75 FR 34923 - General Schedule Locality Pay Areas

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-21

...;Prices of new books are listed in the first FEDERAL REGISTER issue of each #0;week. #0; #0; #0; #0;#0... area to the New York locality pay area. We received no comments on the interim rule and adopt the final... Philadelphia locality pay area while Lakehurst, in Ocean County, New Jersey, was in the New York locality pay...

The Health Role of Local Area Coordinators in Scotland: A Mixed Methods Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Michael; Karatzias, Thanos; O'Leary, Lisa

2013-01-01

The study set out to explore whether local area coordinators (LACs) and their managers view the health role of LACs as an essential component of their work and identify the health-related activities undertaken by LACs in Scotland. A mixed methods cross-sectional phenomenological study involving local authority service managers (n = 25) and LACs (n…

What is the effect of area size when using local area practice style as an instrument?

PubMed

Brooks, John M; Tang, Yuexin; Chapman, Cole G; Cook, Elizabeth A; Chrischilles, Elizabeth A

2013-08-01

Discuss the tradeoffs inherent in choosing a local area size when using a measure of local area practice style as an instrument in instrumental variable estimation when assessing treatment effectiveness. Assess the effectiveness of angiotensin converting-enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers on survival after acute myocardial infarction for Medicare beneficiaries using practice style instruments based on different-sized local areas around patients. We contrasted treatment effect estimates using different local area sizes in terms of the strength of the relationship between local area practice styles and individual patient treatment choices; and indirect assessments of the assumption violations. Using smaller local areas to measure practice styles exploits more treatment variation and results in smaller standard errors. However, if treatment effects are heterogeneous, the use of smaller local areas may increase the risk that local practice style measures are dominated by differences in average treatment effectiveness across areas and bias results toward greater effectiveness. Local area practice style measures can be useful instruments in instrumental variable analysis, but the use of smaller local area sizes to generate greater treatment variation may result in treatment effect estimates that are biased toward higher effectiveness. Assessment of whether ecological bias can be mitigated by changing local area size requires the use of outside data sources. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

48 CFR 26.202-1 - Local area set-aside.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... shall also determine whether a local area set-aside should be further restricted to small business... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Local area set-aside. 26... area set-aside. The contracting officer may set aside solicitations to allow only local firms within a...

Efficacy of identifying neural components in the face and emotion processing system in schizophrenia using a dynamic functional localizer.

PubMed

Arnold, Aiden E G F; Iaria, Giuseppe; Goghari, Vina M

2016-02-28

Schizophrenia is associated with deficits in face perception and emotion recognition. Despite consistent behavioural results, the neural mechanisms underlying these cognitive abilities have been difficult to isolate, in part due to differences in neuroimaging methods used between studies for identifying regions in the face processing system. Given this problem, we aimed to validate a recently developed fMRI-based dynamic functional localizer task for use in studies of psychiatric populations and specifically schizophrenia. Previously, this functional localizer successfully identified each of the core face processing regions (i.e. fusiform face area, occipital face area, superior temporal sulcus), and regions within an extended system (e.g. amygdala) in healthy individuals. In this study, we tested the functional localizer success rate in 27 schizophrenia patients and in 24 community controls. Overall, the core face processing regions were localized equally between both the schizophrenia and control group. Additionally, the amygdala, a candidate brain region from the extended system, was identified in nearly half the participants from both groups. These results indicate the effectiveness of a dynamic functional localizer at identifying regions of interest associated with face perception and emotion recognition in schizophrenia. The use of dynamic functional localizers may help standardize the investigation of the facial and emotion processing system in this and other clinical populations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Application of local Moran's I and GIS to identify hotspots of Ni, Cr of vegetable soils in high-incidence area of liver cancer from the Pearl River Delta, South China].

PubMed

Li, Yong; Zhou, Yong-Zhang; Zhang, Cheng-Bo; Dou, Lei; Du, Hai-Yan; Lin, Xiao-Ming; Fan, Rui; Du, Min; He, Xiang

2010-06-01

The index of local Moran's I is a useful tool for identifying hotspots of soil Ni and Cr, and for classifying them into spatial clusters and spatial outliers. To identify hotspots of vegetable soils Ni and Cr in high-incidence area of liver cancer, Shunde area of Foshan City, Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, 208 topsoil samples were collected from vegetable fields to measure the contents of nickel (Ni) and chromium (Cr). The results showed that the mean concentrations of two heavy metals Ni, Cr were 33.21 mg/kg, 80.84 mg/kg, respectively, Which were 130%, 60% higher than their soil background values of Guangdong Province, respectively. Generally, Ni is partly accumulated in soil but the accumulation of Cr is not obvious at all. The local Moran's I of Ni and Cr was calculated using 3 000, 6 000, 9 000 m as distance bands, respectively. The hotspots of Ni and Cr elements in soils were identified by local Moran's I which computed based on 6 000 m; "individual hotspots" are in the north which were affected by anthropogenic factors; "regional hotspots" are in the south which were controlled by parent materials. Moreover, the distributions of "regional hotspots" of Ni, Cr are the same as that of the highest mortality rate of liver cancer, this consistence could come up with a research direction that could reveal environmental etiologic factors of liver cancer.

Local Area Networks (The Printout).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aron, Helen; Balajthy, Ernest

1989-01-01

Describes the Local Area Network (LAN), a project in which students used LAN-based word processing and electronic mail software as the center of a writing process approach. Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of networking. (MM)

20 CFR 666.310 - What levels of performance apply to the indicators of performance in local areas?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... indicators of performance in local areas? 666.310 Section 666.310 Employees' Benefits EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING... Local Measures of Performance § 666.310 What levels of performance apply to the indicators of... Governor and reach agreement on the local levels of performance for each indicator identified under § 666...

20 CFR 666.310 - What levels of performance apply to the indicators of performance in local areas?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... indicators of performance in local areas? 666.310 Section 666.310 Employees' Benefits EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING... Local Measures of Performance § 666.310 What levels of performance apply to the indicators of... Governor and reach agreement on the local levels of performance for each indicator identified under § 666...

48 CFR 26.202-1 - Local area set-aside.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Local area set-aside. 26... SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS OTHER SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS Disaster or Emergency Assistance Activities 26.202-1 Local area set-aside. The contracting officer may set aside solicitations to allow only local firms within a...

Enhanced Approximate Nearest Neighbor via Local Area Focused Search.

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

Gonzales, Antonio; Blazier, Nicholas Paul

Approximate Nearest Neighbor (ANN) algorithms are increasingly important in machine learning, data mining, and image processing applications. There is a large family of space- partitioning ANN algorithms, such as randomized KD-Trees, that work well in practice but are limited by an exponential increase in similarity comparisons required to optimize recall. Additionally, they only support a small set of similarity metrics. We present Local Area Fo- cused Search (LAFS), a method that enhances the way queries are performed using an existing ANN index. Instead of a single query, LAFS performs a number of smaller (fewer similarity comparisons) queries and focuses onmore » a local neighborhood which is refined as candidates are identified. We show that our technique improves performance on several well known datasets and is easily extended to general similarity metrics using kernel projection techniques.« less

Local Area Networks: Part I.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dessy, Raymond E.

1982-01-01

Local area networks are common communication conduits allowing various terminals, computers, discs, printers, and other electronic devices to intercommunicate over short distances. Discusses the vocabulary of such networks including RS-232C point-to-point and IEEE-488 multidrop protocols; error detection; message packets; multiplexing; star, ring,…

Defining Face Perception Areas in the Human Brain: A Large-Scale Factorial fMRI Face Localizer Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rossion, Bruno; Hanseeuw, Bernard; Dricot, Laurence

2012-01-01

A number of human brain areas showing a larger response to faces than to objects from different categories, or to scrambled faces, have been identified in neuroimaging studies. Depending on the statistical criteria used, the set of areas can be overextended or minimized, both at the local (size of areas) and global (number of areas) levels. Here…

77 FR 70381 - General Schedule Locality Pay Areas

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-26

... based on appropriate factors, which may include local labor market patterns, commuting patterns, and the... Implementation The proposed rule will have no effect on existing locality pay area definitions but will prevent...

Spotter's Guide for Identifying and Reporting Severe Local Storms.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (DOC), Rockville, MD.

This guide is designed to assist personnel working in the National Weather Service's Severe Local Storm Spotter Networks in identifying and reporting severe local storms. Provided are pictures of cloud types for severe storms including tornadoes, hail, thunder, lightning, heavy rains, and waterspouts. Instructions for key indications to watch for…

On Real-Time Systems Using Local Area Networks.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-07-01

87-35 July, 1987 CS-TR-1892 On Real - Time Systems Using Local Area Networks*I VShem-Tov Levi Department of Computer Science Satish K. Tripathit...1892 On Real - Time Systems Using Local Area Networks* Shem-Tov Levi Department of Computer Science Satish K. Tripathit Department of Computer Science...constraints and the clock systems that feed the time to real - time systems . A model for real-time system based on LAN communication is presented in

Local Area Networking Handbook

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-06-01

Number of dcvices IO’s-lOOO’s 10’s. I00Ys W0"s-10O’s supported Attachment cost S500-S50U) S40k-$ 56k S250-SIOOU C. LOCAL AREA NETWORKS Due to the...broadband cable by substituting RF modems for the conventional modems or line drivers. Then control may be imposed through conventional communications link...Ref. 11:p. 33] In a typical broadband bus configuration using FDM, channels are allocated dynamically, using frequency agile RF modems , rather than

Identifying spatially integrated floodplains/riparian areas and wetlands

EPA Science Inventory

Floodplain delineation may play an important role in managing wetlands and riparian areas at multiple scales - local, state, and federal. This poster demonstrates multiple GIS-based approaches to delimiting floodplains and contrasts these with observed flooding events from a majo...

Local Area Defense (LAD) Demonstration

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-09-01

Prozac ? Fentanyl? Institution, incident command, community drills - use of internet - digital photos of all victims to follow them through the system...and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188), Washington, DC 20503 1. AGENCY USE ONLY 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED (Leave...detection and rapid response system for local area defense using the University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB) Campus as a testbed. Additional goals includes

Local Area Networks and the Learning Lab of the Future.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ebersole, Dennis C.

1987-01-01

Considers educational applications of local area computer networks and discusses industry standards for design established by the International Standards Organization (ISO) and Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). A futuristic view of a learning laboratory using a local area network is presented. (Author/LRW)

An exploratory study identifying where local government public health decision makers source their evidence for policy.

PubMed

Stoneham, Melissa; Dodds, James

2014-08-01

The Western Australian (WA) Public Health Bill will replace the antiquated Health Act 1911. One of the proposed clauses of the Bill requires all WA local governments to develop a Public Health Plan. The Bill states that Public Health Plans should be based on evidence from all levels, including national and statewide priorities, community needs, local statistical evidence, and stakeholder data. This exploratory study, which targeted 533 WA local government officers, aimed to identify the sources of evidence used to generate the list of public health risks to be included in local government Public Health Plans. The top four sources identified for informing local policy were: observation of the consequences of the risks in the local community (24.5%), statewide evidence (17.6%), local evidence (17.6%) and coverage in local media (16.2%). This study confirms that both hard and soft data are used to inform policy decisions at the local level. Therefore, the challenge that this study has highlighted is in the definition or constitution of evidence. SO WHAT? Evidence is critical to the process of sound policy development. This study highlights issues associated with what actually constitutes evidence in the policy development process at the local government level. With the exception of those who work in an extremely narrow field, it is difficult for local government officers, whose role includes policymaking, to read the vast amount of information that has been published in their area of expertise. For those who are committed to the notion of evidence-based policymaking, as advocated within the WA Public Health Bill, this presents a considerable challenge.

20 CFR 666.300 - What performance indicators apply to local areas?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 4 2014-04-01 2014-04-01 false What performance indicators apply to local areas? 666.300 Section 666.300 Employees' Benefits EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF... Measures of Performance § 666.300 What performance indicators apply to local areas? (a) Each local...

78 FR 5115 - General Schedule Locality Pay Areas

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-24

... contains regulatory documents #0;having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed #0... appropriate factors, which may include local labor market patterns, commuting patterns, and the practices of... any changes. Impact The rule has no effect on existing locality pay area definitions but prevents any...

Identifying Local Hotspots of Pediatric Chronic Diseases Using Emergency Department Surveillance

PubMed Central

Lee, David C.; Yi, Stella S.; Fong, Hiu-Fai; Athens, Jessica K.; Ravenell, Joseph E.; Sevick, Mary Ann; Wall, Stephen P.; Elbel, Brian

2016-01-01

Objective To use novel geographic methods and large-scale claims data to identify the local distribution of pediatric chronic diseases in New York City. Methods Using a 2009 all-payer emergency claims database, we identified the proportion of unique children aged 0 to 17 with diagnosis codes for specific medical and psychiatric conditions. As a proof of concept, we compared these prevalence estimates to traditional health surveys and registry data using the most geographically granular data available. In addition, we used home addresses to map local variation in pediatric disease burden. Results We identified 549,547 New York City children who visited an emergency department at least once in 2009. Though our sample included more publicly insured and uninsured children, we found moderate to strong correlations of prevalence estimates when compared to health surveys and registry data at pre-specified geographic levels. Strongest correlations were found for asthma and mental health conditions by county among younger children (0.88, p=0.05 and 0.99, p<0.01, respectively). Moderate correlations by neighborhood were identified for obesity and cancer (0.53 and 0.54, p<0.01). Among adolescents, correlations by health districts were strong for obesity (0.95, p=0.05), and depression estimates had a non-significant, but strong negative correlation with suicide attempts (−0.88, p=0.12). Using SaTScan, we also identified local hotspots of pediatric chronic disease. Conclusions For conditions easily identified in claims data, emergency department surveillance may help estimate pediatric chronic disease prevalence with higher geographic resolution. More studies are needed to investigate limitations of these methods and assess reliability of local disease estimates. What’s New This study demonstrated how emergency department surveillance may improve estimates of pediatric disease prevalence with higher geographic resolution. We identified 29% of New York City children with a

Introduction to Local Area Networks for Microcomputers — Characteristics, Costs, Implementation Considerations

PubMed Central

Haney, James P.

1984-01-01

The essence of a local area network (LAN) is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A local area network can save in hardware costs when expensive peripherals are shared; it can save time when large blocks of data are rapidly exchanged among users. The need for more cost-effective and capable communications has inspired the emergence of rapidly developing markets and technologies for local area networks. The purpose of this paper is to provide an understanding of the characteristics, components, costs, and implementation considerations of local area networks. The paper does not compare or define specific vendor offerings; however, recent IBM announcements regarding local area networks are summarized in the last section of the paper.

20 CFR 666.300 - What performance indicators apply to local areas?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What performance indicators apply to local... Performance § 666.300 What performance indicators apply to local areas? (a) Each local workforce investment area in a State is subject to the same core indicators of performance and the customer satisfaction...

20 CFR 666.300 - What performance indicators apply to local areas?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false What performance indicators apply to local... Performance § 666.300 What performance indicators apply to local areas? (a) Each local workforce investment area in a State is subject to the same core indicators of performance and the customer satisfaction...

CD-ROM and Local Area Networks.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marks, Kenneth E.; And Others

1993-01-01

This special section on local area networks includes three articles: (1) a description of migration at Joyner Library, East Carolina University (North Carolina) to a new network server; (2) a discussion of factors to consider for network planning in school libraries; and (3) a directory of companies supplying cable, hardware, software, and…

Gateway design specification for fiber optic local area networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1985-01-01

This is a Design Specification for a gateway to interconnect fiber optic local area networks (LAN's). The internetworking protocols for a gateway device that will interconnect multiple local area networks are defined. This specification serves as input for preparation of detailed design specifications for the hardware and software of a gateway device. General characteristics to be incorporated in the gateway such as node address mapping, packet fragmentation, and gateway routing features are described.

Real-time network traffic classification technique for wireless local area networks based on compressed sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balouchestani, Mohammadreza

2017-05-01

Network traffic or data traffic in a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is the amount of network packets moving across a wireless network from each wireless node to another wireless node, which provide the load of sampling in a wireless network. WLAN's Network traffic is the main component for network traffic measurement, network traffic control and simulation. Traffic classification technique is an essential tool for improving the Quality of Service (QoS) in different wireless networks in the complex applications such as local area networks, wireless local area networks, wireless personal area networks, wireless metropolitan area networks, and wide area networks. Network traffic classification is also an essential component in the products for QoS control in different wireless network systems and applications. Classifying network traffic in a WLAN allows to see what kinds of traffic we have in each part of the network, organize the various kinds of network traffic in each path into different classes in each path, and generate network traffic matrix in order to Identify and organize network traffic which is an important key for improving the QoS feature. To achieve effective network traffic classification, Real-time Network Traffic Classification (RNTC) algorithm for WLANs based on Compressed Sensing (CS) is presented in this paper. The fundamental goal of this algorithm is to solve difficult wireless network management problems. The proposed architecture allows reducing False Detection Rate (FDR) to 25% and Packet Delay (PD) to 15 %. The proposed architecture is also increased 10 % accuracy of wireless transmission, which provides a good background for establishing high quality wireless local area networks.

Wireless local area network security.

PubMed

Bergeron, Bryan P

2004-01-01

Wireless local area networks (WLANs) are increasingly popular in clinical settings because they facilitate the use of wireless PDAs, laptops, and other pervasive computing devices at the point of care. However, because of the relative immaturity of wireless network technology and evolving standards, WLANs, if improperly configured, can present significant security risks. Understanding the security limitations of the technology and available fixes can help minimize the risks of clinical data loss and maintain compliance with HIPAA guidelines.

Understanding local-scale drivers of biodiversity outcomes in terrestrial protected areas.

PubMed

Barnes, Megan D; Craigie, Ian D; Dudley, Nigel; Hockings, Marc

2017-07-01

Conservation relies heavily on protected areas (PAs) maintaining their key biodiversity features to meet global biodiversity conservation goals. However, PAs have had variable success, with many failing to fully maintain their biodiversity features. The current literature concerning what drives variability in PA performance is rapidly expanding but unclear, sometimes contradictory, and spread across multiple disciplines. A clear understanding of the drivers of successful biodiversity conservation in PAs is necessary to make them fully effective. Here, we conduct a comprehensive assessment of the current state of knowledge concerning the drivers of biological outcomes within PAs, focusing on those that can be addressed at local scales. We evaluate evidence in support of potential drivers to identify those that enable more successful outcomes and those that impede success and provide a synthetic review. Interactions are discussed where they are known, and we highlight gaps in understanding. We find that elements of PA design, management, and local and national governance challenges, species and system ecology, and sociopolitical context can all influence outcomes. Adjusting PA management to focus on actions and policies that influence the key drivers identified here could improve global biodiversity outcomes. © 2016 New York Academy of Sciences.

Locally distributed crustal deformation in potential areas of phreatic eruptions, detected by InSAR analyses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kobayashi, Tomokazu

2017-04-01

Phreatic eruptions may be related to transient pressure changes in subsurface regions of hydrothermal systems attributing a heating of shallow aquifers from magma. It means that crustal deformation presumably proceeds with the pressure increase under the ground, which can be a kind of precursor if it would be detected. One of the most difficult points is that as the eruption size becomes smaller, the precursor signal should be more local, suggesting that it is rather hard to identify the anomaly using conventional ground-based observation tools. To mitigate disaster on phreatic eruptions, an effective proactive monitoring method is desired. One of the tools to overcome the drawbacks is SAR observation. I here report several observation results in which locally distributed crustal deformation has been detected in geothermal areas where phreatic eruptions has occurred recently or historically. One of the most important studies is the case of Mt. Hakone where the crustal deformation has been successfully detected two months before small phreatic eruptions. Mt. Hakone holds an active geothermal area, called Owaku-dani, with active fumaroles although no eruption has been known since 12-13 centuries. However, the anomalous activity such as an increase of seismicity started in the end of April, 2015. With this anomalous activity, SAR (ALOS-2) observations have been conducted, and small but significant crustal deformation has been detected in a local area with a diameter of 200 m with a displacement of 5 cm. The amount of deformation has increased with time although the spatial size has not changed, and resultantly the amount reached up to 60 cm. Finally, in the end of June, eruptions occurred just at the local crustal deformation area. It should be noted that the eruption started from the InSAR-detected inflational area. This is an excellent case that we were able to identify the location of small phreatic eruption in advance by detecting anomalous ground inflation. It is

Local Area Network (LAN) Compatibility Issues

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-09-01

September, 1991 Thesis Advisor: Dr. Norman Schneidewind Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited 92 303s246 Unclassified SECURITY ...CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Ia. REPORT SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 1 b. RESTRICTIVE MARKINGS unclassified 2a. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION...Work UiNt ACCeLUOn Number 11. TITLE (Include Security Classification) LOCAL AREA NETWORK (LAN) COMPATIBILITY ISSUES 12. PERSONAL AUTHOR(S) Rita V

Local Area Co-Ordination: Strengthening Support for People with Learning Disabilities in Scotland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stalker, Kirsten Ogilvie; Malloch, Margaret; Barry, Monica Anne; Watson, June Ann

2008-01-01

This paper reports the findings of a study commissioned by the Scottish Executive which examined the introduction and implementation of local area co-ordination (LAC) in Scotland. A questionnaire about their posts was completed by 44 local area co-ordinators, interviews were conducted with 35 local area co-ordinators and 14 managers and case…

Associations between disability prevalence and local-area characteristics in a general community-living population.

PubMed

Philibert, M D; Pampalon, R; Hamel, D; Daniel, M

2013-10-01

Disability is understood to arise from person-environment interactions. Hence, heterogeneity in local-area characteristics should be associated with local-area variation in disability prevalence. This study evaluated the associations of disability prevalence with local-area socioeconomic status and contextual features. Disability prevalence was obtained from the Canada census of 2001 for the entire province of Québec at the level of dissemination areas (617 individuals on average) based on responses from 20% of the population. Data on local-area characteristics were urban-rural denomination, social and material deprivation, active and collective commuting, residential stability, and housing quality. Associations between local-area characteristics and disability prevalence were assessed using multilevel logistic regressions. Disability was associated with local-area socioeconomic status and contextual characteristics, and heterogeneity in these factors accounted for urban-rural differences in disability prevalence. Associations between contextual features and disability prevalence were confounded by local-area socioeconomic status. Some associations between local-area socioeconomic status and disability prevalence were moderated by contextual characteristics. The importance of this effect modification is greater when expressed in terms of the absolute magnitude of disability than in the relative likelihood of disability. Explanation of rural-urban differences by the contribution of other local-area characteristics is consistent with the conceptualization of urban-rural categories as the reflection of spatially varying ensembles of compositional and contextual factors. Although local-area socioeconomic status explains most variability in disability prevalence, this study shows that contextual characteristics are relevant to analyses of the spatial patterning of disability as they predict spatial variations of disability, sometimes in interaction with socioeconomic

Identifying marine Important Bird Areas using at-sea survey data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Melanie A.; Walker, Nathan J.; Free, Christopher M.; Kirchhoff, Matthew J.; Drew, Gary S.; Warnock, Nils; Stenhouse, Iain J.

2014-01-01

Effective marine bird conservation requires identification of at-sea locations used by populations for foraging, staging, and migration. Using an extensive database of at-sea survey data spanning over 30 years, we developed a standardized and data-driven spatial method for identifying globally significant marine Important Bird Areas in Alaska. To delineate these areas we developed a six-step process: binning data and accounting for unequal survey effort, filtering input data for persistence of species use, using a moving window analysis to produce maps representing a gradient from low to high abundance, drawing core area boundaries around major concentrations based on abundance thresholds, validating the results, and combining overlapping boundaries into important areas for multiple species. We identified 126 bird core areas which were merged into 59 pelagic sites important to 45 out of 57 species assessed. The final areas included approximately 34–38% of all marine birds in Alaska waters, within just 6% of the total area. We identified globally significant Important Bird Areas spanning 20 degrees of latitude and 56 degrees of longitude, in two different oceans, with climates ranging from temperate to polar. Although our maps did suffer from some data gaps, these gaps did not preclude us from identifying sites that incorporated 13% of the assessed continental waterbird population and 9% of the assessed global seabird population. The application of this technique over a large and productive region worked well for a wide range of birds, exhibiting a variety of foraging strategies and occupying a variety of ecosystem types.

Gex-Model Using Local Area Fraction for Binary Electrolyte Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haghtalab, Ali; Joda, Marzieh

2007-06-01

The correlation and prediction of phase equilibria of electrolyte systems are essential in the design and operation of many industrial processes such as downstream processing in biotechnology, desalination, hydrometallurgy, etc. In this research, the local composition non-random two liquid-nonrandom factor (NRTL-NRF) model of Haghtalab and Vera was extended for uni-univalent aqueous electrolyte solutions. Based on the assumptions of the NRTL-NRF model, excess Gibbs free energy ( g E) functions were derived for binary electrolyte systems. In this work, the local area fraction was applied and the modified model of NRTL-NRF was developed with either an equal or unequal surface area of an anion to the surface area of a cation. The modified NRTL-NRF models consist of two contributions, one due to long-range forces represented by the Debye-Hückel theory, and the other due to short-range forces, represented by local area fractions of species through nonrandom factors. Each model contains only two adjustable parameters per electrolyte. In addition, the model with unequal surface area of ionic species gives better results in comparison with the second new model with equal surface area of ions. The results for the mean activity coefficients for aqueous solutions of uni-univalent electrolytes at 298.15 K showed that the present model is more accurate than the original NRTL-NRF model.

Localization of Broca's Area Using Functional MR Imaging: Quantitative Evaluation of Paradigms.

PubMed

Kim, Chi Heon; Kim, Jae-Hun; Chung, Chun Kee; Kim, June Sic; Lee, Jong-Min; Lee, Sang Kun

2009-04-01

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is frequently used to localize language areas in a non-invasive manner. Various paradigms for presurgical localization of language areas have been developed, but a systematic quantitative evaluation of the efficiency of those paradigms has not been performed. In the present study, the authors analyzed different language paradigms to see which paradigm is most efficient in localizing frontal language areas. Five men and five women with no neurological deficits participated (mean age, 24 years) in this study. All volunteers were right-handed. Each subject performed 4 tasks, including fixation (Fix), sentence reading (SR), pseudoword reading (PR), and word generation (WG). Fixation and pseudoword reading were used as contrasts. The functional area was defined as the area(s) with a t-value of more than 3.92 in fMRI with different tasks. To apply an anatomical constraint, we used a brain atlas mapping system, which is available in AFNI, to define the anatomical frontal language area. The numbers of voxels in overlapped area between anatomical and functional area were individually counted in the frontal expressive language area. Of the various combinations, the word generation task was most effective in delineating the frontal expressive language area when fixation was used as a contrast (p<0.05). The sensitivity of this test for localizing Broca's area was 81% and specificity was 70%. Word generation versus fixation could effectively and reliably delineate the frontal language area. A customized effective paradigm should be analyzed in order to evaluate various language functions.

Local Development of Subject Area Item Banks.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ward, Annie W.; Barlow, Gene

1984-01-01

It is feasible for school districts to develop and use subject area tests as reliable as those previously available only from commercial publishers. Three projects in local item development in a large school district are described. The first involved only Algebra 1. The second involved life science and career education at the elementary level; and…

Local versus landscape spatial influence on biodiversity: a case study across five European industrialized areas.

PubMed

Piano, E; Isaia, M; Falasco, E; La Morgia, V; Soldato, G; Bona, F

2017-03-01

Land use change-mostly habitat loss and fragmentation-has been recognized as one of the major drivers of biodiversity loss worldwide. According to the habitat amount hypothesis, these phenomena are mostly driven by the habitat area effect. As a result, species richness is a function of both the extent of suitable habitats and their availability in the surrounding landscape, irrespective of the dimension and isolation of patches of suitable habitat. In this context, we tested how the extent of natural areas, selected as proxies of suitable habitats for biodiversity, influences species richness in highly anthropogenic landscapes. We defined five circular sampling areas of 5 km radius, including both natural reserves and anthropogenic land uses, centred in five major industrial sites in France, Italy and Germany. We monitored different biodiversity indicators for both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, including breeding birds, diurnal butterflies, grassland vegetation, odonata, amphibians, aquatic plants and benthic diatoms. We studied the response of the different indicators to the extent of natural land uses in the sampling area (local effect) and in the surrounding landscape (landscape effect), identified as a peripheral ring encircling the sampling area. Results showed a positive response of five out of seven biodiversity indicators, with aquatic plants and odonata responding positively to the local effect, while birds, vegetation and diatoms showed a positive response to the landscape effect. Diatoms also showed a significant combined response to both effects. We conclude that surrounding landscapes act as important biodiversity sources, increasing the local biodiversity in highly anthropogenic contexts.

A renormalization group approach to identifying the local quantum numbers in a many-body localized system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pekker, David; Clark, Bryan K.; Oganesyan, Vadim; Refael, Gil; Tian, Binbin

Many-body localization is a dynamical phase of matter that is characterized by the absence of thermalization. One of the key characteristics of many-body localized systems is the emergence of a large (possibly maximal) number of local integrals of motion (local quantum numbers) and corresponding conserved quantities. We formulate a robust algorithm for identifying these conserved quantities, based on Wegner's flow equations - a form of the renormalization group that works by disentangling the degrees of freedom of the system as opposed to integrating them out. We test our algorithm by explicit numerical comparison with more engineering based algorithms - Jacobi rotations and bi-partite matching. We find that the Wegner flow algorithm indeed produces the more local conserved quantities and is therefore more optimal. A preliminary analysis of the conserved quantities produced by the Wegner flow algorithm reveals the existence of at least two different localization lengthscales. Work was supported by AFOSR FA9550-10-1-0524 and FA9550-12-1-0057, the Kaufmann foundation, and SciDAC FG02-12ER46875.

41 CFR 102-83.95 - After an agency has identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an urban area, what is the next step... Location of Space Urban Areas § 102-83.95 After an agency has identified that its geographic service area... identifies its geographic service area and delineated area within which it wishes to locate specific...

41 CFR 102-83.95 - After an agency has identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an urban area, what is the next step... Location of Space Urban Areas § 102-83.95 After an agency has identified that its geographic service area... identifies its geographic service area and delineated area within which it wishes to locate specific...

41 CFR 102-83.95 - After an agency has identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an urban area, what is the next step... Location of Space Urban Areas § 102-83.95 After an agency has identified that its geographic service area... identifies its geographic service area and delineated area within which it wishes to locate specific...

41 CFR 102-83.95 - After an agency has identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an urban area, what is the next step... Location of Space Urban Areas § 102-83.95 After an agency has identified that its geographic service area... identifies its geographic service area and delineated area within which it wishes to locate specific...

41 CFR 102-83.95 - After an agency has identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... identified that its geographic service area and delineated area are in an urban area, what is the next step... Location of Space Urban Areas § 102-83.95 After an agency has identified that its geographic service area... identifies its geographic service area and delineated area within which it wishes to locate specific...

76 FR 81984 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Local Area...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-29

... for OMB Review; Comment Request; Local Area Unemployment Statistics Program ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY... collection request (ICR) titled, ``Local Area Unemployment Statistics Program,'' to the Office of Management... of Collection: Local Area Unemployment Statistics Program. OMB Control Number: 1220-0017. Affected...

Identifying Corridors among Large Protected Areas in the United States.

PubMed

Belote, R Travis; Dietz, Matthew S; McRae, Brad H; Theobald, David M; McClure, Meredith L; Irwin, G Hugh; McKinley, Peter S; Gage, Josh A; Aplet, Gregory H

2016-01-01

Conservation scientists emphasize the importance of maintaining a connected network of protected areas to prevent ecosystems and populations from becoming isolated, reduce the risk of extinction, and ultimately sustain biodiversity. Keeping protected areas connected in a network is increasingly recognized as a conservation priority in the current era of rapid climate change. Models that identify suitable linkages between core areas have been used to prioritize potentially important corridors for maintaining functional connectivity. Here, we identify the most "natural" (i.e., least human-modified) corridors between large protected areas in the contiguous Unites States. We aggregated results from multiple connectivity models to develop a composite map of corridors reflecting agreement of models run under different assumptions about how human modification of land may influence connectivity. To identify which land units are most important for sustaining structural connectivity, we used the composite map of corridors to evaluate connectivity priorities in two ways: (1) among land units outside of our pool of large core protected areas and (2) among units administratively protected as Inventoried Roadless (IRAs) or Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs). Corridor values varied substantially among classes of "unprotected" non-core land units, and land units of high connectivity value and priority represent diverse ownerships and existing levels of protections. We provide a ranking of IRAs and WSAs that should be prioritized for additional protection to maintain minimal human modification. Our results provide a coarse-scale assessment of connectivity priorities for maintaining a connected network of protected areas.

Networking CD-ROMs: The Decision Maker's Guide to Local Area Network Solutions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Elshami, Ahmed M.

In an era when patrons want access to CD-ROM resources but few libraries can afford to buy multiple copies, CD-ROM local area networks (LANs) are emerging as a cost-effective way to provide shared access. To help librarians make informed decisions, this manual offers information on: (1) the basics of LANs, a "local area network primer";…

Wireless Local Area Networks: The Next Evolutionary Step.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wodarz, Nan

2001-01-01

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers recently approved a high-speed wireless standard that enables devices from different manufacturers to communicate through a common backbone, making wireless local area networks more feasible in schools. Schools can now use wireless access points and network cards to provide flexible…

Identifying Corridors among Large Protected Areas in the United States

PubMed Central

Belote, R. Travis; Dietz, Matthew S.; McRae, Brad H.; Theobald, David M.; McClure, Meredith L.; Irwin, G. Hugh; McKinley, Peter S.; Gage, Josh A.; Aplet, Gregory H.

2016-01-01

Conservation scientists emphasize the importance of maintaining a connected network of protected areas to prevent ecosystems and populations from becoming isolated, reduce the risk of extinction, and ultimately sustain biodiversity. Keeping protected areas connected in a network is increasingly recognized as a conservation priority in the current era of rapid climate change. Models that identify suitable linkages between core areas have been used to prioritize potentially important corridors for maintaining functional connectivity. Here, we identify the most “natural” (i.e., least human-modified) corridors between large protected areas in the contiguous Unites States. We aggregated results from multiple connectivity models to develop a composite map of corridors reflecting agreement of models run under different assumptions about how human modification of land may influence connectivity. To identify which land units are most important for sustaining structural connectivity, we used the composite map of corridors to evaluate connectivity priorities in two ways: (1) among land units outside of our pool of large core protected areas and (2) among units administratively protected as Inventoried Roadless (IRAs) or Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs). Corridor values varied substantially among classes of “unprotected” non-core land units, and land units of high connectivity value and priority represent diverse ownerships and existing levels of protections. We provide a ranking of IRAs and WSAs that should be prioritized for additional protection to maintain minimal human modification. Our results provide a coarse-scale assessment of connectivity priorities for maintaining a connected network of protected areas. PMID:27104683

Identifying priority areas for ecosystem service management in South African grasslands.

PubMed

Egoh, Benis N; Reyers, Belinda; Rouget, Mathieu; Richardson, David M

2011-06-01

Grasslands provide many ecosystem services required to support human well-being and are home to a diverse fauna and flora. Degradation of grasslands due to agriculture and other forms of land use threaten biodiversity and ecosystem services. Various efforts are underway around the world to stem these declines. The Grassland Programme in South Africa is one such initiative and is aimed at safeguarding both biodiversity and ecosystem services. As part of this developing programme, we identified spatial priority areas for ecosystem services, tested the effect of different target levels of ecosystem services used to identify priority areas, and evaluated whether biodiversity priority areas can be aligned with those for ecosystem services. We mapped five ecosystem services (below ground carbon storage, surface water supply, water flow regulation, soil accumulation and soil retention) and identified priority areas for individual ecosystem services and for all five services at the scale of quaternary catchments. Planning for individual ecosystem services showed that, depending on the ecosystem service of interest, between 4% and 13% of the grassland biome was required to conserve at least 40% of the soil and water services. Thirty-four percent of the biome was needed to conserve 40% of the carbon service in the grassland. Priority areas identified for five ecosystem services under three target levels (20%, 40%, 60% of the total amount) showed that between 17% and 56% of the grassland biome was needed to conserve these ecosystem services. There was moderate to high overlap between priority areas selected for ecosystem services and already-identified terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity priority areas. This level of overlap coupled with low irreplaceability values obtained when planning for individual ecosystem services makes it possible to combine biodiversity and ecosystem services in one plan using systematic conservation planning. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All

Local food in Iceland: identifying behavioral barriers to increased production and consumption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ósk Halldórsdóttir, Þórhildur; Nicholas, Kimberly A.

2016-11-01

Increased production and consumption of local food may reduce the negative environmental, social, and economic impacts of industrialized and globalized food production. Here we examined potential barriers to increasing production and consumption of food produced in Iceland. First, we developed a new framework to address the behaviors of production and consumption simultaneously, to comprehensively analyze their potential barriers. We examined structural barriers by estimating the food production capacity of Iceland, and cultural and personal barriers through survey data on cultural norms and purchasing behavior from Matís, a research and development company. We found no structural barriers preventing Iceland from increasing production of local cereals, which would compliment current local production of meat and dairy and reduce reliance on imports, currently at 50% of the daily caloric intake. However, if food production became entirely local without changing the current mix of crops grown, there would be a 50% reduction in diversity (from 50 to 25 items in eight out of ten food categories). We did not identify any cultural barriers, as survey results demonstrated that consumers hold generally positive worldviews towards local food, with 88% satisfied with local food they had purchased. More than two-thirds of consumers regarded supporting the local farmer and considerations such as environmentally friendly production, fewer food miles, lower carbon footprint as important. However, they rated the local food they have access to as lower in meeting sustainability criteria, showing that they make justifications for not choosing local food in practice. This is a personal barrier to increased consumption of local food, and implies that marketing strategies and general knowledge connected to local food in Iceland might be improved. Although the results apply to the case of Iceland, the method of identifying behavioral barriers to change is applicable to other countries

Geothermal Target Areas in Colorado as Identified by Remote Sensing Techniques

DOE Data Explorer

Khalid Hussein

2012-02-01

This layer contains the areas identified as targets of potential geothermal activity. The Criteria used to identify the target areas include: hot/warm surface exposures modeled from ASTER/Landsat satellite imagery and geological characteristics, alteration mineral commonly associated with hot springs (clays, Si, and FeOx) modeled from ASTER and Landsat data, Colorado Geological Survey (CGS) known thermal hot springs/wells and heat-flow data points, Colorado deep-seated fault zones, weakened basement identified from isostatic gravity data, and Colorado sedimentary and topographic characteristics.

50 CFR Figure 1 to Subpart E of... - Sitka Local Area Management Plan

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Sitka Local Area Management Plan 1 Figure 1 to Subpart E of Part 300 Wildlife and Fisheries INTERNATIONAL FISHING AND RELATED ACTIVITIES... Part 300—Sitka Local Area Management Plan ER18JY05.000 ...

50 CFR Figure 1 to Subpart E of... - Sitka Local Area Management Plan

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 9 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Sitka Local Area Management Plan 1 Figure 1 to Subpart E of Part 300 Wildlife and Fisheries INTERNATIONAL FISHING AND RELATED ACTIVITIES... Part 300—Sitka Local Area Management Plan ER18JY05.000 ...

Identifying local structural states in atomic imaging by computer vision

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

Laanait, Nouamane; Ziatdinov, Maxim; He, Qian

The availability of atomically resolved imaging modalities enables an unprecedented view into the local structural states of materials, which manifest themselves by deviations from the fundamental assumptions of periodicity and symmetry. Consequently, approaches that aim to extract these local structural states from atomic imaging data with minimal assumptions regarding the average crystallographic configuration of a material are indispensable to advances in structural and chemical investigations of materials. Here, we present an approach to identify and classify local structural states that is rooted in computer vision. This approach introduces a definition of a structural state that is composed of both localmore » and non-local information extracted from atomically resolved images, and is wholly untethered from the familiar concepts of symmetry and periodicity. Instead, this approach relies on computer vision techniques such as feature detection, and concepts such as scale-invariance. We present the fundamental aspects of local structural state extraction and classification by application to simulated scanning transmission electron microscopy images, and analyze the robustness of this approach in the presence of common instrumental factors such as noise, limited spatial resolution, and weak contrast. Finally, we apply this computer vision-based approach for the unsupervised detection and classification of local structural states in an experimental electron micrograph of a complex oxides interface, and a scanning tunneling micrograph of a defect engineered multilayer graphene surface.« less

Identifying local structural states in atomic imaging by computer vision

DOE PAGES

Laanait, Nouamane; Ziatdinov, Maxim; He, Qian; ...

2016-11-02

The availability of atomically resolved imaging modalities enables an unprecedented view into the local structural states of materials, which manifest themselves by deviations from the fundamental assumptions of periodicity and symmetry. Consequently, approaches that aim to extract these local structural states from atomic imaging data with minimal assumptions regarding the average crystallographic configuration of a material are indispensable to advances in structural and chemical investigations of materials. Here, we present an approach to identify and classify local structural states that is rooted in computer vision. This approach introduces a definition of a structural state that is composed of both localmore » and non-local information extracted from atomically resolved images, and is wholly untethered from the familiar concepts of symmetry and periodicity. Instead, this approach relies on computer vision techniques such as feature detection, and concepts such as scale-invariance. We present the fundamental aspects of local structural state extraction and classification by application to simulated scanning transmission electron microscopy images, and analyze the robustness of this approach in the presence of common instrumental factors such as noise, limited spatial resolution, and weak contrast. Finally, we apply this computer vision-based approach for the unsupervised detection and classification of local structural states in an experimental electron micrograph of a complex oxides interface, and a scanning tunneling micrograph of a defect engineered multilayer graphene surface.« less

Distributed watershed modeling of design storms to identify nonpoint source loading areas

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

Endreny, T.A.; Wood, E.F.

1999-03-01

Watershed areas that generate nonpoint source (NPS) polluted runoff need to be identified prior to the design of basin-wide water quality projects. Current watershed-scale NPS models lack a variable source area (VSA) hydrology routine, and are therefore unable to identify spatially dynamic runoff zones. The TOPLATS model used a watertable-driven VSA hydrology routine to identify runoff zones in a 17.5 km{sup 2} agricultural watershed in central Oklahoma. Runoff areas were identified in a static modeling framework as a function of prestorm watertable depth and also in a dynamic modeling framework by simulating basin response to 2, 10, and 25 yrmore » return period 6 h design storms. Variable source area expansion occurred throughout the duration of each 6 h storm and total runoff area increased with design storm intensity. Basin-average runoff rates of 1 mm h{sup {minus}1} provided little insight into runoff extremes while the spatially distributed analysis identified saturation excess zones with runoff rates equaling effective precipitation. The intersection of agricultural landcover areas with these saturation excess runoff zones targeted the priority potential NPS runoff zones that should be validated with field visits. These intersected areas, labeled as potential NPS runoff zones, were mapped within the watershed to demonstrate spatial analysis options available in TOPLATS for managing complex distributions of watershed runoff. TOPLATS concepts in spatial saturation excess runoff modelling should be incorporated into NPS management models.« less

The Semi-Planned LAN: Prototyping a Local Area Network.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

True, John F.; Rosenwald, Judah

1986-01-01

Five administrative user departments at San Francisco State University discovered that they had common requirements for office automation and data manipulation that could be addressed with microcomputers. The results of a local area network project are presented. (Author/MLW)

Fault-Tolerant Local-Area Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morales, Sergio; Friedman, Gary L.

1988-01-01

Local-area network (LAN) for computers prevents single-point failure from interrupting communication between nodes of network. Includes two complete cables, LAN 1 and LAN 2. Microprocessor-based slave switches link cables to network-node devices as work stations, print servers, and file servers. Slave switches respond to commands from master switch, connecting nodes to two cable networks or disconnecting them so they are completely isolated. System monitor and control computer (SMC) acts as gateway, allowing nodes on either cable to communicate with each other and ensuring that LAN 1 and LAN 2 are fully used when functioning properly. Network monitors and controls itself, automatically routes traffic for efficient use of resources, and isolates and corrects its own faults, with potential dramatic reduction in time out of service.

47 CFR 11.55 - EAS operation during a State or Local Area emergency.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... the State or Local Area EAS must discontinue normal programming and follow the procedures in the State...); and DBS providers must comply with § 11.54(b)(7). EAS Participants providing foreign language programming should comply with § 11.54(b)(8). (5) Upon completion of the State or Local Area EAS transmission...

A local basal area adjustment for crown width prediction

Treesearch

Don C. Bragg

2001-01-01

Nonlinear crown width regressive equations were developed for 24 species common to the upper Lake States of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Of the species surveyed, 15 produced statistically significant (P 0.05) local basal area effect coefficients showing a reduction in crown...

SU-E-I-27: Estimating KERMA Area Product for CT Localizer Images

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

Ogden, K; Greene-Donnelly, K; Bennett, R

2015-06-15

Purpose: To estimate the free-in-air KERMA-Area Product (KAP) incident on patients due to CT localizer scans for common CT exams. Methods: In-plane beam intensity profiles were measured in localizer acquisition mode using OSLs for a 64 slice MDCT scanner (Lightspeed VCT, GE Medical Systems, Waukesha WI). The z-axis beam width was measured as a function of distance from isocenter. The beam profile and width were used to calculate a weighted average air KERMA per unit mAs as a function of intercepted x-axis beam width for objects symmetric about the localizer centerline.Patient areas were measured using manually drawn regions and dividedmore » by localizer length to determine average width. Data were collected for 50 head exams (lateral localizer only), 15 head/neck exams, 50 chest exams, and 50 abdomen/pelvis exams. Mean patient widths and acquisition techniques were used to calculate the weighted average free-in-air KERMA, which was multiplied by the patient area to estimate KAP. Results: Scan technique was 120 kV tube voltage, 10 mA current, and table speed of 10 cm/s. The mean ± standard deviation values of KAP were 120 ± 11.6, 469 ± 62.6, 518 ± 45, and 763 ± 93 mGycm{sup 2} for head, head/neck, chest, and abdomen/pelvis exams, respectively. For studies with AP and lateral localizers, the AP/lateral area ratio was 1.20, 1.33, and 1.24 for the head/neck, chest, and abdomen/pelvis exams, respectively. However, the AP/lateral KAP ratios were 1.12, 1.08, and 1.07, respectively. Conclusion: Calculation of KAP in CT localizers is complicated by the non-uniform intensity profile and z-axis beam width. KAP values are similar to those for simple radiographic exams such as a chest radiograph and represent a small fraction of the x-ray exposure at CT. However, as CT doses are reduced the localizer contribution will be a more significant fraction of the total exposure.« less

Using a distribution and conservation status weighted hotspot approach to identify areas in need of conservation action to benefit Idaho bird species

USGS Publications Warehouse

Haines, Aaron M.; Leu, Matthias; Svancara, Leona K.; Wilson, Gina; Scott, J. Michael

2010-01-01

Identification of biodiversity hotspots (hereafter, hotspots) has become a common strategy to delineate important areas for wildlife conservation. However, the use of hotspots has not often incorporated important habitat types, ecosystem services, anthropogenic activity, or consistency in identifying important conservation areas. The purpose of this study was to identify hotspots to improve avian conservation efforts for Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) in the state of Idaho, United States. We evaluated multiple approaches to define hotspots and used a unique approach based on weighting species by their distribution size and conservation status to identify hotspot areas. All hotspot approaches identified bodies of water (Bear Lake, Grays Lake, and American Falls Reservoir) as important hotspots for Idaho avian SGCN, but we found that the weighted approach produced more congruent hotspot areas when compared to other hotspot approaches. To incorporate anthropogenic activity into hotspot analysis, we grouped species based on their sensitivity to specific human threats (i.e., urban development, agriculture, fire suppression, grazing, roads, and logging) and identified ecological sections within Idaho that may require specific conservation actions to address these human threats using the weighted approach. The Snake River Basalts and Overthrust Mountains ecological sections were important areas for potential implementation of conservation actions to conserve biodiversity. Our approach to identifying hotspots may be useful as part of a larger conservation strategy to aid land managers or local governments in applying conservation actions on the ground.

Local identifiability and sensitivity analysis of neuromuscular blockade and depth of hypnosis models.

PubMed

Silva, M M; Lemos, J M; Coito, A; Costa, B A; Wigren, T; Mendonça, T

2014-01-01

This paper addresses the local identifiability and sensitivity properties of two classes of Wiener models for the neuromuscular blockade and depth of hypnosis, when drug dose profiles like the ones commonly administered in the clinical practice are used as model inputs. The local parameter identifiability was assessed based on the singular value decomposition of the normalized sensitivity matrix. For the given input signal excitation, the results show an over-parameterization of the standard pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic models. The same identifiability assessment was performed on recently proposed minimally parameterized parsimonious models for both the neuromuscular blockade and the depth of hypnosis. The results show that the majority of the model parameters are identifiable from the available input-output data. This indicates that any identification strategy based on the minimally parameterized parsimonious Wiener models for the neuromuscular blockade and for the depth of hypnosis is likely to be more successful than if standard models are used. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

High speed fiber optics local area networks: Design and implementation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tobagi, Fouad A.

1988-01-01

The design of high speed local area networks (HSLAN) for communication among distributed devices requires solving problems in three areas: (1) the network medium and its topology; (2) the medium access control; and (3) the network interface. Considerable progress has been made in all areas. Accomplishments are divided into two groups according to their theoretical or experimental nature. A brief summary is given in Section 2, including references to papers which appeared in the literature, as well as to Ph.D. dissertations and technical reports published at Stanford University.

GIS model for identifying urban areas vulnerable to noise pollution: case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bilaşco, Ştefan; Govor, Corina; Roşca, Sanda; Vescan, Iuliu; Filip, Sorin; Fodorean, Ioan

2017-04-01

The unprecedented expansion of the national car ownership over the last few years has been determined by economic growth and the need for the population and economic agents to reduce travel time in progressively expanding large urban centres. This has led to an increase in the level of road noise and a stronger impact on the quality of the environment. Noise pollution generated by means of transport represents one of the most important types of pollution with negative effects on a population's health in large urban areas. As a consequence, tolerable limits of sound intensity for the comfort of inhabitants have been determined worldwide and the generation of sound maps has been made compulsory in order to identify the vulnerable zones and to make recommendations how to decrease the negative impact on humans. In this context, the present study aims at presenting a GIS spatial analysis model-based methodology for identifying and mapping zones vulnerable to noise pollution. The developed GIS model is based on the analysis of all the components influencing sound propagation, represented as vector databases (points of sound intensity measurements, buildings, lands use, transport infrastructure), raster databases (DEM), and numerical databases (wind direction and speed, sound intensity). Secondly, the hourly changes (for representative hours) were analysed to identify the hotspots characterised by major traffic flows specific to rush hours. The validated results of the model are represented by GIS databases and useful maps for the local public administration to use as a source of information and in the process of making decisions.

Does Physical Activity Mediate the Associations Between Local-Area Descriptive Norms, Built Environment Walkability, and Glycosylated Hemoglobin?

PubMed

Carroll, Suzanne J; Niyonsenga, Theo; Coffee, Neil T; Taylor, Anne W; Daniel, Mark

2017-08-23

Associations between local-area residential features and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA 1c ) may be mediated by individual-level health behaviors. Such indirect effects have rarely been tested. This study assessed whether individual-level self-reported physical activity mediated the influence of local-area descriptive norms and objectively expressed walkability on 10-year change in HbA 1c . HbA 1c was assessed three times for adults in a 10-year population-based biomedical cohort ( n = 4056). Local-area norms specific to each participant were calculated, aggregating responses from a separate statewide surveillance survey for 1600 m road-network buffers centered on participant addresses (local prevalence of overweight/obesity (body mass index ≥25 kg/m²) and physical inactivity (<150 min/week)). Separate latent growth models estimated direct and indirect (through physical activity) effects of local-area exposures on change in HbA 1c , accounting for spatial clustering and covariates (individual-level age, sex, smoking status, marital status, employment and education, and area-level median household income). HbA 1c worsened over time. Local-area norms directly and indirectly predicted worsening HbA 1c trajectories. Walkability was directly and indirectly protective of worsening HbA 1c . Local-area descriptive norms and walkability influence cardiometabolic risk trajectory through individual-level physical activity. Efforts to reduce population cardiometabolic risk should consider the extent of local-area unhealthful behavioral norms and walkability in tailoring strategies to improve physical activity.

Does Physical Activity Mediate the Associations between Local-Area Descriptive Norms, Built Environment Walkability, and Glycosylated Hemoglobin?

PubMed Central

Daniel, Mark

2017-01-01

Associations between local-area residential features and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) may be mediated by individual-level health behaviors. Such indirect effects have rarely been tested. This study assessed whether individual-level self-reported physical activity mediated the influence of local-area descriptive norms and objectively expressed walkability on 10-year change in HbA1c. HbA1c was assessed three times for adults in a 10-year population-based biomedical cohort (n = 4056). Local-area norms specific to each participant were calculated, aggregating responses from a separate statewide surveillance survey for 1600 m road-network buffers centered on participant addresses (local prevalence of overweight/obesity (body mass index ≥25 kg/m2) and physical inactivity (<150 min/week)). Separate latent growth models estimated direct and indirect (through physical activity) effects of local-area exposures on change in HbA1c, accounting for spatial clustering and covariates (individual-level age, sex, smoking status, marital status, employment and education, and area-level median household income). HbA1c worsened over time. Local-area norms directly and indirectly predicted worsening HbA1c trajectories. Walkability was directly and indirectly protective of worsening HbA1c. Local-area descriptive norms and walkability influence cardiometabolic risk trajectory through individual-level physical activity. Efforts to reduce population cardiometabolic risk should consider the extent of local-area unhealthful behavioral norms and walkability in tailoring strategies to improve physical activity. PMID:28832552

ANTHROPOMETRY TO IDENTIFY HIGH VISCERAL FAT AREA IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN.

PubMed

Gondim Pitanga, Francisco José; Seara Pitanga, Cristiano Penas; Calçada Dias Gabriel, Ronaldo Eugénio; Cristina Beck, Carmem; Rodrigues Moreira, Maria Helena

2015-12-01

the evaluation of the body fat distribution by anthropometry can serve to identify excess visceral fat. This diagnosis will enable implementation of specific measures to both prevent and treat excess visceral fat in postmenopausal women. the aim of this study was to analyze different anthropometric indicators and identify the best cutoff points to discriminate subjects with high visceral fat area (HVFA) in postmenopausal women. cross-sectional study with a sample of 255 postmenopausal women. Different Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed and the areas under them compared in terms of the conicity index (C-index), body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist circumference (WC), weight-to-height ratio (WHtR) and HVFA. Sensitivity and specificity identified the best cutoff points between the different anthropometric indicators in order to discriminate subjects with HVFA. The confidence interval was set at 95%. statistically significant areas under the ROC curve were found for all anthropometric indicators analyzed. The following cutoff points, with their respective sensitivities and specificities to discriminate subjects with HVFA, were suggested: C-index (1.19; 75.00%- 74.77%); BMI (27.3 kg/m2; 81.08%-80.37%); WHR (0.98; 90.54%-83.18%); WC (85 cm; 85.14%-81.31%); and WHtR (0.55; 80.41%-80.37%). these results demonstrate that anthropometric indicators identify HVFA well in postmenopausal women and can be used instead of more sophisticated exams to detect high levels of visceral fat. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

Urban Forest Health: Identifying Issues and Needs within the Northeastern Area

Treesearch

USDA Forest Service

1998-01-01

Street trees and forested areas in cities, towns and communities are more than amenities. Besides beauty, trees provide many practical benefits such as shade from summer sun, protection from winter wind, habitat for wildlife, reduced water, air and noise pollution, increased property values, and revitalized tourism and local business trade. But perhaps the greatest...

Economic Analysis of Local Area Augmentation System and Alternative Architectures

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1996-01-01

The objective of this study has been to perform an economic comparison by conducting a cost-benefit analsyis (CBA) of the five Local Area Augementation System (LAAS) and alternative architectures. The five architectures chosen by the FAA for the stud...

Use of Local Area Networks in Schools. ERIC Digest.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reinhold, Fran

The current status and apparent trends of local area networks (LANs) in school districts are explored in this short report. Results of a 1987-88 Quality Education Data survey are cited, indicating that 64% of 173 of the largest school districts in the country were already networking and 36% intended to be networking by 1990. The advantages of…

Localize and identify the gravity sensing mechanism of plants

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bandurski, Robert S.

1990-01-01

The machinery by which a plant transduces the gravity stimulus into a growth response is localized and identified at the cellular level. The fact that a plant grows unequally on the lower side of a horizontally placed stem implies that there must be an asymmetric distribution of some of the chemical substances involved in the growth response. The three most likely chemicals to cause this growth were determined to be potassium, calcium, or the growth hormone, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). IAA was chosen for this study and the results present a fairly complete understanding of the transduction of the gravity stimulus.

Experience of wireless local area network in a radiation oncology department.

PubMed

Mandal, Abhijit; Asthana, Anupam Kumar; Aggarwal, Lalit Mohan

2010-01-01

The aim of this work is to develop a wireless local area network (LAN) between different types of users (Radiation Oncologists, Radiological Physicists, Radiation Technologists, etc) for efficient patient data management and to made easy the availability of information (chair side) to improve the quality of patient care in Radiation Oncology department. We have used mobile workstations (Laptops) and stationary workstations, all equipped with wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) access. Wireless standard 802.11g (as recommended by Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE, Piscataway, NJ) has been used. The wireless networking was configured with the Service Set Identifier (SSID), Media Access Control (MAC) address filtering, and Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) network securities. We are successfully using this wireless network in sharing the indigenously developed patient information management software. The proper selection of the hardware and the software combined with a secure wireless LAN setup will lead to a more efficient and productive radiation oncology department.

MAP Fault Localization Based on Wide Area Synchronous Phasor Measurement Information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yagang; Wang, Zengping

2015-02-01

In the research of complicated electrical engineering, the emergence of phasor measurement units (PMU) is a landmark event. The establishment and application of wide area measurement system (WAMS) in power system has made widespread and profound influence on the safe and stable operation of complicated power system. In this paper, taking full advantage of wide area synchronous phasor measurement information provided by PMUs, we have carried out precise fault localization based on the principles of maximum posteriori probability (MAP). Large numbers of simulation experiments have confirmed that the results of MAP fault localization are accurate and reliable. Even if there are interferences from white Gaussian stochastic noise, the results from MAP classification are also identical to the actual real situation.

Identifying appropriate protected areas for endangered fern species under climate change.

PubMed

Wang, Chun-Jing; Wan, Ji-Zhong; Zhang, Zhi-Xiang; Zhang, Gang-Min

2016-01-01

The management of protected areas (PAs) is widely used in the conservation of endangered plant species under climate change. However, studies that have identified appropriate PAs for endangered fern species are rare. To address this gap, we must develop a workflow to plan appropriate PAs for endangered fern species that will be further impacted by climate change. Here, we used endangered fern species in China as a case study, and we applied conservation planning software coupled with endangered fern species distribution data and distribution modeling to plan conservation areas with high priority protection needs under climate change. We identified appropriate PAs for endangered fern species under climate change based on the IUCN protected area categories (from Ia to VI) and planned additional PAs for endangered fern species. The high priority regions for protecting the endangered fern species were distributed throughout southern China. With decreasing temperature seasonality, the priority ranking of all endangered fern species is projected to increase in existing PAs. Accordingly, we need to establish conservation areas with low climate vulnerability in existing PAs and expand the conservation areas for endangered fern species in the high priority conservation regions.

Identifying key areas for active interprofessional learning partnerships: A facilitated dialogue.

PubMed

Steven, Kathryn; Angus, Allyson; Breckenridge, Jenna; Davey, Peter; Tully, Vicki; Muir, Fiona

2016-11-01

Student and service user involvement is recognised as an important factor in creating interprofessional education (IPE) opportunities. We used a team-based learning approach to bring together undergraduate health professional students, early career professionals (ECPs), public partners, volunteers, and carers to explore learning partnerships. Influenced by evaluative inquiry, this qualitative study used a free text response to allow participants to give their own opinion. A total of 153 participants (50 public partners and 103 students and professionals representing 11 healthcare professions) took part. Participants were divided into mixed groups of six (n = 25) and asked to identify areas where students, professionals, and public could work together to improve health professional education. Each group documented their discussions by summarising agreed areas and next steps. Responses were collected and transcribed for inductive content analysis. Seven key themes (areas for joint working) were identified: communication, public as partners, standards of conduct, IPE, quality improvement, education, and learning environments. The team-based learning format enabled undergraduate and postgraduate health professionals to achieve consensus with public partners on areas for IPE and collaboration. Some of our results may be context-specific but the approach is generalisable to other areas.

Vehicle autonomous localization in local area of coal mine tunnel based on vision sensors and ultrasonic sensors

PubMed Central

Yang, Wei; You, Kaiming; Li, Wei; Kim, Young-il

2017-01-01

This paper presents a vehicle autonomous localization method in local area of coal mine tunnel based on vision sensors and ultrasonic sensors. Barcode tags are deployed in pairs on both sides of the tunnel walls at certain intervals as artificial landmarks. The barcode coding is designed based on UPC-A code. The global coordinates of the upper left inner corner point of the feature frame of each barcode tag deployed in the tunnel are uniquely represented by the barcode. Two on-board vision sensors are used to recognize each pair of barcode tags on both sides of the tunnel walls. The distance between the upper left inner corner point of the feature frame of each barcode tag and the vehicle center point can be determined by using a visual distance projection model. The on-board ultrasonic sensors are used to measure the distance from the vehicle center point to the left side of the tunnel walls. Once the spatial geometric relationship between the barcode tags and the vehicle center point is established, the 3D coordinates of the vehicle center point in the tunnel’s global coordinate system can be calculated. Experiments on a straight corridor and an underground tunnel have shown that the proposed vehicle autonomous localization method is not only able to quickly recognize the barcode tags affixed to the tunnel walls, but also has relatively small average localization errors in the vehicle center point’s plane and vertical coordinates to meet autonomous unmanned vehicle positioning requirements in local area of coal mine tunnel. PMID:28141829

Vehicle autonomous localization in local area of coal mine tunnel based on vision sensors and ultrasonic sensors.

PubMed

Xu, Zirui; Yang, Wei; You, Kaiming; Li, Wei; Kim, Young-Il

2017-01-01

This paper presents a vehicle autonomous localization method in local area of coal mine tunnel based on vision sensors and ultrasonic sensors. Barcode tags are deployed in pairs on both sides of the tunnel walls at certain intervals as artificial landmarks. The barcode coding is designed based on UPC-A code. The global coordinates of the upper left inner corner point of the feature frame of each barcode tag deployed in the tunnel are uniquely represented by the barcode. Two on-board vision sensors are used to recognize each pair of barcode tags on both sides of the tunnel walls. The distance between the upper left inner corner point of the feature frame of each barcode tag and the vehicle center point can be determined by using a visual distance projection model. The on-board ultrasonic sensors are used to measure the distance from the vehicle center point to the left side of the tunnel walls. Once the spatial geometric relationship between the barcode tags and the vehicle center point is established, the 3D coordinates of the vehicle center point in the tunnel's global coordinate system can be calculated. Experiments on a straight corridor and an underground tunnel have shown that the proposed vehicle autonomous localization method is not only able to quickly recognize the barcode tags affixed to the tunnel walls, but also has relatively small average localization errors in the vehicle center point's plane and vertical coordinates to meet autonomous unmanned vehicle positioning requirements in local area of coal mine tunnel.

Local cultural conservation to support sustainable tourism in Kuta tourist area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murni, NGN S.; Kanca, I. N.; Antara, D. M. S.

2018-01-01

Cultural conservation is very important in the tourism area to support sustainable tourism. This study uses the cultural studies approach and tourism. The specific purposes of this research are (1) to know the forms of cultural conservation conducted by the people of Kuta Traditional Village (Desa Adat Kuta), (2) to know the impact of tourism on the conservation of local culture, (3) to find out the strategy in preserving local culture for the sustainability of tourism in Kuta tourist area. The method used is qualitative interpretative method. Data collection conducted through direct observation in 13 banjar (sub-village), through in-depth interviews, and documentation. The results showed (1) the forms of cultural conservation are traditional arts such as dance, music orchestra,. Crafts, traditional song, classical barong and calonarang art performance, and local culture pancayadnya (five offerings). (2) the impact of tourism on cultural conservation is positive impacts such as increase of culture creativities, conservation of local culture, and the negative impact such as loss of culture space, decrease traditional subak, reduce fishermen, change of cultural value, and life style.(3) Strategy of Desa Adat in preserving culture by carrying out the festival annually, Kuta Cultural Art Festival (FBK) and Kuta Beach Festival (KBF).

Identifying local-scale wilderness for on-ground conservation actions within a global biodiversity hotspot

PubMed Central

Lin, Shiwei; Wu, Ruidong; Hua, Chaolang; Ma, Jianzhong; Wang, Wenli; Yang, Feiling; Wang, Junjun

2016-01-01

Protecting wilderness areas (WAs) is a crucial proactive approach to sustain biodiversity. However, studies identifying local-scale WAs for on-ground conservation efforts are still very limited. This paper investigated the spatial patterns of wilderness in a global biodiversity hotspot – Three Parallel Rivers Region (TPRR) in southwest China. Wilderness was classified into levels 1 to 10 based on a cluster analysis of five indicators, namely human population density, naturalness, fragmentation, remoteness, and ruggedness. Only patches characterized by wilderness level 1 and ≥1.0 km2 were considered WAs. The wilderness levels in the northwest were significantly higher than those in the southeast, and clearly increased with the increase in elevation. The WAs covered approximately 25% of TPRR’s land, 89.3% of which was located in the >3,000 m elevation zones. WAs consisted of 20 vegetation types, among which temperate conifer forest, cold temperate shrub and alpine ecosystems covered 79.4% of WAs’ total area. Most WAs were still not protected yet by existing reserves. Topography and human activities are the primary influencing factors on the spatial patterns of wilderness. We suggest establishing strictly protected reserves for most large WAs, while some sustainable management approaches might be more optimal solutions for many highly fragmented small WAs. PMID:27181186

Electron microscopy study of Pd, Ag, and Cs in carbon areas in the locally corroded SiC layer in a neutron-irradiated TRISO fuel particle

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

Wen, Haiming; van Rooyen, Isabella J.; Hunn, John D.

Here, a detailed electron microscopy study was performed on focused ion beam-prepared lamellae from different locations relative to a crack across the inner pyrolytic carbon layer of a neutron-irradiated tristructural isotropic-coated particle. The distribution and composition of fission products across the inner pyrolytic carbon and silicon carbide (SiC) layers were studied. Previously, this crack was identified in the particle that released significant inventory fractions of cesium and silver during irradiation and displayed localized palladium pileup with SiC degradation. In this study, carbon areas were found in the SiC layer close to the crack tip and they had precipitates that consistedmore » mostly of palladium silicides or palladium, with silver and/or cadmium frequently identified. Results confirmed that areas in the SiC layer close to the crack tip with localized accumulation of palladium were corroded by palladium, forming pure carbon areas and palladium silicide that provided pathways for silver, cadmium and cesium migration.« less

Electron microscopy study of Pd, Ag, and Cs in carbon areas in the locally corroded SiC layer in a neutron-irradiated TRISO fuel particle

DOE PAGES

Wen, Haiming; van Rooyen, Isabella J.; Hunn, John D.; ...

2018-05-07

Here, a detailed electron microscopy study was performed on focused ion beam-prepared lamellae from different locations relative to a crack across the inner pyrolytic carbon layer of a neutron-irradiated tristructural isotropic-coated particle. The distribution and composition of fission products across the inner pyrolytic carbon and silicon carbide (SiC) layers were studied. Previously, this crack was identified in the particle that released significant inventory fractions of cesium and silver during irradiation and displayed localized palladium pileup with SiC degradation. In this study, carbon areas were found in the SiC layer close to the crack tip and they had precipitates that consistedmore » mostly of palladium silicides or palladium, with silver and/or cadmium frequently identified. Results confirmed that areas in the SiC layer close to the crack tip with localized accumulation of palladium were corroded by palladium, forming pure carbon areas and palladium silicide that provided pathways for silver, cadmium and cesium migration.« less

Local markets and systems: hospital consolidations in metropolitan areas.

PubMed

Luke, R D; Ozcan, Y A; Olden, P C

1995-10-01

This study examines the formation of local hospital systems (LHSs) in urban markets by the end of 1992. We argue that a primary reason why hospitals join LHSs is to achieve improved positions of market power relative to threatening rivals. The study draws from a unique database of LHSs located in and around metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). Data were obtained from the 1991 AHA Annual Hospital Survey, updated to the year 1992 using information obtained from multiple sources (telephone contacts of systems, systems lists of hospitals, published changes in ownership, etc.). Other measures were obtained from a variety of sources, principally the 1989 Area Resources File. The study presents cross-sectional analyses of rival threats and other factors bearing on LHS formation. Three characteristics of LHS formation are examined: LHS penetration of urban areas, LHS size, and number of LHS members located just outside the urban boundaries. LHS penetration is analyzed across urban markets, and LHS size and rural partners are examined across the LHSs. Major hypothesized findings are: (1) with the exception of the number of rural partners, all dependent variables are positively associated with the number of hospitals in the markets; the rural partner measure is negatively associated with the number of hospitals; (2) the number of doctors per capita is positively associated with all but the rural penetration measure; and (3) the percentage of the population in HMOs is positively associated with local cluster penetration and negatively associated with rural system partners. Other findings: (1) average income in the markets is negatively associated with all but the rural penetration measure; (2) LHS size and rural partners are both positively associated with nonprofit system ownership; and (3) they are also both negatively associated with the degree to which their multihospital systems are geographically concentrated in a single state. The findings generally support the

Local-area simulations of rotating compressible convection and associated mean flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hurlburt, Neal E.; Brummell, N. H.; Toomre, Juri

1995-01-01

The dynamics of compressible convection within a curved local segment of a rotating spherical shell are considered in relation to the turbulent redistribution of angular momentum within the solar convection zone. Current supercomputers permit fully turbulent flows to be considered within the restricted geometry of local area models. By considering motions in a curvilinear geometry in which the Coriolos parameters vary with latitude, Rossby waves which couple with the turbulent convection are thought of as being possible. Simulations of rotating convection are presented in such a curved local segment of a spherical shell using a newly developed, sixth-order accurate code based on compact finite differences.

An Automated Self-Learning Quantification System to Identify Visible Areas in Capsule Endoscopy Images.

PubMed

Hashimoto, Shinichi; Ogihara, Hiroyuki; Suenaga, Masato; Fujita, Yusuke; Terai, Shuji; Hamamoto, Yoshihiko; Sakaida, Isao

2017-08-01

Visibility in capsule endoscopic images is presently evaluated through intermittent analysis of frames selected by a physician. It is thus subjective and not quantitative. A method to automatically quantify the visibility on capsule endoscopic images has not been reported. Generally, when designing automated image recognition programs, physicians must provide a training image; this process is called supervised learning. We aimed to develop a novel automated self-learning quantification system to identify visible areas on capsule endoscopic images. The technique was developed using 200 capsule endoscopic images retrospectively selected from each of three patients. The rate of detection of visible areas on capsule endoscopic images between a supervised learning program, using training images labeled by a physician, and our novel automated self-learning program, using unlabeled training images without intervention by a physician, was compared. The rate of detection of visible areas was equivalent for the supervised learning program and for our automatic self-learning program. The visible areas automatically identified by self-learning program correlated to the areas identified by an experienced physician. We developed a novel self-learning automated program to identify visible areas in capsule endoscopic images.

Identifying localized and scale-specific multivariate controls of soil organic matter variations using multiple wavelet coherence.

PubMed

Zhao, Ruiying; Biswas, Asim; Zhou, Yin; Zhou, Yue; Shi, Zhou; Li, Hongyi

2018-06-23

Environmental factors have shown localized and scale-dependent controls over soil organic matter (SOM) distribution in the landscape. Previous studies have explored the relationships between SOM and individual controlling factors; however, few studies have indicated the combined control from multiple environmental factors. In this study, we compared the localized and scale-dependent univariate and multivariate controls of SOM along two long transects (northeast, NE transect and north, N transect) from China. Bivariate wavelet coherence (BWC) between SOM and individual factors and multiple wavelet coherence (MWC) between SOM and factor combinations were calculated. Average wavelet coherence (AWC) and percent area of significant coherence (PASC) were used to assess the relative dominance of individual and a combination of factors to explain SOM variations at different scales and locations. The results showed that (in BWC analysis) mean annual temperature (MAT) with the largest AWC (0.39) and PASC (16.23%) was the dominant factor in explaining SOM variations along the NE transect. The topographic wetness index (TWI) was the dominant factor (AWC = 0.39 and PASC = 20.80%) along the N transect. MWC identified the combination of Slope, net primary production (NPP) and mean annual precipitation (MAP) as the most important combination in explaining SOM variations along the NE transect with a significant increase in AWC and PASC at different scales and locations (e.g. AWC = 0.91 and PASC = 58.03% at all scales). The combination of TWI, NPP and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was the most influential along the N transect (AWC = 0.83 and PASC = 32.68% at all scales). The results indicated that the combined controls of environmental factors on SOM variations at different scales and locations in a large area can be identified by MWC. This is promising for a better understanding of the multivariate controls in SOM variations at larger spatial

Engaging Communities in Identifying Local Strategies for Expanding Integrated Employment During and After High School.

PubMed

Carter, Erik W; Blustein, Carly L; Bumble, Jennifer L; Harvey, Sarah; Henderson, Lynnette M; McMillan, Elise D

2016-09-01

Amidst decades of attention directed toward improving employment outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), few efforts have been made to engage communities in identifying local solutions for expanding integrated employment opportunities. We examined the implementation and outcomes of "community conversation" events held in 6 geographically and economically diverse locales. Each event used an asset-based dialogue approach called the World Café ( Brown & Isaacs, 2005 ) to solicit ideas from a broad cross-section of community members on improving integrated employment that reflect local priorities and possibilities. Six key themes encapsulated the 1,556 strategies generated by the almost 400 attendees. Although considerable consistency was found among the categories of strategies raised across events, the manner in which those individual strategies would be implemented locally reflected the unique accent of each community. Attendees also viewed these events as promising and productive pathways for identifying next steps for their community. We offer recommendations for community-level intervention efforts and suggest directions for future research.

Local Area Networks in Education: Overview, Applications, and Current Limitations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Piele, Philip K.

Local area networks (LAN) are privately owned communication systems that connect multivendor devices at high speed. As microcomputers become more common in schools, user interest in sharing information, software, and peripherals will increase. A basic understanding of the operation of all LAN's can be gained by knowing four elements: media,…

Using lot quality-assurance sampling and area sampling to identify priority areas for trachoma control: Viet Nam.

PubMed

Myatt, Mark; Mai, Nguyen Phuong; Quynh, Nguyen Quang; Nga, Nguyen Huy; Tai, Ha Huy; Long, Nguyen Hung; Minh, Tran Hung; Limburg, Hans

2005-10-01

To report on the use of lot quality-assurance sampling (LQAS) surveys undertaken within an area-sampling framework to identify priority areas for intervention with trachoma control activities in Viet Nam. The LQAS survey method for the rapid assessment of the prevalence of active trachoma was adapted for use in Viet Nam with the aim of classifying individual communes by the prevalence of active trachoma among children in primary school. School-based sampling was used; school sites to be sampled were selected using an area-sampling approach. A total of 719 communes in 41 districts in 18 provinces were surveyed. Survey staff found the LQAS survey method both simple and rapid to use after initial problems with area-sampling methods were identified and remedied. The method yielded a finer spatial resolution of prevalence than had been previously achieved in Viet Nam using semiquantitative rapid assessment surveys and multistage cluster-sampled surveys. When used with area-sampling techniques, the LQAS survey method has the potential to form the basis of survey instruments that can be used to efficiently target resources for interventions against active trachoma. With additional work, such methods could provide a generally applicable tool for effective programme planning and for the certification of the elimination of trachoma as a blinding disease.

Identifying knickpoints using elevation breaks and offsets in slope-area scaling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peifer Bezerra, Daniel; Persano, Cristina

2017-04-01

Steepened longitudinal river profile reaches, usually referred as knickpoints, are geomorphological fingerprints of tectonic, climatic and other perturbations, such as stream capture and sea level changes. Morphologically, knickpoints are distinguished as downstream increases in river gradient and as a break in slope-area scaling; that should theoretically correspond to along-stream variations in incision rate. Hence, the presence of knickpoints is a signature of the transgression of the steady state condition of fluvial systems (or of the spatial uniformity of boundary conditions), being thus the main distinctive feature of transient landscapes. Following a rapid change in relative base level fall rates, the fluvial adjustment occurs through an upstream migration of a knickpoint, taken the detachment-limited condition of the river as given. The knickpoint thus define three distinct reaches: the upstream reach not yet affected by the rejuvenation, the over-steepened reach containing the knickpoint, and the downstream reach that is graded to the new base level. Accordingly, migrating knickpoints have been documented in a myriad of geomorphological contexts such as post-glacial rebound, local earthquake faulting, an increase in fault throw rate and change in sea level. The study of the erosional response in upland landscapes to tectonic, climatic and other perturbations is intrinsically tied to the study of knickpoints. However, the ubiquity of knickpoints in landscape evolution studies is not bound with a precise definition of it, or with a unified methodology for its identification. Hence, we address here the issue of the determination of knickpoints in bedrock rivers using quantitative longitudinal profile analysis. We explored the different methods of identification of knickpoints in the literature, focusing on its definition, calculation, theoretical limitations and interpretation possibilities. Additionally, we applied those methods to a mountainous landward

Identifying high-risk areas for sporadic measles outbreaks: lessons from South Africa.

PubMed

Sartorius, Benn; Cohen, C; Chirwa, T; Ntshoe, G; Puren, A; Hofman, K

2013-03-01

To develop a model for identifying areas at high risk for sporadic measles outbreaks based on an analysis of factors associated with a national outbreak in South Africa between 2009 and 2011. Data on cases occurring before and during the national outbreak were obtained from the South African measles surveillance programme, and data on measles immunization and population size, from the District Health Information System. A Bayesian hierarchical Poisson model was used to investigate the association between the risk of measles in infants in a district and first-dose vaccination coverage, population density, background prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and expected failure of seroconversion. Model projections were used to identify emerging high-risk areas in 2012. A clear spatial pattern of high-risk areas was noted, with many interconnected (i.e. neighbouring) areas. An increased risk of measles outbreak was significantly associated with both the preceding build-up of a susceptible population and population density. The risk was also elevated when more than 20% of infants in a populous area had missed a first vaccine dose. The model was able to identify areas at high risk of experiencing a measles outbreak in 2012 and where additional preventive measures could be undertaken. The South African measles outbreak was associated with the build-up of a susceptible population (owing to poor vaccine coverage), high prevalence of HIV infection and high population density. The predictive model developed could be applied to other settings susceptible to sporadic outbreaks of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases.

Identifying Potential Areas of Human Zika Infection in the City of Los Angeles, California by Use of Remote Sensing Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, J.

2017-12-01

As of April 2017, California is the third most prevalent state on the United States for Zika Infection and Southern California has an ever growing population of Aedes mosquitos. Zika is a disease which poses a significant risk to humans and other mammals due to its effects on pregnancy. This emerging disease is highly contagious due to its spread of infection primarily by Aedes aegypti mosquitos. Aedes mosquitos are able to breed in small rain collecting containers which allow the species to persevere in urban and semi urban environments. We hope to identify potential areas with risk of human infection within Los Angeles and its surrounding areas. This study integrates remote sensing, GIS, statistical, and environmental techniques to study favorable habitats for this particular species of mosquitos and their larvae. The study of the geographic and landscape factors which promote the larvae development allow for the disease spread to be analyzed and modeled. There are several goals in the development of this study. These include the coordination of statistical data with local epidemiology departments, identify workflows to improve efficiency, create models which can be utilized for disease prevention, and identify geographic risk factors for the spread of Zika.

Local recurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma in the tumor blood drainage area following radiofrequency ablation

PubMed Central

HIROOKA, MASASHI; OCHI, HIRONORI; KOIZUMI, YOHEI; TOKUMOTO, YOSHIO; HIRAOKA, ATSUSHI; KUMAGI, TERU; ABE, MASANORI; TANAKA, HIROAKI; HIASA, YOICHI

2014-01-01

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide. HCC is generally considered to spread via the bloodstream and local recurrence often occurs in the blood drainage area determined by computed tomography during hepatic arteriography (CTHA), despite complete ablation of the primary nodule. This study was conducted in order to prospectively assess the rate of local recurrence in the blood drainage area depicted by delayed-phase CTHA. The participants comprised 364 consecutive patients (260 men and 104 women; mean age, 67.4±8.6 years), enrolled between April, 2002 and December, 2011. The participants were divided into two groups, according to whether the ablation area covered the entire blood drainage area as defined by delayed-phase CTHA (group A) or not (group B). Local tumor progression was compared between the two groups. The median time to recurrence was significantly shorter for group B (434 days) compared to that for group A (1,474 days; P=0.0037). The cumulative local recurrence rates for group A were 0, 0 and 1.5% at 1, 3 and 5 years postoperatively, respectively, whereas the recurrence rates for group B were 3.8, 17.0 and 22.8% at 1, 3 and 5 years, respectively (P<0.0001). In conclusion, the safety margin for radiofrequency ablation should be defined as the blood drainage area and ablation should aim at acquiring adequate safety margins. PMID:24649330

Impact of Rice Paddy Areas Decrease on Local Climate over Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lo, M. H.; Wen, W. H.; Chen, C. C.

2014-12-01

Agricultural irrigation practice is one of the important anthropogenic processes in the land surface modeling. Irrigation can decrease local surface temperature with alternating surface energy partitioning. Rice paddy is the major food crop in Asian monsoon region and rice is grown under flooded conditions during the growing season; hence, the rice paddy can be considered as an open water body, which has more impacts on the surface energy budget than other cropland does. In this study, we explore how the rice paddy area changes affect Taiwan's regional climate from both observational data and numerical modeling exercise. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is utilized to explore impacts of rice paddy area changes on the regional climate, and energy and water budget changes. In addition, temperature datasets from six automatic weather stations in the northern Taiwan and two stations in the southern Taiwan are analyzed in this study to explore how the Daily Temperature Range (DTR) changes with the decreased rice paddy areas. Previous studies show that due to the urban heat island effect, aerosol direct and indirect effects, and global warming, the DTR has decreased in the past 4 decades observed from most of the weather stations around Taiwan. However, the declined rice paddy area may increase the DTR with higher Bowen ratio during the daytime. Preliminary results show that DTR is decreased in weather stations near the urban area, but increased in weather stations near fallow areas in the past 20 years. It shows that different land use changes may have opposite impacts on local and regional climate.

Perceptions of the Maltese Public towards Local Marine Protected Areas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mifsud, Mark; Verret, Marielle

2015-01-01

The marine environment represents a central component of Malta's local environment, and its ecosystem services play a vital role in supporting the economy as well as human well-being. Plans have been made to protect the unique ecology found within Maltese waters through the institution of five marine protected areas (MPAs). This quantitative study…

Using lot quality-assurance sampling and area sampling to identify priority areas for trachoma control: Viet Nam.

PubMed Central

Myatt, Mark; Mai, Nguyen Phuong; Quynh, Nguyen Quang; Nga, Nguyen Huy; Tai, Ha Huy; Long, Nguyen Hung; Minh, Tran Hung; Limburg, Hans

2005-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To report on the use of lot quality-assurance sampling (LQAS) surveys undertaken within an area-sampling framework to identify priority areas for intervention with trachoma control activities in Viet Nam. METHODS: The LQAS survey method for the rapid assessment of the prevalence of active trachoma was adapted for use in Viet Nam with the aim of classifying individual communes by the prevalence of active trachoma among children in primary school. School-based sampling was used; school sites to be sampled were selected using an area-sampling approach. A total of 719 communes in 41 districts in 18 provinces were surveyed. FINDINGS: Survey staff found the LQAS survey method both simple and rapid to use after initial problems with area-sampling methods were identified and remedied. The method yielded a finer spatial resolution of prevalence than had been previously achieved in Viet Nam using semiquantitative rapid assessment surveys and multistage cluster-sampled surveys. CONCLUSION: When used with area-sampling techniques, the LQAS survey method has the potential to form the basis of survey instruments that can be used to efficiently target resources for interventions against active trachoma. With additional work, such methods could provide a generally applicable tool for effective programme planning and for the certification of the elimination of trachoma as a blinding disease. PMID:16283052

Using the Fusion Proximal Area Method and Gravity Method to Identify Areas with Physician Shortages

PubMed Central

Xiong, Xuechen; Jin, Chao; Chen, Haile; Luo, Li

2016-01-01

Objectives This paper presents a geographic information system (GIS)-based proximal area method and gravity method for identifying areas with physician shortages. The innovation of this paper is that it uses the appropriate methods to discover each type of health resource and then integrates all these methods to assess spatial access to health resources using population distribution data. In this way, spatial access to health resources for an entire city can be visualized in one neat package, which can help health policy makers quickly comprehend realistic distributions of health resources at a macro level. Methods First, classify health resources according to the trade areas of the patients they serve. Second, apply an appropriate method to each different type of health resource to measure spatial access to those resources. Third, integrate all types of access using population distribution data. Results In case study of Shanghai with the fusion method, areas with physician shortages are located primarily in suburban districts, especially in district junction areas. The result suggests that the government of Shanghai should pay more attention to these areas by investing in new or relocating existing health resources. Conclusion The fusion method is demonstrated to be more accurate and practicable than using a single method to assess spatial access to health resources. PMID:27695105

Evaluation of wireless Local Area Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McBee, Charles L.

1993-09-01

This thesis is an in-depth evaluation of the current wireless Local Area Network (LAN) technologies. Wireless LAN's consist of three technologies: they are infrared light, microwave, and spread spectrum. When the first wireless LAN's were introduced, they were unfavorably labeled slow, expensive, and unreliable. The wireless LAN's of today are competitively priced, more secure, easier to install, and provide equal to or greater than the data throughput of unshielded twisted pair cable. Wireless LAN's are best suited for organizations that move office staff frequently, buildings that have historical significance, or buildings that have asbestos. Additionally, an organization may realize a cost savings of between $300 to $1,200 each time a node is moved. Current wireless LAN technologies have a positive effect on LAN standards being developed by the Defense Information System Agency (DISA). DoD as a whole is beginning to focus on wireless LAN's and mobile communications. If system managers want to remain successful, they need to stay abreast of this technology.

Understanding the local food environment: A participatory photovoice project in a low-income area in Madrid, Spain.

PubMed

Díez, Julia; Conde, Paloma; Sandin, María; Urtasun, María; López, Remedios; Carrero, José Luis; Gittelsohn, Joel; Franco, Manuel

2017-01-01

There is a need to partner between researchers, practitioners and residents to increase our understanding of environmental influences on dietary behaviors. We used the participatory method of Photovoice to understand key determinants of the local food environment influencing residents' diets. This project was conducted in Villaverde, a low-income area located in Madrid, Spain. From February to May 2015, 24 residents working in four Photovoice groups, took photographs related to their local food environment. Each group analyzed and critically discussed their photographs in small group sessions. Through a consensus-building process, participants identified 30 emerging categories, which followed five conceptual themes related to their food environment: 1) eating in moderation, 2) cultural diversity, 3) food stores, 4) social relationships and 5) economic crisis and poverty. Participants, researchers and practitioners successfully collaborated in analyzing, writing, disseminating the project results, and directly informing local policy-makers, media, and other residents. The project results may guide community-generated interventions for promoting a healthier food environment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of local land-use planning on development and disturbance in riparian areas

Treesearch

Judith A. Dempsey; Andrew J. Plantinga; Jeffrey D. Kline; Joshua J. Lawler; Sebastian Martinuzzi; Volker C. Radeloff; Daniel P. Bigelow

2017-01-01

Land-use change can significantly affect the provision of ecosystem services. On a local scale, zoning laws and other land-use regulations are commonly used to influence land-use change, but their effectiveness is often unclear. We evaluate the effectiveness of local land-use planning in concentrating development and minimizing impacts in riparian areas. We use...

Identifying Spatiotemporal Changes In Irrigated Area Across Southwestern Michigan, USA, Using Remote Sensing and Climate Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, T.; Deines, J. M.; Kendall, A. D.; Hyndman, D. W.

2017-12-01

Irrigation, which has become more common in humid regions, is the largest consumptive water use across the US and the globe. In southwestern Michigan, there has been a dramatic expansion in irrigation water use for row crops (primarily corn and soybean) in the past decade, mostly from groundwater pumping. The rapid expansion of irrigated row crops has potentially profound implications for terrestrial water balances, food production, and local to regional climate. Detailed maps of spatio-temporal changes in irrigation are essential to better understand irrigation impacts. However, accurate monitoring of irrigation area can be difficult in humid regions using remotely sensed methods due to the similarity in greenness between non-irrigated and irrigated areas in most years. Here, we use remote sensing to create annual, 30m-resolution maps of irrigated cropland by integrating Landsat and MODIS satellite products along with the PRISM climate dataset. From these data we developed spatial time series of vegetation and extreme weather indices, including novel indices we developed specifically to maximize detection of irrigation. Using these input data, machine learning classification was then performed over the region to identify irrigated crop area for each year. The resulting annual irrigation maps suggest that total irrigated area in southwestern Michigan increased by 160% from 2000 to 2017. The accuracy of the maps is assessed relative to maps created for an arid region using the same method. The maps can be integrated into hydrologic models to quantify irrigation impacts and support water resources management.

LANES - LOCAL AREA NETWORK EXTENSIBLE SIMULATOR

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gibson, J.

1994-01-01

The Local Area Network Extensible Simulator (LANES) provides a method for simulating the performance of high speed local area network (LAN) technology. LANES was developed as a design and analysis tool for networking on board the Space Station. The load, network, link and physical layers of a layered network architecture are all modeled. LANES models to different lower-layer protocols, the Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) and the Star*Bus. The load and network layers are included in the model as a means of introducing upper-layer processing delays associated with message transmission; they do not model any particular protocols. FDDI is an American National Standard and an International Organization for Standardization (ISO) draft standard for a 100 megabit-per-second fiber-optic token ring. Specifications for the LANES model of FDDI are taken from the Draft Proposed American National Standard FDDI Token Ring Media Access Control (MAC), document number X3T9.5/83-16 Rev. 10, February 28, 1986. This is a mature document describing the FDDI media-access-control protocol. Star*Bus, also known as the Fiber Optic Demonstration System, is a protocol for a 100 megabit-per-second fiber-optic star-topology LAN. This protocol, along with a hardware prototype, was developed by Sperry Corporation under contract to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center as a candidate LAN protocol for the Space Station. LANES can be used to analyze performance of a networking system based on either FDDI or Star*Bus under a variety of loading conditions. Delays due to upper-layer processing can easily be nullified, allowing analysis of FDDI or Star*Bus as stand-alone protocols. LANES is a parameter-driven simulation; it provides considerable flexibility in specifying both protocol an run-time parameters. Code has been optimized for fast execution and detailed tracing facilities have been included. LANES was written in FORTRAN 77 for implementation on a DEC VAX under VMS 4.6. It consists of two

Identifying outdoor thermal risk areas and evaluation of future thermal comfort concerning shading orientation in a traditional settlement.

PubMed

Huang, Kuo-Tsang; Yang, Shing-Ru; Matzarakis, Andreas; Lin, Tzu-Ping

2018-06-01

The outdoor thermal environment is expected to be deteriorated under climate change. An approach of risk identification including assessment from aspects of thermal stress effect, people's exposure, and local's vulnerability were adopted to study a hot-and-humid traditional rural community located at Tainan, Taiwan. Layers of each aspect were either constructed by in-situ measurements or simulations. To evaluate the future thermal comfort changes by simulations, the prerequisite hourly climate data of three future time slices were produced. Prognostic simulation model, ENVI-met, in combination with diagnostic model, RayMan, were respectively used for identifying current spatial distribution of thermal stress and for assessing the future thermal comfort changes. High thermal risk area was identified by superimposing layers of hazard, exposure and vulnerability. It revealed that because of the tourists' vulnerability to adapt local climate and the inflexibleness of choosing visiting time, it exhibited a high thermal stress at the Main Courtyard where its thermal comfort conditions will be deteriorated due to climate change. Furthermore, the thermal comfort conditions in various shading orientation were analyzed based on the changing climate in three future time slices, i.e. 2011-2040, 2041-2070, and 2071-2100. The results show the area with shading in the East and West side is more comfort than in the North side. In hot season, shading in the West side contributes less PET increasing, especially in the afternoon period. The severest overheat problem (the physiological equivalent temperature, PET>40°C) at the Main Courtyard will increase from current 10% to 28% in 2071-2100 in terms of overheating occurrence frequency. The results of this study can be used as the guidelines for environment analysis before planning or redesign community. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Business Education Lab and Local Area Networking for Curriculum Improvement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Seals, Georgina; And Others

This guide explains how to incorporate a local area network (LAN) into the business education curriculum. The first section defines LAN, a communications system that links computers and other peripherals within an office or throughout nearby buildings and shares multiuser software and send and/or receive information. Curriculum planning…

Identifying local characteristic lengths governing sound wave properties in solid foams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan Hoang, Minh; Perrot, Camille

2013-02-01

Identifying microscopic geometric properties and fluid flow through opened-cell and partially closed-cell solid structures is a challenge for material science, in particular, for the design of porous media used as sound absorbers in building and transportation industries. We revisit recent literature data to identify the local characteristic lengths dominating the transport properties and sound absorbing behavior of polyurethane foam samples by performing numerical homogenization simulations. To determine the characteristic sizes of the model, we need porosity and permeability measurements in conjunction with ligament lengths estimates from available scanning electron microscope images. We demonstrate that this description of the porous material, consistent with the critical path picture following from the percolation arguments, is widely applicable. This is an important step towards tuning sound proofing properties of complex materials.

Prescription opioid poisoning across urban and rural areas: identifying vulnerable groups and geographic areas.

PubMed

Cerdá, Magdalena; Gaidus, Andrew; Keyes, Katherine M; Ponicki, William; Martins, Silvia; Galea, Sandro; Gruenewald, Paul

2017-01-01

To determine (1) whether prescription opioid poisoning (PO) hospital discharges spread across space over time, (2) the locations of 'hot-spots' of PO-related hospital discharges, (3) how features of the local environment contribute to the growth in PO-related hospital discharges and (4) where each environmental feature makes the strongest contribution. Hierarchical Bayesian Poisson space-time analysis to relate annual discharges from community hospitals to postal code characteristics over 10 years. California, USA. Residents of 18 517 postal codes in California, 2001-11. Annual postal code-level counts of hospital discharges due to PO poisoning were related to postal code pharmacy density, measures of medical need for POs (i.e. rates of cancer and arthritis-related hospital discharges), economic stressors (i.e. median household income, percentage of families in poverty and the unemployment rate) and concentration of manual labor industries. PO-related hospital discharges spread from rural and suburban/exurban 'hot-spots' to urban areas. They increased more in postal codes with greater pharmacy density [rate ratio (RR) = 1.03; 95% credible interval (CI) = 1.01, 1.05], more arthritis-related hospital discharges (RR = 1.08; 95% CI = 1.06, 1.11), lower income (RR = 0.85; 95% CI = 0.83, 0.87) and more manual labor industries (RR = 1.15; 95% CI = 1.10, 1.19 for construction; RR = 1.12; 95% CI = 1.04, 1.20 for manufacturing industries). Changes in pharmacy density primarily affected PO-related discharges in urban areas, while changes in income and manual labor industries especially affected PO-related discharges in suburban/exurban and rural areas. Hospital discharge rates for prescription opioid (PO) poisoning spread from rural and suburban/exurban hot-spots to urban areas, suggesting spatial contagion. The distribution of age-related and work-place-related sources of medical need for POs in rural areas and, to a lesser extent, the availability of

More than jobs and houses: mental health, quality of life and the perceptions of locality in an area undergoing urban regeneration.

PubMed

Rogers, Anne; Huxley, Peter; Evans, Sherrill; Gately, Claire

2008-05-01

Urban regeneration initiatives are considered to be one means of making a contribution to improving people's quality of life and mental health. This paper considers the relationship between lay perceptions of locality adversity, mental health and social capital in an area undergoing urban regeneration. Using qualitative methods as part of a larger multi-method study, perceptions of material, and non-material aspects of the locality and the way in which people vulnerable to mental health problems coped with living in adversity were identified as being more highly valued than intended or actual changes to structural elements such as the provision of housing or employment. Themes derived from narrative accounts included concerns about the absence of social control in the locality, the reputation of the area, a lack of faith in local agencies to make changes considered important to local residents, a reliance on personal coping strategies to manage adversity and perceived threats to mental health which reinforced a sense of social isolation. We suggest these elements are implicated in restricting opportunities and enhancing feelings of 'entrapment' contributing to low levels of local collective efficacy. The gap between social capital capacity at an individual level and links with collective community resources may in part have accounted for the absence of improvements in mental health during the early life of the urban regeneration initiative. In order to enhance quality of life or mental health, agencies involved in urban initiatives need as a basic minimum to promote security, increase leisure opportunities, and improve the image of the locality.

Preference Reasons for Recreational Areas Which Belongs to the Local Administrations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirtepe, Abdurrahman; Altungul, Oguzhan; Karahuseyinoglu, M. Fatih

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effective factors of people choosing outdoor recreation areas, which is belonging to local government in Elazig Province Center, for feel comfortable in social, cultural and physiological aspects where they can evaluate their free time and benefit from different purposes according to different…

Regional and local networks of horizontal control, Cerro Prieto geothermal area

USGS Publications Warehouse

Massey, B.L.

1979-01-01

The Cerro Prieto geothermal area in the Mexicali Valley 30 km southeast of Mexicali, Baja California, is probably deforming due to (1) the extraction of large volumes of steam and hot water, and (2) active tectonism. Two networks of precise horizontal control were established in Mexicali Valley by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1977 - 1978 to measure both types of movement as they occur. These networks consisted of (1) a regional trilateration net brought into the mountain ranges west of the geothermal area from survey stations on an existing U.S. Geological Survey crustal-strain network north of the international border, and (2) a local net tied to stations in the regional net and encompassing the area of present and planned geothermal production. Survey lines in this net were selected to span areas of probable ground-surface movements in and around the geothermal area. Electronic distance measuring (EDM) instruments, operating with a modulated laser beam, were used to measure the distances between stations in both networks. The regional net was run using a highly precise long-range EDM instrument, helicopters for transportation of men and equipment to inaccessible stations on mountain peaks, and a fixed wing airplane flying along the line of sight. Precision of measurements with this complex long-range system approached 0-2 ppm of line length. The local net was measured with a medium-range EDM instrument requiring minimal ancillary equipment. Precision of measurements with this less complex system approached 3 ppm for the shorter line lengths. The detection and analysis of ground-surface movements resulting from tectonic strains or induced by geothermal fluid withdrawal is dependent on subsequent resurveys of these networks. ?? 1979.

Local intensity area descriptor for facial recognition in ideal and noise conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tran, Chi-Kien; Tseng, Chin-Dar; Chao, Pei-Ju; Ting, Hui-Min; Chang, Liyun; Huang, Yu-Jie; Lee, Tsair-Fwu

2017-03-01

We propose a local texture descriptor, local intensity area descriptor (LIAD), which is applied for human facial recognition in ideal and noisy conditions. Each facial image is divided into small regions from which LIAD histograms are extracted and concatenated into a single feature vector to represent the facial image. The recognition is performed using a nearest neighbor classifier with histogram intersection and chi-square statistics as dissimilarity measures. Experiments were conducted with LIAD using the ORL database of faces (Olivetti Research Laboratory, Cambridge), the Face94 face database, the Georgia Tech face database, and the FERET database. The results demonstrated the improvement in accuracy of our proposed descriptor compared to conventional descriptors [local binary pattern (LBP), uniform LBP, local ternary pattern, histogram of oriented gradients, and local directional pattern]. Moreover, the proposed descriptor was less sensitive to noise and had low histogram dimensionality. Thus, it is expected to be a powerful texture descriptor that can be used for various computer vision problems.

Urban local air quality management framework for non-attainment areas in Indian cities.

PubMed

Gulia, Sunil; Nagendra, S M Shiva; Barnes, Jo; Khare, Mukesh

2018-04-01

Increasing urban air pollution level in Indian cities is one of the major concerns for policy makers due to its impact on public health. The growth in population and increase in associated motorised road transport demand is one of the major causes of increasing air pollution in most urban areas along with other sources e.g., road dust, construction dust, biomass burning etc. The present study documents the development of an urban local air quality management (ULAQM) framework at urban hotspots (non-attainment area) and a pathway for the flow of information from goal setting to policy making. The ULAQM also includes assessment and management of air pollution episodic conditions at these hotspots, which currently available city/regional-scale air quality management plans do not address. The prediction of extreme pollutant concentrations using a hybrid model differentiates the ULAQM from other existing air quality management plans. The developed ULAQM framework has been applied and validated at one of the busiest traffic intersections in Delhi and Chennai cities. Various scenarios have been tested targeting the effective reductions in elevated levels of NO x and PM 2.5 concentrations. The results indicate that a developed ULAQM framework is capable of providing an evidence-based graded action to reduce ambient pollution levels within the specified standard level at pre-identified locations. The ULAQM framework methodology is generalised and therefore can be applied to other non-attainment areas of the country. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Producing the Docile Body: Analysing Local Area Under-Performance Inspection (LAUI)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clapham, Andrew

2015-01-01

Sir Michael Wilshaw, the head of the Office for Standards in Education (OfSTED), declared a "new wave" of Local Area Under-performance Inspections (LAUI) of schools "denying children the standard of education they deserve". This paper examines how the threat of LAUI played out over three mathematics lessons taught by a teacher…

Local Stakeholder Perception on Community Participation in Marine Protected Area Management: A Q-Method Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Megat Jamual Fawaeed, P. S.; Daim, M. S.

2018-02-01

Local stakeholder involvement in Marine Protected Area (MPA) management can bring to a successful MPA. Generally, participatory research in marine protected area management is exploring the relationship between marine protected area management approach adopted by the management agencies and the level of participation of local stakeholder whom reside within the marine protected areas. However, the scenario of local community participation in MPA management in Malaysia seems discouraging and does not align with the International Aichi Biodiversity Target 2020. In order to achieve the International Aichi Biodiversity Target 2020, this paper attempts to explore the methodology on participatory research towards the local stakeholder of Pulau Perhentian Marine Park (PPMP), Terengganu, Malaysia. A Q-methodology is used to investigate the perspective of local stakeholder who represents different stances on the issues, by having participants rank and sort a series of statements by comply quantitative and qualitative method in collecting the data. A structured questionnaire will be employed across this study by means of face-to-face interview. In total, 210 respondents from Kampung Pasir Hantu are randomly selected. Meanwhile, a workshop with the agency (Department of Marine Park) had been held to discuss about the issues faces on behalf of management that manage the PPMP. Using the Q-method, researcher acknowledged wise viewpoints, reflecting how different stakeholders’ perception and opinion about community participation with highlights the current level of community participation in MPA. Thus, this paper describes the phases involved in this study, methodology and analysis used in making a conclusion .

20 CFR 667.130 - How are WIA title I formula funds allocated to local workforce investment areas?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... section) relating to: (A) Excess poverty in urban, rural and suburban local areas; and (B) Excess... the factors described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section) relating to: (A) Excess youth poverty in urban, rural and suburban local areas; and (B) Excess unemployment above the State average in urban...

Wireless local area network in a prehospital environment.

PubMed

Chen, Dongquan; Soong, Seng-jaw; Grimes, Gary J; Orthner, Helmuth F

2004-08-31

Wireless local area networks (WLANs) are considered the next generation of clinical data network. They open the possibility for capturing clinical data in a prehospital setting (e.g., a patient's home) using various devices, such as personal digital assistants, laptops, digital electrocardiogram (EKG) machines, and even cellular phones, and transmitting the captured data to a physician or hospital. The transmission rate is crucial to the applicability of the technology in the prehospital setting. We created two separate WLANs to simulate a virtual local are network environment such as in a patient's home or an emergency room (ER). The effects of different methods of data transmission, number of clients, and roaming among different access points on the file transfer rate were determined. The present results suggest that it is feasible to transfer small files such as patient demographics and EKG data from the patient's home to the ER at a reasonable speed. Encryption, user control, and access control were implemented and results discussed. Implementing a WLAN in a centrally managed and multiple-layer-controlled access control server is the key to ensuring its security and accessibility. Future studies should focus on product capacity, speed, compatibility, interoperability, and security management.

Identifying Important Atlantic Areas for the conservation of Balearic shearwaters: Spatial overlap with conservation areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pérez-Roda, Amparo; Delord, Karine; Boué, Amélie; Arcos, José Manuel; García, David; Micol, Thierry; Weimerskirch, Henri; Pinaud, David; Louzao, Maite

2017-07-01

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are considered one of the main tools in both fisheries and conservation management to protect threatened species and their habitats around the globe. However, MPAs are underrepresented in marine environments compared to terrestrial environments. Within this context, we studied the Atlantic non-breeding distribution of the southern population of Balearic shearwaters (Puffinus mauretanicus) breeding in Eivissa during the 2011-2012 period based on global location sensing (GLS) devices. Our objectives were (1) to identify overall Important Atlantic Areas (IAAs) from a southern population, (2) to describe spatio-temporal patterns of oceanographic habitat use, and (3) to assess whether existing conservation areas (Natura 2000 sites and marine Important Bird Areas (IBAs)) cover the main IAAs of Balearic shearwaters. Our results highlighted that the Atlantic staging (from June to October in 2011) dynamic of the southern population was driven by individual segregation at both spatial and temporal scales. Individuals ranged in the North-East Atlantic over four main IAAs (Bay of Biscay: BoB, Western Iberian shelf: WIS, Gulf of Cadiz: GoC, West of Morocco: WoM). While most individuals spent more time on the WIS or in the GoC, a small number of birds visited IAAs at the extremes of their Atlantic distribution range (i.e., BoB and WoM). The chronology of the arrivals to the IAAs showed a latitudinal gradient with northern areas reached earlier during the Atlantic staging. The IAAs coincided with the most productive areas (higher chlorophyll a values) in the NE Atlantic between July and October. The spatial overlap between IAAs and conservation areas was higher for Natura 2000 sites than marine IBAs (areas with and without legal protection, respectively). Concerning the use of these areas, a slightly higher proportion of estimated positions fell within marine IBAs compared to designated Natura 2000 sites, with Spanish and Portuguese conservation

Identifying areas of deforestation risk for REDD+ using a species modeling tool

PubMed Central

Riveros, Juan Carlos; Forrest, Jessica L

2014-01-01

Background To implement the REDD+ mechanism (Reducing Emissions for Deforestation and Forest Degradation, countries need to prioritize areas to combat future deforestation CO2 emissions, identify the drivers of deforestation around which to develop mitigation actions, and quantify and value carbon for financial mechanisms. Each comes with its own methodological challenges, and existing approaches and tools to do so can be costly to implement or require considerable technical knowledge and skill. Here, we present an approach utilizing a machine learning technique known as Maximum Entropy Modeling (Maxent) to identify areas at high deforestation risk in the study area in Madre de Dios, Peru under a business-as-usual scenario in which historic deforestation rates continue. We link deforestation risk area to carbon density values to estimate future carbon emissions. We quantified area deforested and carbon emissions between 2000 and 2009 as the basis of the scenario. Results We observed over 80,000 ha of forest cover lost from 2000-2009 (0.21% annual loss), representing over 39 million Mg CO2. The rate increased rapidly following the enhancement of the Inter Oceanic Highway in 2005. Accessibility and distance to previous deforestation were strong predictors of deforestation risk, while land use designation was less important. The model performed consistently well (AUC > 0.9), significantly better than random when we compared predicted deforestation risk to observed. If past deforestation rates continue, we estimate that 132,865 ha of forest could be lost by the year 2020, representing over 55 million Mg CO2. Conclusions Maxent provided a reliable method for identifying areas at high risk of deforestation and the major explanatory variables that could draw attention for mitigation action planning under REDD+. The tool is accessible, replicable and easy to use; all necessary for producing good risk estimates and adapt models after potential landscape change. We

Identifying areas of deforestation risk for REDD+ using a species modeling tool.

PubMed

Aguilar-Amuchastegui, Naikoa; Riveros, Juan Carlos; Forrest, Jessica L

2014-01-01

To implement the REDD+ mechanism (Reducing Emissions for Deforestation and Forest Degradation, countries need to prioritize areas to combat future deforestation CO2 emissions, identify the drivers of deforestation around which to develop mitigation actions, and quantify and value carbon for financial mechanisms. Each comes with its own methodological challenges, and existing approaches and tools to do so can be costly to implement or require considerable technical knowledge and skill. Here, we present an approach utilizing a machine learning technique known as Maximum Entropy Modeling (Maxent) to identify areas at high deforestation risk in the study area in Madre de Dios, Peru under a business-as-usual scenario in which historic deforestation rates continue. We link deforestation risk area to carbon density values to estimate future carbon emissions. We quantified area deforested and carbon emissions between 2000 and 2009 as the basis of the scenario. We observed over 80,000 ha of forest cover lost from 2000-2009 (0.21% annual loss), representing over 39 million Mg CO2. The rate increased rapidly following the enhancement of the Inter Oceanic Highway in 2005. Accessibility and distance to previous deforestation were strong predictors of deforestation risk, while land use designation was less important. The model performed consistently well (AUC > 0.9), significantly better than random when we compared predicted deforestation risk to observed. If past deforestation rates continue, we estimate that 132,865 ha of forest could be lost by the year 2020, representing over 55 million Mg CO2. Maxent provided a reliable method for identifying areas at high risk of deforestation and the major explanatory variables that could draw attention for mitigation action planning under REDD+. The tool is accessible, replicable and easy to use; all necessary for producing good risk estimates and adapt models after potential landscape change. We propose this approach for developing

The challenge of localizing the anterior temporal face area: a possible solution.

PubMed

Axelrod, Vadim; Yovel, Galit

2013-11-01

Humans recognize faces exceptionally well. However, the neural correlates of face recognition are still elusive. Accumulated evidence in recent years suggests that the anterior temporal lobe (ATL), in particular face-selective region in the ATL, is a probable locus of face recognition. Unfortunately, functional MRI (fMRI) studies encounter severe signal drop-out in the ventral ATL, where that ATL face area resides. Consequently, all previous studies localized this region in no more than half of the subjects and its volume was relatively small. Thus, a systematic exploration of the properties of the ATL face area is scarce. In the current high-resolution fMRI study we used coronal slice orientation, which permitted us to localize the ATL face area in all the subjects. Furthermore, the volume of the area was much larger than was reported in previous studies. Direct within subjects comparison with data collected with the commonly used axial slice orientation confirmed that the advantage of the coronal slice orientation in revealing a reliable and larger face-selective area in the ATL. Finally, by displaying the face-selective activations resultant from coronal and axial scanning together, we demonstrate an organization principle of a chain of face-selective regions along the posterior-anterior axis in the ventral temporal lobe that is highly reproducible across all subjects. By using the procedure proposed here, a significant progress can be made in studying the neural correlates of face recognition. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Local area disadvantage and gambling involvement and disorder: Evidence for gene-environment correlation and interaction.

PubMed

Slutske, Wendy S; Deutsch, Arielle R; Statham, Dixie J; Martin, Nicholas G

2015-08-01

Previous research has demonstrated that local area characteristics (such as disadvantage and gambling outlet density) and genetic risk factors are associated with gambling involvement and disordered gambling. These 2 lines of research were brought together in the present study by examining the extent to which genetic contributions to individual differences in gambling involvement and disorder contributed to being exposed to, and were also accentuated by, local area disadvantage. Participants were members of the national community-based Australian Twin Registry who completed a telephone interview in which the past-year frequency of gambling and symptoms of disordered gambling were assessed. Indicators of local area disadvantage were based on census data matched to the participants' postal codes. Univariate biometric model-fitting revealed that exposure to area disadvantage was partially explained by genetic factors. Bivariate biometric model-fitting was conducted to examine the evidence for gene-environment interaction while accounting for gene-environment correlation. These analyses demonstrated that: (a) a small portion of the genetic propensity to gamble was explained by moving to or remaining in a disadvantaged area, and (b) the remaining genetic and unique environmental variation in the frequency of participating in electronic machine gambling (among men and women) and symptoms of disordered gambling (among women) was greater in more disadvantaged localities. As the gambling industry continues to grow, it will be important to take into account the multiple contexts in which problematic gambling behavior can emerge-from genes to geography-as well as the ways in which such contexts may interact with each other. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Local Area Disadvantage and Gambling Involvement and Disorder: Evidence for Gene-Environment Correlation and Interaction

PubMed Central

Slutske, Wendy S.; Deutsch, Arielle R.; Statham, Dixie B.; Martin, Nicholas G.

2015-01-01

Previous research has demonstrated that local area characteristics (such as disadvantage and gambling outlet density) and genetic risk factors are associated with gambling involvement and disordered gambling. These two lines of research were brought together in the present study by examining the extent to which genetic contributions to individual differences in gambling involvement and disorder contributed to being exposed to, and were also accentuated by, local area disadvantage. Participants were members of the national community-based Australian Twin Registry who completed a telephone interview in which the past-year frequency of gambling and symptoms of disordered gambling were assessed. Indicators of local area disadvantage were based on census data matched to the participants' postal codes. Univariate biometric model-fitting revealed that exposure to area disadvantage was partially explained by genetic factors. Bivariate biometric model-fitting was conducted to examine the evidence for gene-environment interaction while accounting for gene-environment correlation. These analyses demonstrated that: (a) a small portion of the genetic propensity to gamble was explained by moving to or remaining in a disadvantaged area, and (b) the remaining genetic and unique environmental variation in the frequency of participating in electronic machine gambling (among men and women) and symptoms of disordered gambling (among women) was greater in more disadvantaged localities. As the gambling industry continues to grow, it will be important to take into account the multiple contexts in which problematic gambling behavior can emerge -- from genes to geography -- as well as the ways in which such contexts may interact with each other. PMID:26147321

Small-scale managed marine areas over time: Developments and challenges in a local Fijian reef fishery.

PubMed

Fache, Elodie; Breckwoldt, Annette

2018-05-21

This paper investigates the Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA) approach through looking at developments and challenges of community-based marine resource management over time, with a particular focus on Fiji in the South Pacific region. A diachronic perspective, based on two multi-method empirical studies, is used to exemplify the social complexities of the implementation of this LMMA approach in a specific island setting. This perspective connects local stakeholders' establishment and management of a LMMA covering their entire customary fishing rights area (iqoliqoli) with the national context articulated around the Fiji Locally Managed Marine Area (FLMMA) network, as well as with regional networking and international conservation dynamics. It especially explores the impacts of a small-scale marine closure (so-called tabu area) on the harvesting patterns in a portion of this LMMA, related aspects of formal and informal enforcement, and villagers' views of the health of their reef fishery. This case study reveals a lack of consensus on the current management of this closure as a conditionally-opened no-take area, whose temporary openings (re)produce social tensions, as well as a lack of consensus on the effects of this closure on the reef fishery, which is subject to poaching. The paper highlights that the articulation between conservation and extraction of marine resources, as well as between short-term and longer-term objectives of the community-based marine resource management in place, is a complex sociopolitical process even at the most local level. The discussion also points out that local observations and interpretations of coastal resource dynamics, and of the interplay between fishery and community changes, might be instrumental in addressing the limits of the area-based system of management inherent in the LMMA approach. These insights into both the development process of the LMMA approach and the challenges of its local implementation and maintenance

Local Breast Cancer Spatial Patterning: A Tool for Community Health Resource Allocation to Address Local Disparities in Breast Cancer Mortality

PubMed Central

Brantley-Sieders, Dana M.; Fan, Kang-Hsien; Deming-Halverson, Sandra L.; Shyr, Yu; Cook, Rebecca S.

2012-01-01

Despite available demographic data on the factors that contribute to breast cancer mortality in large population datasets, local patterns are often overlooked. Such local information could provide a valuable metric by which regional community health resources can be allocated to reduce breast cancer mortality. We used national and statewide datasets to assess geographical distribution of breast cancer mortality rates and known risk factors influencing breast cancer mortality in middle Tennessee. Each county in middle Tennessee, and each ZIP code within metropolitan Davidson County, was scored for risk factor prevalence and assigned quartile scores that were used as a metric to identify geographic areas of need. While breast cancer mortality often correlated with age and incidence, geographic areas were identified in which breast cancer mortality rates did not correlate with age and incidence, but correlated with additional risk factors, such as mammography screening and socioeconomic status. Geographical variability in specific risk factors was evident, demonstrating the utility of this approach to identify local areas of risk. This method revealed local patterns in breast cancer mortality that might otherwise be overlooked in a more broadly based analysis. Our data suggest that understanding the geographic distribution of breast cancer mortality, and the distribution of risk factors that contribute to breast cancer mortality, will not only identify communities with the greatest need of support, but will identify the types of resources that would provide the most benefit to reduce breast cancer mortality in the community. PMID:23028869

Local Area Water Removal Analysis of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell under Gas Purge Conditions

PubMed Central

Lee, Chi-Yuan; Lee, Yu-Ming; Lee, Shuo-Jen

2012-01-01

In this study, local area water content distribution under various gas purging conditions are experimentally analyzed for the first time. The local high frequency resistance (HFR) is measured using novel micro sensors. The results reveal that the liquid water removal rate in a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is non-uniform. In the under-the-channel area, the removal of liquid water is governed by both convective and diffusive flux of the through-plane drying. Thus, almost all of the liquid water is removed within 30 s of purging with gas. However, liquid water that is stored in the under-the-rib area is not easy to remove during 1 min of gas purging. Therefore, the re-hydration of the membrane by internal diffusive flux is faster than that in the under-the-channel area. Consequently, local fuel starvation and membrane degradation can degrade the performance of a fuel cell that is started from cold. PMID:22368495

Local area water removal analysis of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell under gas purge conditions.

PubMed

Lee, Chi-Yuan; Lee, Yu-Ming; Lee, Shuo-Jen

2012-01-01

In this study, local area water content distribution under various gas purging conditions are experimentally analyzed for the first time. The local high frequency resistance (HFR) is measured using novel micro sensors. The results reveal that the liquid water removal rate in a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is non-uniform. In the under-the-channel area, the removal of liquid water is governed by both convective and diffusive flux of the through-plane drying. Thus, almost all of the liquid water is removed within 30 s of purging with gas. However, liquid water that is stored in the under-the-rib area is not easy to remove during 1 min of gas purging. Therefore, the re-hydration of the membrane by internal diffusive flux is faster than that in the under-the-channel area. Consequently, local fuel starvation and membrane degradation can degrade the performance of a fuel cell that is started from cold.

Image recovery by removing stochastic artefacts identified as local asymmetries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osterloh, K.; Bücherl, T.; Zscherpel, U.; Ewert, U.

2012-04-01

Stochastic artefacts are frequently encountered in digital radiography and tomography with neutrons. Most obviously, they are caused by ubiquitous scattered radiation hitting the CCD-sensor. They appear as scattered dots and, at higher frequency of occurrence, they may obscure the image. Some of these dotted interferences vary with time, however, a large portion of them remains persistent so the problem cannot be resolved by collecting stacks of images and to merge them to a median image. The situation becomes even worse in computed tomography (CT) where each artefact causes a circular pattern in the reconstructed plane. Therefore, these stochastic artefacts have to be removed completely and automatically while leaving the original image content untouched. A simplified image acquisition and artefact removal tool was developed at BAM and is available to interested users. Furthermore, an algorithm complying with all the requirements mentioned above was developed that reliably removes artefacts that could even exceed the size of a single pixel without affecting other parts of the image. It consists of an iterative two-step algorithm adjusting pixel values within a 3 × 3 matrix inside of a 5 × 5 kernel and the centre pixel only within a 3 × 3 kernel, resp. It has been applied to thousands of images obtained from the NECTAR facility at the FRM II in Garching, Germany, without any need of a visual control. In essence, the procedure consists of identifying and tackling asymmetric intensity distributions locally with recording each treatment of a pixel. Searching for the local asymmetry with subsequent correction rather than replacing individually identified pixels constitutes the basic idea of the algorithm. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated with a severely spoiled example of neutron radiography and tomography as compared with median filtering, the most convenient alternative approach by visual check, histogram and power spectra analysis.

A Unified Model for BDS Wide Area and Local Area Augmentation Positioning Based on Raw Observations.

PubMed

Tu, Rui; Zhang, Rui; Lu, Cuixian; Zhang, Pengfei; Liu, Jinhai; Lu, Xiaochun

2017-03-03

In this study, a unified model for BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) wide area and local area augmentation positioning based on raw observations has been proposed. Applying this model, both the Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) and Precise Point Positioning (PPP) service can be realized by performing different corrections at the user end. This algorithm was assessed and validated with the BDS data collected at four regional stations from Day of Year (DOY) 080 to 083 of 2016. When the users are located within the local reference network, the fast and high precision RTK service can be achieved using the regional observation corrections, revealing a convergence time of about several seconds and a precision of about 2-3 cm. For the users out of the regional reference network, the global broadcast State-Space Represented (SSR) corrections can be utilized to realize the global PPP service which shows a convergence time of about 25 min for achieving an accuracy of 10 cm. With this unified model, it can not only integrate the Network RTK (NRTK) and PPP into a seamless positioning service, but also recover the ionosphere Vertical Total Electronic Content (VTEC) and Differential Code Bias (DCB) values that are useful for the ionosphere monitoring and modeling.

A Unified Model for BDS Wide Area and Local Area Augmentation Positioning Based on Raw Observations

PubMed Central

Tu, Rui; Zhang, Rui; Lu, Cuixian; Zhang, Pengfei; Liu, Jinhai; Lu, Xiaochun

2017-01-01

In this study, a unified model for BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) wide area and local area augmentation positioning based on raw observations has been proposed. Applying this model, both the Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) and Precise Point Positioning (PPP) service can be realized by performing different corrections at the user end. This algorithm was assessed and validated with the BDS data collected at four regional stations from Day of Year (DOY) 080 to 083 of 2016. When the users are located within the local reference network, the fast and high precision RTK service can be achieved using the regional observation corrections, revealing a convergence time of about several seconds and a precision of about 2–3 cm. For the users out of the regional reference network, the global broadcast State-Space Represented (SSR) corrections can be utilized to realize the global PPP service which shows a convergence time of about 25 min for achieving an accuracy of 10 cm. With this unified model, it can not only integrate the Network RTK (NRTK) and PPP into a seamless positioning service, but also recover the ionosphere Vertical Total Electronic Content (VTEC) and Differential Code Bias (DCB) values that are useful for the ionosphere monitoring and modeling. PMID:28273814

Regression Analysis of Physician Distribution to Identify Areas of Need: Some Preliminary Findings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Morgan, Bruce B.; And Others

A regression analysis was conducted of factors that help to explain the variance in physician distribution and which identify those factors that influence the maldistribution of physicians. Models were developed for different geographic areas to determine the most appropriate unit of analysis for the Western Missouri Area Health Education Center…

Classifying neighbourhoods by level of access to stores selling fresh fruit and vegetables and groceries: identifying problematic areas in the city of Gatineau, Quebec.

PubMed

Gould, Adrian C; Apparicio, Philippe; Cloutier, Marie-Soleil

2012-11-06

Physical access to stores selling groceries, fresh fruit and vegetables (FV) is essential for urban dwellers. In Canadian cities where low-density development practices are common, social and material deprivation may be compounded by poor geographic access to healthy food. This case study examines access to food stores selling fresh FV in Gatineau, Quebec, to identify areas where poor access is coincident with high deprivation. Food retailers were identified using two secondary sources and each store was visited to establish the total surface area devoted to the sale of fresh FV. Four population-weighted accessibility measures were then calculated for each dissemination area (DA) using road network distances. A deprivation index was created using variables from the 2006 Statistics Canada census, also at the scale of the DA. Finally, six classes of accessibility to a healthy diet were constructed using a k-means classification procedure. These were mapped and superimposed over high deprivation areas. Overall, deprivation is positively correlated with better accessibility. However, more than 18,000 residents (7.5% of the population) live in high deprivation areas characterized by large distances to the nearest retail food store (means of 1.4 km or greater) and virtually no access to fresh FV within walking distance (radius of 1 km). In this research, we identified areas where poor geographic access may introduce an additional constraint for residents already dealing with the challenges of limited financial and social resources. Our results may help guide local food security policies and initiatives.

Technological Implementation of Renewable Energy in Rural-Isolated Areas and Small-Medium Islands in Indonesia: Problem Mapping And Preliminary Surveys of Total People Participation in a Local Wind Pump Water Supply

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taufik, Ahmad

2007-10-01

This article discusses a formulation of problem mapping and preliminary surveys of total people participation in a local wind pump (LWP) water supply in term of technological implementation of renewable energy (RE) in rural-isolated areas and small-medium islands in Indonesia. The formulation was constructed in order to enhance and to promote the local product of RE across Indonesia. It was also addressed to accommodate local potencies, barriers and opportunities into a priority map. Moreover, it was designed into five aspects such as (1) local technology of the RE: a case of pilot project of the LWP; (2) environmental-cultural aspects related to global issues of energy-renewable energy; (3) potencies and barriers corresponding to local, national, regional and international contents; (4) education and training and (5) gender participation. To focus the formulation, serial preliminary surveys were conducted in five major areas, namely: (1) survey on support and barrier factors of the aspects; (2) strategic planning model, a concept A-B-G which stands for Academician-Business people-Government; (3) survey on background based knowledge on energy conservation; (4) survey on gender participation in energy conservation and (5) survey on local stakeholder involvement. Throughout the surveys, it has been notified that the concept needs to be developed to any level of its component since its elements were identified in tolerance values such as high potency value of the LWP development (95%); a strong potency of rural area application (88%); a medium background of energy, energy conservation (EC) identified in a range of 56%-72%, sufficient support from local stakeholders and gender participation.

Fiber optic configurations for local area networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nassehi, M. M.; Tobagi, F. A.; Marhic, M. E.

1985-01-01

A number of fiber optic configurations for a new class of demand assignment multiple-access local area networks requiring a physical ordering among stations are proposed. In such networks, the data transmission and linear-ordering functions may be distinguished and be provided by separate data and control subnetworks. The configurations proposed for the data subnetwork are based on the linear, star, and tree topologies. To provide the linear-ordering function, the control subnetwork must always have a linear unidirectional bus structure. Due to the reciprocity and excess loss of optical couplers, the number of stations that can be accommodated on a linear fiber optic bus is severely limited. Two techniques are proposed to overcome this limitation. For each of the data and control subnetwork configurations, the maximum number of stations as a function of the power margin, for both reciprocal and nonreciprocal couplers, is computed.

34 CFR 222.39 - How does a State educational agency identify generally comparable local educational agencies for...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IMPACT AID PROGRAMS Payments for Federally Connected Children Under Section 8003(b... 34 Education 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false How does a State educational agency identify generally comparable local educational agencies for local contribution rate purposes? 222.39 Section 222.39 Education...

Exploring local regularities for 3D object recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Huaiwen; Qin, Shengfeng

2016-11-01

In order to find better simplicity measurements for 3D object recognition, a new set of local regularities is developed and tested in a stepwise 3D reconstruction method, including localized minimizing standard deviation of angles(L-MSDA), localized minimizing standard deviation of segment magnitudes(L-MSDSM), localized minimum standard deviation of areas of child faces (L-MSDAF), localized minimum sum of segment magnitudes of common edges (L-MSSM), and localized minimum sum of areas of child face (L-MSAF). Based on their effectiveness measurements in terms of form and size distortions, it is found that when two local regularities: L-MSDA and L-MSDSM are combined together, they can produce better performance. In addition, the best weightings for them to work together are identified as 10% for L-MSDSM and 90% for L-MSDA. The test results show that the combined usage of L-MSDA and L-MSDSM with identified weightings has a potential to be applied in other optimization based 3D recognition methods to improve their efficacy and robustness.

Local area networking in a radio quiet environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Childers, Edwin L.; Hunt, Gareth; Brandt, Joseph J.

2002-11-01

The Green Bank facility of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory is spread out over 2,700 acres in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. Good communication has always been needed between the radio telescopes and the control buildings. The National Radio Quiet Zone helps protect the Green Bank site from radio transmissions that interfere with the astronomical signals. Due to stringent Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) requirements, a fiber optic communication system was used for Ethernet transmissions on the site and coaxial cable within the buildings. With the need for higher speed communications, the entire network has been upgraded to use optical fiber with modern Ethernet switches. As with most modern equipment, the implementation of the control of the newly deployed Green Bank Telescope (GBT) depends heavily on TCP/IP. In order to protect the GBT from the commodity Internet, the GBT uses a non-routable network. Communication between the control building Local Area Network (LAN) and the GBT is implemented using a Virtual LAN (VLAN). This configuration will be extended to achieve isolation between trusted local user systems, the GBT, and other Internet users. Legitimate access to the site, for example by remote observers, is likely to be implemented using a virtual private network (VPN).

Wireless local area network in a prehospital environment

PubMed Central

Chen, Dongquan; Soong, Seng-jaw; Grimes, Gary J; Orthner, Helmuth F

2004-01-01

Background Wireless local area networks (WLANs) are considered the next generation of clinical data network. They open the possibility for capturing clinical data in a prehospital setting (e.g., a patient's home) using various devices, such as personal digital assistants, laptops, digital electrocardiogram (EKG) machines, and even cellular phones, and transmitting the captured data to a physician or hospital. The transmission rate is crucial to the applicability of the technology in the prehospital setting. Methods We created two separate WLANs to simulate a virtual local are network environment such as in a patient's home or an emergency room (ER). The effects of different methods of data transmission, number of clients, and roaming among different access points on the file transfer rate were determined. Results The present results suggest that it is feasible to transfer small files such as patient demographics and EKG data from the patient's home to the ER at a reasonable speed. Encryption, user control, and access control were implemented and results discussed. Conclusions Implementing a WLAN in a centrally managed and multiple-layer-controlled access control server is the key to ensuring its security and accessibility. Future studies should focus on product capacity, speed, compatibility, interoperability, and security management. PMID:15339336

Deep Learning Localizes and Identifies Polyps in Real Time with 96% Accuracy in Screening Colonoscopy.

PubMed

Urban, Gregor; Tripathi, Priyam; Alkayali, Talal; Mittal, Mohit; Jalali, Farid; Karnes, William; Baldi, Pierre

2018-06-18

The benefit of colonoscopy for colorectal cancer prevention depends on the adenoma detection rate (ADR). The ADR should reflect adenoma prevalence rate, estimated to be greater than 50% among the screening-age population. Yet the rate of adenoma detection by colonoscopists varies from 7% to 53%. It is estimated that every 1% increase in ADR reduces the risk of interval colorectal cancers by 3-6%. New strategies are needed to increase the ADR during colonoscopy. We tested the ability of computer-assisted image analysis, with convolutional neural networks (a deep learning model for image analysis), to improve polyp detection, a surrogate of ADR. We designed and trained deep convolutional neural networks (CNN) to detect polyps using a diverse and representative set of 8641 hand labeled images from screening colonoscopies collected from over 2000 patients. We tested the models on 20 colonoscopy videos with a total duration of 5 hours. Expert colonoscopists were asked to identify all polyps in 9 de-identified colonoscopy videos, selected from archived video studies, either with or without benefit of the CNN overlay. Their findings were compared with those of the CNN, using CNN-assisted expert review as the reference. When tested on manually labeled images, the CNN identified polyps with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC-AUC) of 0.991 and an accuracy of 96.4%. In the analysis of colonoscopy videos in which 28 polyps were removed, 4 expert reviewers identified 8 additional polyps without CNN assistance that had not been removed and identified an additional 17 polyps with CNN assistance (45 in total). All polyps removed and identified by expert review were detected by the CNN. The CNN had a false-positive rate of 7%. In a set of 8641 colonoscopy images containing 4088 unique polyps the CNN identified polyps with a cross-validation accuracy of 96.4% and ROC-AUC value of 0.991. The CNN system can detect and localize polyps well within real

Using Baltimore HIV behavioral surveillance data for local HIV prevention planning.

PubMed

German, Danielle; Linton, Sabriya; Cassidy-Stewart, Hope; Flynn, Colin

2014-04-01

In response to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) and as part of CDC's Enhanced Comprehensive HIV Prevention Plan (ECHPP) project, Maryland developed a comprehensive local HIV prevention plan for the Baltimore-Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area and identified a series of priority HIV prevention and service goals. The current project sought to: (1) determine how well National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) indicators were aligned with NHAS/ECHPP-informed local HIV prevention goals (2) facilitate on-going NHBS data utilization to inform on-going local HIV prevention and service planning, and (3) build a foundation for future NHBS data utilization in local HIV decision-making. Project activities identified key HIV-related indicators in NHBS that are directly or indirectly related to local HIV priorities as informed by NHAS/ECHPP, which can be used for HIV prevention planning in the Baltimore area. Areas for enhancing NHBS and local data collection to further inform HIV prevention priorities are highlighted.

Functional Geometry Alignment and Localization of Brain Areas.

PubMed

Langs, Georg; Golland, Polina; Tie, Yanmei; Rigolo, Laura; Golby, Alexandra J

2010-01-01

Matching functional brain regions across individuals is a challenging task, largely due to the variability in their location and extent. It is particularly difficult, but highly relevant, for patients with pathologies such as brain tumors, which can cause substantial reorganization of functional systems. In such cases spatial registration based on anatomical data is only of limited value if the goal is to establish correspondences of functional areas among different individuals, or to localize potentially displaced active regions. Rather than rely on spatial alignment, we propose to perform registration in an alternative space whose geometry is governed by the functional interaction patterns in the brain. We first embed each brain into a functional map that reflects connectivity patterns during a fMRI experiment. The resulting functional maps are then registered, and the obtained correspondences are propagated back to the two brains. In application to a language fMRI experiment, our preliminary results suggest that the proposed method yields improved functional correspondences across subjects. This advantage is pronounced for subjects with tumors that affect the language areas and thus cause spatial reorganization of the functional regions.

Using the Hestia bottom-up FFCO2 emissions estimation to identify drivers and hotspots in urban areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rao, P.; Patarasuk, R.; Gurney, K. R.; o'Keefe, D.; Song, Y.; Huang, J.; Buchert, M.; Lin, J. C.; Mendoza, D. L.; Ehleringer, J. R.; Eldering, A.; Miller, C. E.; Duren, R. M.

2015-12-01

Urban areas occupy 3% of the earth's land surface and generate 75% of the fossil fuel carbon dioxide (FFCO2) emissions. We report on the application of the Hestia Project to the Salt Lake County (SLC) and Los Angeles (LA) domains. Hestia quantifies FFCO2 in fine space-time detail across urban domains using a scientific "bottom-up" approach. We explore the utility of the Hestia to inform both urbanization science and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation policy. We focus on the residential sector in SLC and the onroad sector in LA as these sectors are large emissions contributors in each locale, and local governments have some authority and policy levers to mitigate these emissions. Multiple regression using sociodemographic data across SLC census block-groups shows that per capita income exhibits a positive relationship with FFCO2 emissions while household size exhibits a negative relationship, after controlling for total population. Housing units per area (i.e., compact development) has little effect on FFCO2 emissions. Rising income in the high-income group has twice as much impact on the emissions as the low-income group. Household size for the low-income group has four times the impact on the emissions as the high-income group. In LA, onroad FFCO2 emissions account for 49% of total emissions, of which 41% is from arterials (intermediate road class). Arterials also have the largest carbon emissions intensity - FFCO2/vehicle distance travelled (VKT) - possibly from high traffic congestion and fleet composition. Non-interstate hotspot emissions (> 419 tC ln-km-1) are equally dominated by particular arterials and collectors (lowest road class) though collectors have a higher VKT. These hotspots occur largely in LA (67%) and Orange (18%) counties and provide targeted information for onroad emissions reduction. Using Hestia to identify FFCO2 emissions drivers and hotpots can aid state and local policy makers in planning the most effective GHG reductions.

The dual role of local residents in the management of natural protected areas in Mexico

Treesearch

Gustavo Perez-Verdin; Martha E. Lee; Deborah J. Chavez

2008-01-01

In many developing countries, local residents play an important role in the management of protected areas because they represent potential users of natural protected areas (NPA) resources, they receive the benefits (or costs) of developing naturebased recreation, and they are the group most closely interested in the management of an area located near them. In this...

Identifying the most influential spreaders in complex networks by an Extended Local K-Shell Sum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Fan; Zhang, Ruisheng; Yang, Zhao; Hu, Rongjing; Li, Mengtian; Yuan, Yongna; Li, Keqin

Identifying influential spreaders is crucial for developing strategies to control the spreading process on complex networks. Following the well-known K-Shell (KS) decomposition, several improved measures are proposed. However, these measures cannot identify the most influential spreaders accurately. In this paper, we define a Local K-Shell Sum (LKSS) by calculating the sum of the K-Shell indices of the neighbors within 2-hops of a given node. Based on the LKSS, we propose an Extended Local K-Shell Sum (ELKSS) centrality to rank spreaders. The ELKSS is defined as the sum of the LKSS of the nearest neighbors of a given node. By assuming that the spreading process on networks follows the Susceptible-Infectious-Recovered (SIR) model, we perform extensive simulations on a series of real networks to compare the performance between the ELKSS centrality and other six measures. The results show that the ELKSS centrality has a better performance than the six measures to distinguish the spreading ability of nodes and to identify the most influential spreaders accurately.

[Identifying areas of epidemiological stratification in an onchocerciasis focus in Yanomami territory, Roraima, Brazil].

PubMed

Coelho, G E; Vieira, J B; Garcia-Zapata, M T; Schuertz, J C

1998-01-01

In this paper, aimed at suitable planning, analysis, and follow-up of treatment, control, and eradication in a human onchocerciasis program, were studied 27 geographic areas and examined 3,974 inhabitants. Four epidemiological areas with different prevalences were identified and stratified.

Identifying Local Links to the World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chartock, Roselle Kline

1991-01-01

The bonds connecting us to other human family members are easily found in every community and can be used to design instruction that heightens students' local and global awareness. Student teachers at a Massachusetts state college discovered numerous linkages and incorporated them within instructional units. Sidebars show searching strategies and…

Identifying Preservation and Restoration Priority Areas for Desert Fishes in an Increasingly Invaded World

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pool, Thomas K.; Strecker, Angela L.; Olden, Julian D.

2013-03-01

A commonly overlooked aspect of conservation planning assessments is that wildlife managers are increasingly focused on habitats that contain non-native species. We examine this management challenge in the Gila River basin (150,730 km2), and present a new planning strategy for fish conservation. By applying a hierarchical prioritization algorithm to >850,000 fish records in 27,181 sub-watersheds we first identified high priority areas (PAs) termed "preservation PAs" with high native fish richness and low non-native richness; these represent traditional conservation targets. Second, we identified "restoration PAs" with high native fish richness that also contained high numbers of non-native species; these represent less traditional conservation targets. The top 10 % of preservation and restoration PAs contained common native species (e.g., Catostomus clarkii, desert sucker; Catostomus insignis, Sonora sucker) in addition to native species with limited distributions (i.e., Xyrauchen texanus, razorback sucker; Oncorhynchus gilae apache, Apache trout). The top preservation and restoration PAs overlapped by 42 %, indicating areas with high native fish richness range from minimally to highly invaded. Areas exclusively identified as restoration PAs also encompassed a greater percentage of native species ranges than would be expected by the random addition of an equivalent basin area. Restoration PAs identified an additional 19.0 and 26.6 % of the total ranges of two federally endangered species— Meda fulgida (spikedace) and Gila intermedia (Gila chub), respectively, compared to top preservation PAs alone—despite adding only 5.8 % of basin area. We contend that in addition to preservation PAs, restoration PAs are well suited for complementary management activities benefiting native fishes.

Identifying preservation and restoration priority areas for desert fishes in an increasingly invaded world.

PubMed

Pool, Thomas K; Strecker, Angela L; Olden, Julian D

2013-03-01

A commonly overlooked aspect of conservation planning assessments is that wildlife managers are increasingly focused on habitats that contain non-native species. We examine this management challenge in the Gila River basin (150,730 km(2)), and present a new planning strategy for fish conservation. By applying a hierarchical prioritization algorithm to >850,000 fish records in 27,181 sub-watersheds we first identified high priority areas (PAs) termed "preservation PAs" with high native fish richness and low non-native richness; these represent traditional conservation targets. Second, we identified "restoration PAs" with high native fish richness that also contained high numbers of non-native species; these represent less traditional conservation targets. The top 10 % of preservation and restoration PAs contained common native species (e.g., Catostomus clarkii, desert sucker; Catostomus insignis, Sonora sucker) in addition to native species with limited distributions (i.e., Xyrauchen texanus, razorback sucker; Oncorhynchus gilae apache, Apache trout). The top preservation and restoration PAs overlapped by 42 %, indicating areas with high native fish richness range from minimally to highly invaded. Areas exclusively identified as restoration PAs also encompassed a greater percentage of native species ranges than would be expected by the random addition of an equivalent basin area. Restoration PAs identified an additional 19.0 and 26.6 % of the total ranges of two federally endangered species-Meda fulgida (spikedace) and Gila intermedia (Gila chub), respectively, compared to top preservation PAs alone-despite adding only 5.8 % of basin area. We contend that in addition to preservation PAs, restoration PAs are well suited for complementary management activities benefiting native fishes.

Protected area staff and local community viewpoints: A qualitative assessment of conservation relationships in Zimbabwe.

PubMed

Mutanga, Chiedza Ngonidzashe; Muboko, Never; Gandiwa, Edson

2017-01-01

With the increase in illegal resource harvesting in most protected areas (PAs), the need to understand the determinants and relationships between PAs and local communities to enhance wildlife conservation is increasingly becoming important. Using focus group discussions and interviews, we established the determinants of PA staff-community relationship from both PA staff and local communities' viewpoints, and assessedperceptions of their relationship with each other. The study was guided by the following main research question, 'What is the nature of the relationship between PA staff and local communities and what are the main factors influencing the relationship?' Data were collected through focus group discussions and interviews from four PAs and their adjacent communities in Zimbabwe between July 2013 and February 2014. Our results showed that a total of seven determinants were identified as influencing PA staff-community relationship, i.e., benefit-sharing, human-wildlife conflict, compensation for losses from wildlife attacks, communication between PA staff and local communities, community participation in the management of CAMPFIRE projects, lack of community participation in tourism in PAs, and community perceptions of PA staff or PA staff perceptions of the community. Of the seven, only one determinant, benefit-sharing, was recorded as the main factor that differentially influencesthe perceptions of community and PA staff on their relationship. Furthermore, both the communities and PA staff reported mixed perceptions on their relationship with each other. We conclude that both communities' and PA staff's views on determinants are largely similar in all studied PAs irrespective of PA ownership, management and/or land use. Our findings could be relevant in policy making especially in developing countries in developing PA-community relationship framework in natural resource conservation.

Local and remote black carbon sources in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diaz Resquin, Melisa; Santágata, Daniela; Gallardo, Laura; Gómez, Darío; Rössler, Cristina; Dawidowski, Laura

2018-06-01

Equivalent black carbon (EBC) mass concentrations in the fine inhalable fraction of airborne particles (PM2.5) were determined using a 7-wavelength Aethalometer for 17 months, between November 2014 and March 2016, for a suburban location of the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (MABA), Argentina. In addition to describing seasonal and diurnal black carbon (BC) cycles for the first time in this region, the relative contributions of fossil fuel and remote and local biomass burning were determined by distinguishing different carbonaceous components based on their effect on light attenuation for different wavelengths. Trajectory analyses and satellite-based fire products were used to illustrate the impact of long-range transport of particles emitted by non-local sources. EBC data showed a marked diurnal cycle, largely modulated by traffic variations and the height of the boundary layer, and a seasonal cycle with monthly median EBC concentrations (in μg /m3) ranging from 1.5 (February) to 3.4 (June). Maximum values were found during winter due to the combination of prevailingly stable atmospheric conditions and the increase of fossil fuel emissions, derived primarily from traffic and biomass burning from the domestic use of wood for heating. The use of charcoal grills was also detected and concentrated during weekends. The average contribution of fossil fuel combustion sources to EBC concentrations was 96%, with the remaining 4% corresponding to local and regional biomass burning. During the entire study period, only two events were identified during which EBC concentrations attributed to regional biomass burning accounted for over 50% of total EBC ; these events demonstrate the relevance of agricultural and forestry activities that take place far from the city yet whose emissions can affect the urban atmosphere of the MABA.

47 CFR 11.21 - State and Local Area plans and FCC Mapbook.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... distribution such as the use of the Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS). The plans must be reviewed and approved... Plans should include a data table, in computer readable form, clearly showing monitoring assignments and.... It organizes all broadcast stations and cable systems according to their State, EAS Local Area, and...

47 CFR 11.21 - State and Local Area plans and FCC Mapbook.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... distribution such as the use of the Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS). The plans must be reviewed and approved... Participants. State EAS plans should include a data table, in computer readable form, clearly showing.... It organizes all broadcast stations and cable systems according to their State, EAS Local Area, and...

47 CFR 11.21 - State and Local Area plans and FCC Mapbook.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... distribution such as the use of the Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS). The plans must be reviewed and approved... Participants. State EAS plans should include a data table, in computer readable form, clearly showing.... It organizes all broadcast stations and cable systems according to their State, EAS Local Area, and...

47 CFR 11.21 - State and Local Area plans and FCC Mapbook.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... distribution such as the use of the Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS). The plans must be reviewed and approved... Plans should include a data table, in computer readable form, clearly showing monitoring assignments and.... It organizes all broadcast stations and cable systems according to their State, EAS Local Area, and...

47 CFR 11.21 - State and Local Area plans and FCC Mapbook.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... distribution such as the use of the Radio Broadcast Data System (RBDS). The plans must be reviewed and approved... Plans should include a data table, in computer readable form, clearly showing monitoring assignments and.... It organizes all broadcast stations and cable systems according to their State, EAS Local Area, and...

Characterization of potential mineralization in Afghanistan: four permissive areas identified using imaging spectroscopy data

USGS Publications Warehouse

King, Trude V.V.; Berger, Byron R.; Johnson, Michaela R.

2014-01-01

As part of the U.S. Geological Survey and Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations natural resources revitalization activities in Afghanistan, four permissive areas for mineralization, Bamyan 1, Farah 1, Ghazni 1, and Ghazni 2, have been identified using imaging spectroscopy data. To support economic development, the areas of potential mineralization were selected on the occurrence of selected mineral assemblages mapped using the HyMap™ data (kaolinite, jarosite, hydrated silica, chlorite, epidote, iron-bearing carbonate, buddingtonite, dickite, and alunite) that may be indicative of past mineralization processes in areas with limited or no previous mineral resource studies. Approximately 30 sites were initially determined to be candidates for areas of potential mineralization. Additional criteria and material used to refine the selection and prioritization process included existing geologic maps, Landsat Thematic Mapper data, and published literature. The HyMapTM data were interpreted in the context of the regional geologic and tectonic setting and used the presence of alteration mineral assemblages to identify areas with the potential for undiscovered mineral resources. Further field-sampling, mapping, and supporting geochemical analyses are necessary to fully substantiate and verify the specific deposit types in the four areas of potential mineralization.

Local status and power in area-based health improvement partnerships.

PubMed

Powell, Katie; Thurston, Miranda; Bloyce, Daniel

2014-11-01

Area-based initiatives have formed an important part of public policy towards more socio-economically deprived areas in many countries. Co-ordinating service provision within and across sectors has been a common feature of these initiatives. Despite sustained policy interest in area-based initiatives, little empirical work has explored relations between area-based initiative providers, and partnership development within this context remains under-theorised. This article addresses both of these gaps by exploring partnerships as a social and developmental process, drawing on concepts from figurational sociology to explain how provider relations develop within an area-based initiative. Qualitative methods were used to explore, prospectively, the development of an area-based initiative targeted at a town in the north west of England. A central finding was that although effective delivery of area-based initiatives is premised on a high level of co-ordination between service providers, the pattern of interdependencies between providers limits the frequency and effectiveness of co-operation. In particular, the interdependency of area-based initiative providers with others in their organisation (what is termed here as 'organisational pull') constrained the ways in which they worked with providers outside of their own organisations. 'Local' status, which could be earned over time, enabled some providers to exert greater control over the way in which provider relations developed during the course of the initiative. These findings demonstrate how historically constituted social networks, within which all providers are embedded, shape partnership development. The theoretical insight developed here suggests a need for more realistic expectations among policymakers about how and to what extent provider partnerships can be managed. © The Author(s) 2014.

UAVSAR and TerraSAR-X Based InSAR Detection of Localized Subsidence in the New Orleans Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blom, R. G.; An, K.; Jones, C. E.; Latini, D.

2014-12-01

Vulnerability of the US Gulf coast to inundation has received increased attention since hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Compounding effects of sea level rise, wetland loss, and regional and local subsidence makes flood protection a difficult challenge, and particularly for the New Orleans area. Key to flood protection is precise knowledge of elevations and elevation changes. Analysis of historical and continuing geodetic measurements show surprising complexity, including locations subsiding more rapidly than considered during planning of hurricane protection and coastal restoration projects. Combining traditional, precise geodetic data with interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) observations can provide geographically dense constraints on surface deformation. The Gulf Coast environment is challenging for InSAR techniques, especially with systems not designed for interferometry. We use two InSAR capable systems, the L- band (24 cm wavelength) airborne JPL/NASA UAVSAR, and the DLR/EADS Astrium spaceborne TerraSAR X-band (3 cm wavelength), and compare results. First, we are applying pair-wise InSAR to the longer wavelength UAVSAR data to detect localized elevation changes potentially impacting flood protection infrastructure from 2009 - 2014. We focus on areas on and near flood protection infrastructure to identify changes indicative of subsidence, structural deformation, and/or seepage. The Spaceborne TerraSAR X-band SAR system has relatively frequent observations, and dense persistent scatterers in urban areas, enabling measurement of very small displacements. We compare L-band UAVSAR results with permanent scatterer (PS-InSAR) and Short Baseline Subsets (SBAS) interferometric analyses of a stack composed by 28 TerraSAR X-band images acquired over the same period. Thus we can evaluate results from the different radar frequencies and analyses techniques. Preliminary results indicate subsidence features potentially of a variety of causes, including ground water

Application of InSAR to detection of localized subsidence and its effects on flood protection infrastructure in the New Orleans area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Cathleen; Blom, Ronald; Latini, Daniele

2014-05-01

The vulnerability of the United States Gulf of Mexico coast to inundation has received increasing attention in the years since hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Flood protection is a challenge throughout the area, but the population density and cumulative effect of historic subsidence makes it particularly difficult in the New Orleans area. Analysis of historical and continuing geodetic measurements identifies a surprising degree of complexity in subsidence (Dokka 2011), including regions that are subsiding at rates faster than those considered during planning for hurricane protection and for coastal restoration projects. Improved measurements are possible through combining traditional single point, precise geodetic data with interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) observations for to obtain geographically dense constraints on surface deformation. The Gulf Coast environment is very challenging for InSAR techniques, especially with systems not designed for interferometry. We are applying pair-wise InSAR to longer wavelength (L-band, 24 cm) synthetic aperture radar data acquired with the airborne UAVSAR instrument (http://uavsar.jpl.nasa.gov/) to detect localized change impacting flood protection infrastructure in the New Orleans area during the period from 2009 - 2013. Because aircraft motion creates large-scale image artifacts across the scene, we focus on localized areas on and near flood protection infrastructure to identify anomalous change relative to the surrounding area indicative of subsidence, structural deformation, and/or seepage (Jones et al., 2011) to identify areas where problems exist. C-band and particularly X-band radar returns decorrelate over short time periods in rural or less urbanized areas and are more sensitive to atmospheric affects, necessitating more elaborate analysis techniques or, at least, a strict limit on the temporal baseline. The new generation of spaceborne X-band SAR acquisitions ensure relatively high frequency of

Autofluorescence Lifetimes in Patients With Choroideremia Identify Photoreceptors in Areas With Retinal Pigment Epithelium Atrophy.

PubMed

Dysli, Chantal; Wolf, Sebastian; Tran, Hoai Viet; Zinkernagel, Martin S

2016-12-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate fundus autofluorescence lifetimes in patients with choroideremia and to identify tissue-specific lifetime characteristics and potential prognostic markers. Autofluorescence lifetimes of the retina were measured in two spectral channels (498-560 nm and 560-720 nm) in patients with choroideremia and age-matched healthy controls. Furthermore, autofluorescence intensities and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) data were acquired and compared to fundus autofluorescence lifetime data. Sixteen eyes from 8 patients with advanced choroideremia (mean ± SD age, 55 ± 13 years) were included in this study and compared with 10 age-matched healthy participants. Whereas fundus autofluorescence intensity measurement identified areas of remaining retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), autofluorescence lifetime maps identified areas with remaining photoreceptor layers in OCT but RPE atrophy. In these areas, mean (±SEM) lifetimes were 567 ± 59 ps in the short and 603 ± 49 ps in the long spectral channels (+98% and +88% compared to controls). In areas of combined RPE atrophy and loss of photoreceptors, autofluorescence lifetimes were significantly prolonged by 1116 ± 63 ps (+364%) in the short and by 915 ± 52 ps (+270%) in the long spectral channels compared with controls. Because autofluorescence lifetimes identify areas of remaining photoreceptors in the absence of RPE, this imaging modality may be useful to monitor disease progression in the natural course of disease and in context of potential future therapeutic interventions.

Spatial Collaboration Model among Local Governments in Ratubangnegoro Region in the Boundary Area of Central Java and East Java Provinces, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wahyono, H.; Wahdah, L.

2018-02-01

In Indonesia, according to Law No. 23/2014 on Local Government, a local government can conduct cooperation with other local governments that are based on considerations of efficiency and effectiveness of public services and mutual benefit, in order to improve people's welfare. Such cooperation can be categorized into mandatory and voluntary cooperation. Cooperation shall be developed jointly between the adjacent areas for the implementation of government affairs which have cross-local government externalities; and the provision of public services more efficient if managed together. One of the parts of the area that is directly related to the implementation of the policy liabilities of inter-local government cooperation which is mandated is the he province boundary areas. The public management of the provincial boundary areas is different from the central province area. While the central province area considers only their own interests, the management of boundary development must consider the neighboring regions. On one hand, the area is influenced only by its own province policy, while on the other influenced by neighboring regions. Meanwhile, a local government tends to resist the influence and intervention of neighboring regions. Likewise, neighboring local governments also tend to resist the influence and intervention of other local governments. Therefore, when interacting on the boundary, inter-local government interaction is not only the potential for cooperation, but also conflict-prone regions. One of the boundary area provinces attempt to implement the collaborative planning approach is the boundary area of Central Java Province and East Java Province, which is known as Ratubangnegoro Region. Ratubangnegoro region is one of the strategic areas of both provinces. In order to the interaction between the region could take place, there are regencies in the region have formed and joined the Inter-Local Government Cooperation Agency (BKAD-Badan Kerjasama Antar

Engaging Communities in Identifying Local Strategies for Expanding Integrated Employment during and after High School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carter, Erik W.; Blustein, Carly L.; Bumble, Jennifer L.; Harvey, Sarah; Henderson, Lynnette M.; McMillan, Elise D.

2016-01-01

Amidst decades of attention directed toward improving employment outcomes for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), few efforts have been made to engage communities in identifying local solutions for expanding integrated employment opportunities. We examined the implementation and outcomes of "community…

Identifying hydrologically sensitive areas using LiDAR DEMs to mitigate critical source areas of diffuse pollution: development and application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thomas, Ian; Jordan, Phil; Mellander, Per-Erik; Fenton, Owen; Shine, Oliver; hUallacháin, Daire Ó.; Creamer, Rachel; McDonald, Noeleen; Dunlop, Paul; Murphy, Paul

2016-04-01

Identifying critical source areas (CSAs) of diffuse pollution in agricultural catchments requires the accurate identification of hydrologically sensitive areas (HSAs) at highest propensity for generating surface runoff and transporting pollutants such as phosphorus (P). A new GIS-based HSA Index is presented that identifies HSAs at the sub-field scale. It uses a soil topographic index (STI) and accounts for the hydrological disconnection of overland flow via topographic impediment from flow sinks such as hedgerows and depressions. High resolution (0.25-2 m) LiDAR Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are utilised to capture these microtopographic controls on flow pathways and hydrological connectivity. The HSA Index was applied to four agricultural catchments (~7.5-12 km2) with contrasting topography and soil types. Catchment HSA sizes were estimated using high resolution rainfall-quickflow measurements during saturated winter storm events in 2009-2014, and mapped using the HSA Index. HSA sizes ranged from 1.6-3.4% of the catchment area during median storm events and 2.9-8.5% during upper quartile events depending on whether well or poorly drained soils dominated, which validated HSA Index value distributions. Total flow sink volume capacities ranged from 8,298-59,584 m3 and caused 8.5-24.2% of overland-flow-generating-areas and 16.8-33.4% of catchment areas to become hydrologically disconnected from the open drainage channel network. HSA maps identified 'delivery points' along surface runoff pathways where transported pollutants such as P are delivered to the open drainage network. Using these as proposed locations for targeting mitigation measures such as riparian buffer strips (RBS) reduced costs compared to blanket implementation within an example agri-environment scheme by 66% and 91% over 1 and 5 years respectively, which included LiDAR DEM acquisition costs. Considering that HSAs are often the dominant P CSA factor in agricultural catchments and can override

Likelihood of home death associated with local rates of home birth: influence of local area healthcare preferences on site of death.

PubMed

Silveira, Maria J; Copeland, Laurel A; Feudtner, Chris

2006-07-01

We tested whether local cultural and social values regarding the use of health care are associated with the likelihood of home death, using variation in local rates of home births as a proxy for geographic variation in these values. For each of 351110 adult decedents in Washington state who died from 1989 through 1998, we calculated the home birth rate in each zip code during the year of death and then used multivariate regression modeling to estimate the relation between the likelihood of home death and the local rate of home births. Individuals residing in local areas with higher home birth rates had greater adjusted likelihood of dying at home (odds ratio [OR]=1.04 for each percentage point increase in home birth rate; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.03, 1.05). Moreover, the likelihood of dying at home increased with local wealth (OR=1.04 per $10000; 95% CI=1.02, 1.06) but decreased with local hospital bed availability (OR=0.96 per 1000 beds; 95% CI=0.95, 0.97). The likelihood of home death is associated with local rates of home births, suggesting the influence of health care use preferences.

An analysis of local stakeholder values for tropical protected areas in Madagascar

Treesearch

Donald F. Dennis; Michel Masozera

2009-01-01

The continued delivery of ecosystem services produced in tropical areas is essential to economic prosperity and human welfare. The success of tropical land protection strategies may depend on the input and support of local people, who often have an intimate and dependent relationship with the land. This study uses conjoint analytic techniques to assess and analyze...

Detecting local transmission of avian malaria and related haemosporidian parasites (Apicomlexa, Haemosporida) at a Special Protection Area of Natura 2000 network.

PubMed

Dimitrov, Dimitar; Ilieva, Mihaela; Ivanova, Karina; Brlík, Vojtěch; Zehtindjiev, Pavel

2018-05-05

Avian haemosporidian parasites (Apicomplexa, Haemosporida) are widespread pathogens that cause malaria (Plasmodium spp.) and other haemosporidioses (Haemoproteus spp. and Leucocytozoon spp.) in birds. The Special Protection Area Durankulak Lake (SPA DL) is a coastal lake in northeast Bulgaria, part of the Natura 2000 network that was declared as important area for wintering, breeding and migratory birds. Despite a number of conservation efforts outlined for the SPAs of Natura 2000 network, the potential threats and influences of haemosporidians and other parasites on occurring birds were not considered. In the present study, we aim to investigate the richness of haemosporidian parasites in birds captured in the protected area and to report the parasite species/DNA lineages that undergo local transmission in the region. We used both microscopic examination and PCR-based methods to diagnose haemosporidian infections in juvenile (captured in the year of hatching) and adult birds. The overall prevalence of haemosporidian parasites was significantly higher in the adult birds compared to juveniles. We identified five out of 21 recorded cytochrome b (cyt b) parasite lineages that are locally transmitted in the SPA DL (one of the genus Haemoproteus Kruse, 1890 and four of genus Plasmodium Marchiafava and Celli, 1885): cyt b lineages hRW2 of Haemoproteus belopolskyi, pSGS1 of Plasmodium relictum, pCOLL1, pYWT4 and pPADOM01 of Plasmodium (Haemamoeba) spp. It is likely that the majority of the parasites with local transmission are widespread host generalists and that host exchange is rather frequent among the birds inhabiting SPA DL.

Real time network traffic monitoring for wireless local area networks based on compressed sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balouchestani, Mohammadreza

2017-05-01

A wireless local area network (WLAN) is an important type of wireless networks which connotes different wireless nodes in a local area network. WLANs suffer from important problems such as network load balancing, large amount of energy, and load of sampling. This paper presents a new networking traffic approach based on Compressed Sensing (CS) for improving the quality of WLANs. The proposed architecture allows reducing Data Delay Probability (DDP) to 15%, which is a good record for WLANs. The proposed architecture is increased Data Throughput (DT) to 22 % and Signal to Noise (S/N) ratio to 17 %, which provide a good background for establishing high qualified local area networks. This architecture enables continuous data acquisition and compression of WLAN's signals that are suitable for a variety of other wireless networking applications. At the transmitter side of each wireless node, an analog-CS framework is applied at the sensing step before analog to digital converter in order to generate the compressed version of the input signal. At the receiver side of wireless node, a reconstruction algorithm is applied in order to reconstruct the original signals from the compressed signals with high probability and enough accuracy. The proposed algorithm out-performs existing algorithms by achieving a good level of Quality of Service (QoS). This ability allows reducing 15 % of Bit Error Rate (BER) at each wireless node.

Protected area staff and local community viewpoints: A qualitative assessment of conservation relationships in Zimbabwe

PubMed Central

Mutanga, Chiedza Ngonidzashe; Muboko, Never; Gandiwa, Edson

2017-01-01

With the increase in illegal resource harvesting in most protected areas (PAs), the need to understand the determinants and relationships between PAs and local communities to enhance wildlife conservation is increasingly becoming important. Using focus group discussions and interviews, we established the determinants of PA staff-community relationship from both PA staff and local communities’ viewpoints, and assessedperceptions of their relationship with each other. The study was guided by the following main research question, ‘What is the nature of the relationship between PA staff and local communities and what are the main factors influencing the relationship?’ Data were collected through focus group discussions and interviews from four PAs and their adjacent communities in Zimbabwe between July 2013 and February 2014. Our results showed that a total of seven determinants were identified as influencing PA staff-community relationship, i.e., benefit-sharing, human-wildlife conflict, compensation for losses from wildlife attacks, communication between PA staff and local communities, community participation in the management of CAMPFIRE projects, lack of community participation in tourism in PAs, and community perceptions of PA staff or PA staff perceptions of the community. Of the seven, only one determinant, benefit-sharing, was recorded as the main factor that differentially influencesthe perceptions of community and PA staff on their relationship. Furthermore, both the communities and PA staff reported mixed perceptions on their relationship with each other. We conclude that both communities’ and PA staff’s views on determinants are largely similar in all studied PAs irrespective of PA ownership, management and/or land use. Our findings could be relevant in policy making especially in developing countries in developing PA-community relationship framework in natural resource conservation. PMID:28542185

Accessing local knowledge to identify where species of conservation concern occur in a tropical forest landscape.

PubMed

Padmanaba, Michael; Sheil, Douglas; Basuki, Imam; Liswanti, Nining

2013-08-01

Conventional biodiversity surveys play an important role in ensuring good conservation friendly management in tropical forest regions but are demanding in terms of expertise, time, and budget. Can local people help? Here, we illustrate how local knowledge can support low cost conservation surveys. We worked in the Malinau watershed, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, an area currently at risk of extensive forest loss. We selected eight species of regional conservation interest: rafflesia (Rafflesia spp.), black orchid (Coelogyne pandurata), sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), tarsier (Tarsius bancanus), slow loris (Nycticebus coucang), proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus), clouded leopard (Neofelis diardi/N. nebulosa), and orang-utan (Pongo pygmaeus). We asked 52 informants in seven villages if, where and when they had observed these species. We used maps, based on both geo-referenced and sketched features, to record these observations. Verification concerns and related issues are discussed. Evaluations suggest our local information is reliable. Our study took 6 weeks and cost about USD 5000. Extensive expert based field surveys across the same region would cost one or two orders of magnitude more. The records extend the known distribution for sun bear, tarsier, slow loris, and clouded leopard. Reports of rafflesia, proboscis monkey, and orang-utan are of immediate conservation significance. While quality concerns should never be abandoned, we conclude that local people can help expand our knowledge of large areas in an effective, reliable, and low cost manner and thus contribute to improved management.

Individual Human Brain Areas Can Be Identified from Their Characteristic Spectral Activation Fingerprints

PubMed Central

Keitel, Anne; Gross, Joachim

2016-01-01

The human brain can be parcellated into diverse anatomical areas. We investigated whether rhythmic brain activity in these areas is characteristic and can be used for automatic classification. To this end, resting-state MEG data of 22 healthy adults was analysed. Power spectra of 1-s long data segments for atlas-defined brain areas were clustered into spectral profiles (“fingerprints”), using k-means and Gaussian mixture (GM) modelling. We demonstrate that individual areas can be identified from these spectral profiles with high accuracy. Our results suggest that each brain area engages in different spectral modes that are characteristic for individual areas. Clustering of brain areas according to similarity of spectral profiles reveals well-known brain networks. Furthermore, we demonstrate task-specific modulations of auditory spectral profiles during auditory processing. These findings have important implications for the classification of regional spectral activity and allow for novel approaches in neuroimaging and neurostimulation in health and disease. PMID:27355236

Individual Human Brain Areas Can Be Identified from Their Characteristic Spectral Activation Fingerprints.

PubMed

Keitel, Anne; Gross, Joachim

2016-06-01

The human brain can be parcellated into diverse anatomical areas. We investigated whether rhythmic brain activity in these areas is characteristic and can be used for automatic classification. To this end, resting-state MEG data of 22 healthy adults was analysed. Power spectra of 1-s long data segments for atlas-defined brain areas were clustered into spectral profiles ("fingerprints"), using k-means and Gaussian mixture (GM) modelling. We demonstrate that individual areas can be identified from these spectral profiles with high accuracy. Our results suggest that each brain area engages in different spectral modes that are characteristic for individual areas. Clustering of brain areas according to similarity of spectral profiles reveals well-known brain networks. Furthermore, we demonstrate task-specific modulations of auditory spectral profiles during auditory processing. These findings have important implications for the classification of regional spectral activity and allow for novel approaches in neuroimaging and neurostimulation in health and disease.

Local area networks in an imaging environment.

PubMed

Noz, M E; Maguire, G Q; Erdman, W A

1986-01-01

There is great interest at present in incorporating image-management systems popularly referred to as picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) into imaging departments. This paper will describe various aspects of local area networks (LANs) for medical images and will give a definition of terms and classification of devices by describing a possible system which links various digital image sources through a high-speed data link and a common image format, allows for viewing and processing of all images produced within the complex, and eliminates the transport of films. The status of standards governing LAN and particularly PACS systems along with a proposed image exchange format will be given. Prototype systems, particularly a system for nuclear medicine images, will be presented, as well as the prospects for the immediate future in terms of installations started and commercial products available. A survey of the many questions that arise in the development of a PACS for medical images and also a survey of the presently suggested/adopted answers will be given.

Areas of Anomalous Surface Temperature in Archuleta County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

DOE Data Explorer

Khalid Hussein

2012-02-01

This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Archuleta County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature greater than 2o were considered ASTER modeled very warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies). Note: 'o' is used in this description to represent lowercase sigma

Areas of Anomalous Surface Temperature in Dolores County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

DOE Data Explorer

Khalid Hussein

2012-02-01

This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Dolores County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature greater than 2o were considered ASTER modeled very warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies). Note: 'o' is used in this description to represent lowercase sigma

Areas of Anomalous Surface Temperature in Chaffee County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

DOE Data Explorer

Khalid Hussein

2012-02-01

This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Chaffee County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature greater than 2o were considered ASTER modeled very warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies). Note: 'o' is used in this description to represent lowercase sigma

Areas of Anomalous Surface Temperature in Garfield County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

DOE Data Explorer

Khalid Hussein

2012-02-01

This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Garfield County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature greater than 2o were considered ASTER modeled very warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies). Note: 'o' is used in this description to represent lowercase sigma.

Areas of Anomalous Surface Temperature in Routt County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

DOE Data Explorer

Khalid Hussein

2012-02-01

This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Routt County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature greater than 2o were considered ASTER modeled very warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies). Note: 'o' is used in this description to represent lowercase sigma.

Modeling the risk of transmission of schistosomiasis in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria using satellite derived environmental data.

PubMed

Ajakaye, Oluwaremilekun G; Adedeji, Oluwatola I; Ajayi, Paul O

2017-07-01

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease and its distribution, in space and time, can be influenced by environmental factors such as rivers, elevation, slope, land surface temperature, land use/cover and rainfall. The aim of this study is to identify the areas with suitable conditions for schistosomiasis transmission on the basis of physical and environmental factors derived from satellite imagery and spatial analysis for Akure North Local Government Area (LGA) of Ondo State. Nigeria. This was done through methodology multicriteria evaluation (MCE) using Saaty's analytical hierarchy process (AHP). AHP is a multi-criteria decision method that uses hierarchical structures to represent a problem and makes decisions based on priority scales. In this research AHP was used to obtain the mapping weight or importance of each individual schistosomiasis risk factor. For the purpose of identifying areas of schistosomiasis risk, this study focused on temperature, drainage, elevation, rainfall, slope and land use/land cover as the factors controlling schistosomiasis incidence in the study area. It is by reclassifying and overlaying these factors that areas vulnerable to schistosomiasis were identified. The weighted overlay analysis was done after each factor was given the appropriate weight derived through the analytical hierarchical process. The prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis in the study area was also determined by parasitological analysis of urine samples collected through random sampling. The results showed varying risk of schistosomiasis with a larger portion of the area (82%) falling under the high and very high risk category. The study also showed that one community (Oba Ile) had the lowest risk of schistosomiasis while the risk increased in the four remaining communities (Iju, Igoba, Ita Ogbolu and Ogbese). The predictions made by the model correlated strongly with observations from field study. The high risk zones corresponded to known endemic communities. This

Orienting movements in area 9 identified by long-train ICMS.

PubMed

Lanzilotto, M; Perciavalle, V; Lucchetti, C

2015-03-01

The effect of intracortical microstimulation has been studied in several cortical areas from motor to sensory areas. The frontal pole has received particular attention, and several microstimulation studies have been conducted in the frontal eye field, supplementary eye field, and the premotor ear-eye field, but no microstimulation studies concerning area 9 are currently available in the literature. In the present study, to fill up this gap, electrical microstimulation was applied to area 9 in two macaque monkeys using long-train pulses of 500-700-800 and 1,000 ms, during two different experimental conditions: a spontaneous condition, while the animals were not actively fixating on a visual target, and during a visual fixation task. In these experiments, we identified backward ear movements, goal-directed eye movements, and the development of head forces. Kinematic parameters for ear and eye movements overlapped in the spontaneous condition, but they were different during the visual fixation task. In this condition, ear and eye kinematics have an opposite behavior: movement amplitude, duration, and maximal and mean velocities increase during a visual fixation task for the ear, while they decrease for the eye. Therefore, a top-down visual attention engagement could modify the kinematic parameters for these two effectors. Stimulation with the longest train durations, i.e., 800/1,000 ms, evokes not only the highest eye amplitude, but also a significant development of head forces. In this research article, we propose a new vision of the frontal oculomotor fields, speculating a role for area 9 in the control of goal-directed orienting behaviors and gaze shift control.

47 CFR 11.55 - EAS operation during a State or Local Area emergency.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... day-to-day emergency situations posing a threat to life and property. Examples of natural emergencies... Participants providing foreign language programming should transmit all EAS announcements in the same language as the primary language of the EAS Participant. (5) Upon completion of the State or Local Area EAS...

47 CFR 11.55 - EAS operation during a State or Local Area emergency.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... day-to-day emergency situations posing a threat to life and property. Examples of natural emergencies... Participants providing foreign language programming should transmit all EAS announcements in the same language as the primary language of the EAS Participant. (5) Upon completion of the State or Local Area EAS...

47 CFR 11.55 - EAS operation during a State or Local Area emergency.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... day-to-day emergency situations posing a threat to life and property. Examples of natural emergencies... Participants providing foreign language programming should transmit all EAS announcements in the same language as the primary language of the EAS Participant. (5) Upon completion of the State or Local Area EAS...

Spatial Accessibility to Health Care Services: Identifying under-Serviced Neighbourhoods in Canadian Urban Areas.

PubMed

Shah, Tayyab Ikram; Bell, Scott; Wilson, Kathi

2016-01-01

Urban environments can influence many aspects of health and well-being and access to health care is one of them. Access to primary health care (PHC) in urban settings is a pressing research and policy issue in Canada. Most research on access to healthcare is focused on national and provincial levels in Canada; there is a need to advance current understanding to local scales such as neighbourhoods. This study examines spatial accessibility to family physicians using the Three-Step Floating Catchment Area (3SFCA) method to identify neighbourhoods with poor geographical access to PHC services and their spatial patterning across 14 Canadian urban settings. An index of spatial access to PHC services, representing an accessibility score (physicians-per-1000 population), was calculated for neighborhoods using a 3km road network distance. Information about primary health care providers (this definition does not include mobile services such as health buses or nurse practitioners or less distributed services such as emergency rooms) used in this research was gathered from publicly available and routinely updated sources (i.e. provincial colleges of physicians and surgeons). An integrated geocoding approach was used to establish PHC locations. The results found that the three methods, Simple Ratio, Neighbourhood Simple Ratio, and 3SFCA that produce City level access scores are positively correlated with each other. Comparative analyses were performed both within and across urban settings to examine disparities in distributions of PHC services. It is found that neighbourhoods with poor accessibility scores in the main urban settings across Canada have further disadvantages in relation to population high health care needs. The results of this study show substantial variations in geographical accessibility to PHC services both within and among urban areas. This research enhances our understanding of spatial accessibility to health care services at the neighbourhood level. In

Spatial Accessibility to Health Care Services: Identifying under-Serviced Neighbourhoods in Canadian Urban Areas

PubMed Central

Shah, Tayyab Ikram; Bell, Scott; Wilson, Kathi

2016-01-01

Background Urban environments can influence many aspects of health and well-being and access to health care is one of them. Access to primary health care (PHC) in urban settings is a pressing research and policy issue in Canada. Most research on access to healthcare is focused on national and provincial levels in Canada; there is a need to advance current understanding to local scales such as neighbourhoods. Methods This study examines spatial accessibility to family physicians using the Three-Step Floating Catchment Area (3SFCA) method to identify neighbourhoods with poor geographical access to PHC services and their spatial patterning across 14 Canadian urban settings. An index of spatial access to PHC services, representing an accessibility score (physicians-per-1000 population), was calculated for neighborhoods using a 3km road network distance. Information about primary health care providers (this definition does not include mobile services such as health buses or nurse practitioners or less distributed services such as emergency rooms) used in this research was gathered from publicly available and routinely updated sources (i.e. provincial colleges of physicians and surgeons). An integrated geocoding approach was used to establish PHC locations. Results The results found that the three methods, Simple Ratio, Neighbourhood Simple Ratio, and 3SFCA that produce City level access scores are positively correlated with each other. Comparative analyses were performed both within and across urban settings to examine disparities in distributions of PHC services. It is found that neighbourhoods with poor accessibility scores in the main urban settings across Canada have further disadvantages in relation to population high health care needs. Conclusions The results of this study show substantial variations in geographical accessibility to PHC services both within and among urban areas. This research enhances our understanding of spatial accessibility to health care

Multiscale, multispectral and multitemporal satellite data to identify archaeological remains in the archaeological area of Tiwanaku (Bolivia)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masini, Nicola; Lasaponara, Rosa

2015-04-01

The aim of this paper is to investigate the cultural landscape of the archaeological area of Tiwanaku (Bolivia) using multiscale, multispectral and multitemporal satellite data. Geospatial analysis techniques were applied to the satellite data sets in order to enhance and map traces of past human activities and perform a spatial characterization of environmental and cultural patterns. In particular, in the Tiwanaku area, the approach based on local indicators of spatial autocorrelation (LISA) applied to ASTER data allowed us to identify traces of a possible ancient hydrographic network with a clear spatial relation with the well-known moat surrounding the core of the monumental area. The same approach applied to QuickBird data, allowed us to identify numerous traces of archaeological interest, in Mollo Kontu mound, less investigated than the monumental area. Some of these traces were in perfect accordance with the results of independent studies, other were completely unknown. As a whole, the detected features, composing a geometric pattern with roughly North-South orientation, closely match those of the other residential contexts at Tiwanaku. These new insights, captured from multitemporal ASTER and QuickBird data processing, suggested new questions on the ancient landscape and provided important information for planning future field surveys and archaeogeophyical investigations. Reference [1] Lasaponara R., Masini N. 2014. Beyond modern landscape features: New insights in thearchaeological area of Tiwanaku in Bolivia from satellite data. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 26, 464-471, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2013.09.00. [2] Tapete D., Cigna F., Masini N., Lasaponara R. 2013. Prospection and monitoring of the archaeological heritage of Nasca, Peru, with ENVISAT ASAR, Archaeological Prospection, 20, 133-147, doi: 10.1002/arp.1449. [3] Lasaponara R, N Masini, 2012 Satellite Remote Sensing, A New Tool for Archaeology (Series

A Hospital Local Area Communication Network—The First Year's Experience

PubMed Central

Simborg, D. W.; Chadwick, M.; Whiting-O'Keefe, Q. E.; Tolchin, S. G.; Stewart, R. L.; Kahn, S. A.; Bergan, E. S.; Gafke, G. P.

1982-01-01

A local area communications network has been implemented at the University of California, San Francisco Hospital to integrate major components of the hospital's information system. This microprocessor-based network technology was developed by The Applied Physics Laboratory of the Johns Hopkins University. The first year's experience has demonstrated the basic feasibility of this technology in simplifying the integration of diverse hardware and software systems. Four minicomputer-based UCSF systems now use the network to synchronize key patient identification and registration information among the systems. Clinical uses of the network will begin during the second year of the project.

Management of the Space Station Freedom onboard local area network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Frank W.; Mitchell, Randy C.

1991-01-01

An operational approach is proposed to managing the Data Management System Local Area Network (LAN) on Space Station Freedom. An overview of the onboard LAN elements is presented first, followed by a proposal of the operational guidelines by which management of the onboard network may be effected. To implement the guidelines, a recommendation is then presented on a set of network management parameters which should be made available in the onboard Network Operating System Computer Software Configuration Item and Fiber Distributed Data Interface firmware. Finally, some implications for the implementation of the various network management elements are discussed.

LOCATING AREAS OF CONCERN

EPA Science Inventory

A simple method to locate changes in vegetation cover, which can be used to identify areas under stress. The method only requires inexpensive NDVI data. The use of remotely sensed data is far more cost-effective than field studies and can be performed more quickly. Local knowledg...

Collecting and distributing wearable sensor data: an embedded personal area network to local area network gateway server.

PubMed

Neuhaeuser, Jakob; D'Angelo, Lorenzo T

2013-01-01

The goal of the concept and of the device presented in this contribution is to be able to collect sensor data from wearable sensors directly, automatically and wirelessly and to make them available over a wired local area network. Several concepts in e-health and telemedicine make use of portable and wearable sensors to collect movement or activity data. Usually these data are either collected via a wireless personal area network or using a connection to the user's smartphone. However, users might not carry smartphones on them while inside a residential building such as a nursing home or a hospital, but also within their home. Also, in such areas the use of other wireless communication technologies might be limited. The presented system is an embedded server which can be deployed in several rooms in order to ensure live data collection in bigger buildings. Also, the collection of data batches recorded out of range, as soon as a connection is established, is also possible. Both, the system concept and the realization are presented.

ANDREWS MOUNTAIN, MAZOURKA, AND PAIUTE ROADLESS AREAS, CALIFORNIA.

USGS Publications Warehouse

McKee, Edwin H.; Schmauch, Steven W.

1984-01-01

On the basis of a mineral survey, local areas near and within the Andrews Mountain, Mazourka, and Paiute Roadless Areas, California have probable and substantiated mineral-resource potential. The principal metallic mineral resources in these roadless areas are gold, copper, and silver with lead, zinc, and tungsten, as lesser resources. A zone of probable resource potential for talc, graphite, and marble is identified in the Mazourka Roadless Area. Metallic mineralization occurs mostly in vein deposits in silicic and carbonate metasedimentary rocks peripheral to Mesozoic plutons and locally in granitic rocks as well. There is little promise for the occurrence of fossil fuel resources in the roadless areas.

Combining endangered plants and animals as surrogates to identify priority conservation areas in Yunnan, China

PubMed Central

Yang, Feiling; Hu, Jinming; Wu, Ruidong

2016-01-01

Suitable surrogates are critical for identifying optimal priority conservation areas (PCAs) to protect regional biodiversity. This study explored the efficiency of using endangered plants and animals as surrogates for identifying PCAs at the county level in Yunnan, southwest China. We ran the Dobson algorithm under three surrogate scenarios at 75% and 100% conservation levels and identified four types of PCAs. Assessment of the protection efficiencies of the four types of PCAs showed that endangered plants had higher surrogacy values than endangered animals but that the two were not substitutable; coupled endangered plants and animals as surrogates yielded a higher surrogacy value than endangered plants or animals as surrogates; the plant-animal priority areas (PAPAs) was the optimal among the four types of PCAs for conserving both endangered plants and animals in Yunnan. PAPAs could well represent overall species diversity distribution patterns and overlap with critical biogeographical regions in Yunnan. Fourteen priority units in PAPAs should be urgently considered as optimizing Yunnan’s protected area system. The spatial pattern of PAPAs at the 100% conservation level could be conceptualized into three connected conservation belts, providing a valuable reference for optimizing the layout of the in situ protected area system in Yunnan. PMID:27538537

Combining endangered plants and animals as surrogates to identify priority conservation areas in Yunnan, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Feiling; Hu, Jinming; Wu, Ruidong

2016-08-01

Suitable surrogates are critical for identifying optimal priority conservation areas (PCAs) to protect regional biodiversity. This study explored the efficiency of using endangered plants and animals as surrogates for identifying PCAs at the county level in Yunnan, southwest China. We ran the Dobson algorithm under three surrogate scenarios at 75% and 100% conservation levels and identified four types of PCAs. Assessment of the protection efficiencies of the four types of PCAs showed that endangered plants had higher surrogacy values than endangered animals but that the two were not substitutable; coupled endangered plants and animals as surrogates yielded a higher surrogacy value than endangered plants or animals as surrogates; the plant-animal priority areas (PAPAs) was the optimal among the four types of PCAs for conserving both endangered plants and animals in Yunnan. PAPAs could well represent overall species diversity distribution patterns and overlap with critical biogeographical regions in Yunnan. Fourteen priority units in PAPAs should be urgently considered as optimizing Yunnan’s protected area system. The spatial pattern of PAPAs at the 100% conservation level could be conceptualized into three connected conservation belts, providing a valuable reference for optimizing the layout of the in situ protected area system in Yunnan.

Preserved local but disrupted contextual figure-ground influences in an individual with abnormal function of intermediate visual areas

PubMed Central

Brooks, Joseph L.; Gilaie-Dotan, Sharon; Rees, Geraint; Bentin, Shlomo; Driver, Jon

2012-01-01

Visual perception depends not only on local stimulus features but also on their relationship to the surrounding stimulus context, as evident in both local and contextual influences on figure-ground segmentation. Intermediate visual areas may play a role in such contextual influences, as we tested here by examining LG, a rare case of developmental visual agnosia. LG has no evident abnormality of brain structure and functional neuroimaging showed relatively normal V1 function, but his intermediate visual areas (V2/V3) function abnormally. We found that contextual influences on figure-ground organization were selectively disrupted in LG, while local sources of figure-ground influences were preserved. Effects of object knowledge and familiarity on figure-ground organization were also significantly diminished. Our results suggest that the mechanisms mediating contextual and familiarity influences on figure-ground organization are dissociable from those mediating local influences on figure-ground assignment. The disruption of contextual processing in intermediate visual areas may play a role in the substantial object recognition difficulties experienced by LG. PMID:22947116

47 CFR 11.55 - EAS operation during a State or Local Area emergency.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... leaks or liquid spills, widespread power failures, industrial explosions, and civil disorders. (1) DBS...); analog cable systems, digital cable systems, and wireless cable systems must comply with § 11.54(b)(6... programming should comply with § 11.54(b)(8). (5) Upon completion of the State or Local Area EAS transmission...

Identifying the Local Impacts of National ATE Centers on Their Host Institutions: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Henderson, Charles; Fynewever, Herb; Petcovic, Heather; Bierema, Andrea

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study is to identify the local impacts of national advanced technological education (ATE) centers on their host institutions. A sample of three mature, national ATE centers are chosen, with each center serving as a case for a mixed-methods, collective case study research design. Results, drawn from interviews and surveys,…

Using Hospitalization and Mortality Data to Identify Areas at Risk for Adolescent Suicide.

PubMed

Chen, Kun; Aseltine, Robert H

2017-08-01

The purpose of this study is to use statewide data on inpatient hospitalizations for suicide attempts and suicide mortality to identify communities and school districts at risk for adolescent suicide. Five years of data (2010-2014) from the Office of the Connecticut Medical Examiner and the Connecticut Hospital Inpatient Discharge Database were analyzed. A mixed-effects Poisson regression model was used to assess whether suicide attempt/mortality rates in the state's 119 school districts were significantly better or worse than expected after adjusting for 10 community-level characteristics. Ten districts were at significantly higher risk for suicidal behavior, with suicide mortality/hospitalization rates ranging from 154% to 241% of their expected rates, after accounting for their community characteristics. Four districts were identified as having significantly lower risk for suicide attempts than expected after accounting for community-level advantages and disadvantages. Data capturing hospitalization for suicide attempts and suicide deaths can inform prevention activities by identifying high-risk areas to which resources should be allocated, as well as low-risk areas that may provide insight into the best practices in suicide prevention. Copyright © 2017 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

MOUNT EDDY AND CASTLE CRAGS ROADLESS AREAS, CALIFORNIA.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Peterson, Jocelyn A.; Denton, David K.

1984-01-01

A mineral survey of the Mount Eddy and Castle Crags Roadless Areas, California, shows probable mineral-resource potential for chromite and gold on the basis of local occurrences of these minerals and favorable geologic environment within the roadless areas. There is also geochemical evidence for mineralization, but surface evidence is scant. Although asbestos and copper minerals are present in the areas and the geologic environment is favorable for nickel and platinum-group metals, no resource potential for these was identified. No energy resources were identified in the study of the roadless areas.

49 CFR 192.905 - How does an operator identify a high consequence area?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

...) PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CONTINUED) PIPELINE SAFETY TRANSPORTATION OF NATURAL AND OTHER GAS BY PIPELINE: MINIMUM FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Gas Transmission Pipeline Integrity Management § 192.905 How does an operator identify a high consequence area? (a...

Localization of cortical areas activated by thinking.

PubMed

Roland, P E; Friberg, L

1985-05-01

These experiments were undertaken to demonstrate that pure mental activity, thinking, increases the cerebral blood flow and that different types of thinking increase the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in different cortical areas. As a first approach, thinking was defined as brain work in the form of operations on internal information, done by an awake subject. The rCBF was measured in 254 cortical regions in 11 subjects with the intracarotid 133Xe injection technique. In normal man, changes in the regional cortical metabolic rate of O2 leads to proportional changes in rCBF. One control study was taken with the subjects at rest. Then the rCBF was measured during three different simple algorithm tasks, each consisting of retrieval of a specific memory followed by a simple operation on the retrieved information. Once started, the information processing went on in the brain without any communication with the outside world. In 50-3 thinking, the subjects started with 50 and then, in their minds only, continuously subtracted 3 from the result. In jingle thinking the subjects internally jumped every second word in a nine-word circular jingle. In route-finding thinking the subjects imagined that they started at their front door and then walked alternatively to the left or the right each time they reached a corner. The rCBF increased only in homotypical cortical areas during thinking. The areas in the superior prefrontal cortex increased their rCBF equivalently during the three types of thinking. In the remaining parts of the prefrontal cortex there were multifocal increases of rCBF. The localizations and intensities of these rCBF increases depended on the type of internal operation occurring. The rCBF increased bilaterally in the angular cortex during 50-3 thinking. The rCBF increased in the right midtemporal cortex exclusively during jingle thinking. The intermediate and remote visual association areas, the superior occipital, posterior inferior temporal, and

76 FR 32859 - General Schedule Locality Pay Areas

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-07

... remoteness and isolation. (OPM notes, however, that locality pay must be based on pay comparisons, not... locality pay rate due to the effect of remoteness and isolation from the mainland. We respond in detail... * * *''. OPM Response The locality pay statute bases locality pay on comparisons of General Schedule and non...

Local Residents Perception of Benefits and Losses From Protected Areas in India and Nepal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karanth, Krithi K.; Nepal, Sanjay K.

2012-02-01

High densities of people living around protected areas (PAs) in South Asia require management strategies to balance conservation goals and livelihood needs. Based on a survey of 777 households around five PAs in India and Nepal, this paper provides a comparative perspective of Indian and Nepali households' views of protected area benefits and costs, their attitude toward conservation in general, and attitude toward protected area staff. Results indicate mixed responses towards tourism, varying from very favorable in Nepal to less favorable in India. The majority (81%) held positive attitudes towards the existence and importance of PAs but had negative perceptions of PA staff (69%). Most residents perceived benefits from access to fuel wood, fodder and other PA resources including benefits from tourism, while crop and livestock losses from wildlife were the main costs. Households overall positive attitudes towards the PAs and conservation despite high losses from living around PAs suggests that local residents may support conservation if their livelihood needs are met. Comparisons of household attitudes and perceptions suggest that locally based strategies rather than top-down approaches are likely to be more effective. Extending PA benefits to smaller landholders, households that are highly resource-dependent or experiencing higher income losses from human-wildlife conflicts, and less educated residents are particularly important to balance costs and losses from living around protected areas.

Local residents perception of benefits and losses from protected areas in India and Nepal.

PubMed

Karanth, Krithi K; Nepal, Sanjay K

2012-02-01

High densities of people living around protected areas (PAs) in South Asia require management strategies to balance conservation goals and livelihood needs. Based on a survey of 777 households around five PAs in India and Nepal, this paper provides a comparative perspective of Indian and Nepali households' views of protected area benefits and costs, their attitude toward conservation in general, and attitude toward protected area staff. Results indicate mixed responses towards tourism, varying from very favorable in Nepal to less favorable in India. The majority (81%) held positive attitudes towards the existence and importance of PAs but had negative perceptions of PA staff (69%). Most residents perceived benefits from access to fuel wood, fodder and other PA resources including benefits from tourism, while crop and livestock losses from wildlife were the main costs. Households overall positive attitudes towards the PAs and conservation despite high losses from living around PAs suggests that local residents may support conservation if their livelihood needs are met. Comparisons of household attitudes and perceptions suggest that locally based strategies rather than top-down approaches are likely to be more effective. Extending PA benefits to smaller landholders, households that are highly resource-dependent or experiencing higher income losses from human-wildlife conflicts, and less educated residents are particularly important to balance costs and losses from living around protected areas.

Changing climate, challenging choices: identifying and evaluating climate change adaptation options for protected areas management in Ontario, Canada.

PubMed

Lemieux, Christopher J; Scott, Daniel J

2011-10-01

Climate change will pose increasingly significant challenges to managers of parks and other forms of protected areas around the world. Over the past two decades, numerous scientific publications have identified potential adaptations, but their suitability from legal, policy, financial, internal capacity, and other management perspectives has not been evaluated for any protected area agency or organization. In this study, a panel of protected area experts applied a Policy Delphi methodology to identify and evaluate climate change adaptation options across the primary management areas of a protected area agency in Canada. The panel identified and evaluated one hundred and sixty five (165) adaptation options for their perceived desirability and feasibility. While the results revealed a high level of agreement with respect to the desirability of adaptation options and a moderate level of capacity pertaining to policy formulation and management direction, a perception of low capacity for implementation in most other program areas was identified. A separate panel of senior park agency decision-makers used a multiple criterion decision-facilitation matrix to further evaluate the institutional feasibility of the 56 most desirable adaptation options identified by the initial expert panel and to prioritize them for consideration in a climate change action plan. Critically, only two of the 56 adaptation options evaluated by senior decision-makers were deemed definitely implementable, due largely to fiscal and internal capacity limitations. These challenges are common to protected area agencies in developed countries and pervade those in developing countries, revealing that limited adaptive capacity represents a substantive barrier to biodiversity conservation and other protected area management objectives in an era of rapid climate change.

Changing Climate, Challenging Choices: Identifying and Evaluating Climate Change Adaptation Options for Protected Areas Management in Ontario, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lemieux, Christopher J.; Scott, Daniel J.

2011-10-01

Climate change will pose increasingly significant challenges to managers of parks and other forms of protected areas around the world. Over the past two decades, numerous scientific publications have identified potential adaptations, but their suitability from legal, policy, financial, internal capacity, and other management perspectives has not been evaluated for any protected area agency or organization. In this study, a panel of protected area experts applied a Policy Delphi methodology to identify and evaluate climate change adaptation options across the primary management areas of a protected area agency in Canada. The panel identified and evaluated one hundred and sixty five (165) adaptation options for their perceived desirability and feasibility. While the results revealed a high level of agreement with respect to the desirability of adaptation options and a moderate level of capacity pertaining to policy formulation and management direction, a perception of low capacity for implementation in most other program areas was identified. A separate panel of senior park agency decision-makers used a multiple criterion decision-facilitation matrix to further evaluate the institutional feasibility of the 56 most desirable adaptation options identified by the initial expert panel and to prioritize them for consideration in a climate change action plan. Critically, only two of the 56 adaptation options evaluated by senior decision-makers were deemed definitely implementable, due largely to fiscal and internal capacity limitations. These challenges are common to protected area agencies in developed countries and pervade those in developing countries, revealing that limited adaptive capacity represents a substantive barrier to biodiversity conservation and other protected area management objectives in an era of rapid climate change.

Generating local scale land use/cover change scenarios: case studies of high-risk mountain areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malek, Žiga; Glade, Thomas; Boerboom, Luc

2014-05-01

The relationship between land use/cover changes and consequences to human well-being is well acknowledged and has led to higher interest of both researchers and decision makers in driving forces and consequences of such changes. For example, removal of natural vegetation cover or urban expansion resulting in new elements at risk can increase hydro-meteorological risk. This is why it is necessary to study how the land use/cover could evolve in the future. Emphasis should especially be given to areas experiencing, or expecting, high rates of socio-economic change. A suitable approach to address these changes is scenario development; it offers exploring possible futures and the corresponding environmental consequences, and aids decision-making, as it enables to analyse possible options. Scenarios provide a creative methodology to depict possible futures, resulting from existing decisions, based on different assumptions of future socio-economic development. They have been used in various disciplines and on various scales, such as flood risk and soil erosion. Several studies have simulated future scenarios of land use/cover changes at a very high success rate, however usually these approaches are tailor made for specific case study areas and fit to available data. This study presents a multi-step scenario generation framework, which can be transferable to other local scale case study areas, taking into account the case study specific consequences of land use/cover changes. Through the use of experts' and decision-makers' knowledge, we aimed to develop a framework with the following characteristics: (1) it enables development of scenarios that are plausible, (2) it can overcome data inaccessibility, (3) it can address intangible and external driving forces of land use/cover change, and (4) it ensures transferability to other local scale case study areas with different land use/cover change processes and consequences. To achieve this, a set of different methods is applied

Global-local methodologies and their application to nonlinear analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noor, Ahmed K.

1989-01-01

An assessment is made of the potential of different global-local analysis strategies for predicting the nonlinear and postbuckling responses of structures. Two postbuckling problems of composite panels are used as benchmarks and the application of different global-local methodologies to these benchmarks is outlined. The key elements of each of the global-local strategies are discussed and future research areas needed to realize the full potential of global-local methodologies are identified.

Luminous Infrared Sources in the Local Group: Identifying the Missing Links in Massive Star Evolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Britavskiy, N.; Bonanos, A. Z.; Mehner, A.

2015-01-01

We present the first systematic survey of dusty massive stars (RSGs, LBVs, sgB[e]) in nearby galaxies, with the goal of understanding their importance in massive star evolution. Using the fact that these stars are bright in mid-infrared colors due to dust, we provide a technique for selecting and identifying dusty evolved stars based on the results of Bonanos et al. (2009, 2010), Britavskiy et al. (2014), and archival Spitzer/IRAC photometry. We present the results of our spectroscopic follow-up of luminous infrared sources in the Local Group dwarf irregular galaxies: Pegasus, Phoenix, Sextans A and WLM. The survey aims to complete the census of dusty massive stars in the Local Group.

47 CFR 36.212 - Basic local services revenue-Account 5000 (Class B telephone companies); Basic area revenue...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... (Class B telephone companies); Basic area revenue-Account 5001 (Class A telephone companies). 36.212..., REVENUES, EXPENSES, TAXES AND RESERVES FOR TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES 1 Operating Revenues and Certain... companies); Basic area revenue—Account 5001 (Class A telephone companies). (a) Local private line revenues...

GRANITE FIORDS WILDERNESS STUDY AREA, ALASKA.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Berg, Henry C.; Pittman, Tom L.

1984-01-01

Mineral surveys of the Granite Fiords Wilderness study area revealed areas with probable and substantiated mineral-resource potential. In the northeastern sector, areas of probable and substantiated resource potential for gold, sivler, and base metals in small, locally high grade vein and disseminated deposits occur in recrystallized Mesozoic volcanic, sedimentary, and intrusive rocks. In the central part, areas of probable resource potential for gold, silver, copper, and zinc in disseminated and locally massive sulfide deposits occur in undated pelitic paragneiss roof pendants. A molybdenite-bearing quartz vein has been prospected in western Granite Fiords, and molybdenum also occurs along with other metals in veins in the northeastern sector and in geochemical samples collected from areas where there is probable resource potential for low-grade porphyry molybdenum deposits in several Cenozoic plutons. No energy resource potential was identified in the course of this study.

7 CFR 4290.130 - Identified Rural Areas.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... specific Rural Area or Areas in which it intends to make Developmental Venture Capital investments and... RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE RURAL BUSINESS INVESTMENT COMPANY (âRBICâ) PROGRAM...

Examining marginalized communities and local conservation institutions: the case of Nepal's Annapurna Conservation Area.

PubMed

Dahal, Smriti; Nepal, Sanjay K; Schuett, Michael A

2014-01-01

In developing countries, participatory conservation initiatives have been criticized for many reasons, mainly for excluding marginalized groups which have led to unequal benefits. Using concepts from the literature on participation, conservation, and political ecology, this research explored the participation of marginal groups, i.e., poor, women, lower caste, and landless, in management institutions in Nepal's Annapurna Conservation Area. Field work for this research was conducted through the use of interviews and participant observation during August-October 2010. Results show that although marginal groups were involved in local management institutions, their representation was minimal and had not led to meaningful participation or empowerment to influence the decisions being made in conservation and development programs. Our study findings indicate that the involvement of marginal groups in local initiatives is complex and influenced by several factors. The study concludes that the Annapurna Conservation Area Project needs to re-orient its conservation projects by adopting a more inclusive form of participation and move beyond the quota system.

Examining Marginalized Communities and Local Conservation Institutions: The Case of Nepal's Annapurna Conservation Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dahal, Smriti; Nepal, Sanjay K.; Schuett, Michael A.

2014-01-01

In developing countries, participatory conservation initiatives have been criticized for many reasons, mainly for excluding marginalized groups which have led to unequal benefits. Using concepts from the literature on participation, conservation, and political ecology, this research explored the participation of marginal groups, i.e., poor, women, lower caste, and landless, in management institutions in Nepal's Annapurna Conservation Area. Field work for this research was conducted through the use of interviews and participant observation during August-October 2010. Results show that although marginal groups were involved in local management institutions, their representation was minimal and had not led to meaningful participation or empowerment to influence the decisions being made in conservation and development programs. Our study findings indicate that the involvement of marginal groups in local initiatives is complex and influenced by several factors. The study concludes that the Annapurna Conservation Area Project needs to re-orient its conservation projects by adopting a more inclusive form of participation and move beyond the quota system.

A Low Cost Micro-Computer Based Local Area Network for Medical Office and Medical Center Automation

PubMed Central

Epstein, Mel H.; Epstein, Lynn H.; Emerson, Ron G.

1984-01-01

A Low Cost Micro-computer based Local Area Network for medical office automation is described which makes use of an array of multiple and different personal computers interconnected by a local area network. Each computer on the network functions as fully potent workstations for data entry and report generation. The network allows each workstation complete access to the entire database. Additionally, designated computers may serve as access ports for remote terminals. Through “Gateways” the network may serve as a front end for a large mainframe, or may interface with another network. The system provides for the medical office environment the expandability and flexibility of a multi-terminal mainframe system at a far lower cost without sacrifice of performance.

Model of areas for identifying risks influencing the compliance of technological processes and products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Misztal, A.; Belu, N.

2016-08-01

Operation of every company is associated with the risk of interfering with proper performance of its fundamental processes. This risk is associated with various internal areas of the company, as well as the environment in which it operates. From the point of view of ensuring compliance of the course of specific technological processes and, consequently, product conformity with requirements, it is important to identify these threats and eliminate or reduce the risk of their occurrence. The purpose of this article is to present a model of areas of identifying risk affecting the compliance of processes and products, which is based on multiregional targeted monitoring of typical places of interference and risk management methods. The model is based on the verification of risk analyses carried out in small and medium-sized manufacturing companies in various industries..

Performance of the lot quality assurance sampling method compared to surveillance for identifying inadequately-performing areas in Matlab, Bangladesh.

PubMed

Bhuiya, Abbas; Hanifi, S M A; Roy, Nikhil; Streatfield, P Kim

2007-03-01

This paper compared the performance of the lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) method in identifying inadequately-performing health work-areas with that of using health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) data and examined the feasibility of applying the method by field-level programme supervisors. The study was carried out in Matlab, the field site of ICDDR,B, where a HDSS has been in place for over 30 years. The LQAS method was applied in 57 work-areas of community health workers in ICDDR,B-served areas in Matlab during July-September 2002. The performance of the LQAS method in identifying work-areas with adequate and inadequate coverage of various health services was compared with those of the HDSS. The health service-coverage indicators included coverage of DPT, measles, BCG vaccination, and contraceptive use. It was observed that the difference in the proportion of work-areas identified to be inadequately performing using the LQAS method with less than 30 respondents, and the HDSS was not statistically significant. The consistency between the LQAS method and the HDSS in identifying work-areas was greater for adequately-performing areas than inadequately-performing areas. It was also observed that the field managers could be trained to apply the LQAS method in monitoring their performance in reaching the target population.

Identifying security checkpoints locations to protect the major U.S. urban areas

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

Cuellar-Hengartner, Leticia; Watkins, Daniel; Kubicek, Deborah A.

Transit networks are integral to the economy and to society, but at the same time they could allow terrorists to transport weapons of mass destruction into any city. Road networks are especially vulnerable, because they lack natural checkpoints unlike air networks that have security measures in place at all major airports. One approach to mitigate this risk is ensuring that every road route passes through at least one security checkpoint. Using the Ford-Fulkerson maximum-flow algorithm, we generate a minimum set of checkpoint locations within a ring-shaped buffer area surrounding the 50 largest US urban areas. We study how the numbermore » of checkpoints changes as we increase the buffer width to perform a cost-benefit analysis and to identify groups of cities that behave similarly. The set of required checkpoints is surprisingly small (10-124) despite the hundreds of thousands of road arcs in those areas, making it feasible to protect all major cities.« less

Identifying security checkpoints locations to protect the major U.S. urban areas

DOE PAGES

Cuellar-Hengartner, Leticia; Watkins, Daniel; Kubicek, Deborah A.; ...

2015-09-01

Transit networks are integral to the economy and to society, but at the same time they could allow terrorists to transport weapons of mass destruction into any city. Road networks are especially vulnerable, because they lack natural checkpoints unlike air networks that have security measures in place at all major airports. One approach to mitigate this risk is ensuring that every road route passes through at least one security checkpoint. Using the Ford-Fulkerson maximum-flow algorithm, we generate a minimum set of checkpoint locations within a ring-shaped buffer area surrounding the 50 largest US urban areas. We study how the numbermore » of checkpoints changes as we increase the buffer width to perform a cost-benefit analysis and to identify groups of cities that behave similarly. The set of required checkpoints is surprisingly small (10-124) despite the hundreds of thousands of road arcs in those areas, making it feasible to protect all major cities.« less

Residential proximity to urban centres, local-area walkability and change in waist circumference among Australian adults.

PubMed

Sugiyama, Takemi; Niyonsenga, Theo; Howard, Natasha J; Coffee, Neil T; Paquet, Catherine; Taylor, Anne W; Daniel, Mark

2016-12-01

Consistent associations have been observed between macro-level urban sprawl and overweight/obesity, but whether residential proximity to urban centres predicts adiposity change over time has not been established. Further, studies of local-area walkability and overweight/obesity have generated mixed results. This study examined 4-year change in adults' waist circumference in relation to proximity to city centre, proximity to closest suburban centre, and local-area walkability. Data were from adult participants (n=2080) of a cohort study on chronic conditions and health risk factors in Adelaide, Australia. Baseline data were collected in 2000-03 with a follow-up in 2005-06. Multilevel regression models examined in 2015 the independent and joint associations of the three environmental measures with change in waist circumference, accounting for socio-demographic covariates. On average, waist circumference rose by 1.8cm over approximately 4years. Greater distance to city centre was associated with a greater increase in waist circumference. Participants living in distal areas (20km or further from city centre) had a greater increase in waist circumference (mean increase: 2.4cm) compared to those in proximal areas (9km or less, mean increase: 1.2cm). Counterintuitively, living in the vicinity of a suburban centre was associated with a greater increase in adiposity. Local-area walkability was not significantly associated with the outcome. Residential proximity to city centre appears to be protective against excessive increases in waist circumference. Controlled development and targeted interventions in the urban fringe may be needed to tackle obesity. Additional research needs to assess behaviours that mediate relationships between sprawl and obesity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparing spatially explicit ecological and social values for natural areas to identify effective conservation strategies.

PubMed

Bryan, Brett Anthony; Raymond, Christopher Mark; Crossman, Neville David; King, Darran

2011-02-01

Consideration of the social values people assign to relatively undisturbed native ecosystems is critical for the success of science-based conservation plans. We used an interview process to identify and map social values assigned to 31 ecosystem services provided by natural areas in an agricultural landscape in southern Australia. We then modeled the spatial distribution of 12 components of ecological value commonly used in setting spatial conservation priorities. We used the analytical hierarchy process to weight these components and used multiattribute utility theory to combine them into a single spatial layer of ecological value. Social values assigned to natural areas were negatively correlated with ecological values overall, but were positively correlated with some components of ecological value. In terms of the spatial distribution of values, people valued protected areas, whereas those natural areas underrepresented in the reserve system were of higher ecological value. The habitats of threatened animal species were assigned both high ecological value and high social value. Only small areas were assigned both high ecological value and high social value in the study area, whereas large areas of high ecological value were of low social value, and vice versa. We used the assigned ecological and social values to identify different conservation strategies (e.g., information sharing, community engagement, incentive payments) that may be effective for specific areas. We suggest that consideration of both ecological and social values in selection of conservation strategies can enhance the success of science-based conservation planning. ©2010 Society for Conservation Biology.

Satellite Earth observation data to identify anthropogenic pressures in selected protected areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagendra, Harini; Mairota, Paola; Marangi, Carmela; Lucas, Richard; Dimopoulos, Panayotis; Honrado, João Pradinho; Niphadkar, Madhura; Mücher, Caspar A.; Tomaselli, Valeria; Panitsa, Maria; Tarantino, Cristina; Manakos, Ioannis; Blonda, Palma

2015-05-01

Protected areas are experiencing increased levels of human pressure. To enable appropriate conservation action, it is critical to map and monitor changes in the type and extent of land cover/use and habitat classes, which can be related to human pressures over time. Satellite Earth observation (EO) data and techniques offer the opportunity to detect such changes. Yet association with field information and expert interpretation by ecologists is required to interpret, qualify and link these changes to human pressure. There is thus an urgent need to harmonize the technical background of experts in the field of EO data analysis with the terminology of ecologists, protected area management authorities and policy makers in order to provide meaningful, context-specific value-added EO products. This paper builds on the DPSIR framework, providing a terminology to relate the concepts of state, pressures, and drivers with the application of EO analysis. The type of pressure can be inferred through the detection of changes in state (i.e. changes in land cover and/or habitat type and/or condition). Four broad categories of changes in state are identified, i.e. land cover/habitat conversion, land cover/habitat modification, habitat fragmentation and changes in landscape connectivity, and changes in plant community structure. These categories of change in state can be mapped through EO analyses, with the goal of using expert judgement to relate changes in state to causal direct anthropogenic pressures. Drawing on expert knowledge, a set of protected areas located in diverse socio-ecological contexts and subject to a variety of pressures are analysed to (a) link the four categories of changes in state of land cover/habitats to the drivers (anthropogenic pressure), as relevant to specific target land cover and habitat classes; (b) identify (for pressure mapping) the most appropriate spatial and temporal EO data sources as well as interpretations from ecologists and field data

78 FR 39588 - Special Local Regulations; Revision of 2013 America's Cup Regulated Area, San Francisco Bay; San...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-02

...-AA08 Special Local Regulations; Revision of 2013 America's Cup Regulated Area, San Francisco Bay; San...: The Coast Guard is revising the regulated area for the 2013 America's Cup sailing events. Previously... final rule regulating the on-water activities associated with the ``Louis Vuitton Cup,'' ``Red Bull...

Determining local and contextual features describing appearance of difficult to identify mitotic figures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gandomkar, Ziba; Brennan, Patrick C.; Mello-Thoms, Claudia

2017-03-01

Mitotic count is helpful in determining the aggressiveness of breast cancer. In previous studies, it was shown that the agreement among pathologists for grading mitotic index is fairly modest, as mitoses have a large variety of appearances and they could be mistaken for other similar objects. In this study, we determined local and contextual features that differ significantly between easily identifiable mitoses and challenging ones. The images were obtained from the Mitosis-Atypia 2014 challenge. In total, the dataset contained 453 mitotic figures. Two pathologists annotated each mitotic figure. In case of disagreement, an opinion from a third pathologist was requested. The mitoses were grouped into three categories, those recognized as "a true mitosis" by both pathologists ,those labelled as "a true mitosis" by only one of the first two readers and also the third pathologist, and those annotated as "probably a mitosis" by all readers or the majority of them. After color unmixing, the mitoses were segmented from H channel. Shape-based features along with intensity-based and textural features were extracted from H-channel, blue ratio channel and five different color spaces. Holistic features describing each image were also considered. The Kruskal-Wallis H test was used to identify significantly different features. Multiple comparisons were done using the rank-based version of Tukey-Kramer test. The results indicated that there are local and global features which differ significantly among different groups. In addition, variations between mitoses in different groups were captured in the features from HSL and LCH color space more than other ones.

Use of local Moran's I and GIS to identify pollution hotspots of Pb in urban soils of Galway, Ireland.

PubMed

Zhang, Chaosheng; Luo, Lin; Xu, Weilin; Ledwith, Valerie

2008-07-15

Pollution hotspots in urban soils need to be identified for better environmental management. It is important to know if there are hotspots and if the hotspots are statistically significant. In this study identification of pollution hotspots was investigated using Pb concentrations in urban soils of Galway City in Ireland as an example, and the influencing factors on results of hotspot identification were investigated. The index of local Moran's I is a useful tool for identifying pollution hotspots of Pb pollution in urban soils, and for classifying them into spatial clusters and spatial outliers. The results were affected by the definition of weight function, data transformation and existence of extreme values. Compared with the results for the positively skewed raw data, the transformed data and data with extreme values excluded revealed a larger area for the high value spatial clusters in the city centre. While it is hard to decide the best way of using this index, it is suggested that all these influencing factors should be considered until reasonable and reliable results are obtained. GIS mapping can be applied to help evaluate the results via visualization of the spatial patterns. Meanwhile, selected pollution hotspots (extreme values) in this study were confirmed by re-analyses and re-sampling.

Exploring the Links between Ethnobotany, Local Therapeutic Practices, and Protected Areas in Santa Catarina Coastline, Brazil

PubMed Central

Zank, Sofia; Hanazaki, Natalia

2012-01-01

We investigated the knowledge of medicinal plants in two areas proposed for the creation of protected areas for sustainable use in the city of Imbituba (SC). In this study, we analyzed the influence of gender, form of learning, and modern medicine on medicinal plant knowledge while also reflecting on the relationship of this knowledge to in situ conservation. Data collection was conducted through structured interviews, free listings, guided tours, and collection of botanical material. 197 species of medicinal plants belonging to 70 botanical families were recorded. Gender and the form of learning were factors that significantly influenced the similarity of the knowledge of medicinal plants among the informants. We also observed the existence of a therapeutic pluralism among key informants. Local medicinal plant knowledge emphasizes the importance of strategies to create protected areas of sustainable use as a way to ensure the maintenance of traditional lifestyles and associated local knowledge. PMID:22203874

Long-term plasticity in identified hippocampal GABAergic interneurons in the CA1 area in vivo.

PubMed

Lau, Petrina Yau-Pok; Katona, Linda; Saghy, Peter; Newton, Kathryn; Somogyi, Peter; Lamsa, Karri P

2017-05-01

Long-term plasticity is well documented in synapses between glutamatergic principal cells in the cortex both in vitro and in vivo. Long-term potentiation (LTP) and -depression (LTD) have also been reported in glutamatergic connections to hippocampal GABAergic interneurons expressing parvalbumin (PV+) or nitric oxide synthase (NOS+) in brain slices, but plasticity in these cells has not been tested in vivo. We investigated synaptically-evoked suprathreshold excitation of identified hippocampal neurons in the CA1 area of urethane-anaesthetized rats. Neurons were recorded extracellularly with glass microelectrodes, and labelled with neurobiotin for anatomical analyses. Single-shock electrical stimulation of afferents from the contralateral CA1 elicited postsynaptic action potentials with monosynaptic features showing short delay (9.95 ± 0.41 ms) and small jitter in 13 neurons through the commissural pathway. Theta-burst stimulation (TBS) generated LTP of the synaptically-evoked spike probability in pyramidal cells, and in a bistratified cell and two unidentified fast-spiking interneurons. On the contrary, PV+ basket cells and NOS+ ivy cells exhibited either LTD or LTP. An identified axo-axonic cell failed to show long-term change in its response to stimulation. Discharge of the cells did not explain whether LTP or LTD was generated. For the fast-spiking interneurons, as a group, no correlation was found between plasticity and local field potential oscillations (1-3 or 3-6 Hz components) recorded immediately prior to TBS. The results demonstrate activity-induced long-term plasticity in synaptic excitation of hippocampal PV+ and NOS+ interneurons in vivo. Physiological and pathological activity patterns in vivo may generate similar plasticity in these interneurons.

Performance of the Lot Quality Assurance Sampling Method Compared to Surveillance for Identifying Inadequately-performing Areas in Matlab, Bangladesh

PubMed Central

Hanifi, S.M.A.; Roy, Nikhil; Streatfield, P. Kim

2007-01-01

This paper compared the performance of the lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) method in identifying inadequately-performing health work-areas with that of using health and demographic surveillance system (HDSS) data and examined the feasibility of applying the method by field-level programme supervisors. The study was carried out in Matlab, the field site of ICDDR,B, where a HDSS has been in place for over 30 years. The LQAS method was applied in 57 work-areas of community health workers in ICDDR,B-served areas in Matlab during July-September 2002. The performance of the LQAS method in identifying work-areas with adequate and inadequate coverage of various health services was compared with those of the HDSS. The health service-coverage indicators included coverage of DPT, measles, BCG vaccination, and contraceptive use. It was observed that the difference in the proportion of work-areas identified to be inadequately performing using the LQAS method with less than 30 respondents, and the HDSS was not statistically significant. The consistency between the LQAS method and the HDSS in identifying work-areas was greater for adequately-performing areas than inadequately-performing areas. It was also observed that the field managers could be trained to apply the LQAS method in monitoring their performance in reaching the target population. PMID:17615902

New Approaches to Facilitate Learning from Youth: Exploring the Use of Photovoice in Identifying Local Watershed Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chanse, Victoria; Mohamed, Amina; Wilson, Sacoby; Dalemarre, Laura; Leisnham, Paul T.; Rockler, Amanda; Shirmohammadi, Adel; Montas, Hubert

2017-01-01

In urbanized areas, incorporating residents' concerns and priorities into the stormwater management debate has focused on adults rather than youth. This study used Photovoice, a tool that includes photographs taken by youth, to uncover youth concerns and perceptions about their local watersheds. This study consisted of a comparative study of two…

Identifying areas of need relative to liver disease: geographic clustering within a health service district.

PubMed

El-Atem, Nathan; Irvine, Katharine M; Valery, Patricia C; Wojcik, Kyle; Horsfall, Leigh; Johnson, Tracey; Janda, Monika; McPhail, Steven M; Powell, Elizabeth E

2017-08-01

Background Many people with chronic liver disease (CLD) are not detected until they present to hospital with advanced disease, when opportunities for intervention are reduced and morbidity is high. In order to build capacity and liver expertise in the community, it is important to focus liver healthcare resources in high-prevalence disease areas and specific populations with an identified need. The aim of the present study was to examine the geographic location of people seen in a tertiary hospital hepatology clinic, as well as ethnic and sociodemographic characteristics of these geographic areas. Methods The geographic locations of hepatology out-patients were identified via the out-patient scheduling database and grouped into statistical area (SA) regions for demographic analysis using data compiled by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Results During the 3-month study period, 943 individuals from 71 SA Level 3 regions attended clinic. Nine SA Level 3 regions accounted for 55% of the entire patient cohort. Geographic clustering was seen especially for people living with chronic hepatitis B virus. There was a wide spectrum of socioeconomic advantage and disadvantage in areas with high liver disease prevalence. Conclusions The geographic area from which people living with CLD travel to access liver health care is extensive. However, the greatest demand for tertiary liver disease speciality care is clustered within specific geographic areas. Outreach programs targeted to these areas may enhance liver disease-specific health service resourcing. What is known about the topic? The demand for tertiary hospital clinical services in CLD is rising. However, there is limited knowledge about the geographic areas from which people living with CLD travel to access liver services, or the ethnic, socioeconomic and education characteristics of these areas. What does this paper add? The present study demonstrates that a substantial proportion of people living with CLD and

Effects of new urban motorway infrastructure on road traffic accidents in the local area: a retrospective longitudinal study in Scotland

PubMed Central

Olsen, Jonathan R; Mitchell, Richard; Mackay, Daniel F; Humphreys, David K; Ogilvie, David

2016-01-01

Background The M74 motorway extension, Glasgow, opened in June 2011. One justification for construction was an expectation that it would reduce road traffic accidents (RTAs) on local non-motorway roads. This study evaluated the impact of the extension on the number of RTAs, stratifying by accident severity. Methods Data for the period 1997–2014 were extracted from a UK database of reported RTAs involving a personal injury. RTA severity was defined by the level of injury: minor, severe or fatal. RTAs were assigned to (1) the local area surrounding the motorway extension, (2) a comparator area surrounding an existing motorway or (3) a control area elsewhere in the conurbation. Interrupted time-series regression with autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) errors was used to determine longitudinal between-area differences in change in the number of RTAs, which might indicate an intervention effect. Results Glasgow and surrounding local authorities saw a 50.6% reduction in annual RTAs (n: 5901 to 2914) between 1997 and 2014. In the intervention area, the number of recorded RTAs decreased by 50.7% (n: 758 to 374), and that of fatal/severe RTAs by 57.4% (n: 129 to 55), with similar reductions in the comparator/control areas. The interrupted time-series analysis showed no significant between-area differences in temporal trends. The reduction of pedestrian casualties was attenuated in the intervention area relative to Glasgow and surrounding authorities. Conclusions Reduction in RTAs was not associated with the motorway extension. Our findings suggest that in planning future investment, it should not be taken for granted that new road infrastructure alone will reduce RTAs in local areas. Urbanisation is proceeding rapidly worldwide, and evidence of infrastructure changes is lacking; this novel study provides important findings for future developments. PMID:27279082

Quantum key distribution over an installed multimode optical fiber local area network.

PubMed

Namekata, Naoto; Mori, Shigehiko; Inoue, Shuichiro

2005-12-12

We have investigated the possibility of a multimode fiber link for a quantum channel. Transmission of light in an extremely underfilled mode distribution promises a single-mode-like behavior in the multimode fiber. To demonstrate the performance of the fiber link we performed quantum key distribution, on the basis of the BB84 four-state protocol, over 550 m of an installed multimode optical fiber local area network, and the quantum-bit-error rate of 1.09 percent was achieved.

Importance of local knowledge in plant resources management and conservation in two protected areas from Trás-os-Montes, Portugal

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Many European protected areas were legally created to preserve and maintain biological diversity, unique natural features and associated cultural heritage. Built over centuries as a result of geographical and historical factors interacting with human activity, these territories are reservoirs of resources, practices and knowledge that have been the essential basis of their creation. Under social and economical transformations several components of such areas tend to be affected and their protection status endangered. Carrying out ethnobotanical surveys and extensive field work using anthropological methodologies, particularly with key-informants, we report changes observed and perceived in two natural parks in Trás-os-Montes, Portugal, that affect local plant-use systems and consequently local knowledge. By means of informants' testimonies and of our own observation and experience we discuss the importance of local knowledge and of local communities' participation to protected areas design, management and maintenance. We confirm that local knowledge provides new insights and opportunities for sustainable and multipurpose use of resources and offers contemporary strategies for preserving cultural and ecological diversity, which are the main purposes and challenges of protected areas. To be successful it is absolutely necessary to make people active participants, not simply integrate and validate their knowledge and expertise. Local knowledge is also an interesting tool for educational and promotional programs. PMID:22112242

34 CFR 222.39 - How does a State educational agency identify generally comparable local educational agencies for...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

..., low-income families, children with disabilities, neglected or delinquent children, low-achieving..., DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IMPACT AID PROGRAMS Payments for Federally Connected Children Under Section 8003(b) and (e) of the Act § 222.39 How does a State educational agency identify generally comparable local...

34 CFR 222.39 - How does a State educational agency identify generally comparable local educational agencies for...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

..., low-income families, children with disabilities, neglected or delinquent children, low-achieving..., DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION IMPACT AID PROGRAMS Payments for Federally Connected Children Under Section 8003(b) and (e) of the Act § 222.39 How does a State educational agency identify generally comparable local...

Identifying the impact of social determinants of health on disease rates using correlation analysis of area-based summary information.

PubMed

Song, Ruiguang; Hall, H Irene; Harrison, Kathleen McDavid; Sharpe, Tanya Telfair; Lin, Lillian S; Dean, Hazel D

2011-01-01

We developed a statistical tool that brings together standard, accessible, and well-understood analytic approaches and uses area-based information and other publicly available data to identify social determinants of health (SDH) that significantly affect the morbidity of a specific disease. We specified AIDS as the disease of interest and used data from the American Community Survey and the National HIV Surveillance System. Morbidity and socioeconomic variables in the two data systems were linked through geographic areas that can be identified in both systems. Correlation and partial correlation coefficients were used to measure the impact of socioeconomic factors on AIDS diagnosis rates in certain geographic areas. We developed an easily explained approach that can be used by a data analyst with access to publicly available datasets and standard statistical software to identify the impact of SDH. We found that the AIDS diagnosis rate was highly correlated with the distribution of race/ethnicity, population density, and marital status in an area. The impact of poverty, education level, and unemployment depended on other SDH variables. Area-based measures of socioeconomic variables can be used to identify risk factors associated with a disease of interest. When correlation analysis is used to identify risk factors, potential confounding from other variables must be taken into account.

Urban air quality in a mid-size city - PM2.5 composition, sources and identification of impact areas: From local to long range contributions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Squizzato, Stefania; Cazzaro, Marta; Innocente, Elena; Visin, Flavia; Hopke, Philip K.; Rampazzo, Giancarlo

2017-04-01

Urban air quality represents a major public health burden and is a long-standing concern to European citizens. Combustion processes and traffic-related emissions represent the main primary particulate matter (PM) sources in urban areas. Other sources can also affect air quality (e.g., secondary aerosol, industrial) depending on the characteristics of the study area. Thus, the identification and the apportionment of all sources is of crucial importance to make effective corrective decisions within environmental policies. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impacts of different emissions sources on PM2.5 concentrations and compositions in a mid-size city in the Po Valley (Treviso, Italy). Data have been analyzed to highlight compositional differences (elements and major inorganic ions), to determine PM2.5 sources and their contributions, and to evaluate the influence of air mass movements. Non-parametric tests, positive matrix factorization (PMF), conditional bivariate probability function (CBPF), and concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) have been used in a multi-chemometrics approach to understand the areal-scale (proximate, local, long-range) where different sources act on PM2.5 levels and composition. Results identified three levels of scale from which the pollution arose: (i) a proximate local scale (close to the sampling site) for traffic non-exhaust and resuspended dust sources; (ii) a local urban scale (including both sampling site and areas close to them) for combustion and industrial; and (iii) a regional scale characterized by ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate. This approach and results can help to develop and adopt better air quality policy action.

Tooth wear in the elderly population in South East Local Government area in Ibadan, Nigeria.

PubMed

Taiwo, J O; Ogunyinka, A; Onyeaso, C O; Dosumu, O O

2005-12-01

It is the aim of this study to determine the pattern and degree of tooth wear in the elderly population in the South East Local Government Area in Ibadan. The study was carried out on 690 elderly individuals who were 65 years old and above, living in various wards in South East Local Government Area, in Ibadan. A multistage sampling technique was used to select elderly individuals for the study. Two interviewers, 2-record clerks and 2 examiners were trained for the study and the examiners were calibrated. The index of Eccles J.D was used to determine the severity of tooth wear. The results highlight the high prevalence of tooth wear, mainly attrition in the elderly in this local government area. Six hundred and forty (92.8%) of the elderly had tooth wear. Of these 58.59% were males and 41.41% females. Attrition was observed in 618 (89.6%) elderly individuals. The mandible exhibited a higher prevalence of tooth wear than the maxilla and was statistically significant. Severe tooth wear was observed in only 5.74% of the teeth whilst moderate and mild tooth wear were observed in 26.91% and 30.88% respectively. Unlike the Western European countries, attrition being the most common type of tooth wear in these elderly individuals suggests that the aetiological factors responsible for tooth wear are different. Common habits such as crushing of bones and chewing of sticks for routine oral hygiene care could be contributing factors to tooth wear in this environment.

SIMULATING LOCAL DENSE AREAS USING PMMA TO ASSESS AUTOMATIC EXPOSURE CONTROL IN DIGITAL MAMMOGRAPHY.

PubMed

Bouwman, R W; Binst, J; Dance, D R; Young, K C; Broeders, M J M; den Heeten, G J; Veldkamp, W J H; Bosmans, H; van Engen, R E

2016-06-01

Current digital mammography (DM) X-ray systems are equipped with advanced automatic exposure control (AEC) systems, which determine the exposure factors depending on breast composition. In the supplement of the European guidelines for quality assurance in breast cancer screening and diagnosis, a phantom-based test is included to evaluate the AEC response to local dense areas in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). This study evaluates the proposed test in terms of SNR and dose for four DM systems. The glandular fraction represented by the local dense area was assessed by analytic calculations. It was found that the proposed test simulates adipose to fully glandular breast compositions in attenuation. The doses associated with the phantoms were found to match well with the patient dose distribution. In conclusion, after some small adaptations, the test is valuable for the assessment of the AEC performance in terms of both SNR and dose. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Cluster analysis of social and environment inequalities of infant mortality. A spatial study in small areas revealed by local disease mapping in France

PubMed Central

Padilla, Cindy M.; Deguen, Severine; Lalloue, Benoit; Blanchard, Olivier; Beaugard, Charles; Troude, Florence; Navier, Denis Zmirou; Vieira, Verónica M.

2014-01-01

Mapping spatial distributions of disease occurrence can serve as a useful tool for identifying exposures of public health concern. Infant mortality is an important indicator of the health status of a population. Recent literature suggests that neighborhood deprivation status can modify the effect of air pollution on preterm delivery, a known risk factor for infant mortality. We investigated the effect of neighborhood social deprivation on the association between exposure to ambient air NO2 and infant mortality in the Lille and Lyon metropolitan areas, north and center of France, respectively, between 2002 and 2009. We conducted an ecological study using a neighborhood deprivation index estimated at the French census block from the 2006 census data. Infant mortality data were collected from local councils and geocoded using the address of residence. We generated maps using generalized additive models, smoothing on longitude and latitude while adjusting for covariates. We used permutation tests to examine the overall importance of location in the model and identify areas of increased and decreased risk. The average death rate was 4.2‰ and 4.6‰ live births for the Lille and Lyon metropolitan areas during the period. We found evidence of statistically significant precise clusters of elevated infant mortality for Lille and an east-west gradient of infant mortality risk for Lyon. Exposure to NO2 did not explain the spatial relationship. The Lille MA, socioeconomic deprivation index explained the spatial variation observed. These techniques provide evidence of clusters of significantly elevated infant mortality risk in relation with the neighborhood socioeconomic status. This method could be used for public policy management to determine priority areas for interventions. Moreover, taking into account the relationship between social and environmental exposure may help identify areas with cumulative inequalities. PMID:23563257

Identifying Barriers to Collaboration Between Primary Care and Public Health: Experiences at the Local Level.

PubMed

Pratt, Rebekah; Gyllstrom, Beth; Gearin, Kim; Lange, Carol; Hahn, David; Baldwin, Laura-Mae; VanRaemdonck, Lisa; Nease, Don; Zahner, Susan

Interest is increasing in collaborations between public health and primary care to address the health of a community. Although the understanding of how these collaborations work is growing, little is known about the barriers facing these partners at the local level. The objective of this study was to identify barriers to collaboration between primary care and public health at the local level in 4 states. The study team, which comprised 12 representatives of Practice-Based Research Networks (networks of practitioners interested in conducting research in practice-based settings), identified 40 key informants from the public health and primary care fields in Colorado, Minnesota, Washington State, and Wisconsin. The key informants participated in standardized, semistructured telephone interviews with 8 study team members in 2014 and 2015. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. We analyzed key themes and subthemes by drawing on grounded theory. Primary care and public health participants identified similar barriers to collaboration. Barriers at the institutional level included the challenges of the primary care environment, in which providers feel overwhelmed and resources are tight; the need for systems change; a lack of partnership; and geographic challenges. Barriers to collaboration included mutual awareness, communication, data sharing, capacity, lack of resources, and prioritization of resources. Some barriers to collaboration (eg, changes to health care billing, demands on provider time) require systems change to overcome, whereas others (eg, a lack of shared priorities and mutual awareness) could be addressed through educational approaches, without adding resources or making a systemic change. Overcoming these common barriers may lead to more effective collaboration.

Areas of Anomalous Surface Temperature in Alamosa and Saguache Counties, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

DOE Data Explorer

Khalid Hussein

2012-02-01

This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Alamosa and Saguache Counties identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature greater than 2o were considered ASTER modeled very warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies) Note: 'o' is used in this description to represent lowercase sigma.

Leptospirosis Outbreaks in Nicaragua: Identifying Critical Areas and Exploring Drivers for Evidence-Based Planning

PubMed Central

Schneider, Maria Cristina; Nájera, Patricia; Aldighieri, Sylvain; Bacallao, Jorge; Soto, Aida; Marquiño, Wilmer; Altamirano, Lesbia; Saenz, Carlos; Marin, Jesus; Jimenez, Eduardo; Moynihan, Matthew; Espinal, Marcos

2012-01-01

Leptospirosis is an epidemic-prone zoonotic disease that occurs worldwide. In Central America, leptospirosis outbreaks have been reported in almost all countries; Nicaragua in particular has faced several outbreaks. The objective of this study was to stratify the risk and identify “critical areas” for leptospirosis outbreaks in Nicaragua, and to perform an exploratory analysis of potential “drivers”. This ecological study includes the entire country (153 municipalities). Cases from 2004 to 2010 were obtained from the country’s health information system, demographic and socioeconomic variables from its Census, and environmental data from external sources. Criteria for risk stratification of leptospirosis were defined. Nicaragua reported 1,980 cases of leptospirosis during this period, with the highest percentage of cases (26.36%) in León, followed by Chinandega (15.35%). Among the 153 municipalities, 48 were considered critical areas, 85 were endemic and 20 silent. Using spatial and statistical analysis, the variable presenting the most evident pattern of association with critical areas defined by top quintile of incidence rate is the percentage of municipal surface occupied by the soil combination of cambisol (over pyroclastic and lava bedrock) and andosol (over a volcanic ashes foundation). Precipitation and percentage of rural population are also associated with critical areas. This methodology and findings could be used for Nicaragua’s Leptospirosis Intersectoral Plan, and to identify possible risk areas in other countries with similar drivers. PMID:23202822

[Lead exposure of people living in a lead high exposure area from local diet].

PubMed

Zhou, Yong; He, Liping; Huang, Xiao; He, Junshan

2011-11-01

To study the lead exposure of people living in a lead high exposure area from local diet, and to assess its health risks. Thirty five subjects were selected by random from a mining area and another 30 subjects were selected from a non-polluted area. The exposure of lead was estimated by the content of lead in drinking water and vegetables, and health risks was estimated by the levels of lead in blood and urine. The content of lead in drinking water and vegetables in the mining area was 20.6 microg/L and 1.61mg/kg (geometric mean) respectively, which were higher than that in the unpolluted area (6.0 microg/L and 0.56 mg/kg, geometric mean) (P < 0.01). The daily lead exposure of male and female inhabitants in the mining area from diet was 16.88 microg/kg and 16.09 microg/kg respectively, which was higher than that in the unpolluted area (P < 0.01), but the sex difference was not significant statistically (P > 0.05). Blood lead and urine lead of inhabitants in the mining-area were higher than those in the unpolluted area. The health risks for male and female inhabitants in the mining area were 4.73 and 4.51. The health risks of lead exposure caused by diet (drinking water and food) were relatively high in the mining area.

Studying local earthquakes in the area Baltic-Bothnia Megashear using the data of the POLENET/LAPNET temporary array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Usoltseva, Olga; Kozlovskaya, Elena

2016-07-01

Earthquakes in areas within continental plates are still not completely understood, and progress on understanding intraplate seismicity is slow due to a short history of instrumental seismology and sparse regional seismic networks in seismically non-active areas. However, knowledge about position and depth of seismogenic structures in such areas is necessary in order to estimate seismic hazard for such critical facilities such as nuclear power plants and nuclear waste deposits. In the present paper we address the problem of seismicity in the intraplate area of northern Fennoscandia using the information on local events recorded by the POLENET/LAPNET (Polar Earth Observing Network) temporary seismic array during the International Polar Year 2007-2009. We relocate the seismic events using the program HYPOELLIPS (a computer program for determining local earthquake hypocentral parameters) and grid search method. We use the first arrivals of P waves of local events in order to calculate a 3-D tomographic P wave velocity model of the uppermost crust (down to 20 km) for a selected region inside the study area and show that the velocity heterogeneities in the upper crust correlate well with known tectonic units. We compare the position of the velocity heterogeneities with the seismogenic structures delineated by epicentres of relocated events and demonstrate that these structures generally do not correlate with the crustal units formed as a result of crustal evolution in the Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic. On the contrary, they correlate well with the postglacial faults located in the area of the Baltic-Bothnia Megashear (BBMS). Hypocentres of local events have depths down to 30 km. We also obtain the focal mechanism of a selected event with good data quality. The focal mechanism is of oblique type with strike-slip prevailing. Our results demonstrate that the Baltic-Bothnia Megashear is an important large-scale, reactivated tectonic structure that has to be taken into

Distribution of fission products palladium, silver, cerium and cesium in the un-corroded areas of the locally corroded SiC layer of a neutron irradiated TRISO fuel particle

DOE PAGES

Wen, Haiming; van Rooyen, Isabella J.

2017-04-14

Here, detailed electron microscopy studies were performed to investigate the distribution and composition of fission products in the SiC layer of a tristructural isotropic coated particle exhibiting localized corrosion. Previous studies on this particle indicated that pure carbon areas in the SiC layer, resulting from localized corrosion of SiC by Pd, provide pathways for Ag, Cd and Cs migration. This study reveals the presence of Ag- and/or Cd-containing precipitates in un-corroded SiC areas. Ag/Cd may exist by themselves or coexist with Pd. Ag/Cd mainly transport along SiC grain boundaries. An Ag-Pd-Cd precipitate was identified at a stacking fault inside amore » SiC grain, suggesting that intragranular transport of Ag/Cd is possible. Ce is present with Pd or Pd-U in some precipitates >50 nm. U and Ce frequently coexist with each other, whereas Ag/Cd usually does not coexist with U or Ce. No Cs was detected in any precipitates in the areas examined.« less

Etomidate accurately localizes the epileptic area in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.

PubMed

Pastor, Jesús; Wix, Rybel; Meilán, María Luisa; Martínez-Chacón, José Luís; de Dios, Eva; Domínguez-Gadea, Luis; Herrera-Peco, Iván; Sola, Rafael G

2010-04-01

A variety of drugs have been used to activate and identify the epileptogenic area in patients during presurgical evaluation. We have evaluated the safety and usefulness of etomidate in identifying the epileptic zone by measuring bioelectrical brain activity and cerebral blood flow (CBF). We studied 13 men and 9 women under presurgical evaluation for temporal lobe epilepsy. We applied etomidate (0.1 mg/kg) while patients were monitored by video-electroencephalography (VEEG) with foramen ovale electrodes. In a subset of 15 patients, we also measured CBF with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). (1) Etomidate induced seizures in 2 of 22 patients. (2) The main side-effects observed were myoclonus (14 of 20) and moderate pain (3 of 20). (3) No changes in capillary oxygen saturation, respiration, or heart rate were observed. (4) Irritative activity specifically increased in the temporal mesial and lateral areas. No spikes were observed in other areas, aside from those observed under baseline conditions. (5) Irritative activity induced by etomidate correctly lateralized the ictal onset zone in 19 of 20 patients. In addition, the two etomidate-induced seizures appeared in the same regions as spontaneous ones. (6) The kinetics of pharmacologically induced activity was higher in the region of the ictal-onset zone. (7) Etomidate increased the CBF in the basal ganglia and especially in the posterior hippocampus of the temporal mesial region contralateral to the ictal-onset zone. Etomidate activation is a safe, specific, and quick test that can be used to identify the epileptic region in patients evaluated as candidates for temporal lobe epilepsy surgery.

Short-interval SMS wind vector determinations for a severe local storms area

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peslen, C. A.

1980-01-01

Short-interval SMS-2 visible digital image data are used to derive wind vectors from cloud tracking on time-lapsed sequences of geosynchronous satellite images. The cloud tracking areas are located in the Central Plains, where on May 6, 1975 hail-producing thunderstorms occurred ahead of a well defined dry line. Cloud tracking is performed on the Goddard Space Flight Center Atmospheric and Oceanographic Information Processing System. Lower tropospheric cumulus tracers are selected with the assistance of a cloud-top height algorithm. Divergence is derived from the cloud motions using a modified Cressman (1959) objective analysis technique which is designed to organize irregularly spaced wind vectors into uniformly gridded wind fields. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using satellite-derived wind vectors and their associated divergence fields in describing the conditions preceding severe local storm development. For this case, an area of convergence appeared ahead of the dry line and coincided with the developing area of severe weather. The magnitude of the maximum convergence varied between -10 to the -5th and -10 to the -14th per sec. The number of satellite-derived wind vectors which were required to describe conditions of the low-level atmosphere was adequate before numerous cumulonimbus cells formed. This technique is limited in areas of advanced convection.

20 CFR 663.585 - May individuals choose training providers located outside of the local area?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false May individuals choose training providers located outside of the local area? 663.585 Section 663.585 Employees' Benefits EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ADULT AND DISLOCATED WORKER ACTIVITIES UNDER TITLE I OF THE WORKFORCE...

20 CFR 663.585 - May individuals choose training providers located outside of the local area?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false May individuals choose training providers located outside of the local area? 663.585 Section 663.585 Employees' Benefits EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR ADULT AND DISLOCATED WORKER ACTIVITIES UNDER TITLE I OF THE WORKFORCE...

Blending Pan-European and local hydrological models for water resource assessment in Mediterranean areas: lessons learnt from a mountainous catchment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

José Polo, María; José Pérez-Palazón, María; Saénz de Rodrigáñez, Marta; Pimentel, Rafael; Arheimer, Berit

2017-04-01

Global hydrological models provide scientists and technicians with distributed data over medium to large areas from which assessment of water resource planning and use can be easily performed. However, scale conflicts between global models' spatial resolution and the local significant spatial scales in heterogeneous areas usually pose a constraint for the direct use and application of these models' results. The SWICCA (Service for Water Indicators in Climate Change Adaptation) Platform developed under the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) offers a wide range of both climate and hydrological indicators obtained on a global scale with different time and spatial resolutions. Among the different study cases supporting the SWICCA demonstration of local impact assessment, the Sierra Nevada study case (South Spain) is a representative example of mountainous coastal catchments in the Mediterranean region. This work shows the lessons learnt during the study case development to derive local impact indicator tailored to suit the local end-users of water resource in this snow-dominated area. Different approaches were followed to select the most accurate method to downscale the global data and variables to the local level in a highly abrupt topography, in a sequential step approach. 1) SWICCA global climate variable downscaling followed by river flow simulation from a local hydrological model in selected control points in the catchment, together with 2) SWICCA global river flow values downscaling to the control points followed by corrections with local transfer functions were both tested against the available local river flow series of observations during the reference period. This test was performed for the different models and the available spatial resolutions included in the SWICCA platform. From the results, the second option, that is, the use of SWICCA river flow variables, performed the best approximations, once the local transfer functions were applied to the

Localized Fire Protection Assessment for Vehicle Compressed Hydrogen Containers

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-03-01

Industry has identified localized flame impingement on high pressure composite storage cylinders as an area requiring research due to several catastrophic failures in recent years involving compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles. Current standards and...

Local level sustainability policies in the Baltic Sea area: Local Agenda 21 within the Union of the Baltic Cities network.

PubMed

Joas, M; Grönholm, B

2001-08-01

Local Agenda 21 (LA21) processes have 2 central goals. i) On the basis of some of the empirical evidence in this study, the primary goal is to improve democratic (environmental) policy-making processes in such a manner that a larger share of the population will be able to participate in planning and decision making and will also be able to understand the consequences of these decisions. ii) The LA21 processes seek to improve (at least indirectly) the broadly defined environmental situation locally in a manner that takes into account both the local and the global contexts. The first part of this article discusses the concept and methods of LA21 and sheds light on the different action areas that are central to the Baltic LA21 processes. In addition, the study will describe and display the LA21 situation within one network of cities, the Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC). Networking, including transfer of information, models and ideas, has been among the main tools for the diffusion of LA21 ideas especially into newly democratized societies. Finally, the article will conclude with an overall assessment of the LA21 situation on the Baltic rim.

Silent Sentence Completion Shows Superiority Localizing Wernicke's Area and Activation Patterns of Distinct Language Paradigms Correlate with Genomics: Prospective Study.

PubMed

Salek, Kamel El; Hassan, Islam S; Kotrotsou, Aikaterini; Abrol, Srishti; Faro, Scott H; Mohamed, Feroze B; Zinn, Pascal O; Wei, Wei; Li, Nan; Kumar, Ashok J; Weinberg, Jeffrey S; Wefel, Jeffrey S; Kesler, Shelli R; Liu, Ho-Ling Anthony; Hou, Ping; Stafford, R Jason; Prabhu, Sujit; Sawaya, Raymond; Colen, Rivka R

2017-09-21

Preoperative mapping of language areas using fMRI greatly depends on the paradigms used, as different tasks harness distinct capabilities to activate speech processing areas. In this study, we compared the ability of 3 covert speech paradigms: Silent Sentence Completion (SSC), category naming (CAT) and verbal fluency (FAS), in localizing the Wernicke's area and studied the association between genomic markers and functional activation. Fifteen right-handed healthy volunteers and 35 mixed-handed patients were included. We focused on the anatomical areas of posterosuperior, middle temporal and angular gyri corresponding to Wernicke's area. Activity was deemed significant in a region of interest if P < 0.05. Association between fMRI activation and genomic mutation status was obtained. Results demonstrated SSC's superiority at localizing Wernicke's area. SSC demonstrated functional activity in 100% of cancer patients and healthy volunteers; which was significantly higher than those for FAS and CAT. Patients with 1p/19q non-co-deleted had higher extent of activation on SSC (P < 0.02). Those with IDH-1 wild-type were more likely to show no activity on CAT (P < 0.05). SSC is a robust paradigm for localizing Wernicke's area, making it an important clinical tool for function-preserving surgeries. We also found a correlation between tumor genomics and functional activation, which deserves more comprehensive study.

Built-Up Area Detection from High-Resolution Satellite Images Using Multi-Scale Wavelet Transform and Local Spatial Statistics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Gao, J.; Yuan, Y.; Lv, Z.

2018-04-01

Recently, built-up area detection from high-resolution satellite images (HRSI) has attracted increasing attention because HRSI can provide more detailed object information. In this paper, multi-resolution wavelet transform and local spatial autocorrelation statistic are introduced to model the spatial patterns of built-up areas. First, the input image is decomposed into high- and low-frequency subbands by wavelet transform at three levels. Then the high-frequency detail information in three directions (horizontal, vertical and diagonal) are extracted followed by a maximization operation to integrate the information in all directions. Afterward, a cross-scale operation is implemented to fuse different levels of information. Finally, local spatial autocorrelation statistic is introduced to enhance the saliency of built-up features and an adaptive threshold algorithm is used to achieve the detection of built-up areas. Experiments are conducted on ZY-3 and Quickbird panchromatic satellite images, and the results show that the proposed method is very effective for built-up area detection.

Assessment of Local Recharge Area Characteristics of Four Caves in Northern Arkansas and Northeastern Oklahoma, 2004-07

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gillip, Jonathan A.; Galloway, Joel M.; Hart, Rheannon M.

2009-01-01

A study was conducted from 2004 to 2007 by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to assess the characteristics of the local recharge areas of four caves in northern Arkansas and northeastern Oklahoma that provide habitat for a number of unique organisms. Characterization of the local recharge areas are important because the caves occur in a predominately karst system and because land use proximal to the caves, including areas suspected to lie within the local recharge areas, may include activities with potentially deleterious effects to cave water quality. An integrated approach was used to determine the hydrogeologic characteristics and the extent of the local recharge areas of Civil War Cave, January-Stansbury Cave, Nesbitt Spring Cave, and Wasson's Mud Cave. This approach incorporated methods of hydrology, structural geology, geomorphology, and geochemistry. Continuous water-level and water-temperature data were collected at each cave for various periods to determine recharge characteristics. Field investigations were conducted to determine surficial controls affecting the groundwater flow and connections of the groundwater system to land-surface processes in each study area. Qualitative groundwater tracing also was conducted at each cave to help define the local recharge areas. These independent methods of investigation provided multiple lines of evidence for effectively describing the behavior of these complex hydrologic systems. Civil War Cave is located near the city of Bentonville in Benton County, Arkansas, and provides habitat for the Ozark cavefish. Civil War Cave is developed entirely within the epikarst of the upper Boone Formation, and recharge to Civil War Cave occurs from the Boone Formation (Springfield Plateau aquifer). The daily mean discharge for the period of study was 0.59 cubic feet per second and ranged from 0.19 to 2.8 cubic feet per second. The mean water temperature for Civil War Cave was 14

Use of strontium isotopes to identify buried water main leakage into groundwater in a highly urbanized coastal area.

PubMed

Leung, Chi-Man; Jiao, Jiu Jimmy

2006-11-01

Previous studies indicate that the local aquifer systems in the Mid-Levels, a highly urbanized coastal area in Hong Kong, have commonly been affected by leakage from water mains. The identification of leakage locations was done by conventional water quality parameters including major and trace elements. However, these parameters may lead to ambiguous results and fail to identify leakage locations especially where the leakage is from drinking water mains because the chemical composition of drinking water is similar to that of natural groundwater. In this study, natural groundwater, seepage in the developed spaces, leakage from water mains, and parent aquifer materials were measured for strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) compositions to explore the feasibility of using these ratios to better constrain the seepage sources. The results show that the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of natural groundwater and leakage from water mains are distinctly different and thus, they can provide additional information on the sources of seepage in developed spaces. A classification system based on the aqueous 87Sr/86Sr ratio is proposed for seepage source identification.

System for analysis of LANDSAT agricultural data: Automatic computer-assisted proportion estimation of local areas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nalepka, R. F. (Principal Investigator); Kauth, R. J.; Thomas, G. S.

1976-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. A conceptual man machine system framework was created for a large scale agricultural remote sensing system. The system is based on and can grow out of the local recognition mode of LACIE, through a gradual transition wherein computer support functions supplement and replace AI functions. Local proportion estimation functions are broken into two broad classes: (1) organization of the data within the sample segment; and (2) identification of the fields or groups of fields in the sample segment.

Socio-economic benefits from protected areas in southeastern Australia.

PubMed

Heagney, E C; Kovac, M; Fountain, J; Conner, N

2015-12-01

International case studies of protected area performance increasingly report that conservation and socio-economic outcomes are interdependent. Effective conservation requires support and cooperation from local governments and communities, which in turn requires that protected areas contribute to the economic well-being of the communities in which they are sited. Despite increasing recognition of their importance, robust studies that document the socio-economic impacts of protected areas are rare, especially in the developed world context. We proposed 3 potential pathways through which protected areas might benefit local communities in the developed world: the improved local housing value, local business stimulus, and increased local funding pathways. We examined these pathways by undertaking a statistical longitudinal analysis of 110 regional and rural communities covering an area of approximately 600,000 km(2) in southeastern Australia. We compared trends in 10 socio-economic indicators describing employment, income, housing, business development and local government revenue from 2000 to 2010. New protected areas acquisitions led to an increased number of new dwelling approvals and associated developer contributions, increased local business numbers, and increased local government revenue from user-pays services and grants. Longer-term effects of established protected areas included increased local council revenue from a variety of sources. Our findings provide support for each of our 3 proposed benefit pathways and contribute new insights into the cycling of benefits from protected areas through the economy over time. The business and legislative models in our study are typical of those operating in many other developed countries; thus, the benefit pathways reported in our study are likely to be generalizable. By identifying and communicating socio-economic benefits from terrestrial protected areas in a developed world context, our findings represent an important

Local Topography Effect on Plant Area Index Profile Calculation from Small Footprint Airborne Laser Scanning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, J.; Wang, T.; Skidmore, A. K.; Heurich, M.

2016-12-01

The plant area index (PAI) profile is a quantitative description of how plants (including leaves and woody materials) are distributed vertically, as a function of height. PAI profiles can be used for many applications including biomass estimation, radiative transfer modelling, fire fuel modelling and wildlife habitat assessment. With airborne laser scanning (ALS), forest structure underneath the canopy surface can be detected. PAI profiles can be calculated through estimates of the vertically resolved gap fraction from ALS data. In this process, a gridding or aggregation step is often involved. Most current research neglects local topographic change, and utilizes a height normalization algorithm to achieve a local or relative height, implying a flat local terrain assumption inside the grid or aggregation area. However, in mountainous forest, this assumption is often not valid. Therefore, in this research, the local topographic effect on the PAI profile calculation was studied. Small footprint discrete multi-return ALS data was acquired over the Bavarian Forest National Park under leaf-off and leaf-on conditions. Ground truth data, including tree height, canopy cover, DBH as well as digital hemispherical photos, were collected in 30 plots. These plots covered a wide range of forest structure, plant species, local topography condition and understory coverage. PAI profiles were calculated both with and without height normalization. The difference between height normalized and non-normalized profiles were evaluated with the coefficient of variation of root mean squared difference (CV-RMSD). The derived metric PAI values from PAI profiles were also evaluated with ground truth PAI from the hemispherical photos. Results showed that change in local topography had significant effects on the PAI profile. The CV-RMSD between PAI profile results calculated with or without height normalization ranged from 24.5% to 163.9%. Height normalization (neglecting topography change) can

25 CFR 170.501 - What happens when the review process identifies areas for improvement?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false What happens when the review process identifies areas for improvement? 170.501 Section 170.501 Indians BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR LAND AND WATER INDIAN RESERVATION ROADS PROGRAM Planning, Design, and Construction of Indian Reservation Roads...

Static Footprint Local Forces, Areas, and Aspect Ratios for Three Type 7 Aircraft Tires

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howell, William E.; Perez, Sharon E.; Vogler, William A.

1991-01-01

The National Tire Modeling Program (NTMP) is a joint NASA/industry effort to improve the understanding of tire mechanics and develop accurate analytical design tools. This effort includes fundamental analytical and experimental research on the structural mechanics of tires. Footprint local forces, areas, and aspect ratios were measured. Local footprint forces in the vertical, lateral, and drag directions were measured with a special footprint force transducer. Measurements of the local forces in the footprint were obtained by positioning the transducer at specified locations within the footprint and externally loading the tires. Three tires were tested: (1) one representative of those used on the main landing gear of B-737 and DC-9 commercial transport airplanes, (2) a nose landing gear tire for the Space Shuttle Orbiter, and (3) a main landing gear tire for the Space Shuttle Orbiter. Data obtained for various inflation pressures and vertical loads are presented for two aircraft tires. The results are presented in graphical and tabulated forms.

Effects of new urban motorway infrastructure on road traffic accidents in the local area: a retrospective longitudinal study in Scotland.

PubMed

Olsen, Jonathan R; Mitchell, Richard; Mackay, Daniel F; Humphreys, David K; Ogilvie, David

2016-11-01

The M74 motorway extension, Glasgow, opened in June 2011. One justification for construction was an expectation that it would reduce road traffic accidents (RTAs) on local non-motorway roads. This study evaluated the impact of the extension on the number of RTAs, stratifying by accident severity. Data for the period 1997-2014 were extracted from a UK database of reported RTAs involving a personal injury. RTA severity was defined by the level of injury: minor, severe or fatal. RTAs were assigned to (1) the local area surrounding the motorway extension, (2) a comparator area surrounding an existing motorway or (3) a control area elsewhere in the conurbation. Interrupted time-series regression with autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) errors was used to determine longitudinal between-area differences in change in the number of RTAs, which might indicate an intervention effect. Glasgow and surrounding local authorities saw a 50.6% reduction in annual RTAs (n: 5901 to 2914) between 1997 and 2014. In the intervention area, the number of recorded RTAs decreased by 50.7% (n: 758 to 374), and that of fatal/severe RTAs by 57.4% (n: 129 to 55), with similar reductions in the comparator/control areas. The interrupted time-series analysis showed no significant between-area differences in temporal trends. The reduction of pedestrian casualties was attenuated in the intervention area relative to Glasgow and surrounding authorities. Reduction in RTAs was not associated with the motorway extension. Our findings suggest that in planning future investment, it should not be taken for granted that new road infrastructure alone will reduce RTAs in local areas. Urbanisation is proceeding rapidly worldwide, and evidence of infrastructure changes is lacking; this novel study provides important findings for future developments. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Transport pathway and source area for Artemisia pollen in Beijing, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Xiaoxin; Li, Yiyin; Sun, Xu; Meng, Ling; Wang, Xiaoke

2017-12-01

Artemisia pollen is an important allergen responsible for allergic rhinitis in Beijing, China. To explore the transport pathways and source areas of Artemisia pollen, we used Burkard 7-day traps to monitor daily pollen concentrations in 2016 in an urban and suburban locality. Backward trajectories of 24- and 96-h and their cluster analysis were performed to identify transport pathways of Artemisia pollen using the HYSPLIT model on 0.5° × 0.5° GADS meteorological data. The potential source contribution function (PSCF) and concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) were calculated to further identify the major potential source areas at local, regional, and long-range scales. Our results showed significant differences in Artemisia pollen concentration between urban and suburban areas, attributed to differences in plant distribution and altitude of the sampling locality. Such differences arisen from both pollen emission and air mass movements, hence pollen dispersal. At local or regional scales, source area of northwestern parts of Beijing City, Hebei Province and northern and northwestern parts of Inner Mongolia influenced the major transport pathways of Artemisia pollen. Transport pathway at a long-range scale and its corresponding source area extended to northwestern parts of Mongolia. The regional-scale transport affected by wind and altitude is more profound for Artemisia pollen at the suburban than at the urban station.

Temperate marine protected area provides recruitment subsidies to local fisheries.

PubMed

Le Port, A; Montgomery, J C; Smith, A N H; Croucher, A E; McLeod, I M; Lavery, S D

2017-10-25

The utility of marine protected areas (MPAs) as a means of protecting exploited species and conserving biodiversity within MPA boundaries is supported by strong empirical evidence. However, the potential contribution of MPAs to fished populations beyond their boundaries is still highly controversial; empirical measures are scarce and modelling studies have produced a range of predictions, including both positive and negative effects. Using a combination of genetic parentage and relatedness analysis, we measured larval subsidies to local fisheries replenishment for Australasian snapper ( Chrysophrys auratus : Sparidae) from a small (5.2 km 2 ), well-established, temperate, coastal MPA in northern New Zealand. Adult snapper within the MPA contributed an estimated 10.6% (95% CI: 5.5-18.1%) of newly settled juveniles to surrounding areas (approx. 400 km 2 ), with no decreasing trend in contributions up to 40 km away. Biophysical modelling of larval dispersal matched experimental data, showing larvae produced inside the MPA dispersed over a comparable distance. These results demonstrate that temperate MPAs have the potential to provide recruitment subsidies at magnitudes and spatial scales relevant to fisheries management. The validated biophysical model provides a cost-efficient opportunity to generalize these findings to other locations and climate conditions, and potentially informs the design of MPA networks for enhancing fisheries management. © 2017 The Author(s).

Molecular typing of the recently expanding subtype B HIV-1 epidemic in Romania: evidence for local spread among MSMs in Bucharest area.

PubMed

Paraschiv, Simona; Otelea, Dan; Batan, Ionelia; Baicus, Cristian; Magiorkinis, Gkikas; Paraskevis, Dimitrios

2012-07-01

HIV-1 subtype B is predominant in Europe except in some countries from Eastern Europe which are characterized by a high prevalence of non-B subtypes and circulating recombinant forms (CRFs). Romania is a particular case: the HIV-1 epidemic started with subtype F1 which is still the most prevalent. Previous studies have shown an increasing prevalence of subtype B which is the second most frequent one among the newly diagnosed individuals, followed by subtype C and several CRFs as well as unique recombinant forms (URFs). Our objective was to analyze in detail the characteristics (way of dispersal, association with transmission risk groups) of the subtype B infections in Romania by means of phylogenetic analysis. Among all the individuals sampled during 2003-2010, 71 out of 1127 patients (6.3%) have been identified to be infected with subtype B strains. The most frequent route of infection identified in HIV-1 subtype B patients in Romania was MSM transmission (39.6%), followed by the heterosexual route (35.2%). Many of the patients acquired the infection abroad, mainly in Western European countries. Phylogenetic analysis indicated the existence of a local transmission network (monophyletic clade) including 14 patients, mainly MSM living in the Bucharest area. We estimate the origin of the local transmission network that dates at the beginning of the 90s; the introduction of the F1 and C subtypes occurred earlier. The rest of the sequences were intermixed with reference strains sampled across Europe suggesting that single infection were not followed by subsequent dispersal within the local population. Although HIV-1 subtype B epidemic in Romania is recent, there is evidence for local spread among the MSMs, in addition to multiple introductions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

44 CFR 65.14 - Remapping of areas for which local flood protection systems no longer provide base flood protection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... local flood protection systems no longer provide base flood protection. 65.14 Section 65.14 Emergency... § 65.14 Remapping of areas for which local flood protection systems no longer provide base flood protection. (a) General. (1) This section describes the procedures to follow and the types of information...

44 CFR 65.14 - Remapping of areas for which local flood protection systems no longer provide base flood protection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... local flood protection systems no longer provide base flood protection. 65.14 Section 65.14 Emergency... § 65.14 Remapping of areas for which local flood protection systems no longer provide base flood protection. (a) General. (1) This section describes the procedures to follow and the types of information...

44 CFR 65.14 - Remapping of areas for which local flood protection systems no longer provide base flood protection.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... local flood protection systems no longer provide base flood protection. 65.14 Section 65.14 Emergency... § 65.14 Remapping of areas for which local flood protection systems no longer provide base flood protection. (a) General. (1) This section describes the procedures to follow and the types of information...

A systematic review to identify areas of enhancements of pandemic simulation models for operational use at provincial and local levels

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background In recent years, computer simulation models have supported development of pandemic influenza preparedness policies. However, U.S. policymakers have raised several concerns about the practical use of these models. In this review paper, we examine the extent to which the current literature already addresses these concerns and identify means of enhancing the current models for higher operational use. Methods We surveyed PubMed and other sources for published research literature on simulation models for influenza pandemic preparedness. We identified 23 models published between 1990 and 2010 that consider single-region (e.g., country, province, city) outbreaks and multi-pronged mitigation strategies. We developed a plan for examination of the literature based on the concerns raised by the policymakers. Results While examining the concerns about the adequacy and validity of data, we found that though the epidemiological data supporting the models appears to be adequate, it should be validated through as many updates as possible during an outbreak. Demographical data must improve its interfaces for access, retrieval, and translation into model parameters. Regarding the concern about credibility and validity of modeling assumptions, we found that the models often simplify reality to reduce computational burden. Such simplifications may be permissible if they do not interfere with the performance assessment of the mitigation strategies. We also agreed with the concern that social behavior is inadequately represented in pandemic influenza models. Our review showed that the models consider only a few social-behavioral aspects including contact rates, withdrawal from work or school due to symptoms appearance or to care for sick relatives, and compliance to social distancing, vaccination, and antiviral prophylaxis. The concern about the degree of accessibility of the models is palpable, since we found three models that are currently accessible by the public while

Subcellular localization of pituitary enzymes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, R. E.

1970-01-01

A cytochemical procedure is reported for identifying subcellular sites of enzymes hydrolyzing beta-naphthylamine substrates, and to study the sites of reaction product localization in cells of various tissues. Investigations using the substrate Leu 4-methoxy-8-naphthylamine, a capture with hexonium pararosaniline, and the final chelation of osmium have identified the hydrolyzing enzyme of rat liver cells; this enzyme localized on cell membranes with intense deposition in the areas of the parcanaliculi. The study of cells in the anterior pituitary of the rat showed the deposition of reaction product on cell membrane; and on the membranes of secretion granules contained within the cell. The deposition of reaction product on the cell membrane however showed no increase or decrease with changes in the physiological state of the gland and release of secretion granules from specific cells.

Combining population genomics and fitness QTLs to identify the genetics of local adaptation in Arabidopsis thaliana.

PubMed

Price, Nicholas; Moyers, Brook T; Lopez, Lua; Lasky, Jesse R; Monroe, J Grey; Mullen, Jack L; Oakley, Christopher G; Lin, Junjiang; Ågren, Jon; Schrider, Daniel R; Kern, Andrew D; McKay, John K

2018-05-08

Evidence for adaptation to different climates in the model species Arabidopsis thaliana is seen in reciprocal transplant experiments, but the genetic basis of this adaptation remains poorly understood. Field-based quantitative trait locus (QTL) studies provide direct but low-resolution evidence for the genetic basis of local adaptation. Using high-resolution population genomic approaches, we examine local adaptation along previously identified genetic trade-off (GT) and conditionally neutral (CN) QTLs for fitness between locally adapted Italian and Swedish A. thaliana populations [Ågren J, et al. (2013) Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 110:21077-21082]. We find that genomic regions enriched in high F ST SNPs colocalize with GT QTL peaks. Many of these high F ST regions also colocalize with regions enriched for SNPs significantly correlated to climate in Eurasia and evidence of recent selective sweeps in Sweden. Examining unfolded site frequency spectra across genes containing high F ST SNPs suggests GTs may be due to more recent adaptation in Sweden than Italy. Finally, we collapse a list of thousands of genes spanning GT QTLs to 42 genes that likely underlie the observed GTs and explore potential biological processes driving these trade-offs, from protein phosphorylation, to seed dormancy and longevity. Our analyses link population genomic analyses and field-based QTL studies of local adaptation, and emphasize that GTs play an important role in the process of local adaptation. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

Scale-dependent complementarity of climatic velocity and environmental diversity for identifying priority areas for conservation under climate change.

PubMed

Carroll, Carlos; Roberts, David R; Michalak, Julia L; Lawler, Joshua J; Nielsen, Scott E; Stralberg, Diana; Hamann, Andreas; Mcrae, Brad H; Wang, Tongli

2017-11-01

As most regions of the earth transition to altered climatic conditions, new methods are needed to identify refugia and other areas whose conservation would facilitate persistence of biodiversity under climate change. We compared several common approaches to conservation planning focused on climate resilience over a broad range of ecological settings across North America and evaluated how commonalities in the priority areas identified by different methods varied with regional context and spatial scale. Our results indicate that priority areas based on different environmental diversity metrics differed substantially from each other and from priorities based on spatiotemporal metrics such as climatic velocity. Refugia identified by diversity or velocity metrics were not strongly associated with the current protected area system, suggesting the need for additional conservation measures including protection of refugia. Despite the inherent uncertainties in predicting future climate, we found that variation among climatic velocities derived from different general circulation models and emissions pathways was less than the variation among the suite of environmental diversity metrics. To address uncertainty created by this variation, planners can combine priorities identified by alternative metrics at a single resolution and downweight areas of high variation between metrics. Alternately, coarse-resolution velocity metrics can be combined with fine-resolution diversity metrics in order to leverage the respective strengths of the two groups of metrics as tools for identification of potential macro- and microrefugia that in combination maximize both transient and long-term resilience to climate change. Planners should compare and integrate approaches that span a range of model complexity and spatial scale to match the range of ecological and physical processes influencing persistence of biodiversity and identify a conservation network resilient to threats operating at

Permafrost conditions at the Upper Kuskokwim river area and its influence on local communities.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kholodov, A. L.; Panda, S. K.; Hanson, T.

2017-12-01

Research area located within the zone of discontinuous permafrost distribution. Recent mean annual air temperature here is close to the 0C. It means, that taking in consideration warming influence of the snow cower during winter, mean annual temperature at the ground surface is well above freezing point. It means that presence or absence of permafrost here completely controlled by the ecological conditions. Based on remote sensing data and the surveys conducted in 2016-17 we selected 6 main ecotypes typical for this area: black spruce boreal forest, wetlands, low and tall shrubs, deciduous and mixed forest. Most of them (low shrubs, deciduous and mixed forest) represent different stages of area recovering after forest fires that was confirmed by the presence of ashy layer close to ground surface in soil pits had been dug within these landscapes. Permafrost was observed only within 2 of them: low shrubs and black spruce boreal forest. Within these types of terrain temperature at the bottom of active layer varies from -0.2/-0.5C at the areas of low shrubs, recovered after relatively recent (approximately 30-50 years old) fires to -1/-1.5 within black spruce forest. Active (seasonally thawed) layer as thick as 0.6 to 0.8 m. Warmest ecotypes for the area are tall shrubs and deciduous forest, temperature at the depth close to 1 m is about +3C. At the mixed forest temperature at the same depth consists of +1/+2C. Active (seasonally frozen) layer thickness within permafrost free areas is 1-1.5 m at the drained sites and about 0.5 within wetlands. Ice-rich permafrost underlying the active layer was noticed only within the black spruce forest. Areas which are free of permafrost are much better drained, typical moisture of mineral soil is less than 30% versus 45-50% in seasonally thawed layer. The current state of permafrost and the fact that it presence completely depends on ecosystems limits land use abilities of local inhabitants. Any changes of forest coverage or organic

Identifying high-risk areas of bacillary dysentery and associated meteorological factors in Wuhan, China.

PubMed

Li, Zhenjun; Wang, Ligui; Sun, Weige; Hou, Xuexin; Yang, Haiyan; Sun, Lina; Xu, Shuai; Sun, Qiangzheng; Zhang, Jingshan; Song, Hongbin; Lin, Hualiang

2013-11-21

Spatial distribution of bacillary dysentery incidence was mapped at the district level in Wuhan, China. And a generalized additive time series model was used to examine the effect of daily weather factors on bacillary dysentery in the high-risk areas, after controlling for potential confounding factors. Central districts were found to be the high-risk areas. The time series analysis found an acute effect of meteorological factors on bacillary dysentery occurrence. A positive association was found for mean temperature (excess risk (ER) for 1°C increase being 0.94% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.46% to 1.43% on the lag day 2), while a negative effect was observed for relative humidity and rainfall, the ER for 1% increase in relative humidity was -0.21% (95% CI: -0.34% to -0.08%), and the ER for 1 mm increase in rainfall was -0.23% (95% CI: -0.37% to -0.09%). This study suggests that bacillary dysentery prevention and control strategy should consider local weather variations.

Carboxylator: incorporating solvent-accessible surface area for identifying protein carboxylation sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Cheng-Tsung; Chen, Shu-An; Bretaña, Neil Arvin; Cheng, Tzu-Hsiu; Lee, Tzong-Yi

2011-10-01

In proteins, glutamate (Glu) residues are transformed into γ-carboxyglutamate (Gla) residues in a process called carboxylation. The process of protein carboxylation catalyzed by γ-glutamyl carboxylase is deemed to be important due to its involvement in biological processes such as blood clotting cascade and bone growth. There is an increasing interest within the scientific community to identify protein carboxylation sites. However, experimental identification of carboxylation sites via mass spectrometry-based methods is observed to be expensive, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. Thus, we were motivated to design a computational method for identifying protein carboxylation sites. This work aims to investigate the protein carboxylation by considering the composition of amino acids that surround modification sites. With the implication of a modified residue prefers to be accessible on the surface of a protein, the solvent-accessible surface area (ASA) around carboxylation sites is also investigated. Radial basis function network is then employed to build a predictive model using various features for identifying carboxylation sites. Based on a five-fold cross-validation evaluation, a predictive model trained using the combined features of amino acid sequence (AA20D), amino acid composition, and ASA, yields the highest accuracy at 0.874. Furthermore, an independent test done involving data not included in the cross-validation process indicates that in silico identification is a feasible means of preliminary analysis. Additionally, the predictive method presented in this work is implemented as Carboxylator (http://csb.cse.yzu.edu.tw/Carboxylator/), a web-based tool for identifying carboxylated proteins with modification sites in order to help users in investigating γ-glutamyl carboxylation.

Identifying priority chronic wasting disease surveillance areas for mule deer in Montana

USGS Publications Warehouse

Russell, Robin E.; Gude, Justin; Anderson, N.J.; Ramsey, Jennifer M.

2015-01-01

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal prion disease that affects a variety of ungulate species including mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). As of 2014, no CWD cases had been reported in free-ranging ungulates in Montana. However, nearby cases in Canada, Wyoming, and the Dakotas indicated that the disease was encroaching on Montana's borders. Mule deer are native and common throughout Montana, and they represent a significant portion of the total hunter-harvested cervids in the state. The arrival of CWD in Montana may have significant ecosystem and socioeconomic impacts as well as potential consequences for wildlife management. We used 18,879 mule deer locations from 892 individual deer collected during 1975–2011 and modeled habitat selection for 7 herds in 5 of the 7 wildlife management regions in Montana. We estimated resource selection functions (RSF) in a Bayesian framework to predict summer and winter habitat preferences for mule deer. We estimated deer abundance from flyover counts for each region, and used the RSF predictions as weights to distribute the deer across the region. We then calculated the distance to the nearest known infected herds. We predicted areas of high risk of CWD infection in mule deer as areas with densities above the median density estimate and within the lowest quartile of distances to known infected herds. We identified these areas, the southeast corner of Montana and the north-central border near Alberta and Saskatchewan, as priority areas for CWD surveillance and management efforts. 

Estimate of main local sources to ambient ultrafine particle number concentrations in an urban area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rahman, Md Mahmudur; Mazaheri, Mandana; Clifford, Sam; Morawska, Lidia

2017-09-01

Quantifying and apportioning the contribution of a range of sources to ultrafine particles (UFPs, D < 100 nm) is a challenge due to the complex nature of the urban environments. Although vehicular emissions have long been considered one of the major sources of ultrafine particles in urban areas, the contribution of other major urban sources is not yet fully understood. This paper aims to determine and quantify the contribution of local ground traffic, nucleated particle (NP) formation and distant non-traffic (e.g. airport, oil refineries, and seaport) sources to the total ambient particle number concentration (PNC) in a busy, inner-city area in Brisbane, Australia using Bayesian statistical modelling and other exploratory tools. The Bayesian model was trained on the PNC data on days where NP formations were known to have not occurred, hourly traffic counts, solar radiation data, and smooth daily trend. The model was applied to apportion and quantify the contribution of NP formations and local traffic and non-traffic sources to UFPs. The data analysis incorporated long-term measured time-series of total PNC (D ≥ 6 nm), particle number size distributions (PSD, D = 8 to 400 nm), PM2.5, PM10, NOx, CO, meteorological parameters and traffic counts at a stationary monitoring site. The developed Bayesian model showed reliable predictive performances in quantifying the contribution of NP formation events to UFPs (up to 4 × 104 particles cm- 3), with a significant day to day variability. The model identified potential NP formation and no-formations days based on PNC data and quantified the sources contribution to UFPs. Exploratory statistical analyses show that total mean PNC during the middle of the day was up to 32% higher than during peak morning and evening traffic periods, which were associated with NP formation events. The majority of UFPs measured during the peak traffic and NP formation periods were between 30-100 nm and smaller than 30 nm, respectively. To date

Integrating social media and remote sensing data in a model framework to identify vulnerable areas in coastal cities after disasters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopalakrishnan, G.

2013-12-01

In the aftermath of man-made disasters such as oil spills or natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods, city planners and residents of affected areas are often concerned about future vulnerabilities and rebuilding the area to increase resilience. However, identifying locations in the affected area that are most impacted by the disaster, the associated human health risks and potential vulnerabilities often require a monitoring effort that is expensive, time-consuming and difficult to implement in disaster-hit areas using traditional monitoring techniques. This project presents a framework for identifying areas that are most likely to be impacted by disasters by integrating remote sensing data and information from social media networks, including Twitter streams. The framework was tested for New York, coastal New Jersey and Staten Island in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Vulnerable areas were identified using anomaly detection and the results were mapped against measurements collected on the ground. A correlation coefficient of 0.78 was obtained. Uncertainty in model predictions was evaluated using Monte Carlo simulations.

Metropolitian area network services comprised of virtual local area networks running over hybrid fiber-coax and asynchronous transfer mode technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biedron, William S.

1995-11-01

Since 1990 there has been a rapid increase in the demand for communication services, especially local and wide area network (LAN/WAN) oriented services. With the introduction of the DFB laser transmitter, hybrid-fiber-coax (HFC) cable plant designs, ATM transport technologies and rf modems, new LAN/WAN services can now be defined and marketed to residential and business customers over existing cable TV systems. The term metropolitan area network (MAN) can be used to describe this overall network. This paper discusses the technical components needed to provision these services as well as provides some perspectives on integration issues. Architecture at the headend and in the backbone is discussed, as well as specific service definitions and the technology issues associated with each. The TCP/IP protocol is suggested as a primary protocol to be used throughout the MAN.

LaRC local area networks to support distributed computing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Riddle, E. P.

1984-01-01

The Langley Research Center's (LaRC) Local Area Network (LAN) effort is discussed. LaRC initiated the development of a LAN to support a growing distributed computing environment at the Center. The purpose of the network is to provide an improved capability (over inteactive and RJE terminal access) for sharing multivendor computer resources. Specifically, the network will provide a data highway for the transfer of files between mainframe computers, minicomputers, work stations, and personal computers. An important influence on the overall network design was the vital need of LaRC researchers to efficiently utilize the large CDC mainframe computers in the central scientific computing facility. Although there was a steady migration from a centralized to a distributed computing environment at LaRC in recent years, the work load on the central resources increased. Major emphasis in the network design was on communication with the central resources within the distributed environment. The network to be implemented will allow researchers to utilize the central resources, distributed minicomputers, work stations, and personal computers to obtain the proper level of computing power to efficiently perform their jobs.

Medical image integrity control and forensics based on watermarking--approximating local modifications and identifying global image alterations.

PubMed

Huang, H; Coatrieux, G; Shu, H Z; Luo, L M; Roux, Ch

2011-01-01

In this paper we present a medical image integrity verification system that not only allows detecting and approximating malevolent local image alterations (e.g. removal or addition of findings) but is also capable to identify the nature of global image processing applied to the image (e.g. lossy compression, filtering …). For that purpose, we propose an image signature derived from the geometric moments of pixel blocks. Such a signature is computed over regions of interest of the image and then watermarked in regions of non interest. Image integrity analysis is conducted by comparing embedded and recomputed signatures. If any, local modifications are approximated through the determination of the parameters of the nearest generalized 2D Gaussian. Image moments are taken as image features and serve as inputs to one classifier we learned to discriminate the type of global image processing. Experimental results with both local and global modifications illustrate the overall performances of our approach.

The Parental Attitude towards Adolescent Sexual Behaviour in Akoko-Edo and Estako-West Local Government Areas, Edo State, Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Olubayo-Fatiregun, Martina A.

2012-01-01

The study examined the Parental Attitude towards Adolescent Sexual Behaviour in Akoko Edo and Estako--West Local Government Areas, Edo State, Nigeria. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The sample size of 600 parents--350 (58.39%) fathers and 250 (41.7%) mothers--was purposively selected from the two local government…

Using lice to identify cowbird hosts

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hahn, D.C.; Osenton, P.C.; Price, R.W.

1995-01-01

Avian lice may link fledgling Brown-headed Cowbirds to the host species that raised them. Lice, if host-specific and transferred to nestling cowbirds, could serve to identify the principal host species raising cowbirds in a local area. This approach of trapping cowbird fledglings in a feeding flock, then collecting and identifying the lice they carry is economical. The alternative requires a team of people to locate large numbers of parasitized host nests. We trapped 250 cowbird fledglings during June-August 1994 on Patuxent Research Center, and from them we collected 426 lice identified as representing 6 genera and 12 species. We. also collected and identified 347 lice from 30 known host species that were mist-netted on our Center. The lice found on cowbird fledglings in this population can be linked to Wood Thrush, Red-eyed Vireo, Common Yellowthroat, Rufous-sided Towhee, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Song Sparrow, Field Sparrow, and Tree sparrow, based on this study and also on published reports.

Basic Mars Navigation System For Local Areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petitfils, E.-A.; Boche-Sauvan, L.; Foing, B. H.; Monaghan, E.; Crews, Eurogeomars

2009-04-01

different placemarks so that we can compute the position. But which placemarks? We have to think about something that can be installed on Mars and is light enough to be brought there. Balloons are really light, and in order to place them, we need a gas as helium (or hydrogen) and also some rope. Hydrogen is likely to be produced in situ and rope will be useful for astronauts. So we started on a concept with some balloons around the base, with different colors or patterns. The crew in EVA can thus know where the base is every time they are in sight of a balloon and with at least three balloons; they can compute their position according to the base. Procedure of the test: During EVA, the astronauts will measure the angle between the different balloons. The balloons are high in the sky so they can be seen far from their location. This is particularly important on Mars where the horizon is nearer than on Earth. The balloons have different colors so they can be identified and we can even think of adding an autonomous colored light under so they can be observed during the night. With good quality balloons, we can keep them in the sky for a few days without maintenance. Angle measurement is done thanks to a camera. A numeric camera can have a precision of less than 0.01°/pixel, which is enough for our application. The distance between the different balloons can easily be seen in a free picture management software and a Matlab tool is under development for this. An algorithm is then run and it gives the positions that fit with the observations on a map. Simulation gave areas 20m width, which is enough for the astronaut who has a map. The exact precision will be investigated in situ, at the MDRS. For this first test bench, computations will be manually done on a computer in order to validate the concept without huge development. Afterwards, one can imagine an implementation on a PDA brought by the astronauts. This PDA would have its own camera so the process can be fully automatic

Using distant supervised learning to identify protein subcellular localizations from full-text scientific articles.

PubMed

Zheng, Wu; Blake, Catherine

2015-10-01

Databases of curated biomedical knowledge, such as the protein-locations reflected in the UniProtKB database, provide an accurate and useful resource to researchers and decision makers. Our goal is to augment the manual efforts currently used to curate knowledge bases with automated approaches that leverage the increased availability of full-text scientific articles. This paper describes experiments that use distant supervised learning to identify protein subcellular localizations, which are important to understand protein function and to identify candidate drug targets. Experiments consider Swiss-Prot, the manually annotated subset of the UniProtKB protein knowledge base, and 43,000 full-text articles from the Journal of Biological Chemistry that contain just under 11.5 million sentences. The system achieves 0.81 precision and 0.49 recall at sentence level and an accuracy of 57% on held-out instances in a test set. Moreover, the approach identifies 8210 instances that are not in the UniProtKB knowledge base. Manual inspection of the 50 most likely relations showed that 41 (82%) were valid. These results have immediate benefit to researchers interested in protein function, and suggest that distant supervision should be explored to complement other manual data curation efforts. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Propagation Characteristics of International Space Station Wireless Local Area Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sham, Catherine C.; Hwn, Shian U.; Loh, Yin-Chung

2005-01-01

This paper describes the application of the Uniform Geometrical Theory of Diffraction (UTD) for Space Station Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) indoor propagation characteristics analysis. The verification results indicate good correlation between UTD computed and measured signal strength. It is observed that the propagation characteristics are quite different in the Space Station modules as compared with those in the typical indoor WLANs environment, such as an office building. The existing indoor propagation models are not readily applicable to the Space Station module environment. The Space Station modules can be regarded as oversized imperfect waveguides. Two distinct propagation regions separated by a breakpoint exist. The propagation exhibits the guided wave characteristics. The propagation loss in the Space Station, thus, is much smaller than that in the typical office building. The path loss model developed in this paper is applicable for Space Station WLAN RF coverage and link performance analysis.

20 CFR 667.600 - What local area, State and direct recipient grievance procedures must be established?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... INVESTMENT ACT Grievance Procedures, Complaints, and State Appeals Processes § 667.600 What local area, State... awards Title I funds must provide the information referred to in paragraph (b)(1) of this section to... violation to submit the grievance to a binding arbitration procedure, if a collective bargaining agreement...

20 CFR 667.600 - What local area, State and direct recipient grievance procedures must be established?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... INVESTMENT ACT Grievance Procedures, Complaints, and State Appeals Processes § 667.600 What local area, State... awards Title I funds must provide the information referred to in paragraph (b)(1) of this section to... violation to submit the grievance to a binding arbitration procedure, if a collective bargaining agreement...

Using Landsat 5 TM Data to Identify and Map Areas of Mangrove in Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meachum, Samuel Standish

Mangroves are recognized worldwide as a major ecosystem that provides significant ecosystem services. They are threatened due to rising pressures from human overpopulation and economic development. The Caribbean Coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula contains mangrove habitat that have been negatively impacted by the development of the region's tourist industry. However, little research has been done to map and quantify the extent of mangrove in the region. This study used remote sensing techniques to identify mangrove in the Municipality of Tulum located in Quintana Roo, and to produce an accurate vector based thematic map that inventories these areas. Anatomical differences were analyzed and related to high-resolution field spectral data for each mangrove species. A vector map of mangrove habitat, including areas of inland mangrove, was produced with an overall accuracy of 88%. The 19,262 ha. of mangrove identified by this study represents a 140% increase in area over previous studies.

Improved passive optical network architectures to support local area network emulation and protection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong, Elaine; Nadarajah, Nishaanthan; Chae, Chang-Joon; Nirmalathas, Ampalavanapillai; Attygalle, Sanjeewa M.

2006-01-01

We describe two optical layer schemes which simultaneously facilitate local area network emulation and automatic protection switching against distribution fiber breaks in passive optical networks. One scheme employs a narrowband fiber Bragg grating placed close to the star coupler in the feeder fiber of the passive optical network, while the other uses an additional short length distribution fiber from the star coupler to each customer for the redirection of the customer traffic. Both schemes use RF subcarrier multiplexed transmission for intercommunication between customers in conjunction with upstream access to the central office at baseband. Failure detection and automatic protection switching are performed independently by each optical network unit that is located at the customer premises in a distributed manner. The restoration of traffic transported between the central office and an optical network unit in the event of the distribution fiber break is performed by interconnecting adjacent optical network units and carrying out signal transmissions via an independent but interconnected optical network unit. Such a protection mechanism enables multiple adjacent optical network units to be simultaneously protected by a single optical network unit utilizing its maximum available bandwidth. We experimentally verify the feasibility of both schemes with 1.25 Gb/s upstream baseband transmission to the central office and 155 Mb/s local area network data transmission on a RF subcarrier frequency. The experimental results obtained from both schemes are compared, and the power budgets are calculated to analyze the scalability of each scheme.

A local scale assessment of the climate change sensitivity of snow in Pyrenean ski resorts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pesado, Cristina; Pons, Marc; Vilella, Marc; López-Moreno, Juan Ignacio

2016-04-01

The Pyrenees host one of the largest ski area in Europe after the Alps that encompasses the mountain area of the south of France, the north of Spain and the small country of Andorra. In this region, winter tourism is one of the main source of income and driving force of local development on these mountain communities. However, this activity was identified as one of the most vulnerable to a future climate change due to the projected decrease of natural snow and snowmaking capacity. However, within the same ski resorts different areas showed to have a very different vulnerability within the same resort based on the geographic features of the area and the technical management of the slopes. Different areas inside a same ski resort could have very different vulnerability to future climate change based on aspect, steepness or elevation. Furthermore, the technical management of ski resorts, such as snowmaking and grooming were identified to have a significant impact on the response of the snowpack in a warmer climate. In this line, two different ski resorts were deeply analyzed taken into account both local geographical features as well as the effect of the technical management of the runs. Principal Component Analysis was used to classify the main areas of the resort based on the geographic features (elevation, aspect and steepness) and identify the main representative areas with different local features. Snow energy and mass balance was simulated in the different representative areas using the Cold Regions Hydrological Model (CRHM) assuming different magnitudes of climate warming (increases of 2°C and 4°C in the mean winter temperature) both in natural conditions and assuming technical management of the slopes. Theses first results showed the different sensitivity and vulnerability to climate changes based on the local geography of the resort and the management of the ski runs, showing the importance to include these variables when analyzing the local vulnerability

Security of fragile authentication watermarks with localization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fridrich, Jessica

2002-04-01

In this paper, we study the security of fragile image authentication watermarks that can localize tampered areas. We start by comparing the goals, capabilities, and advantages of image authentication based on watermarking and cryptography. Then we point out some common security problems of current fragile authentication watermarks with localization and classify attacks on authentication watermarks into five categories. By investigating the attacks and vulnerabilities of current schemes, we propose a variation of the Wong scheme18 that is fast, simple, cryptographically secure, and resistant to all known attacks, including the Holliman-Memon attack9. In the new scheme, a special symmetry structure in the logo is used to authenticate the block content, while the logo itself carries information about the block origin (block index, the image index or time stamp, author ID, etc.). Because the authentication of the content and its origin are separated, it is possible to easily identify swapped blocks between images and accurately detect cropped areas, while being able to accurately localize tampered pixels.

The challenge of compiling data profiles to stimulate local preventive health action: a European case study from child safety.

PubMed

Alexander, Denise; Rigby, Michael; Gissler, Mika; Köhler, Lennart; MacKay, Morag

2015-05-01

Positive recent experience of presenting comparative child safety data at national level has instigated policy action in Europe. It was hoped a Child Safety Index could quantify how safe a community, region or locality is for its children in comparison with similar areas within Europe, as a focus for local targeted action. Validated indicators proposed by previous European projects identified from areas of child injury prevention, such as road safety, burns or poisoning, were selected to give a balanced profile, and populated from available published data. An index using a sub-score for each specific injury topic was proposed. The indicators' presentation, sensitivity and appropriateness were considered, as well as data availability. Satisfactory indicators were not identified for all areas and very few local area data were available. This forced the researchers to conclude that at present, constructing a reliable Child Safety Index for use at the local level is not feasible. There is a worrying lack of data available at the sub-national level to support injury prevention, evaluate interventions, and enable informed local decision making.

Advanced Twisted Pair Cables for Distributed Local Area Networks in Intelligent Structure Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Semenov, Andrey

2018-03-01

The possibility of a significant increase in the length of cable communication channels of local area networks of automation and engineering support systems of buildings in the case of their implementation on balanced twisted pair cables is shown. Assuming a direct connection scheme and an effective speed of 100 Mbit/s, analytical relationships are obtained for the calculation of the maximum communication distance. The necessity of using in the linear part of such systems of twisted pair cables with U/UTP structure and interference parameters at the level of category 5e is grounded.

Identifying high-risk areas of bacillary dysentery and associated meteorological factors in Wuhan, China

PubMed Central

Li, Zhenjun; Wang, Ligui; Sun, Weige; Hou, Xuexin; Yang, Haiyan; Sun, Lina; Xu, Shuai; Sun, Qiangzheng; Zhang, Jingshan; Song, Hongbin; Lin, Hualiang

2013-01-01

Spatial distribution of bacillary dysentery incidence was mapped at the district level in Wuhan, China. And a generalized additive time series model was used to examine the effect of daily weather factors on bacillary dysentery in the high-risk areas, after controlling for potential confounding factors. Central districts were found to be the high-risk areas. The time series analysis found an acute effect of meteorological factors on bacillary dysentery occurrence. A positive association was found for mean temperature (excess risk (ER) for 1°C increase being 0.94% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.46% to 1.43% on the lag day 2), while a negative effect was observed for relative humidity and rainfall, the ER for 1% increase in relative humidity was −0.21% (95% CI: −0.34% to −0.08%), and the ER for 1 mm increase in rainfall was −0.23% (95% CI: −0.37% to −0.09%). This study suggests that bacillary dysentery prevention and control strategy should consider local weather variations. PMID:24257434

Impact of Short Interval SMS Digital Data on Wind Vector Determination for a Severe Local Storms Area

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peslen, C. A.

1979-01-01

The impact of 5 minute interval SMS-2 visible digital image data in analyzing severe local storms is examined using wind vectors derived from cloud tracking on time lapsed sequence of geosynchronous satellite images. The cloud tracking areas are located in the Central Plains, where on 6 May 1975, hail-producing thunderstorms occurred ahead of a well defined dry line. The results demonstrate that satellite-derived wind vectors and their associated divergence fields complement conventional meteorological analyses in describing the conditions preceding severe local storm development.

33 CFR 100.1308 - Special Local Regulation; Hydroplane Races within the Captain of the Port Puget Sound Area of...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...; Hydroplane Races within the Captain of the Port Puget Sound Area of Responsibility. 100.1308 Section 100.1308... SAFETY OF LIFE ON NAVIGABLE WATERS § 100.1308 Special Local Regulation; Hydroplane Races within the... race areas for the purpose of reoccurring hydroplane races: (1) Dyes Inlet. West of Port Orchard, WA to...

33 CFR 100.1308 - Special Local Regulation; Hydroplane Races within the Captain of the Port Puget Sound Area of...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...; Hydroplane Races within the Captain of the Port Puget Sound Area of Responsibility. 100.1308 Section 100.1308... SAFETY OF LIFE ON NAVIGABLE WATERS § 100.1308 Special Local Regulation; Hydroplane Races within the... race areas for the purpose of reoccurring hydroplane races: (1) Dyes Inlet. West of Port Orchard, WA to...

33 CFR 100.1308 - Special Local Regulation; Hydroplane Races within the Captain of the Port Puget Sound Area of...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...; Hydroplane Races within the Captain of the Port Puget Sound Area of Responsibility. 100.1308 Section 100.1308... SAFETY OF LIFE ON NAVIGABLE WATERS § 100.1308 Special Local Regulation; Hydroplane Races within the... race areas for the purpose of reoccurring hydroplane races: (1) Dyes Inlet. West of Port Orchard, WA to...

33 CFR 100.1308 - Special Local Regulation; Hydroplane Races within the Captain of the Port Puget Sound Area of...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...; Hydroplane Races within the Captain of the Port Puget Sound Area of Responsibility. 100.1308 Section 100.1308... SAFETY OF LIFE ON NAVIGABLE WATERS § 100.1308 Special Local Regulation; Hydroplane Races within the... race areas for the purpose of reoccurring hydroplane races: (1) Dyes Inlet. West of Port Orchard, WA to...

Stochastic control system parameter identifiability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, C. H.; Herget, C. J.

1975-01-01

The parameter identification problem of general discrete time, nonlinear, multiple input/multiple output dynamic systems with Gaussian white distributed measurement errors is considered. The knowledge of the system parameterization was assumed to be known. Concepts of local parameter identifiability and local constrained maximum likelihood parameter identifiability were established. A set of sufficient conditions for the existence of a region of parameter identifiability was derived. A computation procedure employing interval arithmetic was provided for finding the regions of parameter identifiability. If the vector of the true parameters is locally constrained maximum likelihood (CML) identifiable, then with probability one, the vector of true parameters is a unique maximal point of the maximum likelihood function in the region of parameter identifiability and the constrained maximum likelihood estimation sequence will converge to the vector of true parameters.

Global-local methodologies and their application to nonlinear analysis. [for structural postbuckling study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noor, Ahmed K.

1986-01-01

An assessment is made of the potential of different global-local analysis strategies for predicting the nonlinear and postbuckling responses of structures. Two postbuckling problems of composite panels are used as benchmarks and the application of different global-local methodologies to these benchmarks is outlined. The key elements of each of the global-local strategies are discussed and future research areas needed to realize the full potential of global-local methodologies are identified.

Identifying areas of high risk of human exposure to coccidioidomycosis in Texas using serology data from dogs.

PubMed

Gautam, R; Srinath, I; Clavijo, A; Szonyi, B; Bani-Yaghoub, M; Park, S; Ivanek, R

2013-03-01

Coccidioidomycosis or Valley Fever (VF) is an emerging soil-borne fungal zoonosis affecting humans and animals. Most non-human cases of VF are found in dogs, which we hypothesize may serve as sentinels for estimating the human exposure risk. The objective of this study is to use the spatial and temporal distribution and clusters of dogs seropositive for VF to define the geographic area in Texas where VF is endemic, and thus presents a higher risk of exposure to humans. The included specimens were seropositive dogs tested at a major diagnostic laboratory between 1999 and 2009. Data were aggregated by zip code and smoothed by empirical Bayesian estimation to develop an isopleth map of VF seropositive rates using kriging. Clusters of seropositive dogs were identified using the spatial scan test. Both the isopleth map and the scan test identified an area with a high rate of VF-seropositive dogs in the western and southwestern parts of Texas (relative risk = 31). This location overlapped an area that was previously identified as a potential endemic region based on human surveys. Together, these data suggest that dogs may serve as sentinels for estimating the risk of human exposure to VF. © 2012 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Local structure of subcellular input retinotopy in an identified visual interneuron

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Ying; Gabbiani, Fabrizio; Fabrizio Gabbiani's lab Team

2015-03-01

How does the spatial layout of the projections that a neuron receives impact its synaptic integration and computation? What is the mapping topography of subcellular wiring at the single neuron level? The LGMD (lobula giant movement detector) neuron in the locust is an identified neuron that responds preferentially to objects approaching on a collision course. It receives excitatory inputs from the entire visual hemifield through calcium-permeable nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Previous work showed that the projection from the locust compound eye to the LGMD preserved retinotopy down to the level of a single ommatidium (facet) by employing in vivo widefield calcium imaging. Because widefield imaging relies on global excitation of the preparation and has a relatively low resolution, previous work could not investigate this retinotopic mapping at the level of individual thin dendritic branches. Our current work employs a custom-built two-photon microscope with sub-micron resolution in conjunction with a single-facet stimulation setup that provides visual stimuli to the single ommatidium of locust adequate to explore the local structure of this retinotopy at a finer level. We would thank NIMH for funding this research.

Radiomics analysis of DWI data to identify the rectal cancer patients qualified for local excision after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Zhenchao; Liu, Zhenyu; Zhang, Xiaoyan; Shi, Yanjie; Wang, Shou; Fang, Mengjie; Sun, Yingshi; Dong, Enqing; Tian, Jie

2018-02-01

The Locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) patients were routinely treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (CRT) firstly and received total excision afterwards. While, the LARC patients might relieve to T1N0M0/T0N0M0 stage after the CRT, which would enable the patients be qualified for local excision. However, accurate pathological TNM stage could only be obtained by the pathological examination after surgery. We aimed to conduct a Radiomics analysis of Diffusion weighted Imaging (DWI) data to identify the patients in T1N0M0/T0N0M0 stages before surgery, in hope of providing clinical surgery decision support. 223 routinely treated LARC patients in Beijing Cancer Hospital were enrolled in current study. DWI data and clinical characteristics were collected after CRT. According to the pathological TNM stage, the patients of T1N0M0 and T0N0M0 stages were labelled as 1 and the other patients were labelled as 0. The first 123 patients in chronological order were used as training set, and the rest patients as validation set. 563 image features extracted from the DWI data and clinical characteristics were used as features. Two-sample T test was conducted to pre-select the top 50% discriminating features. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso)-Logistic regression model was conducted to further select features and construct the classification model. Based on the 14 selected image features, the area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of 0.8781, classification Accuracy (ACC) of 0.8432 were achieved in the training set. In the validation set, AUC of 0.8707, ACC (ACC) of 0.84 were observed.

Use of dust storm observations on satellite images to identify areas vulnerable to severe wind erosion

USGS Publications Warehouse

Breed, C.S.; McCauley, J.F.

1986-01-01

Blowing dust is symptomatic of severe wind erosion and deterioration of soils in areas undergoing dessication and/or devegetation. Dust plumes on satellite images can commonly be traced to sources in marginally arable semiarid areas where protective lag gravels or vegetation have been removed and soils are dry, as demonstrated for the Portales Valley, New Mexico. Images from Landsat and manned orbiters such as Skylab and the Space Shuttle are useful for illustrating the regional relations of airborne dust plumes to source areas. Geostationary satellites such as GOES are useful in tracking the time-histories of episodic dust storms. These events sometimes go unrecognized by weather observers and are the precursors of long-term land degradation trends. In areas where soil maps and meteorological data are inadequate, satellite images provide a means for identifying problem areas where measures are needed to control or mitigate wind erosion. ?? 1986 D. Reidel Publishing Company.

Performance of asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) local area and wide area networks for medical imaging transmission in clinical environment.

PubMed

Huang, H K; Wong, A W; Zhu, X

1997-01-01

Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) technology emerges as a leading candidate for medical image transmission in both local area network (LAN) and wide area network (WAN) applications. This paper describes the performance of an ATM LAN and WAN network at the University of California, San Francisco. The measurements were obtained using an intensive care unit (ICU) server connecting to four image workstations (WS) at four different locations of a hospital-integrated picture archiving and communication system (HI-PACS) in a daily regular clinical environment. Four types of performance were evaluated: magnetic disk-to-disk, disk-to-redundant array of inexpensive disks (RAID), RAID-to-memory, and memory-to-memory. Results demonstrate that the transmission rate between two workstations can reach 5-6 Mbytes/s from RAID-to-memory, and 8-10 Mbytes/s from memory-to-memory. When the server has to send images to all four workstations simultaneously, the transmission rate to each WS is about 4 Mbytes/s. Both situations are adequate for radiologic image communications for picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) and teleradiology applications.

White spots in pharmaceutical pipelines-EMA identifies potential areas of unmet medical needs.

PubMed

Papaluca, Marisa; Greco, Martina; Tognana, Enrico; Ehmann, Falk; Saint-Raymond, Agnès

2015-05-01

Unmet medical needs are a priority for organizations such as the WHO and major public-private initiatives, such as Innovative Medicines Initiative, were established to speed up the development of better and safer medicines for patients. To assist such projects, the EMA in its 'Road Map to 2015' considered the mapping of unmet medical needs as a priority. This study has identified medical conditions for which the EMA could not identify developments in the pharmaceutical pipelines, that is, 'white spots'. Our analysis was made using external data sources as well as mining data of the EMA. The main areas for white spots were oncology, infectious diseases and certain psychiatric conditions. According to our data and a review of literature, in a number of these white spots, diagnostic tools may even be missing. The identification of those conditions will benefit stakeholders, including regulators, research funding bodies and patients' organizations.

Women in water management: the need for local planning.

PubMed

Bhatt, M R

1995-08-01

This article on women's role in water resource management is based on a paper delivered at a seminar organized at the Water and Land Management Institute in Anand, India, in 1994. The article reflects Family Planning International's (FPI) experience in community-based water resource development. Most analyses of village and household water management data exclude women's role. The reasons are identified as the lack of inclusion of women's thinking in land-development research and planning, the dominance of males in planning and consequent male assumptions made about women's work and use of water, the lack of valuation of the nonmonetary nature of women's relationship to water, and the ease of ignoring women. Women's roles that are obstacles to inclusion in research and planning are identified as the lack of effective women's lobbies, the undervaluation by women of their work, and the lack of professional recognition of women as potential users of water or spokespersons for more than their own self-interests as women. National water policies are shifting to community-based management because local authorities are in daily contact with users, of whom about 50% are women. Historically national policy shifted from attention to distribution of investments in the water sector to reorganization of water agencies and to building up the capacity of private or voluntary agencies. The local context allows for more efficient and effective responses to local conditions. Local institutions and groups are better equipped to solicit local participation. One primary lesson learned by FPI is that local water resource planning is very important in strengthening the economic and individual capacity of poor people in underdeveloped areas. FPI's experience in Mahesana, Banaskantha, and Sabarkantha in Gujarat state supports this lesson learned. Water resource development policies resulted in mixed outcomes, and national control has been inefficient and disrespectful to local authorities

Forest and rangeland ecosystem condition indicators: identifying national areas of opportunity using data development analysis

Treesearch

John G. Hof; Curtis H. Flather; Tony J. Baltic; Rudy M. King

2004-01-01

This article reports the methodology and results of a data envelopment analysis (DEA) that attempts to identify areas in the country where there is maximum potential for improving the forest and rangeland condition, based on 12 indicator variables. This analysis differs from previous DEA studies in that the primary variables are measures of human activity and...

Identifying essential proteins based on sub-network partition and prioritization by integrating subcellular localization information.

PubMed

Li, Min; Li, Wenkai; Wu, Fang-Xiang; Pan, Yi; Wang, Jianxin

2018-06-14

Essential proteins are important participants in various life activities and play a vital role in the survival and reproduction of living organisms. Identification of essential proteins from protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks has great significance to facilitate the study of human complex diseases, the design of drugs and the development of bioinformatics and computational science. Studies have shown that highly connected proteins in a PPI network tend to be essential. A series of computational methods have been proposed to identify essential proteins by analyzing topological structures of PPI networks. However, the high noise in the PPI data can degrade the accuracy of essential protein prediction. Moreover, proteins must be located in the appropriate subcellular localization to perform their functions, and only when the proteins are located in the same subcellular localization, it is possible that they can interact with each other. In this paper, we propose a new network-based essential protein discovery method based on sub-network partition and prioritization by integrating subcellular localization information, named SPP. The proposed method SPP was tested on two different yeast PPI networks obtained from DIP database and BioGRID database. The experimental results show that SPP can effectively reduce the effect of false positives in PPI networks and predict essential proteins more accurately compared with other existing computational methods DC, BC, CC, SC, EC, IC, NC. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Areas of Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature in Chaffee County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

DOE Data Explorer

Khalid Hussein

2012-02-01

Note: This "Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset differs from the "Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset for this county (another remotely sensed CIRES product) by showing areas of modeled temperatures between 1o and 2o above the mean, as opposed to the greater than 2o temperatures contained in the "Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset. This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Chaffee County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature greater than 2o were considered ASTER modeled very warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies). Note: 'o' is used in this description to represent lowercase sigma.

Areas of Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature in Garfield County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

DOE Data Explorer

Khalid Hussein

2012-02-01

Note: This "Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset differs from the "Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset for this county (another remotely sensed CIRES product) by showing areas of modeled temperatures between 1o and 2o above the mean, as opposed to the greater than 2o temperatures contained in the "Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset. This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Garfield County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature between 1o and 2o were considered ASTER modeled warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies) Note: 'o' is used in this description to represent lowercase sigma.

Areas of Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature in Routt County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

DOE Data Explorer

Khalid Hussein

2012-02-01

Note: This "Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset differs from the "Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset for this county (another remotely sensed CIRES product) by showing areas of modeled temperatures between 1o and 2o above the mean, as opposed to the greater than 2o temperatures contained in the "Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset. This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Routt County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature between 1o and 2o were considered ASTER modeled warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies). Note: 'o' is used in this description to represent lowercase sigma.

Areas of Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature in Dolores County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

DOE Data Explorer

Khalid Hussein

2012-02-01

Note: This "Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset differs from the "Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset for this county (another remotely sensed CIRES product) by showing areas of modeled temperatures between 1o and 2o above the mean, as opposed to the greater than 2o temperatures contained in the "Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset. This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Dolores County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature greater than 2o were considered ASTER modeled very warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies) Note: 'o' is used in this description to represent lowercase sigma.

Areas of Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature in Archuleta County, Colorado, as Identified from ASTER Thermal Data

DOE Data Explorer

Khalid Hussein

2012-02-01

Note: This "Weakly Anomalous to Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset differs from the "Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset for this county (another remotely sensed CIRES product) by showing areas of modeled temperatures between 1o and 2o above the mean, as opposed to the greater than 2o temperatures contained in the "Anomalous Surface Temperature" dataset. This layer contains areas of anomalous surface temperature in Archuleta County identified from ASTER thermal data and spatial based insolation model. The temperature is calculated using the Emissivity Normalization Algorithm that separate temperature from emissivity. The incoming solar radiation was calculated using spatial based insolation model developed by Fu and Rich (1999). Then the temperature due to solar radiation was calculated using emissivity derived from ASTER data. The residual temperature, i.e. temperature due to solar radiation subtracted from ASTER temperature was used to identify thermally anomalous areas. Areas that had temperature between 1o and 2o were considered ASTER modeled warm surface exposures (thermal anomalies). Note: 'o' is used in this description to represent lowercase sigma.

Vertical Corner Feature Based Precise Vehicle Localization Using 3D LIDAR in Urban Area

PubMed Central

Im, Jun-Hyuck; Im, Sung-Hyuck; Jee, Gyu-In

2016-01-01

Tall buildings are concentrated in urban areas. The outer walls of buildings are vertically erected to the ground and almost flat. Therefore, the vertical corners that meet the vertical planes are present everywhere in urban areas. These corners act as convenient landmarks, which can be extracted by using the light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor. A vertical corner feature based precise vehicle localization method is proposed in this paper and implemented using 3D LIDAR (Velodyne HDL-32E). The vehicle motion is predicted by accumulating the pose increment output from the iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm based on the geometric relations between the scan data of the 3D LIDAR. The vertical corner is extracted using the proposed corner extraction method. The vehicle position is then corrected by matching the prebuilt corner map with the extracted corner. The experiment was carried out in the Gangnam area of Seoul, South Korea. In the experimental results, the maximum horizontal position error is about 0.46 m and the 2D Root Mean Square (RMS) horizontal error is about 0.138 m. PMID:27517936

The Support of MPA (Marine Protected Area) in Coral Triangle Area: Evidence from Kei Islands, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamid, Syahibul K.; Teniwut, Wellem A.; Teniwut, Roberto M. K.; Rahantoknam, Meyske A.; Hasyim, Cawalinya L.; Hungan, Marselus

2017-10-01

Kei Islands located inside the coral triangle. Therefore, the biodiversity level on the sea in this area is considered high. United nation has proposed for water that included in the coral triangle has to apply marine protected area (MPA) to preserve the area. The main problem is most of the community especially in Kei Islands have depended on the sea as their sources of the economy even fisheries commodity like fish play a large part on the inflation rate and other prosperity indicators likes school and housing. Also, Kei Islands practice on form local wisdom for owning areal of the sea which calls “petuanan laut” by certain of villages or group of villages in one area. This study aimed to map the cluster of catching fisheries area based on the quantity of fish supply on a local market in Kei Islands and measure each cluster on their support and perspective on Marine Protected Area (MPA). We conducted a focus group discussion and collecting additional data by questionnaires with descriptive and quantitative analysis with logistic regression. The implication of this study can provide a clear view of coastal communities view on MPA program also to identify an area that has marine resources, human resources, and equipment to provide government an empirical view on catching fisheries in Kei Islands to issued better policy to develop fishing industry in Kei Islands.

Area- and band-specific representations of hand movements by local field potentials in caudal cingulate motor area and supplementary motor area of monkeys

PubMed Central

Yokoyama, Osamu; Nakayama, Yoshihisa

2016-01-01

The caudal cingulate motor area (CMAc) and the supplementary motor area (SMA) play important roles in movement execution. The present study examined the neural mechanisms underlying these roles by investigating local field potentials (LFPs) from these areas while monkeys pressed buttons with either their left or right hand. During hand movement, power increases in the high-gamma (80–120 Hz) and theta (3–8 Hz) bands and a power decrease in the beta (12–30 Hz) band were observed in both the CMAc and SMA. High-gamma and beta activity in the SMA predominantly represented contralateral hand movements, whereas activity in the CMAc preferentially represented movement of either hand. Theta activity in both brain regions most frequently reflected movement of either hand, but a contralateral hand bias was more evident in the SMA than in the CMAc. An analysis of the relationships of the laterality representations between the high-gamma and theta bands at each recording site revealed that, irrespective of the hand preference for the theta band, the high-gamma band in the SMA preferentially represented contralateral hand movement, whereas the high-gamma band in the CMAc represented movement of either hand. These findings suggest that the input-output relationships for ipsilateral and contralateral hand movements in the CMAc and SMA differ in terms of their functionality. The CMAc may transform the input signals representing general aspects of movement into commands to perform movements with either hand, whereas the SMA may transform the input signals into commands to perform movement with the contralateral hand. PMID:26792884

Identifying key areas of ecosystem services potential to improve ecological management in Chongqing City, southwest China.

PubMed

Xiao, Yang; Xiao, Qiang

2018-03-29

Because natural ecosystems and ecosystem services (ES) are both critical to the well-being of humankind, it is important to understand their relationships and congruence for conservation planning. Spatial conservation planning is required to set focused preservation priorities and to assess future ecological implications. This study uses the combined measures of ES models and ES potential to estimate and analyze all four groups of ecosystem services to generate opportunities to maximize ecosystem services. Subsequently, we identify the key areas of conservation priorities as future forestation and conservation hotspot zones to improve the ecological management in Chongqing City, located in the upper reaches of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China. Results show that ecosystem services potential is extremely obvious. Compared to ecosystem services from 2000, we determined that soil conservation could be increased by 59.11%, carbon sequestration by 129.51%, water flow regulation by 83.42%, and water purification by 84.42%. According to our prioritization results, approximately 48% of area converted to forests exhibited high improvements in all ecosystem services (categorized as hotspot-1, hotspot-2, and hotspot-3). The hotspots identified in this study can be used as an excellent surrogate for evaluation ecological engineering benefits and can be effectively applied in improving ecological management planning.

Utilizing NASA Earth Observations to Monitor Sinkhole Development and Identify Risk Areas in Dougherty County, Georgia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cahalan, M. D.; Berry, K.; Amin, M.; Xu, W.; Hu, T.; Milewski, A.

2015-12-01

Located in southwest Georgia, Dougherty County has a growing populace in an agricultural region that relies heavily on groundwater resources. Partly due to escalated groundwater extraction, this area has experienced an increase in sinkhole development over the last decade. Sinkholes pose a threat to infrastructure development, groundwater pollution, and land use operations. The NASA DEVELOP Georgia Disasters and Water Resources team partnered with the City of Albany and Dougherty County Planning and Development Services (PDS) and the Southwest Georgia Water Resources Task Force (SGWRTF) to assess past sinkhole development and identify areas susceptible to future sinkhole formation. Sinkhole mapping was completed utilizing a time-series of elevation data (1999 - 2011) from NASA's SRTM and ASTER missions, as well as European Remote-Sensing (ERS-1 and 2) satellite-derived elevation data. The sinkhole inventory maps and spatial statistical techniques (i.e., geographically-weighted regression) were employed to quantify the factors most influential in sinkhole development. With those results, the susceptibility of every area within Dougherty County to future sinkhole formation was identified. The results of this applied science project will enable the PDS and SGWRTF to make informed decisions on current and future land use, safe infrastructure development, and sustainable water resource management.

32 CFR 1605.51 - Area.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Area. 1605.51 Section 1605.51 National Defense... ORGANIZATION Local Boards § 1605.51 Area. (a) The Director of Selective Service shall divide each State into local board areas and establish local boards. There shall be at least one local board in each county...

32 CFR 1605.51 - Area.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Area. 1605.51 Section 1605.51 National Defense... ORGANIZATION Local Boards § 1605.51 Area. (a) The Director of Selective Service shall divide each State into local board areas and establish local boards. There shall be at least one local board in each county...

32 CFR 1605.51 - Area.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Area. 1605.51 Section 1605.51 National Defense... ORGANIZATION Local Boards § 1605.51 Area. (a) The Director of Selective Service shall divide each State into local board areas and establish local boards. There shall be at least one local board in each county...

32 CFR 1605.51 - Area.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Area. 1605.51 Section 1605.51 National Defense... ORGANIZATION Local Boards § 1605.51 Area. (a) The Director of Selective Service shall divide each State into local board areas and establish local boards. There shall be at least one local board in each county...

32 CFR 1605.51 - Area.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 32 National Defense 6 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Area. 1605.51 Section 1605.51 National Defense... ORGANIZATION Local Boards § 1605.51 Area. (a) The Director of Selective Service shall divide each State into local board areas and establish local boards. There shall be at least one local board in each county...

Using ensemble models to identify and apportion heavy metal pollution sources in agricultural soils on a local scale.

PubMed

Wang, Qi; Xie, Zhiyi; Li, Fangbai

2015-11-01

This study aims to identify and apportion multi-source and multi-phase heavy metal pollution from natural and anthropogenic inputs using ensemble models that include stochastic gradient boosting (SGB) and random forest (RF) in agricultural soils on the local scale. The heavy metal pollution sources were quantitatively assessed, and the results illustrated the suitability of the ensemble models for the assessment of multi-source and multi-phase heavy metal pollution in agricultural soils on the local scale. The results of SGB and RF consistently demonstrated that anthropogenic sources contributed the most to the concentrations of Pb and Cd in agricultural soils in the study region and that SGB performed better than RF. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Global climate change and local land subsidence exacerbate inundation risk to the San Francisco Bay Area

PubMed Central

Shirzaei, Manoochehr; Bürgmann, Roland

2018-01-01

The current global projections of future sea level rise are the basis for developing inundation hazard maps. However, contributions from spatially variable coastal subsidence have generally not been considered in these projections. We use synthetic aperture radar interferometric measurements and global navigation satellite system data to show subsidence rates of less than 2 mm/year along most of the coastal areas along San Francisco Bay. However, rates exceed 10 mm/year in some areas underlain by compacting artificial landfill and Holocene mud deposits. The maps estimating 100-year inundation hazards solely based on the projection of sea level rise from various emission scenarios underestimate the area at risk of flooding by 3.7 to 90.9%, compared with revised maps that account for the contribution of local land subsidence. Given ongoing land subsidence, we project that an area of 125 to 429 km2 will be vulnerable to inundation, as opposed to 51 to 413 km2 considering sea level rise alone. PMID:29536042

Areas of localized organochlorine contamination in Arizona and New Mexico

USGS Publications Warehouse

Fleming, W.J.; Cain, B.W.

1985-01-01

Wings from mallard ducks harvested in 1980 in Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, and New Mexico were pooled into county aggregates and analyzed for organochlorine pesticides and PCB's. Organochlorine concentrations in duck wings were compared among counties comprising major river drainages within each state. DDE concentrations in the wings of mallards collected from the Verde River and the lower portion of the Gila River drainages in Arizona ranged up to 6 ppm (wet weight basis), which was 17 times higher than the 1979 Pacific Flyway average. DDE at these high levels may be hazardous to wildlife. In combination with other published data, our findings indicate a serious DDT problem in portions of the Verde River and Gila River drainages. High levels of heptachlor (up to 1.7 ppm) and PCB's (3.7 ppm, 61 times the 1979 Central Flyway average) were found in mallard wings from the upper Rio Grande and Pecos River drainages, respectively. We did not detect areas of heavy local organochlorine pesticide or PCB contamination in Arkansas and Louisiana.

Intelligent Resource Management for Local Area Networks: Approach and Evolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meike, Roger

1988-01-01

The Data Management System network is a complex and important part of manned space platforms. Its efficient operation is vital to crew, subsystems and experiments. AI is being considered to aid in the initial design of the network and to augment the management of its operation. The Intelligent Resource Management for Local Area Networks (IRMA-LAN) project is concerned with the application of AI techniques to network configuration and management. A network simulation was constructed employing real time process scheduling for realistic loads, and utilizing the IEEE 802.4 token passing scheme. This simulation is an integral part of the construction of the IRMA-LAN system. From it, a causal model is being constructed for use in prediction and deep reasoning about the system configuration. An AI network design advisor is being added to help in the design of an efficient network. The AI portion of the system is planned to evolve into a dynamic network management aid. The approach, the integrated simulation, project evolution, and some initial results are described.

Identifying and assessing ecotourism visitor impacts at selected protected areas in Costa Rica and Belize

USGS Publications Warehouse

Farrell, T.A.; Marion, J.L.

2001-01-01

Protected area visitation is an important component of ecotourism, and as such, must be sustainable. However, protected area visitation may degrade natural resources, particularly in areas of concentrated visitor activities like trails and recreation sites. This is an important concern in ecotourism destinations such as Belize and Costa Rica, because they actively promote ecotourism and emphasize the pristine qualities of their natural resources. Research on visitor impacts to protected areas has many potential applications in protected area management, though it has not been widely applied in Central and South America. This study targeted this deficiency through manager interviews and evaluations of alternative impact assessment procedures at eight protected areas in Belize and Costa Rica. Impact assessment procedures included qualitative condition class systems, ratings systems, and measurement-based systems applied to trails and recreation sites. The resulting data characterize manager perceptions of impact problems, document trail and recreation site impacts, and provide examples of inexpensive, efficient and effective rapid impact assessment procedures. Interview subjects reported a variety of impacts affecting trails, recreation sites, wildlife, water, attraction features and other resources. Standardized assessment procedures were developed and applied to record trail and recreation site impacts. Impacts affecting the study areas included trail proliferation, erosion and widening, muddiness on trails, vegetation cover loss, soil and root exposure, and tree damage on recreation sites. The findings also illustrate the types of assessment data yielded by several alternative methods and demonstrate their utility to protected area managers. The need for additional rapid assessment procedures for wildlife, water, attraction feature and other resource impacts was also identified.

Investigating local policy drivers for alcohol harm prevention: a comparative case study of two local authorities in England.

PubMed

Mooney, John D; Holmes, John; Gavens, Lucy; de Vocht, Frank; Hickman, Matt; Lock, Karen; Brennan, Alan

2017-10-18

The considerable challenges associated with implementing national level alcohol policies have encouraged a renewed focus on the prospects for local-level policies in the UK and elsewhere. We adopted a case study approach to identify the major characteristics and drivers of differences in the patterns of local alcohol policies and services in two contrasting local authority (LA) areas in England. Data were collected via thirteen semi-structured interviews with key informants (including public health, licensing and trading standards) and documentary analysis, including harm reduction strategies and statements of licensing policy. A two-stage thematic analysis was used to categorize all relevant statements into seven over-arching themes, by which document sources were then also analysed. Three of the seven over-arching themes (drink environment, treatment services and barriers and facilitators), provided for the most explanatory detail informing the contrasting policy responses of the two LAs: LA1 pursued a risk-informed strategy via a specialist police team working proactively with problem premises and screening systematically to identify riskier drinking. LA2 adopted a more upstream regulatory approach around restrictions on availability with less emphasis on co-ordinated screening and treatment measures. New powers over alcohol policy for LAs in England can produce markedly different policies for reducing alcohol-related harm. These difference are rooted in economic, opportunistic, organisational and personnel factors particular to the LAs themselves and may lead to closely tailored solutions in some policy areas and poorer co-ordination and attention in others.

American Bird conservancy's approach to the U.S. Important Bird Area Program - identifying the top 500 global sites

Treesearch

Robert M. Chipley

2005-01-01

The idea for the Important Bird Area Program originated in a series of studies in the early 1980s conducted by BirdLife International. Recognizing that these studies could become a powerful tool for conservation, BirdLife International began an effort to identify and gather data regarding the most important areas for birds in Europe and to make this information...

Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) 2: identifying opportunities for disinvestment in a local healthcare setting.

PubMed

Harris, Claire; Allen, Kelly; King, Richard; Ramsey, Wayne; Kelly, Cate; Thiagarajan, Malar

2017-05-05

This is the second in a series of papers reporting a program of Sustainability in Health care by Allocating Resources Effectively (SHARE) in a local healthcare setting. Rising healthcare costs, continuing advances in health technologies and recognition of ineffective practices and systematic waste are driving disinvestment of health technologies and clinical practices that offer little or no benefit in order to maximise outcomes from existing resources. However there is little information to guide regional health services or individual facilities in how they might approach disinvestment locally. This paper outlines the investigation of potential settings and methods for decision-making about disinvestment in the context of an Australian health service. Methods include a literature review on the concepts and terminology relating to disinvestment, a survey of national and international researchers, and interviews and workshops with local informants. A conceptual framework was drafted and refined with stakeholder feedback. There is a lack of common terminology regarding definitions and concepts related to disinvestment and no guidance for an organisation-wide systematic approach to disinvestment in a local healthcare service. A summary of issues from the literature and respondents highlight the lack of theoretical knowledge and practical experience and provide a guide to the information required to develop future models or methods for disinvestment in the local context. A conceptual framework was developed. Three mechanisms that provide opportunities to introduce disinvestment decisions into health service systems and processes were identified. Presented in order of complexity, time to achieve outcomes and resources required they include 1) Explicit consideration of potential disinvestment in routine decision-making, 2) Proactive decision-making about disinvestment driven by available evidence from published research and local data, and 3) Specific exercises in

LOCAL CORTICAL ACTIVITY OF DISTANT BRAIN AREAS CAN PHASE-LOCK TO THE OLFACTORY BULB'S RESPIRATORY RHYTHM IN THE FREELY BEHAVING RAT.

PubMed

Rojas-Líbano, Daniel; Wimmer Del Solar, Jonathan; Aguilar-Rivera, Marcelo; Montefusco-Siegmund, Rodrigo; Maldonado, Pedro Esteban

2018-05-16

An important unresolved question about neural processing is the mechanism by which distant brain areas coordinate their activities and relate their local processing to global neural events. A potential candidate for the local-global integration are slow rhythms such as respiration. In this article, we asked if there are modulations of local cortical processing which are phase-locked to (peripheral) sensory-motor exploratory rhythms. We studied rats on an elevated platform where they would spontaneously display exploratory and rest behaviors. Concurrent with behavior, we monitored whisking through EMG and the respiratory rhythm from the olfactory bulb (OB) local field potential (LFP). We also recorded LFPs from dorsal hippocampus, primary motor cortex, primary somatosensory cortex and primary visual cortex. We defined exploration as simultaneous whisking and sniffing above 5 Hz and found that this activity peaked at about 8 Hz. We considered rest as the absence of whisking and sniffing, and in this case, respiration occurred at about 3 Hz. We found a consistent shift across all areas toward these rhythm peaks accompanying behavioral changes. We also found, across areas, that LFP gamma (70-100 Hz) amplitude could phase-lock to the animal's OB respiratory rhythm, a finding indicative of respiration-locked changes in local processing. In a subset of animals, we also recorded the hippocampal theta activity and found that occurred at frequencies overlapped with respiration but was not spectrally coherent with it, suggesting a different oscillator. Our results are consistent with the notion of respiration as a binder or integrator of activity between brain regions.

Allocating Logging Rights in Peruvian Amazonia—Does It Matter to Be Local?

PubMed Central

Salo, Matti; Helle, Samuli; Toivonen, Tuuli

2011-01-01

Background The fate of tropical forests is a global concern, yet many far-reaching decisions affecting forest resources are made locally. We explore allocation of logging rights using a case study from Loreto, Peruvian Amazonia, where millions of hectares of tropical rainforest were offered for concession in a competitive tendering process that addressed issues related to locality. Methodology/Principal Findings After briefly presenting the study area and the tendering process, we identify and define local and non-local actors taking part in the concession process. We then analyse their tenders, results of the tendering, and attributes of the concession areas. Our results show that there was more offer than demand for concession land in the tendering. The number of tenders the concession areas received was related to their size and geographic location in relation to the major cities, but not to their estimated timber volumes or median distances from transport routes. Small and Loreto-based actors offered lower yearly area-based fees compared to larger ones, but the offers did not significantly affect the results of the tenders. Local experience in the form of logging history or residence near the solicited concession areas, as well as being registered in the region of Loreto, improved the success of the tenders. Conclusions/Significance The allocation process left a considerable number of forest areas under the management of small and local actors, and if Peru is to reach its goal of zero deforestation rate by safeguarding 75 per cent of its forests by 2020, the small and the local actors need to be integrated to the forest regime as important constituents of its legitimacy. PMID:21589922

Health equity issues at the local level: socio-geography, access, and health outcomes in the service area of the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer-Haiti.

PubMed

Perry, Henry B; King-Schultz, Leslie W; Aftab, Asma S; Bryant, John H

2007-08-01

Although health equity issues at regional, national and international levels are receiving increasing attention, health equity issues at the local level have been virtually overlooked. Here, we describe here a comprehensive equity assessment carried out by the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer-Haiti (HAS) in 2003. HAS has been operating health and development programs in the Artibonite Valley of Haiti for 50 years. We reviewed all available information arising from a comprehensive evaluation of the programs of HAS carried out in 1999 and 2000. As part of this evaluation, two demographic and health surveys were carried out. We carried out exit interviews with clients receiving primary health care, observations within health facilities, interviews with households related to quality of care, and focus group discussions with community-based health workers. A special study was carried out in 2003 to assess factors determining the use of prenatal care services. Finally, selected findings were obtained from the HAS information system. We found markedly reduced access to health services in the peripheral mountainous areas compared to the central plains. The quality of services was more deficient and the coverage of key services was lower in the mountains. Finally, health status, as measured by under-five mortality rates and levels of childhood malnutrition, was also worse in the mountains. These findings indicate that local health programs need to give attention to monitoring the health status as well as the quality and coverage of basic services among marginalized groups within the program service area. Health inequities will not be overcome until such monitoring occurs and leaders of health programs ensure that inequities identified are addressed in the local programming of activities. It is quite likely that, within relatively small geographic areas in resource-poor settings around the world, similar, if not even greater, levels of health inequities exist. These inequities

Quantile regression and Bayesian cluster detection to identify radon prone areas.

PubMed

Sarra, Annalina; Fontanella, Lara; Valentini, Pasquale; Palermi, Sergio

2016-11-01

Albeit the dominant source of radon in indoor environments is the geology of the territory, many studies have demonstrated that indoor radon concentrations also depend on dwelling-specific characteristics. Following a stepwise analysis, in this study we propose a combined approach to delineate radon prone areas. We first investigate the impact of various building covariates on indoor radon concentrations. To achieve a more complete picture of this association, we exploit the flexible formulation of a Bayesian spatial quantile regression, which is also equipped with parameters that controls the spatial dependence across data. The quantitative knowledge of the influence of each significant building-specific factor on the measured radon levels is employed to predict the radon concentrations that would have been found if the sampled buildings had possessed standard characteristics. Those normalised radon measures should reflect the geogenic radon potential of the underlying ground, which is a quantity directly related to the geological environment. The second stage of the analysis is aimed at identifying radon prone areas, and to this end, we adopt a Bayesian model for spatial cluster detection using as reference unit the building with standard characteristics. The case study is based on a data set of more than 2000 indoor radon measures, available for the Abruzzo region (Central Italy) and collected by the Agency of Environmental Protection of Abruzzo, during several indoor radon monitoring surveys. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Middle Jurassic continental biota and paleolandscape in the Dubinino locality (Sharypovo area, Krasnoyarsk krai)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivantsov, S. V.; Bystritskaya, L. I.; Krasnolutskii, S. A.; Lyalyuk, K. P.; Frolov, A. O.; Alekseev, A. S.

2016-09-01

On the basis of the lithological-facies analysis, it was established that deposits of the Upper Itat Subformation, comprising the Dubinino locality of the Middle Jurassic flora and insects (Sharypovo district, Krasnoyarsk krai), accumulated in alluvial and lacustrine and, to a lesser extent, floodplain environments (floodplain and alluvial fan facies). The occurrence of remains of insects, macroremains of flora, spores, and pollen allowed us to make a paleoreconstruction of an area with a strongly dissected relief: continental fresh-water reservoir (lake) with varying degree of overflow, surrounded by hills covered with gymnospermous and ginkgo forests.

Electromagnetic Interference of Wireless Local Area Network on Electrocardiogram Monitoring System: A Case Report

PubMed Central

Chung, Seungmin; Yi, Joohee

2013-01-01

Electromagnetic interference (EMI) can affect various medical devices. Herein, we report the case of EMI from wireless local area network (WLAN) on an electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring system. A patient who had a prior myocardial infarction participated in the cardiac rehabilitation program in the sports medicine center of our hospital under the wireless ECG monitoring system. After WLAN was installed, wireless ECG monitoring system failed to show a proper ECG signal. ECG signal was distorted when WLAN was turned on, but it was normalized after turning off the WLAN. PMID:23613696

Modeling Airborne Gravity Data with Local Functions for Regional Geoid Enhancement ---- A Case Study in Puerto Rico Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiaopeng

2016-04-01

Airborne gravimetry has been used as the primary method to quickly and economically obtain updated gravity field information over a region, targeted specifically. Thus, unlike the satellite missions that provide global or near global data coverage, the observables from airborne campaigns are apparently space limited. Moreover, they are also band limited in the frequency domain, considering that various filter banks and/or de-noising techniques have to be applied to overcome the low signal to noise ratio problem that are presented in the airborne systems due to mechanical and mathematical limitations in computing the accelerations, both the kinematic one and the dynamic one. As a result, in this study, a band-limited local function system based on the point mass model is used to process these airborne gravity data that have both a limited frequency domain and a limited space domain in the target area: Puerto Rico Island and its nearby ocean areas. The resulting geoid model show obvious middle to short wavelength geoid changes due to airborne gravity data contribution. In the land area, these changes improved the geoid precision from 3.27cm to 2.09cm at the local GNSS/Leveling bench marks. More importantly, the error trend in the geoid models is largely reduced if not completely removed. Various oceanographic models will be used to validate the geoid changes in the nearby open sea areas.

A Spatial Approach to Identify Slum Areas in East Wara Sub-Districts, South Sulawesi

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anurogo, W.; Lubis, M. Z.; Pamungkas, D. S.; Hartono; Ibrahim, F. M.

2017-12-01

Spatial approach is one of the main approaches of geography, its analysis emphasizes the existence of space that serves to accommodate human activities. The dynamic development of the city area brings many impacts to the urban community’s own life patterns. The development of the city center which is the center of economic activity becomes the attraction for the community that can bring influence to the high flow of labor both from within the city itself and from outside the city area, thus causing the high flow of urbanization. Urbanization has caused an explosion in urban population and one implication is the occurrence of labor-clumping in major cities in Indonesia. Another impact of the high urbanization flow of cities is the problem of urban settlements. The more populations that come in the city, the worse the quality of the existing settlements in the city if not managed properly. This study aims to determine the location of slum areas in East Wara Sub-Districts using remote sensing technology tools and Geographic Information System (GIS). Parameters used to identify slum areas partially extracted using remote sensing data and for parameters that cannot be extracted using remote sensing data, information obtained from field surveys with information retrieval based on reference data. Analysis results for slum settlements taken from the parameters indicate that the East Wara Sub-District has the largest slum areas located in Pontap village. The village of Pontap has two classes of slums that are very shabby and slums. Slum classes are also in Surutangga Village. The result of the analysis shows that the slum settlement area has 46,324 Ha, which is only located in Pontap Village, whereas for the slum class are found in some villages of Pontap and Surutangga Urban Village, there are 37.797 Ha area. The class of slum settlement areas has the largest proportion of the area among other classes in East Wara Subdistrict. The class of slum settlement areas has an

A multi-criteria approach to identify favorable areas for goat production systems in Veracruz, México.

PubMed

Ramírez-Rivera, Emmanuel de Jesús; Lopez-Collado, Jose; Díaz-Rivera, Pablo; Ortega-Jiménez, Eusebio; Torres-Hernández, Glafiro; Jacinto-Padilla, Jazmín; Herman-Lara, Erasmo

2017-04-01

This research identifies favorable areas for goat production systems in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. Through the use of the analytic hierarchy process, layers of biophysical and soil information were combined to generate a model of favorability. Model validation was performed by calculating the area under the curve, the true skill statistic, and a qualitative comparison with census records. The results showed the existence of regions with high (4494.3 km 2 ) and moderate (2985.8 km 2 ) favorability, and these areas correspond to 6.25 and 4.15%, respectively, of the state territory and are located in the regions of Sierra de Huayacocotla, Perote, and Orizaba. These regions are characterized as mountainous and having predominantly temperate-wet or cold climates, and having montane mesophilic forests, containing pine, fir, and desert scrub. The reliability of the distribution model was supported by the area under the curve value (0.96), the true skill statistic (0.86), and consistency with census records.

Incorporating Local Wisdom Sasi into Marine Zoning to Increase the Resilience of a Marine Protected Area Network in Raja Ampat, Indonesia.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Purwanto, P., Jr.; Mangubhai, S.; Muhajir, M.; Hidayat, N. I.; Rumetna, L.; Awaludinnoer, A.; Thebu, K.

2016-02-01

The Raja Ampat government and local communities established 6 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in 2007 to protect the unique marine biodiversity and ensure sustainable fisheries in West Papua, Indonesia. Increasing human populations resulting in overfishing and the use of destructive fishing practices are the main threats and challenges the region faces. Biophysical, socioeconomic and climate change criteria and factors were developed for zoning the Raja Ampat MPA network. Resilience principles such as replication, habitat representation, protection of critical habitat and connectivity were applied to the final zoning design. Reef resilience data using global monitoring protocols were collected to provide insights into the resilience of different reefs to further guide zoning. Resilience rankings showed that fishing pressure on reef fish communities especially on piscivores, herbivores and excavators was the main factor lowering resilience in MPAs. In addition data were collected on `sasi' areas throughout the MPAs. Sasi is a type of traditional resource management practice used by local communities to open and close areas to fishing single or multiple fisheries species. Once the fishery recovers local communities then harvest the species for food or sale. Raja Ampat MPAs network managed as multi-objective zoning system. The current zoning system explicitly recognizes community sasi within Traditional Use Zones, which often are adjacent or close to No-Take Zones. The explicit inclusion of sasi areas within zoning plans for the MPAs will likely lead to good compliance by local communities, and the increase fish biomass. Improving the management of fisheries through the incorporation of traditional fisheries management will therefore increase the overall resilience of coral reefs in the Raja Ampat MPA network.

Identifying local transit resources for evacuation : [tech summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-12-01

In addition to regular urban area transit systems, there are hundreds of small on demand public transit systems that : provide transportation to various categories of riders: the elderly, low-income, veterans, disabled, and those needing : acce...

Retail tobacco exposure: using geographic analysis to identify areas with excessively high retail density.

PubMed

Rodriguez, Daniel; Carlos, Heather A; Adachi-Mejia, Anna M; Berke, Ethan M; Sargent, James

2014-02-01

There is great disparity in tobacco outlet density (TOD), with density highest in low-income areas and areas with greater proportions of minority residents, and this disparity may affect cancer incidence. We sought to better understand the nature of this disparity by assessing how these socio-demographic factors relate to TOD at the national level. Using mixture regression analysis and all of the nearly 65,000 census tracts in the contiguous United States, we aimed to determine the number of latent disparity classes by modeling the relations of proportions of Blacks, Hispanics, and families living in poverty with TOD, controlling for urban/rural status. We identified six disparity classes. There was considerable heterogeneity in relation to TOD for Hispanics in rural settings. For Blacks, there was no relation to TOD in an urban moderate disparity class, and for rural census tracts, the relation was highest in a moderate disparity class. We demonstrated the utility of classifying census tracts on heterogeneity of tobacco risk exposure. This approach provides a better understanding of the complexity of socio-demographic influences of tobacco retailing and creates opportunities for policy makers to more efficiently target areas in greatest need.

Opuntia in México: Identifying Priority Areas for Conserving Biodiversity in a Multi-Use Landscape

PubMed Central

Illoldi-Rangel, Patricia; Ciarleglio, Michael; Sheinvar, Leia; Linaje, Miguel; Sánchez-Cordero, Victor; Sarkar, Sahotra

2012-01-01

Background México is one of the world's centers of species diversity (richness) for Opuntia cacti. Yet, in spite of their economic and ecological importance, Opuntia species remain poorly studied and protected in México. Many of the species are sparsely but widely distributed across the landscape and are subject to a variety of human uses, so devising implementable conservation plans for them presents formidable difficulties. Multi–criteria analysis can be used to design a spatially coherent conservation area network while permitting sustainable human usage. Methods and Findings Species distribution models were created for 60 Opuntia species using MaxEnt. Targets of representation within conservation area networks were assigned at 100% for the geographically rarest species and 10% for the most common ones. Three different conservation plans were developed to represent the species within these networks using total area, shape, and connectivity as relevant criteria. Multi–criteria analysis and a metaheuristic adaptive tabu search algorithm were used to search for optimal solutions. The plans were built on the existing protected areas of México and prioritized additional areas for management for the persistence of Opuntia species. All plans required around one–third of México's total area to be prioritized for attention for Opuntia conservation, underscoring the implausibility of Opuntia conservation through traditional land reservation. Tabu search turned out to be both computationally tractable and easily implementable for search problems of this kind. Conclusions Opuntia conservation in México require the management of large areas of land for multiple uses. The multi-criteria analyses identified priority areas and organized them in large contiguous blocks that can be effectively managed. A high level of connectivity was established among the prioritized areas resulting in the enhancement of possible modes of plant dispersal as well as only a small number

Qualitative Epidemiologic Methods Can Improve Local Prevention Programming among Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daniulaityte, Raminta; Siegal, Harvey A.; Carlson, Robert G.; Kenne, Deric R.; Starr, Sanford; DeCamp, Brad

2004-01-01

The Ohio Substance Abuse Monitoring Network (OSAM) is designed to provide accurate, timely, qualitatively-oriented epidemiologic descriptions of substance abuse trends and emerging problems in the state's major urban and rural areas. Use of qualitative methods in identifying and assessing substance abuse practices in local communities is one of…

Seasonal and Local Characteristics of Lightning Outages of Power Distribution Lines in Hokuriku Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugimoto, Hitoshi; Shimasaki, Katsuhiko

The proportion of the lightning outages in all outages on Japanese 6.6kV distribution lines is high with approximately 20 percent, and then lightning protections are very important for supply reliability of 6.6kV lines. It is effective for the lightning performance to apply countermeasures in order of the area where a large number of the lightning outages occur. Winter lightning occurs in Hokuriku area, therefore it is also important to understand the seasonal characteristics of the lightning outages. In summer 70 percent of the lightning outages on distribution lines in Hokuriku area were due to sparkover, such as power wire breakings and failures of pole-mounted transformers. However, in winter almost half of lightning-damaged equipments were surge arrester failures. The number of the lightning outages per lightning strokes detected by the lightning location system (LLS) in winter was 4.4 times larger than that in summer. The authors have presumed the occurrence of lightning outages from lightning stroke density, 50% value of lightning current and installation rate of lightning protection equipments and overhead ground wire by multiple regression analysis. The presumed results suggest the local difference in the lightning outages.

The Effect of Coastline Changes to Local Community's Social-Economic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hassan, M. I.; Rahmat, N. H.

2016-09-01

The coastal area is absolutely essential for the purposes of resident, recreation, tourism, fisheries and agriculture as a source of socio-economic development of local community. Some of the activities will affect the coastline changes. Coastline changes may occur due to two main factors include natural factors and also by the factor of human activities in coastal areas. Sea level rise, erosion and sedimentation are among the factors that can contribute to the changes in the coastline naturally, while the reclamation and development in coastal areas are factors of coastline changes due to human activities. Resident area and all activities in coastal areas will provide economic resources to the residents of coastal areas. However, coastline changes occur in the coastal areas will affect socio-economic for local community. A significant effect can be seen through destruction of infrastructure, loss of land, and destroy of crops. Batu Pahat is an area with significant changes of coastline. The changes of coastline from 1985 to 2013 can be determined by using topographical maps in 1985 and satellite images where the changes images are taken in 2011 and 2013 respectively. To identify the changes of risk areas, Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) is used to indicate vulnerability for coastal areas. This change indirectly affects the source of income in their agricultural cash crops such as oil palm and coconut. Their crops destroyed and reduced due to impact of changes in the coastline. Identification of risk coastal areas needs to be done in order for the society and local authorities to be prepared for coastline changes.

Usefulness of Epicardial Area in the Short Axis to Identify Elevated Left Ventricular Mass in Men.

PubMed

Fitzpatrick, Jesse K; Cohen, Beth E; Rosenblatt, Andrew; Shaw, Richard E; Schiller, Nelson B

2018-06-15

Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy is strongly associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The 2-dimensional LV mass algorithms suffer from measurement variability that can lead to misclassification of patients with LV hypertrophy as normal, or vice versa. Among the 4 echocardiographic measurements required by the 2-dimensional LV mass algorithms, epicardial and endocardial area have the lowest interobserver variation and could be used to corroborate LV mass calculations. We sought cut-off values that are able to discriminate between elevated and normal LV mass based on endocardial or epicardial area alone. Using data from 664 men enrolled in the Mind Your Heart Study, we calculated the correlation of LV mass index with epicardial area and endocardial area. We then used receiver operator characteristic curves to identify epicardial and endocardial area cut-points that could discriminate subjects with normal LV mass and LV hypertrophy. LV mass index was more strongly correlated with epicardial area compared with endocardial area, r = 0.70 versus r = 0.27, respectively. Epicardial area had a significantly higher area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (p <0.001) compared with endocardial area, 0.90 (95% confidence interval 0.86 to 0.93) versus 0.63 (95% confidence interval 0.57 to 0.71). An epicardial area cut-point of ≥38.0 cm 2 corresponded to a sensitivity of 95.0% and specificity of 54.4% for detecting LV hypertrophy. In conclusion, epicardial area showed promise as a method of rapid screening for LV hypertrophy and could be used to validate formal LV mass calculations. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Surgical treatment of glioblastoma multiforme localized in the motor area of the brain using the technique of cortical electrostimulation.

PubMed

Bogosavljevic, Vojislav; Tasic, Goran; Nestorovic, Branislav; Jovanovic, Vladimir; Rakic, Miodrag; Samardzic, Miroslav

2012-01-01

Glioblastoma multiforme in the motor area is the surgical challenge because of the need for more radical resection in order to extend the life of the patient, and the risk that radicalism could lead to additional neurological deficit. We present series of 26 patients with glioblastoma multiforme localized in and around the motor area, who were hospitalized from October 2004 to February 2009. During all operations, we conducted electrostimulation display area of the brain, to the anatomical location of M1 segment of the motor cortex. Distance of the central sulcus in relation to the coronary suture, measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was 18.38 mm ± 9.564 mm. The volume of electricity required for a motor response was mean 8.79 ± 1.484 mA, with increasing distance from the coronary suture the amperage required to explicit motor responses decreased. The difference (mm) between the distance from the coronary suture measured using MRI and distances measured electrostimulation smaller and power consumption was less (F = 13.285, p < 0.01). The method of cortical cerebral cortex electrostimulation is simple and safe method and a binding protocol to the patient safe operation glioblastoma multiforme localized in the motor area of the brain.

An assessment of solar hot water heating in the Washington, D.C. area - Implications for local utilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stuart, M. W.

1980-04-01

A survey of residential solar hot water heating in the Washington, D.C. area is presented with estimates of the total solar energy contribution per year. These estimates are examined in relation to a local utility's peak-load curves to determine the impact of a substantial increase in solar domestic hot water use over the next 20 yr in the area of utility management. The results indicate that a 10% market penetration of solar water heaters would have no detrimental effect on the utility's peak-load profile and could save several million dollars in new plant construction costs.

Use of Parsimony Analysis to Identify Areas of Endemism of Chinese Birds: Implications for Conservation and Biogeography

PubMed Central

Huang, Xiao-Lei; Qiao, Ge-Xia; Lei, Fu-Min

2010-01-01

Parsimony analysis of endemicity (PAE) was used to identify areas of endemism (AOEs) for Chinese birds at the subregional level. Four AOEs were identified based on a distribution database of 105 endemic species and using 18 avifaunal subregions as the operating geographical units (OGUs). The four AOEs are the Qinghai-Zangnan Subregion, the Southwest Mountainous Subregion, the Hainan Subregion and the Taiwan Subregion. Cladistic analysis of subregions generally supports the division of China’s avifauna into Palaearctic and Oriental realms. Two PAE area trees were produced from two different distribution datasets (year 1976 and 2007). The 1976 topology has four distinct subregional branches; however, the 2007 topology has three distinct branches. Moreover, three Palaearctic subregions in the 1976 tree clustered together with the Oriental subregions in the 2007 tree. Such topological differences may reflect changes in the distribution of bird species through circa three decades. PMID:20559504

Fire history reconstruction in grassland ecosystems: amount of charcoal reflects local area burned

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leys, Bérangère; Brewer, Simon C.; McConaghy, Scott; Mueller, Joshua; McLauchlan, Kendra K.

2015-11-01

Fire is one of the most prevalent disturbances in the Earth system, and its past characteristics can be reconstructed using charcoal particles preserved in depositional environments. Although researchers know that fires produce charcoal particles, interpretation of the quantity or composition of charcoal particles in terms of fire source remains poorly understood. In this study, we used a unique four-year dataset of charcoal deposited in traps from a native tallgrass prairie in mid-North America to test which environmental factors were linked to charcoal measurements on three spatial scales. We investigated small and large charcoal particles commonly used as a proxy of fire activity at different spatial scales, and charcoal morphotypes representing different types of fuel. We found that small (125-250 μm) and large (250 μm-1 mm) particles of charcoal are well-correlated (Spearman correlation = 0.88) and likely reflect the same spatial scale of fire activity in a system with both herbaceous and woody fuels. There was no significant relationship between charcoal pieces and fire parameters <500 m from the traps. Moreover, local area burned (<5 km distance radius from traps) explained the total charcoal amount, and regional burning (200 km radius distance from traps) explained the ratio of non arboreal to total charcoal (NA/T ratio). Charcoal variables, including total charcoal count and NA/T ratio, did not correlate with other fire parameters, vegetation cover, landscape, or climate variables. Thus, in long-term studies that involve fire history reconstructions, total charcoal particles, even of a small size (125-250 μm), could be an indicator of local area burned. Further studies may determine relationships among amount of charcoal recorded, fire intensity, vegetation cover, and climatic parameters.

Identifying desertification risk areas using fuzzy membership and geospatial technique - A case study, Kota District, Rajasthan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dasgupta, Arunima; Sastry, K. L. N.; Dhinwa, P. S.; Rathore, V. S.; Nathawat, M. S.

2013-08-01

Desertification risk assessment is important in order to take proper measures for its prevention. Present research intends to identify the areas under risk of desertification along with their severity in terms of degradation in natural parameters. An integrated model with fuzzy membership analysis, fuzzy rule-based inference system and geospatial techniques was adopted, including five specific natural parameters namely slope, soil pH, soil depth, soil texture and NDVI. Individual parameters were classified according to their deviation from mean. Membership of each individual values to be in a certain class was derived using the normal probability density function of that class. Thus if a single class of a single parameter is with mean μ and standard deviation σ, the values falling beyond μ + 2 σ and μ - 2 σ are not representing that class, but a transitional zone between two subsequent classes. These are the most important areas in terms of degradation, as they have the lowest probability to be in a certain class, hence highest probability to be extended or narrowed down in next or previous class respectively. Eventually, these are the values which can be easily altered, under extrogenic influences, hence are identified as risk areas. The overall desertification risk is derived by incorporating the different risk severity of each parameter using fuzzy rule-based interference system in GIS environment. Multicriteria based geo-statistics are applied to locate the areas under different severity of desertification risk. The study revealed that in Kota, various anthropogenic pressures are accelerating land deterioration, coupled with natural erosive forces. Four major sources of desertification in Kota are, namely Gully and Ravine erosion, inappropriate mining practices, growing urbanization and random deforestation.

Optimization of locations of diffusion spots in indoor optical wireless local area networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eltokhey, Mahmoud W.; Mahmoud, K. R.; Ghassemlooy, Zabih; Obayya, Salah S. A.

2018-03-01

In this paper, we present a novel optimization of the locations of the diffusion spots in indoor optical wireless local area networks, based on the central force optimization (CFO) scheme. The users' performance uniformity is addressed by using the CFO algorithm, and adopting different objective function's configurations, while considering maximization and minimization of the signal to noise ratio and the delay spread, respectively. We also investigate the effect of varying the objective function's weights on the system and the users' performance as part of the adaptation process. The results show that the proposed objective function configuration-based optimization procedure offers an improvement of 65% in the standard deviation of individual receivers' performance.

Gravity anomaly and geoid undulation results in local areas from GEOS-3 altimeter data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rapp, R. H.

1979-01-01

The adjusted GEOS-3 altimeter data, taken as averages within a data frame, have been used to construct free air anomaly and geoid undulation profiles and maps in areas of geophysical interest. Profiles were constructed across the Philippine Trench (at a latitude of 6 deg) and across the Bonin Trench (at a latitude of 28 deg). In the latter case an anomaly variation of 443 mgals in 143 km was derived from the altimeter data. These variations agreed reasonably with terrestrial estimates, considering the predicted point accuracy was about + or - 27 mgals. An area over the Patton Sea mounts was also investigated with the altimeter anomaly field agreeing well with the terrestrial data except for the point directly over the top of the sea mount. It is concluded that the GEOS-3 altimeter data is valuable not only for determining 5 deg and 1 deg x 1 deg mean anomalies, but also can be used to describe more local anomaly variations.

Identifying threats, values, and attributes in Brazilian wilderness areas

Treesearch

Teresa Cristina Magro; Alan Watson; Paula Bernasconi

2007-01-01

The protection of relatively pristine areas in Brazil provides a great opportunity to recognize the values of natural ecosystems. At the same time, it provides opportunities for economic development. The growing interest in these areas in Brazil has stimulated techniques for management and research to study the consequences of human activities on the natural...

Local and Global Correlations between Neurons in the Middle Temporal Area of Primate Visual Cortex.

PubMed

Solomon, Selina S; Chen, Spencer C; Morley, John W; Solomon, Samuel G

2015-09-01

In humans and other primates, the analysis of visual motion includes populations of neurons in the middle-temporal (MT) area of visual cortex. Motion analysis will be constrained by the structure of neural correlations in these populations. Here, we use multi-electrode arrays to measure correlations in anesthetized marmoset, a New World monkey where area MT lies exposed on the cortical surface. We measured correlations in the spike count between pairs of neurons and within populations of neurons, for moving dot fields and moving gratings. Correlations were weaker in area MT than in area V1. The magnitude of correlations in area MT diminished with distance between receptive fields, and difference in preferred direction. Correlations during presentation of moving gratings were stronger than those during presentation of moving dot fields, extended further across cortex, and were less dependent on the functional properties of neurons. Analysis of the timescales of correlation suggests presence of 2 mechanisms. A local mechanism, associated with near-synchronous spiking activity, is strongest in nearby neurons with similar direction preference and is independent of visual stimulus. A global mechanism, operating over larger spatial scales and longer timescales, is independent of direction preference and is modulated by the type of visual stimulus presented. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Changes in per capita alcohol sales during the partial privatization of British Columbia's retail alcohol monopoly 2003-2008: a multi-level local area analysis.

PubMed

Stockwell, Tim; Zhao, Jinhui; Macdonald, Scott; Pakula, Basia; Gruenewald, Paul; Holder, Harold

2009-11-01

To investigate the independent effects on liquor sales of an increase in (a) the density of liquor outlets and (b) the proportion of liquor stores in private rather than government ownership in British Columbia between 2003/4 and 2007/8. The British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch provided data on litres of ethanol sold through different types of outlets in 89 local health areas of the province by beverage type. Multi-level regression models were used to examine the relationship between per capita alcohol sales and outlet densities for different types of liquor outlet after adjusting for potential confounding social, economic and demographic factors as well as spatial and temporal autocorrelation. Liquor outlets in 89 local health areas of British Columbia, Canada. The number of private stores per 10,000 residents was associated significantly and positively with per capita sales of ethanol in beer, coolers, spirits and wine, while the reverse held for government liquor stores. Significant positive effects were also identified for the number of bars and restaurants per head of population. The percentage of liquor stores in private versus government ownership was also associated significantly with per capita alcohol sales when controlling for density of liquor stores and of on-premise outlets (P < 0.01). The trend towards privatisation of liquor outlets between 2003/04 and 2007/08 in British Columbia has contributed to increased per capita sales of alcohol and hence possibly also to increased alcohol-related harm.

Collaborative risk governance in informal urban areas: The case of Wallacedene temporary relocation area

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

Community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM) is an emancipatory approach that aims to empower local communities in reducing their own risks. A community risk assessment (CRA) is an essential element of CBDRM, incorporating highly participatory processes of hazard identification and vulnerability analysis. By incorporating local knowledge and insights, together with those contributed by other external role players, the nature of local risks can be more accurately identified, giving consideration to their causal factors, the nature of their realised impacts or potential effects on a local community and the challenges posed in addressing them. Reflecting on the process and outcomes of a CRA conducted in an informal settlement in the Cape Town metropolitan area, this article describes how one such risk assessment contributed to building local agency through a process of collaborative engagement. Offered as an example of possible best practice, it illustrates both the immediate and potentially longer term benefits to be derived from such a collaborative process, suggesting that a community-based risk assessment may contribute significantly to building more resilient communities. It concludes with a consideration of the challenges of sustaining longer term risk reduction efforts.

The Part Played by Popular Education in Local Development Processes in Suburban and Rural Areas of Sweden

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eriksson, Lisbeth; Forsberg, Anette

2010-01-01

On the basis of a three-year study of the role of popular education in local development processes in Sweden (2006-2008), this paper sets out to outline the role of popular education as a development actor in rural and urban contexts. Two different scenarios and approaches are discussed. One is the role of popular education in rural areas, which…

RERANKING OF AREA SOURCES IN LIGHT OF SEASONAL/ REGIONAL EMISSION FACTORS AND STATE/LOCAL NEEDS

EPA Science Inventory

The report gives results of an effort to provide a better understanding of air pollution area sources and their emissions, to prioritize their importance as emitters of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and to identify sources for which better emission estimation methodologies a...

Elective surgical case cancellation in the Veterans Health Administration system: identifying areas for improvement.

PubMed

Argo, Joshua L; Vick, Catherine C; Graham, Laura A; Itani, Kamal M F; Bishop, Michael J; Hawn, Mary T

2009-11-01

This study evaluated elective surgical case cancellation (CC) rates, reasons for these cancellations, and identified areas for improvement within the Veterans Health Administration (VA) system. CC data for 2006 were collected from the scheduling software for 123 VA facilities. Surveys were distributed to 40 facilities (10 highest and 10 lowest CC rates for high- and low-volume facilities). CC reasons were standardized and piloted at 5 facilities. Of 329,784 cases scheduled by 9 surgical specialties, 40,988 (12.4%) were cancelled. CC reasons (9,528) were placed into 6 broad categories: patient (35%), work-up/medical condition change (28%), facility (20%), surgeon (8%), anesthesia (1%), and miscellaneous (8%). Survey results show areas for improvement at the facility level and a standardized list of 28 CC reasons was comprehensive. Interventions that decrease cancellations caused by patient factors, inadequate work-up, and facility factors are needed to reduce overall elective surgical case cancellations.

The HMI Magnetic Activity Index for Local-Area Helioseismology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bogart, Richard S.; Baldner, Charles

2017-08-01

In order to provide context for the mapping of sub-surface flows and thermal structure by local helioseismic techniques and the study of their relation to local magnetic activity, a local Magnetic Activity Index (MAI) was introduced. The MAI provides an appropriate index value corresponding precisely to the extent in space and time of each region analyzed. It is intended to be a measure of the total magnetic flux in the region. Hemispheric averages of the MAI are very well correlated with independent global measures of solar magnetic activity. Improvements in the determination of the MAI from Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) measurements have revealed statistical anomalies affecting a small but significant number of high-cadence (45-sec) magnetograms. We describe modifications to the MAI being explored, the identification and treatment of anomalous magnetic field values, and explore likely causes.

Identifying Priority Areas for Conservation: A Global Assessment for Forest-Dependent Birds

PubMed Central

Buchanan, Graeme M.; Donald, Paul F.; Butchart, Stuart H. M.

2011-01-01

Limited resources are available to address the world's growing environmental problems, requiring conservationists to identify priority sites for action. Using new distribution maps for all of the world's forest-dependent birds (60.6% of all bird species), we quantify the contribution of remaining forest to conserving global avian biodiversity. For each of the world's partly or wholly forested 5-km cells, we estimated an impact score of its contribution to the distribution of all the forest bird species estimated to occur within it, and so is proportional to the impact on the conservation status of the world's forest-dependent birds were the forest it contains lost. The distribution of scores was highly skewed, a very small proportion of cells having scores several orders of magnitude above the global mean. Ecoregions containing the highest values of this score included relatively species-poor islands such as Hawaii and Palau, the relatively species-rich islands of Indonesia and the Philippines, and the megadiverse Atlantic Forests and northern Andes of South America. Ecoregions with high impact scores and high deforestation rates (2000–2005) included montane forests in Cameroon and the Eastern Arc of Tanzania, although deforestation data were not available for all ecoregions. Ecoregions with high impact scores, high rates of recent deforestation and low coverage by the protected area network included Indonesia's Seram rain forests and the moist forests of Trinidad and Tobago. Key sites in these ecoregions represent some of the most urgent priorities for expansion of the global protected areas network to meet Convention on Biological Diversity targets to increase the proportion of land formally protected to 17% by 2020. Areas with high impact scores, rapid deforestation, low protection and high carbon storage values may represent significant opportunities for both biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation, for example through Reducing Emissions from

Identifying areas under potential risk of illegal construction and demolition waste dumping using GIS tools.

PubMed

Seror, Nissim; Portnov, Boris A

2018-05-01

Construction and demolition (C&D) waste, dumped illegally in ravines and open areas, contaminates soil and can cause underground water pollution and forests fires. Yet, effective monitoring of illegal C&D waste dumping and enforcing legislation against the offenders are often a difficult task due to the large size of geographic areas that need to be monitored, and limited human and financial resources available to environmental law enforcement agencies. In this study, we use Geographic Information System (GIS) tools and geo-statistical modelling to identify the areas under potentially elevated risk of illegal C&D waste dumping in the Haifa district of Israel. As our analysis shows, locational factors, significantly associated with the accumulated amount of waste in the existing illegal C&D waste sites, include: distance to the nearest main road, depth of the ravine present at the site (p<0.01), and forest proximity (p<0.05). Using the model incorporating these locational parameters, we mapped the areas under the elevated risk of illegal C&D waste dumping for future monitoring. As we suggest, the proposed approach may be useful for environmental law enforcement authorities, by helping them to focus on specific sites for inspection, save resources, and act against the offenders more efficiently. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Retail Tobacco Exposure: Using Geographic Analysis to Identify Areas With Excessively High Retail Density

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Introduction: There is great disparity in tobacco outlet density (TOD), with density highest in low-income areas and areas with greater proportions of minority residents, and this disparity may affect cancer incidence. We sought to better understand the nature of this disparity by assessing how these socio-demographic factors relate to TOD at the national level. Methods: Using mixture regression analysis and all of the nearly 65,000 census tracts in the contiguous United States, we aimed to determine the number of latent disparity classes by modeling the relations of proportions of Blacks, Hispanics, and families living in poverty with TOD, controlling for urban/rural status. Results: We identified six disparity classes. There was considerable heterogeneity in relation to TOD for Hispanics in rural settings. For Blacks, there was no relation to TOD in an urban moderate disparity class, and for rural census tracts, the relation was highest in a moderate disparity class. Conclusions: We demonstrated the utility of classifying census tracts on heterogeneity of tobacco risk exposure. This approach provides a better understanding of the complexity of socio-demographic influences of tobacco retailing and creates opportunities for policy makers to more efficiently target areas in greatest need. PMID:23999651

Identifying transit corridors for elephant using a long time-series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pittiglio, Claudia; Skidmore, Andrew K.; van Gils, Hein A. M. J.; Prins, Herbert H. T.

2012-02-01

The role of corridors in mitigating the effects of landscape fragmentation on biodiversity is controversial. Recent studies have highlighted the need for new approaches in corridor design using long-term datasets. We present a method to identify transit corridors for elephant at a population scale over a large area and an extended period of time using long-term aerial surveys. We investigated environmental and anthropogenic factors directly and indirectly related to the wet versus dry season distribution of elephant and its transit corridors. Four environmental variables predicted the presence of elephant at the landscape scale in both seasons: distance from permanent water, protected areas and settlements and vegetation structure. Path analysis revealed that altitude and monthly average NDVI, and distance from temporary water had a significant indirect effect on elephant distribution at local scale in dry and wet seasons respectively. Five transit corridors connecting Tarangire National Park and the northern as well as south-eastern wet season dispersal areas were identified and matched the wildlife migration routes described in the 1960s. The corridors are stable over the decades, providing landscape connectivity for elephant. Our approach yielded insights how advanced spatial analysis can be integrated with biological data available from long-term datasets to identify actual transit corridors and predictors of species distribution.

Identifying Areas of Tension in the Field of Technology-Enhanced Learning: Results of an International Delphi Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plesch, Christine; Kaendler, Celia; Rummel, Nikol; Wiedmann, Michael; Spada, Hans

2013-01-01

Despite steady progress in research in technology-enhanced learning (TEL), the translation of research findings and technology into educational practices falls short of expectations. We present five Areas of Tension which were identified and evaluated in an international Delphi study on TEL. These tensions might impede a more comprehensive…

Consortium building among local health departments in northwest Illinois.

PubMed Central

Orthoefer, J; Bain, D; Empereur, R; Nesbit, T A

1988-01-01

The 1947 report by Haven Emerson envisioned the widespread delivery of local public health services through organizational patterns that substituted multi-county or regional agencies for locally controlled departments. The 1971 study by Vlado Getting supported the Emerson report and suggested alternative methods to provide public health services via multi-county area health service agencies for rural areas of Illinois. The number of local agencies in the State has doubled since the mid-1960s, yet a majority of rural counties have maintained a single-county health agency rather than forming multi-county arrangements. In effect, potential economies of scale have been forfeited. In northwest Illinois, however, eight local health departments, covering both rural and urban areas, have formed a multi-county consortium to identify and meet several overlapping program needs. This Region I consortium, with a population base of 590,000, was created as a result of the 1981 Omnibus Budget Reduction Act. Through the block grants created by the act, funds became available for preventive health and health promotion activities in fiscal year 1982. Once in place, the consortium provided a cost effective means to manage the Women, Infants, and Children Supplemental Feeding Program (WIC) and some elements of family planning programs in Region I. The consortium approach offers numerous opportunities for future growth and regionalization of services. PMID:3140277

Identifying core habitat and connectivity for focal species in the interior cedar-hemlock forest of North America to complete a conservation area design

Treesearch

Lance Craighead; Baden Cross

2007-01-01

To identify the remaining areas of the Interior Cedar- Hemlock Forest of North America and prioritize them for conservation planning, the Craighead Environmental Research Institute has developed a 2-scale method for mapping critical habitat utilizing 1) a broad-scale model to identify important regional locations as the basis for a Conservation Area Design (CAD), and 2...

Bandwidth characteristics of multimedia data traffic on a local area network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chuang, Shery L.; Doubek, Sharon; Haines, Richard F.

1993-01-01

Limited spacecraft communication links call for users to investigate the potential use of video compression and multimedia technologies to optimize bandwidth allocations. The objective was to determine the transmission characteristics of multimedia data - motion video, text or bitmap graphics, and files transmitted independently and simultaneously over an ethernet local area network. Commercial desktop video teleconferencing hardware and software and Intel's proprietary Digital Video Interactive (DVI) video compression algorithm were used, and typical task scenarios were selected. The transmission time, packet size, number of packets, and network utilization of the data were recorded. Each data type - compressed motion video, text and/or bitmapped graphics, and a compressed image file - was first transmitted independently and its characteristics recorded. The results showed that an average bandwidth of 7.4 kilobits per second (kbps) was used to transmit graphics; an average bandwidth of 86.8 kbps was used to transmit an 18.9-kilobyte (kB) image file; a bandwidth of 728.9 kbps was used to transmit compressed motion video at 15 frames per second (fps); and a bandwidth of 75.9 kbps was used to transmit compressed motion video at 1.5 fps. Average packet sizes were 933 bytes for graphics, 498.5 bytes for the image file, 345.8 bytes for motion video at 15 fps, and 341.9 bytes for motion video at 1.5 fps. Simultaneous transmission of multimedia data types was also characterized. The multimedia packets used transmission bandwidths of 341.4 kbps and 105.8kbps. Bandwidth utilization varied according to the frame rate (frames per second) setting for the transmission of motion video. Packet size did not vary significantly between the data types. When these characteristics are applied to Space Station Freedom (SSF), the packet sizes fall within the maximum specified by the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS). The uplink of imagery to SSF may be performed at

A Study of the Job Satisfaction of Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) Directors and Local School District Special Education Directors in Four Counties of Southern California

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alexander, Gregory Haynes, III

2009-01-01

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to compare the perceived level of job satisfaction of SELPA directors with that of local school district special education directors in the counties of Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Orange of Southern California and to identify factors that contribute to their job satisfaction. Additionally, this…

Factors Influencing Low Level of Women Participation in Literacy Programme in Maiha Local Government Area of Adamawa State

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daniel, Aminchi

2015-01-01

This study was designed to determine the extent to which poverty, gender stereotype, socio-cultural belief and lack of awareness influence low level of women participation in literacy programme in Maiha Local Government Area of Adamawa State. Survey designed was adopted for the study and a sample consisting of three hundred (300) women who were…

Assessment of local pulse wave velocity distribution in mice using k-t BLAST PC-CMR with semi-automatic area segmentation.

PubMed

Herold, Volker; Herz, Stefan; Winter, Patrick; Gutjahr, Fabian Tobias; Andelovic, Kristina; Bauer, Wolfgang Rudolf; Jakob, Peter Michael

2017-10-16

Local aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a measure for vascular stiffness and has a predictive value for cardiovascular events. Ultra high field CMR scanners allow the quantification of local PWV in mice, however these systems are yet unable to monitor the distribution of local elasticities. In the present study we provide a new accelerated method to quantify local aortic PWV in mice with phase-contrast cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (PC-CMR) at 17.6 T. Based on a k-t BLAST (Broad-use Linear Acquisition Speed-up Technique) undersampling scheme, total measurement time could be reduced by a factor of 6. The fast data acquisition enables to quantify the local PWV at several locations along the aortic blood vessel based on the evaluation of local temporal changes in blood flow and vessel cross sectional area. To speed up post processing and to eliminate operator bias, we introduce a new semi-automatic segmentation algorithm to quantify cross-sectional areas of the aortic vessel. The new methods were applied in 10 eight-month-old mice (4 C57BL/6J-mice and 6 ApoE (-/-) -mice) at 12 adjacent locations along the abdominal aorta. Accelerated data acquisition and semi-automatic post-processing delivered reliable measures for the local PWV, similiar to those obtained with full data sampling and manual segmentation. No statistically significant differences of the mean values could be detected for the different measurement approaches. Mean PWV values were elevated for the ApoE (-/-) -group compared to the C57BL/6J-group (3.5 ± 0.7 m/s vs. 2.2 ± 0.4 m/s, p < 0.01). A more heterogeneous PWV-distribution in the ApoE (-/-) -animals could be observed compared to the C57BL/6J-mice, representing the local character of lesion development in atherosclerosis. In the present work, we showed that k-t BLAST PC-MRI enables the measurement of the local PWV distribution in the mouse aorta. The semi-automatic segmentation method based on PC-CMR data allowed rapid determination of

Ranging airport pseudolite for local area augmentation using the global positioning system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartone, Chris Gregory

The Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) is being developed to support precision approach and landing operations in and about the local area surrounding an airport. The LAAS Program is currently under development by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with Minimum Aviation System Performance Standards for the LAAS being developed by RTCA, Incorporated. The LAAS uses differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) and includes one or more airport pseudolites (APL) to increase the availability for certain installations. This dissertation addresses the addition of a differentially corrected, ranging APL into a LAAS. Prior to this work, no ranging APL has been integrated into a prototype LAAS and demonstrated in a real-time flight environment showing that an increase in LAAS availability is feasible. The APL requirements resulted in a prototype APL transmitting and receiving subsystem with a coarse-acquisition (C/A) code format that could be operated at any frequency within the L1± 10.0 MHz band. To investigate the major APL error the developmental approach was performed in two phases. Phase I implemented an APL operating at a center frequency off-L1 and concentrated on multipath limiting. The Phase II on-L1 APL architecture implemented a unique pulsing, automatic gain control (AGC) and GPS Blanker technique in the common reception path to maximize APL signal tracking and minimize electromagnetic interference to DGPS. To minimize ground multipath for the APL geometry, which is more severe than for GPS, a multipath limiting antenna (MLA) was designed, fabricated, and tested within a 4-month period. The implementation of this MLA concept was a first for APL applications and also contributed to the successful multipath limiting of ground multipath at the DGPS LAAS Ground Station. This effort successfully demonstrated that ground multipath can be limited (with low variance and no long-term bias) for the APL geometry and that suitable precision approach performance

A studyforrest extension, retinotopic mapping and localization of higher visual areas

PubMed Central

Sengupta, Ayan; Kaule, Falko R.; Guntupalli, J. Swaroop; Hoffmann, Michael B.; Häusler, Christian; Stadler, Jörg; Hanke, Michael

2016-01-01

The studyforrest (http://studyforrest.org) dataset is likely the largest neuroimaging dataset on natural language and story processing publicly available today. In this article, along with a companion publication, we present an update of this dataset that extends its scope to vision and multi-sensory research. 15 participants of the original cohort volunteered for a series of additional studies: a clinical examination of visual function, a standard retinotopic mapping procedure, and a localization of higher visual areas—such as the fusiform face area. The combination of this update, the previous data releases for the dataset, and the companion publication, which includes neuroimaging and eye tracking data from natural stimulation with a motion picture, form an extremely versatile and comprehensive resource for brain imaging research—with almost six hours of functional neuroimaging data across five different stimulation paradigms for each participant. Furthermore, we describe employed paradigms and present results that document the quality of the data for the purpose of characterising major properties of participants’ visual processing stream. PMID:27779618

Optimizing low latency LIGO-Virgo localization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Hsin-Yu; Holz, Daniel

2015-04-01

Fast and effective localization of gravitational wave (GW) events could play a crucial role in identifying possible electromagnetic counterparts, and thereby help usher in an era of GW multi-messenger astronomy. We discuss an algorithm for accurate and very low latency (<< 1 second) localization of GW sources using only the time of arrival and signal-to-noise ratio at each detector. The algorithm is independent of distances, masses, and waveform templates of the sources to leading order, and applies to all discrete sources detected by ground-based detector networks. For the two detector configuration (LIGO Hanford+Livingston) expected in late 2015 we find a median 50% localization of 150 deg2 for binary neutron stars (for SNR threshold of 12), consistent with previous findings. We explore the improvement in localization resulting from high SNR events, finding that the loudest out of the first four events reduces the median sky localization area by a factor of 1.8. We also discuss some strategies to optimize electromagnetic follow-up of GW events. We specifically explore the case of multi-messenger joint detections coming from independent (and possibly highly uncertain) localizations, such as for short gamma-ray bursts observed by Fermi GBM and neutrinos captured by IceCube.

Get Involved in the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program (JOBS). What Local Areas Need To Know.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

JTPA Issues, 1989

1989-01-01

This Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Update provides a quick primer of some of the key areas where states have flexibility to develop their own programs and processes in the new Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program. This guide is organized in seven sections that cover the following topics: (1) introduction; (2) why local areas…

Access to Vocational Education. A Planning System for Local Secondary and Post-Secondary Program and Facility Accessibility. Step 1: Identifying Barriers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rice, Eric; And Others

This guidebook focuses on the first of five steps included in a planning system for improving local secondary and postsecondary program and facilities accessibility: identifying barriers. The first five sections of the booklet are comprised of self-instructional descriptions of five needs-assessment procedures that can be used to identify…

Molecular analysis of faecal samples from birds to identify potential crop pests and useful biocontrol agents in natural areas.

PubMed

King, R A; Symondson, W O C; Thomas, R J

2015-06-01

Wild habitats adjoining farmland are potentially valuable sources of natural enemies, but also of pests. Here we tested the utility of birds as 'sampling devices', to identify the diversity of prey available to predators and particularly to screen for pests and natural enemies using natural ecosystems as refugia. Here we used PCR to amplify prey DNA from three sympatric songbirds foraging on small invertebrates in Phragmites reedbed ecosystems, namely the Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus), Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus) and Cetti's Warbler (Cettia cetti). A recently described general invertebrate primer pair was used for the first time to analyse diets. Amplicons were cloned and sequenced, then identified by reference to the Barcoding of Life Database and to our own sequences obtained from fresh invertebrates. Forty-five distinct prey DNA sequences were obtained from 11 faecal samples, of which 39 could be identified to species or genus. Targeting three warbler species ensured that species-specific differences in prey choice broadened the range of prey taken. Amongst the prey found in reedbeds were major pests (including the tomato moth Lacanobia oleracea) as well as many potentially valuable natural enemies including aphidophagous hoverflies and braconid wasps. Given the mobility of birds, this approach provides a practical way of sampling a whole habitat at once, providing growers with information on possible invasion by locally resident pests and the colonization potential of natural enemies from local natural habitats.

Multiplex networks in metropolitan areas: generic features and local effects.

PubMed

Strano, Emanuele; Shai, Saray; Dobson, Simon; Barthelemy, Marc

2015-10-06

Most large cities are spanned by more than one transportation system. These different modes of transport have usually been studied separately: it is however important to understand the impact on urban systems of coupling different modes and we report in this paper an empirical analysis of the coupling between the street network and the subway for the two large metropolitan areas of London and New York. We observe a similar behaviour for network quantities related to quickest paths suggesting the existence of generic mechanisms operating beyond the local peculiarities of the specific cities studied. An analysis of the betweenness centrality distribution shows that the introduction of underground networks operate as a decentralizing force creating congestion in places located at the end of underground lines. Also, we find that increasing the speed of subways is not always beneficial and may lead to unwanted uneven spatial distributions of accessibility. In fact, for London—but not for New York—there is an optimal subway speed in terms of global congestion. These results show that it is crucial to consider the full, multimodal, multilayer network aspects of transportation systems in order to understand the behaviour of cities and to avoid possible negative side-effects of urban planning decisions. © 2015 The Author(s).

Multiplex networks in metropolitan areas: generic features and local effects

PubMed Central

Strano, Emanuele; Shai, Saray; Dobson, Simon; Barthelemy, Marc

2015-01-01

Most large cities are spanned by more than one transportation system. These different modes of transport have usually been studied separately: it is however important to understand the impact on urban systems of coupling different modes and we report in this paper an empirical analysis of the coupling between the street network and the subway for the two large metropolitan areas of London and New York. We observe a similar behaviour for network quantities related to quickest paths suggesting the existence of generic mechanisms operating beyond the local peculiarities of the specific cities studied. An analysis of the betweenness centrality distribution shows that the introduction of underground networks operate as a decentralizing force creating congestion in places located at the end of underground lines. Also, we find that increasing the speed of subways is not always beneficial and may lead to unwanted uneven spatial distributions of accessibility. In fact, for London—but not for New York—there is an optimal subway speed in terms of global congestion. These results show that it is crucial to consider the full, multimodal, multilayer network aspects of transportation systems in order to understand the behaviour of cities and to avoid possible negative side-effects of urban planning decisions. PMID:26400198

The role of private developers in local infrastructure provision in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salleh, Dani; Okinono, Otega

2016-08-01

Globally, the challenge of local infrastructure provision has attracted much debate amongst different nations including Malaysia, on how to achieve an effective and efficient infrastructural management. This approach therefore, has intensified the efforts of local authorities in incorporating private developers in their developmental agenda in attaining a sustainable infrastructural development in local areas. Basically, the knowledge of the need for adequate provision of local infrastructure is well understood by both local and private authorities. Likewise, the divergent opinions on the usage of private delivery services. Notwithstanding the common perception, significant loopholes have been identified on the most appropriate and ideal approach and practices to adopt in enhancing local infrastructure development. The study therefore examined the role of private developers in local infrastructure provision and procedure adopted by both local authorities and the privates sector in local infrastructure development. Data was obtained using the questionnaire through purposive sampling, administered to 22 local authorities and 16 developers which was descriptively analysed. Emanating from the study findings, the most frequently approved practices by local authorities are joint venture and complete public delivery systems. Likewise, negotiation was identified as a vital tool for stimulating the acquisition of local infrastructure provision. It was also discovered the one of the greatest challenge in promoting private sector involvement in local infrastructure development is due to unregulated-procedure. The study therefore recommends, there is need for local authorities to adopt a collective and integrated approach, nevertheless, cognisance and priority should be given to developing a well-structured and systematic process of local infrastructure provision and development.

Use of sediment-trace element geochemical models for the identification of local fluvial baseline concentrations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Horowitz, A.J.; Elrick, K.A.; Demas, C.R.; Demcheck, D.K.

1991-01-01

Studies have demonstrated the utility of fluvial bed sediment chemical data in assesing local water-quality conditions. However, establishing local background trace element levels can be difficult. Reference to published average concentrations or the use of dated cores are often of little use in small areas of diverse local petrology, geology, land use, or hydrology. An alternative approach entails the construction of a series of sediment-trace element predictive models based on data from environmentally diverse but unaffected areas. Predicted values could provide a measure of local background concentrations and comparison with actual measured concentrations could identify elevated trace elements and affected sites. Such a model set was developed from surface bed sediments collected nationwide in the United States. Tests of the models in a small Louisiana basin indicated that they could be used to establish local trace element background levels, but required recalibration to account for local geochemical conditions outside the range of samples used to generate the nationwide models.

Subcellular localization of the Hpa RxLR effector repertoire identifies a tonoplast-associated protein HaRxL17 that confers enhanced plant susceptibility.

PubMed

Caillaud, Marie-Cécile; Piquerez, Sophie J M; Fabro, Georgina; Steinbrenner, Jens; Ishaque, Naveed; Beynon, Jim; Jones, Jonathan D G

2012-01-01

Filamentous phytopathogens form sophisticated intracellular feeding structures called haustoria in plant cells. Pathogen effectors are likely to play a role in the establishment and maintenance of haustoria in addition to their better-characterized role in suppressing plant defence. However, the specific mechanisms by which these effectors promote virulence remain unclear. To address this question, we examined changes in subcellular architecture using live-cell imaging during the compatible interaction between the oomycete Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis (Hpa) and its host Arabidopsis. We monitored host-cell restructuring of subcellular compartments within plant mesophyll cells during haustoria ontogenesis. Live-cell imaging highlighted rearrangements in plant cell membranes upon infection, in particular to the tonoplast, which was located close to the extra-haustorial membrane surrounding the haustorium. We also investigated the subcellular localization patterns of Hpa RxLR effector candidates (HaRxLs) in planta. We identified two major classes of HaRxL effector based on localization: nuclear-localized effectors and membrane-localized effectors. Further, we identified a single effector, HaRxL17, that associated with the tonoplast in uninfected cells and with membranes around haustoria, probably the extra-haustorial membrane, in infected cells. Functional analysis of selected effector candidates in planta revealed that HaRxL17 enhances plant susceptibility. The roles of subcellular changes and effector localization, with specific reference to the potential role of HaRxL17 in plant cell membrane trafficking, are discussed with respect to Hpa virulence. © 2011 The Authors. The Plant Journal © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Evaluation of building fundamental periods and effects of local geology on ground motion parameters in the Siracusa area, Italy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panzera, Francesco; D'Amico, Sebastiano; Lombardo, Giuseppe; Longo, Emanuela

2016-07-01

The Siracusa area, located in the southeastern coast of Sicily (Italy), is mainly characterized by the outcropping of a limestone formation. This lithotype, which is overlain by soft sediments such as sandy clays and detritus, can be considered as the local bedrock. Records of ambient noise, processed through spectral ratio techniques, were used to assess the dynamic properties of a sample survey of both reinforced concrete and masonry buildings. The results show that experimental periods of existing buildings are always lower than those proposed by the European seismic code. This disagreement could be related to the role played by stiff masonry infills, as well as the influence of adjacent buildings, especially in downtown Siracusa. Numerical modeling was also used to study the effect of local geology on the seismic site response of the Siracusa area. Seismic urban scenarios were simulated considering a moderate magnitude earthquake (December 13th, 1990) to assess the shaking level of the different outcropping formations. Spectral acceleration at different periods, peak ground acceleration, and velocity were obtained through a stochastic approach adopting an extended source model code. Seismic ground motion scenario highlighted that amplification mainly occurs in the sedimentary deposits that are widespread to the south of the study area as well as on some spot areas where coarse detritus and sandy clay outcrop. On the other hand, the level of shaking appears moderate in all zones with outcropping limestone and volcanics.

Local Environmental Groups: A Systematic Enumeration in Two Geographical Areas.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kempton, Willett; Holland, Dorothy C.; Bunting-Howarth, Katherine; Hannan, Erin; Payne, Christopher

2001-01-01

A systematic, labor-intensive inventory of all local environmental groups in the Delmarva Peninsula and the state of North Carolina found 566 local groups, 7-20 times the number in published directories. Unexpectedly, high school student groups made up about 30 percent of the total. Groups' diverse objectives, primary activities, and alliances are…

Relocation of micro-earthquakes in the Yeongdeok offshore area, Korea using local and Ocean bottom seismometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

HAN, M.; Kim, K. H.; Park, S. C.; Lin, P. P.; Chen, P.; Chang, H.; Jang, J. P.; Kuo, B. Y.; Liao, Y. C.

2016-12-01

Seismicity in the East Sea of Korea has been relatively high during the last four decades of instrumental earthquake observation period. Yeongdeok offshore area is probably the most seismically active area in the East Sea. This study analyzes seismic signals to detect micro-earthquakes and determine their precise earthquake hypocenters in the Yeoungdeok offshore area using data recorded by the Korea National Seismic Network (KNSN) and a temporary ocean bottom seismographic network (OBSN-PNU) operated by Korea Meteorological Administration and Pusan National University, respectively. Continuous waveform data recorded at four seismic stations in the study area of KNSN between January 2007 and July 2016 are inspected to detect any repeating earthquakes by applying a waveform cross-correlation detector. More than 1,600 events are triggered. Events outside the study area or in poor waveform quality are removed from further analysis. Approximately 500 earthquakes are selected, most of which have gone unreported because their magnitudes are lower than the detection threshold of the routine earthquake monitoring. Events in the study area are also under bad azimuthal coverage because all stations are located on land and thus biased to the west. OBSN-PNU comprised three ocean bottom seismometers and operated to observe micro-earthquakes in the study area between February and August 2016. The same technique applied to the KNSN data has been applied to the OBSN-PNU data to detect micro-earthquakes. Precise earthquake hypocenters are determined using phase arrival times and waveform similarities. Resultant hypocenters are clustered to form a few lineaments. They are compared to the local geological and geophysical features to understand micro-earthquake activity in the area.

Assessment and application of a snowblow modelling approach for identifying enhanced snow accumulation in areas of former glaciation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mills, Stephanie; Smith, Michael; Le Brocq, Anne; Ardakova, Ekaterina; Hillier, John; Boston, Clare

2016-04-01

The redistribution of snow by wind can play an important role in providing additional mass to the surface of glaciers and can, therefore, have an impact on the glacier's surface mass balance. In areas of marginal glaciation, this local topo-climatic effect may be prove crucial for the initiation and survival of glaciers, whilst it can also increase heterogeneity in the distribution of snow on ice caps and ice sheets. We present a newly developed snowblow model which calculates spatial variations in relative snow accumulation that result from variations in topography. We apply this model to areas of former marginal glaciation in the Brecon Beacons, Wales and an area of former plateau icefield glaciation in the Monadhliath, Scotland. We can then determine whether redistribution by snow can help explain variations in the estimated equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs) of these former glaciers. Specifically, we compare the areas where snow is modelled as accumulating, to the reconstructed glacier surface, which is based on mapped moraines believed to be of Younger Dryas age. The model is applied to 30 m resolution DEMs and potential snow accumulation is simulated from different wind directions in order to determine the most likely contributing sector. Total snow accumulation in sub-set areas is then calculated and compared to the reconstructed glacier area. The results suggest that areas with larger amounts of snow accumulation often correspond with those where the ELA is lower than surrounding glaciers and vice versa, in both the marginal and icefield setting, suggesting that the role of snowblow in supplying additional mass to the surface of glaciers is significant.

Cortical areas involved in Arabic number reading.

PubMed

Roux, F-E; Lubrano, V; Lauwers-Cances, V; Giussani, C; Démonet, J-F

2008-01-15

Distinct functional pathways for processing words and numbers have been hypothesized from the observation of dissociated impairments of these categories in brain-damaged patients. We aimed to identify the cortical areas involved in Arabic number reading process in patients operated on for various brain lesions. Direct cortical electrostimulation was prospectively used in 60 brain mappings. We used object naming and two reading tasks: alphabetic script (sentences and number words) and Arabic number reading. Cortical areas involved in Arabic number reading were identified according to location, type of interference, and distinctness from areas associated with other language tasks. Arabic number reading was sustained by small cortical areas, often extremely well localized (<1 cm(2)). Over 259 language sites detected, 43 (17%) were exclusively involved in Arabic number reading (no sentence or word number reading interference detected in these sites). Specific Arabic number reading interferences were mainly found in three regions: the Broca area (Brodmann area 45), the anterior part of the dominant supramarginal gyrus (Brodmann area 40; p < 0.0001), and the temporal-basal area (Brodmann area 37; p < 0.05). Diverse types of interferences were observed (reading arrest, phonemic or semantic paraphasia). Error patterns were fairly similar across temporal, parietal, and frontal stimulation sites, except for phonemic paraphasias, which were found only in supramarginal gyrus. Our findings strongly support the fact that the acquisition through education of specific symbolic entities, such as Arabic numbers, could result in the segregation and the specialization of anatomically distinct brain areas.

Nominal group technique: a brainstorming tool for identifying areas to improve pain management in hospitalized patients.

PubMed

Peña, Adolfo; Estrada, Carlos A; Soniat, Debbie; Taylor, Benjamin; Burton, Michael

2012-01-01

Pain management in hospitalized patients remains a priority area for improvement; effective strategies for consensus development are needed to prioritize interventions. To identify challenges, barriers, and perspectives of healthcare providers in managing pain among hospitalized patients. Qualitative and quantitative group consensus using a brainstorming technique for quality improvement-the nominal group technique (NGT). One medical, 1 medical-surgical, and 1 surgical hospital unit at a large academic medical center. Nurses, resident physicians, patient care technicians, and unit clerks. Responses and ranking to the NGT question: "What causes uncontrolled pain in your unit?" Twenty-seven health workers generated a total of 94 ideas. The ideas perceived contributing to a suboptimal pain control were grouped as system factors (timeliness, n = 18 ideas; communication, n = 11; pain assessment, n = 8), human factors (knowledge and experience, n = 16; provider bias, n = 8; patient factors, n = 19), and interface of system and human factors (standardization, n = 14). Knowledge, timeliness, provider bias, and patient factors were the top ranked themes. Knowledge and timeliness are considered main priorities to improve pain control. NGT is an efficient tool for identifying general and context-specific priority areas for quality improvement; teams of healthcare providers should consider using NGT to address their own challenges and barriers. Copyright © 2011 Society of Hospital Medicine.

Using geographic information systems to identify prospective marketing areas for a special library.

PubMed

McConnaughy, Rozalynd P; Wilson, Steven P

2006-05-04

The Center for Disability Resources (CDR) Library is the largest collection of its kind in the Southeastern United States, consisting of over 5,200 books, videos/DVDs, brochures, and audiotapes covering a variety of disability-related topics, from autism to transition resources. The purpose of the library is to support the information needs of families, faculty, students, staff, and other professionals in South Carolina working with individuals with disabilities. The CDR Library is funded on a yearly basis; therefore, maintaining high usage is crucial. A variety of promotional efforts have been used to attract new patrons to the library. Anyone in South Carolina can check out materials from the library, and most of the patrons use the library remotely by requesting materials, which are then mailed to them. The goal of this project was to identify areas of low geographic usage as a means of identifying locations for future library marketing efforts. Nearly four years worth of library statistics were compiled in a spreadsheet that provided information per county on the number of checkouts, the number of renewals, and the population. Five maps were created using ArcView GIS software to create visual representations of patron checkout and renewal behavior per county. Out of the 46 counties in South Carolina, eight counties never checked out materials from the library. As expected urban areas and counties near the library's physical location have high usage totals. The visual representation of the data made identification of low usage regions easier than using a standalone database with no visual-spatial component. The low usage counties will be the focus of future Center for Disability Resources Library marketing efforts. Due to the impressive visual-spatial representations created with Geographic Information Systems, which more efficiently communicate information than stand-alone database information can, librarians may benefit from the software's use as a

Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group's Stakeholder Engagement Project identified systematic review priority areas.

PubMed

Scott, Anna Mae; Clark, Justin; Dooley, Liz; Jones, Ann; Jones, Mark; Del Mar, Chris

2018-05-22

Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) Group conducts systematic reviews of the evidence for treatment and prevention of ARIs. We report the results of a prioritisation project, aiming to identify highest priority systematic review topics. The project consisted of 2 Phases. Phase 1 analysed the gap between existing RCTs and Cochrane Systematic Reviews (reported previously). Phase 2 (reported here) consisted of a two-round survey. In round 1, respondents prioritised 68 topics and suggested up to 10 additional topics; in Round 2, respondents prioritised top 25 topics from Round 1. Respondents included clinicians, researchers, systematic reviewers, allied health, patients, and carers, from 33 different countries. In Round 1, 154 respondents identified 20 priority topics, most commonly selecting topics in non-specific ARIs, influenza, and common cold. 50 respondents also collectively suggested 134 additional topics. In Round 2, 78 respondents prioritised top 25 topics, most commonly in the areas of non-specific ARIs, pneumonia and influenza. We generated a list of priority systematic review topics, to guide the Cochrane ARI Group's systematic review work for the next 24 months. Stakeholder involvement enhanced the transparency of the process, and will increase the usability and relevance of the Group's work to stakeholders. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Greater Southern Area Health Service Tobacco Control Plan 2006-2009.

PubMed

Gow, Andrew J; Weir, Kylie M; Marich, Andrew J N

2008-01-01

In response to the NSW Tobacco Action Plan 2005-2009, Greater Southern Area Health Service (GSAHS) has developed a local plan. This short report describes how activities promoted in the state plan were prioritised and six outcomes identified as the focus for the GSAHS Tobacco Control Plan 2006-2009.

Home Influences on the Academic Performance of Agricultural Science Students in Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State, Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ndirika, Maryann C.; Njoku, U. J.

2012-01-01

This study was conducted to investigate the home influences on the academic performance of agricultural science secondary school students in Ikwuano Local Government Area of Abia State. The instrument used in data collection was a validated questionnaire structured on a two point rating scale. Simple random sampling technique was used to select…

A rapid local singularity analysis algorithm with applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zhijun; Cheng, Qiuming; Agterberg, Frits

2015-04-01

The local singularity model developed by Cheng is fast gaining popularity in characterizing mineralization and detecting anomalies of geochemical, geophysical and remote sensing data. However in one of the conventional algorithms involving the moving average values with different scales is time-consuming especially while analyzing a large dataset. Summed area table (SAT), also called as integral image, is a fast algorithm used within the Viola-Jones object detection framework in computer vision area. Historically, the principle of SAT is well-known in the study of multi-dimensional probability distribution functions, namely in computing 2D (or ND) probabilities (area under the probability distribution) from the respective cumulative distribution functions. We introduce SAT and it's variation Rotated Summed Area Table in the isotropic, anisotropic or directional local singularity mapping in this study. Once computed using SAT, any one of the rectangular sum can be computed at any scale or location in constant time. The area for any rectangular region in the image can be computed by using only 4 array accesses in constant time independently of the size of the region; effectively reducing the time complexity from O(n) to O(1). New programs using Python, Julia, matlab and C++ are implemented respectively to satisfy different applications, especially to the big data analysis. Several large geochemical and remote sensing datasets are tested. A wide variety of scale changes (linear spacing or log spacing) for non-iterative or iterative approach are adopted to calculate the singularity index values and compare the results. The results indicate that the local singularity analysis with SAT is more robust and superior to traditional approach in identifying anomalies.

Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Davis, Philip A.

2012-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the areas and (2) provide useful information to private investors who are considering investment in a particular area for development of its natural resources. The set of satellite-image mosaics provided in this Data Series (DS) is one such database. Although airborne digital color-infrared imagery was acquired for parts of Afghanistan in 2006, the image data have radiometric variations that preclude their use in creating a consistent image mosaic for geologic analysis. Consequently, image mosaics were created using ALOS (Advanced Land Observation Satellite; renamed Daichi) satellite images, whose radiometry has been well determined (Saunier, 2007a,b). This DS consists of the locally enhanced ALOS image mosaics for each of the 24 mineral project areas (referred to herein as areas of interest), whose locality names, locations, and main mineral occurrences are shown on the index map of Afghanistan (fig. 1). ALOS was launched on January 24, 2006, and provides multispectral images from the AVNIR (Advanced Visible and Near-Infrared Radiometer) sensor in blue (420-500 nanometer, nm), green (520-600 nm), red (610-690 nm), and near-infrared (760-890 nm) wavelength bands with an 8-bit dynamic range and a 10-meter (m) ground resolution. The satellite also provides a panchromatic band image from the PRISM (Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping) sensor (520-770 nm) with the same dynamic range but a 2.5-m ground resolution. The image products in this DS incorporate copyrighted data provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, but the image processing has altered the original pixel structure and all image values of the JAXA

'Silent' and 'noisy' areas: acute flaccid paralysis surveillance at subnational level, Australia, 2001-2015.

PubMed

Butler, Michelle; Paterson, Beverley J; Martin, Nicolee; Hobday, Linda; Thorley, Bruce; Durrheim, David N

2017-05-01

Acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance rates are used as an indicator of surveillance sensitivity to detect poliomyelitis with an expected rate of ≥1 case per 100 000 population in children under 15 years of age. The Australian AFP detection rates at sub-national (statistical local area) level were analysed using χ2 goodness of fit tests and exact Poisson probabilities for the combined years 2001-2015 to detect 'silent areas', which may require improved AFP detection efforts, and areas with greater than expected rates, which may indicate unexplained clusters such as those due to enterovirus infection. Eight (n=8/87, 9%) local areas had AFP surveillance detection rates that were less than expected, and eighteen local areas (n=18/87, 21%) had rates that were greater than expected. However, based on available evidence, it is unlikely that these indicated previously unidentified, enterovirus clusters. While Australia has regularly met the national AFP surveillance performance indicators, at the subnational level nine per cent of local areas demonstrated statistically significant lower AFP detection rates. All countries, even those with relatively small populations, should actively identify silent AFP areas to prompt surveillance improvements. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.