlated with rain cells intensity and positively correlated with rain cells area. Additional analysis was done for convective rain cells over two nearby catchments located in the central part of the study region, by ascribing some of the rain events to observed flash-flood events. It was found that rain events associated with flash-floods have higher maximal rain cell intensity and lower minimal cell speed than rain events that did not lead to a flash-flood in the watersheds. This information contributes to our understanding of rain patterns over the dry area of the Dead Sea and their connection to flash-floods. The statistical distributions of rain cells properties can be used for high space-time resolution stochastic simulations of rain storms that can serve as an input to hydrological models.

Human factors analysis for a 2D enroute moving map application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pschierer, Christian; Wipplinger, Patrick; Schiefele, Jens; Cromer, Scot; Laurin, John; Haffner, Skip

2005-05-01

The paper describes flight trials performed in Centennial, CO with a Piper Cheyenne from Marinvent. Six pilots flew the Cheyenne in twelve enroute segments between Denver Centennial and Colorado Springs. Two different settings (paper chart, enroute moving map) were evaluated with randomized settings. The flight trial goal was to evaluate the objective performance of pilots compared among the different settings. As dependent variables, positional accuracy and situational awareness probe (SAP) were measured. Analysis was conducted by an ANOVA test. In parallel, all pilots answered subjective Cooper-Harper, NASA TLX, situation awareness rating technique (SART), Display Readability Rating and debriefing questionnaires. The tested enroute moving map application has Jeppesen chart compliant symbologies for high-enroute and low-enroute. It has a briefing mode were all information found on today"s enroute paper chart together with a loaded flight plan are displayed in a north-up orientation. The execution mode displays a loaded flight plan routing together with only pertinent flight route relevant information in either a track up or north up orientation. Depiction of an own ship symbol is possible in both modes. All text and symbols are deconflicted. Additional information can be obtained by clicking on symbols. Terrain and obstacle data can be displayed for enhanced situation awareness. The result shows that pilots flying the 2D enroute moving map display perform no worse than pilots with conventional systems. Flight technical error and workload are equivalent or lower, situational awareness is higher than on conventional paper charts.

A Probabilistic Typhoon Risk Model for Vietnam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haseemkunju, A.; Smith, D. F.; Brolley, J. M.

2017-12-01

Annually, the coastal Provinces of low-lying Mekong River delta region in the southwest to the Red River Delta region in Northern Vietnam is exposed to severe wind and flood risk from landfalling typhoons. On average, about two to three tropical cyclones with a maximum sustained wind speed of >=34 knots make landfall along the Vietnam coast. Recently, Typhoon Wutip (2013) crossed Central Vietnam as a category 2 typhoon causing significant damage to properties. As tropical cyclone risk is expected to increase with increase in exposure and population growth along the coastal Provinces of Vietnam, insurance/reinsurance, and capital markets need a comprehensive probabilistic model to assess typhoon risk in Vietnam. In 2017, CoreLogic has expanded the geographical coverage of its basin-wide Western North Pacific probabilistic typhoon risk model to estimate the economic and insured losses from landfalling and by-passing tropical cyclones in Vietnam. The updated model is based on 71 years (1945-2015) of typhoon best-track data and 10,000 years of a basin-wide simulated stochastic tracks covering eight countries including Vietnam. The model is capable of estimating damage from wind, storm surge and rainfall flooding using vulnerability models, which relate typhoon hazard to building damageability. The hazard and loss models are validated against past historical typhoons affecting Vietnam. Notable typhoons causing significant damage in Vietnam are Lola (1993), Frankie (1996), Xangsane (2006), and Ketsana (2009). The central and northern coastal provinces of Vietnam are more vulnerable to wind and flood hazard, while typhoon risk in the southern provinces are relatively low.

The Impact of Corps Flood Control Reservoirs in the June 2008 Upper Mississippi Flood

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Charley, W. J.; Stiman, J. A.

2008-12-01

The US Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for a multitude of flood control project on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, including levees that protect land from flooding, and dams to help regulate river flows. The first six months of 2008 were the wettest on record in the upper Mississippi Basin. During the first 2 weeks of June, rainfall over the Midwest ranged from 6 to as much as 16 inches, overwhelming the flood protection system, causing massive flooding and damage. Most severely impacted were the States of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Wisconsin. In Iowa, flooding occurred on almost every river in the state. On the Iowa River, record flooding occurred from Marshalltown, Iowa, downstream to its confluence with the Mississippi River. At several locations, flooding exceeded the 500-year event. The flooding affected agriculture, transportation, and infrastructure, including homes, businesses, levees, and other water-control structures. It has been estimated that there was at least 7 billion dollars in damages. While the flooding in Iowa was extraordinary, Corps of Engineers flood control reservoirs helped limit damage and prevent loss of life, even though some reservoirs were filled beyond their design capacity. Coralville Reservoir on the Iowa River, for example, filled to 135% of its design flood storage capacity, with stage a record five feet over the crest of the spillway. In spite of this, the maximum reservoir release was limited to 39,500 cfs, while a peak inflow of 57,000 cfs was observed. CWMS, the Corps Water Management System, is used to help regulate Corps reservoirs, as well as track and evaluate flooding and flooding potential. CWMS is a comprehensive data acquisition and hydrologic modeling system for short-term decision support of water control operations in real time. It encompasses data collection, validation and transformation, data storage, visualization, real time model simulation for decision-making support, and data dissemination. The system uses precipitation and flow data, collected in real-time, along with forecasted flow from the National Weather Service to model and optimize reservoir operations and forecast downstream flows and stages, providing communities accurate and timely information to aid their flood-fighting. This involves integrating several simulation modeling programs, including HEC-HMS to forecast flows, HEC-ResSim to model reservoir operations and HEC-RAS to compute forecasted stage hydrographs. An inundation boundary and depth map of water in the flood plain can be calculated from the HEC-RAS results using ArcInfo. By varying future precipitation and releases, engineers can evaluate different "What if?" scenarios. The effectiveness of this tool and Corps reservoirs are examined.

Remote Sensing for Hydrology: Surface Water Dynamics from Three Decades of Landsat Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tulbure, M. G.; Broich, M.; Kingsford, R.; Lucas, R.; Keith, D.

2014-12-01

Surface water is a vital resource affected by changes in climate and anthropogenic factors. Knowledge of surface water dynamics provides critical information for flood and drought management. Here we focused on the on the entire Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) of Australia, a large semi-arid region with scarce water resources, high hydroclimatic variability and competing water demands, impacted by climate change, altered flow regimes and land use changes. The MDB is also an area where substantial investment in environmental water allocation of large volumes of environmental flow was made. We used Landsat TM and ETM+ time series to synoptically map the dynamic of surface water extent with an internally consistent algorithm (Tulbure and Broich, 2013) over decades (1986-2011). We used a subset of Landsat path/rows for image training in both wet and dry years. Results show high interannual variability in number and size of flooded areas, with flooded areas during the Millennium Drought (until 2009) being substantially smaller than during the excessive 2010-2011 La Nina flooding. Flooding frequency in 2006, a very dry year was lower than in 2010, the La Nina year when extensive floods occurred. More developed areas of the basin showed different inter-annual patterns from natural areas of the basin. At Barmah-Millewa, the largest river red gum forest in the world, we also mapped flooded forest and tracked changes in NDVI. Higher NDVI values were found in areas more frequently flooded. Knowledge of the spatial and temporal dynamics of flooding and the response of riparian vegetation communities to flooding is important for management of floodplain wetlands and vegetation communities and for investigating effectiveness of environmental flows and flow regimes in the MDB. Existing maps of inundated areas are linked with river flow to quantify the relationship between river flow and inundated area in the MDB. Historic flood inundation extent mapped via remote sensing can be used to quantify spatially explicit changes in surface water dynamics and vegetation communities as outcomes of management scenarios in response to water management decisions. This methodology is globally applicable and relevant to areas prone to flooding with competing water demands and can be used for mapping water availability in data scarce regions.

Monitoring flood extent and area through multi-sensor, multi-temporal remote sensing: the Strymonas (Greece) river flood

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Refice, Alberto; Tijani, Khalid; Lovergine, Francesco P.; D'Addabbo, Annarita; Nutricato, Raffaele; Morea, Alberto

2017-04-01

Satellite monitoring of flood events at high spatial and temporal resolution is considered a difficult problem, mainly due to the lack of data with sufficient acquisition frequency and timeliness. The problem is worsened by the typically cloudy weather conditions associated to floods, which obstacle the propagation of e.m. waves in the optical spectral range, forbidding acquisitions by optical sensors. This problem is not present for longer wavelengths, so that radar imaging sensors are recognized as viable solutions for long-term flood monitoring. In selected cases, however, weather conditions may remain clear for sufficient amounts of time, enabling monitoring of the evolution of flood events through long time series of satellite images, both optical and radar. In this contribution, we present a case study of long-term integrated monitoring of a flood event which affected part of the Strymonas river basin, a transboundary river with source in Bulgaria, which flows then through Greece up to the Aegean Sea. The event, which affected the floodplain close to the river mouth, started at the beginning of April 2015, due to heavy rain, and lasted for several months, with some water pools still present at the beginning of September. Due to the arid climate characterizing the area, weather conditions were cloud-free for most of the period covering the event. We collected one high-resolution, X-band, COSMO-SkyMed, 5 C-band, Sentinel-1 SAR images, and 11 optical Landsat-8 images of the area. SAR images were calibrated, speckle-filtered and precisely geocoded; optical images were radiometrically corrected to obtain ground reflectance values from which NDVI maps were derived. The images were then thresholded to obtain binary flood maps for each day. Threshold values for microwave and optical data were calibrated by comparing one SAR and one optical image acquired on the same date. Results allow to draw a multi-temporal map of the flood evolution with high temporal resolution. The extension of flooded area can also be tracked in time, allowing to envisage testing of evapotranspiration/absorption models.

AQCESS (Automated Quality of Care Evaluation Support System) Training Aids: Quality Assurance, System Management, Appointment and Scheduling, Admission and Disposition, Clinical Records.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-01-01

information missing from the record, such as signatures and dicta- tions. These items are tracked to determine deficiencies and delinquencies in the clini...MONTH PERIOD BEGINNING PROCEDURES PERFORMED PATITENTS DISCHARGEO MALPRACTICE CLAIMS FILED --_ OED RECORD DEFICIENCIES -- WID RECORD DELINQUENCIES...number of medical records con- sidered deficient because this provider had not supplied all chart items within the time limit set by the MIF (e.g

Army Physical Therapy Productivity According to the Performance Based Adjustment Model

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-05-02

variation in processes often fell along a bell shaped curve or normal distribution. Shewart later developed a control chart to track and analyze variation in...References Abdi, H. (2003). Partial regression coefficients. In M. Lewis-Beck, A . Bryman & T. Futing (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Social Sciences Research...other provision of law. no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a

Stage line diagram: an age-conditional reference diagram for tracking development.

PubMed

van Buuren, Stef; Ooms, Jeroen C L

2009-05-15

This paper presents a method for calculating stage line diagrams, a novel type of reference diagram useful for tracking developmental processes over time. Potential fields of applications include: dentistry (tooth eruption), oncology (tumor grading, cancer staging), virology (HIV infection and disease staging), psychology (stages of cognitive development), human development (pubertal stages) and chronic diseases (stages of dementia). Transition probabilities between successive stages are modeled as smoothly varying functions of age. Age-conditional references are calculated from the modeled probabilities by the mid-P value. It is possible to eliminate the influence of age by calculating standard deviation scores (SDS). The method is applied to the empirical data to produce reference charts on secondary sexual maturation. The mean of the empirical SDS in the reference population is close to zero, whereas the variance depends on age. The stage line diagram provides quick insight into both status (in SDS) and tempo (in SDS/year) of development of an individual child. Other measures (e.g. height SDS, body mass index SDS) from the same child can be added to the chart. Diagrams for sexual maturation are available as a web application at http://vps.stefvanbuuren.nl/puberty. The stage line diagram expresses status and tempo of discrete changes on a continuous scale. Wider application of these measures scores opens up new analytic possibilities. (c) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Tracking contaminants down the Mississippi

USGS Publications Warehouse

Swarzenski, P.; Campbell, P.

2004-01-01

The Mississippi River and its last major downstream distributary, the Atchafalaya River, provide approximately 90 percent of the freshwater input to the Gulf of Mexico. Analyses of sediment cores using organic and inorganic tracers as well as bethic foraminifera appear to provide a reliable record of the historic variability of hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico over the past few centuries. Natural variability in hypoxic events may be driven largely by flooding cycles of El Nin??o/La Nin??a prior to recent increases in nutrient loading. Specifically, large floods in 1979, 1983, 1993 and 1998, compounded with the widespread use of fertilizers, also appear at least partially responsible for the recent (post-1980) dramatic increase of hypoxic events in the Mississippi Bight.

Floods, floodplains, delta plains — A satellite imaging approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Syvitski, James P. M.; Overeem, Irina; Brakenridge, G. Robert; Hannon, Mark

2012-08-01

Thirty-three lowland floodplains and their associated delta plains are characterized with data from three remote sensing systems (AMSR-E, SRTM and MODIS). These data provide new quantitative information to characterize Late Quaternary floodplain landscapes and their penchant for flooding over the last decade. Daily proxy records for discharge since 2002 and for each of the 33 river systems can be derived with novel Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) methods. A descriptive framework based on analysis of Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data is used to capture the major landscape-scale floodplain elements or zones: 1) container valleys with their long and narrow pathways of largely sediment transit and bypass, 2) floodplain depressions that act as loci for frequent flooding and sediment storage, 3) zones of nodal avulsions common to many continental scale rivers, and often located seaward of container valleys, and 4) coastal floodplains and delta plains that offer both sediment bypass and storage but under the influence of marine processes. The SRTM data allow mapping of smaller-scale architectural elements in unprecedented systematic manner. Floodplain depressions were found to play a major role, which may largely be overlooked in conceptual floodplain models. Lastly, MODIS data (independently and combined with AMSR-E) allows the tracking of flood hydrographs and pathways and sedimentation patterns on a near-daily timescale worldwide. These remote-sensing data show that 85% of the studied major river systems experienced extensive flooding in the last decade. A new quantitative paradigm of floodplain processes, honoring the frequency and extent of floods, can be develop by careful analysis of these new remotely sensed data.

High-accuracy single-pass InSAR DEM for large-scale flood hazard applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schumann, G.; Faherty, D.; Moller, D.

2017-12-01

In this study, we used a unique opportunity of the GLISTIN-A (NASA airborne mission designed to characterizing the cryosphere) track to Greenland to acquire a high-resolution InSAR DEM of a large area in the Red River of the North Basin (north of Grand Forks, ND, USA), which is a very flood-vulnerable valley, particularly in spring time due to increased soil moisture content near state of saturation and/or, typical for this region, snowmelt. Having an InSAR DEM that meets flood inundation modeling and mapping requirements comparable to LiDAR, would demonstrate great application potential of new radar technology for national agencies with an operational flood forecasting mandate and also local state governments active in flood event prediction, disaster response and mitigation. Specifically, we derived a bare-earth DEM in SAR geometry by first removing the inherent far range bias related to airborne operation, which at the more typical large-scale DEM resolution of 30 m has a sensor accuracy of plus or minus 2.5 cm. Subsequently, an intelligent classifier based on informed relationships between InSAR height, intensity and correlation was used to distinguish between bare-earth, roads or embankments, buildings and tall vegetation in order to facilitate the creation of a bare-earth DEM that would meet the requirements for accurate floodplain inundation mapping. Using state-of-the-art LiDAR terrain data, we demonstrate that capability by achieving a root mean squared error of approximately 25 cm and further illustrating its applicability to flood modeling.

Processes occurring in reservoirs receiving biogenic and polluting substances

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

Vasil'ev, Yu.S.; Rolle, N.N.

1988-04-01

Various aspects of biogenic pollution on the water quality of reservoirs and its effect on ichthyofauna were analyzed. The effects of fertilizer runoffs and other pollutant pathways, such as the decay of flooded vegetation, into reservoirs were addressed. The dependence of fish survival times on nitrite concentrations was charted. On the basis of an optimization model for the economic development of drainage basins with ecological limitations, the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute developed instructions for calculating the removal of biogenic elements and selecting water protection measures which were tested on a number of streams of the Lake Ladoga Basin and other areasmore » and which provide engineering means for evaluating and controlling the eutrophication of reservoirs.« less

Inerting and atmospheres

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carhart, Homer W.

1987-01-01

It is argued that fires are dependent primarily on the concentration of oxygen, whereas life is dependent on the partial pressure of oxygen. It follows that in an inhabited capsule it should be possible to exercise a certain amount of willful control over fire and still maintain habitability by proper selection of the composition of the atmosphere. This leads to two concepts in the control of fires in confined spaces by controlling atmospheric composition: the first, to lower the overall potential hazard by maintaining the percent of oxygen in the capsule below that of air, and second, to provide for the emergency extinguishment of a fire by sudden flooding with nitrogen. Several relevant charts and graphs are presented.

Exploring the role of flood transience in coarse bed load sediment transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, C. B.; Singer, M. B.; Hill, K. M.; Paola, C.

2015-12-01

The rate of bed load transport under steady flow is known to vary both spatially and temporally due to various hydrologic and granular phenomena. Grain size distributions and riverbed properties (packing, imbrication, etc.) are known to affect flux for a particular value of applied flow stress, while hydrology is mainly assumed to control the magnitude of the applied bed stress above the threshold for bed material entrainment. The prediction of bed load sediment transport in field settings is further complicated by the inherent transience in flood hydrology, but little is known about how such flood transience influences bed load flux over a range of applied bed stress. Here we investigate the role of flood transience for gravel bed load transport through controlled laboratory experiments in a 28 m long 0.5 meter wide flume. We explore transient flow as the combination of unsteady and intermittent flow, where unsteady flow varies in magnitude over a given duration, and intermittent flow is characterized by turning the flow on and off. We systematically vary these details of flood hydrographs from one experiment to the next, and monitor the bed load as it varies with water discharge in real time by measuring sediment flux and tracking particles. We find that even with a narrow unimodal grain size distribution and constant sediment supply we observe hysteresis in bed load flux, different thresholds for entrainment and distrainment for the rising and falling limbs of a flood, and a threshold of entrainment that can vary one flood hydrograph to the next. Despite these complex phenomena we find that the total bed load transported for each flood plots along a linear trend with the integrated excess stress, consistent with prior field results. These results suggest that while the effects of transient flow and the shape of the hydrograph are measurable, they are second-order compared to the integrated excess stress.

Quantitative microbial faecal source tracking with sampling guided by hydrological catchment dynamics.

PubMed

Reischer, G H; Haider, J M; Sommer, R; Stadler, H; Keiblinger, K M; Hornek, R; Zerobin, W; Mach, R L; Farnleitner, A H

2008-10-01

The impairment of water quality by faecal pollution is a global public health concern. Microbial source tracking methods help to identify faecal sources but the few recent quantitative microbial source tracking applications disregarded catchment hydrology and pollution dynamics. This quantitative microbial source tracking study, conducted in a large karstic spring catchment potentially influenced by humans and ruminant animals, was based on a tiered sampling approach: a 31-month water quality monitoring (Monitoring) covering seasonal hydrological dynamics and an investigation of flood events (Events) as periods of the strongest pollution. The detection of a ruminant-specific and a human-specific faecal Bacteroidetes marker by quantitative real-time PCR was complemented by standard microbiological and on-line hydrological parameters. Both quantitative microbial source tracking markers were detected in spring water during Monitoring and Events, with preponderance of the ruminant-specific marker. Applying multiparametric analysis of all data allowed linking the ruminant-specific marker to general faecal pollution indicators, especially during Events. Up to 80% of the variation of faecal indicator levels during Events could be explained by ruminant-specific marker levels proving the dominance of ruminant faecal sources in the catchment. Furthermore, soil was ruled out as a source of quantitative microbial source tracking markers. This study demonstrates the applicability of quantitative microbial source tracking methods and highlights the prerequisite of considering hydrological catchment dynamics in source tracking study design.

Large-scale bedforms as indicators of mutually evasive sand transport and the sequential infilling of wide-mouthed estuaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harris, Peter T.

1988-06-01

Large-scale bedforms (2-10 m in vertical and 10 2-10 3 m in horizontal dimensions) found in wide-mouthed estuaries are described. Different bedform types occur depending upon the local availability of sand. With an increasing sand supply, sand ribbons grade into elongate trains of sand waves and then form sandwave fields. Inshore, headland-associated sand banks are formed which multiply into en-echelon sand banks. Based upon a review of data on directions of sand transport from the Bristol Channel and Thames Estuary, U.K., and from Moreton Bay, Australia, charts of ebb- and flood-dominant transport zones are constructed for lower estuarine environments which have undergone different degrees of infilling. Linear sand banks are seen to delimit partially the boundaries between opposing sand transport zones. Transport paths demonstrate how sediments derived from outside of the estuary are dispersed through ebb and flood transport zones, to supply other areas of net deposition. A comparison between different estuaries reveals that variations in the compexity of ebb- and flood-dominant transport zones and the morphologies of large-scale bedforms are coupled with apparent changes in the relative amounts of sand available to each system. A model for the sequential infilling of estuaries and the evolution of large-scale bedforms is presented and applied to the interpretation of present day examples. Vertical sequences predicted to be generated by such bedform evolution are described and discussed, in terms of their preservation in the geological record.

United States Coast Guard Fiscal Year 2009 Performance Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-02-01

flooding. The International Ice Patrol facilitates interna- tional commerce by broadcasting information on iceberg locations to vessels transiting...SEA also provided back-up capability for the U.S. Antarctic Deep Freeze resupply mission. • The United States Coast Guard International Ice Patrol...tracked over 1,200 icebergs which drifted into the transatlantic shipping lanes continuing its perfect record, 96 years, of preventing ship collisions

Micro-PROUST.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-06-01

Noah needs to keep track of rainfall in the New Haven area in order to determine when to launch his ark . Write a...UNLSIIDFG92 N 2.. II4II 111220 11111 11J.4 MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART S "- )ARDS 1963 A S !!? Ii~ Sii ". . . ," .’ "" o o." .* -. ° . ". * -. * " . -- I...unflagging effort and support in seeing this project through to fruition. V 7 .. ° - . . - , .-. - . - ., S .-’ S 1. ES , " , - u < . i ’ - SiCU,r7

Reserve Component Attitude Study Wave IV. 1981 Tracking Study. Volume 1. Major Findings and Implications.

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-05-01

11’ 111 __--11 _L S1111 1 IIIIIL25 A1.25N 1111---1lu ’. . MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART NATIONAL BUREA U OF STANDARDS- 163-A r p...Mental Category III or above by the tests current during their active duty (not renormed) to insure a sample composed of PS men desirable to the...proposals to increase the IRR, not including incentives are tested , the response is predominantly negative. Furthermore, PS males and females say that they

Deriving Flood-Mediated Connectivity between River Channels and Floodplains: Data-Driven Approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Tongtiegang; Shao, Quanxi; Zhang, Yongyong

2017-03-01

The flood-mediated connectivity between river channels and floodplains plays a fundamental role in flood hazard mapping and exerts profound ecological effects. The classic nearest neighbor search (NNS) fails to derive this connectivity because of spatial heterogeneity and continuity. We develop two novel data-driven connectivity-deriving approaches, namely, progressive nearest neighbor search (PNNS) and progressive iterative nearest neighbor search (PiNNS). These approaches are illustrated through a case study in Northern Australia. First, PNNS and PiNNS are employed to identify flood pathways on floodplains through forward tracking. That is, progressive search is performed to associate newly inundated cells in each time step to previously inundated cells. In particular, iterations in PiNNS ensure that the connectivity is continuous - the connection between any two cells along the pathway is built through intermediate inundated cells. Second, inundated floodplain cells are collectively connected to river channel cells through backward tracing. Certain river channel sections are identified to connect to a large number of inundated floodplain cells. That is, the floodwater from these sections causes widespread floodplain inundation. Our proposed approaches take advantage of spatial-temporal data. They can be applied to achieve connectivity from hydro-dynamic and remote sensing data and assist in river basin planning and management.

Agile Task Tracking Tool

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

Duke, Roger T.; Crump, Thomas Vu

The work was created to provide a tool for the purpose of improving the management of tasks associated with Agile projects. Agile projects are typically completed in an iterative manner with many short duration tasks being performed as part of iterations. These iterations are generally referred to as sprints. The objective of this work is to create a single tool that enables sprint teams to manage all of their tasks in multiple sprints and automatically produce all standard sprint performance charts with minimum effort. The format of the printed work is designed to mimic a standard Kanban board. The workmore » is developed as a single Excel file with worksheets capable of managing up to five concurrent sprints and up to one hundred tasks. It also includes a summary worksheet providing performance information from all active sprints. There are many commercial project management systems typically designed with features desired by larger organizations with many resources managing multiple programs and projects. The audience for this work is the small organizations and Agile project teams desiring an inexpensive, simple, user-friendly, task management tool. This work uses standard readily available software, Excel, requiring minimum data entry and automatically creating summary charts and performance data. It is formatted to print out and resemble standard flip charts and provide the visuals associated with this type of work.« less

Opportunities and challenges in conducting secondary analysis of HIV programmes using data from routine health information systems and personal health information.

PubMed

Gloyd, Stephen; Wagenaar, Bradley H; Woelk, Godfrey B; Kalibala, Samuel

2016-01-01

HIV programme data from routine health information systems (RHIS) and personal health information (PHI) provide ample opportunities for secondary data analysis. However, these data pose unique opportunities and challenges for use in health system monitoring, along with process and impact evaluations. Analyses focused on retrospective case reviews of four of the HIV-related studies published in this JIAS supplement. We identify specific opportunities and challenges with respect to the secondary analysis of RHIS and PHI data. Challenges working with both HIV-related RHIS and PHI included missing, inconsistent and implausible data; rapidly changing indicators; systematic differences in the utilization of services; and patient linkages over time and different data sources. Specific challenges among RHIS data included numerous registries and indicators, inconsistent data entry, gaps in data transmission, duplicate registry of information, numerator-denominator incompatibility and infrequent use of data for decision-making. Challenges specific to PHI included the time burden for busy providers, the culture of lax charting, overflowing archives for paper charts and infrequent chart review. Many of the challenges that undermine effective use of RHIS and PHI data for analyses are related to the processes and context of collecting the data, excessive data requirements, lack of knowledge of the purpose of data and the limited use of data among those generating the data. Recommendations include simplifying data sources, analysis and reporting; conducting systematic data quality audits; enhancing the use of data for decision-making; promoting routine chart review linked with simple patient tracking systems; and encouraging open access to RHIS and PHI data for increased use.

Passive microwave (SSM/I) satellite predictions of valley glacier hydrology, Matanuska Glacier, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kopczynski, S.E.; Ramage, J.; Lawson, D.; Goetz, S.; Evenson, E.; Denner, J.; Larson, G.

2008-01-01

We advance an approach to use satellite passive microwave observations to track valley glacier snowmelt and predict timing of spring snowmelt-induced floods at the terminus. Using 37 V GHz brightness temperatures (Tb) from the Special Sensor Microwave hnager (SSM/I), we monitor snowmelt onset when both Tb and the difference between the ascending and descending overpasses exceed fixed thresholds established for Matanuska Glacier. Melt is confirmed by ground-measured air temperature and snow-wetness, while glacier hydrologic responses are monitored by a stream gauge, suspended-sediment sensors and terminus ice velocity measurements. Accumulation area snowmelt timing is correlated (R2 = 0.61) to timing of the annual snowmelt flood peak and can be predicted within ??5 days. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.

Assessing the performances of low impact development alternatives by long-term simulation for a semi-arid area in Tianjin, northern China.

PubMed

Huang, Jinhui Jeanne; Li, Yu; Niu, Shuai; Zhou, Shu H

2014-01-01

For areas that are urbanized rapidly, the practice of low impact development (LID) has gained an important place in stormwater management and urban planning due to its capability and beneficial effects in restoring the original hydrological cycle. The performances of LID alternatives can vary substantially due to different climate conditions. This study investigated the performances of five LID alternatives under a semi-arid climate in northern China on water balance and flood control. A numerical model, Storm Water Management Model version 5 (US Environmental Protection Agency), was employed to run 10 years' rainfall events for these objectives. Two evaluation methods were proposed in this study: the efficiency index for water balance and a performance radar chart. The investigation of the five LID alternatives revealed that these LID alternatives functioned differently in flood control and water balance, and porous pavement performed best in all indices except the lag time. The two evaluation methods, in conjunction with the long-term numerical simulation, can facilitate design and decision making by providing a clear picture of the performance and functions for these LID alternatives.

Comparison of Probabilistic Coastal Inundation Maps Based on Historical Storms and Statistically Modeled Storm Ensemble

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, X.; Sheng, Y.; Condon, A. J.; Paramygin, V. A.; Hall, T.

2012-12-01

A cost effective method, JPM-OS (Joint Probability Method with Optimal Sampling), for determining storm response and inundation return frequencies was developed and applied to quantify the hazard of hurricane storm surges and inundation along the Southwest FL,US coast (Condon and Sheng 2012). The JPM-OS uses piecewise multivariate regression splines coupled with dimension adaptive sparse grids to enable the generation of a base flood elevation (BFE) map. Storms are characterized by their landfall characteristics (pressure deficit, radius to maximum winds, forward speed, heading, and landfall location) and a sparse grid algorithm determines the optimal set of storm parameter combinations so that the inundation from any other storm parameter combination can be determined. The end result is a sample of a few hundred (197 for SW FL) optimal storms which are simulated using a dynamically coupled storm surge / wave modeling system CH3D-SSMS (Sheng et al. 2010). The limited historical climatology (1940 - 2009) is explored to develop probabilistic characterizations of the five storm parameters. The probability distributions are discretized and the inundation response of all parameter combinations is determined by the interpolation in five-dimensional space of the optimal storms. The surge response and the associated joint probability of the parameter combination is used to determine the flood elevation with a 1% annual probability of occurrence. The limited historical data constrains the accuracy of the PDFs of the hurricane characteristics, which in turn affect the accuracy of the BFE maps calculated. To offset the deficiency of limited historical dataset, this study presents a different method for producing coastal inundation maps. Instead of using the historical storm data, here we adopt 33,731 tracks that can represent the storm climatology in North Atlantic basin and SW Florida coasts. This large quantity of hurricane tracks is generated from a new statistical model which had been used for Western North Pacific (WNP) tropical cyclone (TC) genesis (Hall 2011) as well as North Atlantic tropical cyclone genesis (Hall and Jewson 2007). The introduction of these tracks complements the shortage of the historical samples and allows for more reliable PDFs required for implementation of JPM-OS. Using the 33,731 tracks and JPM-OS, an optimal storm ensemble is determined. This approach results in different storms/winds for storm surge and inundation modeling, and produces different Base Flood Elevation maps for coastal regions. Coastal inundation maps produced by the two different methods will be discussed in detail in the poster paper.

On the relative roles of hydrology, salinity, temperature, and root productivity in controlling soil respiration from coastal swamps (freshwater)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Krauss, Ken W.; Whitbeck, Julie L.; Howard, Rebecca J.

2012-01-01

Background and aims Soil CO2 emissions can dominate gaseous carbon losses from forested wetlands (swamps), especially those positioned in coastal environments. Understanding the varied roles of hydroperiod, salinity, temperature, and root productivity on soil respiration is important in discerning how carbon balances may shift as freshwater swamps retreat inland with sea-level rise and salinity incursion, and convert to mixed communities with marsh plants. Methods We exposed soil mesocosms to combinations of permanent flooding, tide, and salinity, and tracked soil respiration over 2 1/2 growing seasons. We also related these measurements to rates from field sites along the lower Savannah River, Georgia, USA. Soil temperature and root productivity were assessed simultaneously for both experiments. Results Soil respiration from mesocosms (22.7-1678.2 mg CO2 m-2 h-1) differed significantly among treatments during four of the seven sampling intervals, where permanently flooded treatments contributed to low rates of soil respiration and tidally flooded treatments sometimes contributed to higher rates. Permanent flooding reduced the overall capacity for soil respiration as soils warmed. Salinity did reduce soil respiration at times in tidal treatments, indicating that salinity may affect the amount of CO2 respired with tide more strongly than under permanent flooding. However, soil respiration related greatest to root biomass (mesocosm) and standing root length (field); any stress reducing root productivity (incl. salinity and permanent flooding) therefore reduces soil respiration. Conclusions Overall, we hypothesized a stronger, direct role for salinity on soil respiration, and found that salinity effects were being masked by varied capacities for increases in respiration with soil warming as dictated by hydrology, and the indirect influence that salinity can have on plant productivity.

Unravel Spurious Bathymetric Highs on the Western Continental Margin of India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahale, V. P.

2017-12-01

Swath mapping multibeam echosounder systems (MBES) have become a de-facto-standard component on today's research vessel (RV). Modern MBES provide high temporal and spatial resolution for mapping the seabed morphology. Improved resolution capabilities requires large hull mounted transceivers, which after installation undergoes calibration procedure during the sea acceptance test (SAT). To accurately estimate various vessel offsets and lever-arm corrections, the installer runs calibration lines over a prominent seabed feature. In the year 2014, while conducting SAT for the RV Sindhu Sadhana and calibrate the ATLAS make MBES system, a hunt was on to find suitable bathymetric highs in the region of operation. Regional hydrographic charts published by the National Hydrographic Office, in India were referred to locate such features. Two bathymetric highs were spotted on the chart that are 20 km apart and 40 km west of the shelf-edge on the Western Continental Margin of India. The charted depth on these highs are 252 m and 343 m on a relatively even but moderately sloppy seabed, representing an isolated elevations of 900 m. The geographic locations of these knolls were verified with the GEBCO's 30-arc second gridded bathymetry, before heading out for the waypoints. There were no signs of knolls at those locations, indicating erroneous georeferencing. Hence, the region was subsequently revisited in the following years until an area of 3000 sq. km was mapped. Failing to locate the bathymetric highs they are referred to as 'spurious'. Investigation was planned to unravel the rationale of existence and sustenance of these knolls in the hydrographic charts since historic time. Tweaking the MBES settings reveals existence of strong acoustic scattering layer, to which even the depth tracking gate gets locked-on and is documented. Analogically, in the past, ships transecting the region equipped with single beam echosounder tuned for shallow depth operations might have charted the scattering layer and contributed to crowdsourced bathymetry eventually. Literature study indicates deepsea scattering layer (DSL) prevalent in the study region, having diurnal variation with depths similar to those on the chart. The author thus hypothesize that DSL would have been the rationale behind the existence of spurious bathymetric highs.

Integrating High-Resolution Taskable Imagery into a Sensorweb for Automatic Space-Based Monitoring of Flooding in Thailand

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chien, Steve; Mclaren, David; Doubleday, Joshua; Tran, Daniel; Tanpipat, Veerachai; Chitradon, Royol; Boonya-aroonnet, Surajate; Thanapakpawin, Porranee; Mandl, Daniel

2012-01-01

Several space-based assets (Terra, Aqua, Earth Observing One) have been integrated into a sensorweb to monitor flooding in Thailand. In this approach, the Moderate Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) data from Terra and Aqua is used to perform broad-scale monitoring to track flooding at the regional level (250m/pixel) and EO-1 is autonomously tasked in response to alerts to acquire higher resolution (30m/pixel) Advanced Land Imager (ALI) data. This data is then automatically processed to derive products such as surface water extent and volumetric water estimates. These products are then automatically pushed to organizations in Thailand for use in damage estimation, relief efforts, and damage mitigation. More recently, this sensorweb structure has been used to request imagery, access imagery, and process high-resolution (several m to 30m), targetable asset imagery from commercial assets including Worldview-2, Ikonos, Radarsat-2, Landsat-7, and Geo-Eye-1. We describe the overall sensorweb framework as well as new workflows and products made possible via these extensions.

Conditional Stochastic Models in Reduced Space: Towards Efficient Simulation of Tropical Cyclone Precipitation Patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dodov, B.

2017-12-01

Stochastic simulation of realistic and statistically robust patterns of Tropical Cyclone (TC) induced precipitation is a challenging task. It is even more challenging in a catastrophe modeling context, where tens of thousands of typhoon seasons need to be simulated in order to provide a complete view of flood risk. Ultimately, one could run a coupled global climate model and regional Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model, but this approach is not feasible in the catastrophe modeling context and, most importantly, may not provide TC track patterns consistent with observations. Rather, we propose to leverage NWP output for the observed TC precipitation patterns (in terms of downscaled reanalysis 1979-2015) collected on a Lagrangian frame along the historical TC tracks and reduced to the leading spatial principal components of the data. The reduced data from all TCs is then grouped according to timing, storm evolution stage (developing, mature, dissipating, ETC transitioning) and central pressure and used to build a dictionary of stationary (within a group) and non-stationary (for transitions between groups) covariance models. Provided that the stochastic storm tracks with all the parameters describing the TC evolution are already simulated, a sequence of conditional samples from the covariance models chosen according to the TC characteristics at a given moment in time are concatenated, producing a continuous non-stationary precipitation pattern in a Lagrangian framework. The simulated precipitation for each event is finally distributed along the stochastic TC track and blended with a non-TC background precipitation using a data assimilation technique. The proposed framework provides means of efficient simulation (10000 seasons simulated in a couple of days) and robust typhoon precipitation patterns consistent with observed regional climate and visually undistinguishable from high resolution NWP output. The framework is used to simulate a catalog of 10000 typhoon seasons implemented in a flood risk model for Japan.

A NOAA/NOS Sea Level Advisory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sweet, W.

2011-12-01

In order for coastal communities to realize current impacts and become resilient to future changes, sea level advisories/bulletins are necessary that systematically monitor and document non-tidal anomalies (residuals) and flood-watch (elevation) conditions. The need became apparent after an exceptional sea level anomaly along the U.S. East Coast in June - July of 2009 when higher than normal sea levels coincided with a perigean-spring tide and flooded many coastal regions. The event spurred numerous public inquiries to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) from coastal communities concerned because of the lack of any coastal storm signatures normally associated with such an anomaly. A subsequent NOAA report provided insight into some of the mechanisms involved in the event and methods for tracking their reoccurrences. NOAA/CO-OPS is the U.S. authority responsible for defining sea level datums and tracking their relative changes in support of marine navigation and national and state land-use boundaries. These efforts are supported by the National Water Level Observation Network (NWLON), whose long-term and widespread observations largely define a total water level measurement impacting a coastal community. NWLON time series provide estimates of local relative sea level trends, a product increasingly utilized by various stakeholders planning for the future. NWLON data also capture significant short-term changes and conveyance of high-water variations (from surge to seasonal scale) provides invaluable insight into inundation patterns ultimately needed for a more comprehensive planning guide. A NOAA/CO-OPS Sea Level Advisory Project will enhance high-water monitoring capabilities by: - Automatically detecting sea level anomalies and flood-watch occurrences - Seasonally calibrating the anomaly thresholds to a locality in terms of flood potential - Alerting for near-term superposition of non-tidal residuals and large tide-range changes (i.e., spring tides). - Identifying important regional physical forcing mechanisms (both meteorological and oceanographic) to help explain the conditions - Displaying near-real time and archived information to establish a clear and direct communication with a community in regards to its past, present and future flood patterns. An example is presented for Charleston, SC, an area with little remaining free board in terms of its downtown infrastructure. The National Weather Service (NWS) issues multiple flood watches for Charleston every year that largely result from astronomical (earth-sun-moon system) tide forcing alone and NOAA's Coastal Services Center (CSC) often receives inquiries regarding downtown flooding during sunny, nondescript days. This project will allow for a deeper appreciation of surge-to-seasonal patterns of variability and compliment a community's living memory of sea level elevations/impacts needed to motivate societal adaptation as sea levels rise. Coordination with NWS's local Weather Forecasting Offices (WFO) is planned and the project will expand to other incident-prone regions once demonstration is accepted.

Hunting Sea Mines with UUV-Based Magnetic and Electro-Optic Sensors

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-06-01

assembly of four 3-axis fluxgate magnetometers and (c) magnetometer package for underwater deployment in flooded body section. data are automatically...features the Real-time Tracking Gradiometer (RTG), which is a multi-channel tensor gradiometer using conventional fluxgate technology. Also in this...integrated together into a Bluefin12 AUV [5]. A. RTG Sensor Technology The RTG is a multi-channel tensor gradiometer using conventional fluxgate

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...

Threats at Our Threshold: Homeland Defense and Homeland Security in the New Century

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-10-21

evacuation. Meanwhile, DoD C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers , Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) assets can provide state-of...hurricane and flooding. In addition, he challenged the company to find a way to track all supplies even though the computer systems were down...relevant to the homeland security realm. In general terms, individuals empowered with computing and communications technology and connected by

Layout design in order to improve efficiency in manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siregar, I.; Tarigan, U.; Nasution, T. H.

2018-02-01

This research was conducted at the company that produces bobbins and ream type cigarette paper. Problems that found on the production process is the back and forth (back tracking) movement. Back and forth (back tracking) movement extending the total distance moved by the material and increase the total moment of transfer materials thus reducing the efficiency of the transfer of materials in the production process. The purpose of this study is to give design for the layout of production facilities in the company, so that the expected production produced by the company can reach the targets set by the management company. The method used in this research is the Graph-Based Construction and Travel Chart Method. The results of the analysis of the proposed layout with Graph-Based Construction was selected with a total value that is equal to the moment of transfer of 780 758 m / year. This result is better than the actual layout in the amount of 1,021,038.12 meters / year and the results of the method Travel Alternative Chart I of 826.236,60 meters/year, Alternative II of 1.004.433,56 meters / year, and Alternative III for 828,467.12 meters/year. The design layout of Graph-Based Construction material increases the transfer efficiency for 23.53%. With this layout proposal, expected production capacity will be increased along with the shortening of the distance of the displacement that must be passed by the material to be processed.

Should medical students track former patients in the electronic health record? An emerging ethical conflict.

PubMed

Brisson, Gregory E; Neely, Kathy Johnson; Tyler, Patrick D; Barnard, Cynthia

2015-08-01

Medical students are increasingly using electronic health records (EHRs) in clerkships, and medical educators should seek opportunities to use this new technology to improve training. One such opportunity is the ability to "track" former patients in the EHR, defined as following up on patients in the EHR for educational purposes for a defined period of time after they have left one's direct care. This activity offers great promise in clinical training by enabling students to audit their diagnostic impressions and follow the clinical history of illness in a manner not possible in the era of paper charting. However, tracking raises important questions about the ethical use of protected health information, including concerns about compromising patient autonomy, resulting in a conflict between medical education and patient privacy. The authors offer critical analysis of arguments on both sides and discuss strategies to balance the ethical conflict by optimizing outcomes and mitigating harms. They observe that tracking improves training, thus offering long-lasting benefits to society, and is supported by the principle of distributive justice. They conclude that students should be permitted to track for educational purposes, but only with defined limits to safeguard patient autonomy, including obtaining permission from patients, having legitimate educational intent, and self-restricting review of records to those essential for training. Lastly, the authors observe that this conflict will become increasingly important with completion of the planned Nationwide Health Information Network and emphasize the need for national guidelines on tracking patients in an ethically appropriate manner.

Evaluating the atmospheric drivers leading to the December 2014 flood in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schade, Nils H.

2017-06-01

Regional analyses of atmospheric conditions that may cause flooding of important transport infrastructure (railway tracks, highways/roads, rivers/channels) and subsequent adaptation measures are part of topic 1 of the network of experts initiated by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI). As an example case study, the December 2014 flood in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, was investigated. Atmospheric conditions at the onset of the flood event are described and evaluated with respect to the general weather circulation, initial wetness, and event precipitation. Persistent, predominantly westerly general weather circulations (GWCs) directed several low-pressure systems over the North Sea to Schleswig-Holstein during December 2014, accompanied by prolonged rainfall and finally a strong precipitation event in southern Schleswig-Holstein, causing several inland gauges to exceed their, by then maximum, water levels. Results show that the antecedent precipitation index (API) is able to reflect the soil moisture conditions and, in combination with the maximum 3-day precipitation sum (R3d), to capture the two main drivers finally leading to the flood: (1) the initial wetness of north-western Schleswig-Holstein and (2) strong event precipitation in southern and eastern Schleswig-Holstein from 21 to 23 December; at the same time, both indices exceeded their respective 5-year return periods. Further, trend analyses show that both API and R3d have been increasing during recent years, while regional patterns match the north-eastward shift of cyclone pathways, leading to a higher risk of flooding in Schleswig-Holstein. Within the network of experts, investigations of these and further indices/drivers for earth system changes (e.g. wind surge and sea level rise) derived from observations, reanalyses, and regional climate model data are planned for all German coastal areas. Results can be expected to lead to improved adaptation measures to floods under climate change conditions wherever catchments have to be drained and infrastructures and ecosystems may be harmed.

Development of a Surgical Infection Surveillance Program at a Tertiary Hospital in Ethiopia: Lessons Learned from Two Surveillance Strategies.

PubMed

Forrester, Jared A; Koritsanszky, Luca; Parsons, Benjamin D; Hailu, Menbere; Amenu, Demisew; Alemu, Seifu; Jiru, Fekadu; Weiser, Thomas G

2018-01-01

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are a leading cause of post-operative morbidity and mortality. We developed Clean Cut, a surgical infection prevention program, with two goals: (1) Increase adherence to evidence-based peri-operative infection prevention standards and (2) establish sustainable surgical infection surveillance. Here we describe our infection surveillance strategy. Clean Cut was piloted and evaluated at a 523 bed tertiary hospital in Ethiopia. Infection prevention standards included: (1) Hand and surgical site decontamination; (2) integrity of gowns, drapes, and gloves; (3) instrument sterility; (4) prophylactic antibiotic administration; (5) surgical gauze tracking; and (6) checklist compliance. Primary outcome measure was SSI, with secondary outcomes including other infection, re-operation, and length of stay. We prospectively observed all post-surgical wounds in obstetrics over a 12 day period and separately recorded post-operative complications using chart review. Simultaneously, we reviewed the written hospital charts after patient discharge for all patients whose peri-operative adherence to infection prevention standards was captured. Fifty obstetric patients were followed prospectively with recorded rates of SSI 14%, re-operation 6%, and death 2%. Compared with direct observation, chart review alone had a high loss to follow-up (28%) and decreased capture of infectious complications (SSI [n = 2], endometritis [n = 3], re-operations [n = 2], death [n = 1]); further, documentation inconsistencies failed to capture two complications (SSI [n = 1], mastitis [n = 1]). Concurrently, 137 patients were observed for peri-operative infection prevention standard adherence. Of these, we were able to successfully review 95 (69%) patient charts with recorded rates of SSI 5%, re-operation 1%, and death 1%. Patient loss to follow-up and poor documentation of infections underestimated overall infectious complications. Direct, prospective follow-up is possible but requires increased time, clinical skill, and training. For accurate surgical infection surveillance, direct follow-up of patients during hospitalization is essential, because chart review does not accurately reflect post-operative complications.

Relations Between Rainfall and Postfire Debris-Flow and Flood Magnitudes for Emergency-Response Planning, San Gabriel Mountains, Southern California

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cannon, Susan H.; Boldt, Eric M.; Kean, Jason W.; Laber, Jayme; Staley, Dennis M.

2010-01-01

Following wildfires, emergency-response and public-safety agencies are faced often with making evacuation decisions and deploying resources both well in advance of each coming winter storm and during storms themselves. Information critical to this process is provided for recently burned areas in the San Gabriel Mountains of southern California. The National Weather Service (NWS) issues Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts (QPFs) for the San Gabriel Mountains twice a day, at approximately 4 a.m. and 4 p.m., along with unscheduled updates when conditions change. QPFs provide estimates of rainfall totals in 3-hour increments for the first 12-hour period and in 6-hour increments for the second 12-hour period. Estimates of one-hour rainfall intensities can be provided in the forecast narrative, along with probable peak intensities and timing, although with less confidence than rainfall totals. A compilation of information on the hydrologic response to winter storms from recently burned areas in southern California steeplands was used to develop a system for classifying the magnitude of the postfire hydrologic response. The four-class system is based on a combination of the reported volume of individual debris flows, the consequences of these events in an urban setting, and the spatial extent of the response to the triggering storm. Threshold rainfall conditions associated with debris flow and floods of different magnitude classes are defined by integrating local rainfall data with debris-flow and flood magnitude information. The within-storm rainfall accumulations (A) and durations (D) above which magnitude I events are expected are defined by A=0.3D0.6. The function A=0.5D0.6 defines the within-storm rainfall accumulations and durations above which a magnitude III event will occur in response to a regional-scale storm, and a magnitude II event will occur if the storm affects only a few drainage basins. The function A=1.0D0.5defines the rainfall conditions above which magnitude III events can be expected. Rainfall trigger-magnitude relations are linked with potential emergency-response actions in the form of an emergency-response decision chart. The chart leads a user through steps to determine potential event magnitudes, and identify possible evacuation and resource-deployment levels as a function of either individual storm forecasts or measured precipitation during storms. The ability to use this information in the planning and response decision-making process may result in significant financial savings and increased safety for both the public and emergency responders.

Postwildfire debris flows hazard assessment for the area burned by the 2011 Track Fire, northeastern New Mexico and southeastern Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tillery, Anne C.; Darr, Michael J.; Cannon, Susan H.; Michael, John A.

2011-01-01

In June 2011, the Track Fire burned 113 square kilometers in Colfax County, northeastern New Mexico, and Las Animas County, southeastern Colorado, including the upper watersheds of Chicorica and Raton Creeks. The burned landscape is now at risk of damage from postwildfire erosion, such as that caused by debris flows and flash floods. This report presents a preliminary hazard assessment of the debris-flow potential from basins burned by the Track Fire. A pair of empirical hazard-assessment models developed using data from recently burned basins throughout the intermountain western United States were used to estimate the probability of debris-flow occurrence and volume of debris flows at the outlets of selected drainage basins within the burned area. The models incorporate measures of burn severity, topography, soils, and storm rainfall to estimate the probability and volume of post-fire debris flows following the fire. In response to a design storm of 38 millimeters of rain in 30 minutes (10-year recurrence-interval), the probability of debris flow estimated for basins burned by the Track fire ranged between 2 and 97 percent, with probabilities greater than 80 percent identified for the majority of the tributary basins to Raton Creek in Railroad Canyon; six basins that flow into Lake Maloya, including the Segerstrom Creek and Swachheim Creek basins; two tributary basins to Sugarite Canyon, and an unnamed basin on the eastern flank of the burned area. Estimated debris-flow volumes ranged from 30 cubic meters to greater than 100,000 cubic meters. The largest volumes (greater than 100,000 cubic meters) were estimated for Segerstrom Creek and Swachheim Creek basins, which drain into Lake Maloya. The Combined Relative Debris-Flow Hazard Ranking identifies the Segerstrom Creek and Swachheim Creek basins as having the highest probability of producing the largest debris flows. This finding indicates the greatest post-fire debris-flow impacts may be expected to Lake Maloya. In addition, Interstate Highway 25, Raton Creek and the rail line in Railroad Canyon, County road A-27, and State Highway 526 in Sugarite Canyon may also be affected where they cross drainages downstream from recently burned basins. Although this assessment indicates that a rather large debris flow (approximately 42,000 cubic meters) may be generated from the basin above the City of Raton (basin 9) in response to the design storm, the probability of such an event is relatively low (approximately 10 percent). Additional assessment is necessary to determine if the estimated volume of material is sufficient to travel into the City of Raton. In addition, even small debris flows may affect structures at or downstream from basin outlets and increase the threat of flooding downstream by damaging or blocking flood mitigation structures. The maps presented here may be used to prioritize areas where erosion mitigation or other protective measures may be necessary within a 2- to 3-year window of vulnerability following the Track Fire.

The efficacy of stream power and flow duration on geomorphic responses to catastrophic flooding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magilligan, F. J.; Buraas, E. M.; Renshaw, C. E.

2015-01-01

Geomorphologists have long studied the impacts of extreme floods, yet the association between the magnitude of flow parameters (discharge, velocity, shear stress, or stream power) and resulting geomorphic effectiveness remains vague and non-deterministic. Attempts have been made to include flow duration and total expenditure of stream power, in combination with peak unit stream power, as important variables, but there has been minimal exploration of this hydraulic combination. Taking advantage of Tropical Storm Irene's rapid track through eastern Vermont (USA) in late summer 2011, this paper presents the array of geomorphic responses to a short duration (time to peak of < 8 h) but high magnitude flood that was the twentieth century flood of record for numerous watersheds. We present herein the geomorphic imprint of Tropical Storm Irene flooding within a larger context of fluvial theory concerning the role of, and trade-off between, the magnitude of energy expenditure during a flood and its duration. Focusing on a detailed field effort within the 187-km2 Saxtons River basin in southeastern VT, augmented by select sites along the adjacent lower gradient Williams River (291-km2), we elucidate (1) the geomorphic effects of a short duration flood in a humid, well-vegetated landscape; (2) the relationship between geomorphic response and (a) peak stream power, (b) total stream power, and (c) flow duration of stream power above a critical threshold; and (3) the spatial variation of geomorphic effects relative to reach-scale geologic and geomorphic controls. Flooding associated with Tropical Storm Irene ranged from the 1000 year recurrence interval (RI) flood (based on Weibull flood frequency analysis) to the 300 year RI flood (log Pearson Type III). Discharges spawned a peak unit stream power of 712 W/m2 (Saxtons River) and 361 W/m2 (Williams River), with total energy expenditure throughout the event of ~ 16,000 × 103 and 15,000 × 103 J, respectively. For the Saxtons River, channel widening was spatially infrequent and limited in magnitude; however, other geomorphic effects were profound (1) the entrainment, transport, and deposition of extremely coarse material; (2) stripping of floodplain surfaces; (3) channel avulsions and incision into Pleistocene-aged material; and (4) deposition of coarse material across floodplains. Based on our extensive field data and hydrologic/hydraulic analyses, we contend that short duration, high energy flows can have profound sedimentological effects but have limited erosive, channel widening impacts. Gravel entrainment and deposition of a catastrophic nature can certainly occur under these flow regimes, but the impacts of these extreme flows on channel geometry may have limited expression.

Impact of colour in the assessment of potential visual acuity in patients with age-related macular degeneration.

PubMed

Dorrepaal, Stephen J; Markowitz, Samuel N

2013-06-01

To compare chromatic and achromatic potential visual acuity (PVA) in patients with bilateral low vision caused by age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Prospective, nonrandomized, observational case series. Fifty-five patients, representing a consecutive series of patients all presenting with bilateral AMD. Best-corrected visual acuity of each eye was measured using an Early Treatment in Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) chart with appropriate near correction. Included were cases with visual acuity of 0.4 logMAR (20/50) or worse in both eyes. Achromatic and chromatic PVA were measured in each eye using white on black and red on yellow flooding E charts at 50 cm in controlled lighting conditions. One hundred and seven eyes from 55 patients were included in the analysis. Mean achromatic and chromatic PVA were 0.69 ± 0.26 and 0.65 ± 0.22 logMAR, respectively. Overall, patients had a significantly higher chromatic than achromatic PVA, with a median difference of 0.1 logMAR (p<0.05). Patients with ETDRS visual acuity worse than 0.9 logMAR also had a significantly higher chromatic than achromatic PVA, with a median difference of 0.1 logMAR (p<0.05). Patients with ETDRS visual acuity between 0.4 and 0.9 logMAR had a trend toward a higher chromatic than achromatic visual acuity that was not significant, with a median difference of 0.1 logMAR (p = 0.8539). Patients with low vision caused by AMD can discern smaller targets when a red on yellow colour scheme is used than when using achromatic white on black charts. Copyright © 2013 Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Accessibility assessment of Houston's roadway network during Harvey through integration of observed flood impacts and hydrologic modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gidaris, I.; Gori, A.; Panakkal, P.; Padgett, J.; Bedient, P. B.

2017-12-01

The record-breaking rainfall produced over the Houston region by Hurricane Harvey resulted in catastrophic and unprecedented impacts on the region's infrastructure. Notably, Houston's transportation network was crippled, with almost every major highway flooded during the five-day event. Entire neighborhoods and subdivisions were inundated, rendering them completely inaccessible to rescue crews and emergency services. Harvey has tragically highlighted the vulnerability of major thoroughfares, as well as neighborhood roads, to severe inundation during extreme precipitation events. Furthermore, it has emphasized the need for detailed accessibility characterization of road networks under extreme event scenarios in order to determine which areas of the city are most vulnerable. This analysis assesses and tracks the accessibility of Houston's major highways during Harvey's evolution by utilizing road flood/closure data from the Texas DOT. In the absence of flooded/closure data for local roads, a hybrid approach is adopted that utilizes a physics-based hydrologic model to produce high-resolution inundation estimates for selected urban watersheds in the Houston area. In particular, hydrologic output in the form of inundation depths is used to estimate the operability of local roads. Ultimately, integration of hydrologic-based estimation of road conditions with observed data from DOT supports a network accessibility analysis of selected urban neighborhoods. This accessibility analysis can identify operable routes for emergency response (rescue crews, medical services, etc.) during the storm event.

Effects of flooding of the River Paraná on the temporal activity of Anopheles (Nyssorhynchus) darlingi Root (Diptera: Culicidae), at the border state of Mato Grosso do Sul and São Paulo, Brazil.

PubMed

Gomes, Almério de Castro; Paula, Marcia Bicudo de; Natal, Delsio; Gotlieb, Sabina Léa Davidson; Mucci, Luis Filipe

2010-01-01

Study of the temporal activity of malaria vectors during the implantation of a hydroelectric power station on the River Paraná, intended to generate electrical energy. The river separates the States of São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul, in Brazil. The objective was to verify whether alterations occurred in the wealth and diversity indices of Anopheles, following two successive floods, extended to the temporal activity and nycthemeral rhythm followed over a five year period. Mosquito capture was performed monthly using the Human Attraction Technique and Shannon Traps. The first, executed for 24h, provided the nycthemeral rhythm and the second, lasting 15 h, permitted the tracking of Anopheles during the two floods. The bimodal pattern of Anopheles darlingi defined before these floods was modified throughout the environment interventions. The same effect had repercussions on the populations of An albitarsis s.l., An triannulatus and An galvaoi. Activity prior to twilight was less affected by the environment alterations. The dam construction provoked changes in Anopheles temporal activity patterns, permitting classification of the area as an ecologically steady and unstable situation. Differences observed in Anopheles behavior due to the capture methods revealed the influence of solo and multiple attractiveness inside the populations studied.

Potential Applications of Manual Games,

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-02-01

34 just because some electronic equipment is used to keep track of logistics, combat results, and force status. Even a highly computerized game like...D-A152 541 POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF MANUAL GAMES (U) RAND CORP ii SANTA MONICA CA T A BROW~N FEB 84 RAND/P-6957 UNCLASI7FIED F/G 12/2 N El..I 111 1...128 112.5 111 m; * _ 1.8 I1111 ’I’ll MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART NATI NAl fii~ t1 RI 1A L4k, I POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS OF MANUJAL GAMES Lfl N Lfl

Approximate Micromechanics Treatise of Composite Impact

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chamis, Christos C.; Handler, Louis M.

2005-01-01

A formalism is described for micromechanic impact of composites. The formalism consists of numerous equations which describe all aspects of impact from impactor and composite conditions to impact contact, damage progression, and penetration or containment. The formalism is based on through-the-thickness displacement increments simulation which makes it convenient to track local damage in terms of microfailure modes and their respective characteristics. A flow chart is provided to cast the formalism (numerous equations) into a computer code for embedment in composite mechanic codes and/or finite element composite structural analysis.

Affinity Chart Analysis: A Method for Structured Collection, Aggregation, and Response to Customer Needs in Radiology.

PubMed

Boll, Daniel T; Rubin, Geoffrey D; Heye, Tobias; Pierce, Laura J

2017-04-01

The objective of this study is to analyze implementation of the voice-of-the-customer method to assess the current state of image postprocessing and reporting delivered by a radiology department and to plan improvements on the basis of referring physicians' preferences. The voice-of-the-customer method consisted of discovery, analysis, and optimization phases. Fifty referring physicians were invited to be interviewed. Interviews addressed the topics of structure, process, outcome, and support. Interviews were dissected into individual statements categorized as fact or feeling. Statements were grouped to find collective voices. Improvements were compiled from affinity charts and were processed by identifying insights. Ninety-four percent (47/50) of physicians participated, generating 352 statements (81 facts and 271 feelings) that subsequently underwent affinity chart clustering. The resultant affinity charts covered distinct themes: "we need you to know us better," "we need you to consider our workflow," "we need more from your services," "we want to review your data in certain ways," and "we want to do more with you." As a result of the insights gained, the following optimizations were implemented: a software application that improves study requesting, performance tracking, study prioritization, and longitudinal data archiving; six prototype reports containing tabulated data and annotated images; two prototype longitudinal reporting templates assessing aneurysm evolution and treatment-induced changes in organ size over time; and a teaching curriculum for trainees. This study has shown the clinical feasibility to assess the current state of image postprocessing and reporting and to implement improvements of and investments in image postprocessing and reporting infrastructure on the basis of referring physicians' preferences using the voice-of-the-customer method.

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

Brewer, M; Gordon, C; Tien, C

Purpose: To follow the Integrating Healthcare Enterprise - Radiation Oncology (IHE-RO) initiative of proper cross-vendor technology integration, an automated chart checker (ACC) was developed. ACC compares extracted data from an approved patient plan in the Eclipse treatment planning system (TPS) against data existing in the Mosaiq treatment management system (TMS). ACC automatically analyzes these parameters using built-in quality checklists to provide further aid in chart review. Methods: Eclipse TPS data are obtained using Eclipse scripting API (ESAPI) while Mosaiq TMS data are obtained from a radiotherapy-treatment-planning (RTP) file. Using this information, ACC identifies TPS-TMS discrepancies in 18 primary beam parametersmore » including MU, energy, jaw positions, gantry angle, table angle, accessories, and bolus for up to 31 beams. Next, approximately 40 items from traditional quality checklists are evaluated such as prescription consistency, DRR graticule placement, plan approval status, global max dose, and dose tracking coefficients. Parameters were artificially modified to determine if ACC would detect an error in data transfer and to test each component of quality checklists. Results: Using ESAPI scripting and RTP file-processing, ACC was able to properly aggregate data from TPS and TMS for up to 31 beams. Errors were artificially introduced into each plan parameter, and ACC was able to successfully detect all of them within seconds. Next, ACC was able to successfully detect mistakes in the chart by identifying deviations with its quality checklists, within seconds. Conclusion: ACC effectively addresses the potential issue of faulty cross-vendor data transfer, as described by IHE-RO. In addition, ACC was also able to detect deviations from its built-in quality checklists. ACC is already an invaluable tool for efficient and standardized chart review and will continue to improve as its incorporated checklists become more comprehensive.« less

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

Sheu, R; Ghafar, R; Powers, A

Purpose: Demonstrate the effectiveness of in-house software in ensuring EMR workflow efficiency and safety. Methods: A web-based dashboard system (WBDS) was developed to monitor clinical workflow in real time using web technology (WAMP) through ODBC (Open Database Connectivity). Within Mosaiq (Elekta Inc), operational workflow is driven and indicated by Quality Check Lists (QCLs), which is triggered by automation software IQ Scripts (Elekta Inc); QCLs rely on user completion to propagate. The WBDS retrieves data directly from the Mosaig SQL database and tracks clinical events in real time. For example, the necessity of a physics initial chart check can be determinedmore » by screening all patients on treatment who have received their first fraction and who have not yet had their first chart check. Monitoring similar “real” events with our in-house software creates a safety net as its propagation does not rely on individual users input. Results: The WBDS monitors the following: patient care workflow (initial consult to end of treatment), daily treatment consistency (scheduling, technique, charges), physics chart checks (initial, EOT, weekly), new starts, missing treatments (>3 warning/>5 fractions, action required), and machine overrides. The WBDS can be launched from any web browser which allows the end user complete transparency and timely information. Since the creation of the dashboards, workflow interruptions due to accidental deletion or completion of QCLs were eliminated. Additionally, all physics chart checks were completed timely. Prompt notifications of treatment record inconsistency and machine overrides have decreased the amount of time between occurrence and execution of corrective action. Conclusion: Our clinical workflow relies primarily on QCLs and IQ Scripts; however, this functionality is not the panacea of safety and efficiency. The WBDS creates a more thorough system of checks to provide a safer and near error-less working environment.« less

Radio Tracking Fish with Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS).

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dahlgren, R. P.; Anderson, K. R.; Hanson, L.; Pinsker, E. A.; Jonsson, J.; Chapman, D. C.; Witten, D. M.; O'Connor, K. A.

2017-12-01

Tracking radio tagged fish by boat or on foot in riverine systems is difficult and time consuming, particularly in large braided island complexes, shallow wetlands, and rocky reaches. Invasive Asian carp are commonly found in these hard to reach areas, but their near-surface feeding behavior makes radio tracking possible. To identify new methods of fish tracking that could same time and money, this study tested the feasibility of tracking Asian carp with Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) in areas generally inaccessible to traditional tracking equipment. The U.S. Geological Survey worked with NanoElectromagnetics LLC and WWR Development to create and integrate a lightweight custom radio receiver, directional antenna, and accompanying software into a sUAS platform. The receiver includes independent GPS, software defined radio, and compass. The NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) completed payload integration, electromagnetic-interference and airworthiness testing, and provided a DJI Matrice 600 sUAS for this study. Additionally, ARC provided subject matter experts, airworthiness and flight readiness evaluation, and flight test facilities during preparation; and a pilot, range safety officer, and aircraft engineer during field deployment. Results demonstrate that this custom sUAS and sensor combination can detect radio tags at 100m above ground level and at horizontal ranges of 100m and 300m, with operators in either onshore or offshore locations. With this combination of sUAS and radio receiver, fish can be tracked in areas previously inaccessible and during flooding, providing new insights into riverine fish movement and habitat utilization.

Sinkhole flooding in Murfreesboro, Rutherford County, Tennessee, 2001-02

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bradley, Michael W.; Hileman, Gregg Edward

2006-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, conducted an investigation from January 2001 through April 2002 to delineate sinkholes and sinkhole watersheds in the Murfreesboro area and to characterize the hydrologic response of sinkholes to major rainfall events. Terrain analysis was used to define sinkholes and delineate the sinkhole drainage areas. Flooding in 78 sinkholes in three focus areas was identified and tracked using aerial photography following three major storms in February 2001, January 2002, and March 2002. The three focus areas are located to the east, north, and northwest of Murfreesboro and are underlain primarily by the Ridley Limestone with some outcrops of the underlying Pierce Limestone. The observed sinkhole flooding is controlled by water inflow, water outflow, and the degree of the hydraulic connection (connectivity) to a ground-water conduit system. The observed sinkholes in the focus areas are grouped into three categories based on the sinkhole morphology and the connectivity to the ground-water system as indicated by their response to flooding. The three types of sinkholes described for these focus areas are pan sinkholes with low connectivity, deep sinkholes with high connectivity, and deep sinkholes with low connectivity to the ground-water conduit system. Shallow, broad pan sinkholes flood as water inflow from a storm inundates the depression at land surface. Water overflow from one pan sinkhole can flow downgradient and become inflow to a sinkhole at a lower altitude. Land-surface modifications that direct more water into a pan sinkhole could increase peak-flood altitudes and extend flood durations. Land-surface modifications that increase the outflow by overland drainage could decrease the flood durations. Road construction or alterations that reduce flow within or between pan sinkholes could result in increased flood durations. Flood levels and durations in the deeper sinkholes observed in the three focus areas are primarily affected by the connectivity with the ground-water conduit system. Deep sinkholes with a relatively high connectivity to the ground-water system fill quickly after a storm, and drain rapidly after the storm ends, and water levels decline as much as 3 to 5 feet per day in the first 2 to 3 days after a major storm. These sinkholes store the initial floodwater and then rapidly transmit water to the ground-water conduit system (high outflow). Land-surface changes that direct more water into the sinkhole may increase the flood peaks, but may not have a substantial effect on the flood durations. Deep sinkholes that have low connectivity to the ground-water conduit system may have a delayed peak water level and may drain slowly, only about 2 to 3 feet in 10 days. Outflow from these sinkholes is limited or restricted by low connectivity to the ground-water conduit system. Land-surface alterations that increase the inflow to the sinkholes can result in high flood levels or increased flood durations.

The Use of Water Vapor for Detecting Environments that Lead to Convectively Produced Heavy Precipitation and Flash Floods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scofield, Rod; Vicente, Gilberto; Hodges, Mike

2000-01-01

This Tech Report summarizes years of study and experiences on using GOES Water vapor (6.7 micron and precipitable water) and Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/1) from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) derived Precipitable Water (PNAI) for detecting environments favorable for convectively produced flash floods. An emphasis is on the moisture. upper air flow, and equivalent potential temperature (Theta(sub e)) patterns that lead to devastating flood events. The 15 minute 6.7 micron water vapor imagery is essential for tracking middle to upper tropospheric disturbances that produce upward vertical motion and initiate flash flood producing systems. Water vapor imagery at 6.7 micron is also used to detect surges of upper level moisture (called tropical water vapor plumes) that have been associated with extremely heavy rainfall. Since the water vapor readily depicts lifting mechanisms and upper level moisture, water vapor imagery is often an excellent source of data for recognizing patterns of heavy precipitation and flash floods. In order to analyze the depth of the moisture, the PW aspects of the troposphere must be measured. The collocation (or nearby location) of high values ofP\\V and instability are antecedent conditions prior to the flash flood or heavy rainfall events. Knowledge of PW magnitudes have been used as thresholds for impending flash flood events, PW trends are essential in flash flood prediction. Conceptual models and water vapor products are used to study some of the characteristics of convective systems that occurred over the United States of America (USA) during the summer of 1997 and the 1997-1998 El Nino. P\\V plumes were associated with most of the \\vest coast heavy precipitation events examined during the winter season of 1997 - 1998, In another study, conducted during the summer season of 1997. results showed that the collocation of water vapor (6.7 micron) and P\\N' plumes possessed higher correlations with predicted rainfall amounts than when PW plumes occurred by themselves (i.e.. without the presence of 6.7 micron water vapor plumes). Satellite Analysis Branch (SAB) meteorologists use the 6.7 micron water and P\\V products for their QPE's (interactive Flash Flood Analyzer (IFFA) and Auto-Estimator precipitation estimates), Outlooks, and heavy precipitation briefings with the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center/National Center for Environmental Prediction.

Floods in the Canadian and Pecos River Basins of New Mexico, May and June 1937, with summary of flood discharges in New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dalrymple, Tate

1939-01-01

In May and June floods occurred in the Canadian and Pecos River Basins of New Mexico that were unusually high and in many places were record breaking. The floods were caused by heavy rains that occurred over the eastern part of the State from May 23 to June 4 in a series of intense and intermittent storms. During these storms of the cloudburst type as much as 12 inches of rain fell in the 13-day period, and a fall of 7 inches in 2 hours and 40 minutes was reported from the vicinity of Clayton. Heavy rains also fell in the mountainous region west of Roswell, amounting to as much as l0 inches at some places. Much of the region that had excessive rainfall is relatively flat and has no well-defined drainage system. From these areas there was very little run-off and practically no water was contributed to the major streams. Hail fell at many places in eastern New Mexico, causing damage to crops, livestock, and other property. Hail fell somewhere in the Canadian and Pecos River Basins almost every day during the storm period, but the duration of the fall was generally short. The largest hailstones were reported from Clayton, where one stone measured 8 inches in circumference and weighed 9 ounces; at Centerville, where reports state that some stones were 9 to 10 inches in circumference; and near Roswell, where it was reported that six stones would fill a gallon bucket. The Canadian River flood reached a peak at Logan of 110,000 second-feet, which has been exceeded in this century only by the floods of 1904, 1909, and 1914. The total run-off at Logan for the flood period has been computed as 653,800 acre-feet. At Santa Rosa the Pecos River reached a maximum discharge of 88,200 second-feet, which is greater than any previously recorded. This flood was partly stored in the Alamogordo Reservoir; the peak below the reservoir was only 25,200 second-feet. The Pecos River flood at Roswell reached a maximum discharge of more than 80,000 second-feet. This water came mostly from tributaries that have .their sources in the mountainous area west of Roswell. The Cienaga del Macho, ordinarily a small dry creek, discharged about 49,800 second-feet at its peak. The Rio Hondo experienced several flood peaks, the largest at Roswell probably being near 20,000 second-feet. Berrendo Creek, which enters the Rio Hondo near Roswell, had a computed peak discharge of 37,700 second-feet. Roswell was subjected to several floods that inundated large areas of the town. Considerable damage was done by the water, which covered nearly all the area occupied by the town. Lake McMillan, an artificial reservoir on the Pecos River about 12 miles above Carlsbad, was put to a severe strain by the large quantity of water passing through it, but no serious damage resulted. The capacity of the lake at spillway level is about 39,000 acre-feet, but at the peak of the flood the lake held about 86,000 acre-feet. The total quantity of water passing through the lake during the flood period was more than 440,000 acre-feet. This report presents data pertinent to the floods of May and June 1937, including results of peak discharge determinations made at about 14 miscellaneous places, records of peak stages and discharges and of mean daily discharges during the flood period at 23 regular river-measurement stations, records of rainfall at about 190 places, an isohyetal map showing rainfall over the entire State and two isohyetal maps showing rainfall over the Canadian and Pecos River Basins, and a discussion of the weather conditions during the flood period, including an upper-air wind and pressure chart of the United States for May 28, 1937. In addition to the information listed above the report includes a summary of records of past floods at all places in New Mexico at which authentic records were available.

Sharing Remote and Local Information for Tracking Spring Breakup in the Mackenzie Delta and Beaufort Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forbes, D. L.; Whalen, D.; Fraser, P.

2015-12-01

The Mackenzie Delta is the second largest on the Arctic Ocean, covering 13 000 km2. The annual flood regime in the delta is dominated by the spring snowmelt freshet and associated ice breakup, as water from the south arrives in the ice-covered delta and spreads over bottomfast and adjacent floating sea ice at the delta front. The complex processes of water-ice interaction, flow partitioning, and overbank flooding to replenish waters in 43 000 delta lakes threaten community, transportation, subsistence, and energy infrastructure in the delta. The annual breakup season is a time of rejuvenation, excitement, and anxiety for delta residents and stakeholders. To track the progress of breakup and meet the need for knowledge dissemination to the local communities, a Mackenzie-Beaufort breakup newsletter has been produced by Natural Resources Canada on a quasi-daily basis during the May-June spring flood season for 10 years, and distributed to an e-mail list that grew to over 300 subscribers. This provides near real-time tracking of water levels and breakup using on-line gauges (Environment Canada), daily MODIS satellite imagery (NASA), Landsat imagery (USGS) and intermittent radar imagery (various sources). In earlier years, information was also supplied from field programs operating in the delta during breakup, but changing priorities and funding have reduced the number of outside researchers present during these critical weeks. Meanwhile the number of local contributors has grown, providing observations and photographs to share with the local, regional and global readership. In this way the newsletter evolved into a two-way communication tool and community portal. The newsletter is a chronicle of each breakup season and a key resource for territorial and municipal managers, subsistence organizations, and emergency response agencies, with routine requests for specific imagery in areas of concern. With the completion of 10 years under the present model, we are exploring alternative approaches to enable more direct involvement in the region. The new model will be supported by the Circumpolar Coastal Communities Observatory Network (CACCON), Future Earth Coasts, and ArcticNet, and co-designed and co-managed with regional users to share timely information on the transformative event of each spring season in the delta.

News and Views: Stellar baby boom in the young universe; School pupils observe and publish CV data; Neutron star with C atmosphere; Meeting on magma; Process for exoplanets; Floods off the charts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2009-12-01

RESEARCH NOTES Gravitational lensing has allowed researchers to examine in detail one of the most distant known galaxies. They found a surprisingly high rate of star formation, with up to 50 stars like the Sun forming per year at the peak of the boom in starbirth. Time on a remote-control telescope has led to German secondary school students not only collecting useful data, but also being part of the team publishing the results in a professional journal. The neutron star at the heart of the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant has a thin carbon atmosphere, masking the X-ray emission that was expected, but not detected.

Lacustrine records of Holocene flood pulse dynamics in the Upper Paraguay River watershed (Pantanal wetlands, Brazil)

USGS Publications Warehouse

McGlue, Michael M.; Silva, Aquinaldo; Zani, Hiran; Corradini, Fabricio A.; Parolin, Mauro; Abel, Erin J.; Cohen, Andrew S.; Assine, Mario L.; Ellis, Geoffrey S.; Trees, Mark A.; Kuerten, Sidney; Gradella, Frederico dos Santos; Rasbold, Giliane Gessica

2012-01-01

The Pantanal is the world's largest tropical wetland and a biodiversity hotspot, yet its response to Quaternary environmental change is unclear. To address this problem, sediment cores from shallow lakes connected to the UpperParaguayRiver (PR) were analyzed and radiocarbon dated to track changes in sedimentary environments. Stratal relations, detrital particle size, multiple biogeochemical indicators, and sponge spicules suggest fluctuating lake-level lowstand conditions between ~ 11,000 and 5300 cal yr BP, punctuated by sporadic and in some cases erosive flood flows. A hiatus has been recorded from ~ 5300 to 2600 cal yr BP, spurred by confinement of the PR within its channel during an episode of profound regional drought. Sustained PR flooding caused a transgression after ~ 2600 cal yr BP, with lake-level highstand conditions appearing during the Little Ice Age. Holocene PR floodpulsedynamics are best explained by variability in effective precipitation, likely driven by insolation and tropical sea-surface temperature gradients. Our results provide novel support for hypotheses on: (1) stratigraphic discontinuity of floodplain sedimentary archives; (2) late Holocene methane flux from Southern Hemisphere wetlands; and (3) pre-colonial indigenous ceramics traditions in western Brazil.

Collection methods and quality assessment for Esche-richia coli, water quality, and microbial source tracking data within Tumacácori National Historical Park and the upper Santa Cruz River, Arizona, 2015-16

USGS Publications Warehouse

Paretti, Nicholas; Coes, Alissa L.; Kephart, Christopher M.; Mayo, Justine

2018-03-05

Tumacácori National Historical Park protects the culturally important Mission, San José de Tumacácori, while also managing a portion of the ecologically diverse riparian corridor of the Santa Cruz River. This report describes the methods and quality assurance procedures used in the collection of water samples for the analysis of Escherichia coli (E. coli), microbial source tracking markers, suspended sediment, water-quality parameters, turbidity, and the data collection for discharge and stage; the process for data review and approval is also described. Finally, this report provides a quantitative assessment of the quality of the E. coli, microbial source tracking, and suspended sediment data.The data-quality assessment revealed that bias attributed to field and laboratory contamination was minimal, with E. coli detections in only 3 out of 33 field blank samples analyzed. Concentrations in the field blanks were several orders of magnitude lower than environmental concentrations. The microbial source tracking (MST) field blank was below the detection limit for all MST markers analyzed. Laboratory blanks for E. coli at the USGS Arizona Water Science Center and laboratory blanks for MST markers at the USGS Ohio Water Microbiology Laboratory were all below the detection limit. Irreplicate data for E. coli and suspended sediment indicated that bias was not introduced to the data by combining samples collected using discrete sampling methods with samples collected using automatic sampling methods.The split and sequential E. coli replicate data showed consistent analytical variability and a single equation was developed to explain the variability of E. coli concentrations. An additional analysis of analytical variability for E. coli indicated analytical variability around 18 percent relative standard deviation and no trend was observed in the concentration during the processing and analysis of multiple split-replicates. Two replicate samples were collected for MST and individual markers were compared for a base flow and flood sample. For the markers found in common between the two types of samples, the relative standard deviation for the base flow sample was more than 3 times greater than the markers in the flood sample. Sequential suspended sediment replicates had a relative standard deviation of about 1.3 percent, indicating that environmental and analytical variability was minimal.A holding time review and laboratory study analysis supported the extended holding times required for this investigation. Most concentrations for flood and base-flow samples were within the theoretical variability specified in the most probable number approach suggesting that extended hold times did not overly influence the final concentrations reported.

Adaptive optics with pupil tracking for high resolution retinal imaging

PubMed Central

Sahin, Betul; Lamory, Barbara; Levecq, Xavier; Harms, Fabrice; Dainty, Chris

2012-01-01

Adaptive optics, when integrated into retinal imaging systems, compensates for rapidly changing ocular aberrations in real time and results in improved high resolution images that reveal the photoreceptor mosaic. Imaging the retina at high resolution has numerous potential medical applications, and yet for the development of commercial products that can be used in the clinic, the complexity and high cost of the present research systems have to be addressed. We present a new method to control the deformable mirror in real time based on pupil tracking measurements which uses the default camera for the alignment of the eye in the retinal imaging system and requires no extra cost or hardware. We also present the first experiments done with a compact adaptive optics flood illumination fundus camera where it was possible to compensate for the higher order aberrations of a moving model eye and in vivo in real time based on pupil tracking measurements, without the real time contribution of a wavefront sensor. As an outcome of this research, we showed that pupil tracking can be effectively used as a low cost and practical adaptive optics tool for high resolution retinal imaging because eye movements constitute an important part of the ocular wavefront dynamics. PMID:22312577

Adaptive optics with pupil tracking for high resolution retinal imaging.

PubMed

Sahin, Betul; Lamory, Barbara; Levecq, Xavier; Harms, Fabrice; Dainty, Chris

2012-02-01

Adaptive optics, when integrated into retinal imaging systems, compensates for rapidly changing ocular aberrations in real time and results in improved high resolution images that reveal the photoreceptor mosaic. Imaging the retina at high resolution has numerous potential medical applications, and yet for the development of commercial products that can be used in the clinic, the complexity and high cost of the present research systems have to be addressed. We present a new method to control the deformable mirror in real time based on pupil tracking measurements which uses the default camera for the alignment of the eye in the retinal imaging system and requires no extra cost or hardware. We also present the first experiments done with a compact adaptive optics flood illumination fundus camera where it was possible to compensate for the higher order aberrations of a moving model eye and in vivo in real time based on pupil tracking measurements, without the real time contribution of a wavefront sensor. As an outcome of this research, we showed that pupil tracking can be effectively used as a low cost and practical adaptive optics tool for high resolution retinal imaging because eye movements constitute an important part of the ocular wavefront dynamics.

Dynamic hyporheic exchange at intermediate timescales: testing the relative importance of evapotranspiration and flood pulses

USGS Publications Warehouse

Larsen, Laurel G.; Harvey, Judson W.; Maglio, Morgan M.

2014-01-01

Hyporheic fluxes influence ecological processes across a continuum of timescales. However, few studies have been able to characterize hyporheic fluxes and residence time distributions (RTDs) over timescales of days to years, during which evapotranspiration (ET) and seasonal flood pulses create unsteady forcing. Here we present a data-driven, particle-tracking piston model that characterizes hyporheic fluxes and RTDs based on measured vertical head differences. We used the model to test the relative influence of ET and seasonal flood pulses in the Everglades (FL, USA), in a manner applicable to other low-energy floodplains or broad, shallow streams. We found that over the multiyear timescale, flood pulses that drive relatively deep (∼1 m) flow paths had the dominant influence on hyporheic fluxes and residence times but that ET effects were discernible at shorter timescales (weeks to months) as a break in RTDs. Cumulative RTDs on either side of the break were generally well represented by lognormal functions, except for when ET was strong and none of the standard distributions applied to the shorter timescale. At the monthly timescale, ET increased hyporheic fluxes by 1–2 orders of magnitude; it also decreased 6 year mean residence times by 53–87%. Long, slow flow paths driven by flood pulses increased 6 year hyporheic fluxes by another 1–2 orders of magnitude, to a level comparable to that induced over the short term by shear flow in streams. Results suggest that models of intermediate-timescale processes should include at least two-storage zones with different RTDs, and that supporting field data collection occur over 3–4 years.

The Hurricane-Flood-Landslide Continuum

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Negri, Andrew J.; Burkardt, Nina; Golden, Joseph H.; Halverson, Jeffrey B.; Huffman, George J.; Larsen, Matthew C.; McGinley, John A.; Updike, Randall G.; Verdin, James P.; Wieczorek, Gerald F.

2005-01-01

In August 2004, representatives from NOAA, NASA, the USGS, and other government agencies convened in San Juan, Puerto Rim for a workshop to discuss a proposed research project called the Hurricane-Flood-Landslide Continuum (HFLC). The essence of the HFLC is to develop and integrate tools across disciplines to enable the issuance of regional guidance products for floods and landslides associated with major tropical rain systems, with sufficient lead time that local emergency managers can protect vulnerable populations and infrastructure. All three lead agencies are independently developing precipitation-flood-debris flow forecasting technologies, and all have a history of work on natural hazards both domestically and overseas. NOM has the capability to provide tracking and prediction of storm rainfall, trajectory and landfall and is developing flood probability and magnTtude capabilities. The USGS has the capability to evaluate the ambient stability of natural and man-made landforms, to assess landslide susceptibilities for those landforms, and to establish probabilities for initiation of landslides and debris flows. Additionally, the USGS has well-developed operational capacity for real-time monitoring and reporting of streamflow across distributed networks of automated gaging stations (http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/). NASA has the capability to provide sophisticated algorithms for satellite remote sensing of precipitation, land use, and in the future, soil moisture. The Workshop sought to initiate discussion among three agencies regarding their specific and highly complimentary capabilities. The fundamental goal of the Workshop was to establish a framework that will leverage the strengths of each agency. Once a prototype system is developed for example, in relatively data-rich Puerto Rim, it could be adapted for use in data-poor, low-infrastructure regions such as the Dominican Republic or Haiti. This paper provides an overview of the Workshop s goals, presentations and recommendations with respect to the development of the HFLC.

Concentration-discharge relationships under the microscope: high frequency measurement in rivers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Floury, P.; Gaillardet, J.; Bouchez, J.; Tallec, G.; Gayer, E.; Ansart, P.; Blanchouin, A.

2017-12-01

Concentration-discharge relationships (C-Q) of river water is a powerful tool to track the coupling between water flow and chemical reactions in the Critical Zone. C-Q have been extensively studied the last two decades. We present a new C-Q data series recorded at 40-minutes frequency by a prototype called River Lab (RL) (Floury et al., 2017). Confined in a bungalow next to the river, the RL performs an of all major dissolved species (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl-, SO42-, NO3-) using ion chromatographs, through continuous sampling and filtration of the river water. The RL was deployed in 2015 in the Orgeval hydrological Observatory (OZCAR French Research Infrastructure), an agricultural watershed underlain by carbonates, France. We present five major flood events recorded over one hydrological year. We present the C-Q for each of the flood events. We observe i) element-specific C-Q ii) C-Q loops, the size and the excentricity of which decrease with the intensity of the flood. The most reproducible C-Q patterns are observed for Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl-, SO42-, whereas K+ and NO3- present a more erratic behaviour. We discuss the chemostatic behaviour of species concentrations using a fitting by a power law function. It is likely that C-Q will depend on the time during a single flood event and also over the year. The chemostatic behaviour of each species change over the year and also during a single flood event. We focus our interpretations on the recession of each flood event, where precipitation and evapotrapiration can be considered as negligible. We propose a "grey box" aproach such as already developed from stream flow (Kirchner, 2009) but here extended to solute fluxes. Floury et al. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., doi:10.5194/hess-2017-12, 2017. Kirchner. Water Ressources Research, VOL. 45, W02429, doi:10.1029/2008WR006912, 2009.

Geostatistical screening of flood events in the groundwater levels of the diverted inner delta of the Danube River: implications for river bed clogging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trásy, Balázs; Garamhegyi, Tamás; Laczkó-Dobos, Péter; Kovács, József; Hatvani, István Gábor

2018-04-01

The efficient operation of shallow groundwater (SGW) monitoring networks is crucial to water supply, in-land water protection, agriculture and nature conservation. In the present study, the spatial representativity of such a monitoring network in an area that has been thoroughly impacted by anthropogenic activity (river diversion/damming) is assessed, namely the Szigetköz adjacent to the River Danube. The main aims were to assess the spatial representativity of the SGW monitoring network in different discharge scenarios, and investigate the directional characteristics of this representativity, i.e. establish whether geostatistical anisotropy is present, and investigate how this changes with flooding. After the subtraction of a spatial trend from the time series of 85 shallow groundwater monitoring wells tracking flood events from 2006, 2009 and 2013, variography was conducted on the residuals, and the degree of anisotropy was assessed to explore the spatial autocorrelation structure of the network. Since the raw data proved to be insufficient, an interpolated grid was derived, and the final results were scaled to be representative of the original raw data. It was found that during floods the main direction of the spatial variance of the shallow groundwater monitoring wells alters, from perpendicular to the river to parallel with it for over a period of about two week. However, witht the passing of the flood, this returns to its original orientation in 2 months. It is likely that this process is related first to the fast removal of clogged riverbed strata by the flood, then to their slower replacement. In addition, the study highlights the importance of assessing the direction of the spatial autocorrelation structure of shallow groundwater monitoring networks, especially if the aim is to derive interpolated maps for the further investigation or modeling of flow.

A GIS-Based Model for the analysis of an urban flash flood and its hydro-geomorphic response. The Valencia event of 1957

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Portugués-Mollá, I.; Bonache-Felici, X.; Mateu-Bellés, J. F.; Marco-Segura, J. B.

2016-10-01

Flash floods are recurrent events around the Mediterranean region. Extreme episodes activate hydro-geomorphic high-intensity processes with low frequency. In urban environments, the complexity becomes higher due to the existence of very quick-response runoff. However, immediate recovery works remove the urban marks. After a short time both the significance and magnitude of the hydro-geomorphic event become completely unrecognizable. Nevertheless, these episodes generate extensive documentation which is testimony of the processes in almost real time. It is necessary to exploit this source typology in order to draw flood sketches when events far in time may lack a sufficiently rich database. This is particularly the case for the Valencia flash flood (October 1957), located in the lower Turia River basin (Eastern Spain). It left numerous pieces of hydro-geomorphic evidence, but its tracks were covered a short while after the flood. In any case, it remains part of a non-systematic legacy that has not yet been exploited, consisting of immediate aerial and oblique high resolution photography, pictures at street level, water marks and administrative records. Paradoxically, despite being considered a milestone in metropolitan territorial planning (the river was definitely diverted), an accurate reconstruction of the hydraulic behaviour was required from an integrated point of view. To this aim, the development of a GIS-Based Model enabled the utilisation of the above-mentioned materials. This non-conventional information was treated jointly from a new perspective. It provided database support through a vast amount of organised, structured and georeferenced information about the 1957 event. In a second stage, the GBM made it possible to characterise the Turia urban reach and interpret both the hydro-geomorphic (trenches along barrier beaches, erosion, deposition, etc.) and hydraulic (urban streams along the streets, flow directions, flood extent, levees breaks, overflows and inflows, etc.) processes mainly through photo-interpretation.

Flood hazards analysis based on changes of hydrodynamic processes in fluvial systems of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simas, Iury; Rodrigues, Cleide

2016-04-01

The metropolis of Sao Paulo, with its 7940 Km² and over 20 million inhabitants, is increasingly being consolidated with disregard for the dynamics of its fluvial systems and natural limitations imposed by fluvial terraces, floodplains and slopes. Events such as floods and flash floods became particularly persistent mainly in socially and environmentally vulnerable areas. The Aricanduva River basin was selected as the ideal area for the development of the flood hazard analysis since it presents the main geological and geomorphological features found in the urban site. According to studies carried out by Anthropic Geomorphology approach in São Paulo, to study this phenomenon is necessary to take into account the original hydromorphological systems and its functional conditions, as well as in which dimensions the Anthropic factor changes the balance between the main variables of surface processes. Considering those principles, an alternative model of geographical data was proposed and enabled to identify the role of different driving forces in terms of spatial conditioning of certain flood events. Spatial relationships between different variables, such as anthropogenic and original morphology, were analyzed for that purpose in addition to climate data. The surface hydrodynamic tendency spatial model conceived for this study takes as key variables: 1- The land use present at the observed date combined with the predominant lithological group, represented by a value ranging 0-100, based on indexes of the National Soil Conservation Service (NSCS-USA) and the Hydraulic Technology Center Foundation (FCTH-Brazil) to determine the resulting balance of runoff/infiltration. 2- The original slope, applying thresholds from which it's possible to determine greater tendency for runoff (in percents). 3- The minimal features of relief, combining the curvature of surface in plant and profile. Those three key variables were combined in a Geographic Information System in a series of tests to get weighted values, defining fuzzy limits in the resulting matrix. For comparison purposes, with this method it was possible to create surface hydrodynamic tendency charts of different periods of urban consolidation. Considerable changes of superficial hydrodynamic tendencies in our universe of study were identified, specially pointing to the expected positive tendency change for runoff, due to the current predominant urban land uses. Furthermore, the model enabled an associated analysis with interpolated pluvial values, pointing and quantifying, in terms of runoff volume increase, the influence of occupied areas to the occurrences of floods in areas previously not-known to be affected.

Genesis of the City Flood Queretaro

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sosa, E. G.; Salinas, N. R.

2013-12-01

In 1446 the emperor Moctezuma Ihuicamina talked about of the Queretaro region, which was northern border of their empire (From Torquemeda, 1975). Septien (1999, page 17, Volume 1). "The news that came the Otomi region, spoken the good soil fertility of the Querétaro valley, being an attractive to this place". The aims research is show how the from foundation of the prehispanic period the city of Santiago Queretaro was marked by the development and growth, and as fascinating Mexico historical events recorded their urban-hydraulic direction shows a clear symbiosis between the model prehispanic and colonial urban was conceived it as a compact core, it is currently set to modern urbanization, fragmenting the natural system of the hydrologic surface runoff , adapting and adopting solutions that break the natural equilibrium of the valley Queretaro. In the period 1970-2003 in Mexico 1744 floods was reported but in Queretaro occurred only 10 floods because in 22nd place ranking by frequency of floods, Matias Ramirez et al (2006). Since the foundation of Santiago de Querétaro (1455) the changes of uses soils and the construction of channels had caused the strangulation of city, without regarding the natural of the ways of water of the river Querétaro, so occupied by collectors or drains that also constriction the system of urban water of city of Queretaro that breakdowns with the architecture and natural ways of water. Similarly, historical tracking flooding is not only an exploration of public actions on the implementation of protection works, but also updates the concept of cultural heritage, as fixed and cultivates social memory of the preservation of knowledge the territory. Every time a flood comes increasing concern of whether it corresponds to situations already lived. The flood occurred last February 2010 that affected five delegations besides Querétaro Historic Center (Alameda), the Arquitos, Quintas del Marques, among other colonies, is testimony to the current reality of a long history that continues altering the cultural heritage Queretaro and Mexico (Diario de Querétaro, February 3, 2010).

Flood Pulse Influence on Export of Terrestrial Organic Matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dalzell, B. J.; Harbor, J. M.; Filley, T. R.

2004-12-01

While much attention has been placed on characterizing Terrestrial Organic Matter (TOM) export from large rivers, recent research has shown that in-stream processing of TOM in smaller streams and rivers over shorter time scales can be an important upland component of regional carbon budgets not detected at the outlets of large rivers. With predictions of climate change accompanied by more intense rainfall patterns in some areas, it is important to understand the linkage between flood events and watershed export of TOM. To this end, we have collected water samples from Big Pine Creek watershed, an 850km2 watershed located in west central Indiana. Organic carbon in dissolved, colloidal, and particulate size fractions has been described with molecular and stable carbon isotope techniques to track source, quantity, and compositional changes of TOM over changing flow conditions. Results from these samples show that flood conditions export dramatically more TOM; not only from increases in discharge, but also from increases in concentration of terrestrial organic carbon to all size fractions. While molecular biomarkers show increases in terrestrial organic matter, bulk stable carbon isotope values show that the sources of TOM do not remain constant. Rather, relative contributions from C4 plants (corn in this study area) increase during flood conditions by up to 40 percent. Finally, increases in rainfall intensity are likely to disproportionately increase organic carbon export from terrestrial systems, especially from smaller watersheds where short duration and high intensity flow events dominate annual discharge.

Using a Geographic Information System to Assess the Risk of Hurricane Hazards on the Maya Civilization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weigel, A. M.; Griffin, R.; Sever, T.

2014-12-01

The extent of the Maya civilization spanned across portions of modern day Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. Paleoclimatic studies suggest this region has been affected by strong hurricanes for the past six thousand years, reinforced by archeological evidence from Mayan records indicating they experienced strong storms. It is theorized hurricanes aided in the collapse of the Maya, damaging building structures, agriculture, and ceasing industry activities. Today, this region is known for its active tropical climatology, being hit by numerous strong storms including Hurricane Dean, Iris, Keith, and Mitch. This research uses a geographic information system (GIS) to model hurricane hazards, and assess the risk posed on the Maya civilization. GIS has the ability to handle various layer components making it optimal for combining parameters necessary for assessing the risk of experiencing hurricane related hazards. For this analysis, high winds, storm surge flooding, non-storm surge related flooding, and rainfall triggered landslides were selected as the primary hurricane hazards. Data sets used in this analysis include the National Climatic Data Center International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardships (IBTrACS) hurricane tracks, Shuttle Radar Topography Mission Digital Elevation Model, WorldClim monthly accumulated precipitation, USGS HydroSHEDS river locations, Harmonized World Soil Database soil types, and known Maya site locations from the Electronic Atlas of Ancient Maya Sites. ArcGIS and ENVI software were utilized to process data and model hurricane hazards. To assess locations at risk of experiencing high winds, a model was created using ArcGIS Model Builder to map each storm's temporal wind profile, and adapted to simulate forward storm velocity, and storm frequency. Modeled results were then combined with physical land characteristics, meteorological, and hydrologic data to identify areas likely affected. Certain areas along the eastern edge of the Yucatan peninsula were found to be more prone to experiencing wind and flood related hurricane hazards. Novel methodologies developed from this analysis can be adapted for further hurricane risk assessment on archeological sites.

Physical Processes Involved in the 1988 Drought and 1993 Floods in North America.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trenberth, Kevin E.; Guillemot, Christian J.

1996-06-01

An analysis of the spring-summer 1988 drought and 1993 floods over North America reveals a reversal in the sign of anomalies in several fields. Large sea surface temperature anomalies of opposite signs existed in the tropical Pacific with strong La Niña conditions in 1988 and a mature El Niño in 1993. The distribution of tropical convection in the convergence zones and associated latent heating of the atmosphere were correspondingly altered, implying a large-scale switch in the anomalous tropical heating and forcing of extratropical quasi-stationary waves in the atmosphere, influencing the subtropical jet stream over the North Pacific and across North America. In 1988 the jet stream and the closely related storm track of high-frequency disturbances in the upper troposphere were displaced into Canada well north of the normal location-the farthest north of any year from 1979 to 1993. In 1993 a broader jet stream and the storm track were displaced well south of normal to a more springlike location across the United States-the farthest south by over 200 km of any year from 1979 to 1993. High-frequency eddy activity in the Pacific-North American storm track is shown to reinforce the anomalous jet streams in both years.An analysis of the moisture budgets reveals a stronger river of atmospheric moisture flowing across the Gulf of Mexico into the central and eastern United States in 1993. Also, in the lower atmosphere, the storm track in 1993 was more active, and its lower latitude allowed the cyclonic disturbances to tap into the moisture source, transport moisture into the upper Mississippi River basin, and precipitate it out. It is deduced that local evaporation may have enhanced the precipitation and helped perpetuate and prolong the conditions. In contrast, in 1988 disturbances were weaker and displaced far enough north to avoid most of the moisture source, and the drought was perpetuated by the dry conditions. Consequently, these effects should be viewed as feedbacks that amplify and prolong the response, while from the standpoint of the atmosphere, the anomalous tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures are a notable (but not the sole) external forcing of the patterns.

Crustal Footprint of the Hainan Plume beneath Southeast China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, H.; Chen, F.; Leng, W.; Zhang, H.

2016-12-01

A hotspot track is an age-progressive line of volcanos that is connected to a hotspot that may have resulted from interactions between the lithosphere and a deep-seated mantle plume [Campbell and Griffiths, 1990; Richards et al., 1989]. Although global and regional seismic tomography results have revealed the presence of a mantle plume beneath Hainan Island [Lebedev et al., 2003; Lei et al., 2009; Huang, 2014], there is little evidence for a hotspot track associated with the Hainan plume. Here, a joint inversion of seismology and gravity data was performed with the receiver function method, and the results show that a linear corridor of seismic velocity anomalies at the base of the crust is located northeast of Hainan Island beneath southeast China. Geodynamic modeling demonstrates that this corridor could have formed by the interactions between a mantle plume and the continental lithosphere with a weak lower crust. Volcanic age distributions further suggest that this track likely formed in the Cenozoic, which constrains the average plate velocities of the South China Block during the Cenozoic to 2-6 cm/yr to the northeast. These results provide an independent reference frame for the motion history of the Eurasia plate in the Cenozoic. References 1. Campbell I H, Griffiths R W. Implications of mantle plume structure for the evolution of flood basalts [J]. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 1990, 99(1): 79-93. 2. Richards M A, Duncan R A, Courtillot V E. Flood basalts and hot-spot tracks: plume heads and tails [J]. Science, 1989, 246(4926): 103-107. 3. Lebedev S, Nolet G. Upper mantle beneath Southeast Asia from S velocity tomography [J]. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth (1978-2012), 2003, 108(B1). 4. Lei J, Zhao D, Steinberger B, et al. New seismic constraints on the upper mantle structure of the Hainan plume [J]. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 2009, 173(1): 33-50. 5. Huang J. P-and S-wave tomography of the Hainan and surrounding regions: Insight into the Hainan plume [J]. Tectonophysics, 2014, 633: 176-192.

High accuracy OMEGA timekeeping

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Imbier, E. A.

1982-01-01

The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) operates a worldwide satellite tracking network which uses a combination of OMEGA as a frequency reference, dual timing channels, and portable clock comparisons to maintain accurate epoch time. Propagational charts from the U.S. Coast Guard OMEGA monitor program minimize diurnal and seasonal effects. Daily phase value publications of the U.S. Naval Observatory provide corrections to the field collected timing data to produce an averaged time line comprised of straight line segments called a time history file (station clock minus UTC). Depending upon clock location, reduced time data accuracies of between two and eight microseconds are typical.

Vaccinations in pneumonia (VIP): pneumococcal and influenza vaccination patterns among patients hospitalized for pneumonia.

PubMed

Greci, Laura S; Katz, David L; Jekel, James

2005-04-01

Although the CDC ACIP (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices) recommends that appropriate inpatients receive pneumococcal and influenza vaccines, adult vaccination rates for these remain low. We therefore examined perihospitalization vaccination rates for high-risk pneumonia inpatients. A retrospective chart review of all pneumonia patients admitted to one community hospital from 6/1/95 to 5/31/96. Vaccination history, co-morbidity, mortality, and prior and subsequent pneumonia admissions were recorded. Primary care providers and nursing homes were contacted to complete and verify vaccine histories. For 173 total admissions (160 subjects), vaccine histories were documented in the hospital chart in less than 0.5% of patients. While 97% had indications for both vaccines at the time of admission, no vaccines were given in the hospital and less than 5% had documented vaccinations during the subsequent 3 years. Despite clear indications, few patients had documented vaccination at any time. These data lend urgency to the recommendation that pneumococcal and influenza vaccines should be routinely administered to pneumonia inpatients at discharge. Furthermore, they illustrate the need for an improved method for tracking individual adult vaccinations.

West Europe Report

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-03-26

gathers the information also tries to find out whether the companies spotted have links with South Africa or are involved with the "nuclear energy...destroyed the tracks. We worry about non-existing problems. We drown in a glass of water . We are lacking gasoline in a world flood of oil. We are buying...mineral water which we know to be TL 60 everywhere. The tab turned out to be TL 190. The customer wanted to protest but to no avail. The man at the

Respiratory care management information systems.

PubMed

Ford, Richard M

2004-04-01

Hospital-wide computerized information systems evolved from the need to capture patient information and perform billing and other financial functions. These systems, however, have fallen short of meeting the needs of respiratory care departments regarding work load assessment, productivity management, and the level of outcome reporting required to support programs such as patient-driven protocols. The respiratory care management information systems (RCMIS) of today offer many advantages over paper-based systems and hospital-wide computer systems. RCMIS are designed to facilitate functions specific to respiratory care, including assessing work demand, assigning and tracking resources, charting, billing, and reporting results. RCMIS incorporate mobile, point-of-care charting and are highly configurable to meet the specific needs of individual respiratory care departments. Important and substantial benefits can be realized with an RCMIS and mobile, wireless charting devices. The initial and ongoing costs of an RCMIS are justified by increased charge capture and reduced costs, by way of improved productivity and efficiency. It is not unusual to recover the total cost of an RCMIS within the first year of its operation. In addition, such systems can facilitate and monitor patient-care protocols and help to efficiently manage the vast amounts of information encountered during the practitioner's workday. Respiratory care departments that invest in RCMIS have an advantage in the provision of quality care and in reducing expenses. A centralized respiratory therapy department with an RCMIS is the most efficient and cost-effective way to monitor work demand and manage the hospital-wide allocation of respiratory care services.

Influence of track surface on the equine superficial digital flexor tendon loading in two horses at high speed trot.

PubMed

Crevier-Denoix, N; Pourcelot, P; Ravary, B; Robin, D; Falala, S; Uzel, S; Grison, A C; Valette, J P; Denoix, J M; Chateau, H

2009-03-01

Although track surfaces are a risk factor of tendon injuries, their effects on tendon loading at high speed are unknown. Using a noninvasive ultrasonic technique, it is now possible to evaluate the forces in the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) in exercise conditions. To compare the effects of an all-weather waxed track (W) vs. a crushed sand track (S), on the SDFT loading in the trotter horse at high speed. Two trotter horses were equipped with the ultrasonic device (1 MHz ultrasonic probe, fixed on the palmar metacarpal area of the right forelimb). For each trial, data acquisition was made at 400 Hz and 10 consecutive strides were analysed. In each session, the 2 track surfaces were tested in a straight line. The speed was imposed at 10 m/s and recorded. The right forelimb was also equipped with a dynamometric horseshoe and skin markers. The horse was filmed with a high-speed camera (600 Hz); all recordings were synchronised. Statistical differences were tested using the GLM procedure (SAS; P < 0.05). Maximal tendon force was significantly lower on W compared with S. In addition to maximal force peaks around mid-stance, earlier peaks were observed, more pronounced on S than on W, at about 13% (horse 2) and 30% (both horses) of the stance phase. Comparison with kinematic data revealed that these early peaks were accompanied by plateaux in the fetlock angle-time chart. For high tendon forces, the tendon maximal loading rate was significantly lower on W than on S. CONCLUSIONS AND POTENTIAL CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The all-weather waxed track appears to induce a lesser and more gradual SDFT loading than crushed sand. The SDFT loading pattern at high speed trot suggests proximal interphalangeal joint movements during limb loading.

Technique policy for concurrent development of natural and artificial water flooding of strong edge water reservoir: A case study of central layer Yu-III of Akshabulak oilfield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angang, Zhang; Zifei, Fan; Lun, Zhao; Jincai, Wang; Xiangzhong, Zhang; Heng, Song; Qingying, Hou

2018-06-01

The central layer Yu-III in Akshabulak oilfield is a sandstone reservoir with strong edge water, whose major development characteristics are high oil recovery rate and heterogeneous water invasion. Aiming at this problem, the development policy chart of concurrent displacement of natural water and injected water is established on the basis of material balance principle. Injection-production ratio and oil recovery rate are the main controlling factors for the concurrent displacement of natural water and injected water. Each injection-production ratio corresponds with only one rational oil recovery rate, and the rational oil recovery rate increases with the injection-production ratio. When the actual injection-production ratio of the central Yu-III reservoir is 0.9, the rational oil recovery rate should be 4%.

Tropical cyclone Pam field survey in Vanuatu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fritz, Hermann M.; Pilarczyk, Jessica E.; Kosciuch, Thomas; Hong, Isabel; Rarai, Allan; Harrison, Morris J.; Jockley, Fred R.; Horton, Benjamin P.

2016-04-01

Severe tropical cyclone Pam (Cat. 5, SSHS) crossed the Vanuatu archipelago with sustained winds of 270 km/h on March 13 and 14, 2015 and made landfall on Erromango. Pam is the most intense tropical cyclone to make landfall on Vanuatu since the advent of satellite imagery based intensity estimates in the 1970s. Pam caused one of the worst natural disaster in Vanuatu's recorded history. Eleven fatalities were directly attributed to cyclone Pam and mostly due to lack of shelter from airborne debris. On March 6 Pam formed east of the Santa Cruz Islands causing coastal inundation on Tuvalu's Vaitupu Island located some 1100 km east of the cyclone center. Pam intensified while tracking southward along Vanuatu severely affecting the Shefa and Tafea Provinces. An international storm surge reconnaissance team was deployed to Vanuatu from June 3 to 17, 2015 to complement earlier local surveys. Cyclone Pam struck a remote island archipelago particularly vulnerable to the combined cyclonic multi-hazards encompassing extreme wind gusts, massive rainfall and coastal flooding due to a combination of storm surge and storm wave impacts. The team surveyed coastal villages on Epi, the Shepherd Islands (Tongoa and Mataso), Efate (including Lelepa), Erromango, and Tanna. The survey spanned 320 km parallel to the cyclone track between Epi and Tanna encompassing more than 45 sites including the hardest hit settlements. Coastal flooding profiles were surveyed from the shoreline to the limit of inundation. Maximum coastal flood elevations and overland flow depths were measured based on water marks on buildings, scars on trees, rafted debris and corroborated with eyewitness accounts. We surveyed 91 high water marks with characteristic coastal flood levels in the 3 to 7 m range and composed of storm surge with superimposed storm waves. Inundation distances were mostly limited to a few hundred meters but reached 800 m on Epi Island. Wrack lines containing pumice perfectly delineated the inundation at many sites and were mapped as line features. Coral boulders of more than 1 m diameter were measured on Erromango. Along each island that was sampled, Cyclone Pam deposited a 1 - 20 cm thick sedimentary layer consisting of foraminfera-bearing sand and pumice cobbles. Infrastructure damage on traditional and modern structures was assessed. Eyewitnesses were interviewed at most sites to document the chronology of the wind and coastal flooding events, survival strategies, cyclone and tsunami awareness, evacuation procedures, shelter locations and ancestral knowledge. Field observations were compared with surveyed eyewitness accounts of historic events such as severe tropical cyclone Uma in 1987. The measured cyclone Pam high water marks will facilitate the interpretation of the collected sedimentary evidence and serve as benchmarks for modeling studies.

Metrics Proposed To Prevent the Harvest of Leafy Green Crops Exposed to Floodwater Contaminated with Escherichia coli

PubMed Central

Callahan, Mary Theresa; Micallef, Shirley A.; Sharma, Manan; Millner, Patricia D.

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT The California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement (LGMA) requires leafy green crops within 9 m of the edge of a flooded field not be harvested due to potential contamination (California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Board, Commodity Specific Flood Safety Guidelines for the Production and Harvest of Lettuce and Leafy Greens, 2012). Further, previously flooded soils should not be replanted for 60 days. In this study, the suitability of the LGMA metrics for farms in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States was evaluated. The upper end of a spinach bed (in Beltsville, MD) established on a −5% grade was flooded with water containing 6 log CFU/ml Escherichia coli to model a worst-case scenario of bacterial movement through soil. Escherichia coli prevalence in soil and on foliar tissue was determined by most probable number (MPN) analysis at distances up to 9 m from the edge of the flood for 63 days. While E. coli was quickly detected at the 9-m distance within 1 day in the spring trial and within 3 days in the fall trial, no E. coli was detected on plants outside the flood zone after 14 days. On day 63 for the two trials, E. coli populations in the flood zone soil were higher in the fall than in the spring. Regression analysis predicted that the time required for a 3-log MPN/g (dry weight) decrease in E. coli populations inside the flood zone was within the 60-day LGMA guideline in the spring but would require 90 days in the fall. Overall, data suggest that the current guidelines should be revised to include considerations of field and weather conditions that may promote bacterial movement and survival. IMPORTANCE This study tracked the movement of Escherichia coli from floodwater across a horizontal plane of soil and the potential for the contamination of distant leafy green produce. The purpose of this study was to address the validity of the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement recommendations for the harvest of leafy green crops after a flooding event. These recommendations were based on the turning radius of farming equipment but did not take into consideration the potential subsurface movement of pathogens in the water through soil. This research shows that further considerations of field slope, temperature, and additional rainfall events may be necessary to provide appropriate guidelines to prevent the harvest of leafy green crops contaminated by enteric pathogens in floodwaters. This study may be used to provide a framework for comprehensive recommendations to growers for good harvesting practices after a flooding event. PMID:27084022

Metrics Proposed To Prevent the Harvest of Leafy Green Crops Exposed to Floodwater Contaminated with Escherichia coli.

PubMed

Callahan, Mary Theresa; Micallef, Shirley A; Sharma, Manan; Millner, Patricia D; Buchanan, Robert L

2016-07-01

The California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement (LGMA) requires leafy green crops within 9 m of the edge of a flooded field not be harvested due to potential contamination (California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Board, Commodity Specific Flood Safety Guidelines for the Production and Harvest of Lettuce and Leafy Greens, 2012). Further, previously flooded soils should not be replanted for 60 days. In this study, the suitability of the LGMA metrics for farms in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States was evaluated. The upper end of a spinach bed (in Beltsville, MD) established on a -5% grade was flooded with water containing 6 log CFU/ml Escherichia coli to model a worst-case scenario of bacterial movement through soil. Escherichia coli prevalence in soil and on foliar tissue was determined by most probable number (MPN) analysis at distances up to 9 m from the edge of the flood for 63 days. While E. coli was quickly detected at the 9-m distance within 1 day in the spring trial and within 3 days in the fall trial, no E. coli was detected on plants outside the flood zone after 14 days. On day 63 for the two trials, E. coli populations in the flood zone soil were higher in the fall than in the spring. Regression analysis predicted that the time required for a 3-log MPN/g (dry weight) decrease in E. coli populations inside the flood zone was within the 60-day LGMA guideline in the spring but would require 90 days in the fall. Overall, data suggest that the current guidelines should be revised to include considerations of field and weather conditions that may promote bacterial movement and survival. This study tracked the movement of Escherichia coli from floodwater across a horizontal plane of soil and the potential for the contamination of distant leafy green produce. The purpose of this study was to address the validity of the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement recommendations for the harvest of leafy green crops after a flooding event. These recommendations were based on the turning radius of farming equipment but did not take into consideration the potential subsurface movement of pathogens in the water through soil. This research shows that further considerations of field slope, temperature, and additional rainfall events may be necessary to provide appropriate guidelines to prevent the harvest of leafy green crops contaminated by enteric pathogens in floodwaters. This study may be used to provide a framework for comprehensive recommendations to growers for good harvesting practices after a flooding event. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Airborne microwave radar measurements of surface velocity in a tidally-driven inlet

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farquharson, G.; Thomson, J. M.

2012-12-01

A miniaturized dual-beam along-track interferometric (ATI) synthetic aperture radar (SAR), capable of measuring two components of surface velocity at high resolution, was operated during the 2012 Rivers and Inlets Experiment (RIVET) at the New River Inlet in North Carolina. The inlet is predominantly tidally-driven, with little upstream river discharge. Surface velocities in the inlet and nearshore region were measured during ebb and flood tides during a variety of wind and offshore wave conditions. The radar-derived surface velocities range from around ±2~m~s1 during times of maximum flow. We compare these radar-derived surface velocities with surface velocities measured with drifters. The accuracy of the radar-derived velocities is investigated, especially in areas of large velocity gradients where along-track interferometric SAR can show significant differences with surface velocity. The goal of this research is to characterize errors in along-track interferometric SAR velocity so that ATI SAR measurements can be coupled with data assimilative modeling with the goal of developing the capability to adequately constrain nearshore models using remote sensing measurements.

[QR-Code based patient tracking: a cost-effective option to improve patient safety].

PubMed

Fischer, M; Rybitskiy, D; Strauß, G; Dietz, A; Dressler, C R

2013-03-01

Hospitals are implementing a risk management system to avoid patient or surgery mix-ups. The trend is to use preoperative checklists. This work deals specifically with a type of patient identification, which is realized by storing patient data on a patient-fixed medium. In 127 ENT surgeries data relevant for patient identification were encrypted in a 2D-QR-Code. The code, as a separate document coming with the patient chart or as a patient wristband, has been decrypted in the OR and the patient data were presented visible for all persons. The decoding time, the compliance of the patient data, as well as the duration of the patient identification was compared with the traditional patient identification by inspection of the patient chart. A total of 125 QR codes were read. The time for the decrypting of QR-Code was 5.6 s, the time for the screen view for patient identification was 7.9 s, and for a comparison group of 75 operations traditional patient identification was 27.3 s. Overall, there were 6 relevant information errors in the two parts of the experiment. This represents a ratio of 0.6% for 8 relevant classes per each encrypted QR code. This work allows a cost effective way to technically support patient identification based on electronic patient data. It was shown that the use in the clinical routine is possible. The disadvantage is a potential misinformation from incorrect or missing information in the HIS, or due to changes of the data after the code was created. The QR-code-based patient tracking is seen as a useful complement to the already widely used identification wristband. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

A lithospheric instability origin for Columbia River flood basalts and Wallowa Mountains uplift in northeast Oregon.

PubMed

Hales, T C; Abt, D L; Humphreys, E D; Roering, J J

2005-12-08

Flood basalts appear to form during the initiation of hotspot magmatism. The Columbia River basalts (CRB) represent the largest volume of flood basalts associated with the Yellowstone hotspot, yet their source appears to be in the vicinity of the Wallowa Mountains, about 500 km north of the projected hotspot track. These mountains are composed of a large granitic pluton intruded into a region of oceanic lithosphere affinity. The elevation of the interface between Columbia River basalts and other geological formations indicates that mild pre-eruptive subsidence took place in the Wallowa Mountains, followed by syn-eruptive uplift of several hundred metres and a long-term uplift of about 2 km. The mapped surface uplift mimics regional topography, with the Wallowa Mountains in the centre of a 'bull's eye' pattern of valleys and low-elevation mountains. Here we present the seismic velocity structure of the mantle underlying this region and erosion-corrected elevation maps of lava flows, and show that an area of reduced mantle melt content coincides with the 200-km-wide topographic uplift. We conclude that convective downwelling and detachment of a compositionally dense plutonic root can explain the timing and magnitude of Columbia River basalt magmatism, as well as the surface uplift and existence of the observed melt-depleted mantle.

Supporting communities in reducing their vulnerability against impacts of short-term heavy precipitation events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoy, Andreas; Hübener, Heike

2017-04-01

Potential flood areas are known and charted for most large and many small rivers in Europe. However, often no appropriate knowledge exists about the impacts of short-term intense precipitation (of mostly convective origin, occurring predominantly during the warm season) on small tributaries or on areas aside from waterways. Communities are often not sensitised and prepared for the massive surface runoff and subsequent flooding following massive downpours. Risks are particularly large in valley locations, where the water is canalised and immense flash floods may occur. Yet, each event has a different impact. Crucial factors determining these impacts are soil type, pre-event soil moisture, surface sealing, vegetation structure, slope gradients and many others. This contribution presents a framework to empower local communities - located within the central-German county of Hesse - to reduce their vulnerability against short-term intense precipitation events. The project consists of a data analysis part, in which information on observed heavy precipitation, (water related) disaster management actions of the local fire brigades, erosion risk maps, and further aspects are mapped to an integrated county-wide "heavy precipitation reference map" (german: "Starkregenhinweiskarte"). Another part of the project deals with the usability issue of heavy precipitation data in hydrological engineering. The goal of this part is to improve the use of the best available data and methods to assess - in very high resolution - areas at risk of flooding in case of such an event. This project part will culminate in exemplary "heavy precipitation hazard risk maps" (german: "Starkregengefahrenkarte") for two local communities in Hesse. In this presentation we will focus on ways how to communicate highly complex subject-specific scientific results of different sources to public decision makers in mostly small to medium-sized communities. Concrete challenges are to efficiently a) increase the awareness of the existing vulnerability to heavy precipitation events within the municipalities, b) convey the benefits of precaution measures, c) point out existing local deficiencies in disaster control and precaution measures and d) demonstrate opportunities to resolve them.

Comparisons of Particle Tracking Techniques and Galerkin Finite Element Methods in Flow Simulations on Watershed Scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shih, D.; Yeh, G.

2009-12-01

This paper applies two numerical approximations, the particle tracking technique and Galerkin finite element method, to solve the diffusive wave equation in both one-dimensional and two-dimensional flow simulations. The finite element method is one of most commonly approaches in numerical problems. It can obtain accurate solutions, but calculation times may be rather extensive. The particle tracking technique, using either single-velocity or average-velocity tracks to efficiently perform advective transport, could use larger time-step sizes than the finite element method to significantly save computational time. Comparisons of the alternative approximations are examined in this poster. We adapt the model WASH123D to examine the work. WASH123D is an integrated multimedia, multi-processes, physics-based computational model suitable for various spatial-temporal scales, was first developed by Yeh et al., at 1998. The model has evolved in design capability and flexibility, and has been used for model calibrations and validations over the course of many years. In order to deliver a locally hydrological model in Taiwan, the Taiwan Typhoon and Flood Research Institute (TTFRI) is working with Prof. Yeh to develop next version of WASH123D. So, the work of our preliminary cooperationx is also sketched in this poster.

'What is not written does not exist': the importance of proper documentation of medication use history.

PubMed

Silvestre, Carina Carvalho; Santos, Lincoln Marques Cavalcante; de Oliveira-Filho, Alfredo Dias; de Lyra, Divaldo Pereira

2017-10-01

Medications are perceived as health risk factors, because they might cause damage if used improperly. In this context, an adequate assessment of medication use history should be encouraged, especially in transitions of care to avoid unintended medication discrepancies (UMDs). In a case-controlled study, we investigated potential risk factors for UMDs at hospital admission and found that 150 (42%) of the 358 patients evaluated had one or more UMDs. We were surprised to find that there was no record of a patient and/or relative interview on previous use of medication in 117 medical charts of adult patients (44.8%). Similarly, in the medical charts of 52 (53.6%) paediatric patients, there was no record of parents and/or relatives interviews about prior use of medications. One hundred thirty-seven medical charts of adult patients (52.4%) and seventy-two medical charts of paediatric patients (74.2%) had no record about medication allergies and intolerances. In other words, there was a lack of basic documentation regarding the patient's medication use history. As patients move between settings in care, there is insufficient tracking of verbal and written information related to medication changes, which results in a progressive and cumulative loss of information, as evidenced by problems associated with clinical transfers and medication orders. Proper documentation of medication information during transfer is a key step in the procedure; hence, it should be rightly performed. It remains unclear whether interviews, and other investigations about medication use history have been performed but have not been recorded as health-care data. Therefore, it is crucial to the improvement of medication use safety that documentation of all drug-related information-even if not directly related to the actual event-become routine practice in health-care organizations, since 'what is not written does not exist'.

Remote-Sensing and Automated Water Resources Tracking: Near Real-Time Decision Support for Water Managers Facing Drought and Flood

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reiter, M. E.; Elliott, N.; Veloz, S.; Love, F.; Moody, D.; Hickey, C.; Fitzgibbon, M.; Reynolds, M.; Esralew, R.

2016-12-01

Innovative approaches for tracking the Earth's natural resources, especially water which is essential for all living things, are essential during a time of rapid environmental change. The Central Valley is a nexus for water resources in California, draining the Sacramento and San Joaquin River watersheds. The distribution of water throughout California and the Central Valley, while dynamic, is highly managed through an extensive regional network of canals, levees, and pumps. Water allocation and delivery is determined through a complex set of rules based on water contracts, historic priority, and other California water policies. Furthermore, urban centers, agriculture, and the environment throughout the state are already competing for water, particularly during drought. Competition for water is likely to intensify as California is projected to experience continued increases in demand due to population growth and more arid growing conditions, while also having reduced or modified water supply due to climate change. As a result, it is difficult to understand or predict how water will be used to fulfill wildlife and wetland conservation needs. A better understanding of the spatial distribution of water in near real-time can facilitate adaptation of water resource management to changing conditions on the landscape, both over the near- and long-term. The Landsat satellite mission delivers imagery every 16-days from nearly every place on the earth at a high spatial resolution. We have integrated remote sensing of satellite data, classification modeling, bioinformatics, optimization, and ecological analyses to develop an automated near real-time water resources tracking and decision-support system for the Central Valley of California. Our innovative system has applications for coordinated water management in the Central Valley to support people, places, and wildlife and is being used to understand the factors that drive variation in the distribution and abundance of water resources, particularly drought and flood, at multiple spatial and temporal scales.

Development and validation of a two-dimensional fast-response flood estimation model

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

Judi, David R; Mcpherson, Timothy N; Burian, Steven J

2009-01-01

A finite difference formulation of the shallow water equations using an upwind differencing method was developed maintaining computational efficiency and accuracy such that it can be used as a fast-response flood estimation tool. The model was validated using both laboratory controlled experiments and an actual dam breach. Through the laboratory experiments, the model was shown to give good estimations of depth and velocity when compared to the measured data, as well as when compared to a more complex two-dimensional model. Additionally, the model was compared to high water mark data obtained from the failure of the Taum Sauk dam. Themore » simulated inundation extent agreed well with the observed extent, with the most notable differences resulting from the inability to model sediment transport. The results of these validation studies complex two-dimensional model. Additionally, the model was compared to high water mark data obtained from the failure of the Taum Sauk dam. The simulated inundation extent agreed well with the observed extent, with the most notable differences resulting from the inability to model sediment transport. The results of these validation studies show that a relatively numerical scheme used to solve the complete shallow water equations can be used to accurately estimate flood inundation. Future work will focus on further reducing the computation time needed to provide flood inundation estimates for fast-response analyses. This will be accomplished through the efficient use of multi-core, multi-processor computers coupled with an efficient domain-tracking algorithm, as well as an understanding of the impacts of grid resolution on model results.« less

Uncertainty in the Himalayan energy-water nexus: estimating regional exposure to glacial lake outburst floods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwanghart, Wolfgang; Worni, Raphael; Huggel, Christian; Stoffel, Markus; Korup, Oliver

2016-07-01

Himalayan water resources attract a rapidly growing number of hydroelectric power projects (HPP) to satisfy Asia’s soaring energy demands. Yet HPP operating or planned in steep, glacier-fed mountain rivers face hazards of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) that can damage hydropower infrastructure, alter water and sediment yields, and compromise livelihoods downstream. Detailed appraisals of such GLOF hazards are limited to case studies, however, and a more comprehensive, systematic analysis remains elusive. To this end we estimate the regional exposure of 257 Himalayan HPP to GLOFs, using a flood-wave propagation model fed by Monte Carlo-derived outburst volumes of >2300 glacial lakes. We interpret the spread of thus modeled peak discharges as a predictive uncertainty that arises mainly from outburst volumes and dam-breach rates that are difficult to assess before dams fail. With 66% of sampled HPP are on potential GLOF tracks, up to one third of these HPP could experience GLOF discharges well above local design floods, as hydropower development continues to seek higher sites closer to glacial lakes. We compute that this systematic push of HPP into headwaters effectively doubles the uncertainty about GLOF peak discharge in these locations. Peak discharges farther downstream, in contrast, are easier to predict because GLOF waves attenuate rapidly. Considering this systematic pattern of regional GLOF exposure might aid the site selection of future Himalayan HPP. Our method can augment, and help to regularly update, current hazard assessments, given that global warming is likely changing the number and size of Himalayan meltwater lakes.

Electronics design of the airborne stabilized platform attitude acquisition module

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Jiang; Wei, Guiling; Cheng, Yong; Li, Baolin; Bu, Hongyi; Wang, Hao; Zhang, Zhanwei; Li, Xingni

2014-02-01

We present an attitude acquisition module electronics design for the airborne stabilized platform. The design scheme, which is based on Integrated MEMS sensor ADIS16405, develops the attitude information processing algorithms and the hardware circuit. The hardware circuits with a small volume of only 44.9 x 43.6 x 24.6 mm3, has the characteristics of lightweight, modularization and digitalization. The interface design of the PC software uses the combination plane chart with track line to receive the attitude information and display. Attitude calculation uses the Kalman filtering algorithm to improve the measurement accuracy of the module in the dynamic environment.

The AGATA Campaign at GANIL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lenzi, Silvia M.; Clement, Emmanuel

2018-02-01

The Advanced Gamma Tracking Array, AGATA, is presently in its construction phase in which the European γ-spectroscopy research community is involved since several years. This powerful HPGe array offers unique possibilities for the study of rare phenomena in nuclei by detailed gamma-ray spectroscopy. The physics campaign in GANIL foresees different setups, with AGATA coupled to different spectrometers, to study nuclear structure properties of nuclei all across the nuclear chart, from light nuclei to very heavy species, using stable and radioactive beams. After a brief description of the AGATA concept, some recent results are presented together with the very interesting opportunities for nuclear structure research in the forthcoming years with AGATA at GANIL.

Design Considerations for IAP Charts: Approach Course Track and Communication Frequencies

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-08-01

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Hazard Assessment from Storm Tides and Rainfall on a Tidal River Estuary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Orton, P.; Conticello, F.; Cioffi, F.; Hall, T.; Georgas, N.; Lall, U.; Blumberg, A.

2015-01-01

Here, we report on methods and results for a model-based flood hazard assessment we have conducted for the Hudson River from New York City to Troy/Albany at the head of tide. Our recent work showed that neglecting freshwater flows leads to underestimation of peak water levels at up-river sites and neglecting stratification (typical with two-dimensional modeling) leads to underestimation all along the Hudson. As a result, we use a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model and merge streamflows and storm tides from tropical and extratropical cyclones (TCs, ETCs), as well as wet extratropical cyclone (WETC) floods (e.g. freshets, rain-on-snow events). We validate the modeled flood levels and quantify error with comparisons to 76 historical events. A Bayesian statistical method is developed for tropical cyclone streamflows using historical data and consisting in the evaluation of (1) the peak discharge and its pdf as a function of TC characteristics, and (2) the temporal trend of the hydrograph as a function of temporal evolution of the cyclone track, its intensity and the response characteristics of the specific basin. A k-nearest-neighbors method is employed to determine the hydrograph shape. Out of sample validation tests demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. Thus, the combined effects of storm surge and runoff produced by tropical cyclones hitting the New York area can be included in flood hazard assessment. Results for the upper Hudson (Albany) suggest a dominance of WETCs, for the lower Hudson (at New York Harbor) a case where ETCs are dominant for shorter return periods and TCs are more important for longer return periods (over 150 years), and for the middle-Hudson (Poughkeepsie) a mix of all three flood events types is important. However, a possible low-bias for TC flood levels is inferred from a lower importance in the assessment results, versus historical event top-20 lists, and this will be further evaluated as these preliminary methods and results are finalized. Future funded work will quantify the influences of sea level rise and flood adaptation plans (e.g. surge barriers). It would also be valuable to examine how streamflows from tropical cyclones and wet cool-season storms will change, as this factor will dominate at upriver locations.

The importance of being resilient

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mysiak, J.

2012-04-01

Despite many efforts to pin down resilience in terms of measurable indicators and indices, there is little agreement about what is the most appropriate scale, level of (dis)integration, functional relationship and trade-off between the various constituents of resilience. More than anything else, resilience is knowledge. Knowing how to prepare, respond and recover from hazard strikes. More than that, resilience is a capacity to deploy that knowledge. To help oneself to get back on feet after having sustained a blow. To learn how to. Resilience has many forms and manifestations. People convalescing after having lost what was dear to them. Communities recovering from shattering blows. Economies getting back on track after having sustained major shocks and losses. However, resilience has also negative connotation: the persistent overlooking of the threat and perceived powerlessness of individuals, in front of unacquainted community or nonsensical institutions, to make any difference. During the flood emergency situations, the community resilience is determined at individual level by the willpower and readiness of community members to help others in need ('we don't step away') and themselves, and the degree to which they know how to. In this sense, the preparedness comprises capability and experience that can be acquired or trained, and commitment which is transmitted by moral obligation and community membership. In the most cases it is not the professional staff trained for emergency situation which arrives as first at the place of disaster, however well the emergency response is organised. Before the professional rescue teams, the ordinary people intervene, or can do so, with positive or negative outcomes. The articles revisits recent flood events and identify factors and measures that boost community resilience to flood (REF). In Italy, the analysed events included 2000 Soverato, 2006 Vibo Valentia floods, both places situated in Calabria on Ionian and Tyrrhenian cost respectively, and 2000 flood event in Piedmont, in the North. Although different in nature and consequences, all there events have considerably influenced the flood risk governance in Italy. The research activities include analysis of the risk perception and communication; performance of the early warning systems, evaluation of the predictability and return period of the analysed extreme events; and the normative and judicial review of the flood risk institutions at the national and regional scale.

UAVSAR for the Management of Natural Disasters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lou, Y.; Hensley, S.; Jones, C. E.

2014-12-01

The unique capabilities of imaging radar to penetrate cloud cover and collect data in darkness over large areas at high resolution makes it a key information provider for the management and mitigation of natural and human-induced disasters such as earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, floods, and wildfires. Researchers have demonstrated the use of UAVSAR's fully polarimetric data to determine flood extent, forest fire extent, lava flow, and landslide. The ability for UAVSAR to provide high accuracy repeated flight tracks and precise imaging geometry for measuring surface deformation to a few centimeter accuracy using InSAR techniques. In fact, UAVSAR's repeat-pass interferometry capability unleashed new potential approaches to manage the risk of natural disasters prior to the occurrence of these events by modeling and monitoring volcano inflation, earthquake fault movements, landslide rate and extent, and sink hole precursory movement. In this talk we will present examples of applications of UAVSAR for natural disaster management. This research was conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Multi-Hazard Assessment of Scour Damaged Bridges with UAS-Based Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özcan, O.; Ozcan, O.

2017-12-01

Flood and stream induced scour occurring in bridge piers constructed on rivers is one of the mostly observed failure reasons in bridges. Scour induced failure risk in bridges and determination of the alterations in bridge safety under seismic effects has the ultimate importance. Thus, for the determination of bridge safety under the scour effects, the scour amount under bridge piers should be designated realistically and should be tracked and updated continuously. Hereby, the scour induced failures in bridge foundation systems will be prevented and bridge substructure design will be conducted safely. In this study, in order to measure the amount of scour in bridge load bearing system (pile foundations and pile abutments) and to attain very high definition 3 dimensional models of river flood plain for the flood analysis, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) based measurement methods were implemented. UAS based measurement systems provide new and practical approach and bring high precision and reliable solutions considering recent measurement systems. For this purpose, the reinforced concrete (RC) bridge that is located on Antalya Boğaçayı River, Turkey and that failed in 2003 due to flood-induced scour was selected as the case study. The amount of scour occurred in bridge piers and piles was determined realistically and the behavior of bridge piers under scour effects was investigated. Future flood effects and the resultant amount of scour was determined with HEC-RAS software by using digital surface models that were obtained at regular intervals using UAS for the riverbed. In the light of the attained scour measurements and expected scour after a probable flood event, the behavior of scour damaged RC bridge was investigated by pushover and time history analyses under lateral and vertical seismic loadings. In the analyses, the load and displacement capacity of bridge was observed to diminish significantly under expected scour. Thus, the deterioration in multi hazard performance of the bridge was monitored significantly in the light of updated bridge load bearing system capacity. Regarding the case study, UAS based and continuously updated bridge multi hazard risk detection system was established that can be used for bridges located on riverbed.

Characterizing Microbial Water Quality of Extreme Tide Floodwaters Discharged from an Urbanized Subtropical Beach: Case Study of Miami Beach with Implications for Sea Level Rise and Public Health

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gidley, M. L.

2016-02-01

With the advent of rising sea levels and increasing incidents of extreme tidal flooding events and stormwater flooding events, there is increasing probability of mobilization of land-based sources of pollution (LBSP) from highly urbanized beach environments and potential transport of these contaminants to coastal waters where they may have negative impacts on ecosystems and public health. A case in point is the situation facing the City of Miami Beach, where urban tidal flooding has become routine for extreme tidal events such as King Tide. To deal with the increasing problem of tidal flooding and other potential sources of coastal inundation, the City of Miami Beach has installed a system of floodwater/stormwater pumping stations to collect and discharge such floodwaters. This system appears to control the extent and duration of coastal inundation, however, the floodwater is discharged directly into Biscayne Bay without any treatment , which may potentially carry a variety of pollutants acquired during inundation of this urbanized coast. We report a case study examining the microbial water quality of floodwaters discharged by this pumping system back into Biscayne Bay following the inundation by King Tide floodwaters from September 2014 and 2015. The presence and abundance of both general and host-specific fecal indicating bacteria (FIB), including enterococci and human-host Bacteriodales were measured by traditional culture methods and by molecular microbial source tracking (MST) qPCR methods. While the results from different locations did vary substantially, several discharge samples demonstrated high elevations of fecal indicator bacteria and high levels of human fecal marker by MST. This study suggests that while such flood control measures may improve resiliency of urbanized coastal communities to tidal flooding and/or stormwater, the water quality of such floodwater discharges need to be monitored and potentially treated to mediate the transport of LBSP contaminants to the coastal zone, thus better protecting both ecosystem and public health in an era of sea level rise and more frequent inundation events.

The Hurricane-flood-landslide continuum-forecasting Hurricane effects at landfall

USGS Publications Warehouse

Negri, A.J.; Golden, J.H.; Updike, R.G.

2004-01-01

The integration of remote-sensing and in-situ observations, and assimilation of these observations into high-resolution mesoscale models was described. It was observed that the greatest loss of life and property is the direct result of the storm because of the high winds and heavy rain. The research were conducted to develop a warning system that included satellite observations to track dangerous level of precipitation and hurricane. The focus of the continuum project was to improve the ability to predict the evolution of the Earth system.

First in new environmental spacecraft series to be launched

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1978-01-01

A series of operational meteorological monitoring satellites (TIROS-N) is described. Emphasis is placed on environmental monitoring instruments onboard the satellites that provide technological advances over previous sensors. Benefits in the areas of weather forecasting, oceanography, water resource management, and flood forecasting are discussed along with the operational capability to collect and transmit environmental data from platforms on land, at sea, and airborne, and to track stations motion. The participation of Canada, Great Britain, and France is mentioned and a description of the launch vehicle is included.

Seismographs, sensors, and satellites: Better technology for safer communities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Groat, C.G.

2004-01-01

In the past 25 years, our ability to measure, monitor, and model the processes that lead to natural disasters has increased dramatically. Equally important has been the improvement in our technological capability to communicate information about hazards to those whose lives may be affected. These innovations in tracking and communicating the changes-floods, earthquakes, wildfires, volcanic eruptions-in our dynamic planet, supported by a deeper understanding of earth processes, enable us to expand our predictive capabilities and point the way to a safer future. ?? 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of mechanical system of extreme rainfall events using backward tracking on information from the atmosphere circulation pattern for the 2000-2015 precipitation record in South Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

So, B. J.; Kwon, H. H.

2016-12-01

A natural disaster for flood and drought have occurred in different parts of the world, and the disasters caused by significant extreme hydrological event in past years. Several studies examining stochastic analysis based nonstationary analysis reported for forecasting and outlook for extreme hydrological events, but there is the procedure to select predictor variables. In this study, we analyzed mechanical system of extreme rainfall events using backward tracking to determine the predictors of nonstationary considering the atmosphere circulation pattern. First, observed rainfall data of KMA (Korea Meteorological Administration) and ECMWF ERA-Interm data were constructed during the 2000-2015 period. Then, the 7day backward tracking were performed to establish the path of air mass using the LAGRANTO Tool considering the observed rainfall stations located in S. Korea as a starting point, The tracking information for rainfall event were clustered and then, we extracts the main influence factor based on the categorized tracking path considering to information of rainfall magnitude (e.g,, mega-sized, medium-sized). Finally, the nonstationary predictors are determined through a combination of factors affecting the nonstationary rainfall simulation techniques. The predictors based on a mechanical structure is expected to be able to respond to external factors such as climate change. In addition, this method can be used to determine the prediction factor in different geographical areas by different position.

Beyond simple charts: Design of visualizations for big health data

PubMed Central

Ola, Oluwakemi; Sedig, Kamran

2016-01-01

Health data is often big data due to its high volume, low veracity, great variety, and high velocity. Big health data has the potential to improve productivity, eliminate waste, and support a broad range of tasks related to disease surveillance, patient care, research, and population health management. Interactive visualizations have the potential to amplify big data’s utilization. Visualizations can be used to support a variety of tasks, such as tracking the geographic distribution of diseases, analyzing the prevalence of disease, triaging medical records, predicting outbreaks, and discovering at-risk populations. Currently, many health visualization tools use simple charts, such as bar charts and scatter plots, that only represent few facets of data. These tools, while beneficial for simple perceptual and cognitive tasks, are ineffective when dealing with more complex sensemaking tasks that involve exploration of various facets and elements of big data simultaneously. There is need for sophisticated and elaborate visualizations that encode many facets of data and support human-data interaction with big data and more complex tasks. When not approached systematically, design of such visualizations is labor-intensive, and the resulting designs may not facilitate big-data-driven tasks. Conceptual frameworks that guide the design of visualizations for big data can make the design process more manageable and result in more effective visualizations. In this paper, we demonstrate how a framework-based approach can help designers create novel, elaborate, non-trivial visualizations for big health data. We present four visualizations that are components of a larger tool for making sense of large-scale public health data. PMID:28210416

Detection of medication-related problems in hospital practice: a review

PubMed Central

Manias, Elizabeth

2013-01-01

This review examines the effectiveness of detection methods in terms of their ability to identify and accurately determine medication-related problems in hospitals. A search was conducted of databases from inception to June 2012. The following keywords were used in combination: medication error or adverse drug event or adverse drug reaction, comparison, detection, hospital and method. Seven detection methods were considered: chart review, claims data review, computer monitoring, direct care observation, interviews, prospective data collection and incident reporting. Forty relevant studies were located. Detection methods that were better able to identify medication-related problems compared with other methods tested in the same study included chart review, computer monitoring, direct care observation and prospective data collection. However, only small numbers of studies were involved in comparisons with direct care observation (n = 5) and prospective data collection (n = 6). There was little focus on detecting medication-related problems during various stages of the medication process, and comparisons associated with the seriousness of medication-related problems were examined in 19 studies. Only 17 studies involved appropriate comparisons with a gold standard, which provided details about sensitivities and specificities. In view of the relatively low identification of medication-related problems with incident reporting, use of this method in tracking trends over time should be met with some scepticism. Greater attention should be placed on combining methods, such as chart review and computer monitoring in examining trends. More research is needed on the use of claims data, direct care observation, interviews and prospective data collection as detection methods. PMID:23194349

Beyond simple charts: Design of visualizations for big health data.

PubMed

Ola, Oluwakemi; Sedig, Kamran

2016-01-01

Health data is often big data due to its high volume, low veracity, great variety, and high velocity. Big health data has the potential to improve productivity, eliminate waste, and support a broad range of tasks related to disease surveillance, patient care, research, and population health management. Interactive visualizations have the potential to amplify big data's utilization. Visualizations can be used to support a variety of tasks, such as tracking the geographic distribution of diseases, analyzing the prevalence of disease, triaging medical records, predicting outbreaks, and discovering at-risk populations. Currently, many health visualization tools use simple charts, such as bar charts and scatter plots, that only represent few facets of data. These tools, while beneficial for simple perceptual and cognitive tasks, are ineffective when dealing with more complex sensemaking tasks that involve exploration of various facets and elements of big data simultaneously. There is need for sophisticated and elaborate visualizations that encode many facets of data and support human-data interaction with big data and more complex tasks. When not approached systematically, design of such visualizations is labor-intensive, and the resulting designs may not facilitate big-data-driven tasks. Conceptual frameworks that guide the design of visualizations for big data can make the design process more manageable and result in more effective visualizations. In this paper, we demonstrate how a framework-based approach can help designers create novel, elaborate, non-trivial visualizations for big health data. We present four visualizations that are components of a larger tool for making sense of large-scale public health data.

Monitoring storm tide and flooding from Hurricane Matthew along the Atlantic coast of the United States, October 2016

USGS Publications Warehouse

Frantz, Eric R.; Byrne,, Michael L.; Caldwell, Andral W.; Harden, Stephen L.

2017-11-02

IntroductionHurricane Matthew moved adjacent to the coasts of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The hurricane made landfall once near McClellanville, South Carolina, on October 8, 2016, as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a temporary monitoring network of storm-tide sensors at 284 sites along the Atlantic coast from Florida to North Carolina to record the timing, areal extent, and magnitude of hurricane storm tide and coastal flooding generated by Hurricane Matthew. Storm tide, as defined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is the water-level rise generated by a combination of storm surge and astronomical tide during a coastal storm.The deployment for Hurricane Matthew was the largest deployment of storm-tide sensors in USGS history and was completed as part of a coordinated Federal emergency response as outlined by the Stafford Act (Public Law 92–288, 42 U.S.C. 5121–5207) under a directed mission assignment by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In total, 543 high-water marks (HWMs) also were collected after Hurricane Matthew, and this was the second largest HWM recovery effort in USGS history after Hurricane Sandy in 2012.During the hurricane, real-time water-level data collected at temporary rapid deployment gages (RDGs) and long-term USGS streamgage stations were relayed immediately for display on the USGS Flood Event Viewer (https://stn.wim.usgs.gov/FEV/#MatthewOctober2016). These data provided emergency managers and responders with critical information for tracking flood-effected areas and directing assistance to effected communities. Data collected from this hurricane can be used to calibrate and evaluate the performance of storm-tide models for maximum and incremental water level and flood extent, and the site-specific effects of storm tide on natural and anthropogenic features of the environment.

A two-dimensional air-to-air combat game - Toward an air-combat advisory system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Neuman, Frank

1987-01-01

Air-to-air combat is modeled as a discrete differential game, and by constraining the game to searching for the best guidance laws from the sets of those considered for each opponent, feedback and outcome charts are obtained which can be used to turn one of the automatic opponents into an intelligent opponent against a human pilot. A one-on-one two-dimensional fully automatic, or manned versus automatic, air-to-air combat game has been designed which includes both attack and evasion alternatives for both aircraft. Guidance law selection occurs by flooding the initial-condition space with four simulated fights for each initial condition, depicting the various attack/evasion strategies for the two opponents, and recording the outcomes. For each initial condition, the minimax method from differential games is employed to determine the best choice from the available strategies.

An assessment of a film enhancement system for use in a radiation therapy department.

PubMed

Solowsky, E L; Reinstein, L E; Meek, A G

1990-01-01

The clinical uses of a radiotherapy film enhancement system are explored. The primary functions of the system are to improve the quality of poorly exposed simulator and portal films, and to perform comparisons between the two films to determine whether patient or block positioning errors are present. Other features include: the production of inexpensive, high quality hardcopy images of simulation films and initial portal films for chart documentation, the capacity to overlay lateral simulation films with sagittal MRI films to aid in field design, and a mode to zoom in on individual CT or MRI images and enlarge them for video display during chart rounds or instructional sessions. This commercially available system is comprised of a microcomputer, frame grabber, CCD camera with zoom lens, and a high-resolution thermal printer. The user-friendly software is menu driven and utilizes both keyboard and track ball to perform its functions. At the heart of the software is a very fast Adaptive Histogram Equalization (AHE) routine, which enhances and improves the readability of most portal films. The system has been evaluated for several disease sites, and its advantages and limitations will be presented.

Data and animal management software for large-scale phenotype screening.

PubMed

Ching, Keith A; Cooke, Michael P; Tarantino, Lisa M; Lapp, Hilmar

2006-04-01

The mouse N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) mutagenesis program at the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) uses MouseTRACS to analyze phenotype screens and manage animal husbandry. MouseTRACS is a Web-based laboratory informatics system that electronically records and organizes mouse colony operations, prints cage cards, tracks inventory, manages requests, and reports Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) protocol usage. For efficient phenotype screening, MouseTRACS identifies mutants, visualizes data, and maps mutations. It displays and integrates phenotype and genotype data using likelihood odds ratio (LOD) plots of genetic linkage between genotype and phenotype. More detailed mapping intervals show individual single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers in the context of phenotype. In addition, dynamically generated pedigree diagrams and inventory reports linked to screening results summarize the inheritance pattern and the degree of penetrance. MouseTRACS displays screening data in tables and uses standard charts such as box plots, histograms, scatter plots, and customized charts looking at clustered mice or cross pedigree comparisons. In summary, MouseTRACS enables the efficient screening, analysis, and management of thousands of animals to find mutant mice and identify novel gene functions. MouseTRACS is available under an open source license at http://www.mousetracs.sourceforge.net.

A New Approach to Monitoring Coastal Marshes for Persistent Flooding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalcic, M. T.; Underwood, L. W.; Fletcher, R. M.

2012-12-01

Many areas in coastal Louisiana are below sea level and protected from flooding by a system of natural and man-made levees. Flooding is common when the levees are overtopped by storm surge or rising rivers. Many levees in this region are further stressed by erosion and subsidence. The floodwaters can become constricted by levees and trapped, causing prolonged inundation. Vegetative communities in coastal regions, from fresh swamp forest to saline marsh, can be negatively affected by inundation and changes in salinity. As saltwater persists, it can have a toxic effect upon marsh vegetation causing die off and conversion to open water types, destroying valuable species habitats. The length of time the water persists and the average annual salinity are important variables in modeling habitat switching (cover type change). Marsh type habitat switching affects fish, shellfish, and wildlife inhabitants, and can affect the regional ecosystem and economy. There are numerous restoration and revitalization projects underway in the coastal region, and their effects on the entire ecosystem need to be understood. For these reasons, monitoring persistent saltwater intrusion and inundation is important. For this study, persistent flooding in Louisiana coastal marshes was mapped using MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) time series of a Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI). The time series data were derived for 2000 through 2009, including flooding due to Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Hurricane Ike in 2008. Using the NDWI, duration and extent of flooding can be inferred. The Time Series Product Tool (TSPT), developed at NASA SSC, is a suite of software developed in MATLAB® that enables improved-quality time series images to be computed using advanced temporal processing techniques. This software has been used to compute time series for monitoring temporal changes in environmental phenomena, (e.g. NDVI times series from MODIS), and was modified and used to compute the NDWI indices and also the Normalized Difference Soil Index (NDSI). Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) water levels from various hydrologic monitoring stations and aerial photography were used to optimize thresholds for MODIS-derived time series of NDWI and to validate resulting flood maps. In most of the profiles produced for post-hurricane assessment, the increase in the NDWI index (from storm surge) is accompanied by a decrease in the vegetation index (NDVI) and then a period of declining water. The NDSI index represents non-green or dead vegetation and increases after the hurricane's destruction of the marsh vegetation. Behavior of these indices over time is indicative of which areas remain flooded, which areas recover to their former levels of vegetative vigor, and which areas are stressed or in transition. Tracking these indices over time shows the recovery rate of vegetation and the relative behavior to inundation persistence. The results from this study demonstrated that identification of persistent marsh flooding, utilizing the tools developed in this study, provided an approximate 70-80 percent accuracy rate when compared to the actual days flooded at the CRMS stations.

A New Approach to Monitoring Coastal Marshes for Persistent Flooding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kalcic, M. T.; Undersood, Lauren W.; Fletcher, Rose

2012-01-01

Many areas in coastal Louisiana are below sea level and protected from flooding by a system of natural and man-made levees. Flooding is common when the levees are overtopped by storm surge or rising rivers. Many levees in this region are further stressed by erosion and subsidence. The floodwaters can become constricted by levees and trapped, causing prolonged inundation. Vegetative communities in coastal regions, from fresh swamp forest to saline marsh, can be negatively affected by inundation and changes in salinity. As saltwater persists, it can have a toxic effect upon marsh vegetation causing die off and conversion to open water types, destroying valuable species habitats. The length of time the water persists and the average annual salinity are important variables in modeling habitat switching (cover type change). Marsh type habitat switching affects fish, shellfish, and wildlife inhabitants, and can affect the regional ecosystem and economy. There are numerous restoration and revitalization projects underway in the coastal region, and their effects on the entire ecosystem need to be understood. For these reasons, monitoring persistent saltwater intrusion and inundation is important. For this study, persistent flooding in Louisiana coastal marshes was mapped using MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) time series of a Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI). The time series data were derived for 2000 through 2009, including flooding due to Hurricane Rita in 2005 and Hurricane Ike in 2008. Using the NDWI, duration and extent of flooding can be inferred. The Time Series Product Tool (TSPT), developed at NASA SSC, is a suite of software developed in MATLAB(R) that enables improved-quality time series images to be computed using advanced temporal processing techniques. This software has been used to compute time series for monitoring temporal changes in environmental phenomena, (e.g. NDVI times series from MODIS), and was modified and used to compute the NDWI indices and also the Normalized Difference Soil Index (NDSI). Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) water levels from various hydrologic monitoring stations and aerial photography were used to optimize thresholds for MODIS-derived time series of NDWI and to validate resulting flood maps. In most of the profiles produced for post-hurricane assessment, the increase in the NDWI index (from storm surge) is accompanied by a decrease in the vegetation index (NDVI) and then a period of declining water. The NDSI index represents non-green or dead vegetation and increases after the hurricane s destruction of the marsh vegetation. Behavior of these indices over time is indicative of which areas remain flooded, which areas recover to their former levels of vegetative vigor, and which areas are stressed or in transition. Tracking these indices over time shows the recovery rate of vegetation and the relative behavior to inundation persistence. The results from this study demonstrated that identification of persistent marsh flooding, utilizing the tools developed in this study, provided an approximate 70-80 percent accuracy rate when compared to the actual days flooded at the CRMS stations.

Geologic effects of hurricanes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coch, Nicholas K.

1994-08-01

Hurricanes are intense low pressure systems of tropical origin. Hurricane damage results from storm surge, wind, and inland flooding from heavy rainfall. Field observations and remote sensing of recent major hurricanes such as Hugo (1989), Andrew (1992) and Iniki (1992) are providing new insights into the mechanisms producing damage in these major storms. Velocities associated with hurricanes include the counterclockwise vortex winds flowing around the eye and the much slower regional winds that steer hurricane and move it forward. Vectorial addition of theseof these two winds on the higher effective wind speed than on the left side. Coast-parallel hurricane tracks keep the weaker left side of the storm against the coast, whereas coast-normal tracks produce a wide swath of destruction as the more powerful right side of the storm cuts a swath of destruction hundreds of kilometers inland. Storm surge is a function of the wind speed, central pressure, shelf slope, shoreline configuration, and anthropogenic alterations to the shoreline. Maximum surge heights are not under the eye of the hurricane, where the pressure is lowest, but on the right side of the eye at the radius of maximum winds, where the winds are strongest. Flood surge occurs as the hurricane approaches land and drives coastal waters, and superimposed waves, across the shore. Ebb surge occurs when impounded surface water flows seaward as the storm moves inland. Flood and ebb surge damage have been greatly increased in recent hurricanes as a result of anthropogenic changes along the shoreline. Hurricane wind damage occurs on three scales — megascale, mesoscale and microscale. Local wind damage is a function of wind speed, exposure and structural resistance to velocity pressure, wind drag and flying debris. Localized extreme damage is caused by gusts that can locally exceed sustained winds by a factor of two in areas where there is strong convective activity. Geologic changes occuring in hurricanes include beach erosion, dune erosion, inlet formation from flood and ebb surge, landscape changes through tree destruction by wind and nearshore channeling and sedimentation resulting from ebb surge. Multi-decadal wet and dry cycles in West Africa seem to be associated with increases (wet periods) and decreases (dry periods) in the frequency of Atlantic Coast landfalling hurricanes. Coastalzone population and development has increased markedly in a time of low hurricane frequency in the 24 year dry cycle from1970 to the present. However, no previous climatic cycle in this century has exceeded 26 years. We may entering a multi-decadal cycle of greater hurricane activity, placing these highly urbanized shorelines in considerable danger.

Increased patient communication using a process supplementing an electronic medical record.

PubMed

Garvey, Thomas D; Evensen, Ann E

2015-02-01

Importance: Patients with cervical cytology abnormalities may require surveillance for many years, which increases the risk of management error, especially in clinics with multiple managing clinicians. National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) certification requires tracking of abnormal results and communicating effectively with patients. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a computer-based tracking system that is not embedded in the electronic medical record improves (1) accurate and timely communication of results and (2) patient adherence to follow-up recommendations. Design: Pre/post study using data from 2005-2012. Intervention implemented in 2008. Data collected via chart review for at least 18 months after index result. Participants: Pre-intervention: all women (N = 72) with first abnormal cytology result from 2005-2007. Post-intervention: all women (N = 128) with first abnormal cytology result from 2008-2010. Patients were seen at a suburban, university-affiliated, family medicine residency clinic. Intervention: Tracking spreadsheet reviewed monthly with reminders generated for patients not in compliance with recommendations. Main Outcome and Measures: (1) rates of accurate and timely communication of results and (2) rates of patient adherence to follow-up recommendations. Intervention decreased absent or erroneous communication from clinician to patient (6.4% pre- vs 1.6% post-intervention [P = 0.04]), but did not increase patient adherence to follow-up recommendations (76.1% pre- vs 78.0% post-intervention [ P= 0.78]). Use of a spreadsheet tracking system improved communication of abnormal results to patients, but did not significantly improve patient adherence to recommended care. Although the tracking system complies with NCQA PCMH requirements, it was insufficient to make meaningful improvements in patient-oriented outcomes.

Synthetic-Type Control Charts for Time-Between-Events Monitoring

PubMed Central

Yen, Fang Yen; Chong, Khoo Michael Boon; Ha, Lee Ming

2013-01-01

This paper proposes three synthetic-type control charts to monitor the mean time-between-events of a homogenous Poisson process. The first proposed chart combines an Erlang (cumulative time between events, Tr) chart and a conforming run length (CRL) chart, denoted as Synth-Tr chart. The second proposed chart combines an exponential (or T) chart and a group conforming run length (GCRL) chart, denoted as GR-T chart. The third proposed chart combines an Erlang chart and a GCRL chart, denoted as GR-Tr chart. By using a Markov chain approach, the zero- and steady-state average number of observations to signal (ANOS) of the proposed charts are obtained, in order to evaluate the performance of the three charts. The optimal design of the proposed charts is shown in this paper. The proposed charts are superior to the existing T chart, Tr chart, and Synth-T chart. As compared to the EWMA-T chart, the GR-T chart performs better in detecting large shifts, in terms of the zero- and steady-state performances. The zero-state Synth-T4 and GR-Tr (r = 3 or 4) charts outperform the EWMA-T chart for all shifts, whereas the Synth-Tr (r = 2 or 3) and GR-T 2 charts perform better for moderate to large shifts. For the steady-state process, the Synth-Tr and GR-Tr charts are more efficient than the EWMA-T chart in detecting small to moderate shifts. PMID:23755231

The Hurricane-Flood-Landslide Continuum: Forecasting Hurricane Effects at Landfall

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Negri, A.; Golden, J. H.; Updike, R.

2004-01-01

Hurricanes, typhoons, and cyclones strike Central American, Caribbean, Southeast Asian and Pacific Island nations even more frequently than the U.S. The global losses of life and property from the floods, landslides and debris flows caused by cyclonic storms are staggering. One of the keys to reducing these losses, both in the U.S. and internationally, is to have better forecasts of what is about to happen from several hours to days before the event. Particularly in developing nations where science, technology and communication are limited, advance-warning systems can have great impact. In developing countries, warnings of even a few hours or days can mitigate or reduce catastrophic losses of life. With the foregoing needs in mind, we propose an initial project of three years total duration that will aim to develop and transfer a warning system for a prototype region in the Central Caribbean, specifically the islands of Puerto Rico and Hispanola. The Hurricane-Flood-Landslide Continuum will include satellite observations to track and nowcast dangerous levels of precipitation, atmospheric and hydrological models to predict near-future runoff, and streamflow changes in affected regions, and landslide models to warn when and where landslides and debris flows are imminent. Since surface communications are likely to be interrupted during these crises, the project also includes the capability to communicate disaster information via satellite to vital government officials in Puerto Rico, Haiti, and Dominican Republic.

The utility of satellite precipitation products for hydrologic prediction in topographically complex regions: The Chehalis River Basin, WA as a case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Q.; Mehran, A.; Lettenmaier, D. P.; Mass, C.; Johnson, N.

2015-12-01

Accurate measurements of precipitation are of great importance in hydrologic predictions especially for floods, which are a pervasive natural hazard. One of the primary objectives of Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission is to provide a basis for hydrologic predictions using satellite sensors. A major advance in GPM relative to the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) is that it observes atmospheric river (AR) events, most of which have landfall too far north to be tracked by TRMM. These events are responsible for most major floods along the U.S. West Coast. We address the question of whether, for hydrologic modeling purposes, it is better to use precipitation products derived directly from GPM and/or other precipitation fields from weather models that have assimilated satellite data. Our overall strategy is to compare different methods for prediction of flood and/or high flow events by different forcings on the hydrologic model. We examine four different configurations of the Distroibute Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model (DHSVM) over the Chehalis River Basin that use a) precipitation forcings based on gridded station data; b) precipitation forcings based on NWS WSR-88D data, c) forcings based from short-term precipitation forecasts using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) mesoscale atmospheric model, and d) satellite-based precipitation estimates (TMPA and IMERG). We find that in general, biases in the radar and satellite products result in much larger errors than with either gridded station data or WRF forcings, but if these biases are removed, comparable performance in flood predictions can be achieved by Satellite-based precipitation estimates (TMPA and IMERG).

The Mobile story: data-driven community efforts to raise graduation rates.

PubMed

Newell, Jeremiah; Akers, Carolyn

2010-01-01

Through sustained community organizing and strategic partnerships, the Mobile (Alabama) County Public School System is improving achievement and creating beat-the-odds schools that set and achieve high academic expectations despite the challenges of poverty and racial disparity. The authors chart how Mobile's Research Alliance for Multiple Pathways, funded through the U.S. Department of Labor's Multiple Pathways Blueprint Initiative, is identifying gaps in services throughout the community, analyzing the data about dropouts, benchmarking other communities, studying best practices, and mobilizing the community to expect and demand higher graduation rates. These activities are resulting in early identification of off-track students and coordination of school- and community-based reforms.

Mission description. [major mission events and data collection periods during Apollo 17 lunar exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baldwin, R. R.

1973-01-01

The accomplishments of the Apollo 17 flight are discussed. The scientific objectives included geological surveying and sampling of materials and surface features in a preselected area of the Taurus-Littrow region, deploying and activating surface experiments, and conducting inflight experiments and photographic tasks during lunar orbit and transearth coast. The individual Apollo 17 experiments and photographic tasks are presented in outline form. Charts are developed to show the major mission events and data collection periods correlated to Greenwich Mean Time and ground elapsed time. Maps of the lunar surface ground track envelope for the Apollo 17 orbiting spacecraft for revolutions one to seventy-five is shown.

Developments in remote sensing technology enable more detailed urban flood risk analysis.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Denniss, A.; Tewkesbury, A.

2009-04-01

Spaceborne remote sensors have been allowing us to build up a profile of planet earth for many years. With each new satellite launched we see the capabilities improve: new bands of data, higher resolution imagery, the ability to derive better elevation information. The combination of this geospatial data to create land cover and usage maps, all help inform catastrophe modelling systems. From Landsat 30m resolution to 2.44m QuickBird multispectral imagery; from 1m radar data collected by TerraSAR-X which enables rapid tracking of the rise and fall of a flood event, and will shortly have a twin satellite launched enabling elevation data creation; we are spoilt for choice in available data. However, just what is cost effective? It is always a question of choosing the appropriate level of input data detail for modelling, depending on the value of the risk. In the summer of 2007, the cost of the flooding in the UK was approximately £3bn and affected over 58,000 homes and businesses. When it comes to flood risk, we have traditionally considered rising river levels and surge tides, but with climate change and variations in our own construction behaviour, there are other factors to be taken into account. During those summer 2007 events, the Environment Agency suggested that around 70% of the properties damaged were the result of pluvial flooding, where high localised rainfall events overload localised drainage infrastructure, causing widespread flooding of properties and infrastructure. To create a risk model that is able to simulate such an event requires much more accurate source data than can be provided from satellite or radar. As these flood events cause considerable damage within relatively small, complex urban environments, therefore new high resolution remote sensing techniques have to be applied to better model these events. Detailed terrain data of England and Wales, plus cities in Scotland, have been produced by combining terrain measurements from the latest digital airborne sensors, both optical and lidar, to produce the input layer for surface water flood modelling. A national flood map product has been created. The new product utilises sophisticated modelling techniques, perfected over many years, which harness graphical processing power. This product will prove particularly valuable for risk assessment decision support within insurance/reinsurance, property/environmental, utilities, risk management and government agencies. However, it is not just the ground elevation that determines the behaviour of surface water. By combining height information (surface and terrain) with high resolution aerial photography and colour infrared imagery, a high definition land cover mapping dataset (LandBase) is being produced, which provides a precise measure of sealed versus non sealed surface. This will allows even more sophisticated modelling of flood scenarios. Thus, the value of airborne survey data can be demonstrated by flood risk analysis down to individual addresses in urban areas. However for some risks, an even more detailed survey may be justified. In order to achieve this, Infoterra is testing new 360˚ mobile lidar technology. Collecting lidar data from a moving vehicle allows each street to be mapped in very high detail, allowing precise information about the location, size and shape of features such as kerbstones, gullies, road camber and building threshold level to be captured quickly and accurately. These data can then be used to model the problem of overland flood risk at the scale of individual properties. Whilst at present it might be impractical to undertake such detailed modelling for all properties, these techniques can certainly be used to improve the flood risk analysis of key locations. This paper will demonstrate how these new high resolution remote sensing techniques can be combined to provide a new resolution of detail to aid urban flood modelling.

Soil moisture detection by Skylab's microwave sensors. [radiometer/scatterometer measurements of Texas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, R. K.; Ulaby, F. T. (Principal Investigator); Barr, J. C.; Sobti, A.

1974-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. Terrain microwave backscatter and emission response to soil moisture variations were investigated using Skylab's 13.9 GHz RADSCAT (radiometer/scatterometer) system. Data acquired on June 5, 1973, over a test site in west-central Texas indicated a fair degree of correlation with composite rainfall. The scan made was cross-track contiguous (CTC) with a pitch of 29.4 deg and no roll effect. Vertical polarization was employed with both radiometer and scatterometer. The composite rainfall was computed according to the flood prediction technique using rainfall data supplied by weather reporting stations.

Mantle plumes and continental tectonics.

PubMed

Hill, R I; Campbell, I H; Davies, G F; Griffiths, R W

1992-04-10

Mantle plumes and plate tectonics, the result of two distinct modes of convection within the Earth, operate largely independently. Although plumes are secondary in terms of heat transport, they have probably played an important role in continental geology. A new plume starts with a large spherical head that can cause uplift and flood basalt volcanism, and may be responsible for regional-scale metamorphism or crustal melting and varying amounts of crustal extension. Plume heads are followed by narrow tails that give rise to the familiar hot-spot tracks. The cumulative effect of processes associated with tail volcanism may also significantly affect continental crust.

Design of experiments enhanced statistical process control for wind tunnel check standard testing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, Ben D.

The current wind tunnel check standard testing program at NASA Langley Research Center is focused on increasing data quality, uncertainty quantification and overall control and improvement of wind tunnel measurement processes. The statistical process control (SPC) methodology employed in the check standard testing program allows for the tracking of variations in measurements over time as well as an overall assessment of facility health. While the SPC approach can and does provide researchers with valuable information, it has certain limitations in the areas of process improvement and uncertainty quantification. It is thought by utilizing design of experiments methodology in conjunction with the current SPC practices that one can efficiently and more robustly characterize uncertainties and develop enhanced process improvement procedures. In this research, methodologies were developed to generate regression models for wind tunnel calibration coefficients, balance force coefficients and wind tunnel flow angularities. The coefficients of these regression models were then tracked in statistical process control charts, giving a higher level of understanding of the processes. The methodology outlined is sufficiently generic such that this research can be applicable to any wind tunnel check standard testing program.

Charting Ingredients for Life

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2005-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Figure 1: Spectrum Charts Light from a Faraway Galaxy

This graph, or spectrum, charts light from a faraway galaxy located 10 billion light years from Earth. It tracks mid-infrared light from an extremely luminous galaxy when the universe was only 1/4 of its current age.

Spectra are created when an instrument called a spectrograph spreads light out into its basic parts, like a prism turning sunlight into a rainbow. They reveal the signatures, or 'fingerprints,' of molecules that make up a galaxy and contribute to its light.

Spitzer's infrared spectrometer identified characteristic fingerprints of complex organic molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, illustrated in the artist's concept in the inset. These large molecules comprised of carbon and hydrogen, are considered among the building blocks of life.

Scientists determined it took 10 billion years for photons from this galaxy to reach Spitzer's infrared eyes. These complex carbon and hydrogen molecules are from a young galaxy which is undergoing intense star formation, at the time the universe was only 3.5 billion years old.

These distant galaxies with enormous amounts of gas being converted into young stars are some of the most luminous objects in the sky. Enshrouded by dust, they are only faint, inconspicuous little dots in optical images. They are as bright as 10 trillion suns put together and 10 times brighter than starburst galaxies seen in our local universe.

This prompts a fascinating question as to what physical process is driving such enormous energy production in these galaxies when the universe is so young.

These data were taken by Spitzer's infrared spectrograph in August and September 2004.

Tracking the deposition of sediments from the Great Mississippi Flood of 2011

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khan, N. S.; McKee, K. L.; Horton, B. P.; Varvaeke, W.; Dura, T.; Jerolmack, D. J.

2011-12-01

The marshes of coastal Louisiana are disappearing at a rapid rate due to both natural and anthropogenic processes. Maintenance of soil elevations relative to water levels is key to marsh sustainability, but leveeing of the Mississippi River prevents overbank flooding and direct delivery of sediment to counterbalance rapid rates of subsidence in the deltaic plain. Episodic sediment deposition may occur during storms and hurricanes or extreme flood events, contributing to marsh accretion, but their relative importance to marsh maintenance is unclear. A better understanding of routing and deposition of sediments and their role in the marsh-building dynamics of coastal Louisiana would help clarify these issues and aid restoration planning. The Great Mississippi River Flood of 2011 caused sustained high discharge, producing a narrow jet that penetrated far into the Gulf of Mexico, and prompted the opening of the Morganza spillway, which generated a wide, diffuse plume that inundated vast areas of land and was trapped within coastal currents. These events provided a unique opportunity to test a new theoretical model of coastal sediment dynamics that predicts greater sedimentation over a broader area from the smaller Atchafalaya channel in comparison to the focused plume emanating from the larger Mississippi River channel. Here, we report how the flood contributed to marsh sedimentation, which is part of a larger effort to connect offshore sediment dynamics to sediment delivery and soil accretion within wetlands. A helicopter survey of 45 sites was conducted across the Mississippi (Bird's Foot) Delta, Barataria, Terrebonne, and Atchafalaya basins (350 km of coastline) to measure sediment accumulation and determine its provenance. At each site, new flood sediment deposits were distinguished from pre-flood sediment and sampled separately for organic matter content, bulk density, grain-size and diatom analysis. Comparison of grain-size distribution and diatom assemblages of new marsh sediment accumulations to grab samples taken from within and offshore of the Mississippi River elucidates their provenance. Of the 45 sites sampled, 31 have pre-existing data on marsh accretion or hurricane deposition, providing context for the flood-induced sediment deposition. Our preliminary findings show that sediment accumulation was greatest in the Atchafalaya (1.61 ± 0.96 g cm-2), intermediate in the Bird's Foot (1.14 ± 0.78 g cm-2) and least in the Terrebonne (0.42 ± 0.18 g cm-2) and Barataria (0.34 ± 0.22 g cm-2) basins. These pilot results provide support for the theoretical model of coastal mixing and sedimentation patterns and imply that while small diversions and branches off the main channel supplied sediment locally to marshes in the Bird's Foot Delta, the Mississippi River plume contributed little to declining wetlands in the Barataria and Terrebonne basins during this flood event. The significant sediment deposits found in Atchafalaya marshes indicate greater contributions to soil accretion and improved potential for wetland maintenance.

Spatial and temporal dynamic of surface water and vegetation dynamic using remotely sensed data in the Murray -Darling Basin, Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tulbure, M. G.; Kingsford, R.; Broich, M.

2012-12-01

Australia is the driest inhabited continent and river systems have highly variable flows in space and time. The Murray-Darling Basin (MDB), a catchment covering 14% of the continent contains the nation's largest rivers and important groundwater systems. The basin has highly variable rainfall patterns in space and time and the vast majority of rainfall is lost to evapotranspiration with only 4% becoming runoff. The basin is home to several wetlands of high hydrological and ecological value with a number of them being recognised as wetlands of international importance. The basin produces more than a third of Australia's food supply, making it the most important agricultural area in the country. However, variation in surface and ground water availability exacerbated by a long period of drought, combined with high water demands for irrigation and in several major cities, and the need for water to maintain ecosystem health in the floodplains have led to the need of managing water resources in an integrated fashion. Several dams have been constructed in the basin, which store water during wet periods which is released during dry periods as environmental flows. Assessment of water resources and understanding of the effectiveness of environmental flows requires knowledge of 1) long term trends in occurrence and extent of surface water, 2) what is the vegetation response to flooding and 3) whether water reached target vegetation communities. However, such information does not exist at the basin level. Satellite remote sensing is the only viable way for synoptically mapping and monitoring the extent and dynamic of flooding and vegetation response to flooding. Moreover, recent La Nina -induced, extreme flooding broke a decade long of drought and made 2010 the wettest calendar year on record in the MDB and across vast areas of Australia. This represents a unique opportunity to develop predictive models relating flow regime to vegetation response and identify trends over long term and across a large space in a drying yet variable climate. Using an internally consistent method, Landsat TM and ETM+ data were used to synoptically map the extent and dynamic of surface water bodies and track the response of vegetation communities to flooding in space and time at selected sites. Per pixel trajectory of surface water and vegetation index time series were used. Results show high interannual variability in number and size of flooded areas and a positive relationship with rainfall. Response of vegetation communities to flooding varied in space and time and with vegetation types and densities. Knowledge of the spatial and temporal dynamic of flooding and the response of vegetation communities to flooding is important for management of floodplain wetlands and vegetation communities and for investigating effectiveness of environmental flows and flow regimes in the MDB. The approach presented here can be transferred to other river systems around the world where high demand for water requires informed management decisions.

Large scale track analysis for wide area motion imagery surveillance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Leeuwen, C. J.; van Huis, J. R.; Baan, J.

2016-10-01

Wide Area Motion Imagery (WAMI) enables image based surveillance of areas that can cover multiple square kilometers. Interpreting and analyzing information from such sources, becomes increasingly time consuming as more data is added from newly developed methods for information extraction. Captured from a moving Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), the high-resolution images allow detection and tracking of moving vehicles, but this is a highly challenging task. By using a chain of computer vision detectors and machine learning techniques, we are capable of producing high quality track information of more than 40 thousand vehicles per five minutes. When faced with such a vast number of vehicular tracks, it is useful for analysts to be able to quickly query information based on region of interest, color, maneuvers or other high-level types of information, to gain insight and find relevant activities in the flood of information. In this paper we propose a set of tools, combined in a graphical user interface, which allows data analysts to survey vehicles in a large observed area. In order to retrieve (parts of) images from the high-resolution data, we developed a multi-scale tile-based video file format that allows to quickly obtain only a part, or a sub-sampling of the original high resolution image. By storing tiles of a still image according to a predefined order, we can quickly retrieve a particular region of the image at any relevant scale, by skipping to the correct frames and reconstructing the image. Location based queries allow a user to select tracks around a particular region of interest such as landmark, building or street. By using an integrated search engine, users can quickly select tracks that are in the vicinity of locations of interest. Another time-reducing method when searching for a particular vehicle, is to filter on color or color intensity. Automatic maneuver detection adds information to the tracks that can be used to find vehicles based on their behavior.

The implementation of an automated tracking algorithm for the track detection of migratory anticyclones affecting the Mediterranean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hatzaki, Maria; Flocas, Elena A.; Simmonds, Ian; Kouroutzoglou, John; Keay, Kevin; Rudeva, Irina

2013-04-01

Migratory cyclones and anticyclones mainly account for the short-term weather variations in extra-tropical regions. By contrast to cyclones that have drawn major scientific attention due to their direct link to active weather and precipitation, climatological studies on anticyclones are limited, even though they also are associated with extreme weather phenomena and play an important role in global and regional climate. This is especially true for the Mediterranean, a region particularly vulnerable to climate change, and the little research which has been done is essentially confined to the manual analysis of synoptic charts. For the construction of a comprehensive climatology of migratory anticyclonic systems in the Mediterranean using an objective methodology, the Melbourne University automatic tracking algorithm is applied, based to the ERA-Interim reanalysis mean sea level pressure database. The algorithm's reliability in accurately capturing the weather patterns and synoptic climatology of the transient activity has been widely proven. This algorithm has been extensively applied for cyclone studies worldwide and it has been also successfully applied for the Mediterranean, though its use for anticyclone tracking is limited to the Southern Hemisphere. In this study the performance of the tracking algorithm under different data resolutions and different choices of parameter settings in the scheme is examined. Our focus is on the appropriate modification of the algorithm in order to efficiently capture the individual characteristics of the anticyclonic tracks in the Mediterranean, a closed basin with complex topography. We show that the number of the detected anticyclonic centers and the resulting tracks largely depend upon the data resolution and the search radius. We also find that different scale anticyclones and secondary centers that lie within larger anticyclone structures can be adequately represented; this is important, since the extensions of major anticyclonic systems affect the Mediterranean basin throughout the year. Acknowledgement: This research project is implemented within the framework of the Action «Supporting Postdoctoral Researchers» of the Operational Program "Education and Lifelong Learning" (Action's Beneficiary: General Secretariat for Research and Technology), and is co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Greek State. Some funding from the Australian Research Council is also acknowledged.

Challenge toward breakage of RLS trade-off for EUV lithography by Photosensitized Chemically Amplified Resist (PSCAR) with flood exposure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagahara, Seiji; Carcasi, Michael; Nakagawa, Hisashi; Buitrago, Elizabeth; Yildirim, Oktay; Shiraishi, Gosuke; Terashita, Yuichi; Minekawa, Yukie; Yoshihara, Kosuke; Tomono, Masaru; Mizoguchi, Hironori; Estrella, Joel; Nagai, Tomoki; Naruoka, Takehiko; Dei, Satoshi; Hori, Masafumi; Oshima, Akihiro; Vockenhuber, Michaela; Ekinci, Yasin; Meeuwissen, Marieke; Verspaget, Coen; Hoefnagels, Rik; Rispens, Gijsbert; Maas, Raymond; Nakashima, Hideo; Tagawa, Seiichi

2016-03-01

This paper proposes a promising approach to break the resolution (R), line-edge-roughness (LER), and sensitivity (S) trade-off (RLS trade-off) relationships that limit the ultimate lithographic performance of standard chemically amplified resists (CAR). This is accomplished in a process that uses a Photosensitized Chemically Amplified Resist (PSCAR) in combination with a flood-exposure in an in-line track connected to a pattern exposure tool. PSCAR is a modified CAR which contains a photosensitizer precursor (PP) in addition to other standard CAR components such as a protected polymer, a photo acid generator (PAG) and a quencher. In this paper, the PSCAR concept and the required conditions in resist formulation are carefully explained. In the PSCAR process, the sensitivity improvement is accomplished by PAG decomposition to selectively generate more acid at the pattern exposed areas during the flood exposure. The selective photosensitization happens through the excitation of the photosensitizer (PS) generated by the deprotection of the PP at the pattern exposed areas. A higher resist chemical gradient which leads to an improved resolution and lower LER values is also predicted using the PSCAR simulator. In the PSCAR process, the improved chemical gradient can be realized by dual acid quenching steps with the help of increased quencher concentration. Acid quenching first happens simultaneously with acid catalytic PP to PS reactions. As a result, a sharpened PS latent image is created in the PSCAR. This image is subsequently excited by the flood exposure creating additional acid products at the pattern exposed areas only. Much the same as in the standard CAR system, unnecessary acid present in the non-pattern exposed areas can be neutralized by the remaining quencher to therefore produce sharper acid latent images. EUV exposure results down to 15 nm half pitch (HP) line/space (L/S) patterns using a PSCAR resist indicate that the use of PSCAR has the potential to improve the sensitivity of the system while simultaneously improving the line-width-roughness (LWR) with added quencher and flood exposure doses. In addition, improved across-wafer critical dimension uniformity (CDU) is realized by the use of a PSCAR in combination with a flood exposure using pre α UV exposure module.

Towards an improved inventory of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods in the Himalayas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veh, Georg; Walz, Ariane; Korup, Oliver; Roessner, Sigrid

2016-04-01

The retreat of glaciers in the Himalayas and the associated release of meltwater have prompted the formation and growth of thousands of glacial lakes in the last decades. More than 2,200 of these lakes have developed in unconsolidated moraine material. These lakes can drain in a single event, producing potentially destructive glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). Only 44 GLOFs in the Himalayas have been documented in more detail since the 1930s, and evidence for a change, let alone an increase, in the frequency of these flood events remains elusive. The rare occurrence of GLOFs is counterintuitive to our hypothesis that an increasing amount of glacial lakes has to be consistent with a rising amount of outburst floods. Censoring bias affects the GLOF record, such that mostly larger floods with commensurate impact have been registered. Existing glacial lake inventories are also of limited help for the identification of GLOFs, as they were created in irregular time steps using different methodological approach and covering different regional extents. We discuss the key requirements for generating a more continuous, close to yearly time series of glacial lake evolution for the Himalayan mountain range using remote sensing data. To this end, we use sudden changes in glacial lake areas as the key diagnostic of dam breaks and outburst floods, employing the full archive of cloud-free Landsat data (L5, L7 and L8) from 1988 to 2015. SRTM and ALOS World 3D topographic data further improve the automatic detection of glacial lakes in an alpine landscape that is often difficult to access otherwise. Our workflow comprises expert-based classification of water bodies using thresholds and masks from different spectral indices and band ratios. A first evaluation of our mapping approach suggests that GLOFs reported during the study period could be tracked independently by a significant reduction of lake size between two subsequent Landsat scenes. This finding supports the feasibility of generating a continuous glacial lake database, and thus, of an updated GLOF inventory. We discuss several challenges to our classification method, including complete or partial freezing of lake surfaces, as well as effects of turbidity and mountain shadows. Our future work will use this new inventory to infer the key environmental parameters of GLOF events in the Himalayas and to estimate regional hazard potential from existing lakes.

A GIS-based model for the hydrological and hydraulic reconstruction of historical flash-floods in urban areas. The case of the river Turia in Valencia (1957)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Portugués Mollá, Iván; Felici, Xavier Bonache i.; Mateu Bellés, Joan F.; Segura, Juan B. Marco

2015-04-01

Flash-floods are recurrent events in the Mediterranean arch, mostly derived from cold air pool phenomena triggering hydro-geomorphic high-intensity processes, combining high discharge and low frequency. In urban environments the complexity of the processes become higher due to the existence of very fast-response basins and quick-response runoff. However, immediate activities of cleaning up and restoration delete the urban marks. After a short time both significance and dimension of the hydro-geomorphic event become completely unrecognizable. Nevertheless, these episodes generate extensive administrative documentation which is testimony of the processes in almost real time. Exploiting this source typology in order to reconstruct events far in time within urban areas, which may lack database sufficiently rich, is necessary to understand the hydrological and hydraulic derived processes. This is particularly the case of the Valencia flash-flood (1957), located in the lower Turia River basin (6.400 km2). Within a short interval (15 hours) there were registered two flood peaks (estimated at that time at 2.500 and 3.700 m3/s). The double overflowing inundated a large proportion of the urban area. The flash-flood activated fast processes with high energy that left numerous hydro-geomorphic marks. Although those tracks were deleted in a short while after the flood, it remains a legacy that had not yet been exploited, consisting of immediate aerial and oblique high resolution photography, pictures at street level, water level record and administrative records, such as claim files for compensation. Paradoxically, despite the event is considered as a milestone on metropolitan territorial planning and it was decided to divert the river Turia definitely through a major project (12 km of channeling, known as South Solution), being the scenario notably altered, the analysis of the hydrological and hydraulic process has never been reviewed. Undoubtedly, a modern study would ensure a more effective and accurate risk management within the Valencian metropolitan area. The development of a GIS-based model enables the utilization of these materials, most of them unpublished. This non-systematic information can be treated jointly from a new perspective. In short, this model facilitates the provision of a database through a vast amount of organized, structured and georeferenced information about the event. In a second stage, it makes possible to interpret the hydro-geomorphic processes from the 1957 event (trenches along barrier beaches, erosion, deposition processes…) and hydraulic processes (main flow encroachment versus quasi-hydrostatic-flood, or 1D versus 2D flood behavior), which can be identified in order to obtain georeferenced information about spatial variability, directional information of flows and point distribution of water levels and flooded points. It is also necessary to carry out photo-interpretation works to clarify some unresolved issues with the objective of establishing the real order of magnitude of the flash-flood concerning the discharge rank. In the same way, some other elements can be identified such as urban streams along the streets, levees overtopping and breaks, flooded area, etc. Lastly, in the future the GIS database will enable to obtain a more accurate both hydraulic mathematical modelling and calibration/validation.

Comparison of reading speed with 3 different log-scaled reading charts.

PubMed

Buari, Noor Halilah; Chen, Ai-Hong; Musa, Nuraini

2014-01-01

A reading chart that resembles real reading conditions is important to evaluate the quality of life in terms of reading performance. The purpose of this study was to compare the reading speed of UiTM Malay related words (UiTM-Mrw) reading chart with MNread Acuity Chart and Colenbrander Reading Chart. Fifty subjects with normal sight were randomly recruited through randomized sampling in this study (mean age=22.98±1.65 years). Subjects were asked to read three different near charts aloud and as quickly as possible at random sequence. The charts were the UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart, MNread Acuity Chart and Colenbrander Reading Chart, respectively. The time taken to read each chart was recorded and any errors while reading were noted. Reading performance was quantified in terms of reading speed as words per minute (wpm). The mean reading speed for UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart, MNread Acuity Chart and Colenbrander Reading Chart was 200±30wpm, 196±28wpm and 194±31wpm, respectively. Comparison of reading speed between UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart and MNread Acuity Chart showed no significant difference (t=-0.73, p=0.72). The same happened with the reading speed between UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart and Colenbrander Reading Chart (t=-0.97, p=0.55). Bland and Altman plot showed good agreement between reading speed of UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart with MNread Acuity Chart with the Colenbrander Reading Chart. UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart in Malay language is highly comparable with standardized charts and can be used for evaluating reading speed. Copyright © 2013 Spanish General Council of Optometry. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Comparison of reading speed with 3 different log-scaled reading charts

PubMed Central

Buari, Noor Halilah; Chen, Ai-Hong; Musa, Nuraini

2014-01-01

Background A reading chart that resembles real reading conditions is important to evaluate the quality of life in terms of reading performance. The purpose of this study was to compare the reading speed of UiTM Malay related words (UiTM-Mrw) reading chart with MNread Acuity Chart and Colenbrander Reading Chart. Materials and methods Fifty subjects with normal sight were randomly recruited through randomized sampling in this study (mean age = 22.98 ± 1.65 years). Subjects were asked to read three different near charts aloud and as quickly as possible at random sequence. The charts were the UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart, MNread Acuity Chart and Colenbrander Reading Chart, respectively. The time taken to read each chart was recorded and any errors while reading were noted. Reading performance was quantified in terms of reading speed as words per minute (wpm). Results The mean reading speed for UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart, MNread Acuity Chart and Colenbrander Reading Chart was 200 ± 30 wpm, 196 ± 28 wpm and 194 ± 31 wpm, respectively. Comparison of reading speed between UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart and MNread Acuity Chart showed no significant difference (t = −0.73, p = 0.72). The same happened with the reading speed between UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart and Colenbrander Reading Chart (t = −0.97, p = 0.55). Bland and Altman plot showed good agreement between reading speed of UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart with MNread Acuity Chart with the Colenbrander Reading Chart. Conclusion UiTM-Mrw Reading Chart in Malay language is highly comparable with standardized charts and can be used for evaluating reading speed. PMID:25323642

US Vulnerability to Natural Disasters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Vink, G.; Apgar, S.; Batchelor, A.; Carter, C.; Gail, D.; Jarrett, A.; Levine, N.; Morgan, W.; Orlikowski, M.; Pray, T.; Raymar, M.; Siebert, A.; Shawa, T. W.; Wallace, C.

2002-05-01

Natural disasters result from the coincidence of natural events with the built environment. Our nation's infrastructure is growing at an exponential rate in many areas of high risk, and the Federal government's liability is increasing proportionally. By superimposing population density with predicted ground motion from earthquakes, historical hurricane tracks, historical tornado locations, and areas within the flood plain, we are able to identify locations of high vulnerability within the United States. We present a comprehensive map of disaster risk for the United States that is being produced for the Senate Natural Hazards Caucus. The map allows for the geographic comparison of natural disaster risk with past disaster declarations, the expenditure of Federal dollars for disaster relief, population increase, and variations of GDP. Every state is vulnerable to natural disasters. Although their frequency varies considerably, the annualized losses for disaster relief from hurricanes, earthquakes, and floods are approximately equivalent. While fast-growing states such as California and Florida remain highly vulnerable, changes in the occurrence of natural events combined with population increases are making areas such as Texas, North Carolina, and the East Coast increasingly vulnerable.

Increased rainfall volume from future convective storms in the US

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prein, Andreas F.; Liu, Changhai; Ikeda, Kyoko; Trier, Stanley B.; Rasmussen, Roy M.; Holland, Greg J.; Clark, Martyn P.

2017-12-01

Mesoscale convective system (MCS)-organized convective storms with a size of 100 km have increased in frequency and intensity in the USA over the past 35 years1, causing fatalities and economic losses2. However, their poor representation in traditional climate models hampers the understanding of their change in the future3. Here, a North American-scale convection-permitting model which is able to realistically simulate MSCs4 is used to investigate their change by the end-of-century under RCP8.5 (ref. 5). A storm-tracking algorithm6 indicates that intense summertime MCS frequency will more than triple in North America. Furthermore, the combined effect of a 15-40% increase in maximum precipitation rates and a significant spreading of regions impacted by heavy precipitation results in up to 80% increases in the total MCS precipitation volume, focussed in a 40 km radius around the storm centre. These typically neglected increases substantially raise future flood risk. Current investments in long-lived infrastructures, such as flood protection and water management systems, need to take these changes into account to improve climate-adaptation practices.

Mobile Application vs Paper Pictorial Blood Assessment Chart to Track Menses in Young Women: A Randomized Cross-over Design.

PubMed

Jacobson, Amanda E; Vesely, Sara K; Haamid, Fareeda; Christian-Rancy, Myra; O'Brien, Sarah H

2018-04-01

Heavy menstrual bleeding is a common symptom reported by approximately 30% of women. The Pictorial Blood Assessment Chart (PBAC) score is often used to quantify severity of menstrual bleeding. However, the traditional PBAC paper diary might be subject to recall bias and compliance issues, especially in adolescents. We developed a mobile application (app) version of the PBAC score and evaluated patient satisfaction and compliance with app reporting vs paper reporting. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, INTERVENTIONS, AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: This study was a randomized cross-over study of 25 postmenarchal female adolescents and young women ages 13-21 years. Participants agreed to track bleeding in 2 consecutive menstrual cycles and were randomized to use the PBAC paper diary or mobile app format first. At the end of each cycle, a satisfaction survey and system usability scale (app only) was used to assess the acceptability of the format used. Twenty-five participants had a median age of 15 years. Cross-over analysis showed that satisfaction level was significantly higher for the app (P < .001). Twenty of 25 (80%) participants preferred the app over the paper diary. For the app, 20 of 25 participants (80%) had high compliance for reporting bleeding, with a mean of 2 app entries per day. Participants' PBAC scores did not vary significantly between the paper diary (median, 95) and mobile app (median, 114). All paper diaries met definition for high compliance. There was no significant period or carryover effect. This study showed that a PBAC app compared with the paper diary was the preferred method of recording menstrual bleeding in adolescents and showed feasibility as a research data collection tool. Copyright © 2017 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Transformation of medical education through Decentralised Training Platforms: a scoping review.

PubMed

Mlambo, Motlatso; Dreyer, Abigail; Dube, Rainy; Mapukata, Nontsikelelo; Couper, Ian; Cooke, Richard

2018-03-01

Medical education in South Africa is facing a major paradigm shift. The urgency to increase the number of suitable, qualified and socially accountable health sciences graduates has brought to the fore the need to identify alternative training platforms and learning environments, often in rural areas. Subsequently, the focus has now shifted towards strengthening primary health care and community based health services. This scoping review presents a synopsis of the existing literature on decentralized training platform (DTP) strategies for medical education internationally, outlining existing models within it and its impact. This scoping review followed Arksey and O'Malley's framework outlining five stages: (i) identification of a research question, (ii) identification of relevant studies, (iii) study selection criteria, (iv) data charting, and (v) collating, summarizing and reporting results. The literature for the scoping review was found using online databases, reference lists and hand searched journals. Data were charted and sorted inductively according to key themes. A final review included 59 articles ranging over the years 1987-2015 with the largest group of studies falling in the period 2011-2015 (47.5%). Studies mostly employed quantitative (32.2%), qualitative (20.3%), systematic/literature review (18.6%) and mixed methods research approaches (11.9%). The scoping review highlighted a range of DTP strategies for transforming medical education. These include training for rural workforce, addressing context specific competencies to promote social accountability, promoting community engagement, and medical education partnerships. Viable models of DTP include community based education, distributed community engaged learning, discipline based clinical rotations, longitudinal clerkships and dedicated tracks focusing on rural issues. Shorter rural placements and supplemental rural tracks are also described. This scoping review showed a considerable amount of literature on decentralized training platforms that highlight the necessary adaptations needed for transforming medical education. The rural context is critical for many of these. Further studies are required to address the impact of DTPs on health service outcomes and human resource outcomes.

Activity-based exploitation of Full Motion Video (FMV)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kant, Shashi

2012-06-01

Video has been a game-changer in how US forces are able to find, track and defeat its adversaries. With millions of minutes of video being generated from an increasing number of sensor platforms, the DOD has stated that the rapid increase in video is overwhelming their analysts. The manpower required to view and garner useable information from the flood of video is unaffordable, especially in light of current fiscal restraints. "Search" within full-motion video has traditionally relied on human tagging of content, and video metadata, to provision filtering and locate segments of interest, in the context of analyst query. Our approach utilizes a novel machine-vision based approach to index FMV, using object recognition & tracking, events and activities detection. This approach enables FMV exploitation in real-time, as well as a forensic look-back within archives. This approach can help get the most information out of video sensor collection, help focus the attention of overburdened analysts form connections in activity over time and conserve national fiscal resources in exploiting FMV.

Communication Between Acute Care Hospitals and Skilled Nursing Facilities During Care Transitions: A Retrospective Chart Review.

PubMed

Jusela, Cheryl; Struble, Laura; Gallagher, Nancy Ambrose; Redman, Richard W; Ziemba, Rosemary A

2017-03-01

HOW TO OBTAIN CONTACT HOURS BY READING THIS ARTICLE INSTRUCTIONS 1.3 contact hours will be awarded by Villanova University College of Nursing upon successful completion of this activity. A contact hour is a unit of measurement that denotes 60 minutes of an organized learning activity. This is a learner-based activity. Villanova University College of Nursing does not require submission of your answers to the quiz. A contact hour certificate will be awarded once you register, pay the registration fee, and complete the evaluation form online at http://goo.gl/gMfXaf. To obtain contact hours you must: 1. Read the article, "Communication Between Acute Care Hospitals and Skilled Nursing Facilities During Care Transitions: A Retrospective Chart Review" found on pages 19-28, carefully noting any tables and other illustrative materials that are included to enhance your knowledge and understanding of the content. Be sure to keep track of the amount of time (number of minutes) you spend reading the article and completing the quiz. 2. Read and answer each question on the quiz. After completing all of the questions, compare your answers to those provided within this issue. If you have incorrect answers, return to the article for further study. 3. Go to the Villanova website listed above to register for contact hour credit. You will be asked to provide your name; contact information; and a VISA, MasterCard, or Discover card number for payment of the $20.00 fee. Once you complete the online evaluation, a certificate will be automatically generated. This activity is valid for continuing education credit until February 29, 2020. CONTACT HOURS This activity is co-provided by Villanova University College of Nursing and SLACK Incorporated. Villanova University College of Nursing is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. ACTIVITY OBJECTIVES 1. Discuss problematic barriers during care transitions. 2. Describe the significance of interprofessional collaboration in the delivery of quality health care. DISCLOSURE STATEMENT Neither the planners nor the author have any conflicts of interest to disclose. The purpose of the current project was to (a) examine the type of information accompanying patients on transfer from acute care to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), (b) discuss how these findings meet existing standards, and (c) make recommendations to improve transfer of essential information. The study was a retrospective convenience sample chart audit in one SNF. All patients admitted from an acute care hospital to the SNF were examined. The audit checklist was developed based on recommendations by local and national standards. One hundred fifty-five charts were reviewed. Transferring of physician contact information was missing in 65% of charts. The following information was also missing from charts: medication lists (1%), steroid tapering instructions (42%), antiarrhythmic instructions (38%), duration/indication of anticoagulant medications (25%), and antibiotic medications (22%). Findings support the need for improved transitional care models and better communication of information between care settings. Recommendations include designating accountability and chart audits comparing timeliness, completeness, and accuracy. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 43(3), 19-28.]. Copyright 2016, SLACK Incorporated.

An overview of natural hazard impacts to railways and urban transportation systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bíl, Michal; Nezval, Vojtěch; Bílová, Martina; Andrášik, Richard; Kubeček, Jan

2017-04-01

We present an overview and two case studies of natural hazard impacts on rail transportation systems in the Czech Republic. Flooding, landsliding, heavy snowfall, windstorms and glaze (black ice) are the most common natural processes which occur in this region. Whereas flooding and landsliding usually cause direct damage to the transportation infrastructure, other hazards predominantly cause indirect losses. Railway and urban tramline networks are almost fully dependent on electricity which is provided by a system of overhead lines (electric lines above the tracks). These lines are extremely susceptible to formation of glaze which blocks conduction of electric current. A December 2014 glaze event caused significant indirect losses in the largest Czech cities and railways due to the above-mentioned process. Details of this event will be provided during the presentation. Windstorms usually cause tree falls which can affect overhead lines and physically block railway tracks. Approximately 30 % of the Czech railway network is closer than 50 m from the nearest forest. This presents significant potential for transport interruption due to falling trees. Complicated legal relations among the owners of the plots of land along railways, the environment (full-grown trees and related habitat), and the railway administrator are behind many traffic interruptions due to falling trees. We have registered 2040 tree falls between 2012 and 2015 on the railway network. A model of the fallen tree hazard was created for the entire Czech railway network. Both above-mentioned case studies provide illustrative examples of the increased fragility of the modern transportation systems which fully rely on electricity. Natural processes with a low destructive power are thereby able to cause network wide service cut-offs.

Seismic sequence stratigraphy of Miocene deposits related to eustatic, tectonic and climatic events, Cap Bon Peninsula, northeastern Tunisia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gharsalli, Ramzi; Zouaghi, Taher; Soussi, Mohamed; Chebbi, Riadh; Khomsi, Sami; Bédir, Mourad

2013-09-01

The Cap Bon Peninsula, belonging to northeastern Tunisia, is located in the Maghrebian Alpine foreland and in the North of the Pelagian block. By its paleoposition, during the Cenozoic, in the edge of the southern Tethyan margin, this peninsula constitutes a geological entity that fossilized the eustatic, tectonic and climatic interactions. Surface and subsurface study carried out in the Cap Bon onshore area and surrounding offshore of Hammamet interests the Miocene deposits from the Langhian-to-Messinian interval time. Related to the basin and the platform positions, sequence and seismic stratigraphy studies have been conducted to identify seven third-order seismic sequences in subsurface (SM1-SM7), six depositional sequences on the Zinnia-1 petroleum well (SDM1-SDM6), and five depositional sequences on the El Oudiane section of the Jebel Abderrahmane (SDM1-SDM5). Each sequence shows a succession of high-frequency systems tract and parasequences. These sequences are separated by remarkable sequence boundaries and maximum flooding surfaces (SB and MFS) that have been correlated to the eustatic cycles and supercycles of the Global Sea Level Chart of Haq et al. (1987). The sequences have been also correlated with Sequence Chronostratigraphic Chart of Hardenbol et al. (1998), related to European basins, allows us to arise some major differences in number and in size. The major discontinuities, which limit the sequences resulted from the interplay between tectonic and climatic phenomena. It thus appears very judicious to bring back these chronological surfaces to eustatic and/or local tectonic activity and global eustatic and climatic controls.

The freckle plot (daily turnaround time chart): a technique for timely and effective quality improvement of test turnaround times.

PubMed

Pellar, T G; Ward, P J; Tuckerman, J F; Henderson, A R

1993-06-01

Test turnaround times are often monitored on a monthly basis. However, such an interval usually means that not all causes for delay in test reporting can be unequivocally identified for institution of remedial action. We have devised a daily chart--the freckle plot--that graphically displays the test turnaround times by laboratory receipt time. Different symbols are used to designate specimens reported within the test's turnaround time limit, those within 10 min beyond that limit, and those well outside the limit. These categories are adjustable to suit different limits of stringency. Freckle plots are produced on a daily basis and can be used to track down causes for test delays. Using the 1-h turnaround time "stat" potassium test as a model, we found 16 causes for test delay, of which 9 were potentially remediable. By applying these remedies, we were able to increase test compliance, in the day shift, from 91.5% (95% confidence interval 88.8%-93.7%) to 97.6% (95% confidence interval 96.4-98.55%), which is significant at P < 10(-7). This daily plot is a useful quality assurance tool, supplementing the more conventional tests used to ensure laboratory quality improvement.

Construction and validation of a Tamil logMAR chart.

PubMed

Varadharajan, Srinivasa; Srinivasan, Krithica; Kumaresan, Brindha

2009-09-01

To design, construct and validate a new Tamil logMAR visual acuity chart based on current recommendations. Ten Tamil letters of equal legibility were identified experimentally and were used in the chart. Two charts, one internally illuminated and one externally illuminated, were constructed for testing at 4 m distance. The repeatability of the two charts was tested. For validation, the two charts were compared with a standard English logMAR chart (ETDRS). When compared to the ETDRS chart, a difference of 0.06 +/- 0.07 and 0.07 +/- 0.07 logMAR was found for the internally and externally illuminated charts respectively. Limits of agreement between the internally illuminated Tamil logMAR chart and ETDRS chart were found to be (-0.08, 0.19), and (-0.07, 0.20) for the externally illuminated chart. The test - retest results showed a difference of 0.02 +/- 0.04 and 0.02 +/- 0.06 logMAR for the internally and externally illuminated charts respectively. Limits of agreement for repeated measurements for the internally illuminated Tamil logMAR chart were found to be (-0.06, 0.10), and (-0.10, 0.14) for the externally illuminated chart. The newly constructed Tamil logMAR charts have good repeatability. The difference in visual acuity scores between the newly constructed Tamil logMAR chart and the standard English logMAR chart was within acceptable limits. This new chart can be used for measuring visual acuity in the literate Tamil population.

A Simple Approach for Monitoring Business Service Time Variation

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Control charts are effective tools for signal detection in both manufacturing processes and service processes. Much of the data in service industries comes from processes having nonnormal or unknown distributions. The commonly used Shewhart variable control charts, which depend heavily on the normality assumption, are not appropriately used here. In this paper, we propose a new asymmetric EWMA variance chart (EWMA-AV chart) and an asymmetric EWMA mean chart (EWMA-AM chart) based on two simple statistics to monitor process variance and mean shifts simultaneously. Further, we explore the sampling properties of the new monitoring statistics and calculate the average run lengths when using both the EWMA-AV chart and the EWMA-AM chart. The performance of the EWMA-AV and EWMA-AM charts and that of some existing variance and mean charts are compared. A numerical example involving nonnormal service times from the service system of a bank branch in Taiwan is used to illustrate the applications of the EWMA-AV and EWMA-AM charts and to compare them with the existing variance (or standard deviation) and mean charts. The proposed EWMA-AV chart and EWMA-AM charts show superior detection performance compared to the existing variance and mean charts. The EWMA-AV chart and EWMA-AM chart are thus recommended. PMID:24895647

A simple approach for monitoring business service time variation.

PubMed

Yang, Su-Fen; Arnold, Barry C

2014-01-01

Control charts are effective tools for signal detection in both manufacturing processes and service processes. Much of the data in service industries comes from processes having nonnormal or unknown distributions. The commonly used Shewhart variable control charts, which depend heavily on the normality assumption, are not appropriately used here. In this paper, we propose a new asymmetric EWMA variance chart (EWMA-AV chart) and an asymmetric EWMA mean chart (EWMA-AM chart) based on two simple statistics to monitor process variance and mean shifts simultaneously. Further, we explore the sampling properties of the new monitoring statistics and calculate the average run lengths when using both the EWMA-AV chart and the EWMA-AM chart. The performance of the EWMA-AV and EWMA-AM charts and that of some existing variance and mean charts are compared. A numerical example involving nonnormal service times from the service system of a bank branch in Taiwan is used to illustrate the applications of the EWMA-AV and EWMA-AM charts and to compare them with the existing variance (or standard deviation) and mean charts. The proposed EWMA-AV chart and EWMA-AM charts show superior detection performance compared to the existing variance and mean charts. The EWMA-AV chart and EWMA-AM chart are thus recommended.

Inaccurate Dental Charting in an Audit of 1128 General Dental Practice Records.

PubMed

Brown, Nathan L; Jephcote, Victoria E L

2017-03-01

Fourteen dentists at different practices in the UK assessed the dental charts of 1128 patients who were new to the dentist but not new to the practice; 44% of the dental charts were found to be inaccurate. Inaccuracy of the individual practice-based charts ranged between 16% for the best performing practices to 83% for the worst: 5% of dental charts had too many teeth charted and 5% had too few teeth charted; 13% of charts had missed amalgam restorations and 18% had missed tooth-coloured restorations; 5% of charts had amalgam restorations recorded but with the surfaces incorrect (eg an MO restoration charted but a DO restoration actually present); 9% of charts had tooth-coloured restoration surfaces incorrectly recorded. For 7.5% of charts, amalgams were charted but not actually present. Other inaccuracies were also noted. The authors reinforce the requirements of the GDC, the advice of defence organizations, and the forensic importance of accurate dental charts. Clinical relevance: Dental charting forms part of the patient’s dental records, and the GDC requires dentists to maintain complete and accurate dental records.

Volcanically-Induced Nile Flood Failure Promotes Internal Revolt and Suppresses Interstate Conflict in Hellenistic Egypt, 305-30 BCE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ludlow, Francis; Manning, Joseph; Stine, Alexander; Boos, William; Storelvmo, Trude; Sigl, Michael; Marlon, Jennifer

2016-04-01

Explosive volcanic eruptions are a primary driver of abrupt short-term climatic changes. State-of-the-art revisions to polar ice-core chronologies now allow us to track the impacts of a sequence of major and closely-recurring volcanic eruptions on the great Ptolemaic kingdom centred in Egypt, between 305-30 BCE. This was a formidable Mediterranean cultural and economic power in the efflorescent Hellenistic era of the first four centuries BCE, a period bracketed by Alexander the Great on one end and Cleopatra on the other, and known for its considerable advancement in science and material culture. In this paper we show a link between major volcanic eruptions that register through elevated sulphate deposition in the polar ice, and a suppression of the agriculturally-critical Nile summer flood, identifiable in annual Nilometer measurements from Rhoda, Cairo, between 641 and 1469 CE. This likely relates to a volcanic perturbation of the East African monsoon, responsible for the rainfall in the Ethiopian highlands that drives the annual summer flood, and the effect can also be identified in ancient papyri that indicate the quality of the Nile flood in the first several centuries BCE. Volcanic eruptions in this period are also shown to correspond in timing with the initiation of a series of hitherto poorly understood internal revolts against Ptolemaic rule in Egypt, while also corresponding in timing to the cessation of major interstate conflicts (the nine "Syrian Wars", running 274-96 BCE) between the Ptolemaic kingdom and their powerful Near Eastern rival, the Seleukid empire. Subsistence crises driven by volcanically-induced suppression of the Nile flood are likely to have played a key causal role in these events, an understanding that helps to advance our knowledge of the major historical events of the formative Hellenistic era, which set the scene for the rise of the Roman Empire. Our findings also suggest the potential of integrating human and natural archives to identify causal links between climate change and human history, while highlighting the vulnerability of the region to future eruptions.

New Data on mid-Miocene Rhyolite Volcanism in Eastern Oregon Extend Early, co-CRBG Rhyolite Flare up and Constrain Storage Sites of Grande Ronde Flood Basalts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Streck, M. J.; Ferns, M. L.; McIntosh, W. C.

2015-12-01

The classical view of relating mid-Miocene rhyolites of the tri-state area of Oregon, Nevada, and Idaho to the flood basalts of the Columbia River Basalt was that a mantle plume impinging along the Oregon-Idaho border first causes eruption of the flood basalts but shortly thereafter causes generation of rhyolites at the McDermitt volcanic field from which then hot-spot track rhyolites developed progressively younging towards Yellowstone. More recent work reveals rhyolites as old as found at McDermitt (~16.5 Ma) to occur along a wide E-W tangent along the Oregon-Nevada-Idaho border. And now, our data extend such early rhyolites (>16 Ma) to several locations further north within and in the periphery of the Lake Owyhee Volcanic Field (LOVF) adding to the geographically orphaned old age of 16.7 Ma of the Silver City Rhyolite, Idaho. Hence, the rhyolite flare-up associated with flood basalt magmatism occurred within a circular area of ~400 km centered 100 km NNE of McDermitt. Consequently, no south-to-north progression exists in the onset of rhyolite volcanism; instead, rhyolites started up at the same time over this large area. Province-wide rhyolite volcanism was strongest between ~16.4 and 15.4 Ma coincident with eruptions of the most voluminous member of the CRBG - the Grande Ronde Basalt (GRB). Field evidence for such bimodal volcanism consists of intercalated local GRB units with the Dinner Creek Tuff and Littlefield Rhyolite in the Malheur River Gorge corridor. GRB eruption sites exist and were likely fed from reservoirs residing below or near rhyolitic chambers. Presently, we have petrological evidence for pinning down GRB storages sites to areas from where rhyolites of the Dinner Creek Tuff and lava flows of the Littlefield Rhyolite erupted. In summary, input of GRG and other CRBG magmas were driving co-CRBG rhyolite volcanism which in turn may have influenced whether flood basalt magmas erupted locally or travelled in dikes to more distally located areas.

New S control chart using skewness correction method for monitoring process dispersion of skewed distributions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atta, Abdu; Yahaya, Sharipah; Zain, Zakiyah; Ahmed, Zalikha

2017-11-01

Control chart is established as one of the most powerful tools in Statistical Process Control (SPC) and is widely used in industries. The conventional control charts rely on normality assumption, which is not always the case for industrial data. This paper proposes a new S control chart for monitoring process dispersion using skewness correction method for skewed distributions, named as SC-S control chart. Its performance in terms of false alarm rate is compared with various existing control charts for monitoring process dispersion, such as scaled weighted variance S chart (SWV-S); skewness correction R chart (SC-R); weighted variance R chart (WV-R); weighted variance S chart (WV-S); and standard S chart (STD-S). Comparison with exact S control chart with regards to the probability of out-of-control detections is also accomplished. The Weibull and gamma distributions adopted in this study are assessed along with the normal distribution. Simulation study shows that the proposed SC-S control chart provides good performance of in-control probabilities (Type I error) in almost all the skewness levels and sample sizes, n. In the case of probability of detection shift the proposed SC-S chart is closer to the exact S control chart than the existing charts for skewed distributions, except for the SC-R control chart. In general, the performance of the proposed SC-S control chart is better than all the existing control charts for monitoring process dispersion in the cases of Type I error and probability of detection shift.

Large‐scale heavy precipitation over central Europe and the role of atmospheric cyclone track types

PubMed Central

Lexer, Annemarie; Homann, Markus; Blöschl, Günter

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Precipitation patterns over Europe are largely controlled by atmospheric cyclones embedded in the general circulation of the mid‐latitudes. This study evaluates the climatologic features of precipitation for selected regions in central Europe with respect to cyclone track types for 1959–2015, focusing on large‐scale heavy precipitation. The analysis suggests that each of the cyclone track types is connected to a specific pattern of the upper level atmospheric flow, usually characterized by a major trough located over Europe. A dominant upper level cut‐off low (COL) is found over Europe for strong continental (CON) and van Bebber's type (Vb) cyclones which move from the east and southeast into central Europe. Strong Vb cyclones revealed the longest residence times, mainly due to circular propagation paths. The central European cyclone precipitation climate can largely be explained by seasonal track‐type frequency and cyclone intensity; however, additional factors are needed to explain a secondary precipitation maximum in early autumn. The occurrence of large precipitation totals for track events is strongly related to the track type and the region, with the highest value of 45% of all Vb cyclones connected to heavy precipitation in summer over the Czech Republic and eastern Austria. In western Germany, Atlantic winter cyclones are most relevant for heavy precipitation. The analysis of the top 50 precipitation events revealed an outstanding heavy precipitation period from 2006 to 2011 in the Czech Republic, but no gradual long‐term change. The findings help better understand spatio‐temporal variability of heavy precipitation in the context of floods and may be used for evaluating climate models.

FAST: A fully asynchronous and status-tracking pattern for geoprocessing services orchestration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Huayi; You, Lan; Gui, Zhipeng; Gao, Shuang; Li, Zhenqiang; Yu, Jingmin

2014-09-01

Geoprocessing service orchestration (GSO) provides a unified and flexible way to implement cross-application, long-lived, and multi-step geoprocessing service workflows by coordinating geoprocessing services collaboratively. Usually, geoprocessing services and geoprocessing service workflows are data and/or computing intensive. The intensity feature may make the execution process of a workflow time-consuming. Since it initials an execution request without blocking other interactions on the client side, an asynchronous mechanism is especially appropriate for GSO workflows. Many critical problems remain to be solved in existing asynchronous patterns for GSO including difficulties in improving performance, status tracking, and clarifying the workflow structure. These problems are a challenge when orchestrating performance efficiency, making statuses instantly available, and constructing clearly structured GSO workflows. A Fully Asynchronous and Status-Tracking (FAST) pattern that adopts asynchronous interactions throughout the whole communication tier of a workflow is proposed for GSO. The proposed FAST pattern includes a mechanism that actively pushes the latest status to clients instantly and economically. An independent proxy was designed to isolate the status tracking logic from the geoprocessing business logic, which assists the formation of a clear GSO workflow structure. A workflow was implemented in the FAST pattern to simulate the flooding process in the Poyang Lake region. Experimental results show that the proposed FAST pattern can efficiently tackle data/computing intensive geoprocessing tasks. The performance of all collaborative partners was improved due to the asynchronous mechanism throughout communication tier. A status-tracking mechanism helps users retrieve the latest running status of a GSO workflow in an efficient and instant way. The clear structure of the GSO workflow lowers the barriers for geospatial domain experts and model designers to compose asynchronous GSO workflows. Most importantly, it provides better support for locating and diagnosing potential exceptions.

Strategies to explore functional genomics data sets in NCBI's GEO database.

PubMed

Wilhite, Stephen E; Barrett, Tanya

2012-01-01

The Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database is a major repository that stores high-throughput functional genomics data sets that are generated using both microarray-based and sequence-based technologies. Data sets are submitted to GEO primarily by researchers who are publishing their results in journals that require original data to be made freely available for review and analysis. In addition to serving as a public archive for these data, GEO has a suite of tools that allow users to identify, analyze, and visualize data relevant to their specific interests. These tools include sample comparison applications, gene expression profile charts, data set clusters, genome browser tracks, and a powerful search engine that enables users to construct complex queries.

Web-based telerehabilitation for the upper extremity after stroke.

PubMed

Reinkensmeyer, David J; Pang, Clifton T; Nessler, Jeff A; Painter, Christopher C

2002-06-01

Stroke is a leading cause of disability in the United States and yet little technology is currently available for individuals with stroke to practice and monitor rehabilitation therapy on their own. This paper provides a detailed design description of a telerehabilitation system for arm and hand therapy following stroke. The system consists of a Web-based library of status tests, therapy games, and progress charts, and can be used with a variety of input devices, including a low-cost force-feedback joystick capable of assisting or resisting in movement. Data from home-based usage by a chronic stroke subject are presented that demonstrate the feasibility of using the system to direct a therapy program, mechanically assist in movement, and track improvements in movement ability.

Strategies to Explore Functional Genomics Data Sets in NCBI’s GEO Database

PubMed Central

Wilhite, Stephen E.; Barrett, Tanya

2012-01-01

The Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database is a major repository that stores high-throughput functional genomics data sets that are generated using both microarray-based and sequence-based technologies. Data sets are submitted to GEO primarily by researchers who are publishing their results in journals that require original data to be made freely available for review and analysis. In addition to serving as a public archive for these data, GEO has a suite of tools that allow users to identify, analyze and visualize data relevant to their specific interests. These tools include sample comparison applications, gene expression profile charts, data set clusters, genome browser tracks, and a powerful search engine that enables users to construct complex queries. PMID:22130872

SU-E-E-02: Dashboard for Tracking Physics Resident Progress

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

Becker, SJ

2014-06-01

Purpose: Design a system to easily and securely track the progress of medical physics residents through their residency. Paper sign-offs while offering a real signature are not easily updated or summarized. A resident or mentor needs to be able to quickly assess what the current assignments are, what are overdue, and whether the resident is on track to complete all the tasks in a timely fashion. An electronic version can accomplish all these goals. Methods: An electronic dashboard was created in excel to not only house the tasks and sign-off but to succinctly summarize the residents progress. The first tabmore » contains the dashboard which displays tables of the progress of the residents in each rotation, their current task, and overdue tasks. It also displays the last meetings with the residents, and timeline of important items, and a burn-down chart of the remaining tasks. This are all tied to the data and current date which auto fills the tables. The second tab contains the data. This is comprised of lists of rotations and their associated tasks along with their due dates. A signature column was also created which is password protected but allows special subset users i.e. mentors to alter without using a password. Results: The dashboard has allowed residents to better track their progress and tells them what they should be working on. It has also allowed the mentors and the program director to rapid assess their progress. Conclusion: The dashboard is successful and has been created to allow easy addition and subtraction of required tasks as the residency evolves. The next step is to create a web app version of the excel sheet with logins.« less

Seven Q-Tracks monitors of laboratory quality drive general performance improvement: experience from the College of American Pathologists Q-Tracks program 1999-2011.

PubMed

Meier, Frederick A; Souers, Rhona J; Howanitz, Peter J; Tworek, Joseph A; Perrotta, Peter L; Nakhleh, Raouf E; Karcher, Donald S; Bashleben, Christine; Darcy, Teresa P; Schifman, Ron B; Jones, Bruce A

2015-06-01

Many production systems employ standardized statistical monitors that measure defect rates and cycle times, as indices of performance quality. Clinical laboratory testing, a system that produces test results, is amenable to such monitoring. To demonstrate patterns in clinical laboratory testing defect rates and cycle time using 7 College of American Pathologists Q-Tracks program monitors. Subscribers measured monthly rates of outpatient order-entry errors, identification band defects, and specimen rejections; median troponin order-to-report cycle times and rates of STAT test receipt-to-report turnaround time outliers; and critical values reporting event defects, and corrected reports. From these submissions Q-Tracks program staff produced quarterly and annual reports. These charted each subscriber's performance relative to other participating laboratories and aggregate and subgroup performance over time, dividing participants into best and median performers and performers with the most room to improve. Each monitor's patterns of change present percentile distributions of subscribers' performance in relation to monitoring durations and numbers of participating subscribers. Changes over time in defect frequencies and the cycle duration quantify effects on performance of monitor participation. All monitors showed significant decreases in defect rates as the 7 monitors ran variously for 6, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, and 13 years. The most striking decreases occurred among performers who initially had the most room to improve and among subscribers who participated the longest. All 7 monitors registered significant improvement. Participation effects improved between 0.85% and 5.1% per quarter of participation. Using statistical quality measures, collecting data monthly, and receiving reports quarterly and yearly, subscribers to a comparative monitoring program documented significant decreases in defect rates and shortening of a cycle time for 6 to 13 years in all 7 ongoing clinical laboratory quality monitors.

Urgent access to a specialty care melanoma clinic is associated with a higher rate of melanoma detection.

PubMed

Lipworth, Adam D; Park, Jong Min; Trefrey, Brie L; Rubin, Krista M; Geller, Alan C; Sober, Arthur J; Tsao, Hensin

2011-06-01

As melanoma rates increase, and the supply of dermatologists remains suboptimal to meet demand for services, detection of early melanoma has become an increasingly difficult challenge. Some authors advocate for shifting dermatologic resources from routine appointments to urgent visits for those with lesions concerning for melanoma. We sought to investigate the potential of an urgent access track (UAT) embedded within a pigmented lesion clinic to improve early melanoma detection. We conducted a retrospective review of patient records from a tertiary care hospital's pigmented lesion clinic and the associated UAT. Results of procedures for all 4495 patient visits to the routine track and all 316 visits to the UAT during the 21-month study period were included, as were detailed chart reviews of all UAT patient visits. UAT visits were more than 4 times as likely (4.1% vs 1.0%) to yield a diagnosis of melanoma as routine track visits (odds ratio 4.24; 95% confidence interval 2.28-7.88; P < .0001), and almost 25 times as likely (2.2% vs 0.1%) to yield a diagnosis of metastatic melanoma (odds ratio 25.4; 95% confidence interval 7.4-87.4; P < .0001). This was a preliminary analysis with only limited data extracted from the routine track pigmented lesion clinic patient visits. This initial analysis of UAT strategy suggests that UATs have potential to detect patients with earlier melanomas; further research is needed to specifically delineate how resources should be best allocated between routine surveillance and urgent care to maximize melanoma early detection and survival. Copyright © 2010 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Managing River Resources: A Case Study Of The Damodar River, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharyya, K.

2008-12-01

The Damodar River, a subsystem of the Ganga has always been a flood-prone river. Recorded flood history of the endemic flood prone river can be traced from 1730 onwards. People as well as governments through out the centuries have dealt with the caprices of this vital water resource using different strategies. At one level, the river has been controlled using structures such as embankments, weir, dams and barrage. In the post-independent period, a high powered organization known as the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), modeled on the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) came into existence on 7th July 1948. Since the completion of the reservoirs the Lower Damodar has become a 'reservoir channel' and is now identified by control structures or cultural features or man made indicators. Man-induced hydrographs below control points during post-dam period (1959-2007) show decreased monsoon discharge, and reduced peak discharge. In pre-dam period (1933-1956) return period of floods of bankfull stage of 7080 m3/s had a recurrence interval of 2 years. In post-dam period the return period for the bankfull stage has been increased to 14 years. The Damodar River peak discharge during pre-dam period for various return periods are much greater than the post-dam flows for the same return periods. Despite flood moderation by the DVC dams, floods visited the river demonstrating that the lower valley is still vulnerable to sudden floods. Contemporary riverbed consists of series of alluvial bars or islands, locally known as mana or char lands which are used as a resource base mostly by Bengali refugees. At another level, people have shown great resourcefulness in living with and adjusting to the floods and dams while living on the alluvial bars. People previously used river resources in the form of silt only but now the semi-fluid or flexible resource has been exploited into a permanent resource in the form of productive sandbars. Valuable long-term data from multiple sources has been used in this study to track flow regime and sedimentation characteristics. Data from topographical maps, cadastral or mouza maps, and satellite images has been consolidated. Significant stress has been given on extensive and intensive field survey in order to assess human perception, adaptability and resource management in the sandbars or char lands. The Damodar River is located in West Bengal, India but the findings on the controlled Lower Damodar are not exclusive to this river. These findings may help in managing water resources in other regulated rivers in India or outside India. The primary objectives of this paper have been to trace the impact of control measures on discharge, sedimentation characteristics and consequent changes in the perception and adjustment of the riverbed occupiers to life with floods and dams. In this age of heightened environmental awareness, we all know that the survival of our civilization depends on rational and constructive maintenance and use of our river resources. The major challenge in the coming decade is to develop a holistic and sustainable river management system that will be environmentally accountable, socially acceptable and economically feasible. The primary issue to be addressed, therefore, is not whether dams are needed but how a river system is cared for in the presence of floods, dams and islanders. River resources should be treated as economic assets since ongoing economic development depends on a riverine regime that is ecologically sound. These worthwhile goals, however, will remain out of reach unless we have effective government policy and the legal structure to support it.

Drastic shifts in the Levant hydroclimate during the last interglacial indicate changes in the tropical climate and winter storm tracks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiro, Y.; Goldstein, S. L.; Kushnir, Y.; Lazar, B.; Stein, M.

2017-12-01

Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e was a warm interglacial with where with significantly varying insolation and hence varied significantly throughout this time suggesting highly variable climate. The ICDP Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project recovered a 460m record of the past 220ka, reflecting the variable climate along MIS 5e. This time interval is reflected by alternating halite and detritus sequences, including 20m of halite-free detritus during the peak insolation at 125 ka. The Dead Sea salt budget indicates that the Levant climate was extremely arid when halite formed, reaching 20% of the present runoff. The halite-free detritus layer reflects increased precipitation to levels similar to present day, assuming similar spatial and temporal rainfall patterns. However, the 234U/238U activity ratio in the lake, reflected by authigenic minerals (aragonite, gypsum and halite), shifts from values of 1.5 (reflecting the Jordan River, the present main water source) down to 1.3 at 125-122ka during the MIS5e insolation peak and 1.0 at 118-116ka. The low 234U/238U reflects increased flash floods and eastern water sources (234U/238U 1.05-1.2) from the drier part of the watershed in the desert belt. The intermediate 234U/238U of 1.3 suggests that the Jordan River, fed from Mediterranean-sourced storm tracks, continued to flow along with an increase in southern and eastern water sources. NCAR CCSM3 climate model runs for 125ka indicate increases in both Summer and Winter precipitation. The drastic decrease to 234U/238U 1.0 occurs during the driest period, indicating a near shutdown of Jordan River flow, and water input only through flash floods and southern and eastern sources. The 120ka climate model runs shows a decrease in Winter and increase in Fall precipitation as a result of an increased precipitation in the tropics. The extreme aridity, associated with increased flooding is similar to patterns expected due to future warming. The increase in aridity is the result of expansion of the desert-belt and increases in southern precipitation and indicates an important link between the tropical and mid-latitude climate.

Investigating the Origin of Natural and Anthropogenic Deformation across the Nile Delta Using Radar Interferometry, GRACE, Modeling, and Field data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gebremichael, E.; Sultan, M.; Becker, R.; El Bastawesy, M.; Cherif, O.; Emil, M.; Ahmed, M.; Fathy, K.; Karki, S.; Chouinard, K.

2016-12-01

We applied an integrated approach (radar interferometry, flood simulation, GRACE, GIS) to investigate the nature and distribution of land deformation in the Nile Delta and to identify the natural and anthropogenic controlling factors. Our methodology involved: (1) applying persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) across the entire Delta (scenes: 108 level 0 scenes; Tracks: 4 tracks; time period: 2003-2010); (2) correcting the interferometry output for various phase contributing errors (e.g., atmosphere, orbit, etc.) and calibrating/validating the output against 3 GNSS GPS stations (2 in Alexandria, 1 in Helwan); (3) conducting spatial correlation (in a GIS environment) of the radar outputs with relevant remote sensing, subsurface, and geologic datasets; (4) simulating flood depth and inundation to investigate the spatial extent and depth of the Holocene sediments using the HEC-RAS software (inputs: DEM and monthly discharge data; period: 1871-1902), (5) identifying subsurface structures by processing 712 gridded field gravity data points in Geosoft Oasis Montaj software (Bouguer anomaly analysis), and (6) analyzing monthly (2002-2015) GRACE-derived TWS solutions (0.5° x 0.5° CSR mascons). Our findings include: (1) three main structural trends (E-W, NW-SE and NE-SW trending) were mapped across the Delta, (2) areas of high subsidence coincide with the distribution of relatively thick recent sediments (<3000 years), probably due to sediment compaction, in three settings: (a) areas susceptible to flooding from the Damietta and Rosetta branches (e.g., east Damietta branch; latitude 30.8° to 31.2°; longitude 31.2° to 31.6°), (b) areas susceptible to sediment deposition at bifurcation locations of primary channels (e.g., near Cairo) and, (c) areas where mapped faults intersect Damietta and Rosetta channels, change their course, and cause ponding of surface water and sediment deposition, (3) extraction of gas from the Abu Madi gas field in north central delta contributes to observed subsidence (mean rate: 4.4 mm/yr) and high TWS depletion (3.3 mm/yr), and (4) excessive extraction of groundwater from areas west of the Nile Valley, areas where newly reclaimed land are irrigated by groundwater is causing high subsidence rates (mean rate: 5.4 mm/yr) and TWS depletion (2.9 mm/yr).

A plate-driven model for enigmatic volcanic history of the Cascades-Yellowstone System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szwaja, S.; Kincaid, C. R.; Druken, K. A.; MacDougall, J.

2013-12-01

The Cascades subduction system in the Pacific Northwest (USA) represents a complex tectonic setting, where rollback subduction of the Juan de Fuca plate beneath the North American plate, back-arc extension, and a possible mantle plume have been proposed to explain the complicated volcanic trends observed over the past 20 Ma. Plume and non-plume models have been developed to reconcile the voluminous Columbia River/Steens Flood Basalts (CSFB) (~20 Ma), the age progressive (15 Ma to present) Snake River Plain (SRP) that terminates at Yellowstone and the opposite, or westward trending High Lava Plains (HLP) volcanic track of eastern/central Oregon. We present results from laboratory experiments designed to test a plate-driven model for reproducing gross spatial-temporal characteristics of these three magmatic features. Models use a glucose fluid with temperature dependent viscosity in representing Earth's mantle and continuous rubber belts that kinematically reproduce subduction trends for the Cascades system. Experiments begin at 20 Ma with a volume of mantle residuum in the Cascades wedge that is elongated and restricted in the trench-parallel and trench-normal directions, respectively. The underlying assumption is that residuum was created in the wedge during an earlier plate steepening event that caused the flood basalts. Our models characterize dispersion patterns for the melt residuum material as it deforms within four-dimensional wedge circulation fields driven by rollback subduction (e.g. with a translational component of motion). Results show that residuum viscosity, relative to the ambient fluid, determines whether anomalous fluid can evolve to a morphology that matches the SRP/HLP tracks over ~15-20Ma. A weak residuum (e.g. retained partial melt) deforms over this time scale from the initial north-south oriented feature to an east-west trending morphology that is thin in both depth and north-south extent, material initially beneath CSFB is offset to the south, and is capable of producing opposite age progressions beneath the surface HLP/SRP track locations. The evolution of a high viscosity residuum in rollback-driven flow did not match the observed trends, as the feature deformed into an overly thick and wide morphology in the sub-HLP wedge compared to seismic data. Higher viscosity also produces stress coupling throughout the residuum, causing efficient entrainment from under the SRP towards the trench, leaving only ambient fluid beneath this track. In cases with stronger viscous coupling to the base of the overriding plate, the residuum is not able to deform into a morphology that is consistent with SRP/HLP tracks over the period 15 - 0 Ma. Models show only a limited range of conditions, where a low viscosity residuum is decoupled from the overriding plate, are capable of producing morphologies and offsets that roughly match observed spatial and temporal trends for primary features in the Pacific Northwest. Additional work is needed to understand the vertical heat/mass transfer processes that would enable deforming residuum to continually supply the bimodal magmatic output recorded over ~15Ma along the HLP and SRP tracks.

Comparison of Grand Median and Cumulative Sum Control Charts on Shuttlecock Weight Variable in CV Marjoko Kompas dan Domas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Musdalifah, N.; Handajani, S. S.; Zukhronah, E.

2017-06-01

Competition between the homoneous companies cause the company have to keep production quality. To cover this problem, the company controls the production with statistical quality control using control chart. Shewhart control chart is used to normal distributed data. The production data is often non-normal distribution and occured small process shift. Grand median control chart is a control chart for non-normal distributed data, while cumulative sum (cusum) control chart is a sensitive control chart to detect small process shift. The purpose of this research is to compare grand median and cusum control charts on shuttlecock weight variable in CV Marjoko Kompas dan Domas by generating data as the actual distribution. The generated data is used to simulate multiplier of standard deviation on grand median and cusum control charts. Simulation is done to get average run lenght (ARL) 370. Grand median control chart detects ten points that out of control, while cusum control chart detects a point out of control. It can be concluded that grand median control chart is better than cusum control chart.

An UAV scheduling and planning method for post-disaster survey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, G. Q.; Zhou, X. G.; Yin, J.; Xiao, Q. Y.

2014-11-01

Annually, the extreme climate and special geological environments lead to frequent natural disasters, e.g., earthquakes, floods, etc. The disasters often bring serious casualties and enormous economic losses. Post-disaster surveying is very important for disaster relief and assessment. As the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) remote sensing with the advantage of high efficiency, high precision, high flexibility, and low cost, it is widely used in emergency surveying in recent years. As the UAVs used in emergency surveying cannot stop and wait for the happening of the disaster, when the disaster happens the UAVs usually are working at everywhere. In order to improve the emergency surveying efficiency, it is needed to track the UAVs and assign the emergency surveying task for each selected UAV. Therefore, a UAV tracking and scheduling method for post-disaster survey is presented in this paper. In this method, Global Positioning System (GPS), and GSM network are used to track the UAVs; an emergency tracking UAV information database is built in advance by registration, the database at least includes the following information, e.g., the ID of the UAVs, the communication number of the UAVs; when catastrophe happens, the real time location of all UAVs in the database will be gotten using emergency tracking method at first, then the traffic cost time for all UAVs to the disaster region will be calculated based on the UAVs' the real time location and the road network using the nearest services analysis algorithm; the disaster region is subdivided to several emergency surveying regions based on DEM, area, and the population distribution map; the emergency surveying regions are assigned to the appropriated UAV according to shortest cost time rule. The UAVs tracking and scheduling prototype is implemented using SQLServer2008, ArcEnginge 10.1 SDK, Visual Studio 2010 C#, Android, SMS Modem, and Google Maps API.

The Mason Water Data Information System (MWDIS): Enabling data sharing and discovery at George Mason University

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira, C.; Da Silva, A. L.; Nunes, A.; Haddad, J.; Lawler, S.

2014-12-01

Enabling effective data use and re-use in scientific investigations relies heavily not only on data availability but also on efficient data sharing discovery. The CUAHSI led Hydrological Information Systems (HIS) and supporting products have paved the way to efficient data sharing and discovery in the hydrological sciences. Based on the CUAHSI-HIS framework concepts for hydrologic data sharing we developed a unique system devoted to the George Mason University scientific community to support university wide data sharing and discovery as well as real time data access for extreme events situational awareness. The internet-based system will provide an interface where the researchers will input data collected from the measurement stations and present them to the public in form of charts, tables, maps, and documents. Moreover, the system is developed in ASP.NET MVC 4 using as Database Management System, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, and hosted by Amazon Web Services. Currently the system is supporting the Mason Watershed Project providing historical hydrological, atmospheric and water quality data for the campus watershed and real time flood conditions in the campus. The system is also a gateway for unprecedented data collection of hurricane storm surge hydrodynamics in coastal wetlands in the Chesapeake Bay providing not only access to historical data but recent storms such as Hurricane Arthur. Future research includes coupling the system to a real-time flood alert system on campus, and besides providing data on the World Wide Web, to foment and provide a venue for interdisciplinary collaboration within the water scientists in the region.

The semi-diurnal cycle of dissipation in a ROFI: model-measurement comparisons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simpson, John H.; Burchard, Hans; Fisher, Neil R.; Rippeth, Tom P.

2002-07-01

The Liverpool Bay Region of Freshwater Influence in the Irish Sea exhibits strong horizontal gradients which interact with the dominant tidal flow. A 25 h series of measurements of the cycle of turbulent dissipation with the FLY dissipation profiler shows a strong asymmetry between ebb and flood which is associated with a cycle of increasing stratification on the ebb and progressive mixing on the flood which results in vertical homogeneity as high water is approached. At this time strong dissipation extends throughout the water column in contrast to the ebb when there is a near shutdown of dissipation in the upper half of the column. The cycle of stratification and dissipation is closely consistent for the two semi-diurnal tidal cycles observed. We have attempted to simulate this situation, which involves a complex suite of processes including tidal straining and mixing, using a version of the k-ɛ closure scheme in a 1-d dynamical model which is forced by a combination of the observed tidal flow and horizontal temperature and salinity gradients. The latter were measured directly at the end of the observational series but, in order to focus on the cycle of dissipation, the correct reproduction of the temperature and salinity cycle can be assured by a nudging procedure which obliges the model temperature and salinity values to track the observations. With or without this procedure, the model gives a reasonable account of the dissipation and its asymmetric behaviour on ebb and flood although nudging improves the timing of peak dissipation in the upper part of the water column near highwater. The model has also been used to examine the ratio of shear production (P/ɛ) and buoyancy inputs to dissipation (B/ɛ). The variation of these quantities over the tidal cycle confirms the important role of convective motions forced by tidal straining near the end of the flood phase of the tide.

OAP- OFFICE AUTOMATION PILOT GRAPHICS DATABASE SYSTEM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ackerson, T.

1994-01-01

The Office Automation Pilot (OAP) Graphics Database system offers the IBM PC user assistance in producing a wide variety of graphs and charts. OAP uses a convenient database system, called a chartbase, for creating and maintaining data associated with the charts, and twelve different graphics packages are available to the OAP user. Each of the graphics capabilities is accessed in a similar manner. The user chooses creation, revision, or chartbase/slide show maintenance options from an initial menu. The user may then enter or modify data displayed on a graphic chart. The cursor moves through the chart in a "circular" fashion to facilitate data entries and changes. Various "help" functions and on-screen instructions are available to aid the user. The user data is used to generate the graphics portion of the chart. Completed charts may be displayed in monotone or color, printed, plotted, or stored in the chartbase on the IBM PC. Once completed, the charts may be put in a vector format and plotted for color viewgraphs. The twelve graphics capabilities are divided into three groups: Forms, Structured Charts, and Block Diagrams. There are eight Forms available: 1) Bar/Line Charts, 2) Pie Charts, 3) Milestone Charts, 4) Resources Charts, 5) Earned Value Analysis Charts, 6) Progress/Effort Charts, 7) Travel/Training Charts, and 8) Trend Analysis Charts. There are three Structured Charts available: 1) Bullet Charts, 2) Organization Charts, and 3) Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Charts. The Block Diagram available is an N x N Chart. Each graphics capability supports a chartbase. The OAP graphics database system provides the IBM PC user with an effective means of managing data which is best interpreted as a graphic display. The OAP graphics database system is written in IBM PASCAL 2.0 and assembler for interactive execution on an IBM PC or XT with at least 384K of memory, and a color graphics adapter and monitor. Printed charts require an Epson, IBM, OKIDATA, or HP Laser printer (or equivalent). Plots require the Tektronix 4662 Penplotter. Source code is supplied to the user for modification and customizing. Executables are also supplied for all twelve graphics capabilities. This system was developed in 1983, and Version 3.1 was released in 1986.

A Novel Equation-of-State to Model Microemulsion Phase Behavior for Enhanced Oil Recovery Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Soumyadeep

Surfactant-polymer (SP) floods have significant potential to recover waterflood residual oil in shallow oil reservoirs. A thorough understanding of surfactant-oil-brine phase behavior is critical to the design of chemical EOR floods. While considerable progress has been made in developing surfactants and polymers that increase the potential of a chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR) project, very little progress has been made to predict phase behavior as a function of formulation variables such as pressure, temperature, and oil equivalent alkane carbon number (EACN). The empirical Hand's plot is still used today to model the microemulsion phase behavior with little predictive capability as these and other formulation variables change. Such models could lead to incorrect recovery predictions and improper flood designs. Reservoir crudes also contain acidic components (primarily naphthenic acids), which undergo neutralization to form soaps in the presence of alkali. The generated soaps perform synergistically with injected synthetic surfactants to mobilize waterflood residual oil in what is termed alkali-surfactant-polymer (ASP) flooding. The addition of alkali, however, complicates the measurement and prediction of the microemulsion phase behavior that forms with acidic crudes. In this dissertation, we account for pressure changes in the hydrophilic-lipophilic difference (HLD) equation. This new HLD equation is coupled with the net-average curvature (NAC) model to predict phase volumes, solubilization ratios, and microemulsion phase transitions (Winsor II-, III, and II+). This dissertation presents the first modified HLD-NAC model to predict microemulsion phase behavior for live crudes, including optimal solubilization ratio and the salinity width of the three-phase Winsor III region at different temperatures and pressures. This new equation-of-state-like model could significantly aid the design and forecast of chemical floods where key variables change dynamically, and in screening of potential candidate reservoirs for chemical EOR. The modified HLD-NAC model is also extended here for ASP flooding. We use an empirical equation to calculate the acid distribution coefficient from the molecular structure of the soap. Key HLD-NAC parameters like optimum salinities and optimum solubilization ratios are calculated from soap mole fraction weighted equations. The model is tuned to data from phase behavior experiments with real crudes to demonstrate the procedure. We also examine the ability of the new model to predict fish plots and activity charts that show the evolution of the three-phase region. The modified HLD-NAC equations are then made dimensionless to develop important microemulsion phase behavior relationships and for use in tuning the new model to measured data. Key dimensionless groups that govern phase behavior and their effects are identified and analyzed. A new correlation was developed to predict optimum solubilization ratios at different temperatures, pressures and oil EACN with an average relative error of 10.55%. The prediction of optimum salinities with the modified HLD approach resulted in average relative errors of 2.35%. We also present a robust method to precisely determine optimum salinities and optimum solubilization ratios from salinity scan data with average relative errors of 1.17% and 2.44% for the published data examined.

Comparison of the Handy Eye Chart and the Lea Symbols Chart in a population of deaf children aged 7–18 years

PubMed Central

Gorham, John Paul; Bruce, Beau B.; Hutchinson, Amy K.

2016-01-01

Purpose To compare the results of visual acuity testing in a population of deaf children using the Handy Eye Chart versus the Lea Symbols Chart and to compare testability and preference between charts. Methods A total of 24 participants were recruited at the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf. Visual Acuity was evaluated using the Handy Eye Chart and the Lea Symbols Chart. Patient preference and duration of testing were measured. Results The mean difference between the visual acuity as measured by each chart was –0.02 logMAR (95% CI, −0.06 to 0.03). Testing with the Handy Eye Chart was an average of 13.79 seconds faster than testing with the Lea Symbols Chart (95% CI, 1.1–26.47; P = 0.03). Of the 24 participants, 17 (71%) preferred the Handy Eye Chart (95% CI: 49%–87%; P = 0.07). Conclusions The Handy Eye Chart is a fast, valid, and preferred tool for measuring visual acuity in deaf children age 7–18 years. Additional research is needed to evaluate the utility of the Handy Eye Chart in younger children and deaf adults. PMID:27164427

Predicting consumer behavior with Web search.

PubMed

Goel, Sharad; Hofman, Jake M; Lahaie, Sébastien; Pennock, David M; Watts, Duncan J

2010-10-12

Recent work has demonstrated that Web search volume can "predict the present," meaning that it can be used to accurately track outcomes such as unemployment levels, auto and home sales, and disease prevalence in near real time. Here we show that what consumers are searching for online can also predict their collective future behavior days or even weeks in advance. Specifically we use search query volume to forecast the opening weekend box-office revenue for feature films, first-month sales of video games, and the rank of songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, finding in all cases that search counts are highly predictive of future outcomes. We also find that search counts generally boost the performance of baseline models fit on other publicly available data, where the boost varies from modest to dramatic, depending on the application in question. Finally, we reexamine previous work on tracking flu trends and show that, perhaps surprisingly, the utility of search data relative to a simple autoregressive model is modest. We conclude that in the absence of other data sources, or where small improvements in predictive performance are material, search queries provide a useful guide to the near future.

Westinghouse Hanford Company health and safety performance report. Fourth quarter calendar year 1994

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

Lansing, K.A.

1995-03-01

Detailed information pertaining to As Low As Reasonably Achievable/Contamination Control Improvement Project (ALARA/CCIP) activities are outlined. Improved commitment to the WHC ALARA/CCIP Program was experienced throughout FY 1994. During CY 1994, 17 of 19 sitewide ALARA performance goals were completed on or ahead of schedule. Estimated total exposure by facility for CY 1994 is listed in tables by organization code for each dosimeter frequency. Facilities/areas continue to utilize the capabilities of the RPR tracking system in conjunction with the present site management action-tracking system to manage deficiencies, trend performance, and develop improved preventive efforts. Detailed information pertaining to occupational injuries/illnessesmore » are provided. The Industrial Safety and Hygiene programs are described which have generated several key initiatives that are believed responsible for improved safety performance. A breakdown of CY 1994 occupational injuries/illnesses by type, affected body group, cause, job type, age/gender, and facility is provided. The contributing experience of each WHC division/department in attaining this significant improvement is described along with tables charting specific trends. The Radiological Control Program is on schedule to meet all RL Site Management System milestones and program commitments.« less

Predicting consumer behavior with Web search

PubMed Central

Goel, Sharad; Hofman, Jake M.; Lahaie, Sébastien; Pennock, David M.; Watts, Duncan J.

2010-01-01

Recent work has demonstrated that Web search volume can “predict the present,” meaning that it can be used to accurately track outcomes such as unemployment levels, auto and home sales, and disease prevalence in near real time. Here we show that what consumers are searching for online can also predict their collective future behavior days or even weeks in advance. Specifically we use search query volume to forecast the opening weekend box-office revenue for feature films, first-month sales of video games, and the rank of songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, finding in all cases that search counts are highly predictive of future outcomes. We also find that search counts generally boost the performance of baseline models fit on other publicly available data, where the boost varies from modest to dramatic, depending on the application in question. Finally, we reexamine previous work on tracking flu trends and show that, perhaps surprisingly, the utility of search data relative to a simple autoregressive model is modest. We conclude that in the absence of other data sources, or where small improvements in predictive performance are material, search queries provide a useful guide to the near future. PMID:20876140

Environmental geology, Allegheny County and vicinity, Pennsylvania; description of a program and its results

USGS Publications Warehouse

Briggs, Reginald Peter

1977-01-01

Past land-use practices, including mining, in Allegheny County, Pa., have resulted in three principal environmental problems, exclusive of air and water contamination. They are flooding, landsliding, and subsidence over underground mines. In 1973, information was most complete relative to flooding and least complete relative to landsliding. Accordingly, in July 1973, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) entered into an agreement by which the USGS undertook studies chiefly aimed at increasing knowledge of landsliding and mine subsidence relative to land use, but having other ramifications as well, as part of a larger ARC 'Land-use and physical-resource analysis' (LUPRA) program. The chief geographic focus was Allegheny County, but adjacent areas were included in some investigations. Resulting products, exclusive of this report, are: 1. Forty-three provisional maps of landslide, distribution and susceptibility and of land modified by man in Allegheny County, 1:24,000 scale, 7? -minute quadrangle format, released to open files. 2. Four USGS Miscellaneous Field Studies (MF) maps of Allegheny County showing (a) bedrock, MF685A; (b) susceptibility to landsliding, MF-685B ; (c) coal-mining features, MF-685C; and (d) zones that can be affected by flooding, landsliding and undermining, MF-685D; all at the scale of 1:50,000. 3. Two MF maps showing coal-mining activity and related information and sites of recorded mine-subsidence events, and one MF map classifying land surface by relative potentiality of mine subsidence, in Allegheny, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties, Pa., at a scale of 1:125,000--MF-693A through MF-693C. 4. A companion report to the Allegheny County map of susceptibility to landsliding--USGS Circular 728. 5. Five MF maps, largely in chart form, describing interaction of the shallow ground-water regime with mining-related problems, landsliding, heavy storm precipitation, and other features and processes, largely in Allegheny County--MF-641A through MF-641E. Map products are directly applicable to general classification of land for susceptibility to landsliding and mine subsidence and, to a lesser extent, flooding and engineering characteristics. The hydrogeologic charts enable greater understanding of environmental effects of ground water. All products are guides to expected conditions, but none are substitutes for detailed investigations of specific sites by competent technical personnel on the ground. Specific results and findings are: 1. Knowledge of .susceptibility to landsliding in Allegheny County now is adequate for application to countywide land-use planning. 2. About 110 mi2 (285. km2), or 15 percent, of the county has some significant degree of susceptibility to landsliding. 3. Although a general classification of land in Allegheny, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties relative to mine-subsidence incidents was prepared, data are wholly inadequate for even moderately precise prediction of subsidence events over previously mined-out areas; the accumulation of adequate data might not repay the effort in terms of damage prevention. 4. Commonwealth-of-Pennsylvania regulations, have been very successful in limiting mine-subsidence damage over areas mined after 1966. 5. Undermining and consequent subsidence may have affected the ground-water regime more widely than heretofore believed. Except for the earth-disturbance inventory that resulted in the maps of susceptibility to landsliding and man-modified land, methods used in the studies .largely were conventional. The inventory and ensuing analysis combined aerial photographic interpretation with field work and incorporation of existing data. The. method worked very well for the purposes of defining distribution of landslides and areas having different susceptibilities to landsliding. However, if susceptibility to landsliding alone had been the goal, this could

Algal extracellular release in river-floodplain dissolved organic matter: response of extracellular enzymatic activity during a post-flood period

PubMed Central

Sieczko, Anna; Maschek, Maria; Peduzzi, Peter

2015-01-01

River-floodplain systems are susceptible to rapid hydrological events. Changing hydrological connectivity of the floodplain generates a broad range of conditions, from lentic to lotic. This creates a mixture of allochthonously and autochthonously derived dissolved organic matter (DOM). Autochthonous DOM, including photosynthetic extracellular release (PER), is an important source supporting bacterial secondary production (BSP). Nonetheless, no details are available regarding microbial extracellular enzymatic activity (EEA) as a response to PER under variable hydrological settings in river-floodplain systems. To investigate the relationship between bacterial and phytoplankton components, we therefore used EEA as a tool to track the microbial response to non-chromophoric, but reactive and ecologically important DOM. The study was conducted in three floodplain subsystems with distinct hydrological regimes (Danube Floodplain National Park, Austria). The focus was on the post-flood period. Enhanced %PER (up to 48% of primary production) in a hydrologically isolated subsystem was strongly correlated with β-glucosidase, which was related to BSP. This shows that—in disconnected floodplain backwaters with high terrestrial input—BSP can also be driven by autochthonous carbon sources (PER). In a semi-isolated section, in the presence of fresh labile material from primary producers, enhanced activity of phenol oxidase was observed. In frequently flooded river-floodplain systems, BSP was mainly driven by enzymatic degradation of particulate primary production. Our research demonstrates that EEA measurements are an excellent tool to describe the coupling between bacteria and phytoplankton, which cannot be deciphered when focusing solely on chromophoric DOM. PMID:25741326

Improved simulation of poorly drained forests using Biome-BGC.

PubMed

Bond-Lamberty, Ben; Gower, Stith T; Ahl, Douglas E

2007-05-01

Forested wetlands and peatlands are important in boreal and terrestrial biogeochemical cycling, but most general-purpose forest process models are designed and parameterized for upland systems. We describe changes made to Biome-BGC, an ecophysiological process model, that improve its ability to simulate poorly drained forests. Model changes allowed for: (1) lateral water inflow from a surrounding watershed, and variable surface and subsurface drainage; (2) adverse effects of anoxic soil on decomposition and nutrient mineralization; (3) closure of leaf stomata in flooded soils; and (4) growth of nonvascular plants (i.e., bryophytes). Bryophytes were treated as ectohydric broadleaf evergreen plants with zero stomatal conductance, whose cuticular conductance to CO(2) was dependent on plant water content. Individual model changes were parameterized with published data, and ecosystem-level model performance was assessed by comparing simulated output to field data from the northern BOREAS site in Manitoba, Canada. The simulation of the poorly drained forest model exhibited reduced decomposition and vascular plant growth (-90%) compared with that of the well-drained forest model; the integrated bryophyte photosynthetic response accorded well with published data. Simulated net primary production, biomass and soil carbon accumulation broadly agreed with field measurements, although simulated net primary production was higher than observed data in well-drained stands. Simulated net primary production in the poorly drained forest was most sensitive to oxygen restriction on soil processes, and secondarily to stomatal closure in flooded conditions. The modified Biome-BGC remains unable to simulate true wetlands that are subject to prolonged flooding, because it does not track organic soil formation, water table changes, soil redox potential or anaerobic processes.

Tracking an atmospheric river in a warmer climate: from water vapor to economic impacts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dominguez, Francina; Dall'erba, Sandy; Huang, Shuyi; Avelino, Andre; Mehran, Ali; Hu, Huancui; Schmidt, Arthur; Schick, Lawrence; Lettenmaier, Dennis

2018-03-01

Atmospheric rivers (ARs) account for more than 75 % of heavy precipitation events and nearly all of the extreme flooding events along the Olympic Mountains and western Cascade Mountains of western Washington state. In a warmer climate, ARs in this region are projected to become more frequent and intense, primarily due to increases in atmospheric water vapor. However, it is unclear how the changes in water vapor transport will affect regional flooding and associated economic impacts. In this work we present an integrated modeling system to quantify the atmospheric-hydrologic-hydraulic and economic impacts of the December 2007 AR event that impacted the Chehalis River basin in western Washington. We use the modeling system to project impacts under a hypothetical scenario in which the same December 2007 event occurs in a warmer climate. This method allows us to incorporate different types of uncertainty, including (a) alternative future radiative forcings, (b) different responses of the climate system to future radiative forcings and (c) different responses of the surface hydrologic system. In the warming scenario, AR integrated vapor transport increases; however, these changes do not translate into generalized increases in precipitation throughout the basin. The changes in precipitation translate into spatially heterogeneous changes in sub-basin runoff and increased streamflow along the entire Chehalis main stem. Economic losses due to stock damages increase moderately, but losses in terms of business interruption are significant. Our integrated modeling tool provides communities in the Chehalis region with a range of possible future physical and economic impacts associated with AR flooding.

Bacterial succession within an ephemeral hypereutrophic Mojave Desert playa Lake.

PubMed

Navarro, Jason B; Moser, Duane P; Flores, Andrea; Ross, Christian; Rosen, Michael R; Dong, Hailiang; Zhang, Gengxin; Hedlund, Brian P

2009-02-01

Ephemerally wet playas are conspicuous features of arid landscapes worldwide; however, they have not been well studied as habitats for microorganisms. We tracked the geochemistry and microbial community in Silver Lake playa, California, over one flooding/desiccation cycle following the unusually wet winter of 2004-2005. Over the course of the study, total dissolved solids increased by approximately 10-fold and pH increased by nearly one unit. As the lake contracted and temperatures increased over the summer, a moderately dense planktonic population of approximately 1x10(6) cells ml(-1) of culturable heterotrophs was replaced by a dense population of more than 1x10(9) cells ml(-1), which appears to be the highest concentration of culturable planktonic heterotrophs reported in any natural aquatic ecosystem. This correlated with a dramatic depletion of nitrate as well as changes in the microbial community, as assessed by small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequencing of bacterial isolates and uncultivated clones. Isolates from the early-phase flooded playa were primarily Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes, yet clone libraries were dominated by Betaproteobacteria and yet uncultivated Actinobacteria. Isolates from the late-flooded phase ecosystem were predominantly Proteobacteria, particularly alkalitolerant isolates of Rhodobaca, Porphyrobacter, Hydrogenophaga, Alishwenella, and relatives of Thauera; however, clone libraries were composed almost entirely of Synechococcus (Cyanobacteria). A sample taken after the playa surface was completely desiccated contained diverse culturable Actinobacteria typically isolated from soils. In total, 205 isolates and 166 clones represented 82 and 44 species-level groups, respectively, including a wide diversity of Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Gemmatimonadetes, Acidobacteria, and Cyanobacteria.

Bacterial succession within an ephemeral hypereutrophic mojave desert playa lake

USGS Publications Warehouse

Navarro, J.B.; Moser, D.P.; Flores, A.; Ross, C.; Rosen, Michael R.; Dong, H.; Zhang, G.; Hedlund, B.P.

2009-01-01

Ephemerally wet playas are conspicuous features of arid landscapes worldwide; however, they have not been well studied as habitats for microorganisms. We tracked the geochemistry and microbial community in Silver Lake playa, California, over one flooding/desiccation cycle following the unusually wet winter of 2004-2005. Over the course of the study, total dissolved solids increased by 10-fold and pH increased by nearly one unit. As the lake contracted and temperatures increased over the summer, a moderately dense planktonic population of 1 ?????106 cells ml-1 of culturable heterotrophs was replaced by a dense population of more than 1????????109 cells ml-1, which appears to be the highest concentration of culturable planktonic heterotrophs reported in any natural aquatic ecosystem. This correlated with a dramatic depletion of nitrate as well as changes in the microbial community, as assessed by small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequencing of bacterial isolates and uncultivated clones. Isolates from the early-phase flooded playa were primarily Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes, yet clone libraries were dominated by Betaproteobacteria and yet uncultivated Actinobacteria. Isolates from the late-flooded phase ecosystem were predominantly Proteobacteria, particularly alkalitolerant isolates of Rhodobaca, Porphyrobacter, Hydrogenophaga, Alishwenella, and relatives of Thauera; however, clone libraries were composed almost entirely of Synechococcus (Cyanobacteria). A sample taken after the playa surface was completely desiccated contained diverse culturable Actinobacteria typically isolated from soils. In total, 205 isolates and 166 clones represented 82 and 44 species-level groups, respectively, including a wide diversity of Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Gemmatimonadetes, Acidobacteria, and Cyanobacteria. ?? 2008 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Surficial geologic map of the greater Omaha area, Nebraska and Iowa

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shroba, R.R.; Brandt, T.R.; Blossom, J.C.

2001-01-01

Geologic mapping, in support of the USGS Omaha-Kansas City Geologic Mapping Project, shows the spatial distribution of artificial-fill, alluvial, eolian, and glacial deposits and bedrock in and near Omaha, Nebraska. Artificial fill deposits are mapped chiefly beneath commercial structures, segments of interstate highways and other major highways, railroad tracks, airport runways, and military facilities, and in landfills and earth fills. Alluvial deposits are mapped beneath flood plains, in stream terraces, and on hill slopes. They include flood-plain and stream-channel alluvium, sheetwash alluvium, and undivided sheetwash alluvium and stream alluvium. Wind-deposited loess forms sheets that mantle inter-stream areas and late Wisconsin terrace alluvium. Peoria Loess is younger of the two loess sheets and covers much of the inter-stream area in the map area. Loveland Loess is older and is exposed in a few small areas in the eastern part of the map area. Glacial deposits are chiefly heterogeneous, ice-deposited, clayey material (till) and minor interstratified stream-deposited sand and gravel. Except for small outcrops, glacial deposits are covered by eolian and alluvial deposits throughout most of the map area. Bedrock is locally exposed in natural exposures along the major streams and in quarries. It consists of Dakota Sandstone and chiefly limestone and shale of the Lansing and Kansas City Groups. Sand and gravel in flood plain and stream-channel alluvium in the Platte River valley are used mainly for concrete aggregate. Limestone of the Lansing and Kansas City Groups is used for road-surfacing material, rip rap, and fill material.

Understanding the changes of cone reflectance in adaptive optics flood illumination retinal images over three years

PubMed Central

Mariotti, Letizia; Devaney, Nicholas; Lombardo, Giuseppe; Lombardo, Marco

2016-01-01

Although there is increasing interest in the investigation of cone reflectance variability, little is understood about its characteristics over long time scales. Cone detection and its automation is now becoming a fundamental step in the assessment and monitoring of the health of the retina and in the understanding of the photoreceptor physiology. In this work we provide an insight into the cone reflectance variability over time scales ranging from minutes to three years on the same eye, and for large areas of the retina (≥ 2.0 × 2.0 degrees) at two different retinal eccentricities using a commercial adaptive optics (AO) flood illumination retinal camera. We observed that the difference in reflectance observed in the cones increases with the time separation between the data acquisitions and this may have a negative impact on algorithms attempting to track cones over time. In addition, we determined that displacements of the light source within 0.35 mm of the pupil center, which is the farthest location from the pupil center used by operators of the AO camera to acquire high-quality images of the cone mosaic in clinical studies, does not significantly affect the cone detection and density estimation. PMID:27446708

Understanding the changes of cone reflectance in adaptive optics flood illumination retinal images over three years.

PubMed

Mariotti, Letizia; Devaney, Nicholas; Lombardo, Giuseppe; Lombardo, Marco

2016-07-01

Although there is increasing interest in the investigation of cone reflectance variability, little is understood about its characteristics over long time scales. Cone detection and its automation is now becoming a fundamental step in the assessment and monitoring of the health of the retina and in the understanding of the photoreceptor physiology. In this work we provide an insight into the cone reflectance variability over time scales ranging from minutes to three years on the same eye, and for large areas of the retina (≥ 2.0 × 2.0 degrees) at two different retinal eccentricities using a commercial adaptive optics (AO) flood illumination retinal camera. We observed that the difference in reflectance observed in the cones increases with the time separation between the data acquisitions and this may have a negative impact on algorithms attempting to track cones over time. In addition, we determined that displacements of the light source within 0.35 mm of the pupil center, which is the farthest location from the pupil center used by operators of the AO camera to acquire high-quality images of the cone mosaic in clinical studies, does not significantly affect the cone detection and density estimation.

InSAR constraints on soil moisture evolution after the March 2015 extreme precipitation event in Chile.

PubMed

Scott, C P; Lohman, R B; Jordan, T E

2017-07-07

Constraints on soil moisture can guide agricultural practices, act as input into weather, flooding and climate models and inform water resource policies. Space-based interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) observations provide near-global coverage, even in the presence of clouds, of proxies for soil moisture derived from the amplitude and phase content of radar imagery. We describe results from a 1.5 year-long InSAR time series spanning the March, 2015 extreme precipitation event in the hyperarid Atacama desert of Chile, constraining the immediate increase in soil moisture and drying out over the following months, as well as the response to a later, smaller precipitation event. The inferred temporal evolution of soil moisture is remarkably consistent between independent, overlapping SAR tracks covering a region ~100 km in extent. The unusually large rain event, combined with the extensive spatial and temporal coverage of the SAR dataset, present an unprecedented opportunity to image the time-evolution of soil characteristics over different surface types. Constraints on the timescale of shallow water storage after precipitation events are increasingly valuable as global water resources continue to be stretched to their limits and communities continue to develop in flood-prone areas.

Enhanced Cumulative Sum Charts for Monitoring Process Dispersion

PubMed Central

Abujiya, Mu’azu Ramat; Riaz, Muhammad; Lee, Muhammad Hisyam

2015-01-01

The cumulative sum (CUSUM) control chart is widely used in industry for the detection of small and moderate shifts in process location and dispersion. For efficient monitoring of process variability, we present several CUSUM control charts for monitoring changes in standard deviation of a normal process. The newly developed control charts based on well-structured sampling techniques - extreme ranked set sampling, extreme double ranked set sampling and double extreme ranked set sampling, have significantly enhanced CUSUM chart ability to detect a wide range of shifts in process variability. The relative performances of the proposed CUSUM scale charts are evaluated in terms of the average run length (ARL) and standard deviation of run length, for point shift in variability. Moreover, for overall performance, we implore the use of the average ratio ARL and average extra quadratic loss. A comparison of the proposed CUSUM control charts with the classical CUSUM R chart, the classical CUSUM S chart, the fast initial response (FIR) CUSUM R chart, the FIR CUSUM S chart, the ranked set sampling (RSS) based CUSUM R chart and the RSS based CUSUM S chart, among others, are presented. An illustrative example using real dataset is given to demonstrate the practicability of the application of the proposed schemes. PMID:25901356

An Assessment of Statistical Process Control-Based Approaches for Charting Student Evaluation Scores

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ding, Xin; Wardell, Don; Verma, Rohit

2006-01-01

We compare three control charts for monitoring data from student evaluations of teaching (SET) with the goal of improving student satisfaction with teaching performance. The two charts that we propose are a modified "p" chart and a z-score chart. We show that these charts overcome some of the shortcomings of the more traditional charts…

Is the track of the Yellowstone hotspot driven by a deep mantle plume? - Review of volcanism, faulting, and uplift in light of new data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pierce, K.L.; Morgan, L.A.

2009-01-01

Geophysical imaging of a tilted mantle plume extending at least 500??km beneath the Yellowstone caldera provides compelling support for a plume origin of the entire Yellowstone hotspot track back to its inception at 17??Ma with eruptions of flood basalts and rhyolite. The widespread volcanism, combined with a large volume of buoyant asthenosphere, supports a plume head as an initial phase. Estimates of the diameter of the plume head suggest it completely spanned the upper mantle and was fed from sources beneath the transition zone, We consider a mantle-plume depth to at least 1,000 km to best explain the large scale of features associated with the hotspot track. The Columbia River-Steens flood basalts form a northward-migrating succession consistent with the outward spreading of a plume head beneath the lithosphere. The northern part of the inferred plume head spread (pancaked) upward beneath Mesozoic oceanic crust to produce flood basalts, whereas basalt melt from the southern part intercepted and melted Paleozoic and older crust to produce rhyolite from 17 to 14??Ma. The plume head overlapped the craton margin as defined by strontium isotopes; westward motion of the North American plate has likely "scraped off" the head from the plume tail. Flood basalt chemistries are explained by delamination of the lithosphere where the plume head intersected this cratonic margin. Before reaching the lithosphere, the rising plume head apparently intercepted the east-dipping Juan de Fuca slab and was deflected ~ 250??km to the west; the plume head eventually broke through the slab, leaving an abruptly truncated slab. Westward deflection of the plume head can explain the anomalously rapid hotspot movement of 62??km/m.y. from 17 to 10??Ma, compared to the rate of ~ 25??km/m.y. from 10 to 2??Ma. A plume head-to-tail transition occurred in the 14-to-10-Ma interval in the central Snake River Plain and was characterized by frequent (every 200-300??ka for about 2??m.y. from 12.7 to 10.5??Ma) "large volume (> 7000??km3)", and high temperature rhyolitic eruptions (> 1000????C) along a ~ 200-km-wide east-west band. The broad transition area required a heat source of comparable area. Differing characteristics of the volcanic fields here may in part be due to variations in crustal composition but also may reflect development in differing parts of an evolving plume where the older fields may reflect the eruption from several volcanic centers located above very large and extensive rhyolitic magma chamber(s) over the detached plume head while the younger fields may signal the arrival of the plume tail intercepting and melting the lithosphere and generating a more focused rhyolitic magma chamber. The three youngest volcanic fields of the hotspot track started with large ignimbrite eruptions at 10.21, 6.62, and 2.05??Ma. They indicate hotspot migration N55?? E at ~ 25??km/m.y. compatible in direction and velocity with the North American Plate motion. The Yellowstone Crescent of High Terrain (YCHT) flares outward ahead of the volcanic progression in a pattern similar to a bow-wave, and thus favors a sub-lithospheric driver. Estimates of YCHT-uplift rates are between 0.1 and 0.4??mm/yr. Drainage divides have migrated northeastward with the hotspot. The Continental Divide and a radial drainage pattern now centers on the hotspot. The largest geoid anomaly in the conterminous U.S. is also centered on Yellowstone and, consistent with uplift above a mantle plume. Bands of late Cenozoic faulting extend south and west from Yellowstone. These bands are subdivided into belts based both on recency of offset and range-front height. Fault history within these belts suggests the following pattern: Belt I - starting activity but little accumulated offset; Belt II - peak activity with high total offset and activity younger than 14??ka; Belt III - waning activity with large offset and activity younger than 140??ka; and Belt IV - apparently dead on substanti

Circulation Type Classifications and their nexus to Van Bebber's storm track Vb

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hofstätter, M.; Chimani, B.

2012-04-01

Circulation Type Classifications (CTCs) are tools to identify repetitive and predominantly stationary patterns of the atmospheric circulation over a certain area, with the purpose to enable the recognition of specific characteristics in surface climate variables. On the other hand storm tracks can be used to identify similar types of synoptic events from a non-stationary, kinematic perspective. Such a storm track classification for Europe has been done in the late 19th century by Van Bebber (1882, 1891), from which the famous type Vb and Vc/d remained up to the present day because of to their association with major flooding events like in August 2002 in Europe. In this work a systematic tracking procedure has been developed, to determine storm track types and their characteristics especially for the Eastern Alpine Region in the period 1961-2002, using ERA40 and ERAinterim reanalysis. The focus thereby is on cyclone tracks of type V as suggested by van Bebber and congeneric types. This new catalogue is used as a reference to verify the hypothesis of a certain coherence of storm track Vb with certain circulation types (e.g. Fricke and Kaminski, 2002). Selected objective and subjective classification schemes from the COST733 action (http://cost733.met.no/, Phillip et al. 2010) are used therefore, as well as the manual classification from ZAMG (Lauscher 1972 and 1985), in which storm track Vb has been classified explicitly on a daily base since 1948. The latter scheme should prove itself as a valuable and unique data source in that issue. Results show that not less than 146 storm tracks are identified as Vb between 1961 and 2002, whereas only three events could be found from literature, pointing to big subjectivity and preconception in the issue of Vb storm tracks. The annual number of Vb storm tracks do not show any significant trend over the last 42 years, but large variations from year to year. Circulation type classification CAP27 (Cluster Analysis of Principal Components) is the best performing, fully objective scheme tested herein, showing the power to discriminate Vb events. Most of the other fully objective schemes do by far not perform as well. Largest skill in that issue can be seen from the subjective/manual CTCs, proving themselves to enhance relevant synoptic phenomena instead of emphasizing mathematic criteria in the classification. The hypothesis of Fricke and Kaminsky can definitely be supported by this work: Vb storm tracks are included in one or the other stationary circulation pattern, but to which extent depends on the specific characteristics of the CTC in question.

A new MAP for Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zubrin, Robert; Price, Steve; Clark, Ben; Cantrell, Jim; Bourke, Roger

1993-01-01

A Mars Aerial Platform (MAP) mission capable of generating thousands of very-high-resolution (20 cm/pixel) pictures of the Martian surface is considered. The MAP entry vehicle will map the global circulation of the planet's atmosphere and examine the surface and subsurface. Data acquisition will use instruments carried aboard balloons flying at nominal altitude of about 7 km over the Martian surface. The MAP balloons will take high- and medium-resolution photographs of Mars, sound its surface with radar, and provide tracking data to chart its winds. Mars vehicle design is based on the fourth-generation NTP, NEP, SEP vehicle set that provides a solid database for determining transportation system costs. Interference analysis and 3D image generation are performed using manual system sizing and sketching in conjunction with precise CAD modeling.

Optimal Battery Charging for Damage Mitigation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hartley, Tom T.; Lorenzo, Carl F.

2003-01-01

Our control philosophy is to charge the NiH2 cell in such a way that the damage incurred during the charging period is minimized, thus extending its cycle life. This requires nonlinear dynamic model of NiH2 cell and a damage rate model. We must do this first. This control philosophy is generally considered damage mitigating control or life-extending control. This presentation covers how NiH2 cells function, electrode behavior, an essentialized model, damage mechanisms for NiH2 batteries, battery continuum damage modeling, and battery life models. The presentation includes graphs and a chart illustrating how charging a NiH2 battery with different voltages and currents affects damages the battery and affects its life. The presentation concludes with diagrams of control system architectures for tracking battery recharging.

Physics in the Galtonian sciences of heredity.

PubMed

Radick, Gregory

2011-06-01

Physics matters less than we once thought to the making of Mendel. But it matters more than we tend to recognize to the making of Mendelism. This paper charts the variety of ways in which diverse kinds of physics impinged upon the Galtonian tradition which formed Mendelism's matrix. The work of three Galtonians in particular is considered: Francis Galton himself, W. F. R. Weldon and William Bateson. One aim is to suggest that tracking influence from physics can bring into focus important but now little-remembered flexibilities in the Galtonian tradition. Another is to show by example why generalizations about what happens when 'physics' meets 'biology' require caution. Even for a single research tradition in Britain in the decades around 1900, these categories were large, containing multitudes. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Real-time estimation of wildfire perimeters from curated crowdsourcing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, Xu; Duckham, Matt; Chong, Derek; Tolhurst, Kevin

2016-04-01

Real-time information about the spatial extents of evolving natural disasters, such as wildfire or flood perimeters, can assist both emergency responders and the general public during an emergency. However, authoritative information sources can suffer from bottlenecks and delays, while user-generated social media data usually lacks the necessary structure and trustworthiness for reliable automated processing. This paper describes and evaluates an automated technique for real-time tracking of wildfire perimeters based on publicly available “curated” crowdsourced data about telephone calls to the emergency services. Our technique is based on established data mining tools, and can be adjusted using a small number of intuitive parameters. Experiments using data from the devastating Black Saturday wildfires (2009) in Victoria, Australia, demonstrate the potential for the technique to detect and track wildfire perimeters automatically, in real time, and with moderate accuracy. Accuracy can be further increased through combination with other authoritative demographic and environmental information, such as population density and dynamic wind fields. These results are also independently validated against data from the more recent 2014 Mickleham-Dalrymple wildfires.

Real-time estimation of wildfire perimeters from curated crowdsourcing

PubMed Central

Zhong, Xu; Duckham, Matt; Chong, Derek; Tolhurst, Kevin

2016-01-01

Real-time information about the spatial extents of evolving natural disasters, such as wildfire or flood perimeters, can assist both emergency responders and the general public during an emergency. However, authoritative information sources can suffer from bottlenecks and delays, while user-generated social media data usually lacks the necessary structure and trustworthiness for reliable automated processing. This paper describes and evaluates an automated technique for real-time tracking of wildfire perimeters based on publicly available “curated” crowdsourced data about telephone calls to the emergency services. Our technique is based on established data mining tools, and can be adjusted using a small number of intuitive parameters. Experiments using data from the devastating Black Saturday wildfires (2009) in Victoria, Australia, demonstrate the potential for the technique to detect and track wildfire perimeters automatically, in real time, and with moderate accuracy. Accuracy can be further increased through combination with other authoritative demographic and environmental information, such as population density and dynamic wind fields. These results are also independently validated against data from the more recent 2014 Mickleham-Dalrymple wildfires. PMID:27063569

Real-time estimation of wildfire perimeters from curated crowdsourcing.

PubMed

Zhong, Xu; Duckham, Matt; Chong, Derek; Tolhurst, Kevin

2016-04-11

Real-time information about the spatial extents of evolving natural disasters, such as wildfire or flood perimeters, can assist both emergency responders and the general public during an emergency. However, authoritative information sources can suffer from bottlenecks and delays, while user-generated social media data usually lacks the necessary structure and trustworthiness for reliable automated processing. This paper describes and evaluates an automated technique for real-time tracking of wildfire perimeters based on publicly available "curated" crowdsourced data about telephone calls to the emergency services. Our technique is based on established data mining tools, and can be adjusted using a small number of intuitive parameters. Experiments using data from the devastating Black Saturday wildfires (2009) in Victoria, Australia, demonstrate the potential for the technique to detect and track wildfire perimeters automatically, in real time, and with moderate accuracy. Accuracy can be further increased through combination with other authoritative demographic and environmental information, such as population density and dynamic wind fields. These results are also independently validated against data from the more recent 2014 Mickleham-Dalrymple wildfires.

Improving Flood Risk Maps as a Capacity Building Activity: Fostering Public Participation and Raising Flood Risk Awareness in the German Mulde Region (project RISK MAP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luther, J.; Meyer, V.; Kuhlicke, C.; Scheuer, S.; Unnerstall, H.

2012-04-01

The EU Floods Directive requires the establishment of flood risk maps for high risk areas in all EU Member States by 2013. However, if existing at all, the current practice of risk mapping still shows some deficits: Risk maps are often seen as an information tool rather than a communication tool. This means that e.g. important local knowledge is not incorporated and forms a contrast to the understanding of capacity building which calls for engaging individuals in the process of learning and adapting to change and for the establishment of a more interactive public administration that learns equally from its actions and from the feedback it receives. Furthermore, the contents of risk maps often do not match the requirements of the end users, so that risk maps are often designed and visualised in a way which cannot be easily understood by laypersons and/or which is not suitable for the respective needs of public authorities in risk and flood event management. The project RISK MAP aimed at improving flood risk maps as a means to foster public participation and raising flood risk awareness. For achieving this aim, RISK MAP (1) developed rules for appropriate stakeholder participation enabling the incorporation of local knowledge and preferences; (2) improved the content of risk maps by considering different risk criteria through the use of a deliberative multicriteria risk mapping tool; and (3) improved the visualisation of risk maps in order to produce user-friendly risk maps by applying the experimental graphic semiology (EGS) method that uses the eye tracking approach. The research was carried out in five European case studies where the status quo of risk mapping and the legal framework was analysed, several stakeholder interviews and workshops were conducted, the visual perception of risk maps was tested and - based on this empirical work - exemplary improved risk maps were produced. The presentation and paper will outline the main findings of the project which ended in September 2011, focussing on the participatory aspects in one of the German case studies (the Mulde River in Saxony). In short, different map users such as strategic planners, emergency managers or the (affected) public require different maps, with varying information density and complexity. The purpose of participation may therefore have a substantive rationale (i.e. improving the content, including local knowledge) or a more instrumental rationale (i.e. building trust, raising awareness, increasing legitimacy). The degree to which both rationales are accommodated depends on the project objectives and determines the participants and process type. In the Mulde case study, both the process of collaborating with each other and considering the (local) knowledge and different experiences as well as the results were highly appreciated. Hazard and risk maps are thus not an end-product that could be complemented e.g. by emergency management information on existing or planned defences, evacuation routes, assembly points, but they should be embedded into a participatory maintenance/updating framework. Map visualisation could be enhanced by using more common and/or self-explanatory symbols, text and a limited number of colour grades for hazard and risk information. Keywords: Flood mapping, hazard and risk maps, participation, risk communication, flood risk awareness, emergency management

Characteristics of storms that contribute to extreme precipitation events over the Iberian Peninsula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trigo, Ricardo; Ramos, Alexandre M.; Ordoñez, Paulina; Liberato, Margarida L. R.; Trigo, Isabel F.

2014-05-01

Floods correspond to one of the most deadly natural disasters in the Iberian Peninsula during the last century. Quite often these floods are associated to intense low pressure systems with an Atlantic origin. In recent years a number of episodes have been evaluated on a case-by-case approach, with a clear focus on extreme events, thus lacking a systematic assessment. In this study we focus on the characteristics of storms for the extended winter season (October to March) that are responsible for the most extreme rainfall events over large areas of the Iberian Peninsula. An objective method for ranking daily precipitation events during the extended winter is used based on the most comprehensive database of high resolution (0.2º latitude by 0.2º longitude) gridded daily precipitation dataset available for the Iberian Peninsula. The magnitude of an event is obtained after considering the total area affected as well as its intensity in every grid point (taking into account the daily normalised departure from climatology). Different precipitation rankings are studied considering the entire Iberian Peninsula, Portugal and also the six largest river basins in the Iberian Peninsula (Duero, Ebro, Tagus, Minho, Guadiana and Guadalquivir). Using an objective cyclone detecting and tracking scheme [Trigo, 2006] the storm track and characteristics of the cyclones were obtained using the ERA-Interim reanalyses for the 1979-2008 period. The spatial distribution of extratropical cyclone positions when the precipitation extremes occur will be analysed over the considered sub-domains (Iberia, Portugal, major river basins). In addition, we distinguish the different cyclone characteristics (lifetime, direction, minimum pressure, position, velocity, vorticity and radius) with significant impacts in precipitation over the different domains in the Iberian Peninsula. This work was partially supported by FEDER (Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional) funds through the COMPETE (Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade) and by national funds through FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal) under project STORMEx FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER- 019524 (PTDC/AAC-CLI/121339/2010). A. M. Ramos was also supported by a FCT postdoctoral Grant (FCT/DFRH/SFRH/BPD/84328/2012). Trigo I. F. (2006) Climatology and interannual variability of storm-tracks in the Euro-Atlantic sector: A comparison between ERA-40 and NCEP/NCAR reanalyses. Clim. Dyn., 26, 127-143.

Effects of lines of progress and semilogarithmic charts on ratings of charted data

PubMed Central

Bailey, Donald B.

1984-01-01

The extent to which interrater agreement and ratings of significance on both changes in level and trend are affected by lines of progress and semilogarithmic charts was investigated. Thirteen graduate students rated four sets of charts, each set containing 19 phase changes. Set I data were plotted on equal interval charts. In Set II a line of progress was drawn through each phase on each chart. In Set III data points were replotted on semilogarithmic charts. In Set IV a line of progress was drawn through each phase of each Set III chart. A significant main effect on interrater agreement was found for lines of progress as well as a significant 2-way interaction between lines of progress and change type. Three main effects (chart type, lines of progress, and type of change) and a significant 3-way interaction were found for ratings of significance. Implications of these data for visual analysis of charted data are discussed. PMID:16795676

KSC-04PD-2265

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. At the Boeing Delta Operations Center, a crane lifts the top off the shipping container with the Boeing Delta IV second stage inside. The Delta IV rocket will be used for the 2005 launching of the GOES-N weather satellite for NASA and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). The first in a series of three advanced weather satellites including GOES-O and GOES-P, the GOES-N will provide continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. It will provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric triggers of severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, hail storms and hurricanes. When these conditions develop, GOES-N will be able to monitor storm development and track their movements.

COMPACT: The role of soil management in mitigating catchment flood risk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pattison, Ian; Coates, Victoria; Frost, Matthew; Demirci, Emrah

2017-04-01

This paper reports a new NERC funded research project which addresses the impact of agricultural soil compaction on surface runoff and catchment scale flood risk. The intensification of agriculture, through increasing the number of animals in pasture, and the use of larger, heavier machinery for arable farming, over the past 50 years or so is hypothesised to have had an impact on the severity and frequency of flooding. These land management practices cause soil compaction, which reduces the rate of rainfall infiltration and the volume of water that can be stored within the sub-surface. This results in more rainfall being partitioned into the faster surface runoff pathway into rivers and potentially causing flooding downstream. However, the level of soil compaction is highly heterogeneous over space and time. This is because different animals i.e. cattle, sheep and horses, exert different loads on the soil and are kept at different densities. Furthermore, farm animals are known to exhibit behaviour whereby certain parts of the field are moved over more frequently than others. The same is the case in arable farming practices, whereby ploughing forms tramlines or wheelings, which are more compacted. Different forms of management practice ranging from zero-tillage to conventional cultivation exert different pressures on the soil at different times of year. However, very little is known about this variability of soil compaction levels at the sub-field level and land under different management practices. This research aims to quantify this sub-field variation in compaction severity and depths through using novel Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Animal tracking GPS technology. Combining these with more conventional soil property tests, including bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity and using a penetrometer will allow relationships with frequency of load to be developed over different spatial and temporal scales. Furthermore, X-Ray CT scanning will reveal the fine scale impacts of compaction on soil structure. This data will form the input to a physically based, reduced complexity, spatially distributed hydrological model to test feasible "what if?" scenarios. This will upscale local changes in land management and soil characteristics to catchment scale flooding. Results from research focussing on a priori compacted areas, such as feeding areas, field gates, shelter zones and tractor wheelings show that these are statistically different to areas assumed to be less compacted in the open field.

Limited Documentation and Treatment Quality of Glycemic Inpatient Care in Relation to Structural Deficits of Heterogeneous Insulin Charts at a Large University Hospital.

PubMed

Kopanz, Julia; Lichtenegger, Katharina M; Sendlhofer, Gerald; Semlitsch, Barbara; Cuder, Gerald; Pak, Andreas; Pieber, Thomas R; Tax, Christa; Brunner, Gernot; Plank, Johannes

2018-02-09

Insulin charts represent a key component in the inpatient glycemic management process. The aim was to evaluate the quality of structure, documentation, and treatment of diabetic inpatient care to design a new standardized insulin chart for a large university hospital setting. Historically grown blank insulin charts in use at 39 general wards were collected and evaluated for quality structure features. Documentation and treatment quality were evaluated in a consecutive snapshot audit of filled-in charts. The primary end point was the percentage of charts with any medication error. Overall, 20 different blank insulin charts with variable designs and significant structural deficits were identified. A medication error occurred in 55% of the 102 audited filled-in insulin charts, consisting of prescription and management errors in 48% and 16%, respectively. Charts of insulin-treated patients had more medication errors relative to patients treated with oral medication (P < 0.01). Chart design did support neither clinical authorization of individual insulin prescription (10%), nor insulin administration confirmed by nurses' signature (25%), nor treatment of hypoglycemia (0%), which resulted in a reduced documentation and treatment quality in clinical practice 7%, 30%, 25%, respectively. A multitude of charts with variable design characteristics and structural deficits were in use across the inpatient wards. More than half of the inpatients had a chart displaying a medication error. Lack of structure quality features of the charts had an impact on documentation and treatment quality. Based on identified deficits and international standards, a new insulin chart was developed to overcome these quality hurdles.

Growth Charts for Children With Down Syndrome in the United States.

PubMed

Zemel, Babette S; Pipan, Mary; Stallings, Virginia A; Hall, Waynitra; Schadt, Kim; Freedman, David S; Thorpe, Phoebe

2015-11-01

Children with Down syndrome (DS) have lower birth weights and grow more slowly than children without DS. Advances in and increased access to medical care have improved the health and well-being of individuals with DS; however, it is unknown whether their growth has also improved. Our objective was to develop new growth charts for children with DS and compare them to older charts from the United States and more contemporary charts from the United Kingdom. The Down Syndrome Growing Up Study (DSGS) enrolled a convenience sample of children with DS up to 20 years of age and followed them longitudinally. Growth parameters were measured by research anthropometrists. Sex-specific growth charts were generated for the age ranges birth to 36 months and 2 to 20 years using the LMS method. Weight-for-length and BMI charts were also generated. Comparisons with other curves were presented graphically. New DSGS growth charts were developed by using 1520 measurements on 637 participants. DSGS growth charts for children <36 months of age showed marked improvements in weight compared with older US charts. DSGS charts for 2- to 20-year-olds showed that contemporary males are taller than previous charts showed. Generally, the DSGS growth charts are similar to the UK charts. The DSGS growth charts can be used as screening tools to assess growth and nutritional status and to provide indications of how growth of an individual child compares with peers of the same age and sex with DS. Copyright © 2015 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Growth Charts for Children With Down Syndrome in the United States

PubMed Central

Zemel, Babette S.; Pipan, Mary; Stallings, Virginia A.; Hall, Waynitra; Schadt, Kim; Freedman, David S.; Thorpe, Phoebe

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Children with Down syndrome (DS) have lower birth weights and grow more slowly than children without DS. Advances in and increased access to medical care have improved the health and well-being of individuals with DS; however, it is unknown whether their growth has also improved. Our objective was to develop new growth charts for children with DS and compare them to older charts from the United States and more contemporary charts from the United Kingdom. METHODS The Down Syndrome Growing Up Study (DSGS) enrolled a convenience sample of children with DS up to 20 years of age and followed them longitudinally. Growth parameters were measured by research anthropometrists. Sex-specific growth charts were generated for the age ranges birth to 36 months and 2 to 20 years using the LMS method. Weight-for-length and BMI charts were also generated. Comparisons with other curves were presented graphically. RESULTS New DSGS growth charts were developed by using 1520 measurements on 637 participants. DSGS growth charts for children <36 months of age showed marked improvements in weight compared with older US charts. DSGS charts for 2- to 20-year-olds showed that contemporary males are taller than previous charts showed. Generally, the DSGS growth charts are similar to the UK charts. CONCLUSIONS The DSGS growth charts can be used as screening tools to assess growth and nutritional status and to provide indications of how growth of an individual child compares with peers of the same age and sex with DS. PMID:26504127

Construction and validation of logMAR visual acuity charts in seven Indian languages.

PubMed

Negiloni, Kalpa; Mazumdar, Deepmala; Neog, Aditya; Das, Biman; Medhi, Jnanankar; Choudhury, Mitalee; George, Ronnie Jacob; Ramani, Krishna Kumar

2018-05-01

The evaluation of visual impairment requires the measurement of visual acuity with a validated and standard logMAR visual acuity chart. We aimed to construct and validate new logMAR visual acuity chart in Indian languages (Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Urdu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Assamese). The commonly used font in each language was chosen as the reference and designed to fit the 5 × 5 grid (Adobe Photoshop). Ten letters (easiest to difficult) around median legibility score calculated for each language based on the results of legibility experiment and differing by 10% were selected. The chart was constructed based on the standard recommendations. The repeatability of charts was tested and also compared with a standard English Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) logMAR chart for validation. A total of 14 rows (1.0 to -0.3 logMAR) with five letters in each line were designed with the range of row legibility between 4.7 and 5.3 for all the language charts. Each chart showed good repeatability, and a maximum difference of four letters was noted. The median difference in visual acuity was 0.16 logMAR for Urdu and Assamese chart compared to ETDRS English chart. Hindi and Malayalam chart had a median difference of 0.12 logMAR. When compared to the English chart a median difference of 0.14 logMAR was noted in Telugu, Kannada, and Bengali chart. The newly developed Indian language visual acuity charts are designed based on the standard recommendations and will help to assess visual impairment in people of these languages across the country.

7 CFR 51.2276 - Color chart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... walnut skin color listed as color classifications. (a) Availability of color chart. The USDA Walnut Color... 7 Agriculture 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Color chart. 51.2276 Section 51.2276 Agriculture... Standards for Shelled English Walnuts (Juglans Regia) General § 51.2276 Color chart. The color chart (USDA...

7 CFR 51.2276 - Color chart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... walnut skin color listed as color classifications. (a) Availability of color chart. The USDA Walnut Color... 7 Agriculture 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Color chart. 51.2276 Section 51.2276 Agriculture... Standards for Shelled English Walnuts (Juglans Regia) General § 51.2276 Color chart. The color chart (USDA...

48 CFR 252.245-7000 - Government-furnished mapping, charting, and geodesy property.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... mapping, charting, and geodesy property. 252.245-7000 Section 252.245-7000 Federal Acquisition Regulations..., charting, and geodesy property. As prescribed in 245.107(a), use the following clause: Government-Furnished Mapping, Charting, and Geodesy Property (DEC 1991) (a) Definition—Mapping, charting, and geodesy (MC&G...

48 CFR 252.245-7000 - Government-furnished mapping, charting, and geodesy property.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... mapping, charting, and geodesy property. 252.245-7000 Section 252.245-7000 Federal Acquisition Regulations..., charting, and geodesy property. As prescribed in 245.107(1), use the following clause: Government-Furnished Mapping, Charting, and Geodesy Property (APR 2012) (a) Definition—Mapping, charting, and geodesy (MC&G...

48 CFR 252.245-7000 - Government-furnished mapping, charting, and geodesy property.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... mapping, charting, and geodesy property. 252.245-7000 Section 252.245-7000 Federal Acquisition Regulations..., charting, and geodesy property. As prescribed in 245.107(1), use the following clause: Government-Furnished Mapping, Charting, and Geodesy Property (APR 2012) (a) Definition—Mapping, charting, and geodesy (MC&G...

48 CFR 252.245-7000 - Government-furnished mapping, charting, and geodesy property.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... mapping, charting, and geodesy property. 252.245-7000 Section 252.245-7000 Federal Acquisition Regulations..., charting, and geodesy property. As prescribed in 245.107(1), use the following clause: Government-Furnished Mapping, Charting, and Geodesy Property (APR 2012) (a) Definition—Mapping, charting, and geodesy (MC&G...

Review of chart recognition in document images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yan; Lu, Xiaoqing; Qin, Yeyang; Tang, Zhi; Xu, Jianbo

2013-01-01

As an effective information transmitting way, chart is widely used to represent scientific statistics datum in books, research papers, newspapers etc. Though textual information is still the major source of data, there has been an increasing trend of introducing graphs, pictures, and figures into the information pool. Text recognition techniques for documents have been accomplished using optical character recognition (OCR) software. Chart recognition techniques as a necessary supplement of OCR for document images are still an unsolved problem due to the great subjectiveness and variety of charts styles. This paper reviews the development process of chart recognition techniques in the past decades and presents the focuses of current researches. The whole process of chart recognition is presented systematically, which mainly includes three parts: chart segmentation, chart classification, and chart Interpretation. In each part, the latest research work is introduced. In the last, the paper concludes with a summary and promising future research direction.

Enhancing learning using questions, adjunct to science charts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holliday, William G.; Benson, Garth

This study supported two hypotheses. First, adjunct questions interacted with a science chart so powerfully that content established as difficult to learn in the pilot and in this study's control groups became easier to learn when charted. Second, students familiar with the chart test before instruction (test exposure) were better prepared to take this test after instruction. This adjunct-question study examined the generalizability of selective-attention and academic-studying hypotheses to a modified science chart medium. About 300 high school students were randomly assigned to four conditions each including a vitamin chart (chart only, test exposure, importance of questions emphasized to students by teachers, and combinational conditions - test exposure and question importance) across 16 biology classrooms. Then these same students were again randomly assigned within each classroom to a control and to four question treatments no questions, questions focusing on easy-to-learn charted content, questions focusing on difficult-to-learn charted content, and a combinational treatment.

Enhancing learning using questions adjunct to science charts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holliday, William G.; Benson, Garth

This study supported two hypotheses. First, adjunct questions interacted with a science chart so powerfully that content established as difficult to learn in the pilot and in this study's control groups became easier to learn when charted. Second, students familiar with the chart test before instruction (test exposure) were better prepared to take this test after instruction. This adjunct-question study examined the generalizability of selective-attention and academic-studying hypotheses to a modified science chart medium. About 300 high school students were randomly assigned to four conditions each including a vitamin chart (chart only, test exposure, importance of questions emphasized to students by teachers, and combinational conditions--test exposure and question importance) across 16 biology classrooms. Then these same students were again randomly assigned within each classroom to a control and to four question treatments (no questions, questions focusing on easy-to-learn charted content, questions focusing on difficult-to-learn charted content, and a combinational treatment).

On regional geomagnetic charts

USGS Publications Warehouse

Alldredge, L.R.

1987-01-01

When regional geomagnetic charts for areas roughly the size of the US were compiled by hand, some large local anomalies were displayed in the isomagnetic lines. Since the late 1960s, when the compilation of charts using computers and mathematical models was started, most of the details available in the hand drawn regional charts have been lost. One exception to this is the Canadian magnetic declination chart for 1980. This chart was constructed using a 180 degrees spherical harmonic model. -from Author

7 CFR 51.2276 - Color chart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

....2276 Color chart. The color chart (USDA Walnut Color Chart) to which reference is made in §§ 51.2281 and 51.2282 illustrates the four shades of walnut skin color listed as color classifications. (a... 7 Agriculture 2 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Color chart. 51.2276 Section 51.2276 Agriculture...

7 CFR 51.2276 - Color chart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

....2276 Color chart. The color chart (USDA Walnut Color Chart) to which reference is made in §§ 51.2281 and 51.2282 illustrates the four shades of walnut skin color listed as color classifications. (a... 7 Agriculture 2 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Color chart. 51.2276 Section 51.2276 Agriculture...

76 FR 53530 - Government/Industry Aeronautical Charting Forum Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-08-26

... Charting Forum Meeting AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of public meeting...) Aeronautical Charting Forum (ACF) to discuss informational content and design of aeronautical charts and... Charting Forum to be held from October 25 through October 27, 2011, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at FAA AeroNav...

7 CFR 51.2276 - Color chart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Color chart. 51.2276 Section 51.2276 Agriculture... Standards for Shelled English Walnuts (Juglans Regia) General § 51.2276 Color chart. The color chart (USDA Walnut Color Chart) to which reference is made in §§ 51.2281 and 51.2282 illustrates the four shades of...

Alternative Fuels Data Center

Science.gov Websites

on AddThis.com... Fuel Properties Search Fuel Properties Comparison Create a custom chart comparing Custom Chart Fuel Chart Icon Download the complete fuel comparison chart. More fuel information

Impact of Scribes on Physician Satisfaction, Patient Satisfaction, and Charting Efficiency: A Randomized Controlled Trial

PubMed Central

Gidwani, Risha; Nguyen, Cathina; Kofoed, Alexis; Carragee, Catherine; Rydel, Tracy; Nelligan, Ian; Sattler, Amelia; Mahoney, Megan; Lin, Steven

2017-01-01

PURPOSE Scribes are increasingly being used in clinical practice despite a lack of high-quality evidence regarding their effects. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of medical scribes on physician satisfaction, patient satisfaction, and charting efficiency. METHODS We conducted a randomized controlled trial in which physicians in an academic family medicine clinic were randomized to 1 week with a scribe then 1 week without a scribe for the course of 1 year. Scribes drafted all relevant documentation, which was reviewed by the physician before attestation and signing. In encounters without a scribe, the physician performed all charting duties. Our outcomes were physician satisfaction, measured by a 5-item instrument that included physicians’ perceptions of chart quality and chart accuracy; patient satisfaction, measured by a 6-item instrument; and charting efficiency, measured by time to chart close. RESULTS Scribes improved all aspects of physician satisfaction, including overall satisfaction with clinic (OR = 10.75), having enough face time with patients (OR = 3.71), time spent charting (OR = 86.09), chart quality (OR = 7.25), and chart accuracy (OR = 4.61) (all P values <.001). Scribes had no effect on patient satisfaction. Scribes increased the proportion of charts that were closed within 48 hours (OR =1.18, P =.028). CONCLUSIONS To our knowledge, we have conducted the first randomized controlled trial of scribes. We found that scribes produced significant improvements in overall physician satisfaction, satisfaction with chart quality and accuracy, and charting efficiency without detracting from patient satisfaction. Scribes appear to be a promising strategy to improve health care efficiency and reduce physician burnout. PMID:28893812

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

Tan, J; Pompos, A; Jiang, S

Purpose: To put forth an innovative clinical paradigm for weekly chart checking so that treatment status is periodically checked accurately and efficiently. This study also aims to help optimize the chart checking clinical workflow in a busy radiation therapy clinic. Methods: It is mandated by the Texas Administrative code to check patient charts of radiation therapy once a week or every five fractions, however it varies drastically among institutions in terms of when and how it is done. Some do it every day, but a lot of efforts are wasted on opening ineligible charts; some do it on a fixedmore » day but the distribution of intervals between subsequent checks is not optimal. To establish an optimal chart checking procedure, a new paradigm was developed to achieve 1) charts are checked more accurately and more efficiently; 2) charts are checked on optimal days without any miss; 3) workload is evened out throughout a week when multiple physicists are involved. All active charts will be accessed by querying the R&V system. Priority is assigned to each chart based on the number of days before the next due date followed by sorting and workload distribution steps. New charts are also taken into account when distributing the workload so it is reasonably even throughout the week. Results: Our clinical workflow became more streamlined and smooth. In addition, charts get checked in a more timely fashion so that errors would get caught earlier should they occur. Conclusion: We developed a new weekly chart checking diagram. It helps physicists check charts in a timely manner, saves their time in busy clinics, and consequently reduces possible errors.« less

Browser-Based Application for Telemetry Monitoring of Robotic Assets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Breed, Kelly S.; Powell, Mark W.; Shams, Khawaja S.; Petras, Richard D.

2010-01-01

AEGSE Virtuoso Charting is an application that enables animated, real-time charting of telemetry streams of data from a rover. These automatically scaled charts are completely interactive, and allow users to choose the variables that they want to monitor. The charts can process data from streams with many variables. This application allows for the simultaneous viewing of up to four individually configured charts on a small touch-screen laptop. The charting application has been tested and found to be extremely robust during long operations. It was left running overnight, with incoming telemetry at 100 Hz, and it did not experience any signs of lost functionality or memory leaks. This robustness is critical for an application that will be used to support vital tests for the Mars Science Laboratory rover. The charting component also provides an interactive interface that allows the engineers to decide how many charts they want on their screen, and which attributes should be plotted on each chart. The application is optimized to make the charts on display take up as much of the available space as possible to maximize the use of the screen real estate. Engineers are also able to plot multiple attributes on the same chart, which enables them to observe the correlation between various attributes.

Growth Charts (For Parents)

MedlinePlus

... say about a child's health. Why Do Doctors Use Growth Charts? Growth charts are a standard part ... chart, they see which percentile line those measurements land on. The higher the percentile number, the bigger ...

7 CFR 51.2946 - Color chart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Color chart. 51.2946 Section 51.2946 Agriculture... Standards for Grades of Walnuts in the Shell General § 51.2946 Color chart. The color chart (USDA Walnut Color Chart) to which reference is made in §§ 51.2948, 51.2949, 51.2950, 51.2954, and 51.2963...

Five years database of landslides and floods affecting Swiss transportation networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voumard, Jérémie; Derron, Marc-Henri; Jaboyedoff, Michel

2017-04-01

Switzerland is a country threatened by a lot of natural hazards. Many events occur in built environment, affecting infrastructures, buildings or transportation networks and producing occasionally expensive damages. This is the reason why large landslides are generally well studied and monitored in Switzerland to reduce the financial and human risks. However, we have noticed a lack of data on small events which have impacted roads and railways these last years. This is why we have collect all the reported natural hazard events which have affected the Swiss transportation networks since 2012 in a database. More than 800 roads and railways closures have been recorded in five years from 2012 to 2016. These event are classified into six classes: earth flow, debris flow, rockfall, flood, avalanche and others. Data come from Swiss online press articles sorted by Google Alerts. The search is based on more than thirty keywords, in three languages (Italian, French, German). After verifying that the article relates indeed an event which has affected a road or a railways track, it is studied in details. We get finally information on about sixty attributes by event about event date, event type, event localisation, meteorological conditions as well as impacts and damages on the track and human damages. From this database, many trends over the five years of data collection can be outlined: in particular, the spatial and temporal distributions of the events, as well as their consequences in term of traffic (closure duration, deviation, etc.). Even if the database is imperfect (by the way it was built and because of the short time period considered), it highlights the not negligible impact of small natural hazard events on roads and railways in Switzerland at a national level. This database helps to better understand and quantify this events, to better integrate them in risk assessment.

Onboard Science and Applications Algorithm for Hyperspectral Data Reduction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chien, Steve A.; Davies, Ashley G.; Silverman, Dorothy; Mandl, Daniel

2012-01-01

An onboard processing mission concept is under development for a possible Direct Broadcast capability for the HyspIRI mission, a Hyperspectral remote sensing mission under consideration for launch in the next decade. The concept would intelligently spectrally and spatially subsample the data as well as generate science products onboard to enable return of key rapid response science and applications information despite limited downlink bandwidth. This rapid data delivery concept focuses on wildfires and volcanoes as primary applications, but also has applications to vegetation, coastal flooding, dust, and snow/ice applications. Operationally, the HyspIRI team would define a set of spatial regions of interest where specific algorithms would be executed. For example, known coastal areas would have certain products or bands downlinked, ocean areas might have other bands downlinked, and during fire seasons other areas would be processed for active fire detections. Ground operations would automatically generate the mission plans specifying the highest priority tasks executable within onboard computation, setup, and data downlink constraints. The spectral bands of the TIR (thermal infrared) instrument can accurately detect the thermal signature of fires and send down alerts, as well as the thermal and VSWIR (visible to short-wave infrared) data corresponding to the active fires. Active volcanism also produces a distinctive thermal signature that can be detected onboard to enable spatial subsampling. Onboard algorithms and ground-based algorithms suitable for onboard deployment are mature. On HyspIRI, the algorithm would perform a table-driven temperature inversion from several spectral TIR bands, and then trigger downlink of the entire spectrum for each of the hot pixels identified. Ocean and coastal applications include sea surface temperature (using a small spectral subset of TIR data, but requiring considerable ancillary data), and ocean color applications to track biological activity such as harmful algal blooms. Measuring surface water extent to track flooding is another rapid response product leveraging VSWIR spectral information.

A Process-Based Insight into the Severity of 'Super' Storm Desmond

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matthews, Tom; Murphy, Conor; Gerard, McCarthy; Rob, Wilby

2017-04-01

Climate warming is projected to increase winter rainfall and societally-impactful flood frequency across the British-Irish Isles (BI). The dynamical explanation for this change is linked to the North Atlantic (NA) storm track, with projections indicating both an enhanced frequency of wintertime extratropical cyclones ('cyclones'), and an increase in their average precipitation. The latter is, in part, a result of more intense moisture transport in cyclones' warm sectors by 'Atmospheric Rivers' (ARs), thermodynamically-driven by enhanced absolute humidity consistent with the Clausius-Clapeyron relation. It is against this backdrop that we scrutinise the physical drivers of the record-breaking rain and flood event associated with 'Storm Desmond' in December, 2015. We find that more than 3,500 km2 experienced rainfall in excess of the mean annual maximum during the storm's passage. The exceptional rain amounts were due to an AR more intense than any other in our observational record (1979-2015). However, we find that its unparalleled strength was as much a consequence of strong wind speeds as high humidity, so its severity cannot be attributed so simply to climate warming. This position is made clearer through a Lagrangian air mass tracking procedure, where we show that most (67%) of the moisture that precipitated out over BI during Desmond's passage evaporated from sea surfaces that were cooler than their 1951-1980 average. We therefore conclude that 1) the process-based observational approach applied here can provide valuable insight into climate change attribution assessments; and 2) Storm Desmond - despite being the most severe on record - was perhaps moderated by the anomalously cool NA sea-surface temperatures, which may have suppressed evaporation and vapour transport. The capacity for an even more impactful AR should SSTs in the sub-polar NA return to even their 20th Century averages, given otherwise identical synoptic circulation, should therefore be appreciated by planners and policy makers alike.

Fast track vaginal surgery.

PubMed

Ottesen, Marianne; Sørensen, Mette; Rasmussen, Yvonne; Smidt-Jensen, Steen; Kehlet, Henrik; Ottesen, Bent

2002-02-01

Our aim was to describe the need for postoperative hospitalization after vaginal surgery for utero-vaginal prolapse with well-defined charts for postoperative care. A prospective, descriptive study. Consecutive women admitted for first-time vaginal surgery for utero-vaginal prolapse at a public university hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark, underwent surgery and postoperative care in a fast track setting from September 15, 1999 to June 15 2000. A multimodal rehabilitation model with emphasis on information, standardized general anesthesia, reduced surgical distress, optimized pain-relief, early oral nutrition and ambulation, minimal use of indwelling catheter and vaginal packing. Postoperative hospital stay, complications, re-admission, success rate, patients' satisfaction and acceptability. Forty-one women with a median age of 69 years (range, 44-88 years) were included. All underwent anterior and/or posterior vaginal repair. Nineteen (46.3%) underwent vaginal hysterectomy, and eight (19.5%) underwent the Manchester procedure. Postoperative hospital stay was median 24 hr. Only three (7.3%) were discharged later than 48 hr. No re-admissions occurred. The most frequent complications were urinary retention exceeding 450 ml, and urinary tract infection (12.2%, and 9.8%, respectively). Short-term success rate was 97.6%. Patients' satisfaction rates were 85.4-95.1%. The median score of acceptability was 10 on a 0-10 points scale. The need for postoperative hospitalization was median 24 hr after vaginal surgery in a fast track setting, independently of the complexity of the procedure performed. Short-term success rate, satisfaction rates, and acceptability were all excellent. Follow up has been established to evaluate long-term success rates and recurrence.

Improvements in Cystic Fibrosis Quarterly Visits, Lung Function Tests, and Respiratory Cultures.

PubMed

Wooldridge, Jamie L; Mason, Susan; Brusatti, Judith; Albers, Gary M; Noyes, Blakeslee E

2015-12-01

The Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation recommends patients attend clinic ≥4 times per year with 4 respiratory cultures and 2 pulmonary function tests (PFTs). However, nationally only 57.4% of patients met these guidelines in 2012. We used a quality improvement program with a goal of 75% of our patients meeting this care guideline by 2012. A 2-stage program was started in 2011. Stage 1: education of patients/caregivers on importance of quarterly visits. Stage 2: quarterly tracking system of patient appointments. Data on clinic visits, respiratory cultures, and PFTs were collected from the CF registry from January 2009 through December 2013. Statistical process control charts were used to track improvements. The average number of clinic visits increased significantly from 4.6 ± 2.3 in 2009 to 6.3 ± 4.6 in 2013 (P < .0001). The percentage of patients ages 6 through 18 completing a clinic visit, PFT, and respiratory culture per quarter increased significantly from 76.2% during 2009 to 86.4% in 2013. The percentage of patients completing ≥4 clinic visits with 4 respiratory cultures and 2 PFTs improved significantly from 47.5% in 2009 to 71.0% in 2013 (P < .0001). A tracking system of patient appointments significantly improved adherence to the care guidelines better than education alone. The multiple-stage quality improvement program we implemented may be modifiable and able to be integrated in other CF centers or other multiple disciplinary chronic illness care centers. Copyright © 2015 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

An observational and modeling study of the August 2017 Florida climate extreme event.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konduru, R.; Singh, V.; Routray, A.

2017-12-01

A special report on the climate extremes by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) elucidates that the sole cause of disasters is due to the exposure and vulnerability of the human and natural system to the climate extremes. The cause of such a climate extreme could be anthropogenic or non-anthropogenic. Therefore, it is challenging to discern the critical factor of influence for a particular climate extreme. Such kind of perceptive study with reasonable confidence on climate extreme events is possible only if there exist any past case studies. A similar rarest climate extreme problem encountered in the case of Houston floods and extreme rainfall over Florida in August 2017. A continuum of hurricanes like Harvey and Irma targeted the Florida region and caused catastrophe. Due to the rarity of August 2017 Florida climate extreme event, it requires the in-depth study on this case. To understand the multi-faceted nature of the event, a study on the development of the Harvey hurricane and its progression and dynamics is significant. Current article focus on the observational and modeling study on the Harvey hurricane. A global model named as NCUM (The global UK Met office Unified Model (UM) operational at National Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, India, was utilized to simulate the Harvey hurricane. The simulated rainfall and wind fields were compared with the observational datasets like Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission rainfall datasets and Era-Interim wind fields. The National Centre for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) automated tracking system was utilized to track the Harvey hurricane, and the tracks were analyzed statistically for different forecasts concerning the Harvey hurricane track of Joint Typhon Warning Centre. Further, the current study will be continued to investigate the atmospheric processes involved in the August 2017 Florida climate extreme event.

On the reliability of Shewhart-type control charts for multivariate process variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Djauhari, Maman A.; Salleh, Rohayu Mohd; Zolkeply, Zunnaaim; Li, Lee Siaw

2017-05-01

We show that in the current practice of multivariate process variability monitoring, the reliability of Shewhart-type control charts cannot be measured except when the sub-group size n tends to infinity. However, the requirement of large n is meaningless not only in manufacturing industry where n is small but also in service industry where n is moderate. In this paper, we introduce a new definition of control limits in the two most appreciated control charts in the literature, i.e., the improved generalized variance chart (IGV-chart) and vector variance chart (VV-chart). With the new definition of control limits, the reliability of the control charts can be determined. Some important properties of new control limits will be derived and the computational technique of probability of false alarm will be delivered.

Development of disease-specific growth charts in Turner syndrome and Noonan syndrome.

PubMed

Isojima, Tsuyoshi; Yokoya, Susumu

2017-12-01

Many congenital diseases are associated with growth failure, and patients with these diseases have specific growth patterns. As the growth patterns of affected individuals differ from those of normal populations, it is challenging to detect additional conditions that can influence growth using standard growth charts. Disease-specific growth charts are thus very useful tools and can be helpful for understanding the growth pattern and pathogenesis of congenital diseases. In addition, disease-specific growth charts allow doctors to detect deviations from the usual growth patterns for early diagnosis of an additional condition and can be used to evaluate the effects of growth-promoting treatment for patients. When developing these charts, factors that can affect the reliability of the charts should be considered. These factors include the definition of the disease with growth failure, selection bias in the measurements used to develop the charts, secular trends of the subjects, the numbers of subjects of varying ages and ethnicities, and the statistical method used to develop the charts. In this review, we summarize the development of disease-specific growth charts for Japanese individuals with Turner syndrome and Noonan syndrome and evaluate the efforts to collect unbiased measurements of subjects with these diseases. These charts were the only available disease-specific growth charts of Turner syndrome and Noonan syndrome for Asian populations and were developed using a Japanese population. Therefore, when these charts are adopted for Asian populations other than Japanese, different growth patterns should be considered.

Fluvial response to the last Holocene rapid climate change in the Northwestern Mediterranean coastlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Degeai, Jean-Philippe; Devillers, Benoît; Blanchemanche, Philippe; Dezileau, Laurent; Oueslati, Hamza; Tillier, Margaux; Bohbot, Hervé

2017-05-01

The variability of fluvial activity in the Northwestern Mediterranean coastal lowlands and its relationship with modes of climate change were analysed from the late 9th to the 18th centuries CE. Geochemical analyses were undertaken from a lagoonal sequence and surrounding sediments in order to track the fluvial inputs into the lagoon. An index based on the K/S and Rb/S ratios was used to evidence the main periods of fluvial activity. This index reveals that the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) was a drier period characterized by a lower fluvial activity, while the Little Ice Age (LIA) was a wetter period with an increase of the river dynamics. Three periods of higher than average fluvial activity were evidenced at the end of the first millennium CE (ca. 900-950 cal yr CE), in the first half of the second millennium CE (ca. 1150-1550 cal yr CE), and during the 1600s-1700s CE (ca. 1650-1800 cal yr CE). The comparison of these fluvial periods with other records of riverine or lacustrine floods in Spain, Italy, and South of France seems to indicate a general increase in fluvial and flood patterns in the Northwestern Mediterranean in response to the climate change from the MCA to the LIA, although some episodes of flooding are not found in all records. Besides, the phases of higher than average fluvial dynamics are in good agreement with the North Atlantic cold events evidenced from records of ice-rafted debris. The evolution of fluvial activity in the Northwestern Mediterranean coastlands during the last millennium could have been driven by atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns.

Reconstruction of the North Atlantic tropical cyclones in Azores for the last 800 years.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rubio-Ingles, Maria Jesus; Sánchez, Guiomar; Trigo, Ricardo; Francus, Pierre; Gonçalves, Vitor; Raposeiro, Pedro; Freitas, Conceiçao; Borges, Paolo; Hernández, Armand; Bao, Roberto; Vázquez-Loureiro, David; Andrade, Cesar; Sáez, Alberto; Giralt, Santiago

2014-05-01

The variability of North Atlantic tropical storms has been the focus of several studies. Duration and seasonality has been attributed to a number of climate patterns and processes such as El Niño-Southern Oscillation, Atlantic Meridional Mode, African easterly waves, and atmospheric Rossby waves, but their tracks have been widely related to the North Atlantic Oscillation. Several authors have pointed out an increase and track shifting of North Atlantic tropical cyclones since 1995 with increased probability of these turning north far away from the North American continent. However, this cannot be regarded as an infrequent phenomenon as most proxy records from the Atlantic North have shown the existence of similar patterns in the past. Sao Miguel Island (Azores archipelago, Portugal) is settled in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. This location makes this island an excellent natural laboratory to record shifts on North Atlantic tropical storms tracks that can reach the archipelago as low intensity hurricanes (e.g. Nadine in 2012) or downgraded to tropical storm (e.g. Grace in 2009). In the present work, lake sediment records have been used as a proxy sensor of tropical storms. Lagoa Azul is located inside Sete Cidades volcanic caldera and its catchment is characterized by stepped and forested caldera walls. Tropical storms and heavy rainfalls produce a flashy and substantial enhancement in the erosion of the catchment, increasing the sediments reaching the lake by rockfalls deposits (in littoral zones) and flood events deposits (in offshore zones). These flood events can be recognized in the sedimentary record as lobe deposits dominated by terrestrial components. It can be found in the sedimentary record and the bathymetry. Instrumental meteorological data and historical records have been compiled to reconstruct the most recent history of the North Atlantic tropical storms that have landed or affected the Sao Miguel Island (Andrade et al., 2008). In addition, a 1.5 m long core allowed us to recover the whole sedimentary infill of Azul Lake, which has been characterized using a multiproxy (geochemistry, diatoms and chironomid head capsules) approach. The last 800 cal years BP, dated by the use of 14C (plant remains) and 210Pb, have been recorded in the 1.5 m of sediment. The layers of flood events deposits are characterized by low Ti content, no diatoms, and both high organic content and terrestrial plants remains. 14C and 210Pb dates obtained in this core have been used to link the flood events recorded in the offshore zones of the lake with the historical storms hitting the archipelago. According to the results of the studied sediment core, the number of tropical storms hitting the island has increased for the last 50 years. This is in accordance with the findings done by other authors (Liu et al., 2001 and Besonen et al., 2008). Moreover, two other periods located around the 1450s and the 1650s also recorded high number of storms. An increase of typhoons in China and hurricanes reaching the north Atlantic coast of United States during the same periods suggests a global climate pattern that ruled these extreme phenomena. LITERATURE: Andrade, C., Trigo R.M., Freitas, M.C., Gallego M.C., Borges, P., Ramos, A.M. (2008) "Comparing Historic Records of Storm frequency and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) chronology for the Azores region", The Holocene, 18, 745-754 Besonen M.R., Bradley S.B., Mudelsee M., Abbott M.B, Francus P. (2008) "A 1000-year, annually-resolved record of hurricane activity from Boston, Massachussets" Geophysical Research Letters. Vol.35, L14705. Liu, K.-b., Shen, C. and Louie, K.-s. (2001), A 1,000-Year History of Typhoon Landfalls in Guangdong, Southern China, Reconstructed from Chinese Historical Documentary Records. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 91: 453-464. doi: 10.1111/0004-5608.00253

Derivation of Delaware Bay tidal parameters from Space Shuttle photography

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zheng, Quanan; Yan, Xiao-Hai; Klemas, Vic

1993-01-01

The tide-related parameters of the Delaware Bay are derived from Space Shuttle time-series photographs. The water areas in the bay are measured from interpretation maps of the photographs with a CALCOMP 9100 digitizer and ERDAS Image Processing System. The corresponding tidal levels are calculated using the exposure time annotated on the photographs. From these data, an approximate function relating the water area to the tidal level at a reference point is determined. Based on the function, the water areas of the Delaware Bay at mean high water (MHW) and mean low water (MLW), below 0 m, and for the tidal zone are inferred. With MHW and MLW areas and the mean tidal range, we calculate the tidal influx of the Delaware Bay, which is 2.76 x 10 exp 9 cu m. The velocity of flood tide at the bay mouth is determined using the tidal flux and an integral of the velocity distribution function at the cross section between Cape Henlopen and Cape May. The result is 132 cm/s, which compares well with the data on tidal current charts.

Validation of life-charts documented with the personal life-chart app - a self-monitoring tool for bipolar disorder.

PubMed

Schärer, Lars O; Krienke, Ute J; Graf, Sandra-Mareike; Meltzer, Katharina; Langosch, Jens M

2015-03-14

Long-term monitoring in bipolar affective disorders constitutes an important therapeutic and preventive method. The present study examines the validity of the Personal Life-Chart App (PLC App), in both German and in English. This App is based on the National Institute of Mental Health's Life-Chart Method, the de facto standard for long-term monitoring in the treatment of bipolar disorders. Methods have largely been replicated from 2 previous Life-Chart studies. The participants documented Life-Charts with the PLC App on a daily basis. Clinicians assessed manic and depressive symptoms in clinical interviews using the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology, clinician-rated (IDS-C) and the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) on a monthly basis on average. Spearman correlations of the total scores of IDS-C and YMRS were calculated with both the Life-Chart functional impairment rating and mood rating documented with the PLC App. 44 subjects used the PLC App in German and 10 subjects used the PLC App in English. 118 clinical interviews from the German sub-sample and 97 from the English sub-sample were analysed separately. The results in both sub-samples are similar to previous Life-Chart validation studies. Again statistically significant high correlations were found between the Life-Chart function rating assigned through the PLC App and well-established observer-rated methods. Again correlations were weaker for the Life-Chart mood rating than for the Life-Chart function impairment. No relevant correlation was found between the Life-chart mood rating and YMRS in the German sub-sample. This study gives further evidence for the validity of the Life-Chart method as a valid tool for the recognition of both manic and depressive episodes. Documenting Life-Charts with the PLC App (English and German) does not seem to impair the validity of patient ratings.

The unsuitability of HTML-based colour charts for estimating animal colours--a comment on Berggren and Merilä (2004).

PubMed

Stevens, Martin; Cuthill, Innes C

2005-08-30

A variety of techniques are used to study the colours of animal signals, including the use of visual matching to colour charts. This paper aims to highlight why they are generally an unsatisfactory tool for the measurement and classification of animal colours and why colour codes based on HTML (really RGB) standards, as advocated in a recent paper, are particularly inappropriate. There are many theoretical arguments against the use of colour charts, not least that human colour vision differs markedly from that of most other animals. However, the focus of this paper is the concern that, even when applied to humans, there is no simple 1:1 mapping from an RGB colour space to the perceived colours in a chart (the results are both printer- and illumination-dependent). We support our criticisms with data from colour matching experiments with humans, involving self-made, printed colour charts. Colour matching experiments with printed charts involving 11 subjects showed that the choices made by individuals were significantly different between charts that had exactly the same RGB values, but were produced from different printers. Furthermore, individual matches tended to vary under different lighting conditions. Spectrophotometry of the colour charts showed that the reflectance spectra of the charts varied greatly between printers and that equal steps in RGB space were often far from equal in terms of reflectance on the printed charts. In addition to outlining theoretical criticisms of the use of colour charts, our empirical results show that: individuals vary in their perception of colours, that different printers produce strikingly different results when reproducing what should be the same chart, and that the characteristics of the light irradiating the surface do affect colour perception. Therefore, we urge great caution in the use of colour charts to study animal colour signals. They should be used only as a last resort and in full knowledge of their limitations, with specially produced charts made to high industry standards.

Methods for computational disease surveillance in infection prevention and control: Statistical process control versus Twitter's anomaly and breakout detection algorithms.

PubMed

Wiemken, Timothy L; Furmanek, Stephen P; Mattingly, William A; Wright, Marc-Oliver; Persaud, Annuradha K; Guinn, Brian E; Carrico, Ruth M; Arnold, Forest W; Ramirez, Julio A

2018-02-01

Although not all health care-associated infections (HAIs) are preventable, reducing HAIs through targeted intervention is key to a successful infection prevention program. To identify areas in need of targeted intervention, robust statistical methods must be used when analyzing surveillance data. The objective of this study was to compare and contrast statistical process control (SPC) charts with Twitter's anomaly and breakout detection algorithms. SPC and anomaly/breakout detection (ABD) charts were created for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, Acinetobacter baumannii, catheter-associated urinary tract infection, and central line-associated bloodstream infection data. Both SPC and ABD charts detected similar data points as anomalous/out of control on most charts. The vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus ABD chart detected an extra anomalous point that appeared to be higher than the same time period in prior years. Using a small subset of the central line-associated bloodstream infection data, the ABD chart was able to detect anomalies where the SPC chart was not. SPC charts and ABD charts both performed well, although ABD charts appeared to work better in the context of seasonal variation and autocorrelation. Because they account for common statistical issues in HAI data, ABD charts may be useful for practitioners for analysis of HAI surveillance data. Copyright © 2018 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Do parents understand growth charts? A national, Internet-based survey.

PubMed

Ben-Joseph, Elana Pearl; Dowshen, Steven A; Izenberg, Neil

2009-10-01

The objective of this study was to assess parental knowledge and understanding of growth charts. An online survey was conducted with 1000 parents selected to be demographically representative of the US population. Questions explored awareness of, knowledge of, and attitudes toward growth monitoring, as well as the ability to interpret growth chart data. Seventy-nine percent of parents surveyed claimed to have seen a growth chart before, with the majority thinking that they understood it well. Sixty-four percent of parents thought it was important to be shown growth charts to see how their child was growing, and 40% expressed the need to see their child's growth chart as confirmation of their health care provider's verbal interpretation. However, when provided with multiple-choice questions and answers, only 64% could identify a child's weight when shown a plotted point on a growth chart. Ninety-six percent had heard of the term "percentile," but only 68% identified the percentile of the plotted point, and only 56% could identify the definition of percentile. Up to 77% interpreted incorrectly charts containing height/weight measurements in tandem. Although growth charts are used frequently as visual aids to educate parents about their children's growth, many parents cannot comprehend the data. This finding is significant because many parents prefer to be shown growth charts by their health care provider, and many parents report recording their children's measurements on growth charts at home.

A study of application of remote sensing to river forecasting. Volume 2: Detailed technical report, NASA-IBM streamflow forecast model user's guide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

The Model is described along with data preparation, determining model parameters, initializing and optimizing parameters (calibration) selecting control options and interpreting results. Some background information is included, and appendices contain a dictionary of variables, a source program listing, and flow charts. The model was operated on an IBM System/360 Model 44, using a model 2250 keyboard/graphics terminal for interactive operation. The model can be set up and operated in a batch processing mode on any System/360 or 370 that has the memory capacity. The model requires 210K bytes of core storage, and the optimization program, OPSET (which was used previous to but not in this study), requires 240K bytes. The data band for one small watershed requires approximately 32 tracks of disk storage.

An atlas of monthly mean distributions of SSMI surface wind speed, ARGOS buoy drift, AVHRR/2 sea surface temperature, and ECMWF surface wind components during 1990

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halpern, D.; Knauss, W.; Brown, O.; Wentz, F.

1993-01-01

The following monthly mean global distributions for 1990 are proposed with a common color scale and geographical map: 10-m height wind speed estimated from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSMI) on a United States (US) Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft; sea surface temperature estimated from the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR/2) on a U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) spacecraft; Cartesian components of free drifting buoys which are tracked by the ARGOS navigation system on NOAA satellites; and Cartesian components on the 10-m height wind vector computed by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF). Charts of monthly mean value, sampling distribution, and standard deviation values are displayed. Annual mean distributions are displayed.

An atlas of monthly mean distributions of SSMI surface wind speed, ARGOS buoy drift, AVHRR/2 sea surface temperature, and ECMWF surface wind components during 1991

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Halpern, D.; Knauss, W.; Brown, O.; Wentz, F.

1993-01-01

The following monthly mean global distributions for 1991 are presented with a common color scale and geographical map: 10-m height wind speed estimated from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSMI) on a United States Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) spacecraft; sea surface temperature estimated from the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR/2) on a U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) spacecraft; Cartesian components of free-drifting buoys which are tracked by the ARGOS navigation system on NOAA satellites; and Cartesian components of the 10-m height wind vector computed by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF). Charts of monthly mean value, sampling distribution, and standard deviation value are displayed. Annual mean distributions are displayed.

Evaluating Variability and Uncertainty of Geological Strength Index at a Specific Site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yu; Aladejare, Adeyemi Emman

2016-09-01

Geological Strength Index (GSI) is an important parameter for estimating rock mass properties. GSI can be estimated from quantitative GSI chart, as an alternative to the direct observational method which requires vast geological experience of rock. GSI chart was developed from past observations and engineering experience, with either empiricism or some theoretical simplifications. The GSI chart thereby contains model uncertainty which arises from its development. The presence of such model uncertainty affects the GSI estimated from GSI chart at a specific site; it is, therefore, imperative to quantify and incorporate the model uncertainty during GSI estimation from the GSI chart. A major challenge for quantifying the GSI chart model uncertainty is a lack of the original datasets that have been used to develop the GSI chart, since the GSI chart was developed from past experience without referring to specific datasets. This paper intends to tackle this problem by developing a Bayesian approach for quantifying the model uncertainty in GSI chart when using it to estimate GSI at a specific site. The model uncertainty in the GSI chart and the inherent spatial variability in GSI are modeled explicitly in the Bayesian approach. The Bayesian approach generates equivalent samples of GSI from the integrated knowledge of GSI chart, prior knowledge and observation data available from site investigation. Equations are derived for the Bayesian approach, and the proposed approach is illustrated using data from a drill and blast tunnel project. The proposed approach effectively tackles the problem of how to quantify the model uncertainty that arises from using GSI chart for characterization of site-specific GSI in a transparent manner.

Revised Indian Academy of Pediatrics 2015 growth charts for height, weight and body mass index for 5-18-year-old Indian children.

PubMed

Khadilkar, Vaman V; Khadilkar, Anuradha V

2015-01-01

Growth chart committee of Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) has revised growth charts for 5-18-year-old Indian children in Jan 2015. The last IAP growth charts (2007) were based on data collected in 1989-92 which is now >2 decades old. India is in an economic and nutrition transition and hence growth pattern of Indian children has changed over last few years. Thus, it was necessary to produce contemporary, updated growth references for Indian children. The new IAP charts were prepared by collating data from nine groups who had published studies in indexed journals on growth from India in the last decade. Growth charts were constructed from a total of 87022 middle and upper socioeconomic class children (m 54086, f 32936) from all five zones of India. Data from middle and upper socioeconomic class children are likely to have higher prevalence of overweight and obesity and hence growth charts produced on such populations are likely to "normalize" obesity. To remove such unhealthy weights form the data, method suggested by World Health Organization was used to produce weight charts. Thus, the new IAP weight charts are much lower than the recently published studies on affluent Indian children. Since Indian's are at a higher risk of obesity-related cardiometabolic complications at lower body mass index (BMI), BMI charts adjusted for 23, and 27 adult equivalent cut-offs as per International obesity task force guidelines were constructed. IAP now recommends use of these new charts to replace the 2007 IAP charts.

Customized versus population-based birth weight charts for the detection of neonatal growth and perinatal morbidity in a cross-sectional study of term neonates.

PubMed

Carberry, Angela E; Raynes-Greenow, Camille H; Turner, Robin M; Jeffery, Heather E

2013-10-15

Customized birth weight charts that incorporate maternal characteristics are now being adopted into clinical practice. However, there is controversy surrounding the value of these charts in the prediction of growth and perinatal outcomes. The objective of this study was to assess the use of customized charts in predicting growth, defined by body fat percentage, and perinatal morbidity. A total of 581 term (≥37 weeks' gestation) neonates born in Sydney, Australia, in 2010 were included. Body fat percentage measurements were taken by using air displacement plethysmography. Objective composite measurements of perinatal morbidity were used to identify neonates who had poor outcomes; these data were extracted from medical records. The value of customized charts was assessed by calculating positive predictive values, negative predictive values, and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals. Customized versus population-based charts did not improve the prediction of either low body fat percentage (59% vs. 66% positive predictive value and 87% vs. 89% negative predictive value, respectively) or high body fat percentage (48% vs. 53% positive predictive value and 90% vs. 89% negative predictive value, respectively). Customized charts were not better than population-based charts at predicting perinatal morbidity (for customized charts, odds ratio = 1.02, 95% confidence interval: 1.01, 1.04; for population-based charts, odds ratio = 1.03, 95% confidence interval: 1.01, 1.05) per percentile decrease in birth weight. Customized birth weight charts do not provide significant improvements over population-based charts in predicting neonatal growth and morbidity.

Use of World Health Organization and CDC growth charts for children aged 0-59 months in the United States.

PubMed

Grummer-Strawn, Laurence M; Reinold, Chris; Krebs, Nancy F

2010-09-10

In April 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) released new international growth charts for children aged 0-59 months. Similar to the 2000 CDC growth charts, these charts describe weight for age, length (or stature) for age, weight for length (or stature), and body mass index for age. Whereas the WHO charts are growth standards, describing the growth of healthy children in optimal conditions, the CDC charts are a growth reference, describing how certain children grew in a particular place and time. However, in practice, clinicians use growth charts as standards rather than references. In 2006, CDC, the National Institutes of Health, and the American Academy of Pediatrics convened an expert panel to review scientific evidence and discuss the potential use of the new WHO growth charts in clinical settings in the United States. On the basis of input from this expert panel, CDC recommends that clinicians in the United States use the 2006 WHO international growth charts, rather than the CDC growth charts, for children aged <24 months (available at https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts). The CDC growth charts should continue to be used for the assessment of growth in persons aged 2--19 years. The recommendation to use the 2006 WHO international growth charts for children aged <24 months is based on several considerations, including the recognition that breastfeeding is the recommended standard for infant feeding. In the WHO charts, the healthy breastfed infant is intended to be the standard against which all other infants are compared; 100% of the reference population of infants were breastfed for 12 months and were predominantly breastfed for at least 4 months. When using the WHO growth charts to screen for possible abnormal or unhealthy growth, use of the 2.3rd and 97.7th percentiles (or ±2 standard deviations) are recommended, rather than the 5th and 95th percentiles. Clinicians should be aware that fewer U.S. children will be identified as underweight using the WHO charts, slower growth among breastfed infants during ages 3-18 months is normal, and gaining weight more rapidly than is indicated on the WHO charts might signal early signs of overweight.

Smart Aeronautical Chart Management System Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pakdil, M. E.; Celik, R. N.; Kaya, Ö.; Konak, Y. C.; Guney, C.

2015-10-01

Civil aviation is developing rapidly, and the number of domestic and international operations is increasing exponentially every year than the previous one. Airline companies with increased air traffic and the number of passengers increase the demand of new aircrafts. An aircraft needs not only fuel but also pilot and aeronautical information (charts, digital navigation information, flight plan, and etc.) to perform flight operation. One of the most important components in aeronautical information is the terminal chart. Authorized institution in every state is responsible to publish their terminal charts for certain periods. Although these charts are produced in accordance with ICAO's Annex 4 and Annex 15, cartographic representation and page layout differs in each state's publication. This situation makes difficult to read them by pilots. In this paper, standard instrument departure (SID) charts are analysed to produce by use of cutting-edge and competitive technologies instead of classical computer-aided drawing and vector based graphic applications that are currently used by main chart producers. The goal is to design efficient and commercial chart management system that is able to produce aeronautical charts with same cartographic representation for all states.

Discussion on integrated digital chart data model and display platform for pocket navigator system (PNS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sui, Haigang; Xiao, Jinghuan; Wang, Qi; Li, Qian

2007-06-01

PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) is a useful tool for navigation which has many advantages such as its smallness and portability. In the meantime, digital charts have been found a wide application in past ten years, and many users are hoping for giving up the paper chart entirely and using ENC by the law. However, traditional paper chart is a nonreplaced tool for people in hydrographical survey and other application fields, and would coexist with ENC for a long time. How to manage and display integrated chart for traditional paper chart and ENC together in PDA for navigating is still an unsolved problem. Aiming at this, a new integrated spatial data model and display techniques for ENC and paper chart are presented. The core idea of the new algorithm is to build an integrated spatial data model, structure and display environment for both paper chart and ENC. Based on the above algorithms and strategies, an Integrated Electronic Chart Pocket Navigator System named PNS based on PDA was developed. It has been applied in Tianjin Marine Safety Administration Bureau and obtained a good evaluation.

Evolution of the 2011 Mississippi River Peak Flood Plume from Coincident Satellite and Airborne L-band Radiometer Surface Salinity Observations.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burrage, D. M.; Wesson, J. C.; Hwang, P. A.; Wang, D. W.; Wijesekera, H. W.

2016-02-01

Airborne mapping of Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) with L-band radiometers has been practiced for 20 yrs., while global satellite observations began with the European Space Agency's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) Satellite launch in 2009. Airborne data with high ( 1km) resolution, but limited coverage, complement the lower resolution ( 35 km at nadir) but global coverage and 3-5 day revisit of SMOS. The record June, 2011 Mississippi R. peak flood, with flows exceeding 42,500 m^3/s, required diversions into Lake Pontchartrain and the Atchafalaya R. to avoid flooding New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The resulting merged outflows formed a single freshwater plume that spanned the Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas `Gulf Coast', and reached up to 300 km across the shelf. SSS was mapped by the NRL airborne Salinity Temperature and Roughness Remote Scanner (STARRS) and SMOS radiometers during a two week (2-13 June 2011) campaign immediately following the flood crest. STARRS obtained oblique across-shelf transects spanning the Northern Gulf of Mexico, under-flying SMOS, and shorter zig-zag coastal transects. SSS samples from a ship near the shelf edge agreed well with STARRS and SMOS after applying standard geophysical correction models and roughness corrections from an SSA/SPM E-M model and an advanced wave spectrum. The minimum SMOS footprint size (35 km at nadir), produced a coastal data gap filled by STARRS transects that reached the coast. The 200 km overlap between the two sensors along coincident ground tracks agreed closely near the frontal boundary, with salinity contrasts of 7-15 psu over a 10 km span at the plume edge evident in both data sets. Successive SMOS Level 2 (L2) SSS data swaths obtained at 2-5 day intervals showed the evolution of the plume in three well-separated seaward extensions located near the Mississippi Delta, and well east and west of the Delta. The dispersal of the plume was also detected by SMOS following the airborne campaign.

Geomorphic Effects of Gravel Augmentation and Bank Re-erosion on the Old Rhine River Downstream From The Kembs Dam (France, Germany)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chardon, V.; Laurent, S.; Piegay, H.; Arnaud, F.; Houssier, J.; Serouilou, J.; Clutier, A.

2017-12-01

The Old Rhine is a 50 km by-passed reach downstream from the Kembs diversion dam in the Alsacian plain (France/Germany). It has been impacted by engineering works since the 19th century. This reach exhibits poor ecological functionalities due to severe geomorphological alterations (e.g., channel bed stabilization, narrowing, degradation and armoring, sediment deficit). In the frame of the Kembs power plant relicensing (2010), Électricité de France has undertaken two gravel augmentations (18 000 and 30 000 m3) and three controlled bank erosions following riprap protection removal over 300 m bank length to enhance bedload transport and habitat diversification. A first pilot gravel augmentation was also implemented in 2010 (23 000 m3). A geomorphological monitoring based on bedload tracking, grain size analyses and topo-bathymetric surveys has been performed on the three gravel augmentation reaches and one of the controlled bank erosion sites to assess the efficiency and sustainability of these actions (2010-2017). Results show that augmented gravels are entrained for a Q2 flood. Gravels moved several hundred meters for moderate floods and up to one kilometer for more intense floods (Q15), while sediment deposition mainly diffused within the channel. Morphological and grain size diversification, including sediment refinement, are still relatively limited following gravel augmentation. Furthermore, sediment armoring reestablished once the sediment wave moved more downstream, after only four to six years, due to the stability and the narrowness of the channel but also by the absence of upstream bedload supply. Habitat diversification was higher on the controlled bank erosion site thanks to the presence of two artificial groynes, even though eroded sediment volumes were lower than expected (less than 1500m3 for a Q15 flood). This monitoring demonstrates gravel augmentations are not sufficient to really diversify geomorphological conditions of the Old Rhine. Channel enlargements by controlled bank erosion and other actions should be carried out downstream from gravel augmentations to create channel geometry conditions promoting bar development and habitat diversification.

NASA Earth Science Disasters Program Response Activities During Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in 2017

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bell, J. R.; Schultz, L. A.; Molthan, A.; Kirschbaum, D.; Roman, M.; Yun, S. H.; Meyer, F. J.; Hogenson, K.; Gens, R.; Goodman, H. M.; Owen, S. E.; Lou, Y.; Amini, R.; Glasscoe, M. T.; Brentzel, K. W.; Stefanov, W. L.; Green, D. S.; Murray, J. J.; Seepersad, J.; Struve, J. C.; Thompson, V.

2017-12-01

The 2017 Atlantic hurricane season included a series of storms that impacted the United States, and the Caribbean breaking a 12-year drought of landfalls in the mainland United States (Harvey and Irma), with additional impacts from the combination of Irma and Maria felt in the Caribbean. These storms caused widespread devastation resulting in a significant need to support federal partners in response to these destructive weather events. The NASA Earth Science Disasters Program provided support to federal partners including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Guard Bureau (NGB) by leveraging remote sensing and other expertise through NASA Centers and partners in academia throughout the country. The NASA Earth Science Disasters Program leveraged NASA mission products from the GPM mission to monitor cyclone intensity, assist with cyclone center tracking, and quantifying precipitation. Multispectral imagery from the NASA-NOAA Suomi-NPP mission and the VIIRS Day-Night Band proved useful for monitoring power outages and recovery. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellites operated by the European Space Agency were used to create flood inundation and damage assessment maps that were useful for damage density mapping. Using additional datasets made available through the USGS Hazards Data Distribution System and the activation of the International Charter: Space and Major Disasters, the NASA Earth Science Disasters Program created additional flood products from optical and radar remote sensing platforms, along with PI-led efforts to derive products from other international partner assets such as the COSMO-SkyMed system. Given the significant flooding impacts from Harvey in the Houston area, NASA provided airborne L-band SAR collections from the UAVSAR system which captured the daily evolution of record flooding, helping to guide response and mitigation decisions for critical infrastructure and public safety. We will provide an overview of the response activities and data products provided by the NASA Earth Science Disasters program, partnerships with federal end-users and the International Charter, and preliminary feedback from end-user partners during response efforts following Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria..

Investigating surface water-well interaction using stable isotope ratios of water

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hunt, R.J.; Coplen, T.B.; Haas, N.L.; Saad, D.A.; Borchardt, M. A.

2005-01-01

Because surface water can be a source of undesirable water quality in a drinking water well, an understanding of the amount of surface water and its travel time to the well is needed to assess a well's vulnerability. Stable isotope ratios of oxygen in river water at the City of La Crosse, Wisconsin, show peak-to-peak seasonal variation greater than 4??? in 2001 and 2002. This seasonal signal was identified in 7 of 13 city municipal wells, indicating that these 7 wells have appreciable surface water contributions and are potentially vulnerable to contaminants in the surface water. When looking at wells with more than 6 sampling events, a larger variation in ??18O compositions correlated with a larger fraction of surface water, suggesting that samples collected for oxygen isotopic composition over time may be useful for identifying the vulnerability to surface water influence even if a local meteoric water line is not available. A time series of ??18O from one of the municipal wells and from a piezometer located between the river and the municipal well showed that the travel time of flood water to the municipal well was approximately 2 months; non-flood arrival times were on the order of 9 months. Four independent methods were also used to assess time of travel. Three methods (groundwater temperature arrival times at the intermediate piezometer, virus-culture results, and particle tracking using a numerical groundwater-flow model) yielded flood and non-flood travel times of less than 1 year for this site. Age dating of one groundwater sample using 3H-3He methods estimated an age longer than 1 year, but was likely confounded by deviations from piston flow as noted by others. Chlorofluorocarbons and SF6 analyses were not useful at this site due to degradation and contamination, respectively. This work illustrates the utility of stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios of water to determine the contribution and travel time of surface water in groundwater, and demonstrates the importance of using multiple methods to improve estimates for time of travel of 1 year or less. ?? 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Extremely long-distance seed dispersal by an overfished Amazonian frugivore.

PubMed

Anderson, Jill T; Nuttle, Tim; Saldaña Rojas, Joe S; Pendergast, Thomas H; Flecker, Alexander S

2011-11-22

Throughout Amazonia, overfishing has decimated populations of fruit-eating fishes, especially the large-bodied characid, Colossoma macropomum. During lengthy annual floods, frugivorous fishes enter vast Amazonian floodplains, consume massive quantities of fallen fruits and egest viable seeds. Many tree and liana species are clearly specialized for icthyochory, and seed dispersal by fish may be crucial for the maintenance of Amazonian wetland forests. Unlike frugivorous mammals and birds, little is known about seed dispersal effectiveness of fishes. Extensive mobility of frugivorous fish could result in extremely effective, multi-directional, long-distance seed dispersal. Over three annual flood seasons, we tracked fine-scale movement patterns and habitat use of wild Colossoma, and seed retention in the digestive tracts of captive individuals. Our mechanistic model predicts that Colossoma disperses seeds extremely long distances to favourable habitats. Modelled mean dispersal distances of 337-552 m and maximum of 5495 m are among the longest ever reported. At least 5 per cent of seeds are predicted to disperse 1700-2110 m, farther than dispersal by almost all other frugivores reported in the literature. Additionally, seed dispersal distances increased with fish size, but overfishing has biased Colossoma populations to smaller individuals. Thus, overexploitation probably disrupts an ancient coevolutionary relationship between Colossoma and Amazonian plants.

Recent applications of acoustic Doppler current profilers

USGS Publications Warehouse

Oberg, K.A.; Mueller, David S.

1994-01-01

A Broadband acoustic Doppler current profiler (BB-ADCP) is a new instrument being used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to measure stream discharge and velocities, and bathymetry. During the 1993 Mississippi River flood, more than 160 high-flow BB-ADCP measurements were made by the USGS at eight locations between Quincy and Cairo, Ill., from July 19 to August 20, 1993. A maximum discharge of 31,400 m3/s was measured at St. Louis, Mo., on August 2, 1993. A BB-ADCP also has been used to measure leakage through three control structures near Chicago, Ill. These measurements are unusual in that the average velocity for the measured section was as low as 0.03 m/s. BB-ADCP's are also used in support of studies of scour at bridges. During the recent Mississippi River flood, BB-ADCP's were used to measure water velocities and bathymetry upstream from, next to, and downstream from bridge piers at several bridges over the Mississippi River. Bathymetry data were collected by merging location data from Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, laser tracking systems, and depths measured by the BB-ADCP. These techniques for collecting bathymetry data were used for documenting the channel formation downstream from the Miller City levee break and scour near two bridges on the Mississippi River.

Rising Mediterranean Sea Surface Temperatures Amplify Extreme Summer Precipitation in Central Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volosciuk, Claudia; Maraun, Douglas; Semenov, Vladimir A.; Tilinina, Natalia; Gulev, Sergey K.; Latif, Mojib

2016-08-01

The beginning of the 21st century was marked by a number of severe summer floods in Central Europe associated with extreme precipitation (e.g., Elbe 2002, Oder 2010 and Danube 2013). Extratropical storms, known as Vb-cyclones, cause summer extreme precipitation events over Central Europe and can thus lead to such floodings. Vb-cyclones develop over the Mediterranean Sea, which itself strongly warmed during recent decades. Here we investigate the influence of increased Mediterranean Sea surface temperature (SST) on extreme precipitation events in Central Europe. To this end, we carry out atmosphere model simulations forced by average Mediterranean SSTs during 1970-1999 and 2000-2012. Extreme precipitation events occurring on average every 20 summers in the warmer-SST-simulation (2000-2012) amplify along the Vb-cyclone track compared to those in the colder-SST-simulation (1970-1999), on average by 17% in Central Europe. The largest increase is located southeast of maximum precipitation for both simulated heavy events and historical Vb-events. The responsible physical mechanism is increased evaporation from and enhanced atmospheric moisture content over the Mediterranean Sea. The excess in precipitable water is transported from the Mediterranean Sea to Central Europe causing stronger precipitation extremes over that region. Our findings suggest that Mediterranean Sea surface warming amplifies Central European precipitation extremes.

Sedimentary gravity flows from subaerial fan-deltas in Loreto Bay, Baja California Sur, Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Navarro-Lozano, José O.; Nava-Sánchez, Enrique H.; Godínez-Orta, Lucio

2010-05-01

Fan-deltas from Loreto Bay show recent evidences of sedimentary gravity flows as a result from catastrophic events during hurricane rainfalls. The knowledge of hydrological characteristics of these flows is important for understanding the effects of storms on fan-deltas geomorphology in this region, as well as for the urban developing planning of the city of Loreto in order to avoid hazardous zones. The analysis of precipitation and hurricane tracks data for the period 1945 to 2009 indicates that hurricanes have caused catastrophic floods every 20 years. Stratigraphy from the channel incision shows a sequence of stream flow and debris flow controlled by changes in the competence and capacity of the stream, which are associated to the gentle slope (<2 °) of the fan-deltas. However fans from the north of the bay (Arce and Gúa) show deposits of debris flows associated to catastrophic floods, which have caused the incision channel to drift towards the southern part of the fans, while flows from Las Parras fan-delta, from the middle of the bay, are dominated by stream flows. These differences in the type of the flows are controlled by lithology, shape and size of the drainage basin, and slope of the transit zone in the feeder channel.

Extremely long-distance seed dispersal by an overfished Amazonian frugivore

PubMed Central

Anderson, Jill T.; Nuttle, Tim; Saldaña Rojas, Joe S.; Pendergast, Thomas H.; Flecker, Alexander S.

2011-01-01

Throughout Amazonia, overfishing has decimated populations of fruit-eating fishes, especially the large-bodied characid, Colossoma macropomum. During lengthy annual floods, frugivorous fishes enter vast Amazonian floodplains, consume massive quantities of fallen fruits and egest viable seeds. Many tree and liana species are clearly specialized for icthyochory, and seed dispersal by fish may be crucial for the maintenance of Amazonian wetland forests. Unlike frugivorous mammals and birds, little is known about seed dispersal effectiveness of fishes. Extensive mobility of frugivorous fish could result in extremely effective, multi-directional, long-distance seed dispersal. Over three annual flood seasons, we tracked fine-scale movement patterns and habitat use of wild Colossoma, and seed retention in the digestive tracts of captive individuals. Our mechanistic model predicts that Colossoma disperses seeds extremely long distances to favourable habitats. Modelled mean dispersal distances of 337–552 m and maximum of 5495 m are among the longest ever reported. At least 5 per cent of seeds are predicted to disperse 1700–2110 m, farther than dispersal by almost all other frugivores reported in the literature. Additionally, seed dispersal distances increased with fish size, but overfishing has biased Colossoma populations to smaller individuals. Thus, overexploitation probably disrupts an ancient coevolutionary relationship between Colossoma and Amazonian plants. PMID:21429923

Deaths associated with Hurricane Sandy - October-November 2012.

PubMed

2013-05-24

On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit the northeastern U.S. coastline. Sandy's tropical storm winds stretched over 900 miles (1,440 km), causing storm surges and destruction over a larger area than that affected by hurricanes with more intensity but narrower paths. Based on storm surge predictions, mandatory evacuations were ordered on October 28, including for New York City's Evacuation Zone A, the coastal zone at risk for flooding from any hurricane. By October 31, the region had 6-12 inches (15-30 cm) of precipitation, 7-8 million customers without power, approximately 20,000 persons in shelters, and news reports of numerous fatalities (Robert Neurath, CDC, personal communication, 2013). To characterize deaths related to Sandy, CDC analyzed data on 117 hurricane-related deaths captured by American Red Cross (Red Cross) mortality tracking during October 28-November 30, 2012. This report describes the results of that analysis, which found drowning was the most common cause of death related to Sandy, and 45% of drowning deaths occurred in flooded homes in Evacuation Zone A. Drowning is a leading cause of hurricane death but is preventable with advance warning systems and evacuation plans. Emergency plans should ensure that persons receive and comprehend evacuation messages and have the necessary resources to comply with them.

Experimental testing of impact force on rigid and flexible barriers - A comparison

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagl, Georg; Hübl, Johannes; Chiari, Michael

2016-04-01

The Trattenbach endangers the main western railway track of Austria by floods and debris flows. Three check dams for debris retention were built in the proximal fan area several decades ago. With regard to an improvement of the protective function, these structures have to be renewed. The recent concept of the uppermost barrier is a type of an energy dissipation net structure, stopping debris flows with the ability of self-cleaning by subsequent floods or by machinery employment. The access to the basin is achieved through the slit when the net has been removed. This technical structure consists of a rigid open crown dam with a 4m wide slit. This slit is closed with a flexible net. To verify this protective system, 21 small scale experiments were conducted to test and optimize this new type of Slit Net Dam. To determine the forces on the barrier, in a first setup of experiments the impact forces on a rigid wall with 24 load cells were measured. In the second setup the slit barrier with the net was investigated. On four main cables the anchor forces were measured. In a further setup the basal distance between the channel and lowest net was varied. To study the emptying of the basin and the dosing effect on debris flows.

Lunar and planetary maps and charts available for public sale

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

A catalog of lunar and planetary charts which are available from the U.S. Government Printing Office is presented. The charts are identified by the area of the lunar topology involved and the prices of each chart are shown.

Development of Markup Language for Medical Record Charting: A Charting Language.

PubMed

Jung, Won-Mo; Chae, Younbyoung; Jang, Bo-Hyoung

2015-01-01

Nowadays a lot of trials for collecting electronic medical records (EMRs) exist. However, structuring data format for EMR is an especially labour-intensive task for practitioners. Here we propose a new mark-up language for medical record charting (called Charting Language), which borrows useful properties from programming languages. Thus, with Charting Language, the text data described in dynamic situation can be easily used to extract information.

Community awareness and utilization of growth chart in a semi-urban Nigerian community.

PubMed

Fagbule, D O; Olaosebikan, A; Parakoyi, D B

1990-02-01

Five hundred and eighteen mothers resident in Adeta, Sawmill and Baboko Communities of Ilorin Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria, were interviewed to assess their knowledge, utilization, and understanding of the growth chart. Five health facilities in the communities studied were visited to assess the availability, utilization and understanding of growth charts by health workers. Over half (53.7%) of the mothers interviewed have heard about growth charts. The level of awareness was significantly influenced by maternal age, educational status and parity (PLO.OS). Of those who have heard about growth chart, only 155 (55.8%) have it, and 150 of these (96.8%) use it regularly. One hundred and seventy four (33.6%) of all mothers, but 62.6% of those who have heard about the chart demonstrated an understanding of the markings on it. One hundred and sixteen mothers found the growth chart useful for immunization record, nutrition advice, clinic appointment dates, and assessment of developmental milestones. Two of the five health facilities visited had, and used growth charts. The health workers, however, demonstrated a clear understanding of weighing, plotting, and interpretation of the chart, and gave appropriate advice to mothers. Ways of improving growth monitoring in the community using the growth chart are suggested.

KSC-04PD-2266

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. At the Boeing Delta Operations Center, a crane moves to the ground the top of the shipping container at right. The container holds the Boeing Delta IV second stage inside. The Delta IV rocket will be used for the 2005 launching of the GOES-N weather satellite for NASA and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). The first in a series of three advanced weather satellites including GOES-O and GOES-P, the GOES-N will provide continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. It will provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric triggers of severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, hail storms and hurricanes. When these conditions develop, GOES-N will be able to monitor storm development and track their movements.

Analysis of the Meteorology Associated with the 1998 NASA Glenn Twin Otter Icing Flights

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bernstein, Ben C.

2000-01-01

This document contains a basic analysis of the meteorology associated with the NASA Glenn Twin Otter icing encounters between December 1997 and March 1998. The purpose of this analysis is to provide a meteorological context for the aircraft data collected during these flights. For each case, the following data elements are presented: (1) A brief overview of the Twin Otter encounter, including locations, liquid water contents, temperatures and microphysical makeup of the clouds and precipitation aloft, (2) Upper-air charts, providing hand-analyzed locations of lows, troughs, ridges, saturated/unsaturated air, temperatures, warm/cold advection, and jet streams, (3) Balloon-borne soundings, providing vertical profiles of temperature, moisture and winds, (4) Infrared and visible satellite data, providing cloud locations and cloud top temperature, (5) 3-hourly surface charts, providing hand-analyzed locations of lows, highs, fronts, precipitation (including type) and cloud cover, (6) Hourly, regional radar mosaics, providing fine resolution of the locations of precipitation (including intensity and type), pilot reports of icing (including intensity and type), surface observations of precipitation type and Twin Otter tracks for a one hour window centered on the time of the radar data, and (7) Hourly plots of icing pilot reports, providing the icing intensity, icing type, icing altitudes and aircraft type. Outages occurred in nearly every dataset at some point. All relevant data that was available is presented here. All times are in UTC and all heights are in feet above mean sea level (MSL).

Improvements in the delivery of resuscitation and newborn care after Helping Babies Breathe training.

PubMed

Kamath-Rayne, B D; Josyula, S; Rule, A R L; Vasquez, J C

2017-10-01

To evaluate changes in neonatal resuscitation and postnatal care following Helping Babies Breathe (HBB) training at a community hospital in rural Honduras. We hypothesized that HBB training would improve resuscitation and essential newborn care interventions. Direct observation and video recording of delivery room care spanned before and after an initial HBB workshop held in August 2013. Rates of essential newborn care interventions were compared in resuscitations performed by individuals who had and had not received HBB training, and run charts recording performance of newborn care practices over time were developed. Ten percent of deliveries (N=250) were observed over the study period, with 156 newborn resuscitations performed by individuals without HBB training, compared to 94 resuscitations performed by HBB trainees. After HBB training, significant improvements were seen in skin-to-skin care, breastfeeding within 60 min of age, and delayed cord clamping after 1 min (all P<0.01). More babies cared for by HBB trainees received basic neonatal resuscitation such as drying and stimulation. Run charts tracking these practices over time showed significant improvements after HBB training that were sustained during the study period, but remained below ideal goals. With improvement in drying/stimulation practices, fewer babies required bag/mask ventilation. In a rural Honduran community hospital, improvements in basic neonatal resuscitation and postnatal essential newborn care practices can be seen after HBB training. Further improvements in newborn care practices may require focused quality improvement initiatives for hospitals to sustain high quality care.

Barriers of and facilitators to physician recommendation of colorectal cancer screening.

PubMed

Guerra, Carmen E; Schwartz, J Sanford; Armstrong, Katrina; Brown, Jamin S; Halbert, Chanita Hughes; Shea, Judy A

2007-12-01

Colorectal cancer screening (CRCS) has been demonstrated to be effective and is consistently recommended by clinical practice guidelines. However, only slightly over half of all Americans have ever been screened. Patients cite physician recommendation as the most important motivator of screening. This study explored the barriers of and facilitators to physician recommendation of CRCS. A 3-component qualitative study to explore the barriers of and facilitators to physician recommendation of CRCS: in-depth, semistructured interviews with 29 purposively sampled, community- and academic-based primary care physicians; chart-stimulated recall, a technique that utilizes patient charts to probe physician recall and provide context about the barriers of and facilitators to physician recommendation of CRCS during actual clinic encounters; and focus groups with 18 academic primary care physicians. Grounded theory techniques of analysis were used. All the participating physicians were aware of and recommended CRCS. The overwhelmingly preferred test was colonoscopy. Barriers of physician recommendation of CRCS included patient comorbidities, prior patient refusal of screening, physician forgetfulness, acute care visits, lack of time, and lack of reminder systems and test tracking systems. Facilitators to physician recommendation of CRCS included patient request, patient age 50-59, physician positive attitudes about CRCS, physician prioritization of screening, visits devoted to preventive health, reminders, and incentives. There are multiple physician, patient, and system barriers to recommending CRCS. Thus, interventions may need to target barriers at multiple levels to successfully increase physician recommendation of CRCS.

An intervention to decrease patient identification band errors in a children's hospital.

PubMed

Hain, Paul D; Joers, B; Rush, M; Slayton, J; Throop, P; Hoagg, S; Allen, L; Grantham, J; Deshpande, J K

2010-06-01

Patient misidentification continues to be a quality and safety issue. There is a paucity of US data describing interventions to reduce identification band error rates. Monroe Carell Jr Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. Percentage of patients with defective identification bands. Web-based surveys were sent, asking hospital personnel to anonymously identify perceived barriers to reaching zero defects with identification bands. Corrective action plans were created and implemented with ideas from leadership, front-line staff and the online survey. Data from unannounced audits of patient identification bands were plotted on statistical process control charts and shared monthly with staff. All hospital personnel were expected to "stop the line" if there were any patient identification questions. The first audit showed a defect rate of 20.4%. The original mean defect rate was 6.5%. After interventions and education, the new mean defect rate was 2.6%. (a) The initial rate of patient identification band errors in the hospital was higher than expected. (b) The action resulting in most significant improvement was staff awareness of the problem, with clear expectations to immediately stop the line if a patient identification error was present. (c) Staff surveys are an excellent source of suggestions for combating patient identification issues. (d) Continued audit and data collection is necessary for sustainable staff focus and continued improvement. (e) Statistical process control charts are both an effective method to track results and an easily understood tool for sharing data with staff.

Spectral Imaging of Portolan Charts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

France, Fenella G.; Wilson, Meghan A.; Ghez, Anita

2018-05-01

Spectral imaging of Portolan Charts, early nautical charts, provided extensive new information about their construction and creation. The origins of the portolan chart style have been a continual source of perplexity to numerous generations of cartographic historians. The spectral imaging system utilized incorporates a 50 megapixel mono-chrome camera with light emitting diode (LED) illumination panels that cover the range from 365 nm to 1050 nm to capture visible and non-visible information. There is little known about how portolan charts evolved, and what influenced their creation. These early nautical charts began as working navigational tools of medieval mariners, initially made in the 1300s in Italy, Portugal and Spain; however the origin and development of the portolan chart remained shrouded in mystery. Questions about these early navigational charts included whether colorants were commensurate with the time period and geographical location, and if different, did that give insight into trade routes, or possible later additions to the charts? For example; spectral data showed the red pigment on both the 1320 portolan chart and the 1565 Galapagos Islands matched vermillion, an opaque red pigment used since antiquity. The construction of these charts was also of great interest. Spectral imaging with a range of illumination modes revealed the presence of a "hidden circle" often referred to in relation to their construction. This paper will present in-depth analysis of how spectral imaging of the Portolans revealed similarities and differences, new hidden information and shed new light on construction and composition.

Modulation of low-latitude west wind on abnormal track and intensity of tropical cyclone Nargis (2008) in the Bay of Bengal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Wei-Wei; Wang, Chunzai; Wang, Dongxiao; Yang, Lei; Deng, Yi

2012-03-01

Tropical cyclone (TC) Nargis (2008) made landfall in Myanmar on 02 May 2008, bringing a storm surge, major flooding, and resulting in a significant death toll. TC Nargis (2008) displayed abnormal features, including rare eastward motion in its late stage, rapid intensification before landing. Using reanalysis data and a numerical model, we investigated how a low-latitude westerly wind modulated TC Nargis' (2008) track and provided favorable atmospheric conditions for its rapid intensification. More importantly, we found a possible counterbalance effect of flows from the two hemispheres on the TC track in the Bay of Bengal. Our analysis indicates that a strong westerly wind burst across the Bay of Bengal, resulting in TC Nargis' (2008) eastward movement after its recurvature. This sudden enhancement of westerly wind was mainly due to the rapidly intensified mid-level cross-equatorial flow. Our results show that a high-pressure system in the Southern Hemisphere induced this strong, mid-level, cross-equatorial flow. During the rapid intensification period of TC Nargis (2008), this strong and broad westerly wind also transported a large amount of water vapor to TC Nargis (2008). Sufficient water vapor gave rise to continuously high and increased mid-level relative humidity, which was favorable to TC Nargis' (2008) intensification. Condensation of water vapor increased the energy supply, which eventuated the intensification of TC Nargis (2008) to a category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

The 2017 Korean National Growth Charts for children and adolescents: development, improvement, and prospects

PubMed Central

Kim, Jae Hyun; Yun, Sungha; Hwang, Seung-sik; Shim, Jung Ok; Chae, Hyun Wook; Lee, Yeoun Joo; Lee, Ji Hyuk; Kim, Soon Chul; Lim, Dohee; Yang, Sei Won

2018-01-01

Growth charts are curves or tables that facilitate the visualization of anthropometric parameters, and are widely used as an important indicator when evaluating the growth status of children and adolescents. The latest version of the Korean National Growth Charts released in 2007 has raised concerns regarding the inclusion of data from both breastfed and formula-fed infants, higher body mass index (BMI) values in boys, and smaller 3rd percentile values in height-for-age charts. Thus, new growth charts have been developed to improve the previous version. The 2006 World Health Organization Child Growth Standards, regarded as the standard for breastfed infants and children, were introduced for children aged 0–35 months. For children and adolescents aged 3–18 years, these new growth charts include height-for-age, weight-for-age, BMI-for-age, weight-for-height, and head circumference-for-age charts, and were developed using data obtained in 1997 and 2005. Data sets and exclusion criteria were applied differently for the development of the different growth charts. BMI-for-age charts were adjusted to decrease the 95th percentile values of BMI. Criteria for obesity were simplified and defined as a BMI of ≥95th percentile for age and sex. The 3rd percentile values for height-for-age charts were also increased. Additional percentile lines (1st and 99th) and growth charts with standard deviation lines were introduced. 2017 Korean National Growth Charts are recommended for the evaluation of body size and growth of Korean children and adolescents for use in clinics and the public health sector in Korea. PMID:29853938

Comparison of Onsite Versus Online Chart Reviews as Part of the American College of Radiation Oncology Accreditation Program.

PubMed

Hepel, Jaroslaw T; Heron, Dwight E; Mundt, Arno J; Yashar, Catheryn; Feigenberg, Steven; Koltis, Gordon; Regine, William F; Prasad, Dheerendra; Patel, Shilpen; Sharma, Navesh; Hebert, Mary; Wallis, Norman; Kuettel, Michael

2017-05-01

Accreditation based on peer review of professional standards of care is essential in ensuring quality and safety in administration of radiation therapy. Traditionally, medical chart reviews have been performed by a physical onsite visit. The American College of Radiation Oncology Accreditation Program has remodeled its process whereby electronic charts are reviewed remotely. Twenty-eight radiation oncology practices undergoing accreditation had three charts per practice undergo both onsite and online review. Onsite review was performed by a single reviewer for each practice. Online review consisted of one or more disease site-specific reviewers for each practice. Onsite and online reviews were blinded and scored on a 100-point scale on the basis of 20 categories. A score of less than 75 was failing, and a score of 75 to 79 was marginal. Any failed charts underwent rereview by a disease site team leader. Eighty-four charts underwent both onsite and online review. The mean scores were 86.0 and 86.9 points for charts reviewed onsite and online, respectively. Comparison of onsite and online reviews revealed no statistical difference in chart scores ( P = .43). Of charts reviewed, 21% had a marginal (n = 8) or failing (n = 10) score. There was no difference in failing charts ( P = .48) or combined marginal and failing charts ( P = .13) comparing onsite and online reviews. The American College of Radiation Oncology accreditation process of online chart review results in comparable review scores and rate of failing scores compared with traditional on-site review. However, the modern online process holds less potential for bias by using multiple reviewers per practice and allows for greater oversight via disease site team leader rereview.

The development of flood map in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zakaria, Siti Fairus; Zin, Rosli Mohamad; Mohamad, Ismail; Balubaid, Saeed; Mydin, Shaik Hussein; MDR, E. M. Roodienyanto

2017-11-01

In Malaysia, flash floods are common occurrences throughout the year in flood prone areas. In terms of flood extent, flash floods affect smaller areas but because of its tendency to occur in densely urbanized areas, the value of damaged property is high and disruption to traffic flow and businesses are substantial. However, in river floods especially the river floods of Kelantan and Pahang, the flood extent is widespread and can extend over 1,000 square kilometers. Although the value of property and density of affected population is lower, the damage inflicted by these floods can also be high because the area affected is large. In order to combat these floods, various flood mitigation measures have been carried out. Structural flood mitigation alone can only provide protection levels from 10 to 100 years Average Recurrence Intervals (ARI). One of the economically effective non-structural approaches in flood mitigation and flood management is using a geospatial technology which involves flood forecasting and warning services to the flood prone areas. This approach which involves the use of Geographical Information Flood Forecasting system also includes the generation of a series of flood maps. There are three types of flood maps namely Flood Hazard Map, Flood Risk Map and Flood Evacuation Map. Flood Hazard Map is used to determine areas susceptible to flooding when discharge from a stream exceeds the bank-full stage. Early warnings of incoming flood events will enable the flood victims to prepare themselves before flooding occurs. Properties and life's can be saved by keeping their movable properties above the flood levels and if necessary, an early evacuation from the area. With respect to flood fighting, an early warning with reference through a series of flood maps including flood hazard map, flood risk map and flood evacuation map of the approaching flood should be able to alert the organization in charge of the flood fighting actions and the authority to undertake the necessary decisions, and the general public to be aware of the impending danger. However this paper will only discuss on the generations of Flood Hazard Maps and the use of Flood Risk Map and Flood Evacuation Map by using geospatial data.

Design of Instrument Approach Procedure Charts Comprehension Speed of Missed Approach Instructions Coded in Text or Icons

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1992-02-01

Instrument approach procedure (IAP) charts are often cluttered and confusing. The quantified effects of chart design : changes on information transfer are needed by chart manufacturers to make changes uhich will enhance information transfer : and hum...

49 CFR 236.338 - Mechanical locking required in accordance with locking sheet and dog chart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... locking sheet and dog chart. 236.338 Section 236.338 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to... in accordance with locking sheet and dog chart. Mechanical locking shall be in accordance with locking sheet and dog chart currently in effect. ...

49 CFR 236.338 - Mechanical locking required in accordance with locking sheet and dog chart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... locking sheet and dog chart. 236.338 Section 236.338 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to... in accordance with locking sheet and dog chart. Mechanical locking shall be in accordance with locking sheet and dog chart currently in effect. ...

49 CFR 236.338 - Mechanical locking required in accordance with locking sheet and dog chart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... locking sheet and dog chart. 236.338 Section 236.338 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to... in accordance with locking sheet and dog chart. Mechanical locking shall be in accordance with locking sheet and dog chart currently in effect. ...

49 CFR 236.338 - Mechanical locking required in accordance with locking sheet and dog chart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... locking sheet and dog chart. 236.338 Section 236.338 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to... in accordance with locking sheet and dog chart. Mechanical locking shall be in accordance with locking sheet and dog chart currently in effect. ...

49 CFR 236.338 - Mechanical locking required in accordance with locking sheet and dog chart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... locking sheet and dog chart. 236.338 Section 236.338 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to... in accordance with locking sheet and dog chart. Mechanical locking shall be in accordance with locking sheet and dog chart currently in effect. ...

Is the track of the Yellowstone hotspot driven by a deep mantle plume? — Review of volcanism, faulting, and uplift in light of new data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierce, Kenneth L.; Morgan, Lisa A.

2009-11-01

Geophysical imaging of a tilted mantle plume extending at least 500 km beneath the Yellowstone caldera provides compelling support for a plume origin of the entire Yellowstone hotspot track back to its inception at 17 Ma with eruptions of flood basalts and rhyolite. The widespread volcanism, combined with a large volume of buoyant asthenosphere, supports a plume head as an initial phase. Estimates of the diameter of the plume head suggest it completely spanned the upper mantle and was fed from sources beneath the transition zone, We consider a mantle-plume depth to at least 1,000 km to best explain the large scale of features associated with the hotspot track. The Columbia River-Steens flood basalts form a northward-migrating succession consistent with the outward spreading of a plume head beneath the lithosphere. The northern part of the inferred plume head spread (pancaked) upward beneath Mesozoic oceanic crust to produce flood basalts, whereas basalt melt from the southern part intercepted and melted Paleozoic and older crust to produce rhyolite from 17 to 14 Ma. The plume head overlapped the craton margin as defined by strontium isotopes; westward motion of the North American plate has likely "scraped off" the head from the plume tail. Flood basalt chemistries are explained by delamination of the lithosphere where the plume head intersected this cratonic margin. Before reaching the lithosphere, the rising plume head apparently intercepted the east-dipping Juan de Fuca slab and was deflected ~ 250 km to the west; the plume head eventually broke through the slab, leaving an abruptly truncated slab. Westward deflection of the plume head can explain the anomalously rapid hotspot movement of 62 km/m.y. from 17 to 10 Ma, compared to the rate of ~ 25 km/m.y. from 10 to 2 Ma. A plume head-to-tail transition occurred in the 14-to-10-Ma interval in the central Snake River Plain and was characterized by frequent (every 200-300 ka for about 2 m.y. from 12.7 to 10.5 Ma) "large volume (> 7000 km 3)", and high temperature rhyolitic eruptions (> 1000 °C) along a ~ 200-km-wide east-west band. The broad transition area required a heat source of comparable area. Differing characteristics of the volcanic fields here may in part be due to variations in crustal composition but also may reflect development in differing parts of an evolving plume where the older fields may reflect the eruption from several volcanic centers located above very large and extensive rhyolitic magma chamber(s) over the detached plume head while the younger fields may signal the arrival of the plume tail intercepting and melting the lithosphere and generating a more focused rhyolitic magma chamber. The three youngest volcanic fields of the hotspot track started with large ignimbrite eruptions at 10.21, 6.62, and 2.05 Ma. They indicate hotspot migration N55° E at ~ 25 km/m.y. compatible in direction and velocity with the North American Plate motion. The Yellowstone Crescent of High Terrain (YCHT) flares outward ahead of the volcanic progression in a pattern similar to a bow-wave, and thus favors a sub-lithospheric driver. Estimates of YCHT-uplift rates are between 0.1 and 0.4 mm/yr. Drainage divides have migrated northeastward with the hotspot. The Continental Divide and a radial drainage pattern now centers on the hotspot. The largest geoid anomaly in the conterminous U.S. is also centered on Yellowstone and, consistent with uplift above a mantle plume. Bands of late Cenozoic faulting extend south and west from Yellowstone. These bands are subdivided into belts based both on recency of offset and range-front height. Fault history within these belts suggests the following pattern: Belt I — starting activity but little accumulated offset; Belt II — peak activity with high total offset and activity younger than 14 ka; Belt III — waning activity with large offset and activity younger than 140 ka; and Belt IV — apparently dead on substantial range fronts (south side of the eastern Snake River Plain only). These belts of fault activity have migrated northeast in tandem with the adjacent hotspot volcanism. On the southern arm of the YCHT, fault activity occurs on the inner, western slope consistent with driving by gravitational potential energy, whereas faulting has not started on the eastern, outer, more compressional slope. Range fronts increase in height and steepness northeastward along the southern-fault band. Both the belts of faulting and the YCHT are asymmetrical across the volcanic hotspot track, flaring out 1.6 times more on the south than the north side. This and the southeast tilt of the Yellowstone plume may reflect southeast flow of the upper mantle.

The unsuitability of html-based colour charts for estimating animal colours – a comment on Berggren and Merilä (2004)

PubMed Central

Stevens, Martin; Cuthill, Innes C

2005-01-01

Background A variety of techniques are used to study the colours of animal signals, including the use of visual matching to colour charts. This paper aims to highlight why they are generally an unsatisfactory tool for the measurement and classification of animal colours and why colour codes based on HTML (really RGB) standards, as advocated in a recent paper, are particularly inappropriate. There are many theoretical arguments against the use of colour charts, not least that human colour vision differs markedly from that of most other animals. However, the focus of this paper is the concern that, even when applied to humans, there is no simple 1:1 mapping from an RGB colour space to the perceived colours in a chart (the results are both printer- and illumination-dependent). We support our criticisms with data from colour matching experiments with humans, involving self-made, printed colour charts. Results Colour matching experiments with printed charts involving 11 subjects showed that the choices made by individuals were significantly different between charts that had exactly the same RGB values, but were produced from different printers. Furthermore, individual matches tended to vary under different lighting conditions. Spectrophotometry of the colour charts showed that the reflectance spectra of the charts varied greatly between printers and that equal steps in RGB space were often far from equal in terms of reflectance on the printed charts. Conclusion In addition to outlining theoretical criticisms of the use of colour charts, our empirical results show that: individuals vary in their perception of colours, that different printers produce strikingly different results when reproducing what should be the same chart, and that the characteristics of the light irradiating the surface do affect colour perception. Therefore, we urge great caution in the use of colour charts to study animal colour signals. They should be used only as a last resort and in full knowledge of their limitations, with specially produced charts made to high industry standards. PMID:16131394

Objective evaluation of slanted edge charts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hornung, Harvey (.

2015-01-01

Camera objective characterization methodologies are widely used in the digital camera industry. Most objective characterization systems rely on a chart with specific patterns, a software algorithm measures a degradation or difference between the captured image and the chart itself. The Spatial Frequency Response (SFR) method, which is part of the ISO 122331 standard, is now very commonly used in the imaging industry, it is a very convenient way to measure a camera Modulation transfer function (MTF). The SFR algorithm can measure frequencies beyond the Nyquist frequency thanks to super-resolution, so it does provide useful information on aliasing and can provide modulation for frequencies between half Nyquist and Nyquist on all color channels of a color sensor with a Bayer pattern. The measurement process relies on a chart that is simple to manufacture: a straight transition from a bright reflectance to a dark one (black and white for instance), while a sine chart requires handling precisely shades of gray which can also create all sort of issues with printers that rely on half-toning. However, no technology can create a perfect edge, so it is important to assess the quality of the chart and understand how it affects the accuracy of the measurement. In this article, I describe a protocol to characterize the MTF of a slanted edge chart, using a high-resolution flatbed scanner. The main idea is to use the RAW output of the scanner as a high-resolution micro-densitometer, since the signal is linear it is suitable to measure the chart MTF using the SFR algorithm. The scanner needs to be calibrated in sharpness: the scanner MTF is measured with a calibrated sine chart and inverted to compensate for the modulation loss from the scanner. Then the true chart MTF is computed. This article compares measured MTF from commercial charts and charts printed on printers, and also compares how of the contrast of the edge (using different shades of gray) can affect the chart MTF, then concludes on what distance range and camera resolution the chart can reliably measure the camera MTF.

Coordinating an Autonomous Earth-Observing Sensorweb

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sherwood, Robert; Cichy, Benjamin; Tran, Daniel; Chien, Steve; Rabideau, Gregg; Davies, Ashley; Castano, Rebecca; frye, Stuart; Mandl, Dan; Shulman, Seth;

Application of machine learning and expert systems to Statistical Process Control (SPC) chart interpretation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shewhart, Mark

1991-01-01

Statistical Process Control (SPC) charts are one of several tools used in quality control. Other tools include flow charts, histograms, cause and effect diagrams, check sheets, Pareto diagrams, graphs, and scatter diagrams. A control chart is simply a graph which indicates process variation over time. The purpose of drawing a control chart is to detect any changes in the process signalled by abnormal points or patterns on the graph. The Artificial Intelligence Support Center (AISC) of the Acquisition Logistics Division has developed a hybrid machine learning expert system prototype which automates the process of constructing and interpreting control charts.

Program for Generating Graphs and Charts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ackerson, C. T.

1986-01-01

Office Automation Pilot (OAP) Graphics Database system offers IBM personal computer user assistance in producing wide variety of graphs and charts and convenient data-base system, called chart base, for creating and maintaining data associated with graphs and charts. Thirteen different graphics packages available. Access graphics capabilities obtained in similar manner. User chooses creation, revision, or chartbase-maintenance options from initial menu; Enters or modifies data displayed on graphic chart. OAP graphics data-base system written in Microsoft PASCAL.

The use of control charts by laypeople and hospital decision-makers for guiding decision making.

PubMed

Schmidtke, K A; Watson, D G; Vlaev, I

2017-07-01

Graphs presenting healthcare data are increasingly available to support laypeople and hospital staff's decision making. When making these decisions, hospital staff should consider the role of chance-that is, random variation. Given random variation, decision-makers must distinguish signals (sometimes called special-cause data) from noise (common-cause data). Unfortunately, many graphs do not facilitate the statistical reasoning necessary to make such distinctions. Control charts are a less commonly used type of graph that support statistical thinking by including reference lines that separate data more likely to be signals from those more likely to be noise. The current work demonstrates for whom (laypeople and hospital staff) and when (treatment and investigative decisions) control charts strengthen data-driven decision making. We present two experiments that compare people's use of control and non-control charts to make decisions between hospitals (funnel charts vs. league tables) and to monitor changes across time (run charts with control lines vs. run charts without control lines). As expected, participants more accurately identified the outlying data using a control chart than using a non-control chart, but their ability to then apply that information to more complicated questions (e.g., where should I go for treatment?, and should I investigate?) was limited. The discussion highlights some common concerns about using control charts in hospital settings.

Using an electronic medical record to improve communication within a prenatal care network.

PubMed

Bernstein, Peter S; Farinelli, Christine; Merkatz, Irwin R

2005-03-01

In 2002, the Institute of Medicine called for the introduction of information technologies in health care settings to improve quality of care. We conducted a review of hospital charts of women who delivered before and after the implementation of an intranet-based computerized prenatal record in an inner-city practice. Our objective was to assess whether the use of this record improved communication among the outpatient office, the ultrasonography unit, and the labor floor. The charts of patients who delivered in August 2002 and August 2003 and received their prenatal care at the Comprehensive Family Care Center at Montefiore Medical Center were analyzed. Data collected included the presence of a copy of the prenatal record in the hospital chart, the date of the last documented prenatal visit, and documentation of any prenatal ultrasonograms performed. Forty-three charts in each group were available for review. The prenatal chart was absent in 16% of the charts of patients from August 2002 compared with only 2% in August 2003 charts (P < .05). Among charts with prenatal records available, the median length of time between the last documented prenatal visit and delivery was significantly longer for August 2002 patients compared with August 2003 patients (36 compared with 4 days, respectively, P < .001). All patients received prenatal ultrasonograms, but documentation of the ultrasonogram was missing from 16% of the August 2002 charts compared with none of the August 2003 charts (P = .01). The use of a paperless, hospital intranet-based prenatal chart significantly improves communication among providers.

A Tale of Two Methods: Chart and Interview Methods for Identifying Delirium

PubMed Central

Saczynski, Jane S.; Kosar, Cyrus M.; Xu, Guoquan; Puelle, Margaret R.; Schmitt, Eva; Jones, Richard N.; Marcantonio, Edward R.; Wong, Bonnie; Isaza, Ilean; Inouye, Sharon K.

2014-01-01

Background Interview and chart-based methods for identifying delirium have been validated. However, relative strengths and limitations of each method have not been described, nor has a combined approach (using both interviews and chart), been systematically examined. Objectives To compare chart and interview-based methods for identification of delirium. Design, Setting and Participants Participants were 300 patients aged 70+ undergoing major elective surgery (majority were orthopedic surgery) interviewed daily during hospitalization for delirium using the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM; interview-based method) and whose medical charts were reviewed for delirium using a validated chart-review method (chart-based method). We examined rate of agreement on the two methods and patient characteristics of those identified using each approach. Predictive validity for clinical outcomes (length of stay, postoperative complications, discharge disposition) was compared. In the absence of a gold-standard, predictive value could not be calculated. Results The cumulative incidence of delirium was 23% (n= 68) by the interview-based method, 12% (n=35) by the chart-based method and 27% (n=82) by the combined approach. Overall agreement was 80%; kappa was 0.30. The methods differed in detection of psychomotor features and time of onset. The chart-based method missed delirium in CAM-identified patients laacking features of psychomotor agitation or inappropriate behavior. The CAM-based method missed chart-identified cases occurring during the night shift. The combined method had high predictive validity for all clinical outcomes. Conclusions Interview and chart-based methods have specific strengths for identification of delirium. A combined approach captures the largest number and the broadest range of delirium cases. PMID:24512042

Flooding and Flood Management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brooks, K.N.; Fallon, J.D.; Lorenz, D.L.; Stark, J.R.; Menard, Jason; Easter, K.W.; Perry, Jim

2011-01-01

Floods result in great human disasters globally and nationally, causing an average of $4 billion of damages each year in the United States. Minnesota has its share of floods and flood damages, and the state has awarded nearly $278 million to local units of government for flood mitigation projects through its Flood Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Since 1995, flood mitigation in the Red River Valley has exceeded $146 million. Considerable local and state funding has been provided to manage and mitigate problems of excess stormwater in urban areas, flooding of farmlands, and flood damages at road crossings. The cumulative costs involved with floods and flood mitigation in Minnesota are not known precisely, but it is safe to conclude that flood mitigation is a costly business. This chapter begins with a description of floods in Minneosta to provide examples and contrasts across the state. Background material is presented to provide a basic understanding of floods and flood processes, predication, and management and mitigation. Methods of analyzing and characterizing floods are presented because they affect how we respond to flooding and can influence relevant practices. The understanding and perceptions of floods and flooding commonly differ among those who work in flood forecasting, flood protection, or water resource mamnagement and citizens and businesses affected by floods. These differences can become magnified following a major flood, pointing to the need for better understanding of flooding as well as common language to describe flood risks and the uncertainty associated with determining such risks. Expectations of accurate and timely flood forecasts and our ability to control floods do not always match reality. Striving for clarity is important in formulating policies that can help avoid recurring flood damages and costs.

Quad Charts in the Classroom to Reinforce Technical Communication Fundamentals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ford, Julie Dyke; Wei, Tie

2015-01-01

Quad charts are a genre frequently used in scientific and technical environments, yet little prior work has evaluated their potential for reinforcing technical communication fundamentals. This article provides background information about quad charts and notes the benefits of implementing quad charts in the classroom. In particular, introducing…

29 CFR 1926.1422 - Signals-hand signal chart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 29 Labor 8 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Signals-hand signal chart. 1926.1422 Section 1926.1422 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION... Construction § 1926.1422 Signals—hand signal chart. Hand signal charts must be either posted on the equipment...

29 CFR 1926.1422 - Signals-hand signal chart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 29 Labor 8 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Signals-hand signal chart. 1926.1422 Section 1926.1422 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION... Construction § 1926.1422 Signals—hand signal chart. Hand signal charts must be either posted on the equipment...

29 CFR 1926.1422 - Signals-hand signal chart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 29 Labor 8 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Signals-hand signal chart. 1926.1422 Section 1926.1422 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION... Construction § 1926.1422 Signals—hand signal chart. Hand signal charts must be either posted on the equipment...

Magnitude-Based Postfire Debris Flow Rainfall Accumulation-Duration Thresholds for Emergency-Response Planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cannon, S. H.; Boldt, E. M.; Laber, J. L.; Kean, J. W.; Staley, D. M.

2011-12-01

Following wildfires, emergency-response and public-safety agencies can be faced with evacuation and resource-deployment decisions well in advance of coming winter storms and during storms themselves. Information critical to these decisions is needed for recently burned areas in the San Gabriel Mountains of southern California. A compilation of information on the hydrologic response to winter storms from recently burned areas in southern California steeplands is used to develop a system for classifying magnitudes of hydrologic response in this setting. The four-class system describes combinations of reported volumes of individual debris flows, consequences of debris flows and floods in an urban setting, and spatial extents of the hydrologic response. Magnitude 0 events show a negligible response, while Magnitude I events are characterized by small (<1,000 m3) debris flows or low-discharge floods produced from one or two drainage basins. A few culverts and storm drains may be blocked, a few streets may be partially flooded or blocked by water and debris, and a few buildings near the mountain front may be damaged. Magnitude II events are characterized by two to five moderately-sized (1,000 to 10,000 m3) debris flows or one large (>10,000 m3) event. Several culverts or storm drains may be blocked or fail, several streets may be flooded or completely blocked by water and debris, and buildings, streets, and bridges may be damaged or destroyed. Magnitude III events consist of widespread and abundant debris flows of volumes >10,000 m3 and high discharge flooding causing significant impact to the built environment. Many streets, storm drains, and streets may be completely blocked by debris, making many streets unsafe for travel. Several large buildings, sections of infrastructure corridors and bridges may be damaged or destroyed. The range of rainfall conditions associated with different magnitude classes are defined by correlating local rainfall data with the response magnitude information. Magnitude 0 events can be expected when within-storm rainfall accumulations (A) of given durations (D) fall below the threshold A=0.4D0.5. Magnitude I events can be expected when storm rainfall conditions are above the threshold A=0.4D0.5 and below A=0.5D0.6 for durations greater than 1 hour. Magnitude II events will be generated in response to rainfall accumulations and durations between A=0.4D0.5 and A=0.9D0.5 for durations less than one hour, and between A=0.5D0.6 and A=0.9D0.5 for durations greater than one hour. Magnitude III events can be expected in response to rainfall conditions above the threshold A=0.9D 0.5. Rainfall threshold-magnitude relations are linked with potential emergency-response actions as an emergency-response decision chart, which leads a user through steps to determine potential event magnitudes and identify possible evacuation and resource-deployment levels. Use of this information in the planning and response decision-making process could result in increased safety for both the public and emergency responders.

The use of meteorological station in Science Park during May floods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marković-Topalović, Tatjana; Božić, Mirjana; Stojićević, Goran

2015-04-01

A lot of educators and education process researchers have noticed and pointed out the need of broader learning space than a mere classroom, in learning physics and natural sciences. Many cognitive installations and didactic patterns for an extended school space have been proposed and implemented in schools [1, 2] and outdoor science parks [3]. From their side, school designers have argued that the learning environments can be more educationally and optimally useful if the architecture of the built, natural and cultural environment would be used as a teaching tool [4]. Through the merge of these two tendencies the concept of a school as a three-dimensional textbook was created [2]. The growing team of educators and researchers in Serbia [2] has been promoting this idea among students, teachers, and cultural and educational authorities, ranging from individual schools and municipality to state level, with emphasis on the school buildings investors and public. The net of schools and educational institutions has been implementing this concept [5]. Their activities have attracted the attention of newspapers and e-media [5]. The Science Park in Šabac, developed in the town in the vicinity of Belgrade, was completed in 2010. The Science Park is a part of the Center for professional advancement of educators (CSU) [6] that is surrounded by the eight-year Primary school, kindergarten, water tower and the church. Twenty-six interactive installations are connected to teaching units from all science subjects. For example: The periodic system of elements was placed on the building facade, the structure of graphene, sodium-chloride crystal structure, planetary model of atom (Chemistry) Pythagorean theorem, pyramid related to Tales doubt, golden ratio (Mathematics); model of DNA (Biology); globe-DING, educative fountain, brachistochrone, Newton's pendulum (Physics), the Greenwich meridian replica, sundial and meteorological station (Earth's science). During May 2014, when big floods hit our region, the meteorological station was the most useful and visited installation in the Science Park. Inside CSU students observed parameters at the touch screen connected to the outdoor measuring instruments. Continuous observations and recording of rainfall, air pressure and temperature made them witnesses and researchers of catastrophic floods. The scale of this flood was biggest in the last one hundred twenty years, since we have had recordings in Serbia. Besides observing rainfall, air pressure and temperature the students updated data in charts and graphs, and then they compared to those updated by the meteorological station. Observing the data enabled the students to study this phenomena quantitatively and to face the problem courageously in their town, which was one of the maximally affected during May floods (14 - 21 May 2014). References 1.Interactive Physics Demonstrations, edited by Joe Pizzo (AAPT, College Park, MD, 2001). 2.http://www2.pef.uni-lj.si/SEEMPE/index_files/Bozic.pdf 3. R. Mir, Outdoor Science Parks, 13th Int. Public Communication of Science and Technology Conf., Salvador, Brazil, 2014. 4. Anne Taylor, The Learning Environment as a Three-Dimensional Textbook, Children's Environments, 10 (2) (1993) 104. 5. http://www.poko.ipb.ac.rs 6. http://www.csusabac.rs/galerija.php?lan=cir&id=223

Chapter 12: Sea Level Rise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sweet, W. V.; Horton, R.; Kopp, R. E.; LeGrande, A. N.; Romanou, A.

2017-01-01

Global mean sea level (GMSL) has risen by about 7-8 inches (about 16-21 cm) since 1900, with about 3 of those inches (about 7 cm) occurring since 1993. Human-caused climate change has made a substantial contribution to GMSL rise since 1900, contributing to a rate of rise that is greater than during any preceding century in at least 2,800 years. Relative to the year 2000, GMSL is very likely to rise by 0.3-0.6 feet (9-18 cm) by 2030, 0.5-1.2 feet (15-38 cm) by 2050, and 1.0-4.3 feet (30-130 cm) by 2100. Future pathways have little effect on projected GMSL rise in the first half of the century, but significantly affect projections for the second half of the century. Emerging science regarding Antarctic ice sheet stability suggests that, for high emission scenarios, a GMSL rise exceeding 8 feet (2.4 m) by 2100 is physically possible, although the probability of such an extreme outcome cannot currently be assessed. Regardless of pathway, it is extremely likely that GMSL rise will continue beyond 2100. Relative sea level (RSL) rise in this century will vary along U.S. coastlines due, in part, to changes in Earth's gravitational field and rotation from melting of land ice, changes in ocean circulation, and vertical land motion (very high confidence). For almost all future GMSL rise scenarios, RSL rise is likely to be greater than the global average in the U.S. Northeast and the western Gulf of Mexico. In intermediate and low GMSL rise scenarios, RSL rise is likely to be less than the global average in much of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. For high GMSL rise scenarios, RSL rise is likely to be higher than the global average along all U.S. coastlines outside Alaska. Almost all U.S. coastlines experience more than global mean sea level rise in response to Antarctic ice loss, and thus would be particularly affected under extreme GMSL rise scenarios involving substantial Antarctic mass loss. As sea levels have risen, the number of tidal floods each year that cause minor impacts (also called "nuisance floods") have increased 5- to 10-fold since the 1960s in several U.S. coastal cities. Rates of increase are accelerating in over 25 Atlantic and Gulf Coast cities. Tidal flooding will continue increasing in depth, frequency, and extent this century. Assuming storm characteristics do not change, sea level rise will increase the frequency and extent of extreme flooding associated with coastal storms, such as hurricanes and nor'easters. A projected increase in the intensity of hurricanes in the North Atlantic could increase the probability of extreme flooding along most of the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coast states beyond what would be projected based solely on RSL rise. However, there is low confidence in the projected increase in frequency of intense Atlantic hurricanes, and the associated flood risk amplification and flood effects could be offset or amplified by such factors as changes in overall storm frequency or tracks.

A study of farmers' flood perceptions based on the entropy method: an application from Jianghan Plain, China.

PubMed

Luo, Xiaofeng; Lone, Todd; Jiang, Songying; Li, Rongrong; Berends, Patrick

2016-07-01

Using survey data from 280 farmers in Jianghan Plain, China, this paper establishes an evaluation index system for three dimensions of farmers' flood perceptions and then uses the entropy method to estimate their overall flood perception. Farmers' flood perceptions exhibit the following characteristics: (i) their flood-occurrence, flood-prevention, and overall flood perceptions gradually increase with age, whereas their flood-effects perception gradually decreases; (ii) their flood-occurrence and flood-effects perceptions gradually increase with a higher level of education, whereas their flood-prevention perception gradually decreases and their overall flood perception shows nonlinear change; (iii) flood-occurrence, flood-effects, and overall flood perceptions are higher among farmers who serve in public offices than among those who do not do so; (iv) the flood-occurrence, flood-effects, and overall flood perceptions of farmers who work off-farm are higher than those of farmers who work solely on-farm, contrary to the flood-prevention perception; and (v) the flood-effects and flood-prevention perceptions of male farmers are lower than those of female farmers, but the flood-occurrence and overall flood perceptions of male farmers are higher than those of female farmers. © 2016 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2016.

Preliminary Analysis of a Breadth-First Parsing Algorithm: Theoretical and Experimental Results.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-06-01

present discussion we will assume that phrases have one or two daughters, or more formally, that the grammar is in Chomsky Normal Form [1].) This... grammar point of view, these pairs contrast Chomsky Normal Form [1] with Categorial Grammars [2], and from a representational point of view, these pairs...chart(i, k) * chart(k, j) bottom-up ( Chomsky Normal Form) (9) chart(k, j) = chart(i, ) top-down (Categorial Grammars )chart(i, k) Earley’s Algorithm [8

Floods - Multiple Languages

MedlinePlus

... Arabic (العربية) Expand Section Floods and Flash Flooding - English PDF Floods and Flash Flooding - العربية (Arabic) PDF ... Bosnian (bosanski) Expand Section Floods and Flash Flooding - English PDF Floods and Flash Flooding - bosanski (Bosnian) PDF ...

Chronostratigraphic Analysis of Geomorphic Features within the Former Sinepuxent Inlet: A Wave-Dominated Tidal Inlet along Assateague Island, MD, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seminack, C.; McBride, R.; Petruny, L. M.

2017-12-01

The former Sinepuxent Inlet, located along the mixed-energy, wave-dominated Assateague Island, MD-VA, USA, contains some of the most robust recurved-spit ridges along the span of the barrier island. In addition, this former tidal inlet exhibits a poorly developed flood-tidal delta containing at least two sets of curvilinear ridges known as "washarounds". Historical maps and nautical charts indicate that the former Sinepuxent Inlet was open from 1755 to 1832. However, previous studies conducted at the former Sinepuxent Inlet hypothesized that the site was exposed to episodic breaching events because of the extensive width of the former inlet throat, constrained by the northern and southern recurved-spit ridges. A total of 16 sediment cores, 10 optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) samples, and three 14C samples (mixed benthic foraminifera and eastern mud snail [Ilyanassa obsolete]) were collected from the former Sinepuxent Inlet to place morphostratigraphic units into a chronological context. Six OSL samples were collected from the northern and southern recurved-spit ridges at mean sea level (MSL) to constrain genesis ages. Southern recurved-spit ages varied more than their northern counterparts, ranging from 1640 to 1990 AD. The northern recurved-spit ridges varied in age from 1770 to 1900 AD. Two OSL samples collected from flood-tidal delta ridges yielded ages from 1680 to 2000 AD. In addition, two 14C samples collected at 128 and 101 cm below MSL within the inlet throat yielded ages between 1720 and post-1950 AD. Ultimately, these dates overlap with the inlet activity phase as indicated in historical documents. Conversely, two OSL samples (155 and 201 cm below MSL) and one 14C sample (134 cm below MSL) collected from the inlet throat returned ages between 760 and 1465 AD. The contrast in ages between the older inlet throat and subaerial ridge samples supports the hypothesis that the former Sinepuxent Inlet was reactivated numerous times. Thus, the three age groupings of geomorphic features (1. older inlet throat, 2. southern recurved-spit ridges & flood-tidal delta ridges, and 3. northern recurved-spit ridges & younger inlet throat) at the former Sinepuxent Inlet likely record the response of Assateague Island to at least three intense storms over the past 1,200 years.

Alternative Fuels Data Center: Codes and Standards Resources

Science.gov Websites

codes and standards. Biodiesel Vehicle and Infrastructure Codes and Standards Chart Electric Vehicle and Infrastructure Codes and Standards Chart Ethanol Vehicle and Infrastructure Codes and Standards Chart Natural Gas Vehicle and Infrastructure Codes and Standards Chart Propane Vehicle and Infrastructure Codes and

Examining Teachers' Behavioral Management Charts: A Comparison of Class Dojo and Paper-Pencil Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krach, S. Kathleen; McCreery, Michael P.; Rimel, Hillary

2017-01-01

Many teachers report using behavioral management charts in their classrooms as a means of managing student behaviors, but little is known about exactly what behaviors teachers are charting, or specifically how. Misunderstanding over how real-world teachers maintain behavioral charts may cause miscommunication between the teacher and the school…

7 CFR 51.2946 - Color chart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... illustrates four shades of color used to describe skin color of walnut kernels. (a) Availability of color... 7 Agriculture 2 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Color chart. 51.2946 Section 51.2946 Agriculture... Standards for Grades of Walnuts in the Shell General § 51.2946 Color chart. The color chart (USDA Walnut...

7 CFR 51.2946 - Color chart.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... illustrates four shades of color used to describe skin color of walnut kernels. (a) Availability of color... 7 Agriculture 2 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Color chart. 51.2946 Section 51.2946 Agriculture... Standards for Grades of Walnuts in the Shell General § 51.2946 Color chart. The color chart (USDA Walnut...

Agricultural Chartbook 1988. Agriculture Handbook No. 673.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.

These charts present an overview of the current economic health of American agriculture. The charts move from the national and international arenas to farm economic health measures and crop and livestock trends. A small amount of descriptive narrative accompanies most of the charts. Charts depicting the economic picture of U.S. agriculture include…

75 FR 11225 - Government/Industry Aeronautical Charting Forum Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-10

... Charting Forum Meeting AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Notice of public meeting...) Government/Industry Aeronautical Charting Forum (ACF 10-01) to discuss informational content and design of... Aeronautical Charting Forum to be held from April 27 through April 29, 2010 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Air...

How to Read an LLNL Energy Flow Chart (Sankey Diagram)

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

Simon, A. J.

Each year, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory releases energy flow charts that illustrate the nation's consumption and use of energy. A.J. Simon, group leader for LLNL’s energy program, breaks the 2015 chart down in this video, describing how to read the chart and what year-to-year trends he sees.

Tracking the critical offshore conditions leading to marine inundation via active learning of full-process based models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rohmer, Jeremy; Idier, Deborah; Bulteau, Thomas; Paris, François

2016-04-01

From a risk management perspective, it can be of high interest to identify the critical set of offshore conditions that lead to inundation on key assets for the studied territory (e.g., assembly points, evacuation routes, hospitals, etc.). This inverse approach of risk assessment (Idier et al., NHESS, 2013) can be of primary importance either for the estimation of the coastal flood hazard return period or for constraining the early warning networks based on hydro-meteorological forecast or observations. However, full-process based models for coastal flooding simulation have very large computational time cost (typically of several hours), which often limits the analysis to a few scenarios. Recently, it has been shown that meta-modelling approaches can efficiently handle this difficulty (e.g., Rohmer & Idier, NHESS, 2012). Yet, the full-process based models are expected to present strong non-linearities (non-regularities) or shocks (discontinuities), i.e. dynamics controlled by thresholds. For instance, in case of coastal defense, the dynamics is characterized first by a linear behavior of the waterline position (increase with increasing offshore conditions), as long as there is no overtopping, and then by a very strong increase (as soon as the offshore conditions are energetic enough to lead to wave overtopping, and then overflow). Such behavior might make the training phase of the meta-model very tedious. In the present study, we propose to explore the feasibility of active learning techniques, aka semi-supervised machine learning, to track the set of critical conditions with a reduced number of long-running simulations. The basic idea relies on identifying the simulation scenarios which should both reduce the meta-model error and improve the prediction of the critical contour of interest. To overcome the afore-described difficulty related to non-regularity, we rely on Support Vector Machines, which have shown very high performance for structural reliability assessment. The developments are done on a cross-shore case, using the process-based SWASH model. The related computational time is 10 hours for a single run. The dynamic forcing conditions are parametrized by several factors (storm surge S, significant wave height Hs, dephasing between tide and surge, etc.). In particular, we validated the approach with respect to a reference set of 400 long-running simulations in the domain of (S ; Hs). Our tests showed that the tracking of the critical contour can be achieved with a reasonable number of long-running simulations of a few tens.

Guide to using Cuechart, Tellagraf, and Disspla at ANL

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

Bertoncini, P.J.; Thommes, M.M.

1986-01-01

Guide to Curchart, Tellagraf, and Disspla at ANL provides information necessary for using the three ISSCO graphics packages at Argonne: Cuechart is a cue-and-response program available in CMS that aids users in creating bar charts, line charts, pie charts, and word charts. It is appropriate for users with little or no previous graphics experience. Cuechart provides much of the capability of Tellagraf without the user's having to learn Tellagraf commands. Tellagraf is a more powerful, easy-to-use graphics package also available in CMS. With a little training, scientists, administrators, and secretaries can produce sophisticated publication-quality log or linear plots, bar charts,more » pie charts, tables, or posters. Disspla is a more versatile and sophisticated graphics package. It is available in both CMS and batch and consists of several hundred Fortran-callable and PL/I-callable subroutines that will enable you to obtain professional quality plots. In addition to log or linear plots, bar charts, pie charts, and pages of text, Disspla provides subroutines for contour plots, 3-D plots, and world maps.« less

Digital health and the biopolitics of the Quantified Self

PubMed Central

Ajana, Btihaj

2017-01-01

Recent years have witnessed an intensive growth of systems of measurement and an increasing integration of data processes into various spheres of everyday life. From smartphone apps that measure our activity and sleep, to digital devices that monitor our health and performance at the workplace, the culture of measurement is currently on the rise. Encouraged by movements such as the Quantified Self, whose motto is ‘self knowledge through numbers’, a growing number of people across the globe are embracing practices of self-quantification and tracking in the spirit of improving their wellbeing and productivity or charting their fitness progress. In this article, I examine the biopolitical aspects of the Quantified Self practices, exploring some of the ideologies and rationalities underlying self-tracking culture. I argue that such practices represent an instantiation of a ‘biopolitics of the self’ whereby the body is made amenable to management and monitoring techniques that often echo the ethos of neoliberalism. Rather than being restricted to an individualized form, self-tracking practices are also becoming part of a biosocial and communal phenomenon in which individuals are incited to share with others information about their physical activities and biodata. In exploring some examples of this data sharing culture, I critically address the extent to which the sharing of personal physical data can be seen as a ‘solidaristic’ act that can contribute to a larger Big Data ecosystem and inform the wider medical community and healthcare research and policy. I link this discussion to debates on ‘data philanthropy’, highlighting the emerging tension between philanthropic discourses of data sharing and issues of privacy. From here, I go on to discuss further ethical and political concerns, particularly in relation to data security and the marked shifts in healthcare responsibilities.

Monitoring InBaskets With Feedback to Providers Enhances the Timeliness of Patient Care.

PubMed

Trant, Amelia A; Strait, Michael; Kaplan, Rory; Dest, Vanna; Roshka, Adam; Lyons, Catherine A; Vest, Kevin A; Steffen, Tessa; Chiang, Anne; Adelson, Kerin B

2018-05-01

Electronic health records have changed providers' workflow. Epic's InBasket supplants traditional communication and is a central hub for clinical information. Failure to promptly complete records impairs communication and revenue collection. By tracking providers' InBasket activities and offering feedback, we hoped to improve InBasket management and interdisciplinary communication. We created a report to track 273 providers' InBasket activities, including ambulatory transcriptions, chart cosignatures, order cosignatures, patient calls, results, and billable encounters. The report showed how often and for how long each activity was delinquent. We completed three Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles. During cycle 1 (November to December 2015), we sent all providers automated e-mails with their monthly results. During cycle 2 (January to April 2016), we focused solely on billable encounter closure and sent targeted e-mails to providers with > 50 delinquent encounters. The e-mails stated that providers had 30 days to complete encounters or their practices would be closed to new patients; at 30 days, noncompliant providers had 60 days before practice suspension. During cycle 3 (May to September 2016), we continued to monitor and send targeted e-mails to providers who accumulated > 50 encounters. We modeled the financial impact of the intervention using net closure data, the report's aging function, and billing logs. InBasket monitoring with structured feedback decreased open encounters by 53.43%. We did not see improvements in the other metrics that the report tracked. We estimate that $231,724 was saved as a result of the intervention and $349,179 was lost to filing deadlines. Automated e-mails did not reduce open encounters; targeted e-mails to providers improved InBasket management.

Umbilical venous catheters placement evaluation on frontal radiogram: application of a simplified flow-chart for radiology residents.

PubMed

Salerno, Sergio; Tudisca, Chiara; Murmura, Elena; Matranga, Domenica; La Tona, Giuseppe; Lo Re, Giuseppe; Lo Casto, Antonio

2017-05-01

Umbilical Venous Catheter (UVC) are commonly used in neonatal period; they can be not correctly positioned and could be associated with complications. The purpose of this article is to suggest a flow-chart to evaluate the placement of UVC, testing it in young radiologists-in-training. We developed a simple flow-chart to asses, steps by step, UVC placement considering its course and tip location (ideally placed in the atriocaval junction). We tested the flow-chart impact asking to 20 residents to evaluate the placement of 10 UVC before and after they familiarized with the flow-chart and the anatomical findings of a newborn. The agreement among the 20 students was evaluated too. The number of correct characterizations was different due to the administration of the flow-chart. One hundred and six correct UVC assessments at the beginning switched to 196 after the administration of the flow-chart (p = 0.0001). The observed agreement among the twenty radiology residents was statistically significant, both before (kappa = 0.41, p < 0.001) and after (kappa = 0.37, p < 0.001) the flow-chart administration. The developed flow-chart demonstrated to be useful in increasing residents performance in UVC placement assessment.

Pregnancy outcomes and the use of two standards to assess adequacy of maternal body mass index in early gestation.

PubMed

Mardones, F; Rosso, P; Villarroel, L; Bacallao, J; Dominguez, A; Passi, A; Rojas, I; Farias, M; Margozzini, P

2016-02-01

The maternal weight gain chart proposed by Rosso and Mardones (RM) was subsequently modified by Atalah et al. (AEA). Both charts are widely used in Latin America. The purpose of this study was to compare birth length (BL) and birth weight (BW) outcomes of both charts. A prospective study of pregnant women and their offspring's was performed in Santiago, Chile. From a total sample of 27,613 pregnant women a sub-sample of 11,465 term healthy singleton pregnant women was selected for additional analyses. κ statistics was used to study the degree of agreement of both charts in the diagnosis of maternal nutritional status. Obese and underweight women were classified using both standards at the beginning of pregnancy and compared in terms of BL4250 g proportions. Sensitivity and specificity values of at risk newborns, whose categories were considered as gold standard, were obtained for obese and underweight women of each chart. There was a moderate agreement in the nutritional classification of these charts. Proportions of BL4250 g were similar at each nutritional category; however, absolute figures for at risk newborns were much higher in the RM underweight and obese women. The RM chart showed higher sensitivity values than the AEA chart. The higher sensitivity of the RM chart would support its use for prevention purposes. This chart is advisable for Latin American countries and also for most developing countries.

PS2-06: Best Practices for Advancing Multi-site Chart Abstraction Research

PubMed Central

Blick, Noelle; Cole, Deanna; King, Colleen; Riordan, Rick; Von Worley, Ann; Yarbro, Patty

2012-01-01

Background/Aims Multi-site chart abstraction studies are becoming increasingly common within the HMORN. Differences in systems among HMORN sites can pose significant obstacles to the success of these studies. It is therefore crucial to standardize abstraction activities by following best practices for multi-site chart abstraction, as consistency of processes across sites will increase efficiencies and enhance data quality. Methods Over the past few months the authors have been meeting to identify obstacles to multi-site chart abstraction and to address ways in which multi-site chart abstraction processes can be systemized and standardized. The aim of this workgroup is to create a best practice guide for multi-site chart abstraction studies. Focus areas include: abstractor training, format for chart abstraction (database, paper, etc), data quality, redaction, mechanism for transferring data, site specific access to medical records, IRB/HIPAA concerns, and budgetary issues. Results The results of the workgroup’s efforts (the best practice guide) will be presented by a panel of experts at the 2012 HMORN conference. The presentation format will also focus on discussion among attendees to elicit further input and to identify areas that need to be further addressed. Subsequently, the best practice guide will be posted on the HMORN website. Discussion The best practice guide for multi-site chart abstraction studies will establish sound guidelines and serve as an aid to researchers embarking on multi-site chart abstraction studies. Efficiencies and data quality will be further enhanced with standardized multi-site chart abstraction practices.

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

Hatton, Matthew; Nankivell, Matthew, E-mail: mn@ctu.mrc.ac.uk; Lyn, Ethan

Purpose: Recent clinical trials and meta-analyses have shown that both CHART (continuous hyperfractionated accelerated radiation therapy) and induction chemotherapy offer a survival advantage over conventional radical radiotherapy for patients with inoperable non-small cell-lung cancer (NSCLC). This multicenter randomized controlled trial (INCH) was set up to assess the value of giving induction chemotherapy before CHART. Methods and Materials: Patients with histologically confirmed, inoperable, Stage I-III NSCLC were randomized to induction chemotherapy (ICT) (three cycles of cisplatin-based chemotherapy followed by CHART) or CHART alone. Results: Forty-six patients were randomized (23 in each treatment arm) from 9 UK centers. As a result ofmore » poor accrual, the trial was closed in December 2007. Twenty-eight patients were male, 28 had squamous cell histology, 34 were Stage IIIA or IIIB, and all baseline characteristics were well balanced between the two treatment arms. Seventeen (74%) of the 23 ICT patients completed the three cycles of chemotherapy. All 42 (22 CHART + 20 ICT) patients who received CHART completed the prescribed treatment. Median survival was 17 months in the CHART arm and 25 months in the ICT arm (hazard ratio of 0.60 [95% CI 0.31-1.16], p = 0.127). Grade 3 or 4 adverse events (mainly fatigue, dysphagia, breathlessness, and anorexia) were reported for 13 (57%) CHART and 13 (65%) ICT patients. Conclusions: This small randomized trial indicates that ICT followed by CHART is feasible and well tolerated. Despite closing early because of poor accrual, and so failing to show clear evidence of a survival benefit for the additional chemotherapy, the results suggest that CHART, and ICT before CHART, remain important options for the treatment of inoperable NSCLC and deserve further study.« less

Small-for-gestational age and large-for-gestational age thresholds to predict infants at risk of adverse delivery and neonatal outcomes: are current charts adequate? An observational study from the Born in Bradford cohort

PubMed Central

Norris, T; Johnson, W; Farrar, D; Tuffnell, D; Wright, J; Cameron, N

2015-01-01

Objectives Construct an ethnic-specific chart and compare the prediction of adverse outcomes using this chart with the clinically recommended UK-WHO and customised birth weight charts using cut-offs for small-for-gestational age (SGA: birth weight <10th centile) and large-for-gestational age (LGA: birth weight >90th centile). Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Born in Bradford (BiB) study, UK. Participants 3980 White British and 4448 Pakistani infants with complete data for gestational age, birth weight, ethnicity, maternal height, weight and parity. Main outcome measures Prevalence of SGA and LGA, using the three charts and indicators of diagnostic utility (sensitivity, specificity and area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC)) of these chart-specific cut-offs to predict delivery and neonatal outcomes and a composite outcome. Results In White British and Pakistani infants, the prevalence of SGA and LGA differed depending on the chart used. Increased risk of SGA was observed when using the UK-WHO and customised charts as opposed to the ethnic-specific chart, while the opposite was apparent when classifying LGA infants. However, the predictive utility of all three charts to identify adverse clinical outcomes was poor, with only the prediction of shoulder dystocia achieving an AUROC>0.62 on all three charts. Conclusions Despite being recommended in national clinical guidelines, the UK-WHO and customised birth weight charts perform poorly at identifying infants at risk of adverse neonatal outcomes. Being small or large may increase the risk of an adverse outcome; however, size alone is not sensitive or specific enough with current detection to be useful. However, a significant amount of missing data for some of the outcomes may have limited the power needed to determine true associations. PMID:25783424

Exploring the hidden interior of the Earth with directional neutrino measurements.

PubMed

Leyton, Michael; Dye, Stephen; Monroe, Jocelyn

2017-07-10

Roughly 40% of the Earth's total heat flow is powered by radioactive decays in the crust and mantle. Geo-neutrinos produced by these decays provide important clues about the origin, formation and thermal evolution of our planet, as well as the composition of its interior. Previous measurements of geo-neutrinos have all relied on the detection of inverse beta decay reactions, which are insensitive to the contribution from potassium and do not provide model-independent information about the spatial distribution of geo-neutrino sources within the Earth. Here we present a method for measuring previously unresolved components of Earth's radiogenic heating using neutrino-electron elastic scattering and low-background, direction-sensitive tracking detectors. We calculate the exposures needed to probe various contributions to the total geo-neutrino flux, specifically those associated to potassium, the mantle and the core. The measurements proposed here chart a course for pioneering exploration of the veiled inner workings of the Earth.

Sample classroom activities based on climate science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miler, T.

2009-09-01

We present several activities developed for the middle school education based on a climate science. The first activity was designed to teach about the ocean acidification. A simple experiment can prove that absorption of CO2 in water increases its acidity. A liquid pH indicator is suitable for the demonstration in a classroom. The second activity uses data containing coordinates of a hurricane position. Pupils draw a path of a hurricane eye in a tracking chart (map of the Atlantic ocean). They calculate an average speed of the hurricane, investigate its direction and intensity development. The third activity uses pictures of the Arctic ocean on September when ice extend is usually the lowest. Students measure the ice extend for several years using a square grid printed on a plastic foil. Then they plot a graph and discuss the results. All these activities can be used to improve the natural science education and increase the climate change literacy.

Galilean Moons, Kepler's Third Law, and the Mass of Jupiter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bates, Alan

2013-10-01

Simulations of physical systems are widely available online, with no cost, and are ready to be used in our classrooms. ,2 Such simulations offer an accessible tool that can be used for a range of interactive learning activities. The Jovian Moons Applet2 allows the user to track the position of Jupiter's four Galilean moons with a variety of viewing options. For this activity, data are obtained from the orbital period and orbital radii charts. Earlier experiments have used telescopes to capture the orbital motion of the Galilean moons,3 although observation of astronomical events and the measurement of quantities may be difficult to achieve due to a combination of cost, training, and observing conditions. The applet allows a suitable set of data to be generated and data analysis that verifies Kepler's third law of planetary motion, which leads to a calculated value for the mass of Jupiter.

Tyre induced vibrations of the car-trailer system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beregi, S.; Takács, D.; Stépán, G.

2016-02-01

The lateral and yaw dynamics of the car-trailer combination are analysed by means of a single track model. The equations of motion are derived rigorously by means of the Appell-Gibbs equations for constant longitudinal velocity of the vehicle. The tyres are described with the help of the so-called delayed tyre model, which is based on a brush model with pure rolling contact. The lateral forces and aligning torques of the tyre/road interaction are calculated via the instantaneous lateral deformations in the contact patches. The linear stability analysis of the rectilinear motion is performed via the analytically determined characteristic function of the system. Stability charts are constructed with respect to the vehicle longitudinal velocity and the payload position on the trailer. Self-excited lateral vibrations are detected with different vibration modes at low and at high longitudinal speeds of the vehicle. The effects of the tyre parameters are also investigated.

Flood-Ring Formation and Root Development in Response to Experimental Flooding of Young Quercus robur Trees

PubMed Central

Copini, Paul; den Ouden, Jan; Robert, Elisabeth M. R.; Tardif, Jacques C.; Loesberg, Walter A.; Goudzwaard, Leo; Sass-Klaassen, Ute

2016-01-01

Spring flooding in riparian forests can cause significant reductions in earlywood-vessel size in submerged stem parts of ring-porous tree species, leading to the presence of ‘flood rings’ that can be used as a proxy to reconstruct past flooding events, potentially over millennia. The mechanism of flood-ring formation and the relation with timing and duration of flooding are still to be elucidated. In this study, we experimentally flooded 4-year-old Quercus robur trees at three spring phenophases (late bud dormancy, budswell, and internode expansion) and over different flooding durations (2, 4, and 6 weeks) to a stem height of 50 cm. The effect of flooding on root and vessel development was assessed immediately after the flooding treatment and at the end of the growing season. Ring width and earlywood-vessel size and density were measured at 25- and 75-cm stem height and collapsed vessels were recorded. Stem flooding inhibited earlywood-vessel development in flooded stem parts. In addition, flooding upon budswell and internode expansion led to collapsed earlywood vessels below the water level. At the end of the growing season, mean earlywood-vessel size in the flooded stem parts (upon budswell and internode expansion) was always reduced by approximately 50% compared to non-flooded stem parts and 55% compared to control trees. This reduction was already present 2 weeks after flooding and occurred independent of flooding duration. Stem and root flooding were associated with significant root dieback after 4 and 6 weeks and mean radial growth was always reduced with increasing flooding duration. By comparing stem and root flooding, we conclude that flood rings only occur after stem flooding. As earlywood-vessel development was hampered during flooding, a considerable number of narrow earlywood vessels present later in the season, must have been formed after the actual flooding events. Our study indicates that root dieback, together with strongly reduced hydraulic conductivity due to anomalously narrow earlywood vessels in flooded stem parts, contribute to reduced radial growth after flooding events. Our findings support the value of flood rings to reconstruct spring flooding events that occurred prior to instrumental flood records. PMID:27379108

Chart Audit and Chart Stimulated Recall as Methods of Needs Assessment in Continuing Professional Health Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Affleck, Louise; Jennett, Penny

1998-01-01

Chart audit (assessment of patient medical records) is a cost-effective continuing-education needs-assessment method. Chart stimulated recall, in which physicians' memory of particular cases is stimulated by records, potentially increases content validity and exploration of clinical reasoning as well as the context of clinical decisions. (SK)

Filled Radar Charts Should Not Be Used to Compare Social Indicators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Feldman, Roger

2013-01-01

The use of "radar charts" is an increasingly popular way to present spatial data in a visually interesting format. Some authors recommend using "filled radar charts" to compare the performance of observational units. Filled radar charts are not appropriate for such comparisons because the size of the area within the polygon is not invariant to the…

How to Read an LLNL Energy Flow Chart (Sankey Diagram)

ScienceCinema

Simon, A. J.

2018-01-16

Each year, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory releases energy flow charts that illustrate the nation's consumption and use of energy. A.J. Simon, group leader for LLNL’s energy program, breaks the 2015 chart down in this video, describing how to read the chart and what year-to-year trends he sees.

The Use of Flow Charts in Sediment Routing Analysis

Treesearch

Leslie M. Reid

1982-01-01

Flow charts are a widely used means of diagramming relationships among transport processes and storage sites during analyses of sediment routing. Because they have taken so many different forms, however, it is very difficult to use published flow charts to compare geomorphic systems. Though they generally are constructed to achieve the same purpose, flow charts...

Organization Charts in ARL Libraries. SPEC Kit #170.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Association of Research Libraries, Washington, DC. Office of Management Studies.

This kit is based on a review of the organization charts of 71 member libraries of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) gathered in January 1991, compared with an earlier SPEC Kit published in 1986, and contains charts of 29 of the libraries. A summary of the chart analyses presents information about the titles of library directors,…

Thirty Years After Jack Eddy at the Big Horn Medicine Wheel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Merriot, Ivy

2017-01-01

In the thirty years since John (Jack) Eddy’s work on the Big Horn Medicine Wheel, attention to the astronomy of medicine wheels went from high to low, with the lowest moment occurring during the ”welcome” talk of the Oxford IX International Archaeoastronomy (ISAAC) conference in Lima, Peru in 2011 when the wall-size projected image of the Big Horn Wheel carried a thick black “X” across its face. The alignments proposed by Eddy in 1974 and by Robinson in the 1980s have been reviewed and analyzed at the Wheel on Medicine Mountain in situ under bitter cold, clear dark nights at 10,000 feet altitude. Research was conducted using naked eye skywatching, transit surveying, and a Meade Cassegraine 8” electronic telescope. Along with this “review” of 20th century research, new research was conducted Wheel causing the second decade of the 21st century to bring new physical evidence and historical information for consideration.New research at the Big Horn Medicine Wheel gives evidence that the Wheel “mirrors” the night and daytime sky by creating a sky “grid” by its design made of basement and surface stones. The Wheel’s stone design mirrors the precession of the equinoxes by showing positions of all major pole stars over the full precessional cycle. Its twenty-eight sections are useful in the same way the twenty-eight sectioned Stations of the Moon star charts were useful in ancient and historical times. This manner of dividing the sky for tracking celestial objects holds celestial markers in constant position over millennia. This occurs because the Wheel’s center represents the Sun’ ecliptic north pole. Star charts that use the ecliptic pole do not need constant mathematical computation to keep up with current declinations and right ascensions. The Wheel’s twenty-eight sectioned sky chart keeps the same Dec and RA for celestial positions for thousands of years and will more quickly alert the observer to changes due to proper motion than will our current Polaris-dependant Dec-RA system in use.

Front-office staff can improve clinical tobacco intervention: health coordinator pilot project.

PubMed

Bass, Frederic; Naish, Brigham; Buwembo, Isaac

2013-11-01

To learn whether front-line personnel in primary care practices can increase delivery of clinical tobacco interventions and also help smokers address physical inactivity, at-risk alcohol use, and depression. Uncontrolled before-and-after design. Vancouver, BC, area (4 practices); northern British Columbia (2 practices). Six practices, with 1 staff person per practice serving as a "health coordinator" who tracked and, after the baseline period, delivered preventive interventions to all patients who smoked. To assess delivery of preventive interventions, each practice was to sample 300 consecutive patient records, both at baseline and at follow-up 15 months later. Front-office staff were recruited, trained, paid, and given ongoing support to provide preventive care. Clinicians supplemented this care with advice and guided the use of medication. Effectiveness of the intervention was based on comparison, at baseline and at follow-up, of the proportion of patients with any of the following 6 proven intervention components documented in their medical records: chart reminder, advice received, self-management plan, target quit date, referral, and follow-up date (as they applied to tobacco, physical inactivity, at-risk alcohol use, and depression). A Tobacco Intervention Flow Sheet cued preventive care, and its data were entered into a spreadsheet (which served as a smokers' registry). Qualitative appraisal data were noted. For tobacco, substantial increases occurred after the intervention period in the proportion of patients with each of the intervention components noted in their charts: chart reminder (20% vs 94%); provision of advice (34% vs 79%); self-management plan (14% vs 57%); target quit date (5% vs 11%); referral (6% vs 11%); and follow-up date (7% vs 42%). Interventions for physical inactivity and depression showed some gains, but there were no gains for at-risk alcohol use. Front-line staff, patients, and clinicians were enthusiastic about the services offered. Selected front-office personnel can substantially increase the delivery of evidence-based clinical tobacco intervention and increase patient and staff satisfaction in doing so. How far these findings can be generalized and their population effects require further study.

A Framework for Flood Risk Analysis and Benefit Assessment of Flood Control Measures in Urban Areas

PubMed Central

Li, Chaochao; Cheng, Xiaotao; Li, Na; Du, Xiaohe; Yu, Qian; Kan, Guangyuan

2016-01-01

Flood risk analysis is more complex in urban areas than that in rural areas because of their closely packed buildings, different kinds of land uses, and large number of flood control works and drainage systems. The purpose of this paper is to propose a practical framework for flood risk analysis and benefit assessment of flood control measures in urban areas. Based on the concept of disaster risk triangle (hazard, vulnerability and exposure), a comprehensive analysis method and a general procedure were proposed for urban flood risk analysis. Urban Flood Simulation Model (UFSM) and Urban Flood Damage Assessment Model (UFDAM) were integrated to estimate the flood risk in the Pudong flood protection area (Shanghai, China). S-shaped functions were adopted to represent flood return period and damage (R-D) curves. The study results show that flood control works could significantly reduce the flood risk within the 66-year flood return period and the flood risk was reduced by 15.59%. However, the flood risk was only reduced by 7.06% when the flood return period exceeded 66-years. Hence, it is difficult to meet the increasing demands for flood control solely relying on structural measures. The R-D function is suitable to describe the changes of flood control capacity. This frame work can assess the flood risk reduction due to flood control measures, and provide crucial information for strategy development and planning adaptation. PMID:27527202

Evidence of floods on the Potomac River from anatomical abnormalities in the wood of flood-plain trees

USGS Publications Warehouse

Yanosky, Thomas M.

1983-01-01

Ash trees along the Potomac River flood plain near Washington, D.C., were studied to determine changes in wood anatomy related to flood damage, and anomalous growth was compared to flood records for April 15 to August 31, 1930-79. Collectively, anatomical evidence was detected for 33 of the 34 growing-season floods during the study period. Evidence of 12 floods prior to 1930 was also noted, including catastrophic ones in 1889 and 1924. Trees damaged after the transition from earlywood to latewood growth typically formed ' flood rings ' of enlarged vessels within the latewood zone. Trees damaged near the beginning of the growth year developed flood rings within, or contiguous with, the earlywood. Both patterns are assumed to have developed when flood-damaged trees produced a second crop of leaves. Trees damaged by high-magnitude floods developed well formed flood rings along the entire height and around the entire circumference of the stem. Small floods were generally associated wtih diffuse or discontinuous anomalies restricted to stem apices. Frequency of flood rings was positively related to flood magnitude, and time of flood generation during the tree-growth season was estimated from the radial position of anomalous growth relative to annual ring width. Reconstructing tree heights in a year of flood-ring formation gives a minimum stage estimate along local stream reaches. Some trees provided evidence of numerous floods. Those with the greatest number of flood rings grew on frequently flooded surfaces subject to flood-flow velocities of at least 1 m/s, and more typically greater than 2 m/s. Tree size, more than age, was related to flood-ring formation. Trees kept small by frequent flood damage had more flood rings than taller trees of comparable age. (USGS)

KSC-04pd1667

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-08-09

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Two Boeing Delta IV first stages are being shipped on the Delta Mariner, heading for Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. After arrival at Port Canaveral, they will be transported to the Horizontal Integration Facility at Launch Complex 37, CCAFS. The rocket will be used for the December launching of the GOES-N weather satellite for NASA and NOAA. The GOES-N is the first in a series of three advanced weather satellites including GOES-O and GOES-P. This satellite will provide continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. It will provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric “triggers” of severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, hail storms and hurricanes. When these conditions develop, GOES-N will be able to monitor storm development and track their movements.

KSC-04pd1670

NASA Image and Video Library

2004-08-09

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Two Boeing Delta IV first stages head to the Horizontal Integration Facility (upper right) at Launch Complex 37, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rockets were shipped by barge from Decatur, Ala., to Port Canaveral and offloaded onto Elevating Platform Transporters. A Boeing Delta IV will be used for the December launching of the GOES-N weather satellite for NASA and NOAA. The GOES-N is the first in a series of three advanced weather satellites including GOES-O and GOES-P. This satellite will provide continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. It will provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric “triggers” of severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, hail storms and hurricanes. When these conditions develop, GOES-N will be able to monitor storm development and track their movements.

Predicting 10-Year Risk of Fatal Cardiovascular Disease in Germany: An Update Based on the SCORE-Deutschland Risk Charts

PubMed Central

Rücker, Viktoria; Keil, Ulrich; Fitzgerald, Anthony P; Malzahn, Uwe; Prugger, Christof; Ertl, Georg; Heuschmann, Peter U; Neuhauser, Hannelore

2016-01-01

Estimation of absolute risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), preferably with population-specific risk charts, has become a cornerstone of CVD primary prevention. Regular recalibration of risk charts may be necessary due to decreasing CVD rates and CVD risk factor levels. The SCORE risk charts for fatal CVD risk assessment were first calibrated for Germany with 1998 risk factor level data and 1999 mortality statistics. We present an update of these risk charts based on the SCORE methodology including estimates of relative risks from SCORE, risk factor levels from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults 2008–11 (DEGS1) and official mortality statistics from 2012. Competing risks methods were applied and estimates were independently validated. Updated risk charts were calculated based on cholesterol, smoking, systolic blood pressure risk factor levels, sex and 5-year age-groups. The absolute 10-year risk estimates of fatal CVD were lower according to the updated risk charts compared to the first calibration for Germany. In a nationwide sample of 3062 adults aged 40–65 years free of major CVD from DEGS1, the mean 10-year risk of fatal CVD estimated by the updated charts was lower by 29% and the estimated proportion of high risk people (10-year risk > = 5%) by 50% compared to the older risk charts. This recalibration shows a need for regular updates of risk charts according to changes in mortality and risk factor levels in order to sustain the identification of people with a high CVD risk. PMID:27612145

prepare_taxa_charts.py: A Python program to automate generation of publication ready taxonomic pie chart images from QIIME.

PubMed

Lakhujani, Vijay; Badapanda, Chandan

2017-06-01

QIIME (Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology) is one of the most popular open-source bioinformatics suite for performing metagenome, 16S rRNA amplicon and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) data analysis. Although, it is very comprehensive and powerful tool, it lacks a method to provide publication ready taxonomic pie charts. The script plot_taxa_summary . py bundled with QIIME generate a html file and a folder containing taxonomic pie chart and legend as separate images. The images have randomly generated alphanumeric names. Therefore, it is difficult to associate the pie chart with the legend and the corresponding sample identifier. Even if the option to have the legend within the html file is selected while executing plot_taxa_summary . py , it is very tedious to crop a complete image (having both the pie chart and the legend) due to unequal image sizes. It requires a lot of time to manually prepare the pie charts for multiple samples for publication purpose. Moreover, there are chances of error while identifying the pie chart and legend pair due to random alphanumeric names of the images. To bypass all these bottlenecks and make this process efficient, we have developed a python based program, prepare_taxa_charts . py , to automate the renaming, cropping and merging of taxonomic pie chart and corresponding legend image into a single, good quality publication ready image. This program not only augments the functionality of plot_taxa_summary . py but is also very fast in terms of CPU time and user friendly.

Estimating anesthesia and surgical procedure times from medicare anesthesia claims.

PubMed

Silber, Jeffrey H; Rosenbaum, Paul R; Zhang, Xuemei; Even-Shoshan, Orit

2007-02-01

Procedure times are important variables that often are included in studies of quality and efficiency. However, due to the need for costly chart review, most studies are limited to single-institution analyses. In this article, the authors describe how well the anesthesia claim from Medicare can estimate chart times. The authors abstracted information on time of induction and entrance to the recovery room ("anesthesia chart time") from the charts of 1,931 patients who underwent general and orthopedic surgical procedures in Pennsylvania. The authors then merged the associated bills from claims data supplied from Medicare (Part B data) that included a variable denoting the time in minutes for the anesthesia service. The authors also investigated the time from incision to closure ("surgical chart time") on a subset of 1,888 patients. Anesthesia claim time from Medicare was highly predictive of anesthesia chart time (Kendall's rank correlation tau = 0.85, P < 0.0001, median absolute error = 5.1 min) but somewhat less predictive of surgical chart time (Kendall's tau = 0.73, P < 0.0001, median absolute error = 13.8 min). When predicting chart time from Medicare bills, variables reflecting procedure type, comorbidities, and hospital type did not significantly improve the prediction, suggesting that errors in predicting the chart time from the anesthesia bill time are not related to these factors; however, the individual hospital did have some influence on these estimates. Anesthesia chart time can be well estimated using Medicare claims, thereby facilitating studies with vastly larger sample sizes and much lower costs of data collection.

Tactile Acuity Charts: A Reliable Measure of Spatial Acuity

PubMed Central

Bruns, Patrick; Camargo, Carlos J.; Campanella, Humberto; Esteve, Jaume; Dinse, Hubert R.; Röder, Brigitte

2014-01-01

For assessing tactile spatial resolution it has recently been recommended to use tactile acuity charts which follow the design principles of the Snellen letter charts for visual acuity and involve active touch. However, it is currently unknown whether acuity thresholds obtained with this newly developed psychophysical procedure are in accordance with established measures of tactile acuity that involve passive contact with fixed duration and control of contact force. Here we directly compared tactile acuity thresholds obtained with the acuity charts to traditional two-point and grating orientation thresholds in a group of young healthy adults. For this purpose, two types of charts, using either Braille-like dot patterns or embossed Landolt rings with different orientations, were adapted from previous studies. Measurements with the two types of charts were equivalent, but generally more reliable with the dot pattern chart. A comparison with the two-point and grating orientation task data showed that the test-retest reliability of the acuity chart measurements after one week was superior to that of the passive methods. Individual thresholds obtained with the acuity charts agreed reasonably with the grating orientation threshold, but less so with the two-point threshold that yielded relatively distinct acuity estimates compared to the other methods. This potentially considerable amount of mismatch between different measures of tactile acuity suggests that tactile spatial resolution is a complex entity that should ideally be measured with different methods in parallel. The simple test procedure and high reliability of the acuity charts makes them a promising complement and alternative to the traditional two-point and grating orientation thresholds. PMID:24504346

Differences in presenting advance directives in the chart, in the minimum data set, and through the staff's perceptions.

PubMed

Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska; Libin, Alexander; Lipson, Steven

2003-06-01

Decisions concerning end-of-life care depend on information contained in advance directives that are documented in residents' charts in the nursing home. The availability of that information depends on the quality of the chart and on the location of the information in the chart. No research was found that compared directives by the manner in which they are collected and summarized in the chart. The goal of the proposed study was to clarify how advance directives are summarized in the patient's record and to clarify how physicians perceive the same advance directives and formal orders. The study involved 122 elderly persons who reside in one large (587 beds) nursing home. The authors collected data regarding the advance directives from three sources-Minimum Data Set (MDS), the front cover of the resident's chart, and from inside the chart. The rates of documented advance directives found in this study are higher than those reported in the literature. Agreement rates between sources varied as a function of which sources were compared, as well as on the basis of which directive was examined. More specifically, the authors found higher rates of agreement between the information inside the chart and on the cover of the chart than between the MDS and the other two sources. The reasons for discrepancies may lie in the different functions and procedures pertaining to these source documents.

Three-Dimensional Nuclear Chart--Understanding Nuclear Physics and Nucleosynthesis in Stars

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koura, Hiroyuki

2014-01-01

Three-dimensional (3D) nuclear charts were created using toy blocks, which represent the atomic masses per nucleon number and the total half-lives for each nucleus in the entire region of the nuclear mass. The bulk properties of the nuclei can be easily understood by using these charts. Subsequently, these charts were used in outreach activities…

Data on the distribution of cancer incidence and death across age and sex groups visualized using multilevel spie charts.

PubMed

Feitelson, Dror G

2016-04-01

Cancer incidence and death statistics are typically recorded for multiple age and sex brackets, leading to large data tables which are difficult to digest. Effective visualizations of this data would allow practitioners, policy makers, and the general public to comprehend the data more readily and act on it appropriately. We introduce multilevel spie charts to create a combined visualization of cancer incidence and death statistics. Spie charts combine multiple pie charts, where the base pie chart (representing the general population) is used to set the angles of slices, and the superimposed ones use variable radii to portray the cancer data. Spie charts of cancer incidence and death statistics from Israel for 2009-2011 are used as an illustration. These charts clearly show various patterns of how cancer incidence and death distribute across age and sex groups, illustrating (1) absolute numbers and (2) rates per 100,000 population for different age and sex brackets. In addition, drawing separate charts for different cancer types illustrates relative mortality, both (3) across cancer types and (4) mortality relative to incidence. Naturally, this graphical depiction can be used for other diseases as well. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Visual mining business service using pixel bar charts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Ming C.; Dayal, Umeshwar; Casati, Fabio

2004-06-01

Basic bar charts have been commonly available, but they only show highly aggregated data. Finding the valuable information hidden in the data is essential to the success of business. We describe a new visualization technique called pixel bar charts, which are derived from regular bar charts. The basic idea of a pixel bar chart is to present all data values directly instead of aggregating them into a few data values. Pixel bar charts provide data distribution and exceptions besides aggregated data. The approach is to represent each data item (e.g. a business transaction) by a single pixel in the bar chart. The attribute of each data item is encoded into the pixel color and can be accessed and drilled down to the detail information as needed. Different color mappings are used to represent multiple attributes. This technique has been prototyped in three business service applications-Business Operation Analysis, Sales Analysis, and Service Level Agreement Analysis at Hewlett Packard Laboratories. Our applications show the wide applicability and usefulness of this new idea.

Multi-dimensional perspectives of flood risk - using a participatory framework to develop new approaches to flood risk communication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rollason, Edward; Bracken, Louise; Hardy, Richard; Large, Andy

2017-04-01

Flooding is a major hazard across Europe which, since, 1998 has caused over €52 million in damages and displaced over half a million people. Climate change is predicted to increase the risks posed by flooding in the future. The 2007 EU Flood Directive cemented the use of flood risk maps as a central tool in understanding and communicating flood risk. Following recent flooding in England, an urgent need to integrate people living at risk from flooding into flood management approaches, encouraging flood resilience and the up-take of resilient activities has been acknowledged. The effective communication of flood risk information plays a major role in allowing those at risk to make effective decisions about flood risk and increase their resilience, however, there are emerging concerns over the effectiveness of current approaches. The research presented explores current approaches to flood risk communication in England and the effectiveness of these methods in encouraging resilient actions before and during flooding events. The research also investigates how flood risk communications could be undertaken more effectively, using a novel participatory framework to integrate the perspectives of those living at risk. The research uses co-production between local communities and researchers in the environmental sciences, using a participatory framework to bring together local knowledge of flood risk and flood communications. Using a local competency group, the research explores what those living at risk from flooding want from flood communications in order to develop new approaches to help those at risk understand and respond to floods. Suggestions for practice are refined by the communities to co-produce recommendations. The research finds that current approaches to real-time flood risk communication fail to forecast the significance of predicted floods, whilst flood maps lack detailed information about how floods occur, or use scientific terminology which people at risk find confusing or lacking in realistic grounding. This means users do not have information they find useful to make informed decisions about how to prepare for and respond to floods. Working together with at-risk participants, the research has developed new approaches for communicating flood risk. These approaches focus on understanding flood mechanisms and dynamics, to help participants imagine their flood risk and link potential scenarios to reality, and provide forecasts of predicted flooding at a variety of scales, allowing participants to assess the significance of predicted flooding and make more informed judgments on what action to take in response. The findings presented have significant implications for the way in which flood risk is communicated, changing the focus of mapping from probabilistic future scenarios to understanding flood dynamics and mechanisms. Such ways of communicating flood risk embrace how people would like to see risk communicated, and help those at risk grow their resilience. Communicating in such a way has wider implications for flood modelling and data collection. However, these represent potential opportunities to build more effective local partnerships for assessing and managing flood risks.

Use of Earth Observing Satellites for Operational Hazard Support

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wood, H. M.; Lauritson, L.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) relies on Earth observing satellite data to carry out its operational mission to monitor, predict, and assess changes in the Earth's atmosphere, land, and oceans. NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) uses satellite data to help lessen the impacts of natural and man-made disasters due to tropical cyclones, flash floods, heavy snowstorms, volcanic ash clouds (for aviation safety), sea ice (for shipping safety), and harmful algal blooms. Communications systems on NOAA satellites are used to support search and rescue and to relay data from data collection platforms to a variety of users. NOAA's Geostationary (GOES) and Polar (POES) Operational Environmental Satellites are used in conjunction with other satellites to support NOAA's operational mission. While NOAA's National Hurricane Center is responsible for predicting tropical cyclones affecting the U.S. mainland, NESDIS continuously monitors the tropics world wide, relaying valuable satellite interpretations of tropical systems strength and position to users throughout the world. Text messages are sent every six hours for tropical cyclones in the Western Pacific, South Pacific, and Indian Oceans. To support the monitoring, prediction, and assessment of flash floods and winter storms, NESDIS sends out text messages alerting U.S. weather forecast offices whenever NOAA satellite imagery indicates the occurrence of heavy rain or snow. NESDIS also produces a 24-hour rainfall composite graphic image covering those areas affected by heavy precipitation. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and other aviation concerns recognized the need to keep aviators informed of volcanic hazards. To that end, nine Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers (VAAC's) were created to monitor volcanic ash plumes within their assigned airspace. NESDIS hosts one of the VAAC's. Although the NESDIS VAAC's primary responsibility is the continental U.S., Carribean, and adjacent oceans, it also tracks volcanic eruptions throughout the world. Text messages are produced along with graphic interpretations. This information, along with volcanic ash forecasts produced by NOAA's National Weather Service, is made available to U.S. Government and international agencies concerned with aviation, seismology, and climate analysis. Earth observing satellites help NESDIS to ensure safe navigation of ships through sea ice by measuring the extent, thickness, and age of ice as well as sea surface winds over the polar regions of the globe, coastal areas, and inland waterways. These satellites also help NESDIS to monitor U.S. coastal areas for dangerous algal blooms or other toxic effects to fish and sea mammals as well as monitoring floods and fires. Experimental fire products can help in the monitoring of fires and fire weather, as well as determining fire risk. Experimental soil moisture products support flood and drought monitoring. Flood extent and damage assessment for a variety of hazards can be determined from several satellites at varying spatial resolutions. The Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) system detects and locates persons in distress on land or water. NOAA satellites relay distress signals from emergency beacons through a network of ground stations to the U.S. Mission Control Center (USMCC). The USMCC processes the data and alerts the appropriate search and rescue authorities. SARSAT is part of the international Cospas-Sarsat Program. NOAA's GOES Data Collection (DCS) and Argos (jointly with the French space agency) POES Data Collection and Locations Systems transmit data collected from remote land and water based platforms and distributes the data to researchers, governmental and environmental organizations worldwide. The GOES DCS system allows near real time and frequent transmissions, e.g. hourly, over the Americas and much of the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific Oceans. ARGOS transmissions are less frequent, but global and provide the location of moving platforms such as animals and drifting buoys.

Looking at flood trends with different eyes: the value of a fuzzy flood classification scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sikorska, A. E.; Viviroli, D.; Brunner, M. I.; Seibert, J.

2016-12-01

Natural floods can be governed by several processes such as heavy rainfall or intense snow- or glacier-melt. These processes result in different flood characteristics in terms of flood shape and magnitude. Pooling floods of different types might therefore impair the analyses of flood frequencies and trends. Thus, the categorization of flood events into different flood type classes and the determination of their respective frequencies is essential for a better understanding and for the prediction of floods. In reality however most flood events are caused by a mix of processes and a unique determination of a flood type per event often becomes difficult. This study proposes an innovative method for a more reliable categorization of floods according to similarities in flood drivers. The categorization of floods into subgroups relies on a fuzzy decision tree. While the classical (crisp) decision tree allows for the identification of only one flood type per event, the fuzzy approach enables the detection of mixed types. Hence, events are represented as a spectrum of six possible flood types, while a degree of acceptance attributed to each of them specifies the importance of each type during the event formation. Considered types are flash, short rainfall, long rainfall, snow-melt, rainfall-on-snow, and, in high altitude watersheds, also glacier-melt floods. The fuzzy concept also enables uncertainty present in the identification of flood processes and in the method to be incorporated into the flood categorization process. We demonstrate, for a set of nine Swiss watersheds and 30 years of observations, that this new concept provides more reliable flood estimates than the classical approach as it allows for a more dedicated flood prevention technique adapted to a specific flood type.

Archiving of Planetary Ring Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elliot, James L.

2001-01-01

Stellar occultation data provide our only Earth-based means of probing planetary rings at kilometer spatial resolution. The occultation data archive at MIT contains original data and analysis products of stellar occultations by the ring systems of the planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune observed by members of the group (and other groups) from 1977 to the present. During this time period, several media have been used to record and store the original and processed data: (1) chart records; (2) printed output, (3) audio reel tape; (4) audio cassette tape; (5) 7-track, 1/2-inch computer tape; (6) 9-track, 1/2-inch computer tape at 800, 1600, and 6250 bpi; (7) NOVA disk platters (2.5 and 5.0 Mbyte); (8) write once optical disks; (9) punched cards; and (10) read-write optical disks. With the rapid change of computer technology over this time period, some of these media have become not only obsolete, but nearly extinct. In particular, it has become nearly impossible to find any facilities that can still read 800 bpi tapes, which contain the only copies of several important data sets for the ring system of Uranus. In particular, we have an extensive ring data collection that includes data sets for the following Uranian ring occultations: U0, U11, U12, U13, U14, U25, U17, and U36.

Knee injury patterns in young irish dancers.

PubMed

Beasley, Michael A; Stracciolini, Andrea; Tyson, Kesley D; Stein, Cynthia J

2014-06-01

To characterize knee injury patterns in Irish dancers. A retrospective chart review was performed for Irish dancers under age 19 who presented with knee injuries to the sports medicine or orthopedic clinic from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2010. Data were collected on all knee injuries partially or directly related to Irish dance. Injury was defined as dance-related pain or damage to the structures in the knee that resulted in evaluation in the clinic. Survey data were collected to determine the number of different schools/studios represented by the dancers in the study. Sixty-seven Irish dancers with 86 knee injuries were evaluated. Half (50.7%) of these patients received more than one diagnosis during these visits. Overuse injuries accounted for 90.7% of knee injuries. Time to presentation ranged from less than 1 week to over 1 year. There was a significant difference in time to presentation, with traumatic injuries being evaluated sooner than overuse injuries. The most common diagnoses, accounting for 53.5% of injuries, were patellar tracking disorders, including patellofemoral syndrome, hypermobile patella, and patellar subluxation. In Irish dance overuse injuries represent the great majority of knee injuries, and patellofemoral tracking disorders are the most common diagnosis. For many dancers, there is often a delay of weeks to months between the onset of symptoms and evaluation in clinic. Prevention programs could potentially eliminate a large portion of knee pain experienced by young Irish dancers.

Combining psychological and engineering approaches to utilizing social robots with children with autism.

PubMed

Dickstein-Fischer, Laurie; Fischer, Gregory S

2014-01-01

It is estimated that Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects 1 in 68 children. Early identification of an ASD is exceedingly important to the introduction of an intervention. We are developing a robot-assisted approach that will serve as an improved diagnostic and early intervention tool for children with autism. The robot, named PABI® (Penguin for Autism Behavioral Interventions), is a compact humanoid robot taking on an expressive cartoon-like embodiment. The robot is affordable, durable, and portable so that it can be used in various settings including schools, clinics, and the home. Thus enabling significantly enhanced and more readily available diagnosis and continuation of care. Through facial expressions, body motion, verbal cues, stereo vision-based tracking, and a tablet computer, the robot is capable of interacting meaningfully with an autistic child. Initial implementations of the robot, as part of a comprehensive treatment model (CTM), include Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy where the child interacts with a tablet computer wirelessly interfaced with the robot. At the same time, the robot makes meaningful expressions and utterances and uses stereo cameras in eyes to track the child, maintain eye contact, and collect data such as affect and gaze direction for charting of progress. In this paper we present the clinical justification, anticipated usage with corresponding requirements, prototype development of the robotic system, and demonstration of a sample application for robot-assisted ABA therapy.

Design and Testing of an Unlimited Field-of-regard Synthetic Vision Head-worn Display for Commercial Aircraft Surface Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arthur, Jarvis J., III; Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Shelton, Kevin J.; Kramer, Lynda J.; Williams, Steven P.; Bailey, Randall E.; Norman, Robert M.

2007-01-01

Experiments and flight tests have shown that a Head-Up Display (HUD) and a head-down, electronic moving map (EMM) can be enhanced with Synthetic Vision for airport surface operations. While great success in ground operations was demonstrated with a HUD, the research noted that two major HUD limitations during ground operations were their monochrome form and limited, fixed field of regard. A potential solution to these limitations found with HUDs may be emerging Head Worn Displays (HWDs). HWDs are small, lightweight full color display devices that may be worn without significant encumbrance to the user. By coupling the HWD with a head tracker, unlimited field-of-regard may be realized for commercial aviation applications. In the proposed paper, the results of two ground simulation experiments conducted at NASA Langley are summarized. The experiments evaluated the efficacy of head-worn display applications of Synthetic Vision and Enhanced Vision technology to enhance transport aircraft surface operations. The two studies tested a combined six display concepts: (1) paper charts with existing cockpit displays, (2) baseline consisting of existing cockpit displays including a Class III electronic flight bag display of the airport surface; (3) an advanced baseline that also included displayed traffic and routing information, (4) a modified version of a HUD and EMM display demonstrated in previous research; (5) an unlimited field-of-regard, full color, head-tracked HWD with a conformal 3-D synthetic vision surface view; and (6) a fully integrated HWD concept. The fully integrated HWD concept is a head-tracked, color, unlimited field-of-regard concept that provides a 3-D conformal synthetic view of the airport surface integrated with advanced taxi route clearance, taxi precision guidance, and data-link capability. The results of the experiments showed that the fully integrated HWD provided greater path performance compared to using paper charts alone. Further, when comparing the HWD with the HUD concept, there were no differences in path performance. In addition, the HWD and HUD concepts were rated via paired-comparisons the same in terms of situational awareness and workload. However, there were over twice as many taxi incursion events with the HUD than the HWD.

Reconstruction of pre-instrumental storm track trajectories across the U.S. Pacific Northwest using circulation-based field sampling of Pinus Ponderosa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wise, E.; Dannenberg, M. P.

2015-12-01

The trajectory of incoming storms from the Pacific Ocean is a key influence on drought and flood regimes in western North America. Flow is typically from the west in a zonal pattern, but decadal shifts between zonal and meridional flow have been identified as key features in hydroclimatic variability over the instrumental period. In Washington and most of the Pacific Northwest, there tend to be lower-latitude storm systems that result in decreased precipitation in El Niño years. However, the Columbia Basin in central Washington behaves in opposition to the surrounding region and typically has average to above-average precipitation in El Niño years due to changing storm-track trajectories and a decreasing rain shadow effect on the leeward side of the Cascades. This direct connection between storm-track position and precipitation patterns in Washington provided an exceptional opportunity for circulation-based field sampling and chronology development. New Pinus ponderosa (Ponderosa pine) tree-ring chronologies were developed from eight sites around the Columbia Basin in Washington and used to examine year-to-year changes in moisture regimes. Results show that these sites are representative of the two distinct climate response areas. The divergence points between these two site responses allowed us to reconstruct changing precipitation patterns since the late-17th century, and to link these patterns to previously reconstructed atmospheric pressure and El Niño indices. This study highlights the potential for using synoptic climatology to inform field-based proxy collection.

Flood type specific construction of synthetic design hydrographs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brunner, Manuela I.; Viviroli, Daniel; Sikorska, Anna E.; Vannier, Olivier; Favre, Anne-Catherine; Seibert, Jan

2017-02-01

Accurate estimates of flood peaks, corresponding volumes, and hydrographs are required to design safe and cost-effective hydraulic structures. In this paper, we propose a statistical approach for the estimation of the design variables peak and volume by constructing synthetic design hydrographs for different flood types such as flash-floods, short-rain floods, long-rain floods, and rain-on-snow floods. Our approach relies on the fitting of probability density functions to observed flood hydrographs of a certain flood type and accounts for the dependence between peak discharge and flood volume. It makes use of the statistical information contained in the data and retains the process information of the flood type. The method was tested based on data from 39 mesoscale catchments in Switzerland and provides catchment specific and flood type specific synthetic design hydrographs for all of these catchments. We demonstrate that flood type specific synthetic design hydrographs are meaningful in flood-risk management when combined with knowledge on the seasonality and the frequency of different flood types.