Use of an urban intensity index to assess urban effects on streams in three contrasting environmental settings

USGS Publications Warehouse

Tate, C.M.; Cuffney, T.F.; McMahon, G.; Giddings, E.M.P.; Coles, J.F.; Zappia, H.

2005-01-01

To assess the effects of urbanization on assemblages (fish, invertebrate, and algal), physical habitat, and water chemistry, we investigated the relations among varying intensities of basin urbanization and stream ecology in three metropolitan areas: the humid northeastern United States around Boston, Massachusetts; the humid southeastern United States around Birmingham, Alabama; and the semiarid western United States around Salt Lake City, Utah. A consistent process was used to develop a multimetric urban intensity index (UII) based on locally important variables (land-use/land-cover, infrastructure, and socioeconomic variables) in each study area and a common urban intensity index (CUII) based on a subset of five variables common to all study areas. The UII was used to characterize 30 basins along an urban gradient in each metropolitan area. Study basins were located within a single ecoregion in each of the metropolitan areas. The UII, ecoregions, and site characteristics provided a method for limiting the variability of natural landscape characteristics while assessing the magnitude of urban effects. Conditions in Salt Lake City (semiarid climate and water diversions) and Birmingham (topography) required nesting sites within the same basin. The UII and CUII facilitated comparisons of aquatic assemblages response to urbanization across different environmental settings. ?? 2005 by the American Fisheries Society.

Utility of Satellite LIDAR Waveform Data in Shallow Water

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-06-01

American Samoa, Guam, Tuvalu, Palau, Vanuatu, Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Puka Puka, Jarvis Islands, and the Johnston Atoll . Seventy...intensity. Transects are studied from three geographic areas; Kure Atoll (near Midway), the Bahamas, and Sequoia National Forest. Differences in the data...nm sensor measures both total power and the perpendicularly polarized intensity. Transects are studied from three geographic areas; Kure Atoll (near

The long-term effects on aggregate stability (AS) from a forest fire of varying intensity in a Mediterranean environment (1994-2012).

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Velasco, Antonio; Alcañiz, Meritxell; Úbeda, Xavier; Pereira, Paulo; Mataix-Solera, Jorge

2013-04-01

Forest fires can affect many soil properties and this fact is deeply connected with fire severity, intensity, soil type and many others factors. Aggregate stability (AS) indicates the soil structure resilience in response to external mechanical forces. AS is one of the factors that strongly affect on soil erodibility and infiltration. This property can be used as an indicator of the state of the soil structure and physical stability. The aim of this study is to analyze the soil AS of a determined area that suffered a wildfire in 1994 and compare them with a control area with the same characteristics. The study area is located in the Cadiretes Massif, in the northernmost zone of the Catalan Coastal Ranges, northeast Spain, at an altitude of around 190 - 250 m.a.m.s.l. The Cadiretes Massif is predominantly granite, although soils developed over Paleozoic metamorphic rocks such as schist and slates can also be found. In some areas metamorphic features underlie this relief. The massif is covered by dense Mediterranean vegetation, e.g. Quercus suber, Arbutus unedo, Erica arborea, and in some places Pinus pinaster plantations are found. This area receives about 700 - 800 mm of annual rainfall, with a fairly marked seasonal variability. The maximum is registered in autumn. Summer temperatures often surpass 25°C, while in winter temperatures are generally mild. The predominant soil type in Cadiretes is classified as a Lithic Xerept, with a 15 cm deep sandy-loam A horizon. In the control forest area, this horizon is protected by a 3 cm deep O horizon of moder humus. Three areas with different burnt intensity were identified in 1994 and they are the same plots that were chosen to sample in 2012. The 4 plots (Low intensity, Medium Intensity, High Intensity and Control) had the same orientation (S) and slope (5%). The TDI (Ten Drop Impact) test, that simulates rainfall impact on aggregates, was used to measure AS in the laboratory. Twenty samples were collected per plot. Ten aggregates for each plot, of 4 - 4.8 mm were selected and subjected to the impact of 10 drops from a burette fixed at a height of 1 m. the aggregates were placed on a 2.8 mm sieve to allow the disaggregated sample to flow away. The drops of distilled water weighed 0.1 ± 0.001 g and had a diameter of 5.8 mm. The statistical comparison between the four treatments (high, medium and low intensity and control area) in 2012 samples shows that the disintegration percentage is higher in the high intensity area (13.5%). Medium and low intensity areas showed less percentage of aggregate disintegration: 10.4 and 11.1 respectively but still higher than the control area's one (5.45%). This analysis has demonstrated that after 18 years there are still significant AS differences between the three areas with different burnt intensity and the control area. Keywords: forest fire, aggregate stability, TDI test, Mediterranean area

INTENSIVE WATERSHED STUDY: THE PATUXENT RIVER BASIN

EPA Science Inventory

This study was one of five intensive watershed studies designed by the Chesapeake Bay Program's Eutrophication Work Group to provide detailed nonpoint source loading rates and ambient water quality data within the Chesapeake Bay drainage area. The study was conducted within the P...

Assessing Landscape Scale Wildfire Exposure for Highly Valued Resources in a Mediterranean Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alcasena, Fermín J.; Salis, Michele; Ager, Alan A.; Arca, Bachisio; Molina, Domingo; Spano, Donatella

2015-05-01

We used a fire simulation modeling approach to assess landscape scale wildfire exposure for highly valued resources and assets (HVR) on a fire-prone area of 680 km2 located in central Sardinia, Italy. The study area was affected by several wildfires in the last half century: some large and intense fire events threatened wildland urban interfaces as well as other socioeconomic and cultural values. Historical wildfire and weather data were used to inform wildfire simulations, which were based on the minimum travel time algorithm as implemented in FlamMap. We simulated 90,000 fires that replicated recent large fire events in the area spreading under severe weather conditions to generate detailed maps of wildfire likelihood and intensity. Then, we linked fire modeling outputs to a geospatial risk assessment framework focusing on buffer areas around HVR. The results highlighted a large variation in burn probability and fire intensity in the vicinity of HVRs, and allowed us to identify the areas most exposed to wildfires and thus to a higher potential damage. Fire intensity in the HVR buffers was mainly related to fuel types, while wind direction, topographic features, and historically based ignition pattern were the key factors affecting fire likelihood. The methodology presented in this work can have numerous applications, in the study area and elsewhere, particularly to address and inform fire risk management, landscape planning and people safety on the vicinity of HVRs.

Profile and Determinants of Retinal Optical Intensity in Normal Eyes with Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography.

PubMed

Chen, Binyao; Gao, Enting; Chen, Haoyu; Yang, Jianling; Shi, Fei; Zheng, Ce; Zhu, Weifang; Xiang, Dehui; Chen, Xinjian; Zhang, Mingzhi

2016-01-01

To investigate the profile and determinants of retinal optical intensity in normal subjects using 3D spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD OCT). A total of 231 eyes from 231 healthy subjects ranging in age from 18 to 80 years were included and underwent a 3D OCT scan. Forty-four eyes were randomly chosen to be scanned by two operators for reproducibility analysis. Distribution of optical intensity of each layer and regions specified by the Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) were investigated by analyzing the OCT raw data with our automatic graph-based algorithm. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed between retinal optical intensity and sex, age, height, weight, spherical equivalent (SE), axial length, image quality, disc area and rim/disc area ratio (R/D area ratio). For optical intensity measurements, the intraclass correlation coefficient of each layer ranged from 0.815 to 0.941, indicating good reproducibility. Optical intensity was lowest in the central area of retinal nerve fiber layer, ganglion cell layer, inner plexiform layer, inner nuclear layer, outer plexiform layer and photoreceptor layer, except for the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Optical intensity was positively correlated with image quality in all retinal layers (0.553<β<0.851, p<0.01), and negatively correlated with age in most retinal layers (-0.362<β<-0.179, p<0.01), except for the RPE (β = 0.456, p<0.01), outer nuclear layer and photoreceptor layer (p>0.05). There was no relationship between retinal optical intensity and sex, height, weight, SE, axial length, disc area and R/D area ratio. There was a specific pattern of distribution of retinal optical intensity in different regions. The optical intensity was affected by image quality and age. Image quality can be used as a reference for normalization. The effect of age needs to be taken into consideration when using OCT for diagnosis.

Exploring the Influence of Impervious Surface Density and Shape on Urban Heat Islands in the Northeast USA Using MODIS and Landsat

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhang, Ping; Imhoff, Marc L.; Bounoua, Lahouri; Wolfe, Robert E.

2011-01-01

Impervious surface area (ISA) from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2001 and land surface temperature (LST) from MODIS averaged over three annual cycles (2003-2005) are used in a spatial analysis to assess the urban heat island (UHI) signature and its relationship to settlement size and shape, development intensity distribution, and land cover composition for 42 urban settlements embedded in forest biomes in the Northeastern United States. Development intensity zones, based on percent ISA, are defined for each urban area emanating outward from the urban core to nearby rural areas and are used to stratify land surface temperature. The stratification is further constrained by biome type and elevation to insure objective intercomparisons between urban zones within an urban settlement and between settlements. Stratification based on ISA allows the definition of hierarchically ordered urban zones that are consistent across urban settlements and scales. In addition to the surrounding ecological context, we find that the settlement size and shape as well as the development intensity distribution significantly influence the amplitude of summer daytime UHI. Within the Northeastern US temperate broadleaf mixed forest, UHI magnitude is positively related to the logarithm of the urban area size. Our study indicates that for similar urban area sizes, the development intensity distribution is one of the major drivers of UHI. In addition to urban area size and development intensity distribution, this analysis shows that both the shape of the urban area and the land cover composition in the surrounding rural area play an important role in modulating the UHI magnitude in different urban settlements. Our results indicate that remotely sensed urban area size and shape as well as the development intensity distribution influence UHI amplitude across regional scales.

The Effect of an Intensive English Program on Malaysian Secondary School Students' Language Proficiency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mukundan, Jayakaran; Mahvelati, Elaheh Hamed; Nimehchisalem, Vahid

2012-01-01

Intensive English programs are courses in which students participate in a higher number of classes in a shorter period. The available literature on intensive English courses indicates inconsistent results necessitating further research in this area. This study investigated the effect of an intensive English program on a group of Malaysian…

Identifying anthropogenic anomalies in air, surface and groundwater temperatures in Germany.

PubMed

Benz, Susanne A; Bayer, Peter; Blum, Philipp

2017-04-15

Human activity directly influences ambient air, surface and groundwater temperatures. The most prominent phenomenon is the urban heat island effect, which has been investigated particularly in large and densely populated cities. This study explores the anthropogenic impact on the thermal regime not only in selected urban areas, but on a countrywide scale for mean annual temperature datasets in Germany in three different compartments: measured surface air temperature, measured groundwater temperature, and satellite-derived land surface temperature. Taking nighttime lights as an indicator of rural areas, the anthropogenic heat intensity is introduced. It is applicable to each data set and provides the difference between measured local temperature and median rural background temperature. This concept is analogous to the well-established urban heat island intensity, but applicable to each measurement point or pixel of a large, even global, study area. For all three analyzed temperature datasets, anthropogenic heat intensity grows with increasing nighttime lights and declines with increasing vegetation, whereas population density has only minor effects. While surface anthropogenic heat intensity cannot be linked to specific land cover types in the studied resolution (1km×1km) and classification system, both air and groundwater show increased heat intensities for artificial surfaces. Overall, groundwater temperature appears most vulnerable to human activity, albeit the different compartments are partially influenced through unrelated processes; unlike land surface temperature and surface air temperature, groundwater temperatures are elevated in cultivated areas as well. At the surface of Germany, the highest anthropogenic heat intensity with 4.5K is found at an open-pit lignite mine near Jülich, followed by three large cities (Munich, Düsseldorf and Nuremberg) with annual mean anthropogenic heat intensities >4K. Overall, surface anthropogenic heat intensities >0K and therefore urban heat islands are observed in communities down to a population of 5000. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing Approach with Hydrologic Rational Model for Flood Event Analysis in Jakarta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aditya, M. R.; Hernina, R.; Rokhmatuloh

2017-12-01

Rapid development in Jakarta which generates more impervious surface has reduced the amount of rainfall infiltration into soil layer and increases run-off. In some events, continuous high rainfall intensity could create sudden flood in Jakarta City. This article used rainfall data of Jakarta during 10 February 2015 to compute rainfall intensity and then interpolate it with ordinary kriging technique. Spatial distribution of rainfall intensity then overlaid with run-off coefficient based on certain land use type of the study area. Peak run-off within each cell resulted from hydrologic rational model then summed for the whole study area to generate total peak run-off. For this study area, land use types consisted of 51.9 % industrial, 37.57% parks, and 10.54% residential with estimated total peak run-off 6.04 m3/sec, 0.39 m3/sec, and 0.31 m3/sec, respectively.

Using kernel density estimation to understand the influence of neighbourhood destinations on BMI

PubMed Central

King, Tania L; Bentley, Rebecca J; Thornton, Lukar E; Kavanagh, Anne M

2016-01-01

Objectives Little is known about how the distribution of destinations in the local neighbourhood is related to body mass index (BMI). Kernel density estimation (KDE) is a spatial analysis technique that accounts for the location of features relative to each other. Using KDE, this study investigated whether individuals living near destinations (shops and service facilities) that are more intensely distributed rather than dispersed, have lower BMIs. Study design and setting A cross-sectional study of 2349 residents of 50 urban areas in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. Methods Destinations were geocoded, and kernel density estimates of destination intensity were created using kernels of 400, 800 and 1200 m. Using multilevel linear regression, the association between destination intensity (classified in quintiles Q1(least)–Q5(most)) and BMI was estimated in models that adjusted for the following confounders: age, sex, country of birth, education, dominant household occupation, household type, disability/injury and area disadvantage. Separate models included a physical activity variable. Results For kernels of 800 and 1200 m, there was an inverse relationship between BMI and more intensely distributed destinations (compared to areas with least destination intensity). Effects were significant at 1200 m: Q4, β −0.86, 95% CI −1.58 to −0.13, p=0.022; Q5, β −1.03 95% CI −1.65 to −0.41, p=0.001. Inclusion of physical activity in the models attenuated effects, although effects remained marginally significant for Q5 at 1200 m: β −0.77 95% CI −1.52, −0.02, p=0.045. Conclusions This study conducted within urban Melbourne, Australia, found that participants living in areas of greater destination intensity within 1200 m of home had lower BMIs. Effects were partly explained by physical activity. The results suggest that increasing the intensity of destination distribution could reduce BMI levels by encouraging higher levels of physical activity. PMID:26883235

Relationship between the kinetic energy budget and intensity of convection. [in atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fuelberg, H. E.; Scoggins, J. R.

1977-01-01

Synoptic data collected over the eastern United States during the fourth Atmospheric Variability Experiment, April 24 and 25, 1975, is used to study the relationship between the kinetic energy budget and the intensity of convective activity. It is found that areas of intense convective activity are also major centers of kinetic energy activity. Energy processes increase in magnitude with an increase in convection intensity. Large generation of kinetic energy is associated with intense convection, but large quantities of energy are transported out of the area of convection. The kinetic energy budget associated with grid points having no convection differs greatly from the budgets of the three categories of convection. Weak energy processes are not associated with convection.

Landscape-scale dynamics of aspen in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Treesearch

Margot W. Kaye; Kuni Suzuki; Dan Binkley; Thomas J. Stohlgren

2001-01-01

Past studies of quaking aspen in Rocky Mountain National Park suggested that the aspen population is declining due to intensive browsing by elk (Cervus elaphus). These studies were conducted in the elk winter range, an area of intensive elk impact. The elk summer range experiences less intense grazing pressure. We tested the hypothesis that impacts of elk would be...

Assessing the Impact of Telemedicine on Nursing Care in Intensive Care Units.

PubMed

Kleinpell, Ruth; Barden, Connie; Rincon, Teresa; McCarthy, Mary; Zapatochny Rufo, Rebecca J

2016-01-01

Information on the impact of tele-intensive care on nursing and priority areas of nursing care is limited. To conduct a national benchmarking survey of nurses working in intensive care telemedicine facilities in the United States. In a 2-phased study, an online survey was used to assess nurses' perceptions of intensive care telemedicine, and a modified 2-round Delphi study was used to identify priority areas of nursing. In phase 1, most of the 1213 respondents agreed to strongly agreed that using tele-intensive care enables them to accomplish tasks more quickly (63%), improves collaboration (65.9%), improves job performance (63.6%) and communication (60.4%), is useful in nursing assessments (60%), and improves care by providing more time for patient care (45.6%). Benefits of tele-intensive care included ability to detect trends in vital signs, detect unstable physiological status, provide medical management, and enhance patient safety. Barriers included technical problems (audio and video), interruptions in care, perceptions of telemedicine as an interference, and attitudes of staff. In phase 2, 60 nurses ranked 15 priority areas of care, including critical thinking skills, intensive care experience, skillful communication, mutual respect, and management of emergency patient care. The findings can be used to further inform the development of competencies for tele-intensive care nursing, match the tele-intensive care nursing practice guidelines of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, and highlight concepts related to the association's standards for establishing and sustaining healthy work environments. ©2016 American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.

Mapping seismic intensity using twitter data; A Case study: The February 26th, 2014 M5.9 Kefallinia (Greece) earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arapostathis, Stathis; Parcharidis, Isaak; Kalogeras, Ioannis; Drakatos, George

2015-04-01

In this paper we present an innovative approach for the development of seismic intensity maps in minimum time frame. As case study, a recent earthquake that occurred in Western Greece (Kefallinia Island, on February 26, 2014) is used. The magnitude of the earthquake was M=5.9 (Institute of Geodynamics - National Observatory of Athens). Earthquake's effects comprising damages in property and changes of the physical environment in the area. The innovative part of this research is that we use crowdsourcing as a source to assess macroseismic intensity information, coming out from twitter content. Twitter as a social media service with micro-blogging characteristics, a semantic structure which allows the storage of spatial content, and a high volume production of user generated content is a suitable source to obtain and extract knowledge related to macroseismic intensity in different geographic areas and in short time periods. Moreover the speed in which twitter content is generated affects us to have accurate results only a few hours after the occurrence of the earthquake. The method used in order to extract, evaluate and map the intensity related information is described in brief in this paper. At first, we pick out all the tweets that have been posted within the first 48 hours, including information related to intensity and refer to a geographic location. The geo-referencing of these tweets and their association with an intensity grade according to the European Macroseismic Scale (EMS98) based on the information they contain in text followed. Finally, we apply various spatial statistics and GIS methods, and we interpolate the values to cover all the appropriate geographic areas. The final output contains macroseismic intensity maps for the Lixouri area (Kefallinia Island), produced from twitter data that have been posted in the first six, twelve, twenty four and forty eight hours after the earthquake occurrence. Results are compared with other intensity maps for same earthquake, which have been published by other institutions around the world, as well as with previous earthquake isoseismal maps for the same area.

Assessing landscape scale wildfire exposure for highly valued resources in a Mediterranean area.

PubMed

Alcasena, Fermín J; Salis, Michele; Ager, Alan A; Arca, Bachisio; Molina, Domingo; Spano, Donatella

2015-05-01

We used a fire simulation modeling approach to assess landscape scale wildfire exposure for highly valued resources and assets (HVR) on a fire-prone area of 680 km(2) located in central Sardinia, Italy. The study area was affected by several wildfires in the last half century: some large and intense fire events threatened wildland urban interfaces as well as other socioeconomic and cultural values. Historical wildfire and weather data were used to inform wildfire simulations, which were based on the minimum travel time algorithm as implemented in FlamMap. We simulated 90,000 fires that replicated recent large fire events in the area spreading under severe weather conditions to generate detailed maps of wildfire likelihood and intensity. Then, we linked fire modeling outputs to a geospatial risk assessment framework focusing on buffer areas around HVR. The results highlighted a large variation in burn probability and fire intensity in the vicinity of HVRs, and allowed us to identify the areas most exposed to wildfires and thus to a higher potential damage. Fire intensity in the HVR buffers was mainly related to fuel types, while wind direction, topographic features, and historically based ignition pattern were the key factors affecting fire likelihood. The methodology presented in this work can have numerous applications, in the study area and elsewhere, particularly to address and inform fire risk management, landscape planning and people safety on the vicinity of HVRs.

Kinetic energy budget studies of areas of convection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fuelberg, H. E.

1979-01-01

Synoptic-scale kinetic energy budgets are being computed for three cases when large areas of intense convection occurred over the Central United States. Major energy activity occurs in the storm areas.

Analysis of the effect of local heat island in Seoul using LANDSAT image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, K. I.; Ryu, J.; Jeon, S. W.

2017-12-01

The increase in the rate of industrialization due to urbanization has caused the Urban Heat Island phenomenon which means that the temperature of the city is higher than the surrounding area, and its intensity is increasing with climate change. Among the cities where heat island phenomenon occur, Seoul city has different degree of urbanization, green area ratio, energy consumption, and population density by each district unit. As a result, the strength of heat island phenomenon is also different. The average maximum temperature in each region may differ by more than 3 °, which is bigger than the suburbs in Seoul and it means that analysis of UHI effect by regional unit is needed. Therefore, this study is to extract the UHI Intensity of the regional unit of the Seoul Metropolitan City using the satellite image, analyzed the difference of intensity according to the regional unit. And do linear regression analysis with variables included in three categories(regional meteorological conditions, anthropogenic heat generation, land use factors). As a result, The UHI Intensity value of the Gu unit is significantly different from the UHI Intensity distribution of the Dong unit. The variable having the greatest positive correlation with UHI Intensity was NDBI(Normalized Difference Built-up Index) which shows the distribution of urban area, and Urban area ratio also has high correlation. There was a negative correlation between mean wind speed but there was no significant correlation between population density and power consumption. The result of this study is to identify the regional difference of UHI Intensity and to identify the factors inducing heat island phenomenon. so It is expected that it will provide direction in urban thermal environment design and policy development in the future.

Community-based clinical education increases motivation of medical students to medicine of remote area: comparison between lecture and practice.

PubMed

Tani, Kenji; Yamaguchi, Harutaka; Tada, Saaya; Kondo, Saki; Tabata, Ryo; Yuasa, Shino; Kawaminami, Shingo; Nakanishi, Yoshinori; Ito, Jun; Shimizu, Nobuhiko; Obata, Fumiaki; Shin, Teruki; Bando, Hiroyasu; Kohno, Mitsuhiro

2014-01-01

In this study, we administered a questionnaire to medical students to evaluate the effect of community-based clinical education on their attitudes to community medicine and medicine in remote area. Questionnaires were given 4 times to all the students from first-year to sixth-year. Of 95 students, 65 students (68.4%) who completed all questionnaires, were used in this study. The intensity of students' attitudes was estimated by using visual analogue scale. The intensity of interest, a sense of fulfillment and passion in medicine of remote area was significantly increased after the community-based practice. On the other hand, the level of understanding in medicine in remote area was increased by the lecture not by the practice. The intensity of desire both to become a generalist and a specialist was significantly increased when the grade went up. Most of sixth-year students desired to have abilities of a generalist and a specialist simultaneously. This study shows that the community-based practice is more meaningful in increasing motivation in medicine in remote area than the lecture, and suggests that it is important to prepare more courses to experience community medicine to increase the number of physicians who desire to work in remote area.

Growth and production of new superior rice varieties in the shade intensity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alridiwirsah; Harahap, E. M.; Akoeb, E. N.; Hanum, H.

2018-02-01

Shade intensity is one of the most important requirements for plant growth, affecting growth, development, survival, and crop productivity. This study aims to evaluate the growth and productiom of New Superior Rice Varieties In The shade Intensity. This study was conducted in Balai Pengkajian Teknologi Pertanian, Pagar Merbau, Deli Serdang, North Sumatra. The research used completely randomized design with twofactors. The shade intensity (N) were 25%, 50% and no shade intensity as a control. Whereas new superior rice varieties were V1: Inpara 2, V2: Suluttan Unsrat 2, V3: Inpari Mugibat, V4: Inpari Sidenuk, V5: Mekongga, V6: Ciherang, V7:Inpari 10, V8: Inpari 3, V9: Inpari 4, V10: Inpari 30, dan V11: Cibogo. The result indicated that new superior rice varietiesshowedsignificant effectonthe growth and productionvariablesuch as leaf area, where Inpari Sidenuk variety was the highest among the varieties. Total chorophyll, the highest was found on Inpari variety. Number of tillers and plant height where the highest was found on Ciherang variety. The shade intensity showed significant effect on leaf area, where 25% shade intensity was the highest. Total chlorophyll, the highest was found on 50% shade intensity, number of tillers, the highest was found on no shade intensity.

Analytical solutions to trade-offs between size of protected areas and land-use intensity.

PubMed

Butsic, Van; Radeloff, Volker C; Kuemmerle, Tobias; Pidgeon, Anna M

2012-10-01

Land-use change is affecting Earth's capacity to support both wild species and a growing human population. The question is how best to manage landscapes for both species conservation and economic output. If large areas are protected to conserve species richness, then the unprotected areas must be used more intensively. Likewise, low-intensity use leaves less area protected but may allow wild species to persist in areas that are used for market purposes. This dilemma is present in policy debates on agriculture, housing, and forestry. Our goal was to develop a theoretical model to evaluate which land-use strategy maximizes economic output while maintaining species richness. Our theoretical model extends previous analytical models by allowing land-use intensity on unprotected land to influence species richness in protected areas. We devised general models in which species richness (with modified species-area curves) and economic output (a Cobb-Douglas production function) are a function of land-use intensity and the proportion of land protected. Economic output increased as land-use intensity and extent increased, and species richness responded to increased intensity either negatively or following the intermediate disturbance hypothesis. We solved the model analytically to identify the combination of land-use intensity and protected area that provided the maximum amount of economic output, given a target level of species richness. The land-use strategy that maximized economic output while maintaining species richness depended jointly on the response of species richness to land-use intensity and protection and the effect of land use outside protected areas on species richness within protected areas. Regardless of the land-use strategy, species richness tended to respond to changing land-use intensity and extent in a highly nonlinear fashion. ©2012 Society for Conservation Biology.

A spatially explicit risk assessment approach: Cetaceans and marine traffic in the Pelagos Sanctuary (Mediterranean Sea)

PubMed Central

Arcangeli, Antonella; Prado Fonseca, Vinícius; Campana, Ilaria; Pierce, Graham J.; Rotta, Andrea; Bellido, Jose Maria

2017-01-01

Spatially explicit risk assessment is an essential component of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), which provides a comprehensive framework for managing multiple uses of the marine environment, minimizing environmental impacts and conflicts among users. In this study, we assessed the risk of the exposure to high intensity vessel traffic areas for the three most abundant cetacean species (Stenella coeruleoalba, Tursiops truncatus and Balaenoptera physalus) in the southern area of the Pelagos Sanctuary, which is the only pelagic Marine Protected Area (MPA) for marine mammals in the Mediterranean Sea. In particular, we modeled the occurrence of the three cetacean species as a function of habitat variables in June by using hierarchical Bayesian spatial-temporal models. Similarly, we modelled the marine traffic intensity in order to find high risk areas and estimated the potential conflict due to the overlap with the cetacean home ranges. Results identified two main hot-spots of high intensity marine traffic in the area, which partially overlap with the area of presence of the studied species. Our findings emphasize the need for nationally relevant and transboundary planning and management measures for these marine species. PMID:28644882

A spatially explicit risk assessment approach: Cetaceans and marine traffic in the Pelagos Sanctuary (Mediterranean Sea).

PubMed

Pennino, Maria Grazia; Arcangeli, Antonella; Prado Fonseca, Vinícius; Campana, Ilaria; Pierce, Graham J; Rotta, Andrea; Bellido, Jose Maria

2017-01-01

Spatially explicit risk assessment is an essential component of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), which provides a comprehensive framework for managing multiple uses of the marine environment, minimizing environmental impacts and conflicts among users. In this study, we assessed the risk of the exposure to high intensity vessel traffic areas for the three most abundant cetacean species (Stenella coeruleoalba, Tursiops truncatus and Balaenoptera physalus) in the southern area of the Pelagos Sanctuary, which is the only pelagic Marine Protected Area (MPA) for marine mammals in the Mediterranean Sea. In particular, we modeled the occurrence of the three cetacean species as a function of habitat variables in June by using hierarchical Bayesian spatial-temporal models. Similarly, we modelled the marine traffic intensity in order to find high risk areas and estimated the potential conflict due to the overlap with the cetacean home ranges. Results identified two main hot-spots of high intensity marine traffic in the area, which partially overlap with the area of presence of the studied species. Our findings emphasize the need for nationally relevant and transboundary planning and management measures for these marine species.

Has the income of the residential area impact on the use of intensive care?

PubMed

Liisanantti, J H; Käkelä, R; Raatiniemi, L V; Ohtonen, P; Hietanen, S; Ala-Kokko, T I

2017-08-01

The socioeconomic factors have an impact on case mix and outcome in critical illness, but how these factors affect the use of intensive care is not studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions in patients from residential areas with different annual incomes. Single-center, retrospective study in Northern Finland. All the non-trauma-related emergency admissions from the hospital district area were included. The postal codes were used to categorize the residential areas according to each area's annual median income: the low-income area, €18,979 to €28,841 per year; the middle-income area, €28,879 to €33,856 per year; and the high-income area, €34,221 to €53,864 per year. A total of 735 non-trauma-related admissions were included. The unemployment or retirement, psychiatric comorbidities and chronic alcohol abuse were common in this population. The highest incidence, 5.5 (4.6-6.7)/1000/year, was in population aged more than 65 years living in high-income areas. In working-aged population, the incidence was lowest in high-income areas (1.5 (1.3-1.8/1000/year) compared to middle-income areas (2.2 (1.9-2.6)/1000/year, P = 0.001) and low-income areas (2.0 (1.7-2.4)/1000/, P = 0.009). Poisonings were more common in low-income areas. There were no differences in outcome. The incidence of ICU admission in working-aged population was 25% higher in those areas where the annual median income was below the median annual income of €38,775 per inhabitant per year in Finland. © 2017 The Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effect of Magnitude Estimation of Pleasantness and Intensity on fMRI Activation to Taste

PubMed Central

Cerf-Ducastel, B.; Haase, L.; Murphy, C.

2012-01-01

The goal of the present study was to investigate whether the psychophysical evaluation of taste stimuli using magnitude estimation influences the pattern of cortical activation observed with neuroimaging. That is, whether different brain areas are involved in the magnitude estimation of pleasantness relative to the magnitude estimation of intensity. fMRI was utilized to examine the patterns of cortical activation involved in magnitude estimation of pleasantness and intensity during hunger in response to taste stimuli. During scanning, subjects were administered taste stimuli orally and were asked to evaluate the perceived pleasantness or intensity using the general Labeled Magnitude Scale (Green 1996, Bartoshuk et al. 2004). Image analysis was conducted using AFNI. Magnitude estimation of intensity and pleasantness shared common activations in the insula, rolandic operculum, and the medio dorsal nucleus of the thalamus. Globally, magnitude estimation of pleasantness produced significantly more activation than magnitude estimation of intensity. Areas differentially activated during magnitude estimation of pleasantness versus intensity included, e.g., the insula, the anterior cingulate gyrus, and putamen; suggesting that different brain areas were recruited when subjects made magnitude estimates of intensity and pleasantness. These findings demonstrate significant differences in brain activation during magnitude estimation of intensity and pleasantness to taste stimuli. An appreciation for the complexity of brain response to taste stimuli may facilitate a clearer understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying eating behavior and over consumption. PMID:23227271

Target surface area effects on hot electron dynamics from high intensity laser–plasma interactions

DOE PAGES

Zulick, C.; Raymond, A.; McKelvey, A.; ...

2016-06-15

Reduced surface area targets were studied using an ultra-high intensity femtosecond laser in order to determine the effect of electron sheath field confinement on electron dynamics. X-ray emission due to energetic electrons was imaged using a K α imaging crystal. Electrons were observed to travel along the surface of wire targets, and were slowed mainly by the induced fields. Targets with reduced surface areas were correlated with increased hot electron densities and proton energies. Furthermore, Hybrid Vlasov–Fokker–Planck simulations demonstrated increased electric sheath field strength in reduced surface area targets.

Local influence of south-east France topography and land cover on the distribution and characteristics of intense rainfall cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Renard, Florent

2017-04-01

The Greater Lyon area is strongly built up, grouping 58 communes and a population of 1.3 million in approximately 500 km2. The flood risk is high as the territory is crossed by two large watercourses and by streams with torrential flow. Floods may also occur in case of runoff after heavy rain or because of a rise in the groundwater level. The whole territory can therefore be affected, and it is necessary to possess in-depth knowledge of the depths, causes and consequences of rainfall to achieve better management of precipitation in urban areas and to reduce flood risk. This study is thus focused on the effects of topography and land cover on the occurrence, intensity and area of intense rainfall cells. They are identified by local radar meteorology (C-band) combined with a processing algorithm running in a geographic information system (GIS) which identified 109,979 weighted mean centres of them in a sample composed of the five most intense rainfall events from 2001 to 2005. First, analysis of spatial distribution at an overall scale is performed, completed by study at a more detailed scale. The results show that the distribution of high-intensity rainfall cells is spread in cluster form. Subsequently, comparison of intense rainfall cells with the topography shows that cell density is closely linked with land slope but that, above all, urbanised zones feature nearly twice as many rainfall cells as farm land or forest, with more intense intensity.

Brain c-fos expression patterns induced by emotional stressors differing in nature and intensity.

PubMed

Úbeda-Contreras, Jesús; Marín-Blasco, Ignacio; Nadal, Roser; Armario, Antonio

2018-06-01

Regardless of its particular nature, emotional stressors appear to elicit a widespread and roughly similar brain activation pattern as evaluated by c-fos expression. However, their behavioral and physiological consequences may strongly differ. Here we addressed in adult male rats the contribution of the intensity and the particular nature of stressors by comparing, in a set of brain areas, the number of c-fos expressing neurons in response to open-field, cat odor or immobilization on boards (IMO). These are qualitatively different stressors that are known to differ in terms of intensity, as evaluated by biological markers. In the present study, plasma levels of the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) demonstrated that intensity increases in the following order: open-field, cat odor and IMO. Four different c-fos activation patterns emerged among all areas studied: (i) positive relationship with intensity (posterior-dorsal medial amygdala, dorsomedial hypothalamus, lateral septum ventral and paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus), (ii) negative relationship with intensity (cingulate cortex 1, posterior insular cortex, dorsal striatum, nucleus accumbens and some subdivisions of the hippocampal formation); (iii) activation not dependent on the intensity of the stressor (prelimbic and infralimbic cortex and lateral and basolateral amygdala); and (iv) activation specifically associated with cat odor (ventromedial amygdala and ventromedial hypothalamus). Histone 3 phosphorylation at serine 10, another neuronal activation marker, corroborated c-fos results. Summarizing, deepest analysis of the brain activation pattern elicit by emotional stressor indicated that, in spite of activating similar areas, each stressor possess their own brain activation signature, mediated mainly by qualitative aspects but also by intensity.

Sociospatial distribution of access to facilities for moderate and vigorous intensity physical activity in Scotland by different modes of transport

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background People living in neighbourhoods of lower socioeconomic status have been shown to have higher rates of obesity and a lower likelihood of meeting physical activity recommendations than their more affluent counterparts. This study examines the sociospatial distribution of access to facilities for moderate or vigorous intensity physical activity in Scotland and whether such access differs by the mode of transport available and by Urban Rural Classification. Methods A database of all fixed physical activity facilities was obtained from the national agency for sport in Scotland. Facilities were categorised into light, moderate and vigorous intensity activity groupings before being mapped. Transport networks were created to assess the number of each type of facility accessible from the population weighted centroid of each small area in Scotland on foot, by bicycle, by car and by bus. Multilevel modelling was used to investigate the distribution of the number of accessible facilities by small area deprivation within urban, small town and rural areas separately, adjusting for population size and local authority. Results Prior to adjustment for Urban Rural Classification and local authority, the median number of accessible facilities for moderate or vigorous intensity activity increased with increasing deprivation from the most affluent or second most affluent quintile to the most deprived for all modes of transport. However, after adjustment, the modelling results suggest that those in more affluent areas have significantly higher access to moderate and vigorous intensity facilities by car than those living in more deprived areas. Conclusions The sociospatial distributions of access to facilities for both moderate intensity and vigorous intensity physical activity were similar. However, the results suggest that those living in the most affluent neighbourhoods have poorer access to facilities of either type that can be reached on foot, by bicycle or by bus than those living in less affluent areas. This poorer access from the most affluent areas appears to be reversed for those with access to a car. PMID:22568969

Synthesis Reports on Intensive Academic and Behavioral Intervention: Annotated Bibliography

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casasanto-Ferro, Julia; Gandhi, Allison; Shami, Muna; Danielson, Lou; Bzura, Robin

2015-01-01

This document is the first in a series of products that will be developed under the knowledge production service area of the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII), with the purpose of describing and communicating the results of research on intensive intervention. The synthesis studies summarized here, and others to be identified, will…

Evaluation of nuclear chromatin using grayscale intensity and thresholded percentage area in liquid-based cervical cytology.

PubMed

Lee, Hyekyung; Han, Myungein; Yoo, Taejo; Jung, Chanho; Son, Hyun-Jin; Cho, Migyung

2018-05-01

Development of computerized image analysis techniques has opened up the possibility for the quantitative analysis of nuclear chromatin in pathology. We hypothesized that the features extracted from digital images could be used to determine specific cytomorphological findings for nuclear chromatin that may be applicable for establishing a medical diagnosis. Three parameters were evaluated from nuclear chromatin images obtained from the liquid-based cervical cytology samples of patients with biopsy-proven high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HGSIL), and compared between non-neoplastic squamous epithelia and dysplastic epithelia groups: (1) standard deviation (SD) of the grayscale intensity; (2) difference between the maximum and minimum grayscale intensity (M-M); and (3) thresholded area percentage. Each parameter was evaluated at the mean, mean-1SD, and mean-2SD thresholding intensity levels. Between the mean and mean-1SD levels, the thresholded nuclear chromatin pattern was most similar to the chromatin granularity of the unthresholded grayscale images. The SD of the gray intensity and the thresholded area percentage differed significantly between the non-neoplastic squamous epithelia and dysplastic epithelia of HGSIL images at all three thresholding intensity levels (mean, mean-1SD, and mean-2SD). However, the M-M significantly differed between the two sample types for only two of the thresholding intensity levels (mean-1SD and mean-2SD). The digital parameters SD and M-M of the grayscale intensity, along with the thresholded area percentage could be useful in automated cytological evaluations. Further studies are needed to identify more valuable parameters for clinical application. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Interspecific variation in the relationship between clutch size, laying date and intensity of urbanization in four species of hole-nesting birds.

PubMed

Vaugoyeau, Marie; Adriaensen, Frank; Artemyev, Alexandr; Bańbura, Jerzy; Barba, Emilio; Biard, Clotilde; Blondel, Jacques; Bouslama, Zihad; Bouvier, Jean-Charles; Camprodon, Jordi; Cecere, Francesco; Charmantier, Anne; Charter, Motti; Cichoń, Mariusz; Cusimano, Camillo; Czeszczewik, Dorota; Demeyrier, Virginie; Doligez, Blandine; Doutrelant, Claire; Dubiec, Anna; Eens, Marcel; Eeva, Tapio; Faivre, Bruno; Ferns, Peter N; Forsman, Jukka T; García-Del-Rey, Eduardo; Goldshtein, Aya; Goodenough, Anne E; Gosler, Andrew G; Grégoire, Arnaud; Gustafsson, Lars; Harnist, Iga; Hartley, Ian R; Heeb, Philipp; Hinsley, Shelley A; Isenmann, Paul; Jacob, Staffan; Juškaitis, Rimvydas; Korpimäki, Erkki; Krams, Indrikis; Laaksonen, Toni; Lambrechts, Marcel M; Leclercq, Bernard; Lehikoinen, Esa; Loukola, Olli; Lundberg, Arne; Mainwaring, Mark C; Mänd, Raivo; Massa, Bruno; Mazgajski, Tomasz D; Merino, Santiago; Mitrus, Cezary; Mönkkönen, Mikko; Morin, Xavier; Nager, Ruedi G; Nilsson, Jan-Åke; Nilsson, Sven G; Norte, Ana C; Orell, Markku; Perret, Philippe; Perrins, Christopher M; Pimentel, Carla S; Pinxten, Rianne; Richner, Heinz; Robles, Hugo; Rytkönen, Seppo; Senar, Juan Carlos; Seppänen, Janne T; Pascoal da Silva, Luis; Slagsvold, Tore; Solonen, Tapio; Sorace, Alberto; Stenning, Martyn J; Tryjanowski, Piotr; von Numers, Mikael; Walankiewicz, Wieslaw; Møller, Anders Pape

2016-08-01

The increase in size of human populations in urban and agricultural areas has resulted in considerable habitat conversion globally. Such anthropogenic areas have specific environmental characteristics, which influence the physiology, life history, and population dynamics of plants and animals. For example, the date of bud burst is advanced in urban compared to nearby natural areas. In some birds, breeding success is determined by synchrony between timing of breeding and peak food abundance. Pertinently, caterpillars are an important food source for the nestlings of many bird species, and their abundance is influenced by environmental factors such as temperature and date of bud burst. Higher temperatures and advanced date of bud burst in urban areas could advance peak caterpillar abundance and thus affect breeding phenology of birds. In order to test whether laying date advance and clutch sizes decrease with the intensity of urbanization, we analyzed the timing of breeding and clutch size in relation to intensity of urbanization as a measure of human impact in 199 nest box plots across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East (i.e., the Western Palearctic) for four species of hole-nesters: blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), great tits (Parus major), collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis), and pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca). Meanwhile, we estimated the intensity of urbanization as the density of buildings surrounding study plots measured on orthophotographs. For the four study species, the intensity of urbanization was not correlated with laying date. Clutch size in blue and great tits does not seem affected by the intensity of urbanization, while in collared and pied flycatchers it decreased with increasing intensity of urbanization. This is the first large-scale study showing a species-specific major correlation between intensity of urbanization and the ecology of breeding. The underlying mechanisms for the relationships between life history and urbanization remain to be determined. We propose that effects of food abundance or quality, temperature, noise, pollution, or disturbance by humans may on their own or in combination affect laying date and/or clutch size.

Using structural damage statistics to derive macroseismic intensity within the Kathmandu valley for the 2015 M7.8 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGowan, S. M.; Jaiswal, K. S.; Wald, D. J.

2017-09-01

We make and analyze structural damage observations from within the Kathmandu valley following the 2015 M7.8 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake to derive macroseismic intensities at several locations including some located near ground motion recording sites. The macroseismic intensity estimates supplement the limited strong ground motion data in order to characterize the damage statistics. This augmentation allows for direct comparisons between ground motion amplitudes and structural damage characteristics and ultimately produces a more constrained ground shaking hazard map for the Gorkha earthquake. For systematic assessments, we focused on damage to three specific building categories: (a) low/mid-rise reinforced concrete frames with infill brick walls, (b) unreinforced brick masonry bearing walls with reinforced concrete slabs, and (c) unreinforced brick masonry bearing walls with partial timber framing. Evaluating dozens of photos of each construction type, assigning each building in the study sample to a European Macroseismic Scale (EMS)-98 Vulnerability Class based upon its structural characteristics, and then individually assigning an EMS-98 Damage Grade to each building allows a statistically derived estimate of macroseismic intensity for each of nine study areas in and around the Kathmandu valley. This analysis concludes that EMS-98 macroseismic intensities for the study areas from the Gorkha mainshock typically were in the VII-IX range. The intensity assignment process described is more rigorous than the informal approach of assigning intensities based upon anecdotal media or first-person accounts of felt-reports, shaking, and their interpretation of damage. Detailed EMS-98 macroseismic assessments in urban areas are critical for quantifying relations between shaking and damage as well as for calibrating loss estimates. We show that the macroseismic assignments made herein result in fatality estimates consistent with the overall and district-wide reported values.

Using structural damage statistics to derive macroseismic intensity within the Kathmandu valley for the 2015 M7.8 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake

USGS Publications Warehouse

McGowan, Sean; Jaiswal, Kishor; Wald, David J.

2017-01-01

We make and analyze structural damage observations from within the Kathmandu valley following the 2015 M7.8 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake to derive macroseismic intensities at several locations including some located near ground motion recording sites. The macroseismic intensity estimates supplement the limited strong ground motion data in order to characterize the damage statistics. This augmentation allows for direct comparisons between ground motion amplitudes and structural damage characteristics and ultimately produces a more constrained ground shaking hazard map for the Gorkha earthquake. For systematic assessments, we focused on damage to three specific building categories: (a) low/mid-rise reinforced concrete frames with infill brick walls, (b) unreinforced brick masonry bearing walls with reinforced concrete slabs, and (c) unreinforced brick masonry bearing walls with partial timber framing. Evaluating dozens of photos of each construction type, assigning each building in the study sample to a European Macroseismic Scale (EMS)-98 Vulnerability Class based upon its structural characteristics, and then individually assigning an EMS-98 Damage Grade to each building allows a statistically derived estimate of macroseismic intensity for each of nine study areas in and around the Kathmandu valley. This analysis concludes that EMS-98 macroseismic intensities for the study areas from the Gorkha mainshock typically were in the VII–IX range. The intensity assignment process described is more rigorous than the informal approach of assigning intensities based upon anecdotal media or first-person accounts of felt-reports, shaking, and their interpretation of damage. Detailed EMS-98 macroseismic assessments in urban areas are critical for quantifying relations between shaking and damage as well as for calibrating loss estimates. We show that the macroseismic assignments made herein result in fatality estimates consistent with the overall and district-wide reported values.

Agricultural land use intensity and its determinants: A case study in Taibus Banner, Inner Mongolia, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hao, Haiguang; Li, Xiubin; Tan, Minghong; Zhang, Jiping; Zhang, Huiyuan

2015-06-01

Based on rural household survey data from Taibus Banner, in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, this study separately categorizes agricultural land use intensity into labor intensity, capital intensity, the intensity of labor-saving inputs, and the intensity of yield-increasing inputs, and then analyzes their determinants at the household level. The findings reveal that within the study area: (1) labor intensity is higher and capital intensity is lower than in the major grain-producing and economically developed areas of eastern and central China; (2) the most widely planted crops are those with the lowest labor intensity (oats) and capital intensity (benne); (3) there are marked differences in agricultural land use intensity among households; a major factor affecting land use decision-making is the reduced need for labor intensity for those households with high opportunity costs, such as those with income earned from non-farming activities which alleviates financial constraints and allows for increased capital intensity. As a result, these households invest more in labor-saving inputs; (4) households with a larger number of workers will allocate adequate time to manage their land and thus they will not necessarily invest more in labor-saving inputs. Those households with more land to manage tend to adopt an extensive cultivation strategy. Total income has a positive impact on capital intensity and a negative impact on labor intensity. Households that derive a higher proportion of their total income through farming are more reliant upon agriculture, which necessitates significant labor and yield-increasing inputs. Finally, the authors contend that policy makers should clearly recognize the impacts of non-farming employment on agricultural land use intensity. In order to ensure long-term food security and sustainable agricultural development in China, income streams from both farming and non-farming employment should be balanced.

Damage Detection for Historical Architectures Based on Tls Intensity Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Q.; Cheng, X.

2018-04-01

TLS (Terrestrial Laser Scanner) has long been preferred in the cultural heritage field for 3D documentation of historical sites thanks to its ability to acquire the geometric information without any physical contact. Besides the geometric information, most TLS systems also record the intensity information, which is considered as an important measurement of the spectral property of the scanned surface. Recent studies have shown the potential of using intensity for damage detection. However, the original intensity is affected by scanning geometry such as range and incidence angle and other factors, thus making the results less accurate. Therefore, in this paper, we present a method to detect certain damage areas using the corrected intensity data. Firstly, two data-driven models have been developed to correct the range and incidence angle effect. Then the corrected intensity is used to generate 2D intensity images for classification. After the damage areas being detected, they are re-projected to the 3D point cloud for better visual representation and further investigation. The experiment results indicate the feasibility and validity of the corrected intensity for damage detection.

Geographic risk modeling of childhood cancer relative to county-level crops, hazardous air pollutants and population density characteristics in Texas.

PubMed

Thompson, James A; Carozza, Susan E; Zhu, Li

2008-09-25

Childhood cancer has been linked to a variety of environmental factors, including agricultural activities, industrial pollutants and population mixing, but etiologic studies have often been inconclusive or inconsistent when considering specific cancer types. More specific exposure assessments are needed. It would be helpful to optimize future studies to incorporate knowledge of high-risk locations or geographic risk patterns. The objective of this study was to evaluate potential geographic risk patterns in Texas accounting for the possibility that multiple cancers may have similar geographic risks patterns. A spatio-temporal risk modeling approach was used, whereby 19 childhood cancer types were modeled as potentially correlated within county-years. The standard morbidity ratios were modeled as functions of intensive crop production, intensive release of hazardous air pollutants, population density, and rapid population growth. There was supportive evidence for elevated risks for germ cell tumors and "other" gliomas in areas of intense cropping and for hepatic tumors in areas of intense release of hazardous air pollutants. The risk for Hodgkin lymphoma appeared to be reduced in areas of rapidly growing population. Elevated spatial risks included four cancer histotypes, "other" leukemias, Central Nervous System (CNS) embryonal tumors, CNS other gliomas and hepatic tumors with greater than 95% likelihood of elevated risks in at least one county. The Bayesian implementation of the Multivariate Conditional Autoregressive model provided a flexible approach to the spatial modeling of multiple childhood cancer histotypes. The current study identified geographic factors supporting more focused studies of germ cell tumors and "other" gliomas in areas of intense cropping, hepatic cancer near Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAP) release facilities and specific locations with increased risks for CNS embryonal tumors and for "other" leukemias. Further study should be performed to evaluate potentially lower risk for Hodgkin lymphoma and malignant bone tumors in counties with rapidly growing population.

Effect of sound intensity on tonotopic fMRI maps in the unanesthetized monkey.

PubMed

Tanji, Kazuyo; Leopold, David A; Ye, Frank Q; Zhu, Charles; Malloy, Megan; Saunders, Richard C; Mishkin, Mortimer

2010-01-01

The monkey's auditory cortex includes a core region on the supratemporal plane (STP) made up of the tonotopically organized areas A1, R, and RT, together with a surrounding belt and a lateral parabelt region. The functional studies that yielded the tonotopic maps and corroborated the anatomical division into core, belt, and parabelt typically used low-amplitude pure tones that were often restricted to threshold-level intensities. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging in awake rhesus monkeys to determine whether, and if so how, the tonotopic maps and the pattern of activation in core, belt, and parabelt are affected by systematic changes in sound intensity. Blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) responses to groups of low- and high-frequency pure tones 3-4 octaves apart were measured at multiple sound intensity levels. The results revealed tonotopic maps in the auditory core that reversed at the putative areal boundaries between A1 and R and between R and RT. Although these reversals of the tonotopic representations were present at all intensity levels, the lateral spread of activation depended on sound amplitude, with increasing recruitment of the adjacent belt areas as the intensities increased. Tonotopic organization along the STP was also evident in frequency-specific deactivation (i.e. "negative BOLD"), an effect that was intensity-specific as well. Regions of positive and negative BOLD were spatially interleaved, possibly reflecting lateral inhibition of high-frequency areas during activation of adjacent low-frequency areas, and vice versa. These results, which demonstrate the strong influence of tonal amplitude on activation levels, identify sound intensity as an important adjunct parameter for mapping the functional architecture of auditory cortex.

Study on Urban Heat Island Intensity Level Identification Based on an Improved Restricted Boltzmann Machine.

PubMed

Zhang, Yang; Jiang, Ping; Zhang, Hongyan; Cheng, Peng

2018-01-23

Thermal infrared remote sensing has become one of the main technology methods used for urban heat island research. When applying urban land surface temperature inversion of the thermal infrared band, problems with intensity level division arise because the method is subjective. However, this method is one of the few that performs heat island intensity level identification. This paper will build an intensity level identifier for an urban heat island, by using weak supervision and thought-based learning in an improved, restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM) model. The identifier automatically initializes the annotation and optimizes the model parameters sequentially until the target identifier is completed. The algorithm needs very little information about the weak labeling of the target training sample and generates an urban heat island intensity spatial distribution map. This study can provide reliable decision-making support for urban ecological planning and effective protection of urban ecological security. The experimental results showed the following: (1) The heat island effect in Wuhan is existent and intense. Heat island areas are widely distributed. The largest heat island area is in Wuhan, followed by the sub-green island. The total area encompassed by heat island and strong island levels accounts for 54.16% of the land in Wuhan. (2) Partially based on improved RBM identification, this method meets the research demands of determining the spatial distribution characteristics of the internal heat island effect; its identification accuracy is superior to that of comparable methods.

Study on Urban Heat Island Intensity Level Identification Based on an Improved Restricted Boltzmann Machine

PubMed Central

Jiang, Ping; Zhang, Hongyan; Cheng, Peng

2018-01-01

Thermal infrared remote sensing has become one of the main technology methods used for urban heat island research. When applying urban land surface temperature inversion of the thermal infrared band, problems with intensity level division arise because the method is subjective. However, this method is one of the few that performs heat island intensity level identification. This paper will build an intensity level identifier for an urban heat island, by using weak supervision and thought-based learning in an improved, restricted Boltzmann machine (RBM) model. The identifier automatically initializes the annotation and optimizes the model parameters sequentially until the target identifier is completed. The algorithm needs very little information about the weak labeling of the target training sample and generates an urban heat island intensity spatial distribution map. This study can provide reliable decision-making support for urban ecological planning and effective protection of urban ecological security. The experimental results showed the following: (1) The heat island effect in Wuhan is existent and intense. Heat island areas are widely distributed. The largest heat island area is in Wuhan, followed by the sub-green island. The total area encompassed by heat island and strong island levels accounts for 54.16% of the land in Wuhan. (2) Partially based on improved RBM identification, this method meets the research demands of determining the spatial distribution characteristics of the internal heat island effect; its identification accuracy is superior to that of comparable methods. PMID:29360786

[Characteristics of rainfall and runoff in urban drainage based on the SWMM model.

PubMed

Xiong, Li Jun; Huang, Fei; Xu, Zu Xin; Li, Huai Zheng; Gong, Ling Ling; Dong, Meng Ke

2016-11-18

The characteristics of 235 rainfall and surface runoff events, from 2009 to 2011 in a typical urban drainage area in Shanghai were analyzed by using SWMM model. The results showed that the rainfall events in the region with high occurrence frequency were characterized by small rainfall amount and low intensity. The most probably occurred rainfall had total amount less than 10 mm, or mean intensity less than 5 mm·h -1 ,or peak intensity less than 10 mm·h -1 , accounting for 66.4%, 88.8% and 79.6% of the total rainfall events, respectively. The study was of great significance to apply low-impact development to reduce runoff and non-point source pollution under condition of less rainfall amount or low mean rainfall intensity in the area. The runoff generally increased with the increase of rainfall. The threshold of regional occurring runoff was controlled by not only rainfall amount, but also mean rainfall intensity and rainfall duration. In general, there was no surface runoff when the rainfall amount was less than 2 mm. When the rainfall amount was between 2 to 4 mm and the mean rainfall intensity was below 1.6 mm·h -1 , the runoff was less than 1 mm. When the rainfall exceeded 4 mm and the mean rainfall intensity was larger than 1.6 mm·h -1 , the runoff would occur generally. Based on the results of the SWMM simulation, three regression equations that were applicable to regional runoff amount and rainfall factors were established. The adjustment R 2 of the three equations were greater than 0.97. This indicated that the equations could reflect well the relationship between runoff and rainfall variables. The results provided the basis of calculations to plan low impact development and better reduce overflow pollution in local drainage area. It also could serve as a useful reference for runoff study in similar drainage areas.

Assessing environmental risks for high intensity agriculture using the material flow analysis method--a case study of the Dongting Lake basin in South Central China.

PubMed

Yin, Guanyi; Liu, Liming; Yuan, Chengcheng

2015-07-01

This study primarily examined the assessment of environmental risk in high intensity agricultural areas. Dongting Lake basin was taken as a case study, which is one of the major grain producing areas in China. Using data obtained from 1989 to 2012, we applied Material Flow Analysis (MFA) to show the material consumption, pollutant output and production storage in the agricultural-environmental system and assessed the environmental risk index on the basis of the MFA results. The results predicted that the status of the environmental quality of the Dongting Lake area is unsatisfactory for the foreseeable future. The direct material input (DMI) declined by 13.9%, the domestic processed output (DPO) increased by 28.21%, the intensity of material consumption (IMC) decreased by 36.7%, the intensity of material discharge (IMD) increased by 10%, the material productivity (MP) increased by 27 times, the environmental efficiency (EE) increased by 15.31 times, and the material storage (PAS) increased by 0.23%. The DMI and DPO was higher at rural places on the edge of cities, whereas the risk of urban agriculture has arisen due to the higher increasing rate of DMI and DPO in cities compared with the counties. The composite environmental risk index increased from 0.33 to 0.96, indicating that the total environmental risk changed gradually but seriously during the 24 years assessed. The driving factors that affect environmental risk in high intensity agriculture can be divided into five classes: social, economic, human, natural and disruptive incidents. This study discussed a number of effective measures for protecting the environment while ensuring food production yields. Additional research in other areas and certain improvements of this method in future studies may be necessary to develop a more effective method of managing and controlling agricultural-environmental interactions.

[Rainfall intensity effects on nutrients transport in surface runoff from farmlands in gentle slope hilly area of Taihu Lake Basin].

PubMed

Li, Rui-ling; Zhang, Yong-chun; Liu, Zhuang; Zeng, Yuan; Li, Wei-xin; Zhang, Hong-ling

2010-05-01

To investigate the effect of rainfall on agricultural nonpoint source pollution, watershed scale experiments were conducted to study the characteristics of nutrients in surface runoff under different rainfall intensities from farmlands in gentle slope hilly areas around Taihu Lake. Rainfall intensity significantly affected N and P concentrations in runoff. Rainfall intensity was positively related to TP, PO4(3-) -P and NH4+ -N event mean concentrations(EMC). However, this study have found the EMC of TN and NO3- -N to be positively related to rainfall intensity under light rain and negatively related to rainfall intensity under heavy rain. TN and TP site mean amounts (SMA) in runoff were positively related to rainfall intensity and were 1.91, 311.83, 127.65, 731.69 g/hm2 and 0.04, 7.77, 2.99, 32.02 g/hm2 with rainfall applied under light rain, moderate rain, heavy rain and rainstorm respectively. N in runoff was mainly NO3- -N and NH4+ -N and was primarily in dissolved form from Meilin soils. Dissolved P (DP) was the dominant form of TP under light rain, but particulate P (PP) mass loss increased with the increase of rainfall intensity and to be the dominant form when the rainfall intensity reaches rainstorm. Single relationships were used to describe the dependence of TN and TP mass losses in runoff on rainfall, maximum rainfall intensity, average rainfall intensity and rainfall duration respectively. The results showed a significant positive correlation between TN mass loss and rainfall, maximum rainfall intensity respectively (p < 0.01) and also TP mass loss and rainfall, maximum rainfall intensity respectively (p < 0.01).

Risks of avian influenza transmission in areas of intensive free-ranging duck production with wild waterfowl

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cappelle, Julien; Zhao, Delong; Gilbert, Marius; Newman, Scott H.; Takekawa, John Y.; Gaidet, Nicolas; Prosser, Diann J.; Liu, Ying; Li, Peng; Shu, Yuelong; Xiao, Xiangming

2014-01-01

For decades, southern China has been considered to be an important source for emerging influenza viruses since key hosts live together in high densities in areas with intensive agriculture. However, the underlying conditions of emergence and spread of avian influenza viruses (AIV) have not been studied in detail, particularly the complex spatiotemporal interplay of viral transmission between wild and domestic ducks, two major actors of AIV epidemiology. In this synthesis, we examine the risks of avian influenza spread in Poyang Lake, an area of intensive free-ranging duck production and large numbers of wild waterfowl. Our synthesis shows that farming of free-grazing domestic ducks is intensive in this area and synchronized with wild duck migration. The presence of juvenile domestic ducks in harvested paddy fields prior to the arrival and departure of migrant ducks in the same fields may amplify the risk of AIV circulation and facilitate the transmission between wild and domestic populations. We provide evidence associating wild ducks migration with the spread of H5N1 in the spring of 2008 from southern China to South Korea, Russia, and Japan, supported by documented wild duck movements and phylogenetic analyses of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 sequences. We suggest that prevention measures based on a modification of agricultural practices may be implemented in these areas to reduce the intensity of AIV transmission between wild and domestic ducks. This would require involving all local stakeholders to discuss feasible and acceptable solutions.

Influences of Hydrological Regime on Runoff Quality and Pollutant Loadings in Tropical Urban Areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chow, M.; Yusop, Z.

2011-12-01

Experience in many developed countries suggests that non point source (NPS) pollution is still the main contributor to pollutant loadings into water bodies in urban areas. However, the mechanism of NPS pollutant transport and the influences of hydrologic regime on the pollutant loading are still unclear. Understanding these interactions will be useful for improving design criteria and strategies for controlling NPS pollution in urban areas. This issue is also extremely relevant in tropical environment because its rainfall and the runoff generation processes are so different from the temperate regions where most of the studies on NPS pollutant have been carried out. In this regard, an intensive study to investigate the extent of this pollution was carried out in Skudai, Johor, Malaysia. Three small catchments, each represents commercial, residential and industrial land use were selected. Stormwater samples and flow rate data were collected at these catchments over 52 storm events from year 2008 to 2009. Samples were analyzed for ten water quality constituents including total suspended solids, 5-day biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, oil and grease, nitrate nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, soluble phosphorus, total phosphorus and zinc. Quality of stormwater runoff is estimated using Event Mean Concentration (EMC) value. The storm characteristics analyzed included rainfall depth, rainfall duration, mean intensity, max 5 minutes intensity, antecedent dry day, runoff volume and peak flow. Correlation coefficients were determined between storm parameters and EMCs for the residential, commercial and industrial catchments. Except for the antecedent storm mean intensity and antecedent dry days, the other rainfall and runoff variables were negatively correlated with EMCs of most pollutants. This study reinforced the earlier findings on the importance of antecedent dry days for causing greater EMC values with exceptions for oil and grease, nitrate nitrogen, total phosphorus and zinc. There is no positive correlation between rainfall intensity and EMC of constituents in all the studied catchments. In contrast, the pollutant loadings are influenced primarily by the rainfall and runoff characteristics. Rainfall depth, mean intensity, max 5 minute intensity, runoff volume and peak flow were positively correlated with the loadings of most of the constituents. Antecedent storm mean intensity and antecedent dry days seemed to be less important for estimating the pollutant loadings. Such study should be further conducted for acquiring a long term monitoring data related to storm runoff quality during rainfall, in order to have a better understanding on NPS pollution in urban areas.

Effect of echo artifacts on characterization of pulsatile tissues in neonatal cranial ultrasonic movies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukuzawa, Masayuki; Takahashi, Kazuki; Tabata, Yuki; Kitsunezuka, Yoshiki

2016-04-01

Effect of echo artifacts on characterization of pulsatile tissues has been examined in neonatal cranial ultrasonic movies by characterizing pulsatile intensities with different regions of interest (ROIs). The pulsatile tissue, which is a key point in pediatric diagnosis of brain tissue, was detected from a heartbeat-frequency component in Fourier transform of a time-variation of 64 samples of echo intensity at each pixel in a movie fragment. The averages of pulsatile intensity and power were evaluated in two ROIs: common fan-shape and individual cranial-shape. The area of pulsatile region was also evaluated as the number of pixels where the pulsatile intensity exceeds a proper threshold. The extracranial pulsatile region was found mainly in the sections where mirror image was dominant echo artifact. There was significant difference of pulsatile area between two ROIs especially in the specific sections where mirror image was included, suggesting the suitability of cranial-shape ROI for statistical study on pulsatile tissues in brain. The normalized average of pulsatile power in the cranial-shape ROI exhibited most similar tendency to the normalized pulsatile area which was treated as a conventional measure in spite of its requirement of thresholding. It suggests the potential of pulsatile power as an alternative measure for pulsatile area in further statistical study of pulsatile tissues because it was neither affected by echo artifacts nor threshold.

[An fMRI Study of the Brain Activation Related to Intensive Positive Emotions During Viweing Erotic Pictures in 49-74 Old Men].

PubMed

Martynova, O; Portnova, G; Orlov, I

2016-01-01

According to psychological research erotic images are evaluated in the context of positive emotions as the most intense, most associated with emotional arousal, among the variety of pleasant and unpleasant stimuli. However it is difficult to separate areas of the brain that are related to the general emotional process from the activity of the brain areas involved in neuronal representations of reward system. The purpose of this study was to determine differences in the brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in male subjects in evaluating an intensity of pleasant images, including erotic, or unpleasant and neutral pictures. When comparing the condition with evaluation of the pleasant erotic images with conditions containing neutral or unpleasant stimuli, a significant activation was observed in the posterior cingulate cortex; the prefrontal cortex and the right globus pallidus. An increased activity of the right anterior central gyrus was observed in the conditions related to evaluation of pleasant and neutral stimuli. Thus, in the process of evaluating the intensity of emotional images of an erotic nature the active brain areas were related not only to neuronal representations of emotions, but also to motivations and control system of emotional arousal, which should be taken into account while using erotic pictures as intensive positive emotional stimuli.

Effects of snow-reflected light levels on human visual comfort.

PubMed

Yilmaz, Hasan; Demircioglu Yildiz, Nalan; Yilmaz, Sevgi

2008-09-01

The intensity of the sunlight reflected by the snow-covered surfaces is so high that it may disturb humans many times. This study aims to determine the reflected sunlight intensities from snow covered areas at points near (at a distance of 2 m) and under an individual tree and among trees (in the forest area) by accepting the open area as control; the reducing effects of the plant materials on reflected sunlight in percentage by comparing with the values of the open (control) area; and critical reflected sunlight threshold values for human visual comfort. The study was carried out over 22 clear and calm, i.e. sky was cloudless and wind was calm, days between the 1st and 31st days of January 2004, at 8:30 in the morning, at 12:30 at noon and at 14:30 in the afternoon in Erzurum. In order to determine the discomforting light intensity levels, 25 females and 26 male (totally 51) student subjects whose mean age was 20 and who had no visual disorders were selected. Considering the open area as control, mean reflected sunlight reducing effects were found to be 19.0, 66.0 and 82.7% for the 2 m near a tree, under a tree, and forest area, respectively. According to the responses of 51 subjects in the study, visually "very comfortable" range is between 5,000 and 8,000 lx; "comfortable" range is between 11,000 and 75,000 lx (mostly at 12,000 lx); "uncomfortable" condition is above the light intensity value of 43,000 lx and "very uncomfortable" condition is above the intensity of 80,000 lx. Great majority of the subjects (91%) found the value of 103,000 lx to be "very uncomfortable." As it is not an applicable way to use the great and dense tree masses in the cities, at least individual trees should be used along the main pedestrian axels in the cities having the same features with Erzurum to prevent the natural light pollution and discomforting effects of the snow-reflected sunlight.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation-induced global propagation of transient phase resetting associated with directional information flow.

PubMed

Kawasaki, Masahiro; Uno, Yutaka; Mori, Jumpei; Kobata, Kenji; Kitajo, Keiichi

2014-01-01

Electroencephalogram (EEG) phase synchronization analyses can reveal large-scale communication between distant brain areas. However, it is not possible to identify the directional information flow between distant areas using conventional phase synchronization analyses. In the present study, we applied transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to the occipital area in subjects who were resting with their eyes closed, and analyzed the spatial propagation of transient TMS-induced phase resetting by using the transfer entropy (TE), to quantify the causal and directional flow of information. The time-frequency EEG analysis indicated that the theta (5 Hz) phase locking factor (PLF) reached its highest value at the distant area (the motor area in this study), with a time lag that followed the peak of the transient PLF enhancements of the TMS-targeted area at the TMS onset. Phase-preservation index (PPI) analyses demonstrated significant phase resetting at the TMS-targeted area and distant area. Moreover, the TE from the TMS-targeted area to the distant area increased clearly during the delay that followed TMS onset. Interestingly, the time lags were almost coincident between the PLF and TE results (152 vs. 165 ms), which provides strong evidence that the emergence of the delayed PLF reflects the causal information flow. Such tendencies were observed only in the higher-intensity TMS condition, and not in the lower-intensity or sham TMS conditions. Thus, TMS may manipulate large-scale causal relationships between brain areas in an intensity-dependent manner. We demonstrated that single-pulse TMS modulated global phase dynamics and directional information flow among synchronized brain networks. Therefore, our results suggest that single-pulse TMS can manipulate both incoming and outgoing information in the TMS-targeted area associated with functional changes.

Detecting molecular features of spectra mainly associated with structural and non-structural carbohydrates in co-products from bioEthanol production using DRIFT with uni- and multivariate molecular spectral analyses.

PubMed

Yu, Peiqiang; Damiran, Daalkhaijav; Azarfar, Arash; Niu, Zhiyuan

2011-01-01

The objective of this study was to use DRIFT spectroscopy with uni- and multivariate molecular spectral analyses as a novel approach to detect molecular features of spectra mainly associated with carbohydrate in the co-products (wheat DDGS, corn DDGS, blend DDGS) from bioethanol processing in comparison with original feedstock (wheat (Triticum), corn (Zea mays)). The carbohydrates related molecular spectral bands included: A_Cell (structural carbohydrates, peaks area region and baseline: ca. 1485-1188 cm(-1)), A_1240 (structural carbohydrates, peak area centered at ca. 1240 cm(-1) with region and baseline: ca. 1292-1198 cm(-1)), A_CHO (total carbohydrates, peaks region and baseline: ca. 1187-950 cm(-1)), A_928 (non-structural carbohydrates, peak area centered at ca. 928 cm(-1) with region and baseline: ca. 952-910 cm(-1)), A_860 (non-structural carbohydrates, peak area centered at ca. 860 cm(-1) with region and baseline: ca. 880-827 cm(-1)), H_1415 (structural carbohydrate, peak height centered at ca. 1415 cm(-1) with baseline: ca. 1485-1188 cm(-1)), H_1370 (structural carbohydrate, peak height at ca. 1370 cm(-1) with a baseline: ca. 1485-1188 cm(-1)). The study shows that the grains had lower spectral intensity (KM Unit) of the cellulosic compounds of A_1240 (8.5 vs. 36.6, P < 0.05), higher (P < 0.05) intensities of the non-structural carbohydrate of A_928 (17.3 vs. 2.0) and A_860 (20.7 vs. 7.6) than their co-products from bioethanol processing. There were no differences (P > 0.05) in the peak area intensities of A_Cell (structural CHO) at 1292-1198 cm(-1) and A_CHO (total CHO) at 1187-950 cm(-1) with average molecular infrared intensity KM unit of 226.8 and 508.1, respectively. There were no differences (P > 0.05) in the peak height intensities of H_1415 and H_1370 (structural CHOs) with average intensities 1.35 and 1.15, respectively. The multivariate molecular spectral analyses were able to discriminate and classify between the corn and corn DDGS molecular spectra, but not wheat and wheat DDGS. This study indicated that the bioethanol processing changes carbohydrate molecular structural profiles, compared with the original grains. However, the sensitivities of different types of carbohydrates and different grains (corn and wheat) to the processing differ. In general, the bioethanol processing increases the molecular spectral intensities for the structural carbohydrates and decreases the intensities for the non-structural carbohydrates. Further study is needed to quantify carbohydrate related molecular spectral features of the bioethanol co-products in relation to nutrient supply and availability of carbohydrates.

Effect of ranibizumab on high-speed indocyanine green angiography and minimum intensity projection optical coherence tomography findings in neovascular age-related macular degeneration.

PubMed

Nicholson, Benjamin P; Nigam, Divya; Toy, Brian; Stetson, Paul F; Agrón, Elvira; Jacobs-El, Naima; Cunningham, Denise; Cukras, Catherine; Wong, Wai; Wiley, Henry; Chew, Emily; Ferris, Frederick; Meyerle, Catherine B

2015-01-01

The purpose of this 1-year prospective study was to investigate how induction/pro re nata ranibizumab intravitreal treatment of eyes with neovascular age-related macular degeneration affects the anatomy of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) and the overlying outer retinal tissue. High-speed indocyanine green (HS-ICG) angiography measurements provided quantification of the CNV size in 60 patients followed for 1 year. Minimum intensity projection optical coherence tomography (MinIP OCT), a novel algorithm assessing minimum optical intensity between the internal limiting membrane and retinal pigment epithelium, measured the area of outer retinal disruption overlying the CNV. Fluorescein angiography was also assessed to evaluate late retinal leakage. After 1 year, the mean area of CNV measured with indocyanine green angiography decreased by 5.8%. The mean area of MinIP OCT of outer retinal disruption overlying the CNV decreased by 4.2%. Mean area of fluorescein angiography leakage decreased by 6.3%. Both the area of outer retinal disruption measured with MinIP OCT and the area of leakage on fluorescein angiography typically exceeded the area of CNV on indocyanine green angiography at baseline and 1 year. Choroidal neovascularization treated with induction/pro re nata intravitreal ranibizumab for 1 year essentially remained static. Minimum intensity projection optical coherence tomography suggests that the area of outer retinal disruption overlying the CNV may be greater than the CNV itself and often correlates with the leakage area on fluorescein angiography. Additionally, there was minimal change in the area of outer retinal disruption on MinIP OCT even when fluid resolved. Measurements of the extent of CNV lesions based on indocyanine green angiography and MinIP OCT may provide useful outcome variables to help assess the CNV complex longitudinally and warrant further validation.

Two-Day, Intensive Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Panic Disorder: A Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deacon, Brett

2007-01-01

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a highly effective treatment for panic disorder. However, few patients have access to this treatment, particularly those living in rural areas. In a pilot study, the author previously described the efficacy of a 2-day, intensive, exposure-based CBT intervention that was developed for the purpose of delivering…

Eaten Out of House and Home: Impacts of Grazing on Ground-Dwelling Reptiles in Australian Grasslands and Grassy Woodlands

PubMed Central

Howland, Brett; Stojanovic, Dejan; Gordon, Iain J.; Manning, Adrian D.; Fletcher, Don; Lindenmayer, David B.

2014-01-01

Large mammalian grazers can alter the biotic and abiotic features of their environment through their impacts on vegetation. Grazing at moderate intensity has been recommended for biodiversity conservation. Few studies, however, have empirically tested the benefits of moderate grazing intensity in systems dominated by native grazers. Here we investigated the relationship between (1) density of native eastern grey kangaroos, Macropus giganteus, and grass structure, and (2) grass structure and reptiles (i.e. abundance, richness, diversity and occurrence) across 18 grassland and grassy Eucalyptus woodland properties in south-eastern Australia. There was a strong negative relationship between kangaroo density and grass structure after controlling for tree canopy cover. We therefore used grass structure as a surrogate for grazing intensity. Changes in grazing intensity (i.e. grass structure) significantly affected reptile abundance, reptile species richness, reptile species diversity, and the occurrence of several ground-dwelling reptiles. Reptile abundance, species richness and diversity were highest where grazing intensity was low. Importantly, no species of reptile was more likely to occur at high grazing intensities. Legless lizards (Delma impar, D. inornata) were more likely to be detected in areas subject to moderate grazing intensity, whereas one species (Hemiergis talbingoensis) was less likely to be detected in areas subject to intense grazing and three species (Menetia greyii, Morethia boulengeri, and Lampropholis delicata) did not appear to be affected by grazing intensity. Our data indicate that to maximize reptile abundance, species richness, species diversity, and occurrence of several individual species of reptile, managers will need to subject different areas of the landscape to moderate and low grazing intensities and limit the occurrence and extent of high grazing. PMID:25501680

Eaten out of house and home: impacts of grazing on ground-dwelling reptiles in Australian grasslands and grassy woodlands.

PubMed

Howland, Brett; Stojanovic, Dejan; Gordon, Iain J; Manning, Adrian D; Fletcher, Don; Lindenmayer, David B

2014-01-01

Large mammalian grazers can alter the biotic and abiotic features of their environment through their impacts on vegetation. Grazing at moderate intensity has been recommended for biodiversity conservation. Few studies, however, have empirically tested the benefits of moderate grazing intensity in systems dominated by native grazers. Here we investigated the relationship between (1) density of native eastern grey kangaroos, Macropus giganteus, and grass structure, and (2) grass structure and reptiles (i.e. abundance, richness, diversity and occurrence) across 18 grassland and grassy Eucalyptus woodland properties in south-eastern Australia. There was a strong negative relationship between kangaroo density and grass structure after controlling for tree canopy cover. We therefore used grass structure as a surrogate for grazing intensity. Changes in grazing intensity (i.e. grass structure) significantly affected reptile abundance, reptile species richness, reptile species diversity, and the occurrence of several ground-dwelling reptiles. Reptile abundance, species richness and diversity were highest where grazing intensity was low. Importantly, no species of reptile was more likely to occur at high grazing intensities. Legless lizards (Delma impar, D. inornata) were more likely to be detected in areas subject to moderate grazing intensity, whereas one species (Hemiergis talbingoensis) was less likely to be detected in areas subject to intense grazing and three species (Menetia greyii, Morethia boulengeri, and Lampropholis delicata) did not appear to be affected by grazing intensity. Our data indicate that to maximize reptile abundance, species richness, species diversity, and occurrence of several individual species of reptile, managers will need to subject different areas of the landscape to moderate and low grazing intensities and limit the occurrence and extent of high grazing.

Seasonal variations in the characteristics of superficial sediments in a macrotidal estuary (the Seine inlet, France)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lesourd, S.; Lesueur, P.; Brun-Cottan, J. C.; Garnaud, S.; Poupinet, N.

2003-09-01

Seasonal variations in the sedimentary regime in the mouth of the Seine river, a macrotidal estuary, are described for a 3-year period. The aim of this study is to characterize and to understand the main governing mechanisms, using data from more than a thousand of superficial sediment grab samples or box cores gathered throughout the study period. Analyses of lithofacies and rheological properties were carried out. The distribution of sediments is governed by seasonal meteorological variations. The surface covered by mud reaches a maximum (40% of the total mouth area) during winter. After the winter, the soft mud deposits are progressively redistributed throughout the whole estuary area and onto the shelf. During the lowest freshwater flow at the end of summer, the fine-grained sediments cover less than 20% of the river mouth area. These seasonal variations mainly depend on the river discharge intensity, but are also linked to wave activity. In the study area, the amount of fine-grained deposits after high river flow periods depends on (1) volume of mud erodable within the estuary, (2) the duration of the flood tidal influx, and (3) the duration preceding the particular annual high river flow. During the last decades, filling of the estuary upstream from Honfleur has led to a downstream shift of the fine-grained sediment deposition area; following this, the present-day mud deposition area is in the open part of the estuary, in the subtidal shallow area. Subsequently, fresh mud deposits undergo intense hydrodynamical and meteorological effects, and are partly reworked by waves and tidal currents effects. In this study, it is shown that the behaviour of suspended matter and of superficial sediments is strongly influenced by short but intense events including high river flows and gales.

Error in the Sampling Area of an Optical Disdrometer: Consequences in Computing Rain Variables

PubMed Central

Fraile, R.; Castro, A.; Fernández-Raga, M.; Palencia, C.; Calvo, A. I.

2013-01-01

The aim of this study is to improve the estimation of the characteristic uncertainties of optic disdrometers in an attempt to calculate the efficient sampling area according to the size of the drop and to study how this influences the computation of other parameters, taking into account that the real sampling area is always smaller than the nominal area. For large raindrops (a little over 6 mm), the effective sampling area may be half the area indicated by the manufacturer. The error committed in the sampling area is propagated to all the variables depending on this surface, such as the rain intensity and the reflectivity factor. Both variables tend to underestimate the real value if the sampling area is not corrected. For example, the rainfall intensity errors may be up to 50% for large drops, those slightly larger than 6 mm. The same occurs with reflectivity values, which may be up to twice the reflectivity calculated using the uncorrected constant sampling area. The Z-R relationships appear to have little dependence on the sampling area, because both variables depend on it the same way. These results were obtained by studying one particular rain event that occurred on April 16, 2006. PMID:23844393

Quantitative Time-Resolved Fluorescence Imaging of Androgen Receptor and Prostate-Specific Antigen in Prostate Tissue Sections.

PubMed

Krzyzanowska, Agnieszka; Lippolis, Giuseppe; Helczynski, Leszek; Anand, Aseem; Peltola, Mari; Pettersson, Kim; Lilja, Hans; Bjartell, Anders

2016-05-01

Androgen receptor (AR) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) are expressed in the prostate and are involved in prostate cancer (PCa). The aim of this study was to develop reliable protocols for reproducible quantification of AR and PSA in benign and malignant prostate tissue using time-resolved fluorescence (TRF) imaging techniques. AR and PSA were detected with TRF in tissue microarrays from 91 PCa patients. p63/ alpha-methylacyl-CoA racemase (AMACR) staining on consecutive sections was used to categorize tissue areas as benign or cancerous. Automated image analysis was used to quantify staining intensity. AR intensity was significantly higher in AMACR+ and lower in AMACR- cancer areas as compared with benign epithelium. The PSA intensity was significantly lower in cancer areas, particularly in AMACR- glands. The AR/PSA ratio varied significantly in the AMACR+ tumor cells as compared with benign glands. There was a trend of more rapid disease progression in patients with higher AR/PSA ratios in the AMACR- areas. This study demonstrates the feasibility of developing reproducible protocols for TRF imaging and automated image analysis to study the expression of AR and PSA in benign and malignant prostate. It also highlighted the differences in AR and PSA protein expression within AMACR- and AMACR+ cancer regions. © 2016 The Histochemical Society.

Quantitative analysis of urban sprawl in Tripoli using Pearson's Chi-Square statistics and urban expansion intensity index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-sharif, Abubakr A. A.; Pradhan, Biswajeet; Zulhaidi Mohd Shafri, Helmi; Mansor, Shattri

2014-06-01

Urban expansion is a spatial phenomenon that reflects the increased level of importance of metropolises. The remotely sensed data and GIS have been widely used to study and analyze the process of urban expansions and their patterns. The capital of Libya (Tripoli) was selected to perform this study and to examine its urban growth patterns. Four satellite imageries of the study area in different dates (1984, 1996, 2002 and 2010) were used to conduct this research. The main goal of this work is identification and analyzes the urban sprawl of Tripoli metropolitan area. Urban expansion intensity index (UEII) and degree of freedom test were used to analyze and assess urban expansions in the area of study. The results show that Tripoli has sprawled urban expansion patterns; high urban expansion intensity index; and its urban development had high degree of freedom according to its urban expansion history during the time period (1984-2010). However, the novel proposed hypothesis used for zones division resulted in very good insight understanding of urban expansion direction and the effect of the distance from central business of district (CBD).

Does expecting more pain make it more intense? Factors associated with the first week pain trajectories after breast cancer surgery

PubMed Central

Sipilä, Reetta M.; Haasio, Lassi; Meretoja, Tuomo J.; Ripatti, Samuli; Estlander, Ann-Mari; Kalso, Eija A.

2017-01-01

Abstract The aim of this study was to identify clinical risk factors for unfavorable pain trajectories after breast cancer surgery, to better understand the association between pain expectation, psychological distress, and acute postoperative pain. This prospective study included 563 women treated for breast cancer. Psychological data included questionnaires for depressive symptoms and anxiety. Experimental pain tests for heat and cold were performed before surgery. The amount of oxycodone needed for satisfactory pain relief after surgery was recorded. Pain intensity in the area of operation before surgery and during the first postoperative week and expected intensity of postoperative pain were recorded using the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS 0-10). Pain trajectories were formed to describe both initial intensity (the intercept) and the direction of the pain path (the slope). Factors associated with higher initial pain intensity (the intercept) were the amount of oxycodone needed for adequate analgesia, psychological distress, type of axillary surgery, preoperative pain in the area of the operation, and expectation of postoperative pain. The higher the pain initially was, the faster it resolved over the week. Expectation of severe postoperative pain was associated with higher scores of both experimental and clinical pain intensity and psychological factors. The results confirm that acute pain after breast cancer surgery is a multidimensional phenomenon. Psychological distress, pain expectation, and the patients' report of preoperative pain in the area to be operated should be recognized before surgery. Patients having axillary clearance need more efficient analgesic approaches. PMID:28134654

Mineral resource potential map of the Spanish Peaks Wilderness Study Area, Huerfano and Las Animas counties, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Budding, Karin E.; Kluender, Steven E.

1983-01-01

The depth of several thousand feet at which coal may underlie the surface rocks of the study area makes it a resource with little likelihood of development. The potential for oil and gas appears low because of the apparent lack of structural traps and the intense igneous activity in the area.

Intensity-duration threshold of rainfall-triggered debris flows in the Wenchuan Earthquake affected area, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Xiaojun; Cui, Peng; Li, Yong; Ma, Li; Ge, Yonggang; Mahoney, William B.

2016-01-01

The Ms 8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake has greatly altered the rainfall threshold for debris flows in the affected areas. This study explores the local intensity-duration (I-D) relationship based on 252 post-earthquake debris flows. It was found that I = 5.25 D-0.76 accounts for more than 98% of the debris flow occurrences with rainfall duration between 1 and 135 h; therefore the curve defines the threshold for debris flows in the study area. This gives much lower thresholds than those proposed by the previous studies, suggesting that the earthquake has greatly decreased the thresholds in the past years. Moreover, the rainfall thresholds appear to increase annually in the period of 2008-2013, and present a logarithmic increasing tendency, indicating that the thresholds will recover in the future decades.

Debris flow study in Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahrin Jaafar, Kamal

2016-04-01

The phenomenon of debris flow occurs in Malaysia occasionally. The topography of Peningsular Malysia is characterized by the central mountain ranges running from south to north. Several parts of hilly areas with steep slopes, combined with high saturation of soil strata that deliberately increase the pore water pressure underneath the hill slope. As a tropical country Malaysia has very high intensity rainfall which is triggered the landslide. In the study area where the debris flow are bound to occur, there are a few factors that contribute to this phenomenon such as high rainfall intensity, very steep slope which an inclination more than 35 degree and sandy clay soil type which is easily change to liquidity soil. This paper will discuss the study of rainfall, mechanism, modeling and design of mitigation measure to avoid repeated failure in future in same area.

Assessing the accuracy of weather radar to track intense rain cells in the Greater Lyon area, France

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Renard, Florent; Chapon, Pierre-Marie; Comby, Jacques

2012-01-01

The Greater Lyon is a dense area located in the Rhône Valley in the south east of France. The conurbation counts 1.3 million inhabitants and the rainfall hazard is a great concern. However, until now, studies on rainfall over the Greater Lyon have only been based on the network of rain gauges, despite the presence of a C-band radar located in the close vicinity. Consequently, the first aim of this study was to investigate the hydrological quality of this radar. This assessment, based on comparison of radar estimations and rain-gauges values concludes that the radar data has overall a good quality since 2006. Given this good accuracy, this study made a next step and investigated the characteristics of intense rain cells that are responsible of the majority of floods in the Greater Lyon area. Improved knowledge on these rainfall cells is important to anticipate dangerous events and to improve the monitoring of the sewage system. This paper discusses the analysis of the ten most intense rainfall events in the 2001-2010 period. Spatial statistics pointed towards straight and linear movements of intense rainfall cells, independently on the ground surface conditions and the topography underneath. The speed of these cells was found nearly constant during a rainfall event, but depend from event to ranges on average from 25 to 66 km/h.

Daily rainfall statistics of TRMM and CMORPH: A case for trans-boundary Gandak River basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Brijesh; Patra, Kanhu Charan; Lakshmi, Venkat

2016-07-01

Satellite precipitation products offer an opportunity to evaluate extreme events (flood and drought) for areas where rainfall data are not available or rain gauge stations are sparse. In this study, daily precipitation amount and frequency of TRMM 3B42V.7 and CMORPH products have been validated against daily rain gauge precipitation for the monsoon months (June-September or JJAS) from 2005-2010 in the trans-boundary Gandak River basin. The analysis shows that the both TRMM and CMORPH can detect rain and no-rain events, but they fail to capture the intensity of rainfall. The detection of precipitation amount is strongly dependent on the topography. In the plains areas, TRMM product is capable of capturing high-intensity rain events but in the hilly regions, it underestimates the amount of high-intensity rain events. On the other hand, CMORPH entirely fails to capture the high-intensity rain events but does well with low-intensity rain events in both hilly regions as well as the plain region. The continuous variable verification method shows better agreement of TRMM rainfall products with rain gauge data. TRMM fares better in the prediction of probability of occurrence of high-intensity rainfall events, but it underestimates intensity at high altitudes. This implies that TRMM precipitation estimates can be used for flood-related studies only after bias adjustment for the topography.

Peculiar features of boron distribution in high temperature fracture area of rapidly quenched heat-resistant nickel alloy

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

Shulga, A. V., E-mail: avshulga@mephi.ru

This article comprises the results of comprehensive study of the structure and distribution in the high temperature fracture area of rapidly quenched heat-resistant superalloy of grade EP741NP after tensile tests. The structure and boron distribution in the fracture area are studied in detail by means of direct track autoradiography in combination with metallography of macro- and microstructure. A rather extensive region of microcracks generation and intensive boron redistribution is detected in the high temperature fracture area of rapidly quenched nickel superalloy of grade EP741NP. A significant decrease in boron content in the fracture area and formation of elliptically arranged boridemore » precipitates are revealed. The mechanism of intense boron migration and stability violation of the structural and phase state in the fracture area of rapidly quenched heat-resistant nickel superalloy of grade EP741NP is proposed on the basis of accounting for deformation occurring in the fracture area and analysis of the stressed state near a crack.« less

Risks of Avian Influenza Transmission in Areas of Intensive Free-ranging Duck Production with wild waterfowl

PubMed Central

Cappelle, Julien; Zhao, Delong; Gilbert, Marius; Nelson, Martha I.; Newman, Scott H.; Takekawa, John Y.; Gaidet, Nicolas; Prosser, Diann J.; Liu, Ying; Li, Peng; Shu, Yuelong; Xiao, Xiangming

2014-01-01

For decades, southern China has been considered to be an important source for emerging influenza viruses since key hosts live together in high densities in areas with intensive agriculture. However, the underlying conditions of emergence and spread of avian influenza viruses (AIV) have not been studied in detail, particularly the complex spatiotemporal interplay of viral transmission between wild and domestic ducks, two major actors of AIV epidemiology. In this synthesis, we examine the risks of avian influenza spread in Poyang Lake, an area of intensive free-ranging duck production and large numbers of wild waterfowl. Our synthesis shows that farming of free-grazing domestic ducks is intensive in this area and synchronized with wild duck migration. The presence of juvenile domestic ducks in harvested paddy fields prior to the arrival and departure of migrant ducks in the same fields may amplify the risk of AIV circulation and facilitate the transmission between wild and domestic populations. We provide evidence associating wild ducks migration with the spread of H5N1 in the spring of 2008 from southern China to South Korea, Russia, and Japan, supported by documented wild duck movements and phylogenetic analyses of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 sequences. We suggest that prevention measures based on a modification of agricultural practices may be implemented in these areas to reduce the intensity of AIV transmission between wild and domestic ducks. This would require involving all local stakeholders to discuss feasible and acceptable solutions. PMID:24652313

Rock Burst Monitoring by Integrated Microseismic and Electromagnetic Radiation Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xuelong; Wang, Enyuan; Li, Zhonghui; Liu, Zhentang; Song, Dazhao; Qiu, Liming

2016-11-01

For this study, microseismic (MS) and electromagnetic radiation (EMR) monitoring systems were installed in a coal mine to monitor rock bursts. The MS system monitors coal or rock mass ruptures in the whole mine, whereas the EMR equipment monitors the coal or rock stress in a small area. By analysing the MS energy, number of MS events, and EMR intensity with respect to rock bursts, it has been shown that the energy and number of MS events present a "quiet period" 1-3 days before the rock burst. The data also show that the EMR intensity reaches a peak before the rock burst and this EMR intensity peak generally corresponds to the MS "quiet period". There is a positive correlation between stress and EMR intensity. Buckling failure of coal or rock depends on the rheological properties and occurs after the peak stress in the high-stress concentration areas in deep mines. The MS "quiet period" before the rock burst is caused by the heterogeneity of the coal and rock structures, the transfer of high stress into internal areas, locked patches, and self-organized criticality near the stress peak. This study increases our understanding of coal and rock instability in deep mines. Combining MS and EMR to monitor rock burst could improve prediction accuracy.

Comparison of rainfall and stemflow peak intensities and infiltration patterns for a mature coastal forest in British Columbia, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Meerveld, Ilja; Spencer, Sheena

2017-04-01

Most studies on stemflow have focused on the amount of stemflow in different forests or for different rainfall events. So far, few studies have looked at how stemflow intensity varies during rainfall events and how peak stemflow intensities compare to peak rainfall intensities. High stemflow intensities at the base of the tree, where roots and other preferential flow pathways are prevalent, may lead to faster and deeper infiltration of stemflow than rainfall and thus affect soil moisture dynamics and potentially also subsurface stormflow generation. We measured stemflow intensities for three Western hemlock, two Western red cedar, two Douglas-fir and one Birch tree in a mature coniferous forest in coastal British Columbia to determine how stemflow intensities were related to rainfall intensity. We sprayed a blue dye tracer on two Western hemlock trees (29 and 52 cm diameter at breast height (DBH)) to determine how stemflow water flows through the soil and to what depth it infiltrates. We also applied the blue dye tracer to an area between the trees to compare infiltration of stemflow with rainfall. Stemflow increased linearly with event total precipitation for all trees. The larger trees almost exclusively had funneling ratios (i.e. the volume of stemflow per unit basal area divided by the rainfall) smaller than one, regardless of species and event size. The funneling ratios for the small trees were generally larger for larger events (up to a funneling ratio of 20) but there was considerable scatter in this relation. Trees with a DBH <35 cm, which represent 24% of the total basal area of the study site, contributed 72% of the estimated total stemflow amount. Stemflow intensities (volume of stemflow per unit basal area per hour) often increased in a stepwise manner. When there were two precipitation bursts, stemflow intensity was usually highest during the second precipitation burst. However, when there were several hours of very low rainfall intensity between consecutive precipitation bursts, stemflow intensity was lower during the first burst after the break in rainfall. Peak stemflow intensities were higher than the maximum precipitation intensity. The blue dye that was applied to the tree stems was found more frequently at depth than near the soil surface. Stemflow flowed primarily through the 10 cm organic rich upper layer of the soil around the tree before flowing between or along live and dead roots, inside dead roots, around rocks and boulders deeper into the soil. Lateral flow was observed above a dense clay layer but where roots were able to penetrate the clay layer, the infiltrating water flowed deeper into the soil and (almost) reached the soil-bedrock interface. Stemflow appeared to infiltrate deeper (122 cm) than rainfall (85 cm) but this difference was in part due to variations in maximum soil depth. These results suggest that even though stemflow is only a minor component of the water balance, the double funnelling of stemflow may significantly affect soil moisture, recharge and runoff generation.

Impact of musculoskeletal pain on balance and concerns of falling in mobility-limited, community-dwelling Danes over 75 years of age: a cross-sectional study.

PubMed

Kendall, Julie C; Hvid, Lars G; Hartvigsen, Jan; Fazalbhoy, Azharuddin; Azari, Michael F; Skjødt, Mathias; Robinson, Stephen R; Caserotti, Paolo

2017-12-11

In older adults, musculoskeletal pain is associated with increased concerns of falling, reduced balance and increased occurrence of falls. In younger adults, the intensity of neck pain and low back pain is associated with increased postural sway. It is not known if pain further impairs balance and concerns of falling in mobility-limited older adults, and if so, whether this is associated with different intensities of pain. This study examined whether mobility-limited older adults with mild or intense neck pain and/or low back pain have significantly increased postural sway as measured by centre of pressure (COP) changes and concerns of falling compared to those without pain. 48 older adults with a gait speed of < 0.9 m/s from Odense, Denmark were recruited through the public health service. Self-reported neck pain, low back pain, and concerns of falling were recorded on questionnaires. Sway range, velocity and area were recorded on a force plate in a comfortable standing stance. Pain intensity was rated on an 11 point numerical rating scale (0-10). Participants were sub-grouped into mild (0-4) and intense (> 5) neck pain or low back pain. Intense neck pain was associated with increased anterior-posterior sway range and area of sway. Intense low back pain was associated with increased concerns of falling. Intense neck pain in mobility-limited older adults is associated with significant changes in postural balance, and intense low back pain is associated with significantly higher concerns of falling.

Cytophilic antibodies to Plasmodium falciparum glutamate rich protein are associated with malaria protection in an area of holoendemic transmission.

PubMed

Lusingu, John P A; Vestergaard, Lasse S; Alifrangis, Michael; Mmbando, Bruno P; Theisen, Michael; Kitua, Andrew Y; Lemnge, Martha M; Theander, Thor G

2005-09-29

Several studies conducted in areas of medium or low malaria transmission intensity have found associations between malaria immunity and plasma antibody levels to glutamate rich protein (GLURP). This study was conducted to analyse if a similar relationship could be documented in an area of intense malaria transmission. A six month longitudinal study was conducted in an area of holoendemic malaria transmission in north-eastern Tanzania, where the incidence of febrile malaria decreased sharply by the age of three years, and anaemia constituted a significant part of the malaria disease burden. Plasma antibodies to glutamate rich protein (GLURP) were analysed and related with protection against malaria morbidity in models correcting for the effect of age. The risk of febrile malaria episodes was reduced significantly in children with measurable anti-GLURP IgG1 antibodies at enrollment [adjusted odds ratio: 0.39 (95% CI: 0.15, 0.99); P = 0.047]. Interestingly, there was an inverse relationship between the plasma anti-GLURP IgG1 and IgG3 levels and the levels of parasitaemia at enrollment. However, anti-GLURP IgG2 and IgG4 levels were not associated with reduction in parasite density. Similarly, antibody levels were not associated with haemoglobin levels or anaemia risk. Cytophilic IgG1 and IgG3 antibodies against R0-GLURP may contribute to the control of parasite multiplication and reduction in febrile malaria incidence in children living in an area of intense malaria transmission.

Hydrologic and related data for water-supply planning in an intensive-study area, northeastern Wichita County, Kansas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kume, Jack; Dunlap, L.E.; Gutentag, E.D.; Thomas, J.G.

1979-01-01

Data are presented that result from an intensive geohydrologic study for water-supply planning in a 12-square-mile area in northeastern Wichita County, Kansas. These data include records of wells, test drilling, chemical analyses, ground-water levels, rainfall, soilmoisture, well yield, solar radiation, crop yield, and crop acreage. Data indicate that water levels in the unconsolidated aquifer are declining at an average annual rate of about 1 to 2 feet per year (1950-78). This decline is the aquifer's response to pumping by irrigation wells for watering corn, wheat, grain sorghum, and other crops.

Drought evolution characteristics and precipitation intensity changes during alternating dry-wet changes in the Huang-Huai-Hai River basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, D. H.; Wu, D.; Huang, R.; Wang, L. N.; Yang, G. Y.

2013-07-01

Abrupt drought-flood change events caused by atmospheric circulation anomalies have occurred frequently and widely in recent years, which has caused great losses and casualties in China. In this paper, we focus on investigating whether there will be a rainfall occurrence with higher intensity after a drought period in the Huang-Huai-Hai River basin. Combined with the Chinese climate divisions and the basin's DEM (digital elevation model), the basin is divided into seven sub-regions by means of cluster analysis of the basin meteorological stations using the self-organizing map (SOM) neural network method. Based on the daily precipitation data of 171 stations for the years 1961-2011, the changes of drought times with different magnitudes are analyzed, and the number of consecutive days without precipitation is used to identify the drought magnitudes. The first precipitation intensity after a drought period is analyzed with the Pearson-III frequency curve, then the relationship between rainfall intensity and different drought magnitudes is observed, as are the changes of drought times for different years. The results of the study indicated that the occurrence times of different drought levels show an overall increasing trend; there is no clear interdecadal change shown, but the spatial difference is significant. (2) As the drought level increases, the probability of extraordinary rainstorm becomes lower, and the frequency of occurrence of spatial changes in different precipitation intensities vary. In the areas I and II, as the drought level increases, the occurrence frequency of different precipitation intensities first shows a decreasing trend, which becomes an increasing trend when extraordinary drought occurs. In the area III, IV and V, the probability of the different precipitation intensities shows an overall decreasing trend. The areas VI and VII are located at the mountains with high altitudes where the variation of different precipitation intensities with the increase in drought level is relatively complex. (3) As the drought times increase, areas I, II and V, which are located on the coastal and in the valley or basin, are vulnerable to extreme precipitation processes; areas III, IV, VI and VII are located in the inland area, where heavier precipitation is not likely to occur. (4) The local rainfall affected by multiple factors is closely related with drought occurrence. The characteristics between the first rainfall intensity after a drought period and different drought magnitudes (or drought occurrence times) are preliminarily examined in this paper, but its formation mechanism still requires further research.

Different cortical activation patterns during voluntary eccentric and concentric muscle contractions: an fMRI study.

PubMed

Kwon, Yong-Hyun; Park, Ji-Won

2011-01-01

Concentric and eccentric muscle contractions have distinct differences in their neuromuscular and neurophysiologic characteristics. However, although many evidences regarding the features of these types of muscle contraction have emerged, there have been few neuroimaging studies to compare the two types of contractions. Therefore, we investigated whether cortical activity associated with eccentric contraction of the wrist extensors differed from that of concentric contraction, using functional MRI (fMRI). Fifteen right-handed healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. During 4 repeating blocks of eccentric and concentric muscle contraction paradigms, the brain was scanned with fMRI. The differences in the BOLD signal intensities during the performance of eccentric and concentric exercise were compared in the predetermined regions of interest. Our findings revealed that many cortical areas associated with motor performance were activated, including the primary motor area, the inferior parietal lobe, the pre-supplementary area (pre-SMA), the anterior cingulate cortex, the prefrontal area, and the cerebellum. In addition, lower signal intensities were seen in the right primary motor cortex and right cerebellum during eccentric contractions compared with concentric contractions, whereas higher signal intensities were detected in other cortical areas during eccentric contractions. In the study, we demonstrated that eccentric and concentric muscle contractions induced quite different patterns of cortical activity respectively. These findings might be attributed to different strategy of neuro-motor processing and a higher level of cognitive demand for the performance of motor task with a higher degree of difficulty such as that required during eccentric contractions in comparison of concentric contractions.

Probability mapping of scarred myocardium using texture and intensity features in CMR images

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The myocardium exhibits heterogeneous nature due to scarring after Myocardial Infarction (MI). In Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) imaging, Late Gadolinium (LG) contrast agent enhances the intensity of scarred area in the myocardium. Methods In this paper, we propose a probability mapping technique using Texture and Intensity features to describe heterogeneous nature of the scarred myocardium in Cardiac Magnetic Resonance (CMR) images after Myocardial Infarction (MI). Scarred tissue and non-scarred tissue are represented with high and low probabilities, respectively. Intermediate values possibly indicate areas where the scarred and healthy tissues are interwoven. The probability map of scarred myocardium is calculated by using a probability function based on Bayes rule. Any set of features can be used in the probability function. Results In the present study, we demonstrate the use of two different types of features. One is based on the mean intensity of pixel and the other on underlying texture information of the scarred and non-scarred myocardium. Examples of probability maps computed using the mean intensity of pixel and the underlying texture information are presented. We hypothesize that the probability mapping of myocardium offers alternate visualization, possibly showing the details with physiological significance difficult to detect visually in the original CMR image. Conclusion The probability mapping obtained from the two features provides a way to define different cardiac segments which offer a way to identify areas in the myocardium of diagnostic importance (like core and border areas in scarred myocardium). PMID:24053280

Experimental high-velocity missile head injury.

PubMed

Allen, I V; Scott, R; Tanner, J A

1982-09-01

A standardized experimental high-velocity penetrating head-injury model has been produced in which pathological lesions were observed, not only in the wound track but at sites more remote from the track in the hypothalamus, brain stem and cerebellum. Diffuse subarachnoid haemorrhage was common and intraventricular haemorrhage was a constant feature. Other constant histological abnormalities were:L 1. Perivascular "ring' haemorrhages. 2. Perivascular haemorrhage with a surrounding zone of decreased staining intensity. 3. Perivascular increased staining intensity. 4. Areas of decreased staining intensity apparently dissociated from areas of haemorrhage. The pathogenesis of the perivascular lesions is discussed and preliminary studies suggest that these may be the site of early oedema. The implications of this experiment for military surgery and for ballistic protection of the head are discussed.

Intensity of precommercial crop-tree release increases diameter and crown growth in upland hardwoods

Treesearch

Jeffrey S. Ward

1995-01-01

In 1988 seven study areas were established in Connecticut to examine the effects of precommercial crop tree release on bole and crown growth. Each study area has 27 8x8 m plots centered on a northern red oak, black oak, or scarlet oak identified as a potential crop-tree (PCT). The 27 plots at each study area were divided into 3 treatments: no cutting, removal of all...

Detecting Molecular Features of Spectra Mainly Associated with Structural and Non-Structural Carbohydrates in Co-Products from BioEthanol Production Using DRIFT with Uni- and Multivariate Molecular Spectral Analyses

PubMed Central

Yu, Peiqiang; Damiran, Daalkhaijav; Azarfar, Arash; Niu, Zhiyuan

2011-01-01

The objective of this study was to use DRIFT spectroscopy with uni- and multivariate molecular spectral analyses as a novel approach to detect molecular features of spectra mainly associated with carbohydrate in the co-products (wheat DDGS, corn DDGS, blend DDGS) from bioethanol processing in comparison with original feedstock (wheat (Triticum), corn (Zea mays)). The carbohydrates related molecular spectral bands included: A_Cell (structural carbohydrates, peaks area region and baseline: ca. 1485–1188 cm−1), A_1240 (structural carbohydrates, peak area centered at ca. 1240 cm−1 with region and baseline: ca. 1292–1198 cm−1), A_CHO (total carbohydrates, peaks region and baseline: ca. 1187–950 cm−1), A_928 (non-structural carbohydrates, peak area centered at ca. 928 cm−1 with region and baseline: ca. 952–910 cm−1), A_860 (non-structural carbohydrates, peak area centered at ca. 860 cm−1 with region and baseline: ca. 880–827 cm−1), H_1415 (structural carbohydrate, peak height centered at ca. 1415 cm−1 with baseline: ca. 1485–1188 cm−1), H_1370 (structural carbohydrate, peak height at ca. 1370 cm−1 with a baseline: ca. 1485–1188 cm−1). The study shows that the grains had lower spectral intensity (KM Unit) of the cellulosic compounds of A_1240 (8.5 vs. 36.6, P < 0.05), higher (P < 0.05) intensities of the non-structural carbohydrate of A_928 (17.3 vs. 2.0) and A_860 (20.7 vs. 7.6) than their co-products from bioethanol processing. There were no differences (P > 0.05) in the peak area intensities of A_Cell (structural CHO) at 1292–1198 cm−1 and A_CHO (total CHO) at 1187–950 cm−1 with average molecular infrared intensity KM unit of 226.8 and 508.1, respectively. There were no differences (P > 0.05) in the peak height intensities of H_1415 and H_1370 (structural CHOs) with average intensities 1.35 and 1.15, respectively. The multivariate molecular spectral analyses were able to discriminate and classify between the corn and corn DDGS molecular spectra, but not wheat and wheat DDGS. This study indicated that the bioethanol processing changes carbohydrate molecular structural profiles, compared with the original grains. However, the sensitivities of different types of carbohydrates and different grains (corn and wheat) to the processing differ. In general, the bioethanol processing increases the molecular spectral intensities for the structural carbohydrates and decreases the intensities for the non-structural carbohydrates. Further study is needed to quantify carbohydrate related molecular spectral features of the bioethanol co-products in relation to nutrient supply and availability of carbohydrates. PMID:21673931

A Comparison of Two Electric Taste Stimulation Devices

PubMed Central

McClure, Scott T.; Lawless, Harry T.

2016-01-01

Electrical stimulation of the tongue, commonly used in clinical evaluations of taste dysfunction, can produce a variety of sensations including reports of metallic taste. Two studies compared responses to a fabricated electrical stimulator (a 1.6 V battery, anode side exposed) and a clinical electrogustometer (Rion TR-06). Batteries placed on the anterior dorsal tongue surface produced sensations similar in intensity and quality to those produced by the clinical electrogustometer, with equal intensity on the tongue tip for the 1.6 V battery in the range of 33 – 56 µA from the electrogustometer. A second study examined responses on three areas of the tongue on each side. Responses declined for areas lower in fungiform papillae for both devices, but at different rates. Higher current levels were required to match the battery in lower density areas, indicating spatial summation for the larger battery surface area. A consistent pattern of lateral differences was seen in only one subject. Quality descriptions were similar in frequency whether or not a word list was provided, with metallic, sour, pain and bitter being the most frequently mentioned words for both electric stimuli. Similarities in response to the battery device and electrogustometer were evident in intensity, qualities evoked, lack of a laterality effect and decreasing response in areas with lower fungiform papillae density. The battery device may provide an inexpensive portable alternative to an electrogustometer for use in clinical testing of taste. PMID:17573078

Multi-epitope chimeric antigen used as a serological marker to estimate Plasmodium falciparum transmission intensity in the border area of China-Myanmar.

PubMed

Yao, Mei-Xue; Sun, Xiao-Dong; Gao, Yu-Hui; Cheng, Zhi-Bin; Deng, Wei-Wei; Zhang, Jia-Jia; Wang, Heng

2016-09-07

Following the decline of malaria transmission in many countries and regions, serological parameters have become particularly useful for estimating malaria transmission in low-intensity areas. This study evaluated a novel serological marker, Malaria Random Constructed Antigen-1 (M.RCAg-1), which contains 11 epitopes from eight Plasmodium falciparum antigens, as a tool for assessing malaria transmission intensity along the border area of China-Myanmar. Serum from Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax patients was used to detect the properties of M.RCAg-1 and antibody responses. Cross-sectional surveys were conducted at the China-Myanmar border and in Hainan province in 2012 and 2013 using cluster sampling. Filter blood spot papers were collected from all participants. Antibodies against M.RCAg-1 were detected using indirect ELISA. The Mann-Whitney test and Spearman's rank correlation test were performed to analyze antibody data. P. falciparum malaria transmission intensity was estimated using a catalytic conversion model based on the maximum likelihood of generating a community seroconversion rate (SCR). M.RCAg-1 was well-recognized by the naturally acquired anti-malaria antibodies in P. falciparum patients and had very limited cross-reactivity with P. vivax infection. The total amount of IgG antibodies was decreased with the decrease in parasitemia after taking medication and lasted several weeks. In a population survey, the antibody levels were higher in residents living close to the China-Myanmar border than those living in non-epidemic areas (P < 0.0001), but no significant difference was observed between residents from Hainan and non-epidemic areas. The calculated SCR was 0.0128 for Jieyangka, 0.004 for Susuzhai, 0.0047 for Qiushan, and 0.043 for Kayahe. The estimated exposure rate obtained from the anti-M.RCAg-1 antibody level correlated with traditional measures of transmission intensity derived from altitude. Our study demonstrates that M.RCAg-1 is potentially useful as a serological indicator of exposure to P. falciparum malaria, especially for malaria surveillance in low transmission areas.

Spatial Working Memory Impairment in Patients with Non-neuropsychiatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Blood-oxygen-level Dependent Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

PubMed

Zhu, Chun-Min; Ma, Ye; Xie, Lei; Huang, Jin-Zhuang; Sun, Zong-Bo; Duan, Shou-Xing; Lin, Zhi-Rong; Yin, Jing-Jing; Le, Hong-Bo; Sun, Dan-Miao; Xu, Wen-Can; Ma, Shu-Hua

2017-02-01

Using ethology and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to explore mild cognitive dysfunction and spatial working memory (WM) impairment in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) without overt neuropsychiatric symptoms (non-NPSLE) and to study whether any clinical biomarkers could serve as predictors of brain dysfunction in this disease. Eighteen non-NPSLE patients and 18 matched subjects were all tested using the Montreal cognitive assessment scale test and scanned using blood-oxygen-level dependent fMRI while performing the n-back task to investigate the activation intensity of some cognition-related areas. Ethology results showed that non-NPSLE patients had mild cognitive dysfunction and memory dysfunction (p < 0.05). The fMRI scan confirmed a neural network consisting of bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), premotor area, parietal lobe, and supplementary motor area (SMA)/anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) that was activated during the n-back task, with right hemisphere dominance. However, only the right SMA/ACC showed a load effect in the non-NPSLE group; the activation intensity of most WM-related brain areas for the non-NPSLE group was lower than for the control group under 3 memory loads. Further, we found that the activation intensity of some cognition-related areas, including the bilateral caudate nucleus/insula and hippocampus/parahippocampal gyrus were lower than the control group under the memory loads. An inverse correlation existed between individual activation intensity and disease duration. Non-NPSLE-related brain damage with right DLPFC-posterior parietal lobe and parahippocampal gyrus default network causes impairment of spatial WM and mild cognitive dysfunction. Patients with longer disease duration would be expected to exhibit increased central nervous system damage.

The human footprint in the west: a large-scale analysis of anthropogenic impacts.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Leu, M.; Hanser, S.E.; Knick, S.T.

2008-01-01

Anthropogenic features such as urbanization, roads, and power lines, are increasing in western United States landscapes in response to rapidly growing human populations. However, their spatial effects have not been evaluated. Our goal was to model the human footprint across the western United States. We first delineated the actual area occupied by anthropogenic features, the physical effect area. Next, we developed the human footprint model based on the ecological effect area, the zone influenced by features beyond their physical presence, by combining seven input models: three models quantified top-down anthropogenic influences of synanthropic predators (avian predators, domestic dog and cat presence risk), and four models quantified bottom-up anthropogenic influences on habitat (invasion of exotic plants, human-caused fires, energy extraction, and anthropogenic wildland fragmentation). Using independent bird population data, we found bird abundance of four synanthropic species to correlate positively with human footprint intensity and negatively for three of the six species influenced by habitat fragmentation. We then evaluated the extent of the human footprint in relation to terrestrial (ecoregions) and aquatic systems (major rivers and lakes), regional management and conservation status, physical environment, and temporal changes in human actions. The physical effect area of anthropogenic features covered 13% of the western United States with agricultural land (9.8%) being most dominant. High-intensity human footprint areas (class 8–10) overlapped highly productive low-elevation private landholdings and covered 7% of the western United States compared to 48% for low-intensity areas (class 1–3), which were confined to low-productivity high-elevation federal landholdings. Areas within 1 km of rivers were more affected by the human footprint compared to lakes. Percentage human population growth was higher in low-intensity human footprint areas. The disproportional regional effects of the human footprint on landscapes in the western United States create a challenge to management of ecosystems and wildlife populations. Using footprint models, managers can plan land use actions, develop restoration scenarios, and identify areas of high conservation value at local landscapes within a regional context. Moreover, human footprint models serve as a tool to stratify landscapes for studies investigating floral and faunal response to human disturbance intensity gradients.

Defining urban and rural areas: a new approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arellano, Blanca; Roca, Josep

2017-10-01

The separation between the countryside and the city, from rural and urban areas, has been one of the central themes of the literature on urban and territorial studies. The seminal work of Kingsley Davis [10] in the 1950s introduced a wide and fruitful debate which, however, has not yet concluded in a rigorous definition that allows for comparative studies at the national and subnational levels of a scientific nature. In particular, the United Nations (UN) definition of urban and rural population is overly linked to political and administrative factors that make it difficult to use data adequately to understand the human settlement structure of different countries. The present paper seeks to define a more rigorous methodology for the identification of rural and urban areas. For this purpose it uses the night lights supplied by the SNPP satellite, and more specifically by the VIIRS sensor for the determination of the urbanization gradient, and by means of the same construct a more realistic indicator than the statistics provided by the UN. The arrival of electrification to nearly every corner of the planet is certainly the first and most meaningful indicator of artificialization of land. In this sense, this paper proposes a new methodology designed to identify highly impacted (urbanized) landscapes worldwide based on the analysis of satellite imagery of night-time lights. The application of this methodology on a global scale identifies the land highly impacted by light, the urbanization process, and allows an index to be drawn up of Land Impacted by Light per capita (LILpc) as an indicator of the level of urbanization. The methodology used in this paper can be summarized in the following steps: a) a logistic regression between US Urban Areas (UA), as a dependent variable, and night-time light intensity, as an explanatory variable, allows us to establish a nightlight intensity level for the determination of Areas Highly Impacted by Light (AHIL); b) the delimitation of the centers and peripheries is made by setting a threshold of night-time light intensity that allows the inclusion of most of the centers and sub-centers; c) once identified urbanized areas, or AHIL, it is necessary to delimit the rural areas, or Areas Little Impacted by Light (ALIL), which are characterized by low intensity night light; d) finally, rurban landscapes are those with nightlight intensities between ALIL and AHIL. The developed methodology allows comparing the degree of urbanization of the different countries and regions, surpassing the dual approach that has traditionally been used. This paper enables us to identify the different typologies of urbanized areas (villages, cities and metropolitan areas), as well as "rural", "rurban", "periurban" and "central" landscapes. The study identifies 186,134 illuminated contours (urbanized areas). 404 of these contours have more than 1,000,000 inhabitants and can be considered real "metropolitan areas"; on the other hand there are 161,821 contours with less than 5,000 inhabitants, which we identified as "villages". Finally, the paper shows that 40.26% live in rural areas, 15.53% in rurban spaces, 26.04% in suburban areas and only 18.16% in central areas.

Paper area density measurement from forward transmitted scattered light

DOEpatents

Koo, Jackson C.

2001-01-01

A method whereby the average paper fiber area density (weight per unit area) can be directly calculated from the intensity of transmitted, scattered light at two different wavelengths, one being a non-absorpted wavelength. Also, the method makes it possible to derive the water percentage per fiber area density from a two-wavelength measurement. In the optical measuring technique optical transmitted intensity, for example, at 2.1 microns cellulose absorption line is measured and compared with another scattered, optical transmitted intensity reference in the nearby spectrum region, such as 1.68 microns, where there is no absorption. From the ratio of these two intensities, one can calculate the scattering absorption coefficient at 2.1 microns. This absorption coefficient at this wavelength is, then, experimentally correlated to the paper fiber area density. The water percentage per fiber area density can be derived from this two-wavelength measurement approach.

Do Inequalities in Neighborhood Walkability Drive Disparities in Older Adults' Outdoor Walking?

PubMed

Zandieh, Razieh; Flacke, Johannes; Martinez, Javier; Jones, Phil; van Maarseveen, Martin

2017-07-07

Older residents of high-deprivation areas walk less than those of low-deprivation areas. Previous research has shown that neighborhood built environment may support and encourage outdoor walking. The extent to which the built environment supports and encourages walking is called "walkability". This study examines inequalities in neighborhood walkability in high- versus low-deprivation areas and their possible influences on disparities in older adults' outdoor walking levels. For this purpose, it focuses on specific neighborhood built environment attributes (residential density, land-use mix and intensity, street connectivity, and retail density) relevant to neighborhood walkability. It applied a mixed-method approach, included 173 participants (≥65 years), and used a Geographic Information System (GIS) and walking interviews (with a sub-sample) to objectively and subjectively measure neighborhood built environment attributes. Outdoor walking levels were measured by using the Geographic Positioning System (GPS) technology. Data on personal characteristics was collected by completing a questionnaire. The results show that inequalities in certain land-use intensity (i.e., green spaces, recreation centers, schools and industries) in high- versus low-deprivation areas may influence disparities in older adults' outdoor walking levels. Modifying neighborhood land use intensity may help to encourage outdoor walking in high-deprivation areas.

Asian cultural values gap, cognitive flexibility, coping strategies, and parent-child conflicts among Korean Americans.

PubMed

Ahn, Annie J; Kim, Bryan S K; Park, Yong S

2008-10-01

The study examined Korean American college students' perceived Asian cultural values gap between themselves and their parents, cognitive flexibility, and coping strategies. The relationships between these factors were studied with the intensities and types of parent-child conflicts. The results indicated that the participants adhered less strongly to Asian values than their parents. When faced with conflicts, the participants reported using problem solving coping strategy to the greatest extent, followed by social support coping strategy, and then avoidance coping strategy. Simultaneous regression analyses revealed a positive relationship between the participant-perceived parent-child values gap and the intensity of conflicts, particularly in the area of dating and marriage. There were inverse relationships between cognitive flexibility and the intensity of conflicts, specifically in the area of dating and marriage. A positive relationship was observed between the use of social support coping strategy and intensity of conflicts. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed a significant interaction effect in which participant-perceived parent-child values gap and cognitive flexibility were related to increased frequency of dating and marriage conflicts.

Modeling Channel Movement Response to Rainfall Variability and Potential Threats to Post-earthquake Reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, J.; Wang, M.; Liu, K.

2017-12-01

The 2008 Wenchuan Ms 8.0 earthquake caused overwhelming destruction to vast mountains areas in Sichuan province. Numerous seismic landslides damaged the forest and vegetation cover, and caused substantial loose sediment piling up in the valleys. The movement and fill-up of loose materials led to riverbeds aggradation, thus made the earthquake-struck area more susceptible to flash floods with increasing frequency and intensity of extreme rainfalls. This study investigated the response of sediment and river channel evolution to different rainfall scenarios after the Wenchuan earthquake. The study area was chosen in a catchment affected by the earthquake in Northeast Sichuan province, China. We employed the landscape evolution model CAESAR-lisflood to explore the material migration rules and then assessed the potential effects under two rainfall scenarios. The model parameters were calibrated using the 2013 extreme rainfall event, and the experimental rainfall scenarios were of different intensity and frequency over a 10-year period. The results indicated that CAESAR-lisflood was well adapted to replicate the sediment migration, particularly the fluvial processes after earthquake. With respect to the effects of rainfall intensity, the erosion severity in upstream gullies and the deposition severity in downstream channels, correspondingly increased with the increasing intensity of extreme rainfalls. The modelling results showed that buildings in the catchment suffered from flash floods increased by more than a quarter from the normal to the enhanced rainfall scenarios in ten years, which indicated a potential threat to the exposures nearby the river channel, in the context of climate change. Simulation on landscape change is of great significance, and contributes to early warning of potential geological risks after earthquake. Attention on the high risk area by local government and the public is highly suggested in our study.

Assessment of the intensity and spatial variability of urban heat islands over the Indian cities for Regional Climate Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sultana, S.; Satyanarayana, A. N. V.

2016-12-01

The Urban heat island (UHI) in general developed over cities, due to the drastic changes in land use and land cover (LULC), has profound impact on the atmospheric circulation patterns due to the changes in the energy transport mechanism which in turn affect the regional climate. In this study, an attempt has been made to quantify the intensity of UHI, and to identify the pockets of UHI over cities during last decade over fast developing cosmopolitan Indian cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. For this purpose, Landsat TM and ETM+ images during winter period, in about 5 year intervals from 2002 to 2013, has been selected to retrieve the brightness temperatures and land use/cover, from which Land Surface Temperature (LST) has been estimated using Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Normalized Difference Build-up Index (NDBI) and Normalized Difference Bareness Index (NDBaI) are estimated to extract build-up areas and bare land from the satellite images to identify the UHI pockets over the study area. For this purpose image processing and GIS tools were employed. Results reveal a significant increase in the intensity of UHI and increase in its area of influence over all the three cities. An increase of 2 to 2.5 oC of UHI intensity over the study regions has been noticed. The range of increase in UHI intensity is found to be more over New Delhi compared to Mumbai and Kolkata which is more or less same. The number of hotspot pockets of UHI has also been increased as seen from the spatial distribution of LST, NDVI and NDBI. This result signifies the impact of rapid urbanization and infrastructural developments has a direct consequence in modulating the regional climate over the Indian cities.

Effects of Increasing Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Current Intensity on Cortical Sensorimotor Network Activation: A Time Domain fNIRS Study

PubMed Central

Zucchelli, Lucia; Perrey, Stephane; Contini, Davide; Caffini, Matteo; Spinelli, Lorenzo; Kerr, Graham; Quaresima, Valentina; Ferrari, Marco; Torricelli, Alessandro

2015-01-01

Neuroimaging studies have shown neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES)-evoked movements activate regions of the cortical sensorimotor network, including the primary sensorimotor cortex (SMC), premotor cortex (PMC), supplementary motor area (SMA), and secondary somatosensory area (S2), as well as regions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) known to be involved in pain processing. The aim of this study, on nine healthy subjects, was to compare the cortical network activation profile and pain ratings during NMES of the right forearm wrist extensor muscles at increasing current intensities up to and slightly over the individual maximal tolerated intensity (MTI), and with reference to voluntary (VOL) wrist extension movements. By exploiting the capability of the multi-channel time domain functional near-infrared spectroscopy technique to relate depth information to the photon time-of-flight, the cortical and superficial oxygenated (O2Hb) and deoxygenated (HHb) hemoglobin concentrations were estimated. The O2Hb and HHb maps obtained using the General Linear Model (NIRS-SPM) analysis method, showed that the VOL and NMES-evoked movements significantly increased activation (i.e., increase in O2Hb and corresponding decrease in HHb) in the cortical layer of the contralateral sensorimotor network (SMC, PMC/SMA, and S2). However, the level and area of contralateral sensorimotor network (including PFC) activation was significantly greater for NMES than VOL. Furthermore, there was greater bilateral sensorimotor network activation with the high NMES current intensities which corresponded with increased pain ratings. In conclusion, our findings suggest that greater bilateral sensorimotor network activation profile with high NMES current intensities could be in part attributable to increased attentional/pain processing and to increased bilateral sensorimotor integration in these cortical regions. PMID:26158464

Effects of Increasing Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Current Intensity on Cortical Sensorimotor Network Activation: A Time Domain fNIRS Study.

PubMed

Muthalib, Makii; Re, Rebecca; Zucchelli, Lucia; Perrey, Stephane; Contini, Davide; Caffini, Matteo; Spinelli, Lorenzo; Kerr, Graham; Quaresima, Valentina; Ferrari, Marco; Torricelli, Alessandro

2015-01-01

Neuroimaging studies have shown neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES)-evoked movements activate regions of the cortical sensorimotor network, including the primary sensorimotor cortex (SMC), premotor cortex (PMC), supplementary motor area (SMA), and secondary somatosensory area (S2), as well as regions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) known to be involved in pain processing. The aim of this study, on nine healthy subjects, was to compare the cortical network activation profile and pain ratings during NMES of the right forearm wrist extensor muscles at increasing current intensities up to and slightly over the individual maximal tolerated intensity (MTI), and with reference to voluntary (VOL) wrist extension movements. By exploiting the capability of the multi-channel time domain functional near-infrared spectroscopy technique to relate depth information to the photon time-of-flight, the cortical and superficial oxygenated (O2Hb) and deoxygenated (HHb) hemoglobin concentrations were estimated. The O2Hb and HHb maps obtained using the General Linear Model (NIRS-SPM) analysis method, showed that the VOL and NMES-evoked movements significantly increased activation (i.e., increase in O2Hb and corresponding decrease in HHb) in the cortical layer of the contralateral sensorimotor network (SMC, PMC/SMA, and S2). However, the level and area of contralateral sensorimotor network (including PFC) activation was significantly greater for NMES than VOL. Furthermore, there was greater bilateral sensorimotor network activation with the high NMES current intensities which corresponded with increased pain ratings. In conclusion, our findings suggest that greater bilateral sensorimotor network activation profile with high NMES current intensities could be in part attributable to increased attentional/pain processing and to increased bilateral sensorimotor integration in these cortical regions.

The dynamics of fire regimes in tropical peatlands in Central Kalimantan, Borneo

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoscilo, Agata; Page, Susan; Tansey, Kevin

2010-05-01

As a carbon-rich ecosystem, tropical peatland contributes significantly to terrestrial carbon storage and stability of the global carbon cycle. Vast areas of tropical peatland in SE Asia are degraded by the increasingly intensive scale of human activities, illustrated by high rates of deforestation, poor land-use management, selective illegal logging, and frequently repeated fires. Analysis of time-series satellite images performed in this study confirmed that fire regimes have dramatically changed in tropical peatlands over the last three decades (1973-2005). The study was conducted in the southern part of Central Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo). We found that there was an evident increase in fire frequency and a decline in the fire return interval after implementation of the Mega Rice Project (1997-2005). Up until 1997, fires had affected a relatively small area, in total 23% of the study area, and were largely related to land clearance. This situation changed significantly during the last decade (1997-2005), when the widespread, intensive fires of 1997 affected a much larger area. Five years later, in 2002, extensive fires returned, affecting again 22% of the study area. Then, in 2004 and 2005, a further large area of peatland was on fire. Fire frequency analysis showed that during the period 1997-2005, around 45% of the study area was subject to multiple fires, with 37% burnt twice and 8% burnt three or more times. Near-annual occurrence of fire events reduces the rate and nature of vegetation regrowth. Hence, we observed a shift in the fire fuel type and amount over the period of investigation. After 1997, the fire fuel shifted from mainly peat swamp forest biomass towards non-woody biomass, dominated by regenerating vegetation, mainly ferns and a few trees. This secondary vegetation has been shown to be fire prone, although fire propagation is slower than in forest and restricted by both low fuel quality and load. Furthermore, we investigated the interaction between human impacts and presence and extent of fires. We found that the majority of fire events were directly or indirectly associated with human activities (i.e. selective logging, land clearance, intensive drainage and transmigration re-settlement). The intensive drainage infrastructure associated with the Mega Rice Project initiative greatly impaired the peatland hydrological system, increasing the risk of fire. In addition, the network of canals allowed easy access for people whose activities provided ignition sources. Hence, multiple fires were located within close proximity to canals and declined with distance away from canals. These results emphasise the vulnerability of degraded tropical peatlands to fire and confirm that widespread and intensive fires have become an integral part of tropical peatland ecosystem and are now associated with most dry seasons.

Infaunal community responses to a gradient of trawling disturbance and a long-term Fishery Exclusion Zone in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mangano, M. Cristina; Kaiser, Michel J.; Porporato, Erika M. D.; Lambert, Gwladys I.; Rinelli, Paola; Spanò, Nunziacarla

2014-03-01

Historically the majority of Mediterranean trawl fisheries occur on the continental shelf with a smaller proportion focused on the shelf slope and deep sea areas. Understanding how trawl fisheries affect the wider ecosystem is an important component of the ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management. In this context the current study examined the impact of the otter trawl fishery on the infaunal communities found on the continental shelf and upper slope off the coast of Sicily and Calabria, Italy. A total of thirty six sites were sampled across a gradient of fishing intensity and from within a large bay from which trawling has been excluded for 22 years. Fishing intensities were ascertained post-hoc from vessel monitoring system data. Seabed characteristics of the sites studied were uniform across the continental shelf and slope areas that were studied, such that the only factor that varied was fishing intensity. The density index (DI) and total number of species (S) were significantly higher in the fishery closure area compared with other continental shelf sites. In particular, bioturbating decapod fauna occurred only within the fishery closure area. Fished sites were dominated primarily by burrowing deposit feeding worms, small bivalves and scavenging biota. In contrast, the response to fishing on the upper slope was less clear. This observation was treated with caution as the power to detect fishing effects was lower for the upper slope sites as a result of possible illegal fishing that had compromised two of the four replicate sites within the closed area. While the present study was able to quantify the effect of the demersal trawl fleet on the benthic infauna of the continental shelf, the effects of trawling on the upper shelf slope remain unclear and warrant further study.

Post-fire reconstructions of fire intensity from fire severity data: quantifying the role of spatial variability of fire intensity on forest dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baker, Patrick; Oborne, Lisa

2015-04-01

Large, high-intensity fires have direct and long-lasting effects on forest ecosystems and present a serious threat to human life and property. However, even within the most catastrophic fires there is important variability in local-scale intensity that has important ramifications for forest mortality and regeneration. Quantifying this variability is difficult due to the rarity of catastrophic fire events, the extreme conditions at the time of the fires, and their large spatial extent. Instead fire severity is typically measured or estimated from observed patterns of vegetation mortality; however, differences in species- and size-specific responses to fires often makes fire severity a poor proxy for fire intensity. We developed a statistical method using simple, plot-based measurements of individual tree mortality to simultaneously estimate plot-level fire intensity and species-specific mortality patterns as a function of tree size. We applied our approach to an area of forest burned in the catastrophic Black Saturday fires that occurred near Melbourne, Australia, in February 2009. Despite being the most devastating fire in the past 70 years and our plots being located in the area that experienced some of the most intense fires in the 350,000 ha fire complex, we found that the estimated fire intensity was highly variable at multiple spatial scales. All eight tree species in our study differed in their susceptibility to fire-induced mortality, particularly among the largest size classes. We also found that seedling height and species richness of the post-fire seedling communities were both positively correlated with fire intensity. Spatial variability in disturbance intensity has important, but poorly understood, consequences for the short- and long-term dynamics of forests in the wake of catastrophic wildfires. Our study provides a tool to estimate fire intensity after a fire has passed, allowing new opportunities for linking spatial variability in fire intensity to forest ecosystem dynamics.

Infiltration and Runoff Measurements on Steep Burned Hillslopes Using a Rainfall Simulator with Variable Rain Intensities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kinner, David A.; Moody, John A.

2008-01-01

Multiple rainfall intensities were used in rainfall-simulation experiments designed to investigate the infiltration and runoff from 1-square-meter plots on burned hillslopes covered by an ash layer of varying thickness. The 1-square-meter plots were on north- and south-facing hillslopes in an area burned by the Overland fire northwest of Boulder near Jamestown on the Front Range of Colorado. A single-nozzle, wide-angle, multi-intensity rain simulator was developed to investigate the infiltration and runoff on steep (30- to 40-percent gradient) burned hillslopes covered with ash. The simulated rainfall was evaluated for spatial variability, drop size, and kinetic energy. Fourteen rainfall simulations, at three intensities (about 20 millimeters per hour [mm/h], 35 mm/h, and 50 mm/h), were conducted on four plots. Measurements during and after the simulations included runoff, rainfall, suspended-sediment concentrations, surface ash layer thickness, soil moisture, soil grain size, soil lost on ignition, and plot topography. Runoff discharge reached a steady state within 7 to 26 minutes. Steady infiltration rates with the 50-mm/h application rainfall intensity approached 20?35 mm/h. If these rates are projected to rainfall application intensities used in many studies of burned area runoff production (about 80 mm/h), the steady discharge rates are on the lower end of measurements from other studies. Experiments using multiple rainfall intensities (three) suggest that runoff begins at rainfall intensities around 20 mm/h at the 1-square-meter scale, an observation consistent with a 10-mm/h rainfall intensity threshold needed for runoff initiation that has been reported in the literature.

Psychophysical and Vasomotor Responses of the Oral Tissues: A Nicotine Dose-Response and Menthol Interaction Study.

PubMed

Arendt Nielsen, Thomas; Nielsen, Bruno Provstgaard; Wang, Kelun; Arendt-Nielsen, Lars; Boudreau, Shellie A

2016-05-01

This study implemented an intra-oral test-platform to assess the sensory, psychophysical, and vasomotor responses to nicotine and menthol, alone or in combination. Two double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized, cross-over studies, including healthy nonsmoking participants were performed. Study I: A dose-response relationship (N = 20) between 0, 2, and 4 mg nicotine gum. Study II: An interaction response (N = 22) to 30 mg menthol and 4 mg nicotine alone or in combination. Heart rate, blood pressure, tactile and thermosensory thresholds, intra-oral blood flow and temperature, pain/irritation intensities/locations, McGill Pain Questionnaire, and taste experience were assessed before, during or after the completion of a standardized chewing regime. A dose-response elevation in heart rate was attenuated when nicotine was combined with menthol. Blood flow, temperature, and warm-detection thresholds, as assessed on the tongue, similarly increased for all gums. Pain intensity and taste experiences were similar between nicotine doses. Nicotine attenuated the sweet, cooling, and freshening sensation of menthol. Within the first 4 minutes, menthol reduced the intensity but not the area of nicotine-induced pain and irritation. The 4-mg nicotine dose led to a continued increase in the intensity and area of irritation in the throat post-chewing. Moreover, one-half of participants responded to menthol as an irritant, and these individuals demonstrated larger areas of nicotine-induced irritation in the throat post-chewing. The intra-oral test platform provides a basis to optimize the assessment of nicotine-related taste and sensory experiences and can be used in future studies for profiling nicotine gum. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Modulated grayscale UV pattern for uniform photopolymerization based on a digital micromirror device system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoon, Jinsik; Kim, Kibeom; Park, Wook

2017-07-01

We present an essential method for generating microparticles uniformly in a single ultraviolet (UV) light exposure area for optofluidic maskless lithography. In the optofluidic maskless lithography process, the productivity of monodisperse microparticles depends on the size of the UV exposure area. An effective fabrication area is determined by the size of the UV intensity profile map, satisfying the required uniformity of UV intensity. To increase the productivity of monodisperse microparticles in optofluidic maskless lithography, we expanded the effective UV exposure area by modulating the intensity of the desired UV light pattern based on the premeasured UV intensity profile map. We verified the improvement of the uniformity of the microparticles generated by the proposed modulation technique, providing histogram analyses of the conjugated fluorescent intensities and the sizes of the microparticles. Additionally, we demonstrated the generation of DNA uniformly encapsulated in microparticles.

Surface Meteorology, Barrow, Alaska, Area A, B, C and D, Ongoing from 2012

DOE Data Explorer

Bob Busey; Larry Hinzman; William Cable; Vladimir Romanovsky

2014-12-04

Meteorological data are being collected at several points within four intensive study areas in Barrow. These data assist in the calculation of the energy balance at the land surface and are also useful as inputs into modeling activities.

Importance of fuel treatment for limiting moderate-to-high intensity fire: Findings from comparative fire modeling

Treesearch

Geoffrey J. Cary; Ian D. Davies; Ross A. Bradstock; Robert E. Keane; Mike D. Flannigan

2017-01-01

Context: Wildland fire intensity influences natural communities, soil properties, erosion, and sequestered carbon. Measuring effectiveness of fuel treatment for reducing area of higher intensity unplanned fire is argued to be more meaningful than determining effect on total unplanned area burned. Objectives...

76 FR 44613 - Designation of Eight Counties as High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-26

... OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY Designation of Eight Counties as High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas AGENCY: Office of National Drug Control Policy. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy has designated eight additional counties as High Intensity Drug...

Quality index of the surface water of Amazonian rivers in industrial areas in Pará, Brazil.

PubMed

Medeiros, Adaelson Campelo; Faial, Kleber Raimundo Freitas; do Carmo Freitas Faial, Kelson; da Silva Lopes, Iris Danielly; de Oliveira Lima, Marcelo; Guimarães, Raphael Mendonça; Mendonça, Neyson Martins

2017-10-15

In this study was to evaluate the waters quality of the Murucupi River, located in urban agglomerate area and intense industrial activity in Barcarena City, Pará State. The Arapiranga River in Abaetetuba City was used as control area (Background), next to Barcarena. Was used the Water Quality Index (WQI) based on nine variables analized. Waters quality of the Arapiranga and Murucupi rivers were regular to good and bad to good, respectively. Anthropogenic influence on the Murucupi River was higher, mainly by the disposal of domestic effluents from the urban agglomerate and of the industrial waste tailing basins upstream of this river. Due to its less inhabited environment and further away from the area urban and industrial, the Arapiranga River was more preserved. Waters pollution of around these area is increasingly intense, and restricted its uses for various purposes. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

[Effect of terracing project on temporal-spatial variation of non-point source pollution load in Hujiashan watershed, China].

PubMed

Han, Qiang; Yu, Xing Xiu; Wang, Wei; Xu, Miao Miao; Ren, Rui; Zhang, Jia Peng

2017-04-18

Taking Hujiashan small watershed as the study area, based on the classified result of Landsat TM/ETM images of 2005, 2010 and 2015, combined with long-term field observation data, and used the export coefficient model, our study explored the effect of small watershed management project on temporal and spatial variation of total nitrogen (TN) load of non-point source pollution under the support of GIS technology. The results indicated that, due to the implementation of slope modification project, the area of cultivated land was significantly increased, while forest and bareland were decreased. The load of non-point source TN increased from 63208 kg in 2005 to 72778 kg in 2010, but reduced to 46876 kg in 2015. The contribution rate from residential areas was higher, the average contribution rate of the three periods was 53.5%, but it showed a decreasing trend year by year. The contribution rate of land use types was 45%, which showed an increasing trend year by year. The contribution rate of livestock was always low. From the spatial distribution, TN loading intensity was changed obviously after the terracing project. High load intensity zone was mainly concentrated on the slope of 5°-15° before terracing project. Nevertheless, high load intensity zone was concentrated on the slope of 15°-35° after terracing project, and 5°-8° had become a low load strength area. The TN load intensity changed little with time on the slope of 0°-8°, and it increased first and then decreased on the slope above 8°. With the treatment of sewage, garbage and livestock manure in rural areas, the output of nitrogen in the living and livestock breeding were significantly reduced. Due to the implementation of the project, the cultivated land area increased by 31%.

Effectiveness of intermittent preventive treatment with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine during pregnancy on placental malaria, maternal anaemia and birthweight in areas with high and low malaria transmission intensity in Tanzania.

PubMed

Mosha, Dominic; Chilongola, Jaffu; Ndeserua, Rabi; Mwingira, Felista; Genton, Blaise

2014-09-01

To assess the effectiveness of IPTp in two areas with different malaria transmission intensities. Prospective observational study recruiting pregnant women in two health facilities in areas with high and low malaria transmission intensities. A structured questionnaire was used for interview. Maternal clinic cards and medical logs were assessed to determine drug intake. Placental parasitaemia was screened using both light microscopy and real-time quantitative PCR. Of 350 pregnant women were recruited and screened for placental parasitaemia, 175 from each area. Prevalence of placental parasitaemia was 16.6% (CI 11.4-22.9) in the high transmission area and 2.3% (CI 0.6-5.7) in the low transmission area. Being primigravida and residing in a high transmission area were significant risk factors for placental malaria (OR 2.4; CI 1.1-5.0; P = 0.025) and (OR 9.4; CI 3.2-27.7; P < 0.001), respectively. IPTp was associated with a lower risk of placental malaria (OR 0.3; CI 0.1-1.0; P = 0.044); the effect was more pronounced in the high transmission area (OR 0.2; CI 0.06-0.7; P = 0.015) than in the low transmission area (OR 0.4; CI 0.04-4.5; P = 0.478). IPTp use was not associated with reduced risk of maternal anaemia or low birthweight, regardless of transmission intensity. The number needed to treat (NNT) was four (CI 2-6) women in the high transmission area and 33 (20-50) in the low transmission area to prevent one case of placental malaria. IPTp may have an effect on lowering the risk of placental malaria in areas of high transmission, but this effect did not translate into a benefit on risks of maternal anaemia or low birthweight. The NNT needs to be considered, and weighted against that of other protective measures, eventually targeting areas which are above a certain threshold of malaria transmission to maximise the benefit. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Concentrating anthropogenic disturbance to balance ecological and economic values: applications to forest management.

PubMed

Tittler, Rebecca; Messier, Christian; Fall, Andrew

2012-06-01

To maintain healthy ecosystems, natural-disturbance-based management aims to minimize differences between unmanaged and managed landscapes. Two related approaches may help accomplish this goal, either applied together or in isolation: (1) concentrating anthropogenic disturbance through zoning (with protected areas and intensive management); and (2) emulating natural disturbances. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of these two approaches, applied both in isolation and in combination, on the structure of the forest landscape. To do so, we use a spatially explicit landscape simulation model on a large fire-dominated landscape in eastern Canada. Specifically, we examine the effects of (1) increasing the maximum size of logged stands (cutblocks) to better emulate the full range of fire sizes in a fire-dominated landscape, (2) increasing protected areas, and (3) adding aggregated or dispersed intensive wood production areas to the landscape in addition to protected areas (triad management). We focus on maximizing the amount and minimizing the fragmentation of old-growth forest and on reducing road construction. Increasing maximum cutblock size and adding protected areas led to reduced road construction, while the latter also resulted in less fragmentation and more old growth. Although protected areas led to reduced harvest volume, the addition of an intensive production zone (triad management) counterbalanced this loss and resulted in more old growth than equivalent scenarios with protected areas but no intensive production zone. However, we found no differences between aggregated and dispersed intensive wood production. Our results imply that differences between unmanaged and managed landscapes can be reduced by concentrating logging efforts through a combination of protected areas and intensive wood production, and by creating some larger cutblocks. We conclude that the forest industry and regulators should therefore seek to increase protected areas through triad management and consider increasing maximum cutblock size. These results add to a growing body of literature indicating that intensive management on a small part of the landscape may be better than less intensive management spread out over a much larger part of the landscape, whether this is in the context of forestry, agriculture, or urban development.

Instrument for evaluation of sedentary lifestyle in patients with high blood pressure.

PubMed

Lopes, Marcos Venícios de Oliveira; da Silva, Viviane Martins; de Araujo, Thelma Leite; Guedes, Nirla Gomes; Martins, Larissa Castelo Guedes; Teixeira, Iane Ximenes

2015-01-01

this article describes the diagnostic accuracy of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire to identify the nursing diagnosis of sedentary lifestyle. a diagnostic accuracy study was developed with 240 individuals with established high blood pressure. The analysis of diagnostic accuracy was based on measures of sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, likelihood ratios, efficiency, diagnostic odds ratio, Youden index, and area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve. statistical differences between genders were observed for activities of moderate intensity and for total physical activity. Age was negatively correlated with activities of moderate intensity and total physical activity. the analysis of area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve for moderate intensity activities, walking, and total physical activity showed that the International Physical Activity Questionnaire present moderate capacity to correctly classify individuals with and without sedentary lifestyle.

Dynamics of intense rainfalls in the southern half of European Russia for the period 1960-2015

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chizhikova, N.

2018-01-01

Two time periods (1960-1986 and 1986-2015) were compared in terms of mean annual frequency and mean annual sum of warm season rainfalls to quantify general trends in the changing regime of heavy precipitation over the southern part of European Russia, which is the area of the most intensive agricultural activity. The identified trends were compared with the published assessment of the intensity trends of soil erosion processes. The prevalence of the increasing tendency in the frequency and amount of precipitation is demonstrated, which undergoes against a decrease in the rate of eroded sediment accumulation and against a decrease of linear growth rate of gullies. This result rather proves the crucial contribution of the snowmelt to the soil erosion over the studied area.

Analysis of the nature of excessive cosmic radiation in the area of the Brazilian magnetic anomaly at altitudes 250-500km, from Kosmos-225 satellite data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Raychenko, L. V.

1974-01-01

Results are presented from a study of the region of anomalous cosmic radiation in the area of the Brazilian magnetic anomaly at the altitudes 250-500 km, using data measurements taken on the Kosmos-225 satellite (14-29 June 1968). The existence of a stable intensity anomaly discovered in the experiments on the second and third Soviet spacecraft-satellites is confirmed. The total vector of the geomagnetic field at different altitudes was compared with isoline maps. An altitude profile of the South Atlantic anomaly of radiation intensity was obtained, using data from the same instrument. The nature of the anomalies in cosmic radiation intensity over the regions of negative magnetic anomalies is discussed.

Effect of School Based Treatment on the Prevalence of Schistosomiasis in Endemic Area in Yemen

PubMed Central

Abdulrab, A; Salem, A; Algobati, F; Saleh, S; Shibani, K; Albuthigi, R

2013-01-01

Background Schistosomiasis and soil transmitted infection is a major health problem of children from rural areas of developing countries including Yemen. In an attempt to reduce this burden, the Ministry of Public Health and Population in Yemen established in 2002 a programme for Schistosomal, soil transmitted infection control that aimed to reduce morbidity and prevalence rates of Schistosomiasis, and Soil transmitted helminthes to less than 5% by 2015. The study was conducted to assess the current prevalence and intensity of schistosomal infection among schoolchildren in rural areas of the Taiz governorate after 6 years of running National Control Programme. Methods Grade 3 schoolchildren from Shara'b Al-Raona district of Taiz Governorate were examined for infections with Schistosoma mansoni using Modified Kato–Katz method and S. haematobium applying filtration method in 1998/1999, comparing the prevalence and intensity of infection with base line study, which was done 6 years ago. Results The S. mansoni prevalence in the study population was 31%, while the prevalence of S. haematobium was 18.6%. This result considerably is similar to the prevalence of base line study. The intensity of mild, moderate and severe infection for S. mansoni reached to 15.9%, 60.6% & 23.5% respectively. The severity of S. haematobium infection was 68.4%. It was exceptionally found that the prevalence of S. haematobium is increased. Conclusion The high prevalence of schistosomiasis and low effectiveness of control programme against schistosomal infection in the study area demands consideration of alternative treatment approaches. PMID:23914234

Spatio-temporal variations in bloom of the red-tide dinoflagellate Karenia mikimotoi in Imari Bay, Japan, in 2014: Factors controlling horizontal and vertical distribution.

PubMed

Aoki, Kazuhiro; Kameda, Takahiko; Yamatogi, Toshifumi; Ishida, Naoya; Hirae, Sou; Kawaguchi, Mayumi; Syutou, Toshio

2017-11-15

A massive bloom of the dinoflagellate Karenia mikimotoi appeared in 2014 in Imari Bay, Japan. Bloom dynamics and hydrographical conditions were examined by field survey. The bloom initially developed in the eastern area of Imari Bay, subsequently after rainfall during the neap tides, cell density exceeded over 10,000cellsml. Vertical distribution of K. mikimotoi was primarily controlled by the light intensity and secondarily by the water quality during the daytime. Almost all cell-density maxima occurred in depths with weak daytime light intensities of <300μmolm -2 s -1 . In some cases of weak light intensity, cell-density maxima occurred in depths with favorable hydrodynamic conditions for the growth. Spatially classified areas were identified by cluster analysis using the growth rate calculated from seawater temperature and salinity. This study quantitatively evaluated the environmental factors of the eastern area, where the bloom initially occurred, during the development of the bloom. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Empowering Teachers with Low-Intensity Strategies to Support Instruction: Self-Monitoring in an Elementary Resource Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ennis, Robin Parks; Lane, Kathleen Lynne; Oakes, Wendy Peia

2018-01-01

Self-monitoring is a low-intensity strategy teachers can use to support instruction in classrooms across the grade span in various instructional settings and content areas. This study extended the knowledge base by examining the effectiveness of self-monitoring through a systematic replication with three students with specific learning…

Shielding design of an underground experimental area at point 5 of the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS).

PubMed

Mueller, Mario J; Stevenson, Graham R

2005-01-01

Increasing projected values of the circulating beam intensity in the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) and decreasing limits to radiation exposure, taken with the increasing non-acceptance of unjustified and unoptimised radiation exposures, have led to the need to re-assess the shielding between the ECX and ECA5 underground experimental areas of the SPS. Twenty years ago, these experimental areas at SPS-Point 5 housed the UA1 experiment, where Carlo Rubbia and his team verified the existence of W and Z bosons. The study reported here describes such a re-assessment based on simulations using the multi-purpose FLUKA radiation transport code. This study concludes that while the main shield which is made of concrete blocks and is 4.8 m thick satisfactorily meets the current design limits even at the highest intensities presently planned for the SPS, dose rates calculated for liaison areas on both sides of the main shield significantly exceed the design limits. Possible ways of improving the shielding situation are discussed.

STATISTICAL COMPARISON BETWEEN PORES AND SUNSPOTS BY USING SDO/HMI

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

Cho, I.-H.; Cho, K.-S.; Bong, S.-C.

2015-09-20

We carried out an extensive statistical study of the properties of pores and sunspots, and investigated the relationship among their physical parameters such as size, intensity, magnetic field, and the line-of-sight (LOS) velocity in the umbrae. For this, we classified 9881 samples into three groups of pores, transitional sunspots, and mature sunspots. As a result, (1) we find that the total magnetic flux inside the umbra of pores, transitional sunspots, and mature sunspots increases proportionally to the powers of the area and the power indices in the three groups significantly differ from each other. (2) The umbral area distribution ofmore » each group shows a Gaussian distribution and they are clearly separated, displaying three distinct peak values. All of the quantities significantly overlap among the three groups. (3) The umbral intensity shows a rapid decrease with increasing area, and their magnetic field strength shows a rapid increase with decreasing intensity. (4) The LOS velocity in pores is predominantly redshifted and its magnitude decreases with increasing magnetic field strength. The decreasing trend becomes nearly constant with marginal blueshift in the case of mature sunspots. The dispersion of LOS velocities in mature sunspots is significantly suppressed compared to pores. From our results, we conclude that the three groups have different characteristics in their area, intensity, magnetic field, and LOS velocity as well in their relationships.« less

Surface Water Detection Using Fused Synthetic Aperture Radar, Airborne LiDAR and Optical Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braun, A.; Irwin, K.; Beaulne, D.; Fotopoulos, G.; Lougheed, S. C.

2016-12-01

Each remote sensing technique has its unique set of strengths and weaknesses, but by combining techniques the classification accuracy can be increased. The goal of this project is to underline the strengths and weaknesses of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), LiDAR and optical imagery data and highlight the opportunities where integration of the three data types can increase the accuracy of identifying water in a principally natural landscape. The study area is located at the Queen's University Biological Station, Ontario, Canada. TerraSAR-X (TSX) data was acquired between April and July 2016, consisting of four single polarization (HH) staring spotlight mode backscatter intensity images. Grey-level thresholding is used to extract surface water bodies, before identifying and masking zones of radar shadow and layover by using LiDAR elevation models to estimate the canopy height and applying simple geometry algorithms. The airborne LiDAR survey was conducted in June 2014, resulting in a discrete return dataset with a density of 1 point/m2. Radiometric calibration to correct for range and incidence angle is applied, before classifying the points as water or land based on corrected intensity, elevation, roughness, and intensity density. Panchromatic and multispectral (4-band) imagery from Quickbird was collected in September 2005 at spatial resolutions of 0.6m and 2.5m respectively. Pixel-based classification is applied to identify and distinguish water bodies from land. A classification system which inputs SAR-, LiDAR- and optically-derived water presence models in raster formats is developed to exploit the strengths and weaknesses of each technique. The total percentage of water detected in the sample area for SAR backscatter, LiDAR intensity, and optical imagery was 27%, 19% and 18% respectively. The output matrix of the classification system indicates that in over 72% of the study area all three methods agree on the classification. Analysis was specifically targeted towards areas where the methods disagree, highlighting how each technique should be properly weighted over these areas to increase the classification accuracy of water. The conclusions and techniques developed in this study are applicable to other areas where similar environmental conditions and data availability exist.

Calibration of Crustal Historical Earthquakes from Intra-Carpathian Region of Romania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oros, Eugen; Popa, Mihaela; Rogozea, Maria

2017-12-01

The main task of the presented study is to elaborate a set of relations of mutual conversion macroseismic intensity - magnitude, necessary for the calibration of the historical crustal earthquakes produced in the Intra - Carpathian region of Romania, as a prerequisite for homogenization of the parametric catalogue of Romanian earthquakes. To achieve the goal, we selected a set of earthquakes for which we have quality macroseismic data and the Mw moment magnitude obtained instrumentally. These seismic events were used to determine the relations between the Mw and the peak/epicentral intensity, the isoseist surface area for I=3, I=4 and I=5: Mw = f (Imax / Io), Mw = f (Imax / Io, h), Mw = f (A3, A4; A5). We investigated several variants of such relationships and combinations, taking into account that the macroseismic data necessary for the re-evaluation of historical earthquakes in the investigated region are available in several forms. Thus, a number of investigations provided various information resulted after revising initial historical data: 1) Intensity data point (IDP) assimilated or not with the epicentre intensity after analysis of the correlation level with recent seismicity data and / or active tectonics / seismotectonics, 2) Sets of intensities obtained in several localities (IDPs) with variable values having maxims that can be considered equal to epicentral intensity (Io), 3) Sets of intensities obtained in several localities (IDPs) but without obvious maximum values, assimilable with the epicentral intensity, 4) maps with isoseismals, 5) Information on the areas in which the investigated earthquake was felt or the area of perceptiveness (e.g. I = 3 EMS during the day and I = 4 EMS at night) or the surfaces corresponding to a certain degree of well-defined intensity. The obtained relationships were validated using a set of earthquakes with instrumental source parameters (localization, depth, Mw). These relationships lead to redundant results meaningful in the process of estimating the quality and credibility of the primary data used (e.g. IDPs, isoseismals) and in the correct determination of Mw.

Characteristics of Surface Urban Heat Island (SUHI) over the Gangetic Plain of Bihar, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barat, Archisman; Kumar, Sunny; Kumar, Praveen; Parth Sarthi, P.

2018-05-01

The rapid urbanisation impacts on environment, climate, agriculture, water resources trigger several problems to human beings. The present study is carried out to estimate intensity and trend of Urban Heat Island (UHI) as Surface UHI (SUHI) over towns/cities of the Gangetic plain of the state of Bihar, India, in which urban areas show relatively greater Land Surface Temperature (LST) than its rural surroundings especially during night times. The LST data (2001-14) of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is used for five major towns/cities of Bihar namely, Bhagalpur, Gaya, Patna, Purnea and Muzzaffarpur. Each city is classified into Urban, Suburban and Rural zones as per land cover of the area. During winter months (January, February, November and December), UHI is more intense over all towns/cities. Mann-Kendall Test is applied on Surface Urban Heat Island Intensity (SUHII) in which MK-Test Statistic (S) shows a significant increasing trend. This trend would alarm a risk to increase in air pollution, heat related biohazards, energy demand in the region. This study shows the need of urban greening and proper town planning over the considered areas to mitigate the changes.

Spatio-temporal assessment of ecological disturbance and its intensity in the Mangrove forest using MODIS derived disturbance index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dutta, D.; Das, P. K.; Paul, S.; Sharma, J. R.; Dadhwal, V. K.

2014-11-01

The mangrove ecosystem of Sundarbans region plays an important ecological and socio-economical role in both India and Bangladesh. The ecological disturbance in the coastal mangrove forests are mainly attributed to the periodic cyclones caused by deep depression formed over the Bay of Bengal. In the present study, three of the major cyclones in the Sundarbans region were analyzed to establish the cause-and-effect relationship between cyclones and the resultant ecological disturbance. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) time-series data was used to generate MODIS global disturbance index (MGDI) and its potential was explored to assess the instantaneous ecological disturbance caused by cyclones with varying landfall intensities and at different stages of mangrove phenology. The time-series MGDI was converted into the percentage change in MGDI using its multi-year mean for each pixel, and its response towards several cyclonic events was studied. The affected areas were identified by analyzing the Landsat-8 satellite data before and after the cyclone and the MGDI values of the affected areas were utilized to develop the threshold for delineation of the disturbed pixels. The selected threshold was applied on the time-series MGDI images to delineate the disturbed areas for each year individually to identify the frequently disturbed areas. The classified intensity map could able to detect the chronically affected areas, which can serve as a valuable input towards modelling the biomigration of the invasive species and efficient forest management.

Category change and risk perception: Hurricane Irene and coastal North Carolina.

PubMed

Pace, William; Montz, Burrell

2014-01-01

This research explores variations in risk perception with location and changes in the intensity of a hurricane (Hurricane Irene in 2011). Surveys were mailed to a random sample of 601 year-round residents of two counties in coastal North Carolina. Within each county, areas were chosen based on their risk with respect to wind or storm surge; an equal number of surveys were sent to each area. A 31 percent return rate was achieved. Dare County on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and Beaufort County on the Inner Banks were chosen as study areas because of the nature and extent of damage incurred from Hurricane Irene. Because Hurricane Irene was downgraded before it made landfall in North Carolina, it was anticipated that residents would perceive themselves to be at less risk to hurricane-related hazards with differences related to location on the Atlantic Ocean or on the Sound. Little difference was found between the Inner and Outer Banks locations such that all reported the change in intensity influenced their perceptions by reducing the sense of risk. This varied somewhat, but not significantly, by hazard area. The downgrading of Hurricane Irene created a false sense of security. Residents of the study area believed themselves to be at low risk and were unlikely to evacuate, despite warnings. The long duration of the event, however, led to significant damages, surprising many, and suggesting the need to emphasize impacts in messaging, no matter the storm intensity.

Incidence, type and intensity of abuse in street children in India.

PubMed

Mathur, Meena; Rathore, Prachi; Mathur, Monika

2009-12-01

The aims of this cross-sectional survey were to examine the prevalence, type and intensity of abuse in street children in Jaipur city, India. Based on purposive random sampling, 200 street children, inclusive of equal number of boys and girls, were selected from the streets of Jaipur city, India, and administered an in-depth interview schedule which included five areas of abuse, namely, "general abuse," "health abuse," "verbal abuse," "physical abuse," and "psychological abuse." Data was interpreted using percentages, t-test and correlations. Street children reported experiences of abuse in all the five areas under study. Larger numbers of children (61.8%) scored in the "moderate" category of abuse while 36.6% children indicated abuse in "severe" and "very severe" categories on the intensity of abuse. Highest mean scores were obtained on the "verbal" and "psychological" area of abuse. Gender differences were significant in health and overall abuse, indicating boys to be significantly more abused than girls. There were significant positive correlations of abuse with increasing "age" and "income" of street children; and the occurrence of "multi-type" maltreatment and neglect in street children was clearly present. Different forms of abuse are prevalent in street children in India. This area of study needs attention both by the researchers and the social workers. children who are identified in severe and very severe categories of abuse should be worked with in a follow up study with the help of governmental and nongovernmental agencies working in the field for child welfare.

Hydrological Modeling of Storm Water Drainage System due to Frequent and Intense Precipitation of Dhaka city using Storm Water Management Model (SWMM)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hossain, S., Jr.

2015-12-01

Rainfall induced flooding during rainy season is a regular phenomenon in Dhaka City. Almost every year a significant part of the city suffers badly with drainage congestion. There are some highly dense areas with lower ground elevation which submerge under water even with an intense precipitation of few hours. The higher areas also suffer with the drainage problem due to inadequate maintenance of the system and encroachment or illegal filling up of the drainage canals and lakes. Most part of the city suffered from long term urban flooding during historical extreme rainfall events in September 2004, 2007 and July 2009. The situation is likely to worsen in the future due to Climate Change, which may lead to more frequent and intense precipitation. To assess the major and minor drainage systems and elements of the urban basins using the hydrodynamic modelling and, through this, identifying the flooding events and areas, taking into account the current situation and future flood or drainage scenarios. Stormwater modeling has a major role in preventing issues such as flash floods and urban water-quality problems. Stormwater models of a lowered spatial resolution would thus appear valuable if only their ability to provide realistic results could be proved. The present scenario of urban morphology of Dhaka city and existing drainage system is complex for hydrological and hydrodynamic modeling. Furthermore limitations of background data and uncertain future urban scenarios may confine the potential outputs of a model. Although several studies were carried out including modeling for drainage master planning, a detail model for whole DAP (Detaile Area Plan) of Dhaka city area is not available. The model developed under this study is covering the existing drainage system in the study area as well as natural flows in the fringe area. A good number of models are available for hydrological and hydraulic analysis of urban areas. These are MIKE 11, MOUSE, HEC-RAS, HEC HMS and EPA SWMM. EPA-SWMM is used for the study area which is mostly developed and consists pipe networks, open channels and water bodies. This study proposes a methodology for rapid catchment delineation and stormwater management model (SWMM) set-up in a large urban area with model calibration and validation.

Associations of breeding birds with fire-influenced and riparian-upland gradients in a longleaf pine ecosystem

USGS Publications Warehouse

Allen, J.C.; Krieger, S.M.; Walters, J.R.; Collazo, J.A.

2006-01-01

We determined the effects of fire history and a riparian-upland gradient on the breeding bird community at Fort Bragg Military Installation in North Carolina, one of the largest remnant areas of the endangered longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) ecosystem. Study sites were classified into two treatments: fire-intense (areas experiencing growing-season burns) and fire-suppressed (areas lacking fires). Within each treatment, bird and vegetation data were recorded at point-count stations positioned at three distances from streamhead pocosins to characterize the riparian-upland habitat gradient: 0, 75, and ≥150 m. Total bird abundance and species richness varied significantly along the riparian-upland gradient, with pocosins contributing greatly to avian biodiversity. Our data revealed strong effects of fire history and riparian-upland gradient on bird species, which we described in terms of breeding-bird assemblages. Members of the open longleaf assemblage (e.g., Red- cockaded Woodpecker [Picoides borealis], Bachman's Sparrow [Aimophila aestivalis]) were most common in fire-intense areas and at upland locations. Members of the fire-suppressed assemblage (e.g., Wood Thrush [Hylocichla mustelina], Ovenbird [Seiurus aurocapilla]) were confined to pocosins in fire-intense areas, but became more abundant in fire-suppressed areas. Members of the pocosin assemblage (e.g., Eastern Towhee [Pipilo erythropthalamus], Common Yellowthroat [Geothlypis trichas]) were largely confined to pocosins and, in some cases, were most abundant in fire-intense pocosins. Fire suppression increased structural diversity of vegetation and promoted one breeding-bird assemblage (fire-suppressed), but at the expense of two others (open longleaf, pocosin). Continued management of Fort Bragg to promote longleaf pine restoration is essential for supporting conservation of the open-longleaf bird assemblage; in addition, it will benefit the pocosin assemblage.

Do Inequalities in Neighborhood Walkability Drive Disparities in Older Adults’ Outdoor Walking?

PubMed Central

van Maarseveen, Martin

2017-01-01

Older residents of high-deprivation areas walk less than those of low-deprivation areas. Previous research has shown that neighborhood built environment may support and encourage outdoor walking. The extent to which the built environment supports and encourages walking is called “walkability”. This study examines inequalities in neighborhood walkability in high- versus low-deprivation areas and their possible influences on disparities in older adults’ outdoor walking levels. For this purpose, it focuses on specific neighborhood built environment attributes (residential density, land-use mix and intensity, street connectivity, and retail density) relevant to neighborhood walkability. It applied a mixed-method approach, included 173 participants (≥65 years), and used a Geographic Information System (GIS) and walking interviews (with a sub-sample) to objectively and subjectively measure neighborhood built environment attributes. Outdoor walking levels were measured by using the Geographic Positioning System (GPS) technology. Data on personal characteristics was collected by completing a questionnaire. The results show that inequalities in certain land-use intensity (i.e., green spaces, recreation centers, schools and industries) in high- versus low-deprivation areas may influence disparities in older adults’ outdoor walking levels. Modifying neighborhood land use intensity may help to encourage outdoor walking in high-deprivation areas. PMID:28686219

Relation of water quality to land use in the drainage basins of four tributaries to the Toms River, New Jersey, 1994-95

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hunchak-Kariouk, Kathryn

1999-01-01

The influence of land use on the water quality of four tributaries to the Toms River, which drains nearly one-half of the Barnegat Bay wateshed, was studied during the initial phase of a multiyear investigation. Water samples were collected from and streamflows were measured in Long Swamp Creek, Wrangel Brook, Davenport Branch, and Jakes Creek during periods of base flow and stormflow in the growing and nongrowing seasons during May 1994 to October 1995. The drainage areas upstream from the seven measurement sites were characterized as highly developed, moderately developed, slightly developed, or undeveloped. Concentrations were determined and area-normalized instantaneous loads (yields) were estimated for total nitrogen, ammonia, nitrate, organic nitrogen, hydrolyzable phosphorus plus orthosphosphorus, orthophosphorus, total suspended solids, and fecal-coliform bacteria in the water samples. Specific conductance, pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen were measured. Yields of total nitrogen, nitrate, and organic nitrogen at sites on Wrangel Brook, which drains moderately developed areas, were either larger than or similar to yields at the site on Long Swamp Creek, which drains a highly developed area. The magnitude of these yields probably was not related directly to the intensity of land development, but more likely was influenced by the type of development, the amount of base flow, and historical land use in the basin. The large concentrations of total nitrogen and nitrate in base flow in Wrangel Brook could have resulted from fertilizers that were applied to high-maintenance lawns and from agricultural runoff that has remained in the ground water since the 1950's and eventually was discharged to streams. Yields of ammonia appear to be partly related to the intensity of land development and storm runoff. Yields of ammonia at the site on Long Swamp Creek (a highly developed area) were either larger than or similar to yields at sites on Wrangel Brook (moderately developed areas). Yields were smallest at the site on Davenport Branch, which drains a slightly developed area. Yields of hydrolyzable phosphorus plus orthophosphorus and yields of orthophosphorus appear to be related to the intensity of development. Concentrations of hydrolyzable phosphorus plus orthophosphorus were greater in Long Swamp Creek (highly developed areas) than in Wrangel Brook (moderately developed areas). Concentrations of orthophosphorus were largest in Wrangel Brook (moderately developed) and Long Swamp Creek (highly developed). Total suspended solids and bacteria were somewhat related to intensity of development. Yields of total suspended solids were greater at sites downstream from highly and moderately developed areas than from slightly developed areas. Yields of bacteria were strongly related to streamflow and season. Specific conductance appears to be related to streamflow. pH probably was related to intensity of land development; pH was greater (more basic) in streams draining highly developed areas than in those draining other areas. Concentrations of dissolved oxygen were affected more by water temperature than by intensity of development or streamflow.

Seasonal Dynamics in Leaf Area Index in Intensively Managed Loblolly Pine

Treesearch

Timothy B. Harrington; Jason A. Gatch; Bruce E. Borders

2002-01-01

Leaf area index (LAI; leaf area per ground area) was measured monthly or bimonthly for two years (March 1999 to February 2001) with the LAI-2000 in intensively managed plantations of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) at Eatonton and Waycross GA. Since establishment of the three age classes at each site, the stands have received combinations of complete...

The promise and peril of intensive-site-based ecological research: insights from the Hubbard Brook ecosystem study

Treesearch

Timothy J. Fahey; Pamela H. Templer; Bruce T. Anderson; John J. Battles; John L. Campbell; Charles T. Driscoll; Anthony R. Fusco; Mark B. Green; Karim-Aly S. Kassam; Nicholas L. Rodenhouse; Lindsey Rustad; Paul G. Schaberg; Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur

2015-01-01

Ecological research is increasingly concentrated at particular locations or sites. This trend reflects a variety of advantages of intensive, site-based research, but also raises important questions about the nature of such spatially delimited research: how well does site based research represent broader areas, and does it constrain scientific discovery? We provide an...

VARIABILITY IN NET PRIMARY PRODUCTION AND CARBON STORAGE IN BIOMASS ACROSS OREGON FORESTS - AN ASSESSMENT INTEGRATING DATA FROM FOREST INVENTORIES, INTENSIVE SITES, AND REMOTE SENSING. (R828309)

EPA Science Inventory

We used a combination of data from USDA Forest Service inventories, intensive
chronosequences, extensive sites, and satellite remote sensing, to estimate biomass
and net primary production (NPP) for the forested region of western Oregon. The
study area was divided int...

Continuous Snow Depth, Intensive Site 1, Barrow, Alaska

DOE Data Explorer

Bob Busey; Larry Hinzman; Vladimir Romanovsky; William Cable

2014-11-06

Continuous Snow depth data are being collected at several points within four intensive study areas in Barrow, Alaska. These data are being collected to better understand the energy dynamics above the active layer and permafrost. They complement in-situ snow and soil measurements at this location. The data could also be used as supporting measurements for other research and modeling activities.

75 FR 52780 - Designation of Nine Counties as High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-27

... EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT Office of National Drug Control Policy Designation of Nine Counties as High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy designated nine additional counties as High Drug Trafficking Areas pursuant to...

75 FR 21368 - Designation of Five Counties as High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-23

... EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT Office of National Drug Control Policy Designation of Five Counties as High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: The Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy designated five additional counties as High Drug Trafficking Areas pursuant to...

Ectoparasitic flies (Diptera, Streblidae) of bats (Chiroptera, Phyllostomidae) in an Atlantic Forest area, southeastern Brazil.

PubMed

França, D S; Pereira, S N; Maas, A C S; Martins, M A; Bolzan, D P; Lima, I P; Dias, D; Peracchi, A L

2013-11-01

We studied infestation rates and parasite-host associations between streblid flies and phyllostomid bats in an Atlantic Forest area of Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil. We captured 301 individuals from seven Phyllostomidae bat species. Out of that total, 69 bats had been parasitised by nine Streblidae species; the most frequent species were Trichobius joblingi and Trichobius tiptoni. The species Paraeuctenodes longipes, associated with Anoura geoffroyi, was the most frequent species. The highest mean intensity was observed for Paraeuctenodes longipes, associated with A. geoffroyi, and Paratrichobius longicrus associated with Artibeus lituratus, both ectoparasite species with a mean intensity of five individuals per bat. Trichobius joblingi exhibited the highest mean abundance, which was over three on its host species. Streblid richness in the study area was similar to the richness found in other studies carried out in the Atlantic Forest. We observed that streblid richness in this biome depends more on inherent characteristics of each physiognomy and on the host-species than on the sampling effort.

An increased response to experimental muscle pain is related to psychological status in women with chronic non-traumatic neck-shoulder pain

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Neck-shoulder pain conditions, e.g., chronic trapezius myalgia, have been associated with sensory disturbances such as increased sensitivity to experimentally induced pain. This study investigated pain sensitivity in terms of bilateral pressure pain thresholds over the trapezius and tibialis anterior muscles and pain responses after a unilateral hypertonic saline infusion into the right legs tibialis anterior muscle and related those parameters to intensity and area size of the clinical pain and to psychological factors (sleeping problems, depression, anxiety, catastrophizing and fear-avoidance). Methods Nineteen women with chronic non-traumatic neck-shoulder pain but without simultaneous anatomically widespread clinical pain (NSP) and 30 age-matched pain-free female control subjects (CON) participated in the study. Results NSP had lower pressure pain thresholds over the trapezius and over the tibialis anterior muscles and experienced hypertonic saline-evoked pain in the tibialis anterior muscle to be significantly more intense and locally more widespread than CON. More intense symptoms of anxiety and depression together with a higher disability level were associated with increased pain responses to experimental pain induction and a larger area size of the clinical neck-shoulder pain at its worst. Conclusion These results indicate that central mechanisms e.g., central sensitization and altered descending control, are involved in chronic neck-shoulder pain since sensory hypersensitivity was found in areas distant to the site of clinical pain. Psychological status was found to interact with the perception, intensity, duration and distribution of induced pain (hypertonic saline) together with the spreading of clinical pain. The duration and intensity of pain correlated negatively with pressure pain thresholds. PMID:21992460

Agricultural peat lands; towards a greenhouse gas sink - a synthesis of a Dutch landscape study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schrier-Uijl, A. P.; Kroon, P. S.; Hendriks, D. M. D.; Hensen, A.; Van Huissteden, J. C.; Leffelaar, P. A.; Berendse, F.; Veenendaal, E. M.

2013-06-01

It is generally known that managed, drained peatlands act as carbon sources. In this study we examined how mitigation through the reduction of management and through rewetting may affect the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and the carbon balance of intensively managed, drained, agricultural peatlands. Carbon and GHG balances were determined for three peatlands in the western part of the Netherlands from 2005 to 2008 by considering spatial and temporal variability of emissions (CO2, CH4 and N2O). One area (Oukoop) is an intensively managed grass-on-peatland, including a dairy farm, with the ground water level at an average annual depth of 0.55 m below the soil surface. The second area (Stein) is an extensively managed grass-on-peatland, formerly intensively managed, with a dynamic ground water level at an average annual depth of 0.45 m below the soil surface. The third area is an (since 1998) rewetted former agricultural peatland (Horstermeer), close to Oukoop and Stein, with the average annual ground water level at a depth of 0.2 m below the soil surface. During the measurement campaigns we found that both agriculturally managed sites acted as carbon and GHG sources but the rewetted agricultural peatland acted as a carbon and GHG sink. The terrestrial GHG source strength was 1.4 kg CO2-eq m-2 yr-1 for the intensively managed area and 1.0 kg CO2-eq m-2 yr-1 for the extensively managed area; the unmanaged area acted as a GHG sink of 0.7 kg CO2-eq m-2 yr-1. Water bodies contributed significantly to the terrestrial GHG balance because of a high release of CH4 and the loss of DOC only played a minor role. Adding the farm-based CO2 and CH4 emissions increased the source strength for the managed sites to 2.7 kg CO2-eq m-2 yr-1 for Oukoop and 2.1 kg CO2-eq m-2 yr-1 for Stein. Shifting from intensively managed to extensively managed grass-on-peat reduced GHG emissions mainly because N2O emission and farm-based CH4 emissions decreased. Overall, this study suggests that managed peatlands are large sources of GHG and carbon, but, if appropriate measures are taken they can be turned back into GHG and carbon sinks within 15 yr of abandonment and rewetting.

Intensity of the Earth's magnetic field in Greece during the last five millennia: New data from Greek pottery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tema, Evdokia; Gómez-Paccard, Miriam; Kondopoulou, Despina; Almar, Ylenia

2012-08-01

New archaeointensity results have been obtained from the study of four ceramic collections coming from four different archaeological sites in Greece. The ages of the ceramic fragments, based on archaeological constrains and radiocarbon analysis, range from 2200 BC to 565 AD. Low-field magnetic susceptibility versus temperature reveals a good thermal stability for most of the samples. However, for some samples the thermomagnetic curves are not reversible indicating mineralogical changes during heating. Isothermal remanent magnetisation (IRM) acquisition curves and thermal demagnetisation of three orthogonal IRM components have also been performed. The rock magnetic results identify magnetite and/ or Ti-magnetite as the main magnetic carriers in the studied samples. Classical Thellier experiments with regular partial thermoremanent magnetisation (pTRM) checks have been conducted on 125 specimens belonging to 34 independent ceramic fragments. Only 61 archaeointensity determinations (at specimen level) that correspond to linear NRM-TRM plots were used for the calculation of the site mean archaeointensities. The effect of the anisotropy of the thermoremanent magnetisation (TRM) and cooling rate upon TRM intensity acquisition have been investigated in all specimens. The maximum difference between the TRM anisotropy corrected and uncorrected intensities is around 30% at specimen level confirming that the TRM effect can be very important in ceramic samples. Cooling rate correction factors determined per specimen are up to 10% with only one exception that reaches 35%. Despite the moderate success rate of archaeointensity determination (around 50%) reliable mean site intensities have been obtained, with in situ intensities ranging from 53.6 ± 4.1 to 69.3 ± 3.9 μT, corresponding to virtual axial dipole moments from 9.2 ± 0.7 to 11.9 ± 0.7 × 1022 Am2. The new data are reasonably consistent with other available data for the studied region as well as with the SV reference curves for Greece and the South Balkan Peninsula, and the regional and global geomagnetic field models. Combined with previously published data from the area, they confirm that important changes of the Earth's magnetic field intensity occurred in Greece during the last five millennia. For some periods, the available archaeointensity data for the Balkan area show a large dispersion, even for data corresponding to high quality intensity standards, whereas for other periods their limited number prevents an accurate description of geomagnetic field intensity changes. This evidences the need of new reliable and well dated archaeointensity data in order to obtain a robust description of geomagnetic field intensity changes during the last five millennia in this area.

A Comprehensive Structural Study of Offshore Wind Turbine Foundation and Non-Model Based Damage Detection using Effective Mass with Application to Small Components/ Cables and a Truss Wind Turbine Tower

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

Smith, Scott A.

This research has two areas of focus. The first area is to investigate offshore wind turbine (OWT) designs, for use in the Maryland offshore wind area (MOWA), using intensive modeling techniques. The second focus area is to investigate a way to detect damage in wind turbine towers and small electrical components.

Wrench related faults and their control on the tectonics and Eocene sedimentation in the L13-L15 sub-sag area, Pearl River Mouth basin, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Shuping; Xu, Shunshan; Cai, Yu; Ma, Xiaodan

2017-09-01

Recent oil discoveries in the L13-L15 sub-sag area in the Pearl River Mouth basin have inspired interest in Paleogene hydrocarbon targets. However, the structures and their control on reservoirs have not been completely studied. The aim of this paper is to address the tectonics and Eocene sedimentation based on 3D seismic data. We documented characteristics from four aspects of the faults in the study area: (a) fault arrangement; (b) fault segmentation; (c) flower structures; and (d) distribution of the depocenters along the faults. Based on the above data, we propose that the structures in the studied area were formed by a right-handed wrench. The principal shear for this model was caused by NNE- to NE-ward motion of the eastern part of the Eurasia plate due to the collision of the Indian-Australian and Eurasian plates starting approximately 49 Ma ago. The L13-L15 sub-sag area underwent early Eocene rifting, a late Eocene rifting-depression transition and an Oligocene-Quaternary thermal depression. The rift phase included three stages: the initial rifting, intensive rifting and late rifting. The deep lake mudstone deposited during the intensive rifting stage is the source rock with the most potential for oil generation. Shallow lake source rocks formed in the late rifting and transition stages are the secondary source rocks. Reservoir sweet spots were formed in the early period of the intensive rifting and late rifting stages. The junction sites between the front of the meandering river delta plain and fault steps are favorable places for good reservoirs. The sediments in the transition stage are rich in sandstone, making them perfect sites for prospecting reservoirs.

Small Towns in a Rural Area: A Study of the Problems of Small Towns in Idaho. Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station Research Bulletin No. 91, April 1976.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamilton, J. R.; And Others

Using aggregate data from several Idaho counties and towns, the study examined the economic forces which pressure small town people and merchants--pressures which ultimately shape and will shape small towns in areas like Idaho. Six towns chosen for intensive study were Priest River, Cottonwood, Riggins, Shoshone, Oakley, and Malad. Focusing on…

Canopy storage capacity of xerophytic shrubs in Northwestern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xin-ping; Zhang, Ya-feng; Hu, Rui; Pan, Yan-xia; Berndtsson, Ronny

2012-08-01

SummaryThe capacity of shrub canopy water storage is a key factor in controlling the rainfall interception. Thus, it affects a variety of hydrological processes in water-limited arid desert ecosystems. Vast areas of revegetated desert ecosystems in Northwestern China are occupied by shrub and dwarf shrub communities. Yet, data are still scarce regarding their rainwater storage capacity. In this study, simulated rainfall tests were conducted in controlled conditions for three dominant xerophytic shrub types in the arid Tengger Desert. Eight rainfall intensities varying from 1.15 to 11.53 mm h-1 were used to determine the canopy water storage capacity. The simulated rainfall intensities were selected according to the long-term rainfall records in the study area. The results indicate that canopy storage capacity (expressed in water storage per leaf area, canopy projection area, biomass, and volume of shrub respectively) increased exponentially with increase in rainfall intensity for the selected shrubs. Linear relationships were found between canopy storage capacity and leaf area (LA) or leaf area index (LAI), although there was a striking difference in correlation between storage capacity and LA or LAI of Artemisia ordosica compared to Caragana korshinskii and Hedysarum scoparium. This is a result of differences in biometric characteristics, especially canopy morphology between the shrub species. Pearson correlation coefficient indicated that LA and dry biomass are better predictors as compared to canopy projection area and volume of samples for precise estimation of canopy water storage capacity. In terms of unit leaf area, mean storage capacity was 0.39 mm (range of 0.24-0.53 mm), 0.43 mm (range of 0.28-0.60 mm), and 0.61 mm (range of 0.29-0.89 mm) for C. korshinskii, H. scoparium, and A. ordosica, respectively. Correspondingly, divided per unit dry biomass, mean storage capacity was 0.51 g g-1 (range of 0.30-0.70 g g-1), 0.41 g g-1 (range of 0.26-0.57 g g-1), and 0.73 g g-1 (range of 0.38-1.05 g g-1) for C. korshinskii, H. scoparium, and A. ordosica, respectively, when the rainfall intensities ranged from 1.15, 2.31, 3.46, 4.61, 6.92, 9.23 to 11.53 mm h-1. The needle-leaved species A. ordosica had a higher canopy water storage capacity than the ovate-leaved species C. korshinskii and H. scoparium at the same magnitude of rainfall intensity, except for C. korshinskii when it was expressed in unit of canopy projection area. Consequently, A. ordosica will generate higher interception losses as compared to C. korshinskii and H. scoparium. This is especially the case as it often forms dense dwarf shrub communities despite its small size.

Clinical usefulness of the ablative margin assessed by magnetic resonance imaging with Gd-EOB-DTPA for radiofrequency ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma.

PubMed

Koda, Masahiko; Tokunaga, Shiho; Okamoto, Toshiaki; Hodozuka, Masanori; Miyoshi, Kennichi; Kishina, Manabu; Fujise, Yuki; Kato, Jun; Matono, Tomomitsu; Sugihara, Takaaki; Oyama, Kenji; Hosho, Keiko; Okano, Jun-ichi; Murawaki, Yoshikazu; Kakite, Suguru; Yamashita, Eijiro

2015-12-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of ablative margin (AM) grading by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with Gd-EOB-DTPA administered prior to radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and to identify factors for achieving a sufficient AM and predictors for local tumor progression. A total of 124 hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) were treated by RFA after Gd-EOB-DTPA administration. MRI and enhanced CT were performed within seven hours and one month after RFA. The AM assessment was categorized using three grades: AM (+), low-intensity area with continuous high-intensity rim; AM zero, low-intensity area with discontinuous high-intensity rim; and AM (-), low-intensity area extends beyond the high-intensity rim. Patients were followed and local tumor progression was observed. AM (+), AM zero, AM (-), and indeterminate were found in 34, 33, 26, and 31 nodules, respectively. The overall agreement rate between MRI and enhanced CT for the diagnosis of AM was 56.8%. The κ coefficient was 0.326 (p<0.001), indicating moderate agreement. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that a significant factor for the achievement of AM (+) on MRI was no contiguous vessels. The cumulative local tumor progression rates (0% at 1, 2, and 3 years) in 33 AM (+) nodules were significantly lower than those (3.6%, 11.5%, and 18.3% at 1, 2, and 3 years respectively) in 32 AM zero nodules. A multivariate Cox proportional hazards model identified tumor size as an independent predictor for local tumor progression. Gd-EOB-DTPA-MRI enabled an early assessment of RFA effectiveness in the majority ofHCC nodules. Local tumor progression was not detected in AM (+) nodules during the follow-up. Copyright © 2015 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Brain morphometry shows effects of long-term musical practice in middle-aged keyboard players

PubMed Central

Gärtner, H.; Minnerop, M.; Pieperhoff, P.; Schleicher, A.; Zilles, K.; Altenmüller, E.; Amunts, K.

2013-01-01

To what extent does musical practice change the structure of the brain? In order to understand how long-lasting musical training changes brain structure, 20 male right-handed, middle-aged professional musicians and 19 matched controls were investigated. Among the musicians, 13 were pianists or organists with intensive practice regimes. The others were either music teachers at schools or string instrumentalists, who had studied the piano at least as a subsidiary subject, and practiced less intensively. The study was based on T1-weighted MR images, which were analyzed using deformation-based morphometry. Cytoarchitectonic probabilistic maps of cortical areas and subcortical nuclei as well as myeloarchitectonic maps of fiber tracts were used as regions of interest to compare volume differences in the brains of musicians and controls. In addition, maps of voxel-wise volume differences were computed and analyzed. Musicians showed a significantly better symmetric motor performance as well as a greater capability of controlling hand independence than controls. Structural MRI-data revealed significant volumetric differences between the brains of keyboard players, who practiced intensively and controls in right sensorimotor areas and the corticospinal tract as well as in the entorhinal cortex and the left superior parietal lobule. Moreover, they showed also larger volumes in a comparable set of regions than the less intensively practicing musicians. The structural changes in the sensory and motor systems correspond well to the behavioral results, and can be interpreted in terms of plasticity as a result of intensive motor training. Areas of the superior parietal lobule and the entorhinal cortex might be enlarged in musicians due to their special skills in sight-playing and memorizing of scores. In conclusion, intensive and specific musical training seems to have an impact on brain structure, not only during the sensitive period of childhood but throughout life. PMID:24069009

Brain morphometry shows effects of long-term musical practice in middle-aged keyboard players.

PubMed

Gärtner, H; Minnerop, M; Pieperhoff, P; Schleicher, A; Zilles, K; Altenmüller, E; Amunts, K

2013-01-01

To what extent does musical practice change the structure of the brain? In order to understand how long-lasting musical training changes brain structure, 20 male right-handed, middle-aged professional musicians and 19 matched controls were investigated. Among the musicians, 13 were pianists or organists with intensive practice regimes. The others were either music teachers at schools or string instrumentalists, who had studied the piano at least as a subsidiary subject, and practiced less intensively. The study was based on T1-weighted MR images, which were analyzed using deformation-based morphometry. Cytoarchitectonic probabilistic maps of cortical areas and subcortical nuclei as well as myeloarchitectonic maps of fiber tracts were used as regions of interest to compare volume differences in the brains of musicians and controls. In addition, maps of voxel-wise volume differences were computed and analyzed. Musicians showed a significantly better symmetric motor performance as well as a greater capability of controlling hand independence than controls. Structural MRI-data revealed significant volumetric differences between the brains of keyboard players, who practiced intensively and controls in right sensorimotor areas and the corticospinal tract as well as in the entorhinal cortex and the left superior parietal lobule. Moreover, they showed also larger volumes in a comparable set of regions than the less intensively practicing musicians. The structural changes in the sensory and motor systems correspond well to the behavioral results, and can be interpreted in terms of plasticity as a result of intensive motor training. Areas of the superior parietal lobule and the entorhinal cortex might be enlarged in musicians due to their special skills in sight-playing and memorizing of scores. In conclusion, intensive and specific musical training seems to have an impact on brain structure, not only during the sensitive period of childhood but throughout life.

MISR GoMACCS Products

Atmospheric Science Data Center

2016-11-25

Gulf of Mexico Atmospheric Composition and Climate Study (GoMACCS) Gulf of Mexico Atmospheric Composition and Climate Study (GoMACCS) is an intensive ... study area encompasses Texas and the northwestern Gulf of Mexico during July, August, September, and October, 2006. The Multi-angle ...

Multisensor Modeling Underwater with Uncertain Information

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-07-01

133 Figure 6.4: Sidescan geometry artifacts ................................ 133 Figure 6.5: Sea MARC I intensity map of Clipperton ...area ................. 136 Figure 6.6: Sea MARC I intensity map of Clipperton area (from Kasiens et al.). .. 137 Figure 6.7: Sea Beam contour map of... Clipperton area .................... 138 Figure 6.8: Sea Beam contour map of Clipperton area (from Gallo ei al.) ....... 139 Figure 6.9: Sea Beam

Reward, motivation, and emotion systems associated with early-stage intense romantic love.

PubMed

Aron, Arthur; Fisher, Helen; Mashek, Debra J; Strong, Greg; Li, Haifang; Brown, Lucy L

2005-07-01

Early-stage romantic love can induce euphoria, is a cross-cultural phenomenon, and is possibly a developed form of a mammalian drive to pursue preferred mates. It has an important influence on social behaviors that have reproductive and genetic consequences. To determine which reward and motivation systems may be involved, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and studied 10 women and 7 men who were intensely "in love" from 1 to 17 mo. Participants alternately viewed a photograph of their beloved and a photograph of a familiar individual, interspersed with a distraction-attention task. Group activation specific to the beloved under the two control conditions occurred in dopamine-rich areas associated with mammalian reward and motivation, namely the right ventral tegmental area and the right postero-dorsal body and medial caudate nucleus. Activation in the left ventral tegmental area was correlated with facial attractiveness scores. Activation in the right anteromedial caudate was correlated with questionnaire scores that quantified intensity of romantic passion. In the left insula-putamen-globus pallidus, activation correlated with trait affect intensity. The results suggest that romantic love uses subcortical reward and motivation systems to focus on a specific individual, that limbic cortical regions process individual emotion factors, and that there is localization heterogeneity for reward functions in the human brain.

Basal area or stocking percent: which works best in controlling density in natural shortleaf pine stands

Treesearch

Ivan L. Sander

1986-01-01

Results from a shortleaf pine thinning study in Missouri show that continually thinning a stand to the same basal area will eventually create an understocked stand and reduce yields. Using stocking percent to control thinning intensity allows basal area to increase as stands get older. The best yield should occur when shortleaf pine is repeatedly thinned to 60 percent...

Influence of Polymorphisms in the HTR3A and HTR3B Genes on Experimental Pain and the Effect of the 5-HT3 Antagonist Granisetron.

PubMed

Louca Jounger, Sofia; Christidis, Nikolaos; Hedenberg-Magnusson, Britt; List, Thomas; Svensson, Peter; Schalling, Martin; Ernberg, Malin

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate experimentally if 5-HT3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) contribute to pain perception and efficacy of the 5-HT3-antagonist granisetron and sex differences. Sixty healthy participants were genotyped regarding HTR3A (rs1062613) and HTR3B (rs1176744). First, pain was induced by bilateral hypertonic saline injections (HS, 5.5%, 0.2 mL) into the masseter muscles. Thirty min later the masseter muscle on one side was pretreated with 0.5 mL granisetron (1 mg/mL) and on the other side with 0.5 mL placebo (isotonic saline) followed by another HS injection (0.2 mL). Pain intensity, pain duration, pain area and pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) were assessed after each injection. HS evoked moderate pain, with higher intensity in the women (P = 0.023), but had no effect on PPTs. None of the SNPs influenced any pain variable in general, but compared to men, the pain area was larger in women carrying the C/C (HTR3A) (P = 0.015) and pain intensity higher in women with the A/C alleles (HTR3B) (P = 0.019). Pre-treatment with granisetron reduced pain intensity, duration and area to a lesser degree in women (P < 0.05), but the SNPs did not in general influence the efficacy of granisetron. Women carrying the C/T & T/T (HTR3A) genotype had less reduction of pain intensity (P = 0.041) and area (P = 0.005), and women with the C/C genotype (HTR3B) had less reduction of pain intensity (P = 0.030), duration (P = 0.030) and area compared to men (P = 0.017). In conclusion, SNPs did not influence experimental muscle pain or the effect of granisetron on pain variables in general, but there were some sex differences in pain variables that seem to be influenced by genotypes. However, due to the small sample size further research is needed before any firm conclusions can be drawn.

Influence of Polymorphisms in the HTR3A and HTR3B Genes on Experimental Pain and the Effect of the 5-HT3 Antagonist Granisetron

PubMed Central

Hedenberg-Magnusson, Britt; List, Thomas; Svensson, Peter; Schalling, Martin

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate experimentally if 5-HT3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) contribute to pain perception and efficacy of the 5-HT3-antagonist granisetron and sex differences. Sixty healthy participants were genotyped regarding HTR3A (rs1062613) and HTR3B (rs1176744). First, pain was induced by bilateral hypertonic saline injections (HS, 5.5%, 0.2 mL) into the masseter muscles. Thirty min later the masseter muscle on one side was pretreated with 0.5 mL granisetron (1 mg/mL) and on the other side with 0.5 mL placebo (isotonic saline) followed by another HS injection (0.2 mL). Pain intensity, pain duration, pain area and pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) were assessed after each injection. HS evoked moderate pain, with higher intensity in the women (P = 0.023), but had no effect on PPTs. None of the SNPs influenced any pain variable in general, but compared to men, the pain area was larger in women carrying the C/C (HTR3A) (P = 0.015) and pain intensity higher in women with the A/C alleles (HTR3B) (P = 0.019). Pre-treatment with granisetron reduced pain intensity, duration and area to a lesser degree in women (P < 0.05), but the SNPs did not in general influence the efficacy of granisetron. Women carrying the C/T & T/T (HTR3A) genotype had less reduction of pain intensity (P = 0.041) and area (P = 0.005), and women with the C/C genotype (HTR3B) had less reduction of pain intensity (P = 0.030), duration (P = 0.030) and area compared to men (P = 0.017). In conclusion, SNPs did not influence experimental muscle pain or the effect of granisetron on pain variables in general, but there were some sex differences in pain variables that seem to be influenced by genotypes. However, due to the small sample size further research is needed before any firm conclusions can be drawn. PMID:28002447

Predicting rainfall erosivity by momentum and kinetic energy in Mediterranean environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carollo, Francesco G.; Ferro, Vito; Serio, Maria A.

2018-05-01

Rainfall erosivity is an index that describes the power of rainfall to cause soil erosion and it is used around the world for assessing and predicting soil loss on agricultural lands. Erosivity can be represented in terms of both rainfall momentum and kinetic energy, both calculated per unit time and area. Contrasting results on the representativeness of these two variables are available: some authors stated that momentum and kinetic energy are practically interchangeable in soil loss estimation while other found that kinetic energy is the most suitable expression of rainfall erosivity. The direct and continuous measurements of momentum and kinetic energy by a disdrometer allow also to establish a relationship with rainfall intensity at the study site. At first in this paper a comparison between the momentum-rainfall intensity relationships measured at Palermo and El Teularet by an optical disdrometer is presented. For a fixed rainfall intensity the measurements showed that the rainfall momentum values measured at the two experimental sites are not coincident. However both datasets presented a threshold value of rainfall intensity over which the rainfall momentum assumes a quasi-constant value. Then the reliability of a theoretically deduced relationship, linking momentum, rainfall intensity and median volume diameter, is positively verified using measured raindrop size distributions. An analysis to assess which variable, momentum or kinetic energy per unit area and time, is the best predictor of erosivity in Italy and Spain was also carried out. This investigation highlighted that the rainfall kinetic energy per unit area and time can be substituted by rainfall momentum as index for estimating the rainfall erosivity, and this result does not depend on the site where precipitation occurs. Finally, rainfall intensity measurements and soil loss data collected from the bare plots equipped at Sparacia experimental area were used to verify the reliability of some rainfall erosivity indices and their ability to distinguish the type of involved soil erosion processes.

The Cottonwood Lake study area, a long-term wetland ecosystem monitoring site

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mushet, David M.; Euliss, Ned H.

2012-01-01

The Cottonwood Lake study area is one of only three long-term wetland ecosystem monitoring sites in the prairie pothole region of North America; the other two are Orchid Meadows in South Dakota and St. Denis in Saskatchewan. Of the three, Cottonwood Lake has, by far, the longest continuous data-collection record. Research was initiated at the study area in 1966, and intensive investigations of the hydrology, chemistry, and biology of prairie pothole wetlands continue at the site today. This fact sheet describes the study area, provides an overview of wetland ecology research that has been conducted at the site in the past, and provides an introduction to current work being conducted at the study area by USGS scientists.

Evaluation of area-based collagen scoring by nonlinear microscopy in chronic hepatitis C-induced liver fibrosis

PubMed Central

Sevrain, David; Dubreuil, Matthieu; Dolman, Grace Elizabeth; Zaitoun, Abed; Irving, William; Guha, Indra Neil; Odin, Christophe; Le Grand, Yann

2015-01-01

In this paper we analyze a fibrosis scoring method based on measurement of the fibrillar collagen area from second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy images of unstained histological slices from human liver biopsies. The study is conducted on a cohort of one hundred chronic hepatitis C patients with intermediate to strong Metavir and Ishak stages of liver fibrosis. We highlight a key parameter of our scoring method to discriminate between high and low fibrosis stages. Moreover, according to the intensity histograms of the SHG images and simple mathematical arguments, we show that our area-based method is equivalent to an intensity-based method, despite saturation of the images. Finally we propose an improvement of our scoring method using very simple image processing tools. PMID:25909005

Evaluation of area-based collagen scoring by nonlinear microscopy in chronic hepatitis C-induced liver fibrosis.

PubMed

Sevrain, David; Dubreuil, Matthieu; Dolman, Grace Elizabeth; Zaitoun, Abed; Irving, William; Guha, Indra Neil; Odin, Christophe; Le Grand, Yann

2015-04-01

In this paper we analyze a fibrosis scoring method based on measurement of the fibrillar collagen area from second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy images of unstained histological slices from human liver biopsies. The study is conducted on a cohort of one hundred chronic hepatitis C patients with intermediate to strong Metavir and Ishak stages of liver fibrosis. We highlight a key parameter of our scoring method to discriminate between high and low fibrosis stages. Moreover, according to the intensity histograms of the SHG images and simple mathematical arguments, we show that our area-based method is equivalent to an intensity-based method, despite saturation of the images. Finally we propose an improvement of our scoring method using very simple image processing tools.

The role of precipitation type, intensity, and spatial distribution in source water quality after wildfire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murphy, Sheila F.; Writer, Jeffrey H.; Blaine McCleskey, R.; Martin, Deborah A.

2015-08-01

Storms following wildfires are known to impair drinking water supplies in the southwestern United States, yet our understanding of the role of precipitation in post-wildfire water quality is far from complete. We quantitatively assessed water-quality impacts of different hydrologic events in the Colorado Front Range and found that for a three-year period, substantial hydrologic and geochemical responses downstream of a burned area were primarily driven by convective storms with a 30 min rainfall intensity >10 mm h-1. These storms, which typically occur several times each year in July-September, are often small in area, short-lived, and highly variable in intensity and geographic distribution. Thus, a rain gage network with high temporal resolution and spatial density, together with high-resolution stream sampling, are required to adequately characterize post-wildfire responses. We measured total suspended sediment, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nitrate, and manganese concentrations that were 10-156 times higher downstream of a burned area compared to upstream during relatively common (50% annual exceedance probability) rainstorms, and water quality was sufficiently impaired to pose water-treatment concerns. Short-term water-quality impairment was driven primarily by increased surface runoff during higher intensity convective storms that caused erosion in the burned area and transport of sediment and chemical constituents to streams. Annual sediment yields downstream of the burned area were controlled by storm events and subsequent remobilization, whereas DOC yields were closely linked to annual runoff and thus were more dependent on interannual variation in spring runoff. Nitrate yields were highest in the third year post-wildfire. Results from this study quantitatively demonstrate that water quality can be altered for several years after wildfire. Because the southwestern US is prone to wildfires and high-intensity rain storms, the role of storms in post-wildfire water-quality impacts must be considered when assessing water-quality vulnerability.

The role of precipitation type, intensity, and spatial distribution in source water quality after wildfire

USGS Publications Warehouse

Murphy, Sheila F.; Writer, Jeffrey H.; McCleskey, R. Blaine; Martin, Deborah A.

2015-01-01

Storms following wildfires are known to impair drinking water supplies in the southwestern United States, yet our understanding of the role of precipitation in post-wildfire water quality is far from complete. We quantitatively assessed water-quality impacts of different hydrologic events in the Colorado Front Range and found that for a three-year period, substantial hydrologic and geochemical responses downstream of a burned area were primarily driven by convective storms with a 30 min rainfall intensity >10 mm h−1. These storms, which typically occur several times each year in July–September, are often small in area, short-lived, and highly variable in intensity and geographic distribution. Thus, a rain gage network with high temporal resolution and spatial density, together with high-resolution stream sampling, are required to adequately characterize post-wildfire responses. We measured total suspended sediment, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nitrate, and manganese concentrations that were 10–156 times higher downstream of a burned area compared to upstream during relatively common (50% annual exceedance probability) rainstorms, and water quality was sufficiently impaired to pose water-treatment concerns. Short-term water-quality impairment was driven primarily by increased surface runoff during higher intensity convective storms that caused erosion in the burned area and transport of sediment and chemical constituents to streams. Annual sediment yields downstream of the burned area were controlled by storm events and subsequent remobilization, whereas DOC yields were closely linked to annual runoff and thus were more dependent on interannual variation in spring runoff. Nitrate yields were highest in the third year post-wildfire. Results from this study quantitatively demonstrate that water quality can be altered for several years after wildfire. Because the southwestern US is prone to wildfires and high-intensity rain storms, the role of storms in post-wildfire water-quality impacts must be considered when assessing water-quality vulnerability.

A landscape ecology approach identifies important drivers of urban biodiversity.

PubMed

Turrini, Tabea; Knop, Eva

2015-04-01

Cities are growing rapidly worldwide, yet a mechanistic understanding of the impact of urbanization on biodiversity is lacking. We assessed the impact of urbanization on arthropod diversity (species richness and evenness) and abundance in a study of six cities and nearby intensively managed agricultural areas. Within the urban ecosystem, we disentangled the relative importance of two key landscape factors affecting biodiversity, namely the amount of vegetated area and patch isolation. To do so, we a priori selected sites that independently varied in the amount of vegetated area in the surrounding landscape at the 500-m scale and patch isolation at the 100-m scale, and we hold local patch characteristics constant. As indicator groups, we used bugs, beetles, leafhoppers, and spiders. Compared to intensively managed agricultural ecosystems, urban ecosystems supported a higher abundance of most indicator groups, a higher number of bug species, and a lower evenness of bug and beetle species. Within cities, a high amount of vegetated area increased species richness and abundance of most arthropod groups, whereas evenness showed no clear pattern. Patch isolation played only a limited role in urban ecosystems, which contrasts findings from agro-ecological studies. Our results show that urban areas can harbor a similar arthropod diversity and abundance compared to intensively managed agricultural ecosystems. Further, negative consequences of urbanization on arthropod diversity can be mitigated by providing sufficient vegetated space in the urban area, while patch connectivity is less important in an urban context. This highlights the need for applying a landscape ecological approach to understand the mechanisms shaping urban biodiversity and underlines the potential of appropriate urban planning for mitigating biodiversity loss. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

32 CFR 206.3 - Overall program emphasis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... curriculum development efforts. Such efforts may involve intensive language study designed for different... comparative terms. Students in these areas also need quality opportunities in international education. (3...

32 CFR 206.3 - Overall program emphasis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... curriculum development efforts. Such efforts may involve intensive language study designed for different... comparative terms. Students in these areas also need quality opportunities in international education. (3...

32 CFR 206.3 - Overall program emphasis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... curriculum development efforts. Such efforts may involve intensive language study designed for different... comparative terms. Students in these areas also need quality opportunities in international education. (3...

32 CFR 206.3 - Overall program emphasis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... curriculum development efforts. Such efforts may involve intensive language study designed for different... comparative terms. Students in these areas also need quality opportunities in international education. (3...

32 CFR 206.3 - Overall program emphasis.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... curriculum development efforts. Such efforts may involve intensive language study designed for different... comparative terms. Students in these areas also need quality opportunities in international education. (3...

Helminths infection patterns in a lizard (Tropidurus hispidus) population from a semiarid neotropical area: associations between female reproductive allocation and parasite loads.

PubMed

Galdino, Conrado A B; Ávila, Robson W; Bezerra, Castiele H; Passos, Daniel C; Melo, Gabriela C; Zanchi-Silva, Djan

2014-12-01

This study reports helminth infection patterns of the lizard Tropidurus hispidus from an area of semiarid caatinga in northeastern Brazil (Ceará state). The lizard population was parasitized by 8 helminth species, and the species composition of the component community resembles that found for other Neotropical lizards. The prevalence of parasites was higher for males compared with females, whereas no relation was found between intensity of infection of 2 parasites (Parapharyngodon alvarengai and Physaloptera lutzi) and the lizards body size. For reproductive females, parasite infection intensity was negatively correlated to reproductive investment.

A land use regression application into assessing spatial variation of intra-urban fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations in City of Shanghai, China.

PubMed

Liu, Chao; Henderson, Barron H; Wang, Dongfang; Yang, Xinyuan; Peng, Zhong-Ren

2016-09-15

Intra-urban assessment of air pollution exposure has become a priority study while international attention was attracted to PM2.5 pollution in China in recent years. Land Use Regression (LUR), which has previously been proved to be a feasible way to describe the relationship between land use and air pollution level in European and American cities, was employed in this paper to explain the correlations and spatial variations in Shanghai, China. PM2.5 and NO2 concentrations at 35-45 monitoring locations were selected as dependent variables, and a total of 44 built environmental factors were extracted as independent variables. Only five factors showed significant explanatory value for both PM2.5 and NO2 models: longitude, distance from monitors to the ocean, highway intensity, waterbody area, and industrial land area for PM2.5 model; residential area, distance to the coast, industrial area, urban district, and highway intensity for NO2 model. Respectively, both PM2.5 and NO2 showed anti-correlation with coastal proximity (an indicator of clean air dilution) and correlation with highway and industrial intensity (source indicators). NO2 also showed significant correlation with local indicators of population density (residential intensity and urban classification), while PM2.5 showed significant correlation with regional dilution (longitude as a indicator of distance from polluted neighbors and local water features). Both adjusted R squared values were strong with PM2.5 (0.88) being higher than NO2 (0.62). The LUR was then used to produce continuous concentration fields for NO2 and PM2.5 to illustrate the features and, potentially, for use by future studies. Comparison to PM2.5 studies in New York and Beijing show that Shanghai PM2.5 pollutant distribution was more sensitive to geographic location and proximity to neighboring regions. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Fires of differing intensities rapidly select distinct soil fungal communities in a Northwest US ponderosa pine forest ecosystem

Treesearch

C. Reazin; S. Morris; Jane Smith; A.D. Cowan; A. Jumpponen

2016-01-01

Environmental change and long-term fire management in the western United States have created conditions that facilitate high-intensity burn areas in forested systems. Such burns may have dramatic effects on the soil microbial communities. In this study, we utilized experimental infrastructure in the Pringle Falls Experimental Forest in Oregon, where ten pairs of sites...

Ten-Year Effect of Six Site-Preparation Treatments on Piedmont Loblolly Pine Survival and Growth

Treesearch

M. Boyd Edwards

1994-01-01

Limited information is available on growth responses to different levels of intensity for site preparation in the Piedmont. In the present study, six intensities of site preparation were compared for their effect on survival, height and diameter growth, total volume produced, and basal area per acre for the first 10 years after treatment. Rates of survival and growth...

Emergy-based comparative analysis of energy intensity in different industrial systems.

PubMed

Liu, Zhe; Geng, Yong; Wang, Hui; Sun, Lu; Ma, Zhixiao; Tian, Xu; Yu, Xiaoman

2015-12-01

With the rapid economic development, energy consumption of China has been the second place in the world next to the USA. Usually, measuring energy consumption intensity or efficiency applies heat unit which is joule per gross domestic production (GDP) or coal equivalent per GDP. However, this measuring approach is only oriented by the conversion coefficient of heat combustion which does not match the real value of the materials during their formation in the ecological system. This study applied emergy analysis to evaluate the energy consumption intensity to fill this gap. Emergy analysis is considered as a bridge between ecological system and economic system, which can evaluate the contribution of ecological products and services as well as the load placed on environmental systems. In this study, emergy indicator for performing energy consumption intensity of primary energy was proposed. Industrial production is assumed as the main contributor of energy consumption compared to primary and tertiary industries. Therefore, this study validated this method by investigating the two industrial case studies which were Dalian Economic Development Area (DEDA) and Fuzhou economic and technological area (FETA), to comparatively study on their energy consumption intensity between the different kinds of industrial systems and investigate the reasons behind the differences. The results show that primary energy consumption (PEC) of DEDA was much higher than that of FETA during 2006 to 2010 and its primary energy consumption ratio (PECR) to total emergy involvement had a dramatically decline from year 2006 to 2010. In the same time, nonrenewable energy of PEC in DEDA was also much higher than that in FETA. The reason was that industrial structure of DEDA was mainly formed by heavy industries like petro-chemistry industry, manufacturing industries, and high energy-intensive industries. However, FETA was formed by electronic business, food industry, and light industries. Although the GDP of DEDA was much higher than that of FETA, its energy intensity was higher as well. Through the 5-year development, energy consumption intensity in DEDA made a significant reduction from 3.90E+16 seJ/$ to 1.84E+16 seJ/$, which was attributed by the improvement of industrial structure, construction of eco-industrial park and circular economic industrial park. The proposed emergy indicator for demonstrating energy consumption intensity overcame the weakness that the indicator was only transformed from the heat burning. Therefore, this study shows an optional way to measure energy consumption intensity from the perspective of material ecological contribution.

Primary Teeth and Hair as Indicators of Environmental Pollution.

PubMed

Shishniashvili, T E; Suladze, N N; Margvelashvili, V V

2016-01-01

To study the influence of environmental pollution on the mineralization of dental hard tissues by using biosubstrates: teeth and hair. : At the first stage epidemiological survey was conducted in polluted and less polluted areas of Tbilisi (Georgia). We studied 525 children aged 3 and 4 years. Caries prevalence and intensity was defined by the methodology of World Health Organization. At the second stage the chemical elements content was studied in hair and teeth hard tissues of 24 children by X-ray fluorescent spectroscopy method. The prevalence of dental caries in the polluted region was 46%, caries intensity--1.92 (± 2.842). In the less polluted region prevalence was 37%, caries intensity--1.47 (± 2.571). These data are statistically reliable (p < 0.05). The study of hair and tooth tissues showed that the toxic elements (Pb, Hg, Sn, Ti) content in these tissues was higher in environmentally unfavorable than in favorable conditions. Hair and dental tissues can be used as indicators of environmental pollution. Our survey showed that toxic elements content in dental hard tissues was higher and the level of essential elements was less in polluted than in less polluted areas of Tbilisi.

Global assessment of urban and peri-urban agriculture: irrigated and rainfed croplands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thebo, A. L.; Drechsel, P.; Lambin, E. F.

2014-11-01

The role of urban agriculture in global food security is a topic of increasing discussion. Existing research on urban and peri-urban agriculture consists largely of case studies that frequently use disparate definitions of urban and peri-urban agriculture depending on the local context and study objectives. This lack of consistency makes quantification of the extent of this practice at the global scale difficult. This study instead integrates global data on croplands and urban extents using spatial overlay analysis to estimate the global area of urban and peri-urban irrigated and rainfed croplands. The global area of urban irrigated croplands was estimated at about 24 Mha (11.0 percent of all irrigated croplands) with a cropping intensity of 1.48. The global area of urban rainfed croplands found was approximately 44 Mha (4.7 percent of all rainfed croplands) with a cropping intensity of 1.03. These values were derived from the MIRCA2000 Maximum Monthly Cropped Area Grids for irrigated and rainfed crops and therefore their sum does not necessarily represent the total urban cropland area when the maximum extent of irrigated and rainfed croplands occurs in different months. Further analysis of croplands within 20 km of urban extents show that 60 and 35 percent of, respectively, all irrigated and rainfed croplands fall within this distance range.

Prospective cohort study on noise levels in a pediatric cardiac intensive care unit.

PubMed

Garcia Guerra, Gonzalo; Joffe, Ari R; Sheppard, Cathy; Pugh, Jodie; Moez, Elham Khodayari; Dinu, Irina A; Jou, Hsing; Hartling, Lisa; Vohra, Sunita

2018-04-01

To describe noise levels in a pediatric cardiac intensive care unit, and to determine the relationship between sound levels and patient sedation requirements. Prospective observational study at a pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (PCICU). Sound levels were measured continuously in slow A weighted decibels dB(A) with a sound level meter SoundEarPro® during a 4-week period. Sedation requirement was assessed using the number of intermittent (PRNs) doses given per hour. Analysis was conducted with autoregressive moving average models and the Granger test for causality. 39 children were included in the study. The average (SD) sound level in the open area was 59.4 (2.5) dB(A) with a statistically significant but clinically unimportant difference between day/night hours (60.1 vs. 58.6; p-value < 0.001). There was no significant difference between sound levels in the open area/single room (59.4 vs. 60.8, p-value = 0.108). Peak noise levels were > 90 dB. There was a significant association between average (p-value = 0.030) and peak sound levels (p-value = 0.006), and number of sedation PRNs. Sound levels were above the recommended values with no differences between day/night or open area/single room. High sound levels were significantly associated with sedation requirements. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quantifying the impact of human activity on temperatures in Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benz, Susanne A.; Bayer, Peter; Blum, Philipp

2017-04-01

Human activity directly influences ambient air, surface and groundwater temperatures. Alterations of surface cover and land use influence the ambient thermal regime causing spatial temperature anomalies, most commonly heat islands. These local temperature anomalies are primarily described within the bounds of large and densely populated urban settlements, where they form so-called urban heat islands (UHI). This study explores the anthropogenic impact not only for selected cities, but for the thermal regime on a countrywide scale, by analyzing mean annual temperature datasets in Germany in three different compartments: measured surface air temperature (SAT), measured groundwater temperature (GWT), and satellite-derived land surface temperature (LST). As a universal parameter to quantify anthropogenic heat anomalies, the anthropogenic heat intensity (AHI) is introduced. It is closely related to the urban heat island intensity, but determined for each pixel (for satellite-derived LST) or measurement point (for SAT and GWT) of a large, even global, dataset individually, regardless of land use and location. Hence, it provides the unique opportunity to a) compare the anthropogenic impact on temperatures in air, surface and subsurface, b) to find main instances of anthropogenic temperature anomalies within the study area, in this case Germany, and c) to study the impact of smaller settlements or industrial sites on temperatures. For all three analyzed temperature datasets, anthropogenic heat intensity grows with increasing nighttime lights and declines with increasing vegetation, whereas population density has only minor effects. While surface anthropogenic heat intensity cannot be linked to specific land cover types in the studied resolution (1 km × 1 km) and classification system, both air and groundwater show increased heat intensities for artificial surfaces. Overall, groundwater temperature appears most vulnerable to human activity; unlike land surface temperature and surface air temperature, groundwater temperatures are elevated in cultivated areas as well. At the surface of Germany, the highest anthropogenic heat intensity with 4.5 K is found at an open-pit lignite mine near Jülich, followed by three large cities (Munich, Düsseldorf and Nuremberg) with annual mean anthropogenic heat intensities > 4 K. Overall, surface anthropogenic heat intensities > 0 K and therefore urban heat islands are observed in communities down to a population of 5,000.

Certainty and uncertainty about end of life care nursing practices in New Zealand Intensive Care Units: a mixed methods study.

PubMed

Coombs, Maureen; Fulbrook, Paul; Donovan, Sarah; Tester, Rachel; deVries, Kay

2015-05-01

With end-of-life (EOL) central to the nursing role in intensive care, few studies have been undertaken to explore EOL care in the context of New Zealand (NZ) intensive care nursing. To investigate NZ intensive care nurses' experiences of, and attitudes towards EOL care. Sequential mixed methods study using cross sectional survey with follow-on focus groups. NZ intensive care nurses (N=465) across four large tertiary intensive care units (ICUs) were contacted to complete a 43-item web-based survey. A follow-on focus group was conducted in each of the sites to explore specific aspects of the survey findings. 203 fully completed surveys were returned (response rate 44%) from the four ICUs. Over half of nurses surveyed (55%, n=111) disagreed that withholding and withdrawing life support treatment were ethically the same. 78% (n=159) of nurses stated that withholding treatment was ethically more acceptable than withdrawing it. Whilst nurses generally supported reducing inspired oxygen to air for ventilated patients at EOL (71%, n=139) this was also an area that demonstrated one of the highest levels of uncertainty (21%, n=41). Just under a quarter of respondents were also uncertain about the use of continued nutritional support, continued passive limb exercises and use of deep sedation during EOL. The 18 nurses who participated in follow-on focus groups detailed the supportive, culturally sensitive, collaborative environment that EOL was conducted in. However diverse opinions and understandings were held on the use of passive limb and use of fluids at EOL. Whilst results from this NZ study broadly align with European studies, uncertainty about specific areas of EOL practices highlight that further guidance for nurses is required. Copyright © 2015 Australian College of Critical Care Nurses Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

GIS-based evaluation and spatial distribution characteristics of land degradation in Bijiang watershed.

PubMed

Zhao, Xiaoqing; Dai, Jinhua; Wang, Jianping

2013-01-01

Land degradation is one of the significant issues the human beings are confronted with, which has become a bottleneck of restricting the sustainable development of the regional society and economy. In order to ascertain the root causes contributed to the land degradation and characteristics of land degradation, Bijiang watershed, the most important Lead-Zinc mine area of Lanping county of Yunnan Province, was selected as the study area. One evaluation index system for land degradation that consists of 5 single factors(water-soil erosion intensity, geological disaster risk, cultivation intensity of arable land, pollution of heavy metals in soil and biodiversity deterioration) was established and 13 indicators were chosen, and the entropy method was adopted to assign weights to each single factor. By using the tools of Geographic Information System (GIS), the land degradation degree was evaluated and one spatial distribution map for land degradation was accomplished. In this study, the land of the whole watershed was divided into 4 types, including extremely-severe degradation area, severely-degraded area, moderately-degraded area and slightly-degraded area, and some solutions for ecological restoration and rehabilitation were also put forward in this study. The study results indicated that: (1) Water-soil erosion intension and pollution of heavy metals in soil have made greater contribution to the comprehensive land degradation in Bijiang watershed; (2) There is an apparent difference regarding land degradation degree in Bijiang watershed. The moderately-degraded area accounts for the most part in the region, which covers 79.66% of the whole watershed. The severely-degraded area accounts for 15.98% and the slightly-degraded regions and extremely severe degradation area accounts for 1.08% and 3.28% respectively; (3) There is an evident regularity of spatial distribution in land degradation in Bijiang watershed. The moderately-degraded areas mainly distribute in the most part of the mid-stream and down-stream, the slightly-degraded areas distribute in the mid-stream, the severely-degraded areas distribute in the upstream and south-west part of down-stream, the extremely severe degradation areas distribute in the east and middle part of the upstream; (4)From the administrative division viewpoint, the slightly-degraded areas primarily distribute in Jiancao township, Baishi town and Nuodeng town. The moderately-degraded areas distribute in Changxin township, Baofeng township, Jiancao township, Baishi town and Nuodeng town. The severely-degraded areas distribute in Jinding town, Baofeng township and Lajing town. The extremely severe degradation areas distribute in Jinding town. By connecting the spatial distribution mode for land degradation with other natural, economical elements, we drew a conclusion that the pollution in heavy metals in soil, serious water erosion and geological disasters are the main causes of the land degradation in Bijiang watershed.

Changes in agricultural cropland areas between a water-surplus year and a water-deficit year impacting food security, determined using MODIS 250 m time-series data and spectral matching techniques, in the Krishna river basin (India)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gumma, Murali Krishna; Thenkabail, Prasad S.; Muralikrishna, I.V.; Velpuri, Naga Manohar; Gangadhararao, P.T.; Dheeravath, V.; Biradar, C.M.; Nalan, S.A.; Gaur, A.

2011-01-01

The objective of this study was to investigate the changes in cropland areas as a result of water availability using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 250 m time-series data and spectral matching techniques (SMTs). The study was conducted in the Krishna River basin in India, a very large river basin with an area of 265 752 km2 (26 575 200 ha), comparing a water-surplus year (2000–2001) and a water-deficit year (2002–2003). The MODIS 250 m time-series data and SMTs were found ideal for agricultural cropland change detection over large areas and provided fuzzy classification accuracies of 61–100% for various land‐use classes and 61–81% for the rain-fed and irrigated classes. The most mixing change occurred between rain-fed cropland areas and informally irrigated (e.g. groundwater and small reservoir) areas. Hence separation of these two classes was the most difficult. The MODIS 250 m-derived irrigated cropland areas for the districts were highly correlated with the Indian Bureau of Statistics data, with R 2-values between 0.82 and 0.86.The change in the net area irrigated was modest, with an irrigated area of 8 669 881 ha during the water-surplus year, as compared with 7 718 900 ha during the water-deficit year. However, this is quite misleading as most of the major changes occurred in cropping intensity, such as changing from higher intensity to lower intensity (e.g. from double crop to single crop). The changes in cropping intensity of the agricultural cropland areas that took place in the water-deficit year (2002–2003) when compared with the water-surplus year (2000–2001) in the Krishna basin were: (a) 1 078 564 ha changed from double crop to single crop, (b) 1 461 177 ha changed from continuous crop to single crop, (c) 704 172 ha changed from irrigated single crop to fallow and (d) 1 314 522 ha changed from minor irrigation (e.g. tanks, small reservoirs) to rain-fed. These are highly significant changes that will have strong impact on food security. Such changes may be expected all over the world in a changing climate.

[Analysis of the intensity of professional collaboration among nurses in a critical care area].

PubMed

Bengoechea Calpe, L; Marín Fernández, B; Regaira Martínez, E

2016-01-01

To analyse the intensity of professional collaboration (IPC) between the nurses in a multidisciplinary critical area (CA) and the relationship with the workplace "intensive care unit (ICU) and special hospitalisation area (SHA)", educational level, age, and years of professional activity in CA. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted with 57 nurses from CA, recording socio-demographic data: age, educational level, speciality titles, years of professional activity and workday type, years of professional activity in the CA, and involvement in scientific works. Tool: Intensity of Inter-professional Collaboration Questionnaire. SPSS 20.0. The study included a total of 47 nurses (ICU/SHA), with a mean age of 35.91 (9.59) years. Almost three-quarters (74.46%) were nursing graduates with a posgraduate in ICU. Median and interquartile range of professional experience was 14 and 14.50 years, respectively, and years working in CA was 8.50 and 16 years, respectively. Just over half of them (51.10%) worked part-time, and 61.70% participated in scientific works. The mean IPC score was 61.68 (6.84), with 57.40% providing values of high IPC. The relationship between the workplace (ICU/SHA) and educational level with IPC was not statistically significant (p>.05). There are statistical significant differences between IPC with age and years of professional activity in CA (p<.05). The present study demonstrates the existence of good IPC in the CA. Younger nurses obtain a better IPC score, as well as nurses who have been working for less time in CA. Nurses with a Degree or Masters have a higher level of IPC than the rest, as well as nurses who perform professional activity combining ICU and SHA. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier España, S.L.U. y SEEIUC. All rights reserved.

Wet nitrogen deposition across the urban-intensive agricultural-rural transect of a small urban area in southwest China.

PubMed

Deng, Ouping; Zhang, Shirong; Deng, Liangji; Zhang, Chunlong; Fei, Jianbo

2018-03-01

Understanding of the spatial and temporal variation of the flux of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition is essential for assessment of its impact on ecosystems. However, little attention has been paid to the variability of N deposition across urban-intensive agricultural-rural transects. A continuous 2-year observational study (from January 2015 to December 2016) was conducted to determine wet N deposition across the urban-intensive agricultural-rural transect of a small urban area in southwest China. Significantly spatial and temporal variations were found in the research area. Along the urban-intensive agricultural-rural transect, the TN and NH 4 + -N deposition first increased and then decreased, and the NO 3 - -N and dissolved organic N (DON) deposition decreased continuously. Wet N deposition was mainly affected by the districts of agro-facilities, roads and build up lands. Wet NH 4 + -N deposition had non-seasonal emission sources including industrial emissions and urban excretory wastes in urban districts and seasonal emission sources such as fertilizer and manure volatilization in the other districts. However, wet NO 3 - -N deposition had seasonal emission sources such as industrial emissions and fireworks in urban district and non-seasonal emission sources such as transportation in the other districts. Deposition of DON was likely to have had similar sources to NO 3 - -N deposition in rural district, and high-temperature-dependent sources in urban and intensive agricultural districts. Considering the annual wet TN deposition in the intensive agricultural district was about 11.1% of the annual N fertilizer input, N fertilizer rates of crops should be reduced in this region to avoid the excessive application, and the risk of N emissions to the environment.

Effects of seeding ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) on vegetation recovery following fire in a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barclay, Angela D.; Betancourt, Julio L.; Allen, Craig D.

2004-01-01

Forty-nine vegetation transects were measured in 1997 and 1998 to determine the impact of grass seeding after the 1996 Dome Fire, which burned almost 6900 ha of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Lawson) forest in the Jemez Mountains of north-central New Mexico. High- and moderate-burned areas in Santa Fe National Forest were seeded with a mixture that included the exotic ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.). Adjacent burned areas of Bandelier National Monument were not seeded, and were used as a control in the post-seeding study. On the seeded plots, foliar cover of ryegrass declined from 1997 to 1998 due to self-inhibition and/or reduced precipitation from 1997 to 1998. Foliar cover and diversity of native forbs were greater in 1997 than 1998, probably due to a wet growing season in 1997. Cover, species richness, and diversity of native forbs were highest in non-seeded areas of moderate- and high-burn intensities. Regeneration and survivorship of conifer seedlings decreased as ryegrass cover increased, particularly in areas of high-burn intensity. Exotic plant cover, mostly horseweed [Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronq.], increased from 1997 to 1998 in non-seeded areas of moderate- and high-burn intensity. Both the initial success of seeding and the eventual impacts on native vegetation were strongly modulated by climate variability.

[Urban heat island effect based on urban heat island source and sink indices in Shenyang, Northeast China].

PubMed

Li, Li-Guang; Xu, Shen-Lai; Wang, Hong-Bo; Zhao, Zi-Qi; Cai, Fu; Wu, Jin-Wen; Chen, Peng-Shi; Zhang, Yu-Shu

2013-12-01

Based on the remote images in 2001 and 2010, the source and sink areas of urban heat island (UHI) in Shenyang City, Northeast China were determined by GIS technique. The effect of urban regional landscape pattern on UHI effect was assessed with land surface temperature (LST), area rate index (CI) of the source and sink areas and intensity index (LI) of heat island. The results indicated that the land use type changed significantly from 2001 to 2010, which significantly changed the source and sink areas of UHI, especially in the second and third circle regions. The source and sink areas were 94.3% and 5.7% in the first circle region, 64.0% and 36.0% in the third circle region in 2001, while they were 93.4% and 6.6%, 70.2% and 29.8% in 2010, respectively. It suggested that the land use pattern extended by a round shape in Shenyang led to the corresponding UHI pattern. The LST in the study area tended to decrease from the first circle region to the third. The UHI intensity was characterized with a single center in 2001 and with several centers in 2010, and the grade of UHI intensity was in a decreasing trend from 2001 to 2010. The absolute value of CI increased from the first circle region to the third, and the L1 was close to 1, suggesting the change in land use pattern had no significant influence on UHI in Shenyang.

Intensity variation study of the radiation field in a mammographic system using thermoluminescent dosimeters TLD-900 (CaSO4:Dy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corrêa, E. L.; Silva, J. O.; Vivolo, V.; Potiens, M. P. A.; Daros, K. A. C.; Medeiros, R. B.

2014-02-01

This study presents the results of the intensity variation of the radiation field in a mammographic system using the thermoluminescent dosimeter TLD-900 (CaSO4:Dy). These TLDs were calibrated and characterized in an industrial X-ray system used for instruments calibration, in the energy range used in mammography. They were distributed in a matrix of 19 lines and five columns, covering an area of 18 cm×8 cm in the center of the radiation field on the clinical equipment. The results showed a variation of the intensity probably explained by the non-uniformity of the field due to the heel effect.

The use of land- and satellite-based precipitation radar to forecast debris flows and high water discharge: case study from June 2nd, 2016 in southern Norway.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devoli, Graziella; Mengistu, Zelalem T.; Elo, Christoffer A.; Boje, Søren; Rønning, Snorre S.; Engeland, Kolbjørn; Lussana, Cristian

2017-04-01

The Norwegian flood- and landslide forecasting service at the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) (www.varsom.no), has issued flood forecasts since 1989, and since 2013 the occurrence of many landslides events at regional level, due either to severe storms or intense snow melting, has been predicted. High intensity and short duration (less than 1 hour) rainfalls may cause sudden and abundant runoff that can entrain large quantities of loose sediments and originate debris flows. Intense convective rainstorms often develop quickly, especially during summer, and they are difficult to forecast and even to observe with a standard (synoptic) network of precipitation gauges. In those cases, the forecaster on duty can send warning messages for a very large area (encompassing many counties and many municipalities), because of the large spatial uncertainty of the prognoses and amount of rain. A standard sentence in the warning message is always included, recommending to the population to monitor the evolution of the rainstorm with weather radar products, which are available on institutional websites. In other cases, especially when the convective rainstorm is spatially confined in a small area and highly uncertain, the forecaster may choose to not issue any warning. The first situation yields false alarms for some areas, while the second situation could result in a missing event, if a landslide actually occurs. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute (MET) and NVE are working on a project to further promote the use of radar-derived products in landslides and flood forecasting. In this study, we focus on the description of a case study to present the potential of MET-NVE collaboration on the topic. As a case study, we have chosen a short-lived rainstorm occurred on June 2nd, 2016 in Motland (Rogaland county, Southern Norway), which had triggered 2 debris flows that were not forecasted. Land- and satellite-based weather radar and lighting data were used to analyse and recreate the triggering conditions for these events. The closest rain gauges in the area show very low rain intensity that cannot explain the initiation of the landslides. This is in disagreement with the eye-witness that observed intense and very local showers. The analysis of rainfall intensity estimated by both land-based and satellite-based (IMERG) radar data confirms the eye-witness observations, and it results in significantly higher values for the areas where the debris flows were triggered, if compared to precipitation interpolated from gauge observations. This was also supported by discharge responses from three small catchments in the area. Our results indicates that weather radar and lighting data are useful complements to the traditional analysis of landslide events made only by means of gauges, moreover they can be used: a) in back analyses on rainfall and landslide events in order to improve landslide thresholds; b) has a potential to assist in now-casting operations as supporting tool of a regional warning, especially in summer season, and radar prediction can be used in the proximate hour to see the storm development.

Vertical structure of precipitating shallow echoes observed from TRMM during Indian summer monsoon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Shailendra

2017-08-01

The present study explores the properties of precipitating shallow echoes (PSEs) over the tropical areas (30°S-30°N) during Indian summer monsoon season using attenuated corrected radar reflectivity factor (Ze) measured by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission satellite. Radar echoes observed in study are less than the freezing height, so they belong to warm precipitation. Radar echoes with at least 0.75 km wide are considered for finding the shallow echoes climatology. Western Ghats and adjoining ocean (Arabian sea) have the highest PSEs followed by Myanmar and Burma coast, whereas the overall west coast of Latin America consists of the lowest PSEs. Tropical oceanic areas contain fewer PSEs compared to coastal areas. Average vertical profiles show nearly similar Ze characteristics which peaks between 1.5 and 2 km altitude with model value 32-34 dBZ. Slope of Ze is higher for intense PSEs as radar reflectivity decreases more rapidly in intense PSEs.

Evaluation of light detector surface area for functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy.

PubMed

Wang, Lei; Ayaz, Hasan; Izzetoglu, Meltem; Onaral, Banu

2017-10-01

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an emerging neuroimaging technique that utilizes near infrared light to detect cortical concentration changes of oxy-hemoglobin and deoxy-hemoglobin non-invasively. Using light sources and detectors over the scalp, multi-wavelength light intensities are recorded as time series and converted to concentration changes of hemoglobin via modified Beer-Lambert law. Here, we describe a potential source for systematic error in the calculation of hemoglobin changes and light intensity measurements. Previous system characterization and analysis studies looked into various fNIRS parameters such as type of light source, number and selection of wavelengths, distance between light source and detector. In this study, we have analyzed the contribution of light detector surface area to the overall outcome. Results from Monte Carlo based digital phantoms indicated that selection of detector area is a critical system parameter in minimizing the error in concentration calculations. The findings here can guide the design of future fNIRS sensors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time-dependent change of blood flow in the prostate treated with high-intensity focused ultrasound.

PubMed

Shoji, Sunao; Tonooka, Akiko; Hashimoto, Akio; Nakamoto, Masahiko; Tomonaga, Tetsuro; Nakano, Mayura; Sato, Haruhiro; Terachi, Toshiro; Koike, Junki; Uchida, Toyoaki

2014-09-01

Avascular areas on contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging have been considered to be areas of localized prostate cancer successfully treated by high-intensity focused ultrasound. However, the optimal timing of magnetic resonance imaging has not been discussed. The thermal effect of high-intensity focused ultrasound is degraded by regional prostatic blood flow. Conversely, the mechanical effect of high-intensity focused ultrasound (cavitation) is not affected by blood flow, and can induce vessel damage. In this series, the longitudinal change of blood flow on contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging was observed from postoperative day 1 to postoperative day 14 in 10 patients treated with high-intensity focused ultrasound. The median rates of increase in the non-enhanced volume of the whole gland, transition zone and peripheral zone from postoperative day 1 to postoperative day 14 were 36%, 39%, and 34%, respectively. In another pathological analysis of the prostate tissue of 17 patients immediately after high-intensity focused ultrasound without neoadjuvant hormonal therapy, we observed diffuse coagulative degeneration and partial non-coagulative prostate tissue around arteries with vascular endothelial cell detachment. These observations on contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging support a time-dependent change of the blood flow in the prostate treated with high-intensity focused ultrasound. Additionally, our pathological findings support the longitudinal changes of these magnetic resonance imaging findings. Further large-scale studies will investigate the most appropriate timing of contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for evaluation of the effectiveness of high-intensity focused ultrasound for localized prostate cancer. © 2014 The Japanese Urological Association.

Effect of wrinkles on the surface area of graphene: toward the design of nanoelectronics.

PubMed

Qin, Zhao; Taylor, Michael; Hwang, Mary; Bertoldi, Katia; Buehler, Markus J

2014-11-12

Graphene has attracted intense attention to the use in extreme applications. However, its small thickness facilitates wrinkle formation, and it is not clear how such structural change affects its area-specific capacitance. Herein, we combine molecular dynamics and continuum mechanics-based simulations to study the changes in surface area induced by wrinkles. We find that the high specific surface area of graphene can only be affected up to 2% regardless of loading conditions, geometry, and defects.

Automatic recognition of seismic intensity based on RS and GIS: a case study in Wenchuan Ms8.0 earthquake of China.

PubMed

Zhang, Qiuwen; Zhang, Yan; Yang, Xiaohong; Su, Bin

2014-01-01

In recent years, earthquakes have frequently occurred all over the world, which caused huge casualties and economic losses. It is very necessary and urgent to obtain the seismic intensity map timely so as to master the distribution of the disaster and provide supports for quick earthquake relief. Compared with traditional methods of drawing seismic intensity map, which require many investigations in the field of earthquake area or are too dependent on the empirical formulas, spatial information technologies such as Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) can provide fast and economical way to automatically recognize the seismic intensity. With the integrated application of RS and GIS, this paper proposes a RS/GIS-based approach for automatic recognition of seismic intensity, in which RS is used to retrieve and extract the information on damages caused by earthquake, and GIS is applied to manage and display the data of seismic intensity. The case study in Wenchuan Ms8.0 earthquake in China shows that the information on seismic intensity can be automatically extracted from remotely sensed images as quickly as possible after earthquake occurrence, and the Digital Intensity Model (DIM) can be used to visually query and display the distribution of seismic intensity.

Detection and evaluation of normal and malignant cells using laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy.

PubMed

Khosroshahi, Mohamad E; Rahmani, Mahya

2012-01-01

The aim of this research is to study the normalized fluorescence spectra (intensity variations and area under the fluorescence signal), relative quantum yield, extinction coefficient and intracellular properties of normal and malignant human bone cells. Using Laser-Induced Fluorescence Spectroscopy (LIFS) upon excitation of 405 nm, the comparison of emission spectra of bone cells revealed that fluorescence intensity and the area under the spectra of malignant bone cells was less than that of normal. In addition, the area ratio and shape factor were changed. We obtained two emission bands in spectra of normal cells centered at about 486 and 575 nm and for malignant cells about 482 and 586 nm respectively, which are most likely attributed to NADH and riboflavins. Using fluorescein sodium emission spectrum, the relative quantum yield of bone cells is numerically determined.

Uncinaria hamiltoni (Nematoda: Ancylostomatidae) in South American sea lions, Otaria flavescens, from northern Patagonia, Argentina.

PubMed

Berón-Vera, B; Crespo, E A; Raga, J A; Pedraza, S N

2004-08-01

Thirty-one South American sea lion pups (Otaria flavescens) found dead in Punta León, Argentina, during the summer of 2002, were examined for hookworms (Uncinaria hamiltoni). Parasite parameters were analyzed in 2 locations of the rookery, i.e., a traditional, well-structured breeding area and an expanding area with juveniles and a lax social structure. Prevalence of hookworms was 50% in both localities, and no difference was observed in prevalence between pup sexes (P > 0.05). Hookworms were concentrated in the small intestine. Transmammary transmission is assumed because only adult hookworms were found in the pups. The mean intensity of hookworms per pup was 135; the mean intensity in females (92.78) was significantly different (P < 0.05) from that of males (230.25). No difference (P > 0.05) in intensity was found between the 2 breeding areas, although prevalence was higher in the traditional breeding area than in the other area. Location was the only factor affecting hookworm prevalence (P log-linear model: 0.9552; chi2: 1.5629). No apparent trend between body condition and intensity of hookworms was observed.

Temporal trend and determinants of river water quality across urbanization gradients in a coastal city, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, W.; Zhu, X.

2015-12-01

Water contamination in rivers embedded in urbanizing areas is increasingly affected by anthropogenic factors. The impacts may vary with location, time and water variables particularly in rapidly growing areas with clear urbanization gradients. Therefore, characterizing the temporal trend and identifying responsible divers to water quality changes in areas with different urbanization intensity could greatly improve our knowledge about human-water interactions. We employed geographically weighted regression (GWR) to interpret the determinants of river water quality changes in four urban development zones, i.e. central urban, suburban, central county and rural areas. Monitoring data of 8 variables- permanganate (CODMn), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), ammonium (NH3-N), petroleum (oil), volatile phenol (VP), phosphorus (TP), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb) from 33 stations were collected from 2004, 2008 and 2010. Five determinants were identified: urban land use intensity, environmental policies, industrial zone expansion, land use composition, and gross domestic product (GDP). Relationships between these identified determinants and water quality changes showed great variations due to their different nature and sensitivity. Typically, for zones with higher urbanization intensity located in central cities and central counties, urban land use had positive impacts on river water quality improvement. However, in less urbanized areas, rapid urban expansion indicated rapid river water degradation. Environmental policies had distinct influences on river pollution control in highly-urbanized areas, but led to unexpected negative impacts in areas beyond the management priorities. Industrial activities were the major contributor to heavy metal pollution in suburban areas while boosted N, P decrease in central cities. Our study highlighted the importance of "local" management instead of one-size-fits-all system in mitigating undesirable impacts of urbanization on water environment.

Tropical stormwater floods: a sustainable solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molinie, Jack; Bade, Francois; Nagau, Jimmy; Nuiro, Paul

2017-04-01

Stormwater management is one of the most difficult problem of urban and suburban area. The urban runoff volume related to rain intensity and surfaces properties can lead to flood. Thereby, urban flooding creates considerable infrastructure problem, economics and human damages. In tropical countries, burgeoning human population coupled with unplanned urbanization altered the natural drainage. Consequently, classical intense rain around 100 cm/h produces frequent street flooding. In our case, we study the management of intense tropical rain, by using a network of individual rain storage tanks. The study area is economical and industrial zone installed in a coastal plain , with seventy per cent of impermeable surface (roads, parking lots, building roof, …) and thirty per cent of wetland (mangrove, …). Our solution is to delay the routes and parking lots runoff to the roof one. We propose sustainable individual water storage and a real time dynamical management, which permit to control the roof water arrival in the stormwater culvert. During the remaining time, the stored rainwater can be used for domestic activities instead of the use of drinking water.

Use of chemical analysis and assays of semipermeable membrane devices extracts to assess the response of bioavailable organic pollutants in streams to urbanization in six metropolitan areas of the United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bryant, Wade L.; Goodbred, Steve L.; Leiker, Thomas L.; Inouye, Laura; Johnson, B. Thomas

2007-01-01

Studies to assess the effects of urbanization on stream ecosystems are being conducted as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The overall objectives of these studies are to (1) determine how hydrologic, geomorphic, water quality, habitat, and biological characteristics respond to land-use changes associated with urbanization in specific environmental settings, and (2) compare these responses across environmental settings. As part of an integrated assessment, semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) were deployed in streams along a gradient of urban land-use intensity in and around Atlanta, Georgia; Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina; and Denver-Fort Collins, Colorado, in 2003; and Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Milwaukee-Green Bay, Wisconsin; and Portland, Oregon, in 2004. Sites were selected to avoid point-source discharge and to minimize natural variability within each of the six metropolitan areas. In addition to standard chemical analysis for hydrophobic organic contaminants, three assays were used to address mixtures and potential toxicity: (1) Fluoroscan provides an estimate of the total concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); (2) the P450RGS assay indicates the presence and levels of aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists; and (3) Microtox® measures toxicological effects on photo-luminescent bacteria.Of the 140 compounds targeted or identified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis in this study, 67 were not detected. In terms of numbers and types of compounds, the following were detected: 2 wood preservatives, 6 insecticides (parent compounds), 5 herbicides, 22 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, 2 dibenzofurans, 4 polychlorinated biphenyls, 7 compounds associated with fragrances or personal care products, 4 steroids associated with wastewater, 5 polydibromated diphenyl ethers (flame retardants), 3 plasticizers, 3 antimicrobials/disinfectants, and 3 detergent metabolites.Of the 73 compounds detected and three assays utilized, 29 were detected in 25 percent or more of the streams and were strongly related to increases in urban intensity (defined as having a Spearman’s rho > 0.5 with percent urban land cover) in at least one of the six metropolitan areas investigated. These 29 endpoints included 16 PAHs, a wood preservative (pentachloroanisole), 2 insecticides (chlorpyrifos and chlordane), 3 herbicides (benfluralin, trifluralin, and dacthal), a synthetic musk (hexahydrohexamethylcyclopentabenzopyran, HHCB), 2 furans (methyldibenzofuran and benzo[b]naphtho[2,3-d]furan), and a flame retardant (BDE 47). In addition, the number of compounds detected and results of the Fluoroscan and P450RGS assays were strongly related to urban intensity.Average water concentrations estimated from SPMDs were compared to screening benchmarks for the protection of human health and aquatic life; of the 14 compounds with available benchmarks, 3 compounds (anthracene, dieldrin, and diazinon) exceeded those levels in one or more streams. Both dieldrin and anthracene exceeded their respective benchmarks in seven streams, and diazinon in only one stream. There were more exceedances in Milwaukee-Green Bay and Raleigh-Durham than in the other metropolitan areas, and there were no exceedances in Dallas-Fort Worth.The six metropolitan areas studied differed in the number and types of endpoints related to urban intensity, probably from a combination of factors governing source strength, transport, and fate of hydrophobic compounds. The number of endpoints strongly related to urban intensity ranged from 3 in Dallas-Fort Worth and Portland to 21 in Raleigh-Durham. High frequencies of detection and strong correlations with urban land cover for pyrogenic PAHs (such as unsubstituted 4-ringed PAHs) in all six metropolitan areas indicate that these compounds are an important component of urbanization, regardless of location. Pentachloroanisole, dibenzofurans, and petrogenic PAHs (alkylated PAHs and heterocyclic dibenzothiophenes) were frequently detected and strongly related to urban intensity in Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham, Milwaukee-Green Bay, and Denver-Fort Collins. Two insecticides were related to urban intensity: chlorpyrifos in Atlanta, Raleigh-Durham, and Dallas-Fort Worth; and chlordane in Raleigh-Durham. Three herbicides were strongly related to urban intensity: trifluralin in Atlanta and Raleigh-Durham; benfluralin in Atlanta, and dacthal in Denver-Fort Collins. The detection frequencies for most wastewater indicator compounds were too low to establish relations with urban intensity. Of the wastewater compounds analyzed, HHCB in Raleigh-Durham and Denver-Fort Collins, and BDE 47 in Denver-Fort Collins and Dallas-Forth Worth, had the strongest relations with urban intensity.In addition to pyrogenic PAHs, levels of aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists (as measured by the P450RGS assay) were strongly related to increasing urban intensity in all six metropolitan areas. PAHs were the only group of aryl hydrocarbon agonists consistently detected and related with urban intensity in all six metropolitan areas. It is unknown which compounds in the SPMDs caused the increased response in the P450RGS assay because the SPMDs likely contained many aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists not quantified by chemical analysis. It is clear that bioavailable, aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists increase in streams with increasing urban intensity in the basin. Potential toxicity mediated by this metabolic pathway should be considered in integrated assessments of the response of aquatic biota to urbanization.

Cortical activation patterns to spatially presented pure tone stimuli with different intensities measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy.

PubMed

Bauernfeind, Günther; Wriessnegger, Selina C; Haumann, Sabine; Lenarz, Thomas

2018-03-08

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an emerging technique for the assessment of functional activity of the cerebral cortex. Recently fNIRS was also envisaged as a novel neuroimaging approach for measuring the auditory cortex activity in the field of in auditory diagnostics. This study aimed to investigate differences in brain activity related to spatially presented sounds with different intensities in 10 subjects by means of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). We found pronounced cortical activation patterns in the temporal and frontal regions of both hemispheres. In contrast to these activation patterns, we found deactivation patterns in central and parietal regions of both hemispheres. Furthermore our results showed an influence of spatial presentation and intensity of the presented sounds on brain activity in related regions of interest. These findings are in line with previous fMRI studies which also reported systematic changes of activation in temporal and frontal areas with increasing sound intensity. Although clear evidence for contralaterality effects and hemispheric asymmetries were absent in the group data, these effects were partially visible on the single subject level. Concluding, fNIRS is sensitive enough to capture differences in brain responses during the spatial presentation of sounds with different intensities in several cortical regions. Our results may serve as a valuable contribution for further basic research and the future use of fNIRS in the area of central auditory diagnostics. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Assessment of orthodontic biomaterials' cytotoxicity: an in vitro study on cell culture.

PubMed

Sodor, Alina; Ogodescu, Alexandru Simion; Petreuş, Tudor; Şişu, Alina Maria; Zetu, Irina Nicoleta

2015-01-01

Orthodontists use various biomaterials such as molar bands, brackets, archwires, transpalatal archwires, facial masks and other auxiliary devices. One of the essential properties of these materials should be the biocompatibility. The aim of this study was to evaluate the biocompatibility of some orthodontic biomaterials like stainless steel archwires, brackets and NiTi (nickel-titanium alloy) coil springs. The studies were performed in vitro using human fibroblasts cultures on which the orthodontic materials were applied. The positive control was the copper amalgam. Readings of the cell reactions were performed at three and six days. It was observed that the materials used in the study cause cell alterations of variable intensity. The metallic brackets represent an important cell stress factor causing shape changes. For the metallic brackets, a preferential tropism for different areas of the bracket was also obvious. We observed a preferential tropism for the areas between the NiTi coil spring spirals. For the stainless steel archwires, we observed at six days a decay of cell density and also a higher amount of cells near the archwire areas on which bends were performed. All biomaterials analyzed in our study cause cellular changes of varying intensity without necessarily showing a cytotoxic character.

Use of Naturally Available Reference Targets to Calibrate Airborne Laser Scanning Intensity Data

PubMed Central

Vain, Ants; Kaasalainen, Sanna; Pyysalo, Ulla; Krooks, Anssi; Litkey, Paula

2009-01-01

We have studied the possibility of calibrating airborne laser scanning (ALS) intensity data, using land targets typically available in urban areas. For this purpose, a test area around Espoonlahti Harbor, Espoo, Finland, for which a long time series of ALS campaigns is available, was selected. Different target samples (beach sand, concrete, asphalt, different types of gravel) were collected and measured in the laboratory. Using tarps, which have certain backscattering properties, the natural samples were calibrated and studied, taking into account the atmospheric effect, incidence angle and flying height. Using data from different flights and altitudes, a time series for the natural samples was generated. Studying the stability of the samples, we could obtain information on the most ideal types of natural targets for ALS radiometric calibration. Using the selected natural samples as reference, the ALS points of typical land targets were calibrated again and examined. Results showed the need for more accurate ground reference data, before using natural samples in ALS intensity data calibration. Also, the NIR camera-based field system was used for collecting ground reference data. This system proved to be a good means for collecting in situ reference data, especially for targets with inhomogeneous surface reflection properties. PMID:22574045

Assessment of potential impacts of climate change on agricultural development in the Lower Benue River Basin.

PubMed

Abah, Roland Clement; Petja, Brilliant Mareme

2016-12-01

Agriculture in the Lower Benue River Basin faces several challenges which threaten the future of agricultural development. This study was an assessment of potential impacts of climate change on agricultural development in the Lower Benue River Basin. Through analysis of physical and socioeconomic parameters, the study adapted an impact assessment model to rank potential impacts on agricultural development in the study area. Rainfall intensity seemed to be increasing with a gradual reduction in the number of rainy days. The average discharge at Makurdi hydrological station was 3468.24 cubic metres per second (m 3  s -1 ), and the highest peak flow discharge was 16,400 m 3  s -1 . The daily maximum temperature and annual temperature averages for the study area are gradually rising leading to increased heat stress. Physical and chemical analyses showed that the soils are moderately fertile but require effective application of inorganic and organic fertilisers. The main occupational activities in the study area are agricultural based. The identified potential impacts of climate change on agriculture were categorised under atmospheric carbon dioxides and oxides, rainfall intensity, frequency of floods and droughts, temperature intensity and variation, heat stress, surface water trends, and soil quality and fertility. The identified potential impacts related to population dynamics on agriculture were categorised under population growth, rural-urban migration, household income and infectious diseases and HIV and AIDS. Community-level mitigation strategies were proffered. Policy makers are advised to promote irrigation farming, support farmers with farm inputs and credit facilities and establish active agricultural extension services to support the sustainable development of agriculture.

Bench-to-bedside review: Leadership and conflict management in the intensive care unit

PubMed Central

Strack van Schijndel, Rob JM; Burchardi, Hilmar

2007-01-01

In the management of critical care units, leadership and conflict management are vital areas for the successful performance of the unit. In this article a practical approach to define competencies for leadership and principles and practices of conflict management are offered. This article is, by lack of relevant intensive care unit (ICU) literature, not evidence based, but it is the result of personal experience and a study of literature on leadership as well on conflicts and negotiations in non-medical areas. From this, information was selected that was recognisable to the authors and, thus, also seems to be useful knowledge for medical doctors in the ICU environment. PMID:18086322

Bench-to-bedside review: leadership and conflict management in the intensive care unit.

PubMed

Strack van Schijndel, Rob J M; Burchardi, Hilmar

2007-01-01

In the management of critical care units, leadership and conflict management are vital areas for the successful performance of the unit. In this article a practical approach to define competencies for leadership and principles and practices of conflict management are offered. This article is, by lack of relevant intensive care unit (ICU) literature, not evidence based, but it is the result of personal experience and a study of literature on leadership as well on conflicts and negotiations in non-medical areas. From this, information was selected that was recognisable to the authors and, thus, also seems to be useful knowledge for medical doctors in the ICU environment.

A half-century analysis of landscape dynamics in southern Québec, Canada.

PubMed

Jobin, Benoît; Latendresse, Claudie; Baril, Alain; Maisonneuve, Charles; Boutin, Céline; Côté, Dominique

2014-04-01

We studied landscape dynamics for three time periods (<1950, 1965, and 1997) along a gradient of agricultural intensity from highly intensive agriculture to forested areas in southern Québec. Air photos were analyzed to obtain long-term information on land cover (crop and habitat types) and linear habitats (hedgerows and riparian habitats) and landscape metrics were calculated to quantify changes in habitat configuration. Anthropogenic areas increased in all types of landscapes but mostly occurred in the highly disturbed cash crop dominated landscape. Perennial crops (pasture and hayfields) were largely converted into annual crops (corn and soybean) between 1965 and 1997. The coalescence of annual crop fields resulted in a more homogeneous agricultural landscape. Old fields and forest cover was consistently low and forest fragmentation remained stable through time in the intensive agriculture landscapes. However, forest cover increased and forest fragmentation receded in the forest-dominated landscapes following farm abandonment and the transition of old fields into forests. Tree-dominated hedgerows and riparian habitats increased in areas with intensive agriculture. Observed changes in land cover classes are related to proximate factors, such as surficial deposits and topography. Agriculture intensification occurred in areas highly suitable for agriculture whereas farm abandonment was observed in poor-quality agriculture terrains. Large-scale conversion of perennial crops into annual crops along with continued urbanization exerts strong pressures on residual natural habitats and their inhabiting wildlife. The afforestation process occurring in the more forested landscapes along with the addition of tree-dominated hedgerows and riparian habitats in the agriculture-dominated landscapes should improve landscape ecological value.

[Situational leadership in nursing in a health institution in Bucaramanga, Colombia].

PubMed

Torres-Contreras, Claudia Consuelo

2013-01-01

In nursing, it is crucial to know the leadership style required in each situation to act as a leader. The clinical nurse must have an effective leadership style that suits the situations presented during the performance of their functions, in order to achieve the objectives in the care of the patient and family. To describe the situational leadership styles present in nurses in hospital departments, including intensive care, according to the theory of Hersey and Blanchard and to determine the relationship between leadership styles and occupational variables. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on a sample population of 107nurses working in clinical areas of hospital and intensive care in two health institutions. The Dr. Herman Bachenheimer situational leadership tool was applied to nursing staff. The nurses at the hospital area (61) and intensive care (46) have mainly a guide-leadership style (35.4%), followed by a participative style (33.9%) and manager-style (27.9%). Delegation leadership style (2.8%) was not present in clinical nurses. There is no significant relationship between leadership styles and the time working in the institution. A statistically significant relationship was found between leadership styles and length of management experience in the clinical area (P=.011). The predominant leadership style of hospital nurses is to guide, and for intensive care nurses it is participatory. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

Compared sub-bottom profile interpretation in fjords of King George Island and Danco Coast, Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodrigo, C.; Vilches, L.; Vallejos, C.; Fernandez, R.; Molares, R.

2015-12-01

The fjords of the South Shetland Islands (Antarctica) and Danco Coast (Antarctic Peninsula) represent climatic transitional areas (subpolar to polar). The analysis of the distribution of sub-bottom facies helps to understand the prevailing sedimentary and climatic processes. This work seeks to characterize and compare the fjord seismic facies, of the indicated areas, to determine the main sedimentary processes in these regions. Compressed High-Intensity Radiated Pulse (CHIRP) records from 3.5 kHz sub-bottom profiler were obtained from the cruise: NBP0703 (2007); and pinger 3.5 kHz sub-bottom profiler records from the cruises: ECA-50 INACH (2014), and First Colombian Expedition (2015). Several seismic facies were recognized in all studied areas with some variability on their thickness and extent, and indicate the occurrence of similar sedimentary processes. These are: SSD facies (strong to weak intensity, stratified, draped sheet external shape), is interpreted as sedimentary deposits originated from suspended sediments from glaciar plumes and/or ice-rafting. This facies, in general, is thicker in the fjords of King George Island than in the larger fjords of the Danco Coast; on the other hand, within the Danco Coast area, this facies is thinner and more scarce in the smaller fjords and bays. MCM facies (moderate intensity, chaotic and with mounds) is associated with moraine deposits and/or basement. This is present in all areas, being most abundant in the Danco Coast area. WIC facies (weak intensity and chaotic) is interpreted as debris flows, which are present in both regions, but is most common in small fjords or bays in the Danco Coast, perhaps due to higher slopes of the seabed. In this work we discuss the influence of local climate, sediment plumes from the glaciers and other sedimentary processes on the distribution and geometry of the identified seismic facies.

The Near-Source Intensity Distribution for the August 24, 2014, South Napa Earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boatwright, J.; Pickering, A.; Blair, J. L.

2016-12-01

The 2014 Mw=6.0 South Napa earthquake was the largest and most damaging earthquake to occur in the Bay Area since the 1989 Mw=6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake. The City of Napa estimated that the earthquake caused 300 million damage to homes and commercial properties and 58 million to public infrastructure. Over 41,000 reports were entered on the USGS "Did You Feel It?" (DYFI) website: 730 of these reports were located within 15 km of the rupture. Unfortunately, very few geocoded intensities were obtained immediately west and north of the rupture area. In the weeks following the earthquake, we conducted an intensity survey focused on areas poorly sampled by the DYFI reports. 75 sites were surveyed within 15 km of the earthquake rupture. In addition, we checked and manually geocoded many of the DYFI reports, locating 245 reports within 15 km of the rupture that the automated DYFI processing failed to geocode. We combine the survey sites and the newly geocoded DYFI reports with the original geocoded DYFI reports to map and contour the near-source shaking intensity. In addition to imaging the strong shaking (MMI 7.0-8.0) in the City of Napa, we find an area of very strong shaking (MMI 7.5-8.0) to the northwest of the earthquake rupture. This area, marked by ground cracks, damage to modern wood-frame buildings, and reports of people knocked down, coincides with the directivity expected for rupture to the northwest and up dip. The intensities from the survey sites are consistent with the intensities from the DYFI reports, but are much less variable. For DYFI intensities MMI 4-6, this variability could be derived from the 3:20 AM occurrence of the earthquake: some of the effects that the DYFI questionnaire uses to assign these intensities (objects swaying, bushes and trees shaken) cannot be observed in the dark.

Efficiency of light curing units in a government dental school.

PubMed

Nassar, Hani M; Ajaj, Reem; Hasanain, Fatin

2018-01-01

The light intensity of a light-curing unit is a crucial factor that affects the clinical longevity of resin composites. This study aimed to investigate the efficiency of light-curing units in use at a local governmental dental school for curing conventional and bulk-fill resin materials. A total of 166 light-curing units at three locations were examined, and the brand, type, clinic location, diameter of curing tip, tip cleanliness (using a visual score), and the output (in mW/cm 2 using a digital radiometer) were recorded. Only 23.5% of the units examined had clean tips, with the graduate student clinical area containing the highest percentage of clean tips. Further, tips with poor cleanliness score values were associated with significantly lower output intensities. A small percentage (9.4%) of units was capable of producing intensities higher than 1,200 mW/cm 2 and lower than 600 mW/cm 2 (7.6%). The majority of the low intensity units were located in the undergraduate student area, which also contained the highest number of units with intensities between 900 and 1,200 mW/cm 2 . The output of all the units in service was satisfactory for curing conventional resin composites, and most units were capable of curing bulk-fill resin materials.

[Effects of land use change on soil erosion intensity in small watershed of Loess Hilly Region: a quantitative evaluation with 137-Cesium tracer].

PubMed

Wang, Ya-Feng; Fu, Bo-Jie; Li, Chen-Ding; Lü, Yi-He; Luo, Chun-Yan

2009-07-01

Based on the land use change data and by using 137Cs tracer technique, this paper studied the change process of soil erosion intensity in Yangjuangou watershed in Loess Hilly Region. Since the 1980's, the land use intensity in the watershed decreased gradually. In 1980-2006, the slope arable land decreased from 94.9 hm2 to 0.2 hmb2, while the forest land, shrub land, orchard land, and grassland increased from 0 to 51.1 hm2, from 0 to 19.2 hm2, from 0 to 18.0 hm2, and from 76.9 hm2 to 80.1 hmb2, respectively. The soil erosion intensity was in the order of slope arable land > shrub land > orchard land > grass land > forest land. In 1980, 1984, 1996, and 2006, the soil erosion intensity was 6408.9, 5362.4, 4903.9, and 3641.4 t x km(-2) x a(-1), respectively, being changed from intense to moderate. Soil and water conservation and vegetation restoration were the main causes of the decrease of soil erosion intensity in the study area.

Prevalence of Internet addiction and risk of developing addiction as exemplified by a group of Polish adolescents from urban and rural areas.

PubMed

Pawłowska, Beata; Zygo, Maciej; Potembska, Emilia; Kapka-Skrzypczak, Lucyna; Dreher, Piotr; Kędzierski, Zbigniew

2015-01-01

The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of Internet addiction and the risk of developing this addiction in Polish adolescents attending junior high schools and high school in Lublin Province, to indicate the differences regarding the intensity of Internet addiction symptoms, and the types of online activity of adolescents residing in urban and rural areas. The examined group comprised 1,860 participants (1,320 girls and 540 boys) with an average age of 17 years. 760 students lived in urban areas and 1,100 lived in rural areas. The following were used in the study: the Socio-demographic Questionnaire designed by the authors, the Internet Addiction Questionnaire designed by Potembska, the Internet Addiction Test by Young and the Internet Addiction Questionnaire (Kwestionariusz do Badania Uzależnienia od Internetu - KBUI) designed by Pawłowska and Potembska. The adolescents living in urban areas showed a significantly greater intensity of Internet and computer addiction symptoms measured by the KBUI Questionnaire, compared to those living in rural areas. The Internet addiction criteria were fulfilled by 0.45% of adolescents living in urban areas and 2.9% of those living in rural areas, whereas 35.55% of urban dwelling students and 30.18% of students living in rural areas showed a risk of developing this addiction. More adolescents living in urban areas, compared to those living in rural areas, use Internet pornography, play computer games, disclose their personal data to unknown individuals encountered on the Internet, use Instant Messaging (IM) services, electronic mail and Facebook social networking service. Compared to their peers from urban areas, significantly more adolescents from rural areas use 'Nasza Klasa' (Our Classmates) online social networking service.

Hyper-gravitational effects on metabolism and thermoregulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oyama, J.

1984-01-01

Animal hypergravitational effects on metabolism and thermoregulation was studied. The two major problem areas investigated are: initial and short-term exposure effects, and chronic, long-term exposure effects involving developmental and adaptational effects. Investigations focused on: (1) quantifying changes in thermoregulation with graded G-intensities in rats; (2) further delineating the effects of duration on gluconeogenesis, gluconeogenic hormones and substrates, and glucose homeostasis; and (3) reproduction and neonatal survival rates under different G-intensities.

Integrated Geophysical and Geological Study of Earthquakes in Normally Aseismic Areas

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-01-01

maximum Modified Mercalli Intensity X, Smith, 1962), the 1811 -1812 series of earthquakes near New Madrid , Missouri (maximum intensity XII, Fuller, 1912...sediments during the New Madrid earthquakes . Secondly, there are no known major faults with evidence of large scale movements since the Trlassic. In...1970, Seismic geology of the eastern United States: Assoc. Eng. Geologists Bull., v. 7, p. 21-43. Fuller, M.L., 1912, The New Madrid earthquake : U.S

Agency and Market Area Factors Affecting Home Health Agency Supply Changes

PubMed Central

Porell, Frank W; Liu, Korbin; Brungo, David P

2006-01-01

Objective To use the natural experiment created by the Medicare interim payment system (IPS) to study supply change behavior of home health agencies (HHAs) in local market areas. Data Sources One hundred percent Medicare home health claims for 1996 and 1999, linked with Medicare Provider of Service and Denominator files, and the Area Resource File. Study Design Medicare home health care (HHC) claims data were used to distinguish HHAs that changed the local market supply of Medicare HHC by their market exit or by significant expansion or contraction of their geographic service area between 1996 and 1999 from other HHAs. Multinomial logit models were estimated to analyze how characteristics of agencies and the market areas in which they served were associated with these different agency-level supply changes. Principal Findings Changes in local HHA supply stemming from geographic service area expansions and contractions rivaled those owing to agency closures and market entries. Agencies at greater risk of closure and service area contraction tended to be smaller, newer, freestanding agencies, operating with more visit-intensive practice styles in markets with more competitor agencies. Except for having much less visit-intensive practice styles, similar attributes characterized agencies that increased local supply through service area expansion. Conclusions Supply changes by HHAs largely reflected rational market responses by agencies to significant changes in financial incentives associated with the Medicare IPS. Recently certified agencies were among the most dynamic providers. Supply changes were more likely among agencies operating in more competitive market environments. PMID:16987305

Defining Persistent Hotspots: Areas That Fail to Decrease Meaningfully in Prevalence after Multiple Years of Mass Drug Administration with Praziquantel for Control of Schistosomiasis.

PubMed

Kittur, Nupur; Binder, Sue; Campbell, Carl H; King, Charles H; Kinung'hi, Safari; Olsen, Annette; Magnussen, Pascal; Colley, Daniel G

2017-12-01

Preventive chemotherapy with praziquantel for schistosomiasis morbidity control is commonly done by mass drug administration (MDA). MDA regimen is usually based on prevalence in a given area, and effectiveness is evaluated by decreases in prevalence and/or intensity of infection after several years of implementation. Multiple studies and programs now find that even within well-implemented, multiyear, annual MDA programs there often remain locations that do not decline in prevalence and/or intensity to expected levels. We term such locations "persistent hotspots." To study and address persistent hotspots, investigators and neglected tropical disease (NTD) program managers need to define them based on changes in prevalence and/or intensity. But how should the data be analyzed to define a persistent hotspot? We have analyzed a dataset from an operational research study in western Tanzania after three annual MDAs using four different approaches to define persistent hotspots. The four approaches are 1) absolute percent change in prevalence; 2) percent change in prevalence; 3) change in World Health Organization guideline categories; 4) change (absolute or percent) in both prevalence and intensity. We compare and contrast the outcomes of these analyses. Our intent is to show how the same dataset yields different numbers of persistent hotspots depending on the approach used to define them. We suggest that investigators and NTD program managers use the approach most suited for their study or program, but whichever approach is used, it should be clearly stated so that comparisons can be made within and between studies and programs.

Defining Persistent Hotspots: Areas That Fail to Decrease Meaningfully in Prevalence after Multiple Years of Mass Drug Administration with Praziquantel for Control of Schistosomiasis

PubMed Central

Kittur, Nupur; Binder, Sue; Campbell, Carl H.; King, Charles H.; Kinung’hi, Safari; Olsen, Annette; Magnussen, Pascal; Colley, Daniel G.

2017-01-01

Abstract. Preventive chemotherapy with praziquantel for schistosomiasis morbidity control is commonly done by mass drug administration (MDA). MDA regimen is usually based on prevalence in a given area, and effectiveness is evaluated by decreases in prevalence and/or intensity of infection after several years of implementation. Multiple studies and programs now find that even within well-implemented, multiyear, annual MDA programs there often remain locations that do not decline in prevalence and/or intensity to expected levels. We term such locations “persistent hotspots.” To study and address persistent hotspots, investigators and neglected tropical disease (NTD) program managers need to define them based on changes in prevalence and/or intensity. But how should the data be analyzed to define a persistent hotspot? We have analyzed a dataset from an operational research study in western Tanzania after three annual MDAs using four different approaches to define persistent hotspots. The four approaches are 1) absolute percent change in prevalence; 2) percent change in prevalence; 3) change in World Health Organization guideline categories; 4) change (absolute or percent) in both prevalence and intensity. We compare and contrast the outcomes of these analyses. Our intent is to show how the same dataset yields different numbers of persistent hotspots depending on the approach used to define them. We suggest that investigators and NTD program managers use the approach most suited for their study or program, but whichever approach is used, it should be clearly stated so that comparisons can be made within and between studies and programs. PMID:29016344

Luminescence dating of quaternary deposits in geology in Brazil.

PubMed

Tatumi, Sonia Hatsue; Gozzi, Giuliano; Yee, Márcio; de Oliveira, Victor Inácio; Sallun, Alethéa Ernandes Martins; Suguio, Kenitiro

2006-01-01

In the present work, systematic dating by luminescence methods has been done on 50 Quaternary geological samples within the study area of São Paulo State, Brazil. Bleaching experiments showed that residual TL intensity of 375 degrees C peak, of the quartz, was obtained after 10 h of sunlight exposition. Intensities decays of the 325 and 375 degrees C TL peaks can be fitted using second order exponential equation. Paleodose values were evaluated using regeneration methods with multiple aliquots. Samples dated indicate preliminary ages varying from 9 +/- 1 to 935 +/- 130 ka for colluvio-elluvial deposits, and from 17 +/- 2 to 215 +/- 30 ka for alluvial deposits of the study area. They cover four peneplained surfaces shaped during the Quaternary: I (1000-400 ka), II (400-120 ka), III (120-10 ka) and IV (10 ka until today), in decreasing order.

Activity in the premotor area related to bite force control--a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study.

PubMed

Takeda, Tomotaka; Shibusawa, Mami; Sudal, Osamu; Nakajima, Kazunori; Ishigami, Keiichi; Sakatani, Kaoru

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the influence of bite force control on oxygenated hemoglobin (OxyHb) levels in regional cerebral blood flow as an indicator of brain activity in the premotor area. Healthy right-handed volunteers with no subjective or objective symptoms of problems of the stomatognathic system or cervicofacial region were included. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to determine OxyHb levels in the premotor area during bite force control. A bite block equipped with an occlusal force sensor was prepared to measure clenching at the position where the right upper and lower canine cusps come into contact. Intensity of clenching was shown on a display and feedback was provided to the subjects. Intensity was set at 20, 50 and 80% of maximum voluntary teeth clenching force. To minimize the effect of the temporal muscle on the working side of the jaw, the fNIRS probes were positioned contralaterally, in the left region. The findings of this study are: activation of the premotor area with bite force control was noted in all subjects, and in the group analysis OxyHb in the premotor cortex was significantly increased as the clenching strengthened at 20, 50 and 80% of maximum voluntary clenching force. These results suggest there is a possibility that the premotor area is involved in bite force control.

Sensitive Small Area Photometer

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Levenson, M. D.

1970-01-01

Describes a simple photometer capable of measuring small light intensities over small areas. The inexpensive, easy-to- construct instrument is intended for use in a student laboratory to measure the light intensities in a diffraction experiment from single or multiple slits. Typical experimental results are presented along with the theoretical…

Hurricane Matthew (2016) and its Storm Surge Inundation under Global Warming Scenarios: Application of an Interactively Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jisan, M. A.; Bao, S.; Pietrafesa, L.; Pullen, J.

2017-12-01

An interactively coupled atmosphere-ocean model was used to investigate the impacts of future ocean warming, both at the surface and the layers below, on the track and intensity of a hurricane and its associated storm surge and inundation. The category-5 hurricane Matthew (2016), which made landfall on the South Carolina coast of the United States, was used for the case study. Future ocean temperature changes and sea level rise (SLR) were estimated based on the projection of Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s Representative Concentration Pathway scenarios RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5. After being validated with the present-day observational data, the model was applied to simulate the changes in track, intensity, storm surge and inundation that Hurricane Matthew would cause under future climate change scenarios. It was found that a significant increase in hurricane intensity, storm surge water level, and inundation area for Hurricane Matthew under future ocean warming and SLR scenarios. For example, under the RCP 8.5 scenario, the maximum wind speed would increase by 17 knots (14.2%), the minimum sea level pressure would decrease by 26 hPa (2.85%), and the inundated area would increase by 401 km2 (123%). By including the effect of SLR for the middle-21st-century scenario, the inundated area will further increase by up to 49.6%. The increase in the hurricane intensity and the inundated area was also found for the RCP 2.6 scenario. The response of sea surface temperature was analyzed to investigate the change in intensity. A comparison was made between the impacts when only the sea surface warming is considered versus when both the sea surface and the underneath layers are considered. These results showed that even without the effect of SLR, the storm surge level and the inundated area would be higher due to the increased hurricane intensity under the influence of the future warmer ocean temperature. The coupled effect of ocean warming and SLR would cause the hurricane-induced storm surge and inundation to be amplified. The relative importance of the ocean warming versus the SLR was evaluated. Keywords: Hurricane Matthew, Global Warming, Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean Model, Air-Sea interactions, Storm Surge, Inundation

Post-fire, rainfall intensity-peak discharge relations for three mountainous watersheds in the Western USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Moody, J.A.; Martin, D.A.

2001-01-01

Wildfire alters the hydrologic response of watersheds, including the peak discharges resulting from subsequent rainfall. Improving predictions of the magnitude of flooding that follows wildfire is needed because of the increase in human population at risk in the wildland-urban interface. Because this wildland-urban interface is typically in mountainous terrain, we investigated rainfall-runoff relations by measuring the maximum 30 min rainfall intensity and the unit-area peak discharge (peak discharge divided by the area burned) in three mountainous watersheds (17-26.8 km2) after a wildfire. We found rainfall-runoff relations that relate the unit-area peak discharges to the maximum 30 min rainfall intensities by a power law. These rainfall-runoff relations appear to have a threshold value for the maximum 30 min rainfall intensity (around 10 mm h-1) such that, above this threshold, the magnitude of the flood peaks increases more rapidly with increases in intensity. This rainfall intensity could be used to set threshold limits in rain gauges that are part of an early-warning flood system after wildfire. The maximum unit-area peak discharges from these three burned watersheds ranged from 3.2 to 50 m3 s-1 km-2. These values could provide initial estimates of the upper limits of runoff that can be used to predict floods after wildfires in mountainous terrain. Published in 2001 by John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.

Evaluation of Surface Roughness by Image Processing of a Shot-Peened, TIG-Welded Aluminum 6061-T6 Alloy: An Experimental Case Study

PubMed Central

Rawashdeh, Nathir A.

2018-01-01

Visual inspection through image processing of welding and shot-peened surfaces is necessary to overcome equipment limitations, avoid measurement errors, and accelerate processing to gain certain surface properties such as surface roughness. Therefore, it is important to design an algorithm to quantify surface properties, which enables us to overcome the aforementioned limitations. In this study, a proposed systematic algorithm is utilized to generate and compare the surface roughness of Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welded aluminum 6061-T6 alloy treated by two levels of shot-peening, high-intensity and low-intensity. This project is industrial in nature, and the proposed solution was originally requested by local industry to overcome equipment capabilities and limitations. In particular, surface roughness measurements are usually only possible on flat surfaces but not on other areas treated by shot-peening after welding, as in the heat-affected zone and weld beads. Therefore, those critical areas are outside of the measurement limitations. Using the proposed technique, the surface roughness measurements were possible to obtain for weld beads, high-intensity and low-intensity shot-peened surfaces. In addition, a 3D surface topography was generated and dimple size distributions were calculated for the three tested scenarios: control sample (TIG-welded only), high-intensity shot-peened, and low-intensity shot-peened TIG-welded Al6065-T6 samples. Finally, cross-sectional hardness profiles were measured for the three scenarios; in all scenarios, lower hardness measurements were obtained compared to the base metal alloy in the heat-affected zone and in the weld beads even after shot-peening treatments. PMID:29748520

Evaluation of Surface Roughness by Image Processing of a Shot-Peened, TIG-Welded Aluminum 6061-T6 Alloy: An Experimental Case Study.

PubMed

Atieh, Anas M; Rawashdeh, Nathir A; AlHazaa, Abdulaziz N

2018-05-10

Visual inspection through image processing of welding and shot-peened surfaces is necessary to overcome equipment limitations, avoid measurement errors, and accelerate processing to gain certain surface properties such as surface roughness. Therefore, it is important to design an algorithm to quantify surface properties, which enables us to overcome the aforementioned limitations. In this study, a proposed systematic algorithm is utilized to generate and compare the surface roughness of Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welded aluminum 6061-T6 alloy treated by two levels of shot-peening, high-intensity and low-intensity. This project is industrial in nature, and the proposed solution was originally requested by local industry to overcome equipment capabilities and limitations. In particular, surface roughness measurements are usually only possible on flat surfaces but not on other areas treated by shot-peening after welding, as in the heat-affected zone and weld beads. Therefore, those critical areas are outside of the measurement limitations. Using the proposed technique, the surface roughness measurements were possible to obtain for weld beads, high-intensity and low-intensity shot-peened surfaces. In addition, a 3D surface topography was generated and dimple size distributions were calculated for the three tested scenarios: control sample (TIG-welded only), high-intensity shot-peened, and low-intensity shot-peened TIG-welded Al6065-T6 samples. Finally, cross-sectional hardness profiles were measured for the three scenarios; in all scenarios, lower hardness measurements were obtained compared to the base metal alloy in the heat-affected zone and in the weld beads even after shot-peening treatments.

Using safety inspection data to estimate shaking intensity for the 1994 Northridge earthquake

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thywissen, K.; Boatwright, J.

1998-01-01

We map the shaking intensity suffered in Los Angeles County during the 17 January 1994, Northridge earthquake using municipal safety inspection data. The intensity is estimated from the number of buildings given red, yellow, or green tags, aggregated by census tract. Census tracts contain from 200 to 4000 residential buildings and have an average area of 6 km2 but are as small as 2 and 1 km2 in the most densely populated areas of the San Fernando Valley and downtown Los Angeles, respectively. In comparison, the zip code areas on which standard MMI intensity estimates are based are six times larger, on average, than the census tracts. We group the buildings by age (before and after 1940 and 1976), by number of housing units (one, two to four, and five or more), and by construction type, and we normalize the tags by the total number of similar buildings in each census tract. We analyze the seven most abundant building categories. The fragilities (the fraction of buildings in each category tagged within each intensity level) for these seven building categories are adjusted so that the intensity estimates agree. We calibrate the shaking intensity to correspond with the modified Mercalli intensities (MMI) estimated and compiled by Dewey et al. (1995); the shapes of the resulting isoseismals are similar, although we underestimate the extent of the MMI = 6 and 7 areas. The fragility varies significantly between different building categories (by factors of 10 to 20) and building ages (by factors of 2 to 6). The post-1940 wood-frame multi-family (???5 units) dwellings make up the most fragile building category, and the post-1940 wood-frame single-family dwellings make up the most resistant building category.

Growth and development of children aged 1-5 years in low-intensity armed conflict areas in Southern Thailand: a community-based survey.

PubMed

Jeharsae, Rohani; Sangthong, Rassamee; Wichaidit, Wit; Chongsuvivatwong, Virasakdi

2013-04-04

A low-intensity armed conflict has been occurring for nearly a decade in southernmost region of Thailand. However, its impact on child health has not yet been investigated. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of delayed child growth and development in the affected areas and to determine the association between the violence and health among children aged 1-5 years. A total of 498 children aged 1-5 years were recruited. Intensity of conflict for each sub-district was calculated as the 6-year average number of incidents per 100,000 population per year and classified into quartiles. Growth indices were weight-for-age, height-for-age, and weight-for-height, while development was measured by the Denver Development Screening Test II (Thai version). Food insecurity, child-rearing practice, health service accessibility, household sanitation, and depression among the caregivers were assessed using screening scales and questionnaires. Contextual information such as average income and numbers of violent events in each sub-district was obtained from external sources. Growth retardation was highly prevalent in the area as reported by rates of underweight, stunting, and wasting at 19.3%, 27.6% and 7.4%, respectively. The prevalence of developmental delay was also substantially high (37.1%). Multi-level analysis found no evidence of association between insurgency and health outcomes. However, children in areas with higher intensity of violence had a lower risk of delay in personal-social development (OR = 0.4; 95% CI = 0.2 - 0.9; p-value = 0.05). Unlike war refugees and internally-displaced persons in camp-like settings, the relationship between level of armed conflict and growth and developmental delay among children aged 1-5 years could not be demonstrated in the community setting of this study where food supply had been minimally perturbed.

Intensive language training enhances brain plasticity in chronic aphasia

PubMed Central

Meinzer, Marcus; Elbert, Thomas; Wienbruch, Christian; Djundja, Daniela; Barthel, Gabriela; Rockstroh, Brigitte

2004-01-01

Background Focal clusters of slow wave activity in the delta frequency range (1–4 Hz), as measured by magnetencephalography (MEG), are usually located in the vicinity of structural damage in the brain. Such oscillations are usually considered pathological and indicative of areas incapable of normal functioning owing to deafferentation from relevant input sources. In the present study we investigated the change in Delta Dipole Density in 28 patients with chronic aphasia (>12 months post onset) following cerebrovascular stroke of the left hemisphere before and after intensive speech and language therapy (3 hours/day over 2 weeks). Results Neuropsychologically assessed language functions improved significantly after training. Perilesional delta activity decreased after therapy in 16 of the 28 patients, while an increase was evident in 12 patients. The magnitude of change of delta activity in these areas correlated with the amount of change in language functions as measured by standardized language tests. Conclusions These results emphasize the significance of perilesional areas in the rehabilitation of aphasia even years after the stroke, and might reflect reorganisation of the language network that provides the basis for improved language functions after intensive training. PMID:15331014

Earthquake Macro-zonation Based Peak Ground Acceleration, Modified Mercalli Intensity, And Type of Rocks around Matano Fault

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karnaen, Muh; Suriamihardja, D. A.; Maulana, A.; Jaya, A.

2018-03-01

This study aims to determine earthquake vulnerable zones. We conducted research on earthquake macro-zonation based on PGA, Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI), and type of rocks around Matano Fault in the area of 1.60 S to 2.990 S and 120.50 E to 122.470 E. We have acquired Maximum PGA and Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) for each observation point on the ground from the four major earthquake events. The empirical model is used due to lack of acceleration data recorded. We tried some empirical methods, but the McGuire method is found to be acceptable for this area. The result gives the maximum variation of PGA which is ranged between 18.40 - 363.54 gals. While the variation of MMI using empirical Wald attenuation gives values ranging from 2.9 - 7.7 MMI. The most vulnerable zone is located around Sorowako city with PGA value of 326.55 gals and MMI value of 7.5 MMI. This area is between ultra-basic rock and metamorphic rock formation. The vulnerable zone is near largest earthquake 6.2 M on 15-02-2011.

Shifting the urban heat island clock in a megacity: a case study of Hong Kong

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xuan; Jeong, Su-Jong

2018-01-01

With increasing levels of urbanization in the near future, understanding the impact of urbanization on urban heat islands (UHIs) is critical to adapting to regional climate and environmental changes. However, our understanding of the UHI effect relies mainly on its intensity or magnitude. The present study evaluates the impact of urbanization on UHI duration changes by comparing three stations with different rates of urbanization, including highly developed and developing urban areas throughout Hong Kong, from 1990-2015. Results show that the 26 year average UHI intensity in highly urbanized regions is much higher than that in developing areas, and the 26 year average of UHI duration is similar. Over the past 25 years, however, UHI duration has increased only in developing urban areas, from 13.59-17.47 hours. Both earlier UHI starting and later UHI ending times concurrently contribute to the UHI effect being experienced for a longer duration. The differences in UHI duration change between the two areas are supported by population and by night light changes from space. Increasing night light, which suggests enhancements in the economic infrastructure, occurred only in the developing urban areas. Our results suggest that changes in UHI duration should be included in an assessment of regional climate change as well as in urban planning in a megacity.

Felling and skidding productivity and harvesting cost in southern pine forests

Treesearch

R.A. Kluender; B.J. Stokes

1996-01-01

Sixteen stands were harvested at various levels of basal area removed (intensity). Chainsaw felling productivity was more sensitive to stem diameter than harvest intensity. Skidding productivity was highest when removing large trees at high intensity. Harvesting cost was more sensitive to stem size than harvest intensity, although harvest intensity was a very important...

Noninvasive analysis of human neck muscle function

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Conley, M. S.; Meyer, R. A.; Bloomberg, J. J.; Feeback, D. L.; Dudley, G. A.

1995-01-01

STUDY DESIGN. Muscle use evoked by exercise was determined by quantifying shifts in signal relaxation times of T2-weighted magnetic resonance images. Images were collected at rest and after exercise at each of two intensities (moderate and intense) for each of four head movements: 1) extension, 2) flexion, 3) rotation, and 4) lateral flexion. OBJECTIVE. This study examined the intensity and pattern of neck muscle use evoked by various movements of the head. The results will help elucidate the pathophysiology, and thus methods for treating disorders of the cervical musculoskeletal system. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA. Exercise-induced contrast shifts in T2 has been shown to indicate muscle use during the activity. The noninvasive nature of magnetic resonance imaging appears to make it an ideal approach for studying the function of the complex neuromuscular system of the neck. METHODS. The extent of T2 increase was examined to gauge how intensely nine different neck muscles or muscle pairs were used in seven subjects. The absolute and relative cross-sectional area of muscle showing a shift in signal relaxation was assessed to infer the pattern of use among and within individual neck muscles or muscle pairs. RESULTS. Signal relaxation increased with exercise intensity for each head movement. The absolute and relative cross-sectional area of muscle showing a shift in signal relaxation also increased with exercise load. Neck muscles or muscle pairs extensively used to perform each head movement were: extension--semispinalis capitis and cervicis and splenius capitis; flexion--sternocleidomastoid and longus capitis and colli; rotation--splenius capitis, levator scapulae, scalenus, semispinalis capitis ipsilateral to the rotation, and sternocleidomastoid contralateral; and lateral flexion--sternocleidomastoid CONCLUSION. The results of this study, in part, agree with the purported functions of neck muscles derived from anatomic location. This also was true for the few selected muscles that have been examined in human electromyographic studies. Neck muscle function and morphology can be studied at a detailed level using exercise-induced shifts in magnetic resonance images.

Characterization of Three-Stream Jet Flow Fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henderson, Brenda S.; Wernet, Mark P.

2016-01-01

Flow-field measurements were conducted on single-, dual- and three-stream jets using two-component and stereo Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). The flow-field measurements complimented previous acoustic measurements. The exhaust system consisted of externally-plugged, externally-mixed, convergent nozzles. The study used bypass-to-core area ratios equal to 1.0 and 2.5 and tertiary-to-core area ratios equal to 0.6 and 1.0. Axisymmetric and offset tertiary nozzles were investigated for heated and unheated high-subsonic conditions. Centerline velocity decay rates for the single-, dual- and three-stream axisymmetric jets compared well when axial distance was normalized by an equivalent diameter based on the nozzle system total exit area. The tertiary stream had a greater impact on the mean axial velocity for the small bypass-to-core area ratio nozzles than for large bypass-to-core area ratio nozzles. Normalized turbulence intensities were similar for the single-, dual-, and three-stream unheated jets due to the small difference (10 percent) in the core and bypass velocities for the dual-stream jets and the low tertiary velocity (50 percent of the core stream) for the three-stream jets. For heated jet conditions where the bypass velocity was 65 percent of the core velocity, additional regions of high turbulence intensity occurred near the plug tip which were not present for the unheated jets. Offsetting the tertiary stream moved the peak turbulence intensity levels upstream relative to those for all axisymmetric jets investigated.

Characterization of Three-Stream Jet Flow Fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henderson, Brenda S.; Wernet, Mark P.

2016-01-01

Flow-field measurements were conducted on single-, dual- and three-stream jets using two-component and stereo Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). The flow-field measurements complimented previous acoustic measurements. The exhaust system consisted of externally-plugged, externally-mixed, convergent nozzles. The study used bypass-to-core area ratios equal to 1.0 and 2.5 and tertiary-to-core area ratios equal to 0.6 and 1.0. Axisymmetric and offset tertiary nozzles were investigated for heated and unheated high-subsonic conditions. Centerline velocity decay rates for the single-, dual- and three-stream axisymmetric jets compared well when axial distance was normalized by an equivalent diameter based on the nozzle system total exit area. The tertiary stream had a greater impact on the mean axial velocity for the small bypass-to-core area ratio nozzles than for large bypass-to-core area ratio nozzles. Normalized turbulence intensities were similar for the single-, dual-, and three-stream unheated jets due to the small difference (10%) in the core and bypass velocities for the dual-stream jets and the low tertiary velocity (50% of the core stream) for the three-stream jets. For heated jet conditions where the bypass velocity was 65% of the core velocity, additional regions of high turbulence intensity occurred near the plug tip which were not present for the unheated jets. Offsetting the tertiary stream moved the peak turbulence intensity levels upstream relative to those for all axisymmetric jets investigated.

Potential soil carbon sequestration in overgrazed grassland ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conant, Richard T.; Paustian, Keith

2002-12-01

Excessive grazing pressure is detrimental to plant productivity and may lead to declines in soil organic matter. Soil organic matter is an important source of plant nutrients and can enhance soil aggregation, limit soil erosion, and can also increase cation exchange and water holding capacities, and is, therefore, a key regulator of grassland ecosystem processes. Changes in grassland management which reverse the process of declining productivity can potentially lead to increased soil C. Thus, rehabilitation of areas degraded by overgrazing can potentially sequester atmospheric C. We compiled data from the literature to evaluate the influence of grazing intensity on soil C. Based on data contained within these studies, we ascertained a positive linear relationship between potential C sequestration and mean annual precipitation which we extrapolated to estimate global C sequestration potential with rehabilitation of overgrazed grassland. The GLASOD and IGBP DISCover data sets were integrated to generate a map of overgrazed grassland area for each of four severity classes on each continent. Our regression model predicted losses of soil C with decreased grazing intensity in drier areas (precipitation less than 333 mm yr-1), but substantial sequestration in wetter areas. Most (93%) C sequestration potential occurred in areas with MAP less than 1800 mm. Universal rehabilitation of overgrazed grasslands can sequester approximately 45 Tg C yr-1, most of which can be achieved simply by cessation of overgrazing and implementation of moderate grazing intensity. Institutional level investments by governments may be required to sequester additional C.

Expanding technology in the ICU: the case for the utilization of telemedicine.

PubMed

Deslich, Stacie; Coustasse, Alberto

2014-05-01

Telemedicine has been utilized in various healthcare areas to achieve better patient outcomes, lower costs of providing services, and increase patient access to care. Tele-intensive care unit (ICU) technology has been introduced as a way to provide effective ICU services to patients with reduced access, as well as to decrease costs and improve patient care. The methodology for this qualitative study was a literature search and review of case studies. The search was limited to sources published in the last 10 years (2003-2013) in the English language. In total, 55 references were used for this research exploration inquiry. Tele-ICU was found to be an effective way to use technology to decrease costs of providing intensive care, while improving patient outcomes such as mortality and length of stay. Several case studies supported the use of telemedicine in ICUs to provide intensive care to patients who lived in rural areas and lacked access to traditional ICUs. Furthermore, it was noted that, although the initial costs for tele-ICU startup were significant, as much as $100,000 per bed, the benefits of the utilization of this technology can offset those costs by reducing costs by 24% via decreased length of stay for patients. The findings of this study have suggested that the implementation of tele-ICU may have been more beneficial than costly, and it may have provided healthcare organizations the opportunity to increase quality of care and decrease mortality, while it might have decreased costs of delivering ICU services in both rural and urban areas.

Plasmodium falciparum: Differential Selection of Drug Resistance Alleles in Contiguous Urban and Peri-Urban Areas of Brazzaville, Republic of Congo

PubMed Central

Tsumori, Yoko; Ndounga, Mathieu; Sunahara, Toshihiko; Hayashida, Nozomi; Inoue, Megumi; Nakazawa, Shusuke; Casimiro, Prisca; Isozumi, Rie; Uemura, Haruki; Tanabe, Kazuyuki; Kaneko, Osamu; Culleton, Richard

2011-01-01

The African continent is currently experiencing rapid population growth, with rising urbanization increasing the percentage of the population living in large towns and cities. We studied the impact of the degree of urbanization on the population genetics of Plasmodium falciparum in urban and peri-urban areas in and around the city of Brazzaville, Republic of Congo. This field setting, which incorporates local health centers situated in areas of varying urbanization, is of interest as it allows the characterization of malaria parasites from areas where the human, parasite, and mosquito populations are shared, but where differences in the degree of urbanization (leading to dramatic differences in transmission intensity) cause the pattern of malaria transmission to differ greatly. We have investigated how these differences in transmission intensity affect parasite genetic diversity, including the amount of genetic polymorphism in each area, the degree of linkage disequilibrium within the populations, and the prevalence and frequency of drug resistance markers. To determine parasite population structure, heterozygosity and linkage disequilibrium, we typed eight microsatellite markers and performed haplotype analysis of the msp1 gene by PCR. Mutations known to be associated with resistance to the antimalarial drugs chloroquine and pyrimethamine were determined by sequencing the relevant portions of the crt and dhfr genes, respectively. We found that parasite genetic diversity was comparable between the two sites, with high levels of polymorphism being maintained in both areas despite dramatic differences in transmission intensity. Crucially, we found that the frequencies of genetic markers of drug resistance against pyrimethamine and chloroquine differed significantly between the sites, indicative of differing selection pressures in the two areas. PMID:21858115

Detailed Analysis of Misconceptions as a Basis for Developing Remedial Instruction: The Case of Photosynthesis.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Amir, Ruth; Tamir, Pinchas

A great number of misconceptions in diverse subject areas as well as across age levels have been documented and described. Photosynthesis is one of the more intensively studied areas in biology. The purpose of this research was to carefully select and define misconceptions about photosynthesis needing remedial efforts. To achieve this, a specially…

Multisensor Modeling Underwater with Uncertain Information

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-09-01

the Clipperton Zone. The data used for stochastic modeling were supplied by NECOR at the University of Rhode Island . by courtesy of Dr. Dave Gallo of...artifacts ............................. 133 Figure 6.5: Sea MARC I intensity map of Clipperton area ............... .136 Figure 6.6: Sea MARC I intensity...map of Clipperton area (from Kastens et ,11.). .. 137 Figure 6.7: Sea Beam contour map of Clipperton area .................. .138 Figure 6.8: Sea Beam

A new evaluation of heat distribution on facial skin surface by infrared thermography.

PubMed

Haddad, Denise S; Brioschi, Marcos L; Baladi, Marina G; Arita, Emiko S

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to identify the facial areas defined by thermal gradient, in individuals compatible with the pattern of normality, and to quantify and describe them anatomically. The sample consisted of 161 volunteers, of both genders, aged between 26 and 84 years (63 ± 15 years). The results demonstrated that the thermal gradient areas suggested for the study were present in at least 95% of the thermograms evaluated and that there is significant difference in temperature between the genders, racial group and variables "odontalgia", "dental prothesis" and "history of migraine" (p < 0.05). Moreover, there was no statistically significant difference in the absolute temperatures between ages, and right and left sides of the face, in individuals compatible with the pattern of normality (ΔT = 0.11°C). The authors concluded that according to the suggested areas of thermal gradients, these were present in at least 95% of all the thermograms evaluated, and the areas of high intensity found in the face were medial palpebral commissure, labial commissure, temporal, supratrochlear and external acoustic meatus, whereas the points of low intensity were inferior labial, lateral palpebral commissure and nasolabial.

The role of interventional patient hygiene in improving clinical and economic outcomes.

PubMed

Carr, Devin; Benoit, Richard

2009-02-01

To successfully educate, integrate, and empower nonlicensed personnel in the surgical intensive care unit in the use of a skin care protocol to maintain and improve skin integrity. Observational intervention study. Surgical intensive care unit. Data related to alterations in skin integrity were collected over 4 months, representing approximately 2000 patient-days. A total of 97 specific events representing 121 "areas of concern" were identified by nonlicensed personnel. Nonlicensed staff members' knowledge in 6 key areas related to pressure ulcer (PrU) development was surveyed before and after implementation of an interventional patient hygiene (IPH) program incorporating comprehensive bathing and incontinence protocols. A unique point-of-use skin inspection tool was used by nonlicensed personnel to communicate areas of concern to licensed personnel (registered nurses [RNs]). Reduction in PrUs and improvement in nonlicensed staff knowledge of facility protocols. Incidence of new PrUs decreased from 7.14% at baseline to 0% at the end of the study. Nonlicensed staff knowledge increased to 100% in all 6 knowledge areas. Implementation of an IPH program incorporating comprehensive bathing and incontinence management resulted in enhanced communication between nonlicensed staff and RNs as well as improved patient outcomes.

Spatiotemporal trajectories of reactivation of somatosensory cortex by direct and secondary pathways after dorsal column lesions in squirrel monkeys

PubMed Central

Qi, Hui-Xin; Wang, Feng; Liao, Chia-Chi; Friedman, Robert M.; Tang, Chaohui; Kaas, Jon H.; Avison, Malcolm J.

2016-01-01

After lesions of the somatosensory dorsal column (DC) pathway, the cortical hand representation can become unresponsive to tactile stimuli, but considerable responsiveness returns over weeks of post-lesion recovery. The reactivation suggests that preserved subthreshold sensory inputs become potentiated and axon sprouting occurs over time to mediate recovery. Here, we studied the recovery process in 3 squirrel monkeys, using high-resolution fMRI CBV-fMRI mapping of contralateral somatosensory cortex responsiveness to stimulation of distal finger pads with low and high level electrocutaneous stimulation (ES) before and 2, 4, and 6 weeks after a high cervical level contralateral DC lesion. Both low and high intensity ES of digits revealed the expected somatotopy of the area 3b hand representation in pre-lesion monkeys, while in areas 1 and 3a, high intensity stimulation was more effective in activating somatotopic patterns. Six weeks post-lesion, and irrespective of the severity of loss of direct DC inputs (98%, 79%, 40%), somatosensory cortical area 3b of all three animals showed near complete recovery in terms of somatotopy and responsiveness to low and high intensity ES. However there was significant variability in the patterns and amplitudes of reactivation of individual digit territories within and between animals, reflecting differences in the degree of permanent and/or transient silencing of primary DC and secondary inputs 2 weeks post-lesion, and their spatio-temporal trajectories of recovery between 2 and 6 weeks. Similar variations in the silencing and recovery of somatotopy and responsiveness to high intensity ES in areas 3a and 1 are consistent with inter-individual differences in collateral damage to and recovery of secondary (e.g. spinothalamic) pathways. Thus, cortical deactivation and subsequent reactivation depends not only on the degree of DC lesion, but also on the severity and duration of loss of secondary as well as primary inputs revealed by low and high intensity ES. PMID:27523450

Combining Livestock Production Information in a Process-Based Vegetation Model to Reconstruct the History of Grassland Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chang, Jinfeng; Ciais, Philippe; Herrero, Mario; Havlik, Petr; Campioli, Matteo; Zhang, Xianzhou; Bai, Yongfei; Viovy, Nicolas; Joiner, Joanna; Wang, Xuhui;

A "two-objective, one-area" procedure in absorption microphotometry and its application using an inverted microscope.

PubMed

Chaubal, K A

1988-08-01

A 'two-objective, one-area' method and related equations are suggested to measure absorbance of microscopic stained objects. In such work, the measuring field invariably includes an image of the object and some clear area surrounding the image. The total intensity in the two areas is measured photometrically, using two different objectives, and substituted in the equation for absorbance. The equation is independent of the term representing intensity from the clear area and hence the error in the measurement of absorbance is reduced. The limitations of the 'two-objective, one-area' method are discussed and its pragmatic operation described with an experimental setup involving an inverted microscope. The method permits measurement of intensity in a part of a stained cell while the rest of the cell remains in the field of view. The method is applied to measure absorbance in Giemsa stained ascites cells and Feulgen stained liver and Human Amnion cells.

The Influence of the Rebaudioside A Content of Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) on the Determination of Sweetness Equivalence in Bittersweet Chocolates, Using the Time-Intensity Analysis.

PubMed

Azevedo, Bruna M; Ferreira, Janaína M M; Luccas, Valdecir; Bolini, Helena M A

2016-12-01

The consumption of diet products has increased greatly in recent years. The objectives of the study were to develop a bittersweet chocolate added inulin and stevias with different rebaudioside A contents (60%, 80%, and 97%). Five chocolate samples were formulated with different sucrose concentrations to determine the ideal sucrose concentration for bittersweet chocolate. The use of just-about-right scale identified an ideal sucrose concentration of 47.5% (w/w). The sweetness equivalence in sugar-free bittersweet chocolates was determined by the time-intensity method by 14 selected and trained judges. The data collected during each session of sensory evaluation furnished the following parameters in relation to the sweet stimulus: Imax (maximum intensity recorded), Timax (time at which the maximum intensity was recorded), Area (area of time × intensity curve), and Ttot (total duration time of the stimulus). The time-intensity analysis indicated that the percentages of rebaudioside A did not interfere with the sweetness intensity of the sweetener stevia in bittersweet chocolate and there was no significant difference in the concentrations tested (0.16%, 0.22%, 0.27%) of each stevia, in relation to the parameters evaluated. In addition, the reduction in fat content did not alter the perception of the sweetness intensity of the samples. These results showed important information to research and development of chocolate products. Therefore, the use of the lowest stevia concentration tested (0.16%) is the most indicated for use, since this quantity was sufficient to reach the ideal sweetness of the product, so there was no point in adding more. © 2016 Institute of Food Technologists®.

Impact of Four Years of Annual Mass Drug Administration on Prevalence and Intensity of Schistosomiasis among Primary and High School Children in Western Kenya: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study

PubMed Central

Abudho, Bernard O.; Ndombi, Eric M.; Guya, Bernard; Carter, Jennifer M.; Riner, Diana K.; Kittur, Nupur; Karanja, Diana M. S.; Secor, W. Evan; Colley, Daniel G.

2018-01-01

Abstract. Schistosomiasis remains a major public health problem in Kenya. The World Health Organization recommends preventive chemotherapy with praziquantel (PZQ) to control morbidity due to schistosomiasis. Morbidity is considered linked to intensity of infection, which along with prevalence is used to determine the frequency of mass drug administration (MDA) to school-age children. We determined the impact of annual school-based MDA on children across all primary and high school years using a repeated cross-sectional study design in five schools near Lake Victoria in western Kenya, an area endemic for Schistosoma mansoni. At baseline and for the following four consecutive years, between 897 and 1,440 school children in Grades 1–12 were enrolled and evaluated by Kato-Katz for S. mansoni and soil-transmitted helminths (STH), followed by annual MDA with PZQ and albendazole. Four annual rounds of MDA with PZQ were associated with reduced S. mansoni prevalence in all school children (44.7–14.0%; P < 0.001) and mean intensity of infection by 91% (90.4 to 8.1 eggs per gram [epg] of stool; P < 0.001). Prevalence of high-intensity infection (≥ 400 epg) decreased from 6.8% at baseline to 0.3% by the end of the study. Soil-transmitted helminth infections, already low at baseline, also decreased significantly over the years. In this high prevalence area, annual school-based MDA with high coverage across all Grades (1–12) resulted in rapid and progressive declines in overall prevalence and intensity of infection. This decrease was dramatic in regard to heavy infections in older school-attending children. PMID:29532768

Impact of Four Years of Annual Mass Drug Administration on Prevalence and Intensity of Schistosomiasis among Primary and High School Children in Western Kenya: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study.

PubMed

Abudho, Bernard O; Ndombi, Eric M; Guya, Bernard; Carter, Jennifer M; Riner, Diana K; Kittur, Nupur; Karanja, Diana M S; Secor, W Evan; Colley, Daniel G

2018-05-01

Schistosomiasis remains a major public health problem in Kenya. The World Health Organization recommends preventive chemotherapy with praziquantel (PZQ) to control morbidity due to schistosomiasis. Morbidity is considered linked to intensity of infection, which along with prevalence is used to determine the frequency of mass drug administration (MDA) to school-age children. We determined the impact of annual school-based MDA on children across all primary and high school years using a repeated cross-sectional study design in five schools near Lake Victoria in western Kenya, an area endemic for Schistosoma mansoni . At baseline and for the following four consecutive years, between 897 and 1,440 school children in Grades 1-12 were enrolled and evaluated by Kato-Katz for S. mansoni and soil-transmitted helminths (STH), followed by annual MDA with PZQ and albendazole. Four annual rounds of MDA with PZQ were associated with reduced S. mansoni prevalence in all school children (44.7-14.0%; P < 0.001) and mean intensity of infection by 91% (90.4 to 8.1 eggs per gram [epg] of stool; P < 0.001). Prevalence of high-intensity infection (≥ 400 epg) decreased from 6.8% at baseline to 0.3% by the end of the study. Soil-transmitted helminth infections, already low at baseline, also decreased significantly over the years. In this high prevalence area, annual school-based MDA with high coverage across all Grades (1-12) resulted in rapid and progressive declines in overall prevalence and intensity of infection. This decrease was dramatic in regard to heavy infections in older school-attending children.

Regional and local increases in storm intensity in the San Francisco Bay Area, USA, between 1890 and 2010

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russo, Tess A.; Fisher, Andrew T.; Winslow, Dustin M.

2013-04-01

Studies of extreme precipitation have documented changes at the continental scale during the twentieth century, but few studies have quantified changes at small to regional spatial scales during the same time. We analyze historic data from over 600 precipitation stations in the San Francisco Bay Area (SFBA), California, to assess whether there have been statistically significant changes in extreme precipitation between 1890 and 2010. An annual exceedance probability analysis of extreme precipitation events in the SFBA, coupled with a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm, reveals an increase in the occurrence of large events. The depth-duration-frequency characteristics of maximum annual precipitation events having durations of 1 h to 60 days indicate on average an increase in storm intensity in the last 120 years, with the intensity of the largest (least frequent) events increasing the most. Mean annual precipitation (MAP) also increased during the study period, but the relative increase in extreme event intensity exceeds that of MAP, indicating that a greater fraction of precipitation fell during large events. Analysis of data from subareas within the SFBA region indicates considerable heterogeneity in the observed nonstationarity; for example, the 5 day, 25 year event exceedance depth changed by +26%, +16%, and -1% in San Francisco, Santa Rosa, and San Jose, respectively. These results emphasize the importance of analyzing local data for accurate risk assessment, emergency planning, resource management, and climate model calibration.

Relationships between precipitation and floods in the fluvial basins of Central Spain based on documentary sources from the end of the 16th century

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bullón, T.

2011-08-01

This study presents the results of a historic reconstruction based upon documentary sources of precipitation and floods during the last fifty years of the 16th century in Central Spain. We used data from primary sources contemporary to the events rather than compilations or secondary references. These documents belong to the institutions that administered the study area during the time period of interest and consist of municipal or monastic minute books and administrative texts from properties belonging to the nobility and royal family. Direct data that explicitly describe meteorological or flood-related events are haphazardly distributed throughout personal correspondence and various reports, and the sizes of floods or precipitation events can also be deduced from indirect data. We analysed the qualitative data by transforming them into numerical indices of intensity/duration for precipitation and intensity/area for floods. We differentiated three sets of years that presented different hydrological patterns. The first period, from 1554 to 1575, exhibited regular precipitation patterns associated with low-intensity floods. The second, from 1576 to 1584, was characterised by low precipitation levels and few floods. The third, from 1585 to 1599, showed intense precipitation with large floods interspersed with long-lasting droughts. We interpret these results in the context of the environmental and land-use patterns of the time period studied, which coincided with a period of low temperatures.

Drought evolution characteristics and precipitation intensity changes during alternating dry-wet changes in the Huang-Huai-Hai River basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yan, D. H.; Wu, D.; Huang, R.; Wang, L. N.; Yang, G. Y.

2013-03-01

According to the Chinese climate divisions and the Huang-Huai-Hai River basin digital elevation map, the basin is divided into seven sub-regions by means of cluster analysis of the basin meteorological stations using the self-organizing map (SOM) neural network method. Based on the daily precipitation data of 171 stations for the years 1961-2011, the drought frequency changes with different magnitudes are analyzed and the number of consecutive days without precipitation is used to identify the drought magnitudes. The first precipitation intensity after a drought period is analyzed with the Pearson-III frequency curve, then the relationship between rainfall intensity and different drought magnitudes is observed, as are the drought frequency changes for different years. The results of the study indicated the following: (1) the occurrence frequency of different drought level shows an overall increasing trend; there is no clear interdecadal change shown, but the spatial difference is significant. The occurrence frequencies of severe and extraordinary drought are higher on the North China Plain, Hetao Plains in Ningxia-Inner Mongolia, as well as on the Inner Mongolia and the Loess Plateaus, and in the Fen-Wei Valley basin. (2) As the drought level increases, the probability of extraordinary rainstorm becomes lower, and the frequency of occurrence of spatial changes in different precipitation intensities vary. In the areas surrounding Bo Sea, the Shandong Peninsula and the Huai River downstream, as the drought level increases, the occurrence frequency of different precipitation intensities first shows a decreasing trend, which becomes an increasing trend when extraordinary drought occurs. In the middle and upper reaches of the Huai River basin, on the Hai River basin piedmont plain and Hetao Plains in Ningxia-Inner Mongolia, Inner Mongolia and Loess Plateaus, and in the Fen-Wei Valley basin, the probability of the different precipitation intensities shows an overall decreasing trend. The mountains with high attitude and Tibetan Plateau are located at high altitudes where the variation of different precipitation intensities with the increase in drought level is relatively complex. (3) As the drought frequency increases, areas I, II and V which are located on the coastal and in the river basin are vulnerable to extreme precipitation processes; areas III, IV, VI and VII are located in the inland area where heavier precipitation is not likely to occur.

Quantitative estimation of the high-intensity zone in the lumbar spine: comparison between the symptomatic and asymptomatic population.

PubMed

Liu, Chao; Cai, Hong-Xin; Zhang, Jian-Feng; Ma, Jian-Jun; Lu, Yin-Jiang; Fan, Shun-Wu

2014-03-01

The high-intensity zone (HIZ) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been studied for more than 20 years, but its diagnostic value in low back pain (LBP) is limited by the high incidence in asymptomatic subjects. Little effort has been made to improve the objective assessment of HIZ. To develop quantitative measurements for HIZ and estimate intra- and interobserver reliability and to clarify different signal intensity of HIZ in patients with or without LBP. A measurement reliability and prospective comparative study. A consecutive series of patients with LBP between June 2010 and May 2011 (group A) and a successive series of asymptomatic controls during the same period (group B). Incidence of HIZ; quantitative measures, including area of disc, area and signal intensity of HIZ, and magnetic resonance imaging index; and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for intra- and interobserver reliability. On the basis of HIZ criteria, a series of quantitative dimension and signal intensity measures was developed for assessing HIZ. Two experienced spine surgeons traced the region of interest twice within 4 weeks for assessment of the intra- and interobserver reliability. The quantitative variables were compared between groups A and B. There were 72 patients with LBP and 79 asymptomatic controls enrolling in this study. The prevalence of HIZ in group A and group B was 45.8% and 20.2%, respectively. The intraobserver agreement was excellent for the quantitative measures (ICC=0.838-0.977) as well as interobserver reliability (ICC=0.809-0.935). The mean signal of HIZ in group A was significantly brighter than in group B (57.55±14.04% vs. 45.61±7.22%, p=.000). There was no statistical difference of area of disc and HIZ between the two groups. The magnetic resonance imaging index was found to be higher in group A when compared with group B (3.94±1.71 vs. 3.06±1.50), but with a p value of .050. A series of quantitative measurements for HIZ was established and demonstrated excellent intra- and interobserver reliability. The signal intensity of HIZ was different in patients with or without LBP, and significant brighter signal was observed in symptomatic subjects. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rainfall and Erosion Response Following a Southern California Wildfire

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wohlgemuth, P. M.; Robichaud, P. R.; Brown, R. E.

2011-12-01

Wildfire renders landscapes susceptible to flooding and accelerated surface erosion. Consumption of the vegetation canopy and the litter or duff layer removes resistances to the agents of erosion. Moreover, changes in soil properties can restrict infiltration, increasing the effectiveness of the driving forces of rainsplash and surface runoff. However, it is unclear whether surface erosion varies linearly with rainfall amounts and intensities or if thresholds exist beyond which erosion increases in a different trajectory. The Santiago Fire burned over 11000 ha in northeastern Orange County, California in October 2007. The burn area consists of a deeply dissected mountain block underlain by sedimentary and metamorphic rocks that produce erosive soils. Regional erosion and sediment transport is triggered by winter cyclonic storms. Recording raingages were deployed across a vertical gradient within the burned area and silt fences were constructed to monitor hillslope erosion. During the study period initial storms were characterized by moderate rainfall (amounts less than 25 mm with peak 10-minute intensities of less than 10 mm per hr). Surface erosion was concomitantly minor, less than 0.4 Mg per ha. However, an unusual thunderstorm in late May 2008 produced spatially variable rainfall and consequent surface erosion across the study area. The raingage at a lower elevation site measured 41.4 mm of rain for this storm with a peak 10-minute intensity of 81 mm per hr. The silt fences were overtopped, yielding a minimum value of 18.5 Mg per ha. In contrast, the raingage at an upper elevation site recorded 19.6 mm of rain with a peak 10-minute intensity of 50 mm per hr. Surface erosion in the higher elevation sites was negligible (0.1 Mg per ha). Subsequently, individual storms exceeded 100 mm of rainfall but peak 10-minute intensities never approached those of the May thunderstorm. Erosion was moderate (mostly less than 5 Mg per ha), albeit influenced by the presence of regrowing vegetation. We therefore believe that surface erosion in the immediate postfire environment is more related to storm intensity than rainfall amount. Even allowing for site-to-site differences and site changes over the first postfire winter season, it is clear that some threshold in erosion response was crossed at the lower elevation sites during the May 2008 thunderstorm. We suggest that this represents a threshold of peak 10-minute intensity of between 50 and 80 mm per hr.

Urbanization effects on stream habitat characteristics in Boston, Massachusetts; Birmingham, Alabama; and Salt Lake City, Utah

USGS Publications Warehouse

Short, T.M.; Giddings, E.M.P.; Zappia, H.; Coles, J.F.

2005-01-01

Relations between stream habitat and urban land-use intensity were examined in 90 stream reaches located in or near the metropolitan areas of Salt Lake City, Utah (SLC); Birmingham, Alabama (BIR); and Boston, Massachusetts (BOS). Urban intensity was based on a multi-metric index (urban intensity index or UII) that included measures of land cover, socioeconomic organization, and urban infrastructure. Twenty-eight physical variables describing channel morphology, hydraulic properties, and streambed conditions were examined. None of the habitat variables was significantly correlated with urbanization intensity in all three study areas. Urbanization effects on stream habitat were less apparent for streams in SLC and BIR, owing to the strong influence of basin slope (SLC) and drought conditions (BIR) on local flow regimes. Streamflow in the BOS study area was not unduly influenced by similar conditions of climate and physiography, and habitat conditions in these streams were more responsive to urbanization. Urbanization in BOS contributed to higher discharge, channel deepening, and increased loading of fine-grained particles to stream channels. The modifying influence of basin slope and climate on hydrology of streams in SLC and BIR limited our ability to effectively compare habitat responses among different urban settings and identify common responses that might be of interest to restoration or water management programs. Successful application of land-use models such as the UII to compare urbanization effects on stream habitat in different environmental settings must account for inherent differences in natural and anthropogenic factors affecting stream hydrology and geomorphology. The challenge to future management of urban development is to further quantify these differences by building upon existing models, and ultimately develop a broader understanding of urbanization effects on aquatic ecosystems. ?? 2005 by the American Fisheries Society.

Change in Mesoherbivore Browsing Is Mediated by Elephant and Hillslope Position.

PubMed

Lagendijk, D D Georgette; Thaker, Maria; de Boer, Willem F; Page, Bruce R; Prins, Herbert H T; Slotow, Rob

2015-01-01

Elephant are considered major drivers of ecosystems, but their effects within small-scale landscape features and on other herbivores still remain unclear. Elephant impact on vegetation has been widely studied in areas where elephant have been present for many years. We therefore examined the combined effect of short-term elephant presence (< 4 years) and hillslope position on tree species assemblages, resource availability, browsing intensity and soil properties. Short-term elephant presence did not affect woody species assemblages, but did affect height distribution, with greater sapling densities in elephant access areas. Overall tree and stem densities were also not affected by elephant. By contrast, slope position affected woody species assemblages, but not height distributions and densities. Variation in species assemblages was statistically best explained by levels of total cations, Zinc, sand and clay. Although elephant and mesoherbivore browsing intensities were unaffected by slope position, we found lower mesoherbivore browsing intensity on crests with high elephant browsing intensity. Thus, elephant appear to indirectly facilitate the survival of saplings, via the displacement of mesoherbivores, providing a window of opportunity for saplings to grow into taller trees. In the short-term, effects of elephant can be minor and in the opposite direction of expectation. In addition, such behavioural displacement promotes recruitment of saplings into larger height classes. The interaction between slope position and elephant effect found here is in contrast with other studies, and illustrates the importance of examining ecosystem complexity as a function of variation in species presence and topography. The absence of a direct effect of elephant on vegetation, but the presence of an effect on mesoherbivore browsing, is relevant for conservation areas especially where both herbivore groups are actively managed.

Change in Mesoherbivore Browsing Is Mediated by Elephant and Hillslope Position

PubMed Central

Lagendijk, D. D. Georgette; Thaker, Maria; de Boer, Willem F.; Page, Bruce R.; Prins, Herbert H. T.; Slotow, Rob

2015-01-01

Elephant are considered major drivers of ecosystems, but their effects within small-scale landscape features and on other herbivores still remain unclear. Elephant impact on vegetation has been widely studied in areas where elephant have been present for many years. We therefore examined the combined effect of short-term elephant presence (< 4 years) and hillslope position on tree species assemblages, resource availability, browsing intensity and soil properties. Short-term elephant presence did not affect woody species assemblages, but did affect height distribution, with greater sapling densities in elephant access areas. Overall tree and stem densities were also not affected by elephant. By contrast, slope position affected woody species assemblages, but not height distributions and densities. Variation in species assemblages was statistically best explained by levels of total cations, Zinc, sand and clay. Although elephant and mesoherbivore browsing intensities were unaffected by slope position, we found lower mesoherbivore browsing intensity on crests with high elephant browsing intensity. Thus, elephant appear to indirectly facilitate the survival of saplings, via the displacement of mesoherbivores, providing a window of opportunity for saplings to grow into taller trees. In the short-term, effects of elephant can be minor and in the opposite direction of expectation. In addition, such behavioural displacement promotes recruitment of saplings into larger height classes. The interaction between slope position and elephant effect found here is in contrast with other studies, and illustrates the importance of examining ecosystem complexity as a function of variation in species presence and topography. The absence of a direct effect of elephant on vegetation, but the presence of an effect on mesoherbivore browsing, is relevant for conservation areas especially where both herbivore groups are actively managed. PMID:26083248

Use of electrostatic dust cloth for self-administered home allergen collection

EPA Science Inventory

Abstract Most epidemiologic studies employ a vacuum cleaner used by a trained technician to collect household allergens. This approach is labor intensive, equipment dependent, and impractical if study subjects reside over a wide geographic area. We examined the feasibility of a s...

Political Simulations Using Excel

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Steven F.

2013-01-01

Simulations have received considerable attention as a tool to promote problem-solving skills, intense involvement, and high-order thinking among students. Whether semester-long exercises or a single-class session, simulations are often used in areas of conflict studies, diplomatic studies, trade disputes, electoral processes, and policy and legal…

77 FR 73452 - Grace Period Study

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-12-10

... this study, the USPTO plans to survey European scientific researchers from select European research..., patent-intensive research areas. The USPTO envisions that the respondents will be surveyed only once. The... individuals to improve upon their ideas by sharing them with the research and business communities without...

34 CFR 664.10 - What kinds of projects does the Secretary assist?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

...) OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FULBRIGHT-HAYS GROUP PROJECTS ABROAD PROGRAM... modern foreign language or area studies at the elementary, secondary, or postsecondary level by... seminars, curriculum development teams, group research or study, and advanced intensive language programs...

34 CFR 664.10 - What kinds of projects does the Secretary assist?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

...) OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FULBRIGHT-HAYS GROUP PROJECTS ABROAD PROGRAM... modern foreign language or area studies at the elementary, secondary, or postsecondary level by... seminars, curriculum development teams, group research or study, and advanced intensive language programs...

34 CFR 664.10 - What kinds of projects does the Secretary assist?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

...) OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FULBRIGHT-HAYS GROUP PROJECTS ABROAD PROGRAM... modern foreign language or area studies at the elementary, secondary, or postsecondary level by... seminars, curriculum development teams, group research or study, and advanced intensive language programs...

34 CFR 664.10 - What kinds of projects does the Secretary assist?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...) OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FULBRIGHT-HAYS GROUP PROJECTS ABROAD PROGRAM... modern foreign language or area studies at the elementary, secondary, or postsecondary level by... seminars, curriculum development teams, group research or study, and advanced intensive language programs...

34 CFR 664.10 - What kinds of projects does the Secretary assist?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

...) OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FULBRIGHT-HAYS GROUP PROJECTS ABROAD PROGRAM... modern foreign language or area studies at the elementary, secondary, or postsecondary level by... seminars, curriculum development teams, group research or study, and advanced intensive language programs...

Impact of intense rains and flooding on mercury riverine input to the coastal zone.

PubMed

Saniewska, Dominika; Bełdowska, Magdalena; Bełdowski, Jacek; Saniewski, Michał; Gębka, Karolina; Szubska, Marta; Wochna, Agnieszka

2018-02-01

The aim of the present research was to determine the impact of intense rains and flooding on mercury riverine input to the coastal zone. This study focused on four small rivers (Reda, Zagórska Struga, Płutnica, Gizdepka), typical of the Southern Baltic region, with no significant mercury sources. Samples were collected for 16months during average flow conditions and during selected meteorological events: floods, downpours, thaws and droughts. Results showed decreased retention of mercury during intense rainfalls, thus demonstrating mercury elution from the catchment. Floods and melting snow also have a tremendous impact on the outflow of mercury from the catchment. Development of urban infrastructure and farmlands increases the outflow of mercury from the catchment too, making such areas a significant source of mercury in the river. On the other hand, areas with natural character, predominated by forests, stimulate retention of mercury that reaches them through dry and wet atmospheric deposition. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oscillating lamp fixture for growing areas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hiatt, Harvey

1994-01-01

The Oscillating Parabolic Mirror of 'Beamflicker' was designed by Dr. Richard W. Tinus, Supervisory Plant Physiologist, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experimental Station, Flagstaff, Arizona. With his idea, an economic greenhouse lighting system was developed and patented, U.S. Patent #5095414. The Beamflicker uses a stationary 400 watt high pressure sodium arc bulb. The parabolic mirror rotates 180 degrees around the bulb to produce intermittent lighting every minute throughout the night. This one bulb can replace up to 88 incandescent bulbs in a 40 x 100 foot greenhouse over different sections of a growing area. The lighting intensity of the Beamflicker varies greatly depending on the distance from the bulb. The light intensity varies from 1.3 (mu)mol m(exp 2)/s feet from the bulb to 52.5 (mu)mol m(exp 2)/s directly beneath the bulb. A year long study involving light intensity and many species will be concluded in July 1994. These research results should be published within the next year.

The relationship between built-up areas and the spatial development of the mean maximum urban heat island in Debrecen, Hungary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bottyán, Zsolt; Kircsi, Andrea; Szegedi, Sándor; Unger, János

2005-03-01

The climate of built-up regions differs significantly from rural regions and the most important modifying effect of urbanization on local climate is the urban temperature excess, otherwise called the urban heat island (UHI).This study examines the influence of built-up areas on the near-surface air temperature field in the case of the medium-sized city of Debrecen, Hungary. Mobile measurements were used under different weather conditions between March 2002 and March 2003. Efforts concentrated on the determination of the spatial distribution of mean maximum UHI intensity with special regard to land-use features such as built-up ratio and its areal extensions.In both (heating and non-heating) seasons the spatial distribution of the UHI intensity field showed a basically concentric shape with local anomalies. The mean maximum UHI intensity reaches more than 2.0 °C (heating season) and 2.5 °C (non-heating season) in the centre of the city. We established the relationship between the above-mentioned land-use parameters and mean maximum UHI intensity by means of multiple linear regression analysis. As the measured and predicted mean maximum UHI intensity patterns show, there is an obvious connection between the spatial distribution of urban thermal excess and the land-use parameters examined, so these parameters play a significant role in the development of the strong UHI intensity field over the city.

The effects of kinesio taping on the color intensity of superficial skin hematomas: A pilot study.

PubMed

Vercelli, Stefano; Colombo, Claudio; Tolosa, Francesca; Moriondo, Andrea; Bravini, Elisabetta; Ferriero, Giorgio; Francesco, Sartorio

2017-01-01

To analyze the effects of kinesio taping (KT) -applied with three different strains that induced or not the formation of skin creases (called convolutions)- on color intensity of post-surgical superficial hematomas. Single-blind paired study. Rehabilitation clinic. A convenience sample of 13 inpatients with post-surgical superficial hematomas. The tape was applied for 24 consecutive hours. Three tails of KT were randomly applied with different degrees of strain: none (SN); light (SL); and full longitudinal stretch (SF). We expected to obtain correct formation of convolutions with SL, some convolutions with SN, and no convolutions with SF. The change in color intensity of hematomas, measured by means of polar coordinates CIE L*a*b* using a validated and standardized digital images system. Applying KT to hematomas did not significantly change the color intensity in the central area under the tape (p > 0.05). There was a significant treatment effect (p < 0.05) under the edges of the tape, independently of the formation of convolutions (p > 0.05). The changes observed along the edges of the tape could be related to the formation of a pressure gradient between the KT and the adjacent area, but were not dependent on the formation of skin convolutions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Application of a linked stress release model in Corinth Gulf and Central Ionian Islands (Greece)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mangira, Ourania; Vasiliadis, Georgios; Papadimitriou, Eleftheria

2017-06-01

Spatio-temporal stress changes and interactions between adjacent fault segments consist of the most important component in seismic hazard assessment, as they can alter the occurrence probability of strong earthquake onto these segments. The investigation of the interactions between adjacent areas by means of the linked stress release model is attempted for moderate earthquakes ( M ≥ 5.2) in the Corinth Gulf and the Central Ionian Islands (Greece). The study areas were divided in two subareas, based on seismotectonic criteria. The seismicity of each subarea is investigated by means of a stochastic point process and its behavior is determined by the conditional intensity function, which usually gets an exponential form. A conditional intensity function of Weibull form is used for identifying the most appropriate among the models (simple, independent and linked stress release model) for the interpretation of the earthquake generation process. The appropriateness of the models was decided after evaluation via the Akaike information criterion. Despite the fact that the curves of the conditional intensity functions exhibit similar behavior, the use of the exponential-type conditional intensity function seems to fit better the data.

Detection of calculus by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) using an ultra-short pulse laser system (USPL)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schelle, F.; Brede, O.; Krueger, S.; Oehme, B.; Dehn, C.; Frentzen, M.; Braun, A.

2011-03-01

The aim of this study was to assess the detection of calculus by Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS). The study was performed with an Nd:YVO4 laser, emitting pulses with a duration of 8 ps at a wavelength of 1064 nm. A repetition rate of 500 kHz at an average power of 5 W was used. Employing a focusing lense, intensities of the order of 1011 W/cm2 were reached on the tooth surface. These high intensities led to the generation of a plasma. The light emitted by the plasma was collimated into a fibre and then analyzed by an echelle spectroscope in the wavelength region from 220 nm - 900 nm. A total number of 15 freshly extracted teeth was used for this study. For each tooth the spectra of calculus and cementum were assessed separately. Comprising all single measurements median values were calculated for the whole spectrum, leading to two specific spectra, one for calculus and one for cementum. For further statistical analysis 28 areas of interest were defined as wavelength regions, in which the signal strength differed regarding the material. In 7 areas the intensity of the calculus spectrum differed statistically significant from the intensity of the cementum spectrum (p < 0.05). Thus it can be concluded that Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy is well suited as method for a reliable diagnostic of calculus. Further studies are necessary to verify that LIBS is a minimally invasive method allowing a safe application in laser-guided dentistry.

Prolonged sitting and markers of cardiometabolic disease risk in children and youth: a randomized crossover study.

PubMed

Saunders, Travis J; Chaput, Jean-Philippe; Goldfield, Gary S; Colley, Rachel C; Kenny, Glen P; Doucet, Eric; Tremblay, Mark S

2013-10-01

Recent evidence suggests that short bouts of uninterrupted sedentary behavior reduce insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance while increasing triglyceride levels in both healthy and overweight/obese adults. To date no study has examined the acute impact of uninterrupted sitting in children and youth. The objective of the present study was to determine whether 8 h of uninterrupted sitting increases markers of cardiometabolic disease risk in healthy children and youth, in comparison to 8 h of sitting interrupted by light intensity walk breaks or structured physical activity. 11 healthy males and 8 healthy females between the ages of 10 and 14 years experienced 3 conditions in random order: (1) 8 h of uninterrupted sitting (Sedentary); (2) 8 h of sitting interrupted with a 2-min light-intensity walk break every 20 min (Breaks); and (3) 8 h of sitting interrupted with a 2-min light-intensity walk break every 20 min as well as 2×20 min of moderate-intensity physical activity (Breaks+Physical Activity). Insulin, glucose, triglyceride, HDL and LDL cholesterol area under the curve were calculated for each condition. We observed no significant differences in the area under the curve for any marker of cardiometabolic disease risk across the 3 study conditions (all p>0.09). These results suggest that in comparison to interrupted sitting or structured physical activity, a single bout of 8 h of uninterrupted sitting does not result in measurable changes in circulating levels of insulin, glucose, or lipids in healthy children and youth. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rotation placements help students' understanding of intensive care.

PubMed

Abbott, Lisa

2011-07-01

It is vital that children's nursing students are fit for practice when they qualify and are able to meet various essential skills as defined by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). To gain the knowledge and skills required, students need placements in areas where high dependency and potentially intensive care are delivered. Efforts to maximise the number of students experiencing intensive care as a placement have led to the development of the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) rotation, increasing placements on the PICU from 5 to 40 per cent of the student cohort per year. The lecturer practitioner organises the rotation, providing credible links between university and practice areas, while supporting students and staff in offering a high-quality placement experience. Students say the rotation offers a positive insight into PICU nursing, helping them develop knowledge and skills in a technical area and creating an interest in this specialty.

The digital step edge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haralick, R. M.

1982-01-01

The facet model was used to accomplish step edge detection. The essence of the facet model is that any analysis made on the basis of the pixel values in some neighborhood has its final authoritative interpretation relative to the underlying grey tone intensity surface of which the neighborhood pixel values are observed noisy samples. Pixels which are part of regions have simple grey tone intensity surfaces over their areas. Pixels which have an edge in them have complex grey tone intensity surfaces over their areas. Specially, an edge moves through a pixel only if there is some point in the pixel's area having a zero crossing of the second directional derivative taken in the direction of a non-zero gradient at the pixel's center. To determine whether or not a pixel should be marked as a step edge pixel, its underlying grey tone intensity surface was estimated on the basis of the pixels in its neighborhood.

Intensively Cultivated Landscape and Varroa Mite Infestation Are Associated with Reduced Honey Bee Nutritional State.

PubMed

Dolezal, Adam G; Carrillo-Tripp, Jimena; Miller, W Allen; Bonning, Bryony C; Toth, Amy L

2016-01-01

As key pollinators, honey bees are crucial to many natural and agricultural ecosystems. An important factor in the health of honey bees is the availability of diverse floral resources. However, in many parts of the world, high-intensity agriculture could result in a reduction in honey bee forage. Previous studies have investigated how the landscape surrounding honey bee hives affects some aspects of honey bee health, but to our knowledge there have been no investigations of the effects of intensively cultivated landscapes on indicators of individual bee health such as nutritional physiology and pathogen loads. Furthermore, agricultural landscapes in different regions vary greatly in forage and land management, indicating a need for additional information on the relationship between honey bee health and landscape cultivation. Here, we add to this growing body of information by investigating differences in nutritional physiology between honey bees kept in areas of comparatively low and high cultivation in an area generally high agricultural intensity in the Midwestern United States. We focused on bees collected directly before winter, because overwintering stress poses one of the most serious problems for honey bees in temperate climates. We found that honey bees kept in areas of lower cultivation exhibited higher lipid levels than those kept in areas of high cultivation, but this effect was observed only in colonies that were free of Varroa mites. Furthermore, we found that the presence of mites was associated with lower lipid levels and higher titers of deformed wing virus (DWV), as well as a non-significant trend towards higher overwinter losses. Overall, these results show that mite infestation interacts with landscape, obscuring the effects of landscape alone and suggesting that the benefits of improved foraging landscape could be lost without adequate control of mite infestations.

Topography of itch: evidence of distinct coding for pruriception in the trigeminal nerve

PubMed Central

Andersen, Hjalte H.; Elberling, Jesper; Lo Vecchio, Silvia

2017-01-01

Introduction: Little is known about the topographical distribution of pruriception (in particular for nonhistaminergic itch), although conditions with chronic itch frequently occur in distinct anatomic and often bilateral patterns. This study aimed to investigate regional differences in the sensitivity to itch stimuli by assessing the intensity of itch, pain, and cutaneous neurogenic flare evoked by histamine and cowhage in different anatomic regions in 20 healthy volunteers. Methods: Itch was induced by 1% histamine applied with a prick lancet or by insertion of 25±5 cowhage spicules in 4 regions: volar/dorsal forearm, lower back, and chin. The duration and intensity of itch and pain following each pruritic stimulus were measured by a continuous visual analogue scale (VAS0-100). Sensitivity to touch-evoked itch was assessed by von Frey filaments and cutaneous flare was quantified by full-field laser perfusion imaging. Results: Peak itch intensity was lower at the chin (19.4±3.6) compared with other areas (mean of 3 locations; 41.3±4.4), independently of whether histamine or cowhage was applied (P<0.01). Baseline sensitivity to touch-evoked itch was higher on the chin (P<0.01), but here hyperknesis did not develop in contrast to other areas (P<0.05). Cutaneous flare was more intense but had a smaller dispersion at the chin, compared with other areas (P<0.01). Discussion: In conclusion, sensitivity to histaminergic and non-histaminergic itch diverges considerably between body regions. Lower density of pruriceptive CMH and CMI-neurons or distinct neuronal substrates for itch in the mandibular part of the trigeminal area may explain the observed reduced itch and vasomotor responses. PMID:29862321

Introducing the Event Related Fixed Interval Area (ERFIA) Multilevel Technique: a Method to Analyze the Complete Epoch of Event-Related Potentials at Single Trial Level

PubMed Central

Vossen, Catherine J.; Vossen, Helen G. M.; Marcus, Marco A. E.; van Os, Jim; Lousberg, Richel

2013-01-01

In analyzing time-locked event-related potentials (ERPs), many studies have focused on specific peaks and their differences between experimental conditions. In theory, each latency point after a stimulus contains potentially meaningful information, regardless of whether it is peak-related. Based on this assumption, we introduce a new concept which allows for flexible investigation of the whole epoch and does not primarily focus on peaks and their corresponding latencies. For each trial, the entire epoch is partitioned into event-related fixed-interval areas under the curve (ERFIAs). These ERFIAs, obtained at single trial level, act as dependent variables in a multilevel random regression analysis. The ERFIA multilevel method was tested in an existing ERP dataset of 85 healthy subjects, who underwent a rating paradigm of 150 painful and non-painful somatosensory electrical stimuli. We modeled the variability of each consecutive ERFIA with a set of predictor variables among which were stimulus intensity and stimulus number. Furthermore, we corrected for latency variations of the P2 (260 ms). With respect to known relationships between stimulus intensity, habituation, and pain-related somatosensory ERP, the ERFIA method generated highly comparable results to those of commonly used methods. Notably, effects on stimulus intensity and habituation were also observed in non-peak-related latency ranges. Further, cortical processing of actual stimulus intensity depended on the intensity of the previous stimulus, which may reflect pain-memory processing. In conclusion, the ERFIA multilevel method is a promising tool that can be used to study event-related cortical processing. PMID:24224018

Diameter Distributions and Basal Area of Pines and Hardwoods 12 Years Following Vairous Methods and Intensities of Site Preparation in the Georgia Peidmont

Treesearch

Timothy B. Harrington; M. Boyd Edwards

1997-01-01

Twelve years after various methods and intensities of site preparation in the Georgia Piedmont, diameter distributions and basal area (BA) of pines and hardwoods varied considerably among treatments. Site preparation reduced hardwood basal area to 36 percent of that observed in clearcut-only plots. As a result, planted-pine BA in the presence of site preparation was 2...

Land use intensity trajectories on Amazonian pastures derived from Landsat time series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rufin, Philippe; Müller, Hannes; Pflugmacher, Dirk; Hostert, Patrick

2015-09-01

Monitoring changes in land use intensity of grazing systems in the Amazon is an important prerequisite to study the complex political and socio-economic forces driving Amazonian deforestation. Remote sensing offers the potential to map pasture vegetation over large areas, but mapping pasture conditions consistently through time is not a trivial task because of seasonal changes associated with phenology and data gaps from clouds and cloud shadows. In this study, we tested spectral-temporal metrics derived from intra-annual Landsat time series to distinguish between grass-dominated and woody pastures. The abundance of woody vegetation on pastures is an indicator for management intensity, since the duration and intensity of land use steer secondary succession rates, apart from climate and soil conditions. We used the developed Landsat-based metrics to analyze pasture intensity trajectories between 1985 and 2012 in Novo Progresso, Brazil, finding that woody vegetation cover generally decreased after four to ten years of grazing activity. Pastures established in the 80s and early 90s showed a higher fraction of woody vegetation during their initial land use history than pastures established in the early 2000s. Historic intensity trajectories suggested a trend towards more intensive land use in the last decade, which aligns well with regional environmental policies and market dynamics. This study demonstrates the potential of dense Landsat time series to monitor land-use intensification on Amazonian pastures.

Remote sensing of effects of land use practices on water quality

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Graves, D. H.; Colthrap, G. B.

1977-01-01

An intensive study was conducted to determine the utility of manual densitometry and color additive viewing of aircraft and LANDSAT transparencies for monitoring land use and land use change. The relationship between land use and selected water quality parameters was also evaluated. Six watersheds located in the Cumberland Plateau region of eastern Kentucky comprised the study area for the project. Land uses present within the study area were reclaimed surface mining and forestry. Fertilization of one of the forested watersheds also occurred during the study period.

Intense transient electric field sensor based on the electro-optic effect of LiNbO{sub 3}

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

Yang, Qing, E-mail: yangqing@cqu.edu.cn; Sun, Shangpeng; Han, Rui

2015-10-15

Intense transient electric field measurements are widely applied in various research areas. An optical intense E-field sensor for time-domain measurements, based on the electro-optic effect of lithium niobate, has been studied in detail. Principles and key issues in the design of the sensor are presented. The sensor is insulated, small in size (65 mm × 15 mm × 15 mm), and suitable for high-intensity (<801 kV/m) electric field measurements over a wide frequency band (10 Hz–10 MHz). The input/output characteristics of the sensor were obtained and the sensor calibrated. Finally, an application using this sensor in testing laboratory lightning impulsesmore » and in measuring transient electric fields during switch-on of a disconnector confirmed that the sensor is expected to find widespread use in transient intense electric field measurement applications.« less

Intense transient electric field sensor based on the electro-optic effect of LiNbO3

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Qing; Sun, Shangpeng; Han, Rui; Sima, Wenxia; Liu, Tong

2015-10-01

Intense transient electric field measurements are widely applied in various research areas. An optical intense E-field sensor for time-domain measurements, based on the electro-optic effect of lithium niobate, has been studied in detail. Principles and key issues in the design of the sensor are presented. The sensor is insulated, small in size (65 mm × 15 mm × 15 mm), and suitable for high-intensity (<801 kV/m) electric field measurements over a wide frequency band (10 Hz-10 MHz). The input/output characteristics of the sensor were obtained and the sensor calibrated. Finally, an application using this sensor in testing laboratory lightning impulses and in measuring transient electric fields during switch-on of a disconnector confirmed that the sensor is expected to find widespread use in transient intense electric field measurement applications.

Geomagnetic Field Intensity during the Neolith in the Central East European Plain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nachasova, I. E.; Pilipenko, O. V.; Markov, G. P.; Gribov, S. K.; Tsetlin, Yu. B.

2018-05-01

The conducted archeomagnetic studies resulted in data on variations in the geomagnetic field intensity in the central East European Plain (Sakhtysh I site area, ϕ = 56°48' N, λ = 40°33' E) during the time interval of 5-3 ka BC. The geomagnetic field intensity varied mainly within the range of 30-60 μT. In the first half of the 5th millennium BC, the mean level of geomagnetic field intensity was about 35 μT. In the second half of the 5th-early 4th millennium BC, it rose to about 50 μT and then decreased again to reach a mean value of about 40 μT in the period of 4-3 ka BC. Comparison of the geomagnetic field intensity variation based on the obtained data and the data on the Caucasus region for the same time interval demonstrates a certain similarity.

Urban snow indicates pollution originating from road traffic.

PubMed

Kuoppamäki, Kirsi; Setälä, Heikki; Rantalainen, Anna-Lea; Kotze, D Johan

2014-12-01

Traffic is a major source of pollutants in cities. In this well-replicated study we analysed a broad array of contaminants in snowpacks along roads of different traffic intensities. The majority of pollutants showed a similar pattern with respect to traffic intensity: pH and conductivity as well as concentrations of PAHs, total suspended solids, phosphorus and most heavy metals were higher next to high intensity roads compared to low intensity roads. These pollutant levels also decreased considerably up to 5 m distance from the roads. Furthermore, apart from nitrogen, these variables increased in concentration from control sites in urban forest patches to road bank sites next to roads of low, intermediate and high traffic intensities. The deposition pattern of various traffic-derived pollutants--whether gaseous or particle-bound--was the same. Such information can be useful for the purposes of managing pollutants in urban areas. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigation on experimental techniques to detect, locate and quantify gear noise in helicopter transmissions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flanagan, P. M.; Atherton, W. J.

1985-01-01

A robotic system to automate the detection, location, and quantification of gear noise using acoustic intensity measurement techniques has been successfully developed. Major system components fabricated under this grant include an instrumentation robot arm, a robot digital control unit and system software. A commercial, desktop computer, spectrum analyzer and two microphone probe complete the equipment required for the Robotic Acoustic Intensity Measurement System (RAIMS). Large-scale acoustic studies of gear noise in helicopter transmissions cannot be performed accurately and reliably using presently available instrumentation and techniques. Operator safety is a major concern in certain gear noise studies due to the operating environment. The man-hours needed to document a noise field in situ is another shortcoming of present techniques. RAIMS was designed to reduce the labor and hazard in collecting data and to improve the accuracy and repeatability of characterizing the acoustic field by automating the measurement process. Using RAIMS a system operator can remotely control the instrumentation robot to scan surface areas and volumes generating acoustic intensity information using the two microphone technique. Acoustic intensity studies requiring hours of scan time can be performed automatically without operator assistance. During a scan sequence, the acoustic intensity probe is positioned by the robot and acoustic intensity data is collected, processed, and stored.

Acclimation of Swedish and Italian ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana to light intensity.

PubMed

Stewart, Jared J; Polutchko, Stephanie K; Adams, William W; Demmig-Adams, Barbara

2017-11-01

This study addressed whether ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana from Sweden and Italy exhibited differences in foliar acclimation to high versus low growth light intensity, and compared CO 2 uptake under growth conditions with light- and CO 2 -saturated intrinsic photosynthetic capacity and leaf morphological and vascular features. Differential responses between ecotypes occurred mainly at the scale of leaf architecture, with thicker leaves with higher intrinsic photosynthetic capacities and chlorophyll contents per leaf area, but no difference in photosynthetic capacity on a chlorophyll basis, in high light-grown leaves of the Swedish versus the Italian ecotype. Greater intrinsic photosynthetic capacity per leaf area in the Swedish ecotype was accompanied by a greater capacity of vascular infrastructure for sugar and water transport, but this was not associated with greater CO 2 uptake rates under growth conditions. The Swedish ecotype with its thick leaves is thus constructed for high intrinsic photosynthetic and vascular flux capacity even under growth chamber conditions that may not permit full utilization of this potential. Conversely, the Swedish ecotype was less tolerant of low growth light intensity than the Italian ecotype, with smaller rosette areas and lesser aboveground biomass accumulation in low light-grown plants. Foliar vein density and stomatal density were both enhanced by high growth light intensity with no significant difference between ecotypes, and the ratio of water to sugar conduits was also similar between the two ecotypes during light acclimation. These findings add to the understanding of the foliar vasculature's role in plant photosynthetic acclimation and adaptation.

Intensity earthquake scenario (scenario event - a damaging earthquake with higher probability of occurrence) for the city of Sofia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aleksandrova, Irena; Simeonova, Stela; Solakov, Dimcho; Popova, Maria

2014-05-01

Among the many kinds of natural and man-made disasters, earthquakes dominate with regard to their social and economical impact on the urban environment. Global seismic risk to earthquakes are increasing steadily as urbanization and development occupy more areas that a prone to effects of strong earthquakes. Additionally, the uncontrolled growth of mega cities in highly seismic areas around the world is often associated with the construction of seismically unsafe buildings and infrastructures, and undertaken with an insufficient knowledge of the regional seismicity peculiarities and seismic hazard. The assessment of seismic hazard and generation of earthquake scenarios is the first link in the prevention chain and the first step in the evaluation of the seismic risk. The earthquake scenarios are intended as a basic input for developing detailed earthquake damage scenarios for the cities and can be used in earthquake-safe town and infrastructure planning. The city of Sofia is the capital of Bulgaria. It is situated in the centre of the Sofia area that is the most populated (the population is of more than 1.2 mil. inhabitants), industrial and cultural region of Bulgaria that faces considerable earthquake risk. The available historical documents prove the occurrence of destructive earthquakes during the 15th-18th centuries in the Sofia zone. In 19th century the city of Sofia has experienced two strong earthquakes: the 1818 earthquake with epicentral intensity I0=8-9 MSK and the 1858 earthquake with I0=9-10 MSK. During the 20th century the strongest event occurred in the vicinity of the city of Sofia is the 1917 earthquake with MS=5.3 (I0=7-8 MSK). Almost a century later (95 years) an earthquake of moment magnitude 5.6 (I0=7-8 MSK) hit the city of Sofia, on May 22nd, 2012. In the present study as a deterministic scenario event is considered a damaging earthquake with higher probability of occurrence that could affect the city with intensity less than or equal to VIII. The usable and realistic ground motion maps for urban areas are generated: - either from the assumption of a "reference earthquake" - or directly, showing values of macroseimic intensity generated by a damaging, real earthquake. In the study, applying deterministic approach, earthquake scenario in macroseismic intensity ("model" earthquake scenario) for the city of Sofia is generated. The deterministic "model" intensity scenario based on assumption of a "reference earthquake" is compared with a scenario based on observed macroseimic effects caused by the damaging 2012 earthquake (MW5.6). The difference between observed (Io) and predicted (Ip) intensities values is analyzed.

[Determination of joint contact area using MRI].

PubMed

Yoshida, Hidenori; Kobayashi, Koichi; Sakamoto, Makoto; Tanabe, Yuji

2009-10-20

Elevated contact stress on the articular joints has been hypothesized to contribute to articular cartilage wear and joint pain. However, given the limitations of using contact stress and areas from human cadaver specimens to estimate articular joint stress, there is need for an in vivo method to obtain such data. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been shown to be a valid method of quantifying the human joint contact area, indicating the potential for in vivo assessment. The purpose of this study was to describe a method of quantifying the tibiofemoral joint contact area using MRI. The validity of this technique was established in porcine cadaver specimens by comparing the contact area obtained from MRI with the contact area obtained using pressure-sensitive film (PSF). In particular, we assessed the actual condition of contact by using the ratio of signal intensity of MR images of cartilage surfaces. Two fresh porcine cadaver knees were used. A custom loading apparatus was designed to apply a compressive load to the tibiofemoral joint. We measured the contact area by using MRI and PSF methods. When the ratio of signal intensity of the cartilage surface was 0.9, the error of the contact area between the MR image and PSF was about 6%. These results suggest that this MRI method may be a valuable tool in quantifying joint contact area in vivo.

U.S. Geological Survey water resources activities in Florida, 1985-86

USGS Publications Warehouse

Glenn, M. E.

1986-01-01

This report contains summary statements of water resources activities in Florida conducted by the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with Federal, State , and local agencies during 1985-86. These activities are part of the Federal program of appraising the Nation 's water resources. Water resources appraisals in Florida are highly diversified, ranging from hydrologic records networks to interpretive appraisals of water resources and applied research to develop investigative techniques. Thus, water resource investigations range from basic descriptive water-availability studies for areas of low-intensity water development and management to sophisticated cause and effect studies in areas of high-intensity water development and management. The interpretive reports and records that are products of the investigations are a principal hydrologic foundation upon which the plans for development, management, and protection of Florida 's water resources may be based. (Lantz-PTT)

The role of parental perceptions of tic frequency and intensity in predicting tic-related functional impairment in youth with chronic tic disorders.

PubMed

Espil, Flint M; Capriotti, Matthew R; Conelea, Christine A; Woods, Douglas W

2014-12-01

Tic severity is composed of several dimensions. Tic frequency and intensity are two such dimensions, but little empirical data exist regarding their relative contributions to functional impairment in those with chronic tic disorders (CTD). The present study examined the relative contributions of these dimensions in predicting tic-related impairment across several psychosocial domains. Using data collected from parents of youth with CTD, multivariate regression analyses revealed that both tic frequency and intensity predicted tic-related impairment in several areas; including family and peer relationships, school interference, and social endeavors, even when controlling for the presence of comorbid anxiety symptoms and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder diagnostic status. Results showed that tic intensity predicted more variance across more domains than tic frequency.

Study on Oxygen Supply Standard for Physical Health of Construction Personnel of High-Altitude Tunnels.

PubMed

Guo, Chun; Xu, Jianfeng; Wang, Mingnian; Yan, Tao; Yang, Lu; Sun, Zhitao

2015-12-22

The low atmospheric pressure and low oxygen content in high-altitude environment have great impacts on the functions of human body. Especially for the personnel engaged in complicated physical labor such as tunnel construction, high altitude can cause a series of adverse physiological reactions, which may result in multiple high-altitude diseases and even death in severe cases. Artificial oxygen supply is required to ensure health and safety of construction personnel in hypoxic environments. However, there are no provisions for oxygen supply standard for tunnel construction personnel in high-altitude areas in current tunnel construction specifications. As a result, this paper has theoretically studied the impacts of high-altitude environment on human bodies, analyzed the relationship between labor intensity and oxygen consumption in high-altitude areas and determined the critical oxygen-supply altitude values for tunnel construction based on two different standard evaluation systems, i.e., variation of air density and equivalent PIO₂. In addition, it has finally determined the oxygen supply standard for construction personnel in high-altitude areas based on the relationship between construction labor intensity and oxygen consumption.

Losses Assessment of Crops due to Typhoon Disaster in China Coastal Areas —— A Case Study of Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mo, W.; Fang, W.

2015-12-01

Vulnerability which quantifies the loss ratio under different hazard intensity is an important feature of the natural disaster system and has important significance to natural disaster risk assessment. Agriculture is an outdoor industry with high risk of meteorological disasters. The strong winds, heavy rain and storm surge are main typhoon hazard factors to crops. To provide a quantitative research method for the loss evaluation of crops due to typhoon disaster we first revised two vulnerability curves for crops under comprehensive intensity of typhoon based on the simulated hazard data and loss data related to historical typhoon events landing on China from 1949 to 2014；and then established a storm surge vulnerability matrix of crops regarding Zhanjiang City of Guangdong Province as the study area ; finally, we put forward three storm surge fragility curves for crops representing different states of loss. The results can effectively describe the typhoon vulnerability for crops in China coastal areas so as to provide the input to post-disaster loss assessments and catastrophe modeling applications.

The relation of harvesting intensity to changes in soil, soil water, and stream chemistry in a northern hardwood forest, Catskill Mountains, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Siemion, Jason; Burns, Douglas A.; Murdoch, Peter S.; Germain, Rene H.

2011-01-01

Previous studies have shown that clearcutting of northern hardwood forests mobilizes base cations, inorganic monomeric aluminum (Alim), and nitrate (NO3--N) from soils to surface waters, but the effects of partial harvests on NO3--N have been less frequently studied. In this study we describe the effects of a series of partial harvests of varying proportions of basal area removal (22%, 28% and 68%) on Alim, calcium (Ca2+), and NO3--N concentrations in soil extracts, soil water, and surface water in the Catskill Mountains of New York, USA. Increases in NO3--N concentrations relative to pre-harvest values were observed within a few months after harvest in soils, soil water, and stream water for all three harvests. Increases in Alim and Ca2+ concentrations were also evident in soil water and stream water over the same time period for all three harvests. The increases in Alim, Ca2+, and NO3--N concentrations in the 68% harvest were statistically significant as measured by comparing the 18-month pre-harvest period with the 18-month post-harvest period, with fewer significant responses in the two harvests of lowest intensity. All three solutes returned to pre-harvest concentrations in soil water and stream water in the two lowest intensity harvests in 2–3 years compared to a full 3 years in the 68% harvest. When the results of this study were combined with those of a previous nearby clearcut and 40% harvest, the post-harvest increases in NO3--N concentrations in stream water and soil water suggest a harvesting level above which the relation between concentration and harvest intensity changes; there was a greater change in concentration per unit change in harvest intensity when basal area removal was greater than 40%. These results indicate that the deleterious effects on aquatic ecosystems previously demonstrated for intensive harvests in northern hardwood forests of northeastern North America that receive high levels of atmospheric N deposition can be greatly diminished as harvesting intensity decreases below 40?8%. These results await confirmation through additional incremental forest harvest studies at other locations throughout the world that receive high levels of atmospheric N deposition.

Shapes of embedded minimal surfaces

PubMed Central

Colding, Tobias H.; Minicozzi, William P.

2006-01-01

Surfaces that locally minimize area have been extensively used to model physical phenomena, including soap films, black holes, compound polymers, protein folding, etc. The mathematical field dates to the 1740s but has recently become an area of intense mathematical and scientific study, specifically in the areas of molecular engineering, materials science, and nanotechnology because of their many anticipated applications. In this work, we show that all minimal surfaces are built out of pieces of the surfaces in Figs. 1 and 2. PMID:16847265

TRACY ARM-FORDS TERROR WILDERNESS STUDY AREA AND VICINITY, ALASKA.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brew, David A.; Kimball, A.L.

1984-01-01

The Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness study area lies on the southwest flank of the Coast Range about 45 mi southeast of Juneau, Alaska. A mineral-resource survey of the area identified two areas with substantiated mineral-resource potential: the Sumdum Glacier mineral belt with gold, copper, and zinc potential; and the Endicott Peninsula area with zinc, silver, and gold potential. The Sumdum Glacier belt is estimated to contain between 3 and 15 mineral deposits and there are 5 known mining areas in the Endicott Peninsula. Further work, particularly in the southern part of the belt, would be of significant help in refining the evaluation of that area. Relatively little activity has occurred in the Endicott Peninsula area; intense geochemical and geophysical work would remove many of the present uncertainties and probably would refine the present limit of the favorable areas. 2 refs.

Effect of a brief emergency medicine education course on emergency department work intensity of family physicians.

PubMed

Vaillancourt, Samuel; Schultz, Susan E; Leaver, Chad; Stukel, Thérèse A; Schull, Michael J

2013-01-01

Recently, many Canadian emergency departments (EDs) have struggled with physician staffing shortages. In 2006, the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care funded a brief "emergency medicine primer" (EMP) course for family physicians to upgrade or refresh skills, with the goal of increasing their ED work intensity. We sought to determine the effect of the EMP on the ED work intensity of family physicians. A retrospective longitudinal study was conducted of the ED work of 239 family physicians in the 2 years before and after a minimum of 6 months and up to 2 years from completing an EMP course in 2006 to 2008 compared to non-EMP physicians. ED work intensity was defined as the number of ED shifts per month and the number of ED patients seen per month. We conducted two analyses: a before and after comparison of all EMP physicians and a matched cohort analysis matching each EMP physician to four non-EMP physicians on sex, year of medical school graduation, rurality, and pre-EMP ED work intensity. Postcourse, EMP physicians worked 0.5 more ED shifts per month (13% increase, p  =  0.027). Compared to their matched controls, EMP physicians worked 0.7 more shifts per month (13% increase, p  =  0.0032) and saw 15 more patients per month (17% increase, p  =  0.0008) compared to matched non-EMP physicians. The greatest increases were among EMP physicians who were younger, were urban, had previous ED experience, or worked in a high-volume ED. The effect of the EMP course was negligible for physicians with no previous ED experience or working in rural areas. The EMP course is associated with modest increases in ED work intensity among some family physicians, in particular younger physicians in urban areas. No increase was seen among physicians without previous ED experience or working in rural areas.

Transfer cell wall ingrowths and vein loading characteristics in pea leaf discs. [Pisum sativum

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

Wimmers, L.E.; Turgeon, R.

1987-04-01

Transfer cell wall ingrowths are thought to increase transport capacity by increasing plasmalemma surface area. Leaf minor vein phloem transfer cells presumably enhance phloem loading. In Pisum sativum cv. Little marvel grown under different light regimes (150 to 1000 ..mu..mol photons m/sup -2/ sec/sup -1/) there is a positive correlation between light intensity and wall ingrowth area in phloem transfer cells. The extent of ingrowth and correlation to light intensity is greatest in minor veins, decreasing as vein size increases. Vein loading was assayed by floating abraded leaf discs on /sup 14/C-sucrose (10 mM). There is a positive correlation betweenmore » uptake and transfer cell wall area, although the latter increased more than the former. The difference in uptake is stable throughout the photoperiod, and is also stable in mature leaves for at least four days after plants are transfered to a different light intensity. Sucrose uptake is biphasic. The saturable component of uptake is sensitive to light intensity, the Km for sucrose is negatively correlated to light intensity, while V/sub max/remains unchanged.« less

Intensive follow-up for women with breast cancer: review of clinical, economic and patient's preference domains through evidence to decision framework.

PubMed

Lafranconi, Alessandra; Pylkkänen, Liisa; Deandrea, Silvia; Bramesfeld, Anke; Lerda, Donata; Neamțiu, Luciana; Saz-Parkinson, Zuleika; Posso, Margarita; Rigau, David; Sola, Ivan; Alonso-Coello, Pablo; Martinez-Zapata, Maria José

2017-10-19

Women treated for breast cancer are followed-up for monitoring of treatment effectiveness and for detecting recurrences at an early stage. The type of follow-up received may affect women's reassurance and impact on their quality of life. Anxiety and depression among women with breast cancer has been described, but little is known about how the intensity of the follow-up can affect women's psychological status. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of intensive vs. less-intensive follow-up on different health outcomes, to determine what are women's preferences and values regarding the follow-up received, and also assess the costs of these different types of follow-up. A systematic review following standard Cochrane Collaboration methods was carried out to assess the efficacy of intensive follow-up versus non-intensive follow-up in breast cancer patients. Two additional reviews on women's preferences and economic evidence were also carried out. The search was performed up to January 2016 in: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PDQ, McMaster Health Systems Evidence, CENTRAL, and NHS EED (through The Cochrane Library). The quality of evidence was assessed by GRADE (for quantitative studies) and CerQUAL (for qualitative studies). Several outcomes including mortality, breast cancer recurrences, quality of life, and patient satisfaction were evaluated. Six randomised trials (corresponding to 3534 women) were included for the evaluation of health outcomes; three studies were included for women's values and preferences and four for an economic assessment. There is moderate certainty of evidence showing that intensive follow-up, including more frequent diagnostic tests or visits, does not have effects on 5- or 10-year overall mortality and recurrences in women with breast cancer, compared with less intensive follow-up. Regarding women's preferences and values, there was important variability among studies and within studies (low confidence due to risk of bias and inconsistency). Furthermore, intensive follow-up, as opposed to less intensive follow-up, is not likely to be cost-effective. Less intensive follow-up appears to be justified and can be recommended over intensive follow-up. Resources could thus be mobilised to other aspects of breast cancer care, or other areas of healthcare.

How does vineyard management intensity affect inter-row plant diversity and associated root parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winter, Silvia; Labuda, Thomas; Probus, Sandra; Penke, Nicole; Himmelbauer, Margarita; Loiskandl, Willibald; Strauss, Peter; Bauer, Thomas; Popescu, Daniela; Comsa, Maria; Bunea, Claudiu-Ioan; Zaller, Johann G.; Kriechbaum, Monika

2017-04-01

Vineyard management has changed dramatically in the last 50 years. In many wine-growing regions, vineyard inter-rows are kept clean of vegetation by frequent tillage or use of herbicides to establish bare soil systems. In the last thirty years, policy-makers and several winegrowers have realized that temporary or permanent vegetation cover between the vine rows may increase ecosystem services like soil erosion mitigation, soil fertility and biodiversity conservation. The inter-row area of a vineyard can host a diverse flora providing habitat and food resources for pollinating insects and natural enemies of pests. The goal of this study was to analyze the influence of different soil management intensities on plant diversity and root parameters in the vineyard inter-rows. We investigated 15 vineyards in Romania and 14 in Austria to study the effects of three different management intensities on plant diversity, above and below-ground plant biomass, total root length and surface area of roots. Management intensity ranged from bare soil inter-rows to alternative soil tillage every second year to permanent vegetation cover for more than five years. In each vineyard inter-row, six soil samples (7 cm diameter and 10 cm height) of the upper soil layer were extracted for root analyses. Root were separated from the soil, stained and finally scanned and analyzed with the WinRHIZO software. Finally, roots were dried at 70°C to obtain dry matter of the root samples. Vegetation cover and vascular plant diversity was recorded in four 1 m2 plots within each vineyard inter-row two times a year. The most intensive bare soil management regime in Romania significantly reduced root biomass, total root length and surface area in comparison to the alternative and permanent vegetation cover management. Plant biodiversity was also reduced by intensive management, but differences were not significant. While alternative tillage every second year showed the highest values of plant species diversity and functional richness, total root length, surface area and root biomass always showed the highest value in the vineyards with permanent vegetation cover. In Austria, the difference between temporary and permanent vegetation cover was much less pronounced than in Romania. The overall synthesis of these results combined with additional biodiversity datasets and soil parameters gathered within the transdisciplinary BiodivERsA project VineDivers will be used to draft management and policy recommendations for various stakeholder groups engaged in viticulture.

Effect of heat on soil color and pH of two forest soils.

Treesearch

Robert F. Tarrant

1953-01-01

Intensity of a slash burn is often judged by the change in soil color. Reddened or yellowed areas of soil and charred patches of organic litter are found on most burned areas, but such color changes are difficult to interpret. A study was therefore made to explore two questions: (1) At what temperature does the color of mineral soil change to the...

Application of two regression-based methods to estimate the effects harvest on forest structure using Landsat data

Treesearch

Sean P. Healey; Zhiqiang Yang; Warren B. Cohen; D. John Pierce

2006-01-01

Although partial harvests are common in many forest types globally, there has been little assessment of the potential to map the intensity of these harvests using Landsat data. We modeled basal area removal and percent cover change in a study area in central Washington (northwestern USA) using biennial Landsat imagery and reference data from historical aerial photos...

Effects of urbanization expansion on landscape pattern and region ecological risk in Chinese coastal city: a case study of Yantai city.

PubMed

Zhou, Di; Shi, Ping; Wu, Xiaoqing; Ma, Jinwei; Yu, Junbao

2014-01-01

Applied with remote sensing, GIS, and mathematical statistics, the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics of urbanization expansion of Yantai city from 1974 to 2009 was studied. Based on landscape pattern metrics and ecological risk index, the landscape ecological risk from the landscape pattern dynamics was evaluated. The results showed that the area of urban land increased by 189.77 km(2) with average expansion area of 5.42 km(2) y(-1) from 1974 to 2009. The urbanization intensity index during 2004-2009 was 3.92 times of that during 1974-1990. The land use types of urban land and farmland changed greatly. The changes of landscape pattern metrics for land use patterns indicated that the intensity of human activities had strengthened gradually in study period. The landscape ecological risk pattern of Yantai city shaped half-round rings along the coastline. The ecological risk index decreased with increase of the distance to the coastline. The ratio of high ecological risk to subhigh ecological risk zones in 2009 was 2.23 times of that in 1990. The significant linear relationship of urbanization intensity index and regional ecological risk indicated that the anthropological economic activities were decisive factors for sustainable development of costal ecological environment.

Effects of Urbanization Expansion on Landscape Pattern and Region Ecological Risk in Chinese Coastal City: A Case Study of Yantai City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, D.; Yu, J.; Li, Y.; Zhan, C.

2017-12-01

Applied with remote sensing, GIS, and mathematical statistics, the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics of urbanization expansion of Yantai city from1974 to 2009 was studied. Based on landscape pattern metrics and ecological risk index, the landscape ecological risk from the landscape pattern dynamics was evaluated. The results showed that the area of urban land increased by 189.77 km2 with average expansion area of 5.42 km2 y-1 from1974 to 2009.The urbanization intensity index during 2004-2009 was 3.92 times of that during 1974-1990. The land use types of urban land and farmland changed greatly. The changes of landscape pattern metrics for land use patterns indicated that the intensity of human activities had strengthened gradually in study period. The landscape ecological risk pattern of Yantai city shaped half-round rings along the coastline. The ecological risk index decreased with increase of the distance to the coastline. The ratio of high ecological risk to sub-high ecological risk zones in 2009 was 2.23 times of that in 1990.The significant linear relationship of urbanization intensity index and regional ecological risk indicated that the anthropological economic activities were decisive factors for sustainable development of costal ecological environment.

Intracranial solitary fibrous tumor: imaging findings.

PubMed

Clarençon, Frédéric; Bonneville, Fabrice; Rousseau, Audrey; Galanaud, Damien; Kujas, Michèle; Naggara, Olivier; Cornu, Philippe; Chiras, Jacques

2011-11-01

To study the neuroimaging features of intracranial solitary fibrous tumors (ISFTs). Retrospective study of neuroimaging features of 9 consecutive histopathologically proven ISFT cases. Location, size, shape, density, signal intensity and gadolinium uptake were studied at CT and MRI. Data collected from diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) (3 patients), perfusion imaging and MR spectroscopy (2 patients), and DSA (4 patients) were also analyzed. The tumors most frequently arose from the intracranial meninges (7/9), while the other lesions were intraventricular. Tumor size ranged from 2.5 to 10 cm (mean=6.6 cm). They presented multilobular shape in 6/9 patients. Most ISFTs were heterogeneous (7/9) with areas of low T2 signal intensity that strongly enhanced after gadolinium administration (6/8). Erosion of the skull was present in about half of the cases (4/9). Components with decreased apparent diffusion coefficient were seen in 2/3 ISFTs on DWI. Spectroscopy revealed elevated peaks of choline and myo-inositol. MR perfusion showed features of hyperperfusion. ISFT should be considered in cases of extra-axial, supratentorial, heterogeneous, hypervascular tumor. Areas of low T2 signal intensity that strongly enhance after gadolinium injection are suggestive of this diagnosis. Restricted diffusion and elevated peak of myo-inositol may be additional valuable features. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of Urbanization Expansion on Landscape Pattern and Region Ecological Risk in Chinese Coastal City: A Case Study of Yantai City

PubMed Central

Zhou, Di; Shi, Ping; Wu, Xiaoqing; Ma, Jinwei

2014-01-01

Applied with remote sensing, GIS, and mathematical statistics, the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics of urbanization expansion of Yantai city from 1974 to 2009 was studied. Based on landscape pattern metrics and ecological risk index, the landscape ecological risk from the landscape pattern dynamics was evaluated. The results showed that the area of urban land increased by 189.77 km2 with average expansion area of 5.42 km2 y−1 from 1974 to 2009. The urbanization intensity index during 2004–2009 was 3.92 times of that during 1974–1990. The land use types of urban land and farmland changed greatly. The changes of landscape pattern metrics for land use patterns indicated that the intensity of human activities had strengthened gradually in study period. The landscape ecological risk pattern of Yantai city shaped half-round rings along the coastline. The ecological risk index decreased with increase of the distance to the coastline. The ratio of high ecological risk to subhigh ecological risk zones in 2009 was 2.23 times of that in 1990. The significant linear relationship of urbanization intensity index and regional ecological risk indicated that the anthropological economic activities were decisive factors for sustainable development of costal ecological environment. PMID:24983003

Patterns of Lynx Predation at the Interface between Protected Areas and Multi-Use Landscapes in Central Europe

PubMed Central

Belotti, Elisa; Weder, Nicole; Bufka, Luděk; Kaldhusdal, Arne; Küchenhoff, Helmut; Seibold, Heidi; Woelfing, Benno; Heurich, Marco

2015-01-01

In Central Europe, protected areas are too small to ensure survival of populations of large carnivores. In the surrounding areas, these species are often persecuted due to competition with game hunters. Therefore, understanding how predation intensity varies spatio-temporally across areas with different levels of protection is fundamental. We investigated the predation patterns of Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) on roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) in both protected areas and multi-use landscapes of the Bohemian Forest Ecosystem. Based on 359 roe and red deer killed by 10 GPS-collared lynx, we calculated the species-specific annual kill rates and tested for effects of season and lynx age, sex and reproductive status. Because roe and red deer in the study area concentrate in unprotected lowlands during winter, we modeled spatial distribution of kills separately for summer and winter and calculated-the probability of a deer killed by lynx and-the expected number of kills for areas with different levels of protection. Significantly more roe deer (46.05–74.71/year/individual lynx) were killed than red deer (1.57–9.63/year/individual lynx), more deer were killed in winter than in summer, and lynx family groups had higher annual kill rates than adult male, single adult female and subadult female lynx. In winter the probability of a deer killed and the expected number of kills were higher outside the most protected part of the study area than inside; in summer, this probability did not differ between areas, and the expected number of kills was slightly larger inside than outside the most protected part of the study area. This indicates that the intensity of lynx predation in the unprotected part of the Bohemian Forest Ecosystem increases in winter, thus mitigation of conflicts in these areas should be included as a priority in the lynx conservation strategy. PMID:26379142

Large-scale wind disturbances promote tree diversity in a Central Amazon forest.

PubMed

Marra, Daniel Magnabosco; Chambers, Jeffrey Q; Higuchi, Niro; Trumbore, Susan E; Ribeiro, Gabriel H P M; Dos Santos, Joaquim; Negrón-Juárez, Robinson I; Reu, Björn; Wirth, Christian

2014-01-01

Canopy gaps created by wind-throw events, or blowdowns, create a complex mosaic of forest patches varying in disturbance intensity and recovery in the Central Amazon. Using field and remote sensing data, we investigated the short-term (four-year) effects of large (>2000 m(2)) blowdown gaps created during a single storm event in January 2005 near Manaus, Brazil, to study (i) how forest structure and composition vary with disturbance gradients and (ii) whether tree diversity is promoted by niche differentiation related to wind-throw events at the landscape scale. In the forest area affected by the blowdown, tree mortality ranged from 0 to 70%, and was highest on plateaus and slopes. Less impacted areas in the region affected by the blowdown had overlapping characteristics with a nearby unaffected forest in tree density (583 ± 46 trees ha(-1)) (mean ± 99% Confidence Interval) and basal area (26.7 ± 2.4 m(2) ha(-1)). Highly impacted areas had tree density and basal area as low as 120 trees ha(-1) and 14.9 m(2) ha(-1), respectively. In general, these structural measures correlated negatively with an index of tree mortality intensity derived from satellite imagery. Four years after the blowdown event, differences in size-distribution, fraction of resprouters, floristic composition and species diversity still correlated with disturbance measures such as tree mortality and gap size. Our results suggest that the gradients of wind disturbance intensity encompassed in large blowdown gaps (>2000 m(2)) promote tree diversity. Specialists for particular disturbance intensities existed along the entire gradient. The existence of species or genera taking an intermediate position between undisturbed and gap specialists led to a peak of rarefied richness and diversity at intermediate disturbance levels. A diverse set of species differing widely in requirements and recruitment strategies forms the initial post-disturbance cohort, thus lending a high resilience towards wind disturbances at the community level.

Large-Scale Wind Disturbances Promote Tree Diversity in a Central Amazon Forest

PubMed Central

Marra, Daniel Magnabosco; Chambers, Jeffrey Q.; Higuchi, Niro; Trumbore, Susan E.; Ribeiro, Gabriel H. P. M.; dos Santos, Joaquim; Negrón-Juárez, Robinson I.; Reu, Björn; Wirth, Christian

2014-01-01

Canopy gaps created by wind-throw events, or blowdowns, create a complex mosaic of forest patches varying in disturbance intensity and recovery in the Central Amazon. Using field and remote sensing data, we investigated the short-term (four-year) effects of large (>2000 m2) blowdown gaps created during a single storm event in January 2005 near Manaus, Brazil, to study (i) how forest structure and composition vary with disturbance gradients and (ii) whether tree diversity is promoted by niche differentiation related to wind-throw events at the landscape scale. In the forest area affected by the blowdown, tree mortality ranged from 0 to 70%, and was highest on plateaus and slopes. Less impacted areas in the region affected by the blowdown had overlapping characteristics with a nearby unaffected forest in tree density (583±46 trees ha−1) (mean±99% Confidence Interval) and basal area (26.7±2.4 m2 ha−1). Highly impacted areas had tree density and basal area as low as 120 trees ha−1 and 14.9 m2 ha−1, respectively. In general, these structural measures correlated negatively with an index of tree mortality intensity derived from satellite imagery. Four years after the blowdown event, differences in size-distribution, fraction of resprouters, floristic composition and species diversity still correlated with disturbance measures such as tree mortality and gap size. Our results suggest that the gradients of wind disturbance intensity encompassed in large blowdown gaps (>2000 m2) promote tree diversity. Specialists for particular disturbance intensities existed along the entire gradient. The existence of species or genera taking an intermediate position between undisturbed and gap specialists led to a peak of rarefied richness and diversity at intermediate disturbance levels. A diverse set of species differing widely in requirements and recruitment strategies forms the initial post-disturbance cohort, thus lending a high resilience towards wind disturbances at the community level. PMID:25099118

Large-Scale Wind Disturbances Promote Tree Diversity in a Central Amazon Forest

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

Marra, Daniel Magnabosco; Chambers, Jeffrey Q.; Higuchi, Niro

Canopy gaps created by wind-throw events, or blowdowns, create a complex mosaic of forest patches varying in disturbance intensity and recovery in the Central Amazon. Using field and remote sensing data, we investigated the short-term (four-year) effects of large (>2000 m 2) blowdown gaps created during a single storm event in January 2005 near Manaus, Brazil, to study (i) how forest structure and composition vary with disturbance gradients and (ii) whether tree diversity is promoted by niche differentiation related to wind-throw events at the landscape scale. In the forest area affected by the blowdown, tree mortality ranged from 0 tomore » 70%, and was highest on plateaus and slopes. Less impacted areas in the region affected by the blowdown had overlapping characteristics with a nearby unaffected forest in tree density (583±46 trees ha -1) (mean±99% Confidence Interval) and basal area (26.7±2.4 m 2 ha -1). Highly impacted areas had tree density and basal area as low as 120 trees ha -1 and 14.9 m 2 ha -1, respectively. In general, these structural measures correlated negatively with an index of tree mortality intensity derived from satellite imagery. Four years after the blowdown event, differences in size-distribution, fraction of resprouters, floristic composition and species diversity still correlated with disturbance measures such as tree mortality and gap size. Our results suggest that the gradients of wind disturbance intensity encompassed in large blowdown gaps (>2000 m 2) promote tree diversity. Specialists for particular disturbance intensities existed along the entire gradient. The existence of species or genera taking an intermediate position between undisturbed and gap specialists led to a peak of rarefied richness and diversity at intermediate disturbance levels. A diverse set of species differing widely in requirements and recruitment strategies forms the initial post-disturbance cohort, thus lending a high resilience towards wind disturbances at the community level.« less

Large-Scale Wind Disturbances Promote Tree Diversity in a Central Amazon Forest

DOE PAGES

Marra, Daniel Magnabosco; Chambers, Jeffrey Q.; Higuchi, Niro; ...

2014-08-06

Canopy gaps created by wind-throw events, or blowdowns, create a complex mosaic of forest patches varying in disturbance intensity and recovery in the Central Amazon. Using field and remote sensing data, we investigated the short-term (four-year) effects of large (>2000 m 2) blowdown gaps created during a single storm event in January 2005 near Manaus, Brazil, to study (i) how forest structure and composition vary with disturbance gradients and (ii) whether tree diversity is promoted by niche differentiation related to wind-throw events at the landscape scale. In the forest area affected by the blowdown, tree mortality ranged from 0 tomore » 70%, and was highest on plateaus and slopes. Less impacted areas in the region affected by the blowdown had overlapping characteristics with a nearby unaffected forest in tree density (583±46 trees ha -1) (mean±99% Confidence Interval) and basal area (26.7±2.4 m 2 ha -1). Highly impacted areas had tree density and basal area as low as 120 trees ha -1 and 14.9 m 2 ha -1, respectively. In general, these structural measures correlated negatively with an index of tree mortality intensity derived from satellite imagery. Four years after the blowdown event, differences in size-distribution, fraction of resprouters, floristic composition and species diversity still correlated with disturbance measures such as tree mortality and gap size. Our results suggest that the gradients of wind disturbance intensity encompassed in large blowdown gaps (>2000 m 2) promote tree diversity. Specialists for particular disturbance intensities existed along the entire gradient. The existence of species or genera taking an intermediate position between undisturbed and gap specialists led to a peak of rarefied richness and diversity at intermediate disturbance levels. A diverse set of species differing widely in requirements and recruitment strategies forms the initial post-disturbance cohort, thus lending a high resilience towards wind disturbances at the community level.« less

The increased risk of predation enhances cooperation

PubMed Central

Krams, Indrikis; Bērziņš, Arnis; Krama, Tatjana; Wheatcroft, David; Igaune, Kristīne; Rantala, Markus J.

2010-01-01

Theory predicts that animals in adverse conditions can decrease individual risks and increase long-term benefits by cooperating with neighbours. However, some empirical studies suggest that animals often focus on short-term benefits, which can reduce the likelihood that they will cooperate with others. In this experimental study, we tested between these two alternatives by evaluating whether increased predation risk (as a correlate of environmental adversity) enhances or diminishes the occurrence of cooperation in mobbing, a common anti-predator behaviour, among breeding pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca. We tested whether birds would join their mobbing neighbours more often and harass a stuffed predator placed near their neighbours' nests more intensely in areas with a higher perceived risk of predation. Our results show that birds attended mobs initiated by their neighbours more often, approached the stuffed predator significantly more closely, and mobbed it at a higher intensity in areas where the perceived risk of predation was experimentally increased. In such high-risk areas, birds also were more often involved in between-pair cooperation. This study demonstrates the positive impact of predation risk on cooperation in breeding songbirds, which might help in explaining the emergence and evolution of cooperation. PMID:19846454

A study of the threshold method utilizing raingage data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Short, David A.; Wolff, David B.; Rosenfeld, Daniel; Atlas, David

1993-01-01

The threshold method for estimation of area-average rain rate relies on determination of the fractional area where rain rate exceeds a preset level of intensity. Previous studies have shown that the optimal threshold level depends on the climatological rain-rate distribution (RRD). It has also been noted, however, that the climatological RRD may be composed of an aggregate of distributions, one for each of several distinctly different synoptic conditions, each having its own optimal threshold. In this study, the impact of RRD variations on the threshold method is shown in an analysis of 1-min rainrate data from a network of tipping-bucket gauges in Darwin, Australia. Data are analyzed for two distinct regimes: the premonsoon environment, having isolated intense thunderstorms, and the active monsoon rains, having organized convective cell clusters that generate large areas of stratiform rain. It is found that a threshold of 10 mm/h results in the same threshold coefficient for both regimes, suggesting an alternative definition of optimal threshold as that which is least sensitive to distribution variations. The observed behavior of the threshold coefficient is well simulated by assumption of lognormal distributions with different scale parameters and same shape parameters.

Effects of vocal training on singing and speaking voice characteristics in vocally healthy adults and children based on choral and nonchoral data.

PubMed

Siupsinskiene, Nora; Lycke, Hugo

2011-07-01

This prospective cross-sectional study examines the effects of voice training on vocal capabilities in vocally healthy age and gender differentiated groups measured by voice range profile (VRP) and speech range profile (SRP). Frequency and intensity measurements of the VRP and SRP using standard singing and speaking voice protocols were derived from 161 trained choir singers (21 males, 59 females, and 81 prepubescent children) and from 188 nonsingers (38 males, 89 females, and 61 children). When compared with nonsingers, both genders of trained adult and child singers exhibited increased mean pitch range, highest frequency, and VRP area in high frequencies (P<0.05). Female singers and child singers also showed significantly increased mean maximum voice intensity, intensity range, and total VRP area. The logistic regression analysis showed that VRP pitch range, highest frequency, maximum voice intensity, and maximum-minimum intensity range, and SRP slope of speaking curve were the key predictors of voice training. Age, gender, and voice training differentiated norms of VRP and SRP parameters are presented. Significant positive effect of voice training on vocal capabilities, mostly singing voice, was confirmed. The presented norms for trained singers, with key parameters differentiated by gender and age, are suggested for clinical practice of otolaryngologists and speech-language pathologists. Copyright © 2011 The Voice Foundation. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Monitoring the changing position of coastlines using aerial and satellite image data: an example from the eastern coast of Trabzon, Turkey.

PubMed

Sesli, Faik Ahmet; Karsli, Fevzi; Colkesen, Ismail; Akyol, Nihat

2009-06-01

Coastline mapping and coastline change detection are critical issues for safe navigation, coastal resource management, coastal environmental protection, and sustainable coastal development and planning. Changes in the shape of coastline may fundamentally affect the environment of the coastal zone. This may be caused by natural processes and/or human activities. Over the past 30 years, the coastal sites in Turkey have been under an intensive restraint associated with a population press due to the internal and external touristic demand. In addition, urbanization on the filled up areas, settlements, and the highways constructed to overcome the traffic problems and the other applications in the coastal region clearly confirm an intensive restraint. Aerial photos with medium spatial resolution and high resolution satellite imagery are ideal data sources for mapping coastal land use and monitoring their changes for a large area. This study introduces an efficient method to monitor coastline and coastal land use changes using time series aerial photos (1973 and 2002) and satellite imagery (2005) covering the same geographical area. Results show the effectiveness of the use of digital photogrammetry and remote sensing data on monitoring large area of coastal land use status. This study also showed that over 161 ha areas were filled up in the research area and along the coastal land 12.2 ha of coastal erosion is determined for the period of 1973 to 2005. Consequently, monitoring of coastal land use is thus necessary for coastal area planning in order to protecting the coastal areas from climate changes and other coastal processes.

Correlation between odour concentration and odour intensity from exposure to environmental odour

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yusoff, Syafinah; Qamaruz Zaman, Nastaein

2017-08-01

The encroachment of industries, agricultural activities and husbandries to the community area had been a major concern of late, especially in regards to the escalating reports of odour nuisances. A study was performed with the objective of establishing correlation between odour concentration and odour intensity, as an improved method to determine odour nuisances in the community. Universiti Sains Malaysia Engineering Campus was chosen as the study location, due to its vicinity to several odour sources including paper mill, palm oil mill and poultry farm. The odour survey was based on VDI 3940, to determine the level of odour intensity with the corresponding odour concentration measured using an infield olfactometer. The correlation between both methods shows a significant correlation by using Pearson Correlation with a level of confidence of 99.9 percent. The graph plotted between intensity and concentration shows the R2 value of 0.40 which indicated a good correlation between both methods, despite having a high variance and low in consistency. Therefore, this study concludes that the determination of odour concentration should be complemented with odour intensity in order to recognize the true impact of odour nuisance in a community.

Image analysis methods for assessing levels of image plane nonuniformity and stochastic noise in a magnetic resonance image of a homogeneous phantom.

PubMed

Magnusson, P; Olsson, L E

2000-08-01

Magnetic response image plane nonuniformity and stochastic noise are properties that greatly influence the outcome of quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluations such as gel dosimetry measurements using MRI. To study these properties, robust and accurate image analysis methods are required. New nonuniformity level assessment methods were designed, since previous methods were found to be insufficiently robust and accurate. The new and previously reported nonuniformity level assessment methods were analyzed with respect to, for example, insensitivity to stochastic noise; and previously reported stochastic noise level assessment methods with respect to insensitivity to nonuniformity. Using the same image data, different methods were found to assess significantly different levels of nonuniformity. Nonuniformity levels obtained using methods that count pixels in an intensity interval, and obtained using methods that use only intensity values, were found not to be comparable. The latter were found preferable, since they assess the quantity intrinsically sought. A new method which calculates a deviation image, with every pixel representing the deviation from a reference intensity, was least sensitive to stochastic noise. Furthermore, unlike any other analyzed method, it includes all intensity variations across the phantom area and allows for studies of nonuniformity shapes. This new method was designed for accurate studies of nonuniformities in gel dosimetry measurements, but could also be used with benefit in quality assurance and acceptance testing of MRI, scintillation camera, and computer tomography systems. The stochastic noise level was found to be greatly method dependent. Two methods were found to be insensitive to nonuniformity and also simple to use in practice. One method assesses the stochastic noise level as the average of the levels at five different positions within the phantom area, and the other assesses the stochastic noise in a region outside the phantom area.

Agricultural peatlands: towards a greenhouse gas sink - a synthesis of a Dutch landscape study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schrier-Uijl, A. P.; Kroon, P. S.; Hendriks, D. M. D.; Hensen, A.; Van Huissteden, J.; Berendse, F.; Veenendaal, E. M.

2014-08-01

It is generally known that managed, drained peatlands act as carbon (C) sources. In this study we examined how mitigation through the reduction of the intensity of land management and through rewetting may affect the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and the C balance of intensively managed, drained, agricultural peatlands. Carbon and GHG balances were determined for three peatlands in the western part of the Netherlands from 2005 to 2008 by considering spatial and temporal variability of emissions (CO2, CH4 and N2O). One area (Oukoop) is an intensively managed grass-on-peatland area, including a dairy farm, with the ground water level at an average annual depth of 0.55 (±0.37) m below the soil surface. The second area (Stein) is an extensively managed grass-on-peatland area, formerly intensively managed, with a dynamic ground water level at an average annual depth of 0.45 (±0.35) m below the soil surface. The third area is a (since 1998) rewetted former agricultural peatland (Horstermeer), close to Oukoop and Stein, with the average annual ground water level at a depth of 0.2 (±0.20) m below the soil surface. During the measurement campaigns we found that both agriculturally managed sites acted as C and GHG sources and the rewetted former agricultural peatland acted as a C and GHG sink. The ecosystem (fields and ditches) total GHG balance, including CO2, CH4 and N2O, amounted to 3.9 (±0.4), 1.3 (±0.5) and -1.7 (±1.8) g CO2-eq m-2 d-1 for Oukoop, Stein and Horstermeer, respectively. Adding the farm-based emissions to Oukoop and Stein resulted in a total GHG emission of 8.3 (±1.0) and 6.6 (±1.3) g CO2-eq m-2 d-1, respectively. For Horstermeer the GHG balance remained the same since no farm-based emissions exist. Considering the C balance (uncertainty range 40-60%), the total C release in Oukoop and Stein is 5270 and 6258 kg C ha-1 yr-1, respectively (including ecosystem and management fluxes), and the total C uptake in Horstermeer is 3538 kg C ha-1 yr-1. Water bodies contributed significantly to the terrestrial GHG balance because of a high release of CH4. Overall, this study suggests that managed peatlands are large sources of GHGs and C, but, if appropriate measures are taken, they can be turned back into GHG and C sinks within 15 years of abandonment and rewetting. The shift from an intensively managed grass-on-peat area (Oukoop) to an extensively managed one (Stein) reduced the GHG emissions mainly because N2O emission and farm-based CH4 emissions decreased.

Mis-segmentation in voxel-based morphometry due to a signal intensity change in the putamen.

PubMed

Goto, Masami; Abe, Osamu; Miyati, Tosiaki; Aoki, Shigeki; Gomi, Tsutomu; Takeda, Tohoru

2017-12-01

The aims of this study were to demonstrate an association between changes in the signal intensity of the putamen on three-dimensional T1-weighted magnetic resonance images (3D-T1WI) and mis-segmentation, using the voxel-based morphometry (VBM) 8 toolbox. The sagittal 3D-T1WIs of 22 healthy volunteers were obtained for VBM analysis using the 1.5-T MR scanner. We prepared five levels of 3D-T1WI signal intensity (baseline, same level, background level, low level, and high level) in regions of interest containing the putamen. Groups of smoothed, spatially normalized tissue images were compared to the baseline group using a paired t test. The baseline was compared to the other four levels. In all comparisons, significant volume changes were observed around and outside the area that included the signal intensity change. The present study demonstrated an association between a change in the signal intensity of the putamen on 3D-T1WI and changed volume in segmented tissue images.

Assessment of delirium using the PRE-DELIRIC model in an intensive care unit in Argentina

PubMed Central

Sosa, Fernando Ariel; Roberti, Javier; Franco, Margarita Tovar; Kleinert, María Mercedes; Patrón, Agustina Risso; Osatnik, Javier

2018-01-01

Objective To describe the incidence of and risk factors for delirium in the intensive care unit of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Argentina and to conduct the first non-European study exploring the performance of the PREdiction of DELIRium in ICu patients (PRE-DELIRIC) model. Methods Prospective observational study in a 20-bed intensive care unit of a tertiary care teaching hospital in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The PRE-DELIRIC model was applied to 178 consecutive patients within 24 hours of admission to the intensive care unit; delirium was assessed with the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU). Results The mean age was 64.3 ± 17.9 years. The median time of stay in the intensive care unit was 6 (range, 2 - 56) days. Of the total number of patients, 49/178 (27.5%) developed delirium, defined as a positive CAM-ICU assessment, during their stay in the intensive care unit. Patients in the delirium group were significantly older and had a significantly higher Acute Physiological and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score. The mortality rate in the intensive care unit was 14.6%; no significant difference was observed between the two groups. Predictive factors for the development of delirium were increased age, prolonged intensive care unit stay, and opioid use. The area under the curve for the PRE-DELIRIC model was 0.83 (95%CI; 0.77 - 0.90). Conclusions The observed incidence of delirium highlights the importance of this problem in the intensive care unit setting. In this first study conducted outside Europe, PRE-DELIRIC accurately predicted the development of delirium. PMID:29742219

The Application of Support Vector Machine (svm) Using Cielab Color Model, Color Intensity and Color Constancy as Features for Ortho Image Classification of Benthic Habitats in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur, Philippines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cubillas, J. E.; Japitana, M.

2016-06-01

This study demonstrates the application of CIELAB, Color intensity, and One Dimensional Scalar Constancy as features for image recognition and classifying benthic habitats in an image with the coastal areas of Hinatuan, Surigao Del Sur, Philippines as the study area. The study area is composed of four datasets, namely: (a) Blk66L005, (b) Blk66L021, (c) Blk66L024, and (d) Blk66L0114. SVM optimization was performed in Matlab® software with the help of Parallel Computing Toolbox to hasten the SVM computing speed. The image used for collecting samples for SVM procedure was Blk66L0114 in which a total of 134,516 sample objects of mangrove, possible coral existence with rocks, sand, sea, fish pens and sea grasses were collected and processed. The collected samples were then used as training sets for the supervised learning algorithm and for the creation of class definitions. The learned hyper-planes separating one class from another in the multi-dimensional feature space can be thought of as a super feature which will then be used in developing the C (classifier) rule set in eCognition® software. The classification results of the sampling site yielded an accuracy of 98.85% which confirms the reliability of remote sensing techniques and analysis employed to orthophotos like the CIELAB, Color Intensity and One dimensional scalar constancy and the use of SVM classification algorithm in classifying benthic habitats.

Hydrogeological Modelling of Some Geothermal Waters of Ivrindi, Havran and Gönen in the Province Capital of Balikesir, Western Anatolia, Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Özgür, Nevzat; Ugurlu, Zehra; Memis, Ümit; Aydemir, Eda

2017-12-01

In this study, hydrogeological, hydrogeochemical and isotope geochemical features of Havran, Gönen and Ivrindi within the province capital of Balıkesir, Turkey were investigated in detail. The Early Triassic Karakaya formation in the study area of Havran forms the oldest rocks consisting of spilitic basalts, diabases, gabbros, mudstones, cherts and radiolarites. There are limestone blocks in this formation with intercalations with sandstones and with feldspar contents, quartzite, conglomerates and siltstones. Oligocene to Miocene granodiorite intrusions were generated in association with intensively volcanic events in the area. Between Upper Oligocene and Early Miocene, andesitic and dacitic pyroclastic rocks cropped out due to intensively volcanism. Later, conglomerates, sandstones, claystones, marls and limestones as lacustrine sediments formed from Middle to Upper Miocene in the study area. In the study area of Gönen, the Lower Triassic Karakaya formation consists of basalts, diabases, gabbros, mudstones, cherts and radiolarites and forms the basement rocks overlain by Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous sandy limestones. Upper and Middle Miocene volcanics which can be considered intensive Biga Peninsula volcanos outcrop in the area. These andesitic lava flows are of black, gray and red color with intensive fissures. Neogene lacustrine sediments consist of conglomerates, sandstones, marl, claystone and clayey limestones. Upper Miocene to Pliocene rhyolitic pyroclastics and dacitic lava flows are the volcanic rocks which are overlain by Pliocene conglomerates, sandstones and claystones. In the study area of Ivrindi, the Çaldağ limestones are the oldest formation in Permian age. Çavdartepe metamorphic rocks are of Lower Triassic in which can be observed marbles sporadically. The Kınık formation consisting of conglomerates, sandstones, siltstones and limestones are of Lower Triassic age and display a lateral Stratigraphic progress with volcanic rocks. Upper Miocene to Pliocene Yürekli formation consists of dacites and rhyodacites. Upper Miocene to Pliocene Soma formation is composed of clayey limestone, marl, siltstone, intercalations of sandstone, agglomerate and andesitic gravels and blocks cemented by tuffs. Quaternary alluvium is the youngest formation. The samples of geothermal waters in the area of Havran can be considered as Na-Ca-(SO4)-HCO3, Na-(SO4)-HCO3 and Na-SO4 type waters. In comparison, the geothermal waters in Gönen are of Na-(SO4)-HCO3 and Na-HCO3 type waters. The geothermal waters of Ivrindi are considered as Na-Ca-HCO3 type waters. In the area, a groundwater sample is of Ca-Mg-HCO3 type water. The geothermal waters belong to the cations of Na+K>Ca>Mg in Havran, Gönen and Ivrindi and to the anions of SO4>HCO3>Cl in Havran, HCO3>SO4>Cl in Gönen and SO4>HCO3>Cl in Ivrindi. In the diagram of Na-K-Mg1/2, the geothermal waters in Havran, Gönen and Ivrindi of the province capital of Balıkesir can be classified as immature waters.

Honey Bee Survival and Pathogen Prevalence: From the Perspective of Landscape and Exposure to Pesticides.

PubMed

Alburaki, Mohamed; Chen, Deniz; Skinner, John A; Meikle, William G; Tarpy, David R; Adamczyk, John; Stewart, Scott D

2018-06-13

In order to study the in situ effects of the agricultural landscape and exposure to pesticides on honey bee health, sixteen honey bee colonies were placed in four different agricultural landscapes. Those landscapes were three agricultural areas with varying levels of agricultural intensity (AG areas) and one non-agricultural area (NAG area). Colonies were monitored for different pathogen prevalence and pesticide residues over a period of one year. RT-qPCR was used to study the prevalence of seven different honey bee viruses as well as Nosema sp. in colonies located in different agricultural systems with various intensities of soybean, corn, sorghum, and cotton production. Populations of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor were also extensively monitored. Comprehensive MS-LC pesticide residue analyses were performed on samples of wax, honey, foragers, winter bees, dead bees, and crop flowers for each apiary and location. A significantly higher level of varroa loads were recorded in colonies of the AG areas, but this at least partly correlated with increased colony size and did not necessarily result from exposure to pesticides. Infections of two viruses (deformed wing virus genotype a (DWVa) and acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV)) and Nosema sp. varied among the four studied locations. The urban location significantly elevated colony pathogen loads, while AG locations significantly benefited and increased the colony weight gain. Cotton and sorghum flowers contained high concentrations of insecticide including neonicotinoids, while soybean and corn had less pesticide residues. Several events of pesticide toxicity were recorded in the AG areas, and high concentrations of neonicotinoid insecticides were detected in dead bees.

Estimation of erosion-accumulative processes at the Inia River's mouth near high-rise construction zones.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sineeva, Natalya

2018-03-01

Our study relevance is due to the increasing man-made impact on water bodies and associated land resources within the urban areas, as a consequence, by a change in the morphology and dynamics of Rivers' canals. This leads to the need to predict the development of erosion-accumulation processes, especially within the built-up urban areas. Purpose of the study is to develop programs on the assessment of erosion-accumulation processes at a water body, a mouth area of the Inia River, in the of perspective high-rise construction zone of a residential microdistrict, the place, where floodplain-channel complex is intensively expected to develop. Results of the study: Within the velocities of the water flow comparing, full-scale measured conditions, and calculated from the model, a slight discrepancy was recorded. This allows us to say that the numerical model reliably describes the physical processes developing in the River. The carried out calculations to assess the direction and intensity of the channel re-formations, made us possible to conclude, there was an insignificant predominance of erosion processes over the accumulative ones on the undeveloped part of the Inia River (the processes activity is noticeable only in certain areas (by the coasts and the island)). Importance of the study: The study on the erosion-accumulation processes evaluation can be used in design decisions for the future high-rise construction of this territory, which will increase their economic efficiency.

Cultural Resources Intensive Survey and Testing of Mississippi River Levee Berms Crittenden and Desha Counties, Arkansas and Mississippi, Scott, Cape Girardeau and Pemiscot Counties, Missouri. Item R-48.87 A.C. Nash; Missouri, Relief Well Ditches Cape Girardeau and Scott Counties, Missouri

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-07-01

denizens and occurred in the study area. Maps presented by Simpson (1945) indicate that the genus Tapirus ( tapirs ) occurred in the study area. Mosimann and...Felines in North America. The American Museum of Natural History, No. 1136, pp. 20-27. 1945 Notes on Pleistocene and Recent Tapirs . Bulletin of the

The CALL-SLA Interface: Insights from a Second-Order Synthesis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Plonsky, Luke; Ziegler, Nicole

2016-01-01

The relationship between computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and second language acquisition (SLA) has been studied both extensively, covering numerous subdomains, and intensively, resulting in hundreds of primary studies. It is therefore no surprise that CALL researchers, as in other areas of applied linguistics, have turned in recent…

Ground-followup studies of the 1977 airborne electromagnetic survey in the Assifar and Mulhal areas, Wadi Bidah district, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

USGS Publications Warehouse

Flanigan, Vincent J.; Sadek, Hamdy

1983-01-01

A brief review of the AEM ground-followup studies in the Wadi Bidah district suggests that most, if not all, of the AEM conductors are carbonaceous rocks. Secondary causes of conductivity are intense faulting and shearing.

Epidemiology of hookworm infection in Soong nern district, Korat province, Thailand.

PubMed

Papasarathorn, T; Keittivuti, B; Keittivuti A-N; Rojanapremsuk, J

1975-03-01

Stool surveys in Soong Nern district, Korat Province, were done by the MF concentration technique. The intensity of hookworm infection, egg counts, results of treatment by anthelminthic drugs, observations on new infections and reinfections following treatment throughout the year and the density of nematode larvae in soil in the study area were investigated. Hookworm infection rates were high in Na-Glang village, both in adult villagers and school-aged children. The intensity of hookworm infections was considered mild and after treatment the numbers of eggs in the stools diminished or disappeared. New cases and reinfection increased during the rainy month, due to socio-environmental factors in the village that favoured the development of hookworm larvai in the soil. Although in this study it was impossible to distinguish hookworm larvae among the nematode larvae collected form soil it was highly probable that hookworm larvae were present. Control of hookworm infection in the study area was proposed by improvement of environmental sanitation and health education.

PESTICIDE EXPOSURE AND IMMUNE FUNCTION AMONG TODDLERS

EPA Science Inventory

Response to vaccination may be a sensitive indicator of immunollogic health in young children. Toddlers residing in an intenseive agricultural area along the US/Mexican border were enrolled in a pilot study investigating immunologic function and pesticide exposure by multiple ...

The scaling of urban surface water abundance and impairment with city size

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steele, M. K.

2018-03-01

Urbanization alters surface water compared to nonurban landscapes, yet little is known regarding how basic aquatic ecosystem characteristics, such as the abundance and impairment of surface water, differ with population size or regional context. This study examined the abundance, scaling, and impairment of surface water by quantifying the stream length, water body area, and impaired stream length for 3520 cities in the United States with populations from 2500 to 18 million. Stream length, water body area, and impaired stream length were quantified using the National Hydrography Dataset and the EPA's 303(d) list. These metrics were scaled with population and city area using single and piecewise power-law models and related to biophysical factors (precipitation, topography) and land cover. Results show that abundance of stream length and water body area in cities actually increases with city area; however, the per person abundance decreases with population size. Relative to population, impaired stream length did not increase until city populations were > 25,000 people, then scaled linearly with population. Some variation in abundance and impairment was explained by biophysical context and land cover. Development intensity correlated with stream density and impairment; however, those relationships depended on the orientation of the land covers. When high intensity development occupied the local elevation highs (+ 15 m) and undeveloped land the elevation lows, the percentage of impaired streams was less than the opposite land cover orientation (- 15 m) or very flat land. These results show that surface water abundance and impairment across contiguous US cities are influenced by city size and by biophysical setting interacting with land cover intensity.

Efficacy and mode of action of a noise-sensor light alarm to decrease noise in the pediatric intensive care unit: a prospective, randomized study.

PubMed

Jousselme, Chloé; Vialet, Renaud; Jouve, Elisabeth; Lagier, Pierre; Martin, Claude; Michel, Fabrice

2011-03-01

To determine whether a sound-activated light-alarm device could reduce the noise in the central area of our pediatric intensive care unit and to determine whether this reduction was significant enough to decrease the noise that could be perceived by a patient located in a nearby room. The secondary objective was to determine the mode of action of the device. In a 16-bed pediatric and neonatal intensive care unit, a large and clearly noticeable sound-activated light device was set in the noisiest part of the central area of our unit, and noise measurements were made in the central area and in a nearby room. In a prospective, quasi-experimental design, sound levels were compared across three different situations--no device present, device present and turned on, and device present but turned off--and noise level measurements were made over a total of 18 days. None. Setting a sound-activated light device on or off. When the device was present, the noise was about 2 dB lower in the central area and in a nearby room, but there was no difference in noise level with the device turned on vs. turned off. The noise decrease in the central area was of limited importance but was translated in a nearby room. The sound-activated light device did not directly decrease noise when turned on, but repetition of the visual signal throughout the day raised staff awareness of noise levels over time.

An extended environmental input-output lifecycle assessment model to study the urban food-energy-water nexus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sherwood, John; Clabeaux, Raeanne; Carbajales-Dale, Michael

2017-10-01

We developed a physically-based environmental account of US food production systems and integrated these data into the environmental-input-output life cycle assessment (EIO-LCA) model. The extended model was used to characterize the food, energy, and water (FEW) intensities of every US economic sector. The model was then applied to every Bureau of Economic Analysis metropolitan statistical area (MSA) to determine their FEW usages. The extended EIO-LCA model can determine the water resource use (kGal), energy resource use (TJ), and food resource use in units of mass (kg) or energy content (kcal) of any economic activity within the United States. We analyzed every economic sector to determine its FEW intensities per dollar of economic output. This data was applied to each of the 382 MSAs to determine their total and per dollar of GDP FEW usages by allocating MSA economic production to the corresponding FEW intensities of US economic sectors. Additionally, a longitudinal study was performed for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA, metropolitan statistical area to examine trends from this singular MSA and compare it to the overall results. Results show a strong correlation between GDP and energy use, and between food and water use across MSAs. There is also a correlation between GDP and greenhouse gas emissions. The longitudinal study indicates that these correlations can shift alongside a shifting industrial composition. Comparing MSAs on a per GDP basis reveals that central and southern California tend to be more resource intensive than many other parts of the country, while much of Florida has abnormally low resource requirements. Results of this study enable a more complete understanding of food, energy, and water as key ingredients to a functioning economy. With the addition of the food data to the EIO-LCA framework, researchers will be able to better study the food-energy-water nexus and gain insight into how these three vital resources are interconnected. Applying this extended model to MSAs has demonstrated that all three resources are important to a MSA’s vitality, though the exact proportion of each resource may differ across urban areas.

Roadless area-intensive management tradeoffs on the Sierra National Forest, California

Treesearch

Robert J. Hrubes; Kent P. Connaughton; Robert W. Sassaman

1979-01-01

This hypothesis was tested by a linear programing model: Roadless areas on the Sierra National Forest precluded from planned future development would be candidates for wilderness designation, and the associated loss in present and future timber harvests could be offset by investing in more intensive management. The results of this simulation test suggest that levels of...

Biology and Management of Insect Pests in North American Intensively Managed Hardwood Forest Systems

Treesearch

David R. Coyle; T. Evan Nebeker; Elwood R. Hart; William J. Mattson

2005-01-01

Increasing demand for wood and wood products is putting stress on traditional forest production areas, leading to long-term economic and environmental concerns. Intensively managed hardwood forest systems (IMHFS), grown using conventional agricultural as well as forestry methods, can help alleviate potential problems in natural forest production areas. Although IMHFS...

Detection of defects on apple using B-spline lighting correction method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jiangbo; Huang, Wenqian; Guo, Zhiming

To effectively extract defective areas in fruits, the uneven intensity distribution that was produced by the lighting system or by part of the vision system in the image must be corrected. A methodology was used to convert non-uniform intensity distribution on spherical objects into a uniform intensity distribution. A basically plane image with the defective area having a lower gray level than this plane was obtained by using proposed algorithms. Then, the defective areas can be easily extracted by a global threshold value. The experimental results with a 94.0% classification rate based on 100 apple images showed that the proposed algorithm was simple and effective. This proposed method can be applied to other spherical fruits.

Application of laser-induced autofluorescence spectra detection in human colorectal cancer screening

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Sheng; Chia, Teck-Chee; Kwek, Leong Chuan; Diong, Cheong Hoong; Tang, Choong Leong; Choen, Francis S.; Krishnan, S. M.

2003-10-01

We investigated 48 normal patients and 25 diseased patients using our laser-induced autofluorescence spectra detection system during their regular colonoscopy. The colon and rectum mucosa autofluorescence were excited by 405 nm continue wavelength laser. We observed that cancer or diseased colorectal mucosa, their autofluorescence spectra are significantly different from normal area. The autofluorescence spectra intensity at about 500 nm was been used for our intensity ratio characteristics intensity for our diagnostic algorithm. The intensity ratios of RI-680/I-500 and RI-630/I-500 were performed to identify the detection area. From experimental result we concluded that both intensity ratios of RI-680/I-500 and RI-630/I-500 as guidelines can detect cancerous and polyps disease completely. Our investigation provided some useful insight for laser induced autofluorescence spectra as a diagnosis technique for clinical application.

Effects of human trampling on a rocky shore fauna on the Sao Paulo coast, southeastern Brazil.

PubMed

Ferreira, M N; Rosso, S

2009-11-01

Increased tourist activity in coastal regions demands management strategies to reduce impacts on rocky shores. The highly populated coastal areas in southeastern Brazil are an example of degradation caused by development of industry and tourism. Among different shore impacts, trampling has been intensively studied, and may represent a significant source of stress for intertidal fauna. A randomised blocks design was applied to experimentally study the effects of two different trampling intensities on richness, diversity, density and biomass of the rocky shore fauna of Obuseiro beach, Guarujá, southeastern Brazil. Blocks were distributed in two portions of the intertidal zone, dominated respectively by Chthamalus bisinuatus (Cirripedia) and Isognomon bicolor (Bivalvia). Blocks were trampled over three months, simulating the vacation period in Brazil and were monitored for the following nine months. Results indicate that Chthamalus bisinuatus is vulnerable to trampling impacts. Richness, diversity and turn-over index tended to be higher in trampled plots four months after trampling ceased. In general, results agree with previous trampling studies, suggesting that even low intensities of trampling may cause some impact on intertidal communities. Management strategies should include isolation of sensitive areas, construction of boardwalks, visitor education and monitoring programmes. In Brazil, additional data obtained from experimental studies are necessary in order to achieve a better understanding of trampling impacts on rocky shore communities.

Locational Determinants of Emissions from Pollution-Intensive Firms in Urban Areas

PubMed Central

Zhou, Min; Tan, Shukui; Guo, Mingjing; Zhang, Lu

2015-01-01

Industrial pollution has remained as one of the most daunting challenges for many regions around the world. Characterizing the determinants of industrial pollution should provide important management implications. Unfortunately, due to the absence of high-quality data, rather few studies have systematically examined the locational determinants using a geographical approach. This paper aimed to fill the gap by accessing the pollution source census dataset, which recorded the quantity of discharged wastes (waste water and solid waste) from 717 pollution-intensive firms within Huzhou City, China. Spatial exploratory analysis was applied to analyze the spatial dependency and local clusters of waste emissions. Results demonstrated that waste emissions presented significantly positive autocorrelation in space. The high-high hotspots generally concentrated towards the city boundary, while the low-low clusters approached the Taihu Lake. Their locational determinants were identified by spatial regression. In particular, firms near the city boundary and county road were prone to discharge more wastes. Lower waste emissions were more likely to be observed from firms with high proximity to freight transfer stations or the Taihu Lake. Dense populous districts saw more likelihood of solid waste emissions. Firms in the neighborhood of rivers exhibited higher waste water emissions. Besides, the control variables (firm size, ownership, operation time and industrial type) also exerted significant influence. The present methodology can be applicable to other areas, and further inform the industrial pollution control practices. Our study advanced the knowledge of determinants of emissions from pollution-intensive firms in urban areas. PMID:25927438

High-intensity erotic visual stimuli de-activate the primary visual cortex in women.

PubMed

Huynh, Hieu K; Beers, Caroline; Willemsen, Antoon; Lont, Erna; Laan, Ellen; Dierckx, Rudi; Jansen, Monique; Sand, Michael; Weijmar Schultz, Willibrord; Holstege, Gert

2012-06-01

The primary visual cortex, Brodmann's area (BA 17), plays a vital role in basic survival mechanisms in humans. In most neuro-imaging studies in which the volunteers have to watch pictures or movies, the primary visual cortex is similarly activated independent of the content of the pictures or movies. However, in case the volunteers perform demanding non-visual tasks, the primary visual cortex becomes de-activated, although the amount of incoming visual sensory information is the same. Do low- and high-intensity erotic movies, compared to neutral movies, produce similar de-activation of the primary visual cortex? Brain activation/de-activation was studied by Positron Emission Tomography scanning of the brains of 12 healthy heterosexual premenopausal women, aged 18-47, who watched neutral, low- and high-intensity erotic film segments. We measured differences in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the primary visual cortex during watching neutral, low-intensity erotic, and high-intensity erotic film segments. Watching high-intensity erotic, but not low-intensity erotic movies, compared to neutral movies resulted in strong de-activation of the primary (BA 17) and adjoining parts of the secondary visual cortex. The strong de-activation during watching high-intensity erotic film might represent compensation for the increased blood supply in the brain regions involved in sexual arousal, also because high-intensity erotic movies do not require precise scanning of the visual field, because the impact is clear to the observer. © 2012 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

Raccoon spatial requirements and multi-scale habitat selection within an intensively managed central Appalachian forest

USGS Publications Warehouse

Owen, Sheldon F.; Berl, Jacob L.; Edwards, John W.; Ford, W. Mark; Wood, Petra Bohall

2015-01-01

We studied a raccoon (Procyon lotor) population within a managed central Appalachian hardwood forest in West Virginia to investigate the effects of intensive forest management on raccoon spatial requirements and habitat selection. Raccoon home-range (95% utilization distribution) and core-area (50% utilization distribution) size differed between sexes with males maintaining larger (2×) home ranges and core areas than females. Home-range and core-area size did not differ between seasons for either sex. We used compositional analysis to quantify raccoon selection of six different habitat types at multiple spatial scales. Raccoons selected riparian corridors (riparian management zones [RMZ]) and intact forests (> 70 y old) at the core-area spatial scale. RMZs likely were used by raccoons because they provided abundant denning resources (i.e., large-diameter trees) as well as access to water. Habitat composition associated with raccoon foraging locations indicated selection for intact forests, riparian areas, and regenerating harvest (stands <10 y old). Although raccoons were able to utilize multiple habitat types for foraging resources, a selection of intact forest and RMZs at multiple spatial scales indicates the need of mature forest (with large-diameter trees) for this species in managed forests in the central Appalachians.

Evaluation of soil contamination in intensive agricultural areas by pesticides and organic pollutants: south-eastern Spain as a case study.

PubMed

Plaza-Bolaños, Patricia; Padilla-Sánchez, Juan Antonio; Garrido-Frenich, Antonia; Romero-González, Roberto; Martínez-Vidal, José Luis

2012-04-01

A comprehensive survey of the occurrence and fate of pesticides and organic contaminants in soils from an intensive agricultural area devoted to horticultural production in plastic-based greenhouses has been performed to determine if the operation under integrated pest management practices has contributed to reduce the levels of these compounds. Almería province (south-eastern Spain) was selected for the case study. 38 agricultural soil samples (each sample corresponds to an independent private greenhouse) of areas working under integrated pest management (IPM) programs have been analyzed in order to evaluate their contamination fate. Sampling was designed to cover an area of about 400 km(2). Pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), phenolic compounds and di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) were monitored. The obtained results were compared to other studies reported in Spain and Europe. Among relevant persistent pesticides, DDTs and endosulfans were mainly found and the results indicated historical application, although recent application of endosulfan was rarely detected. PAHs were also found but to a lesser extent and derived from pyrogenic sources. DEHP levels were considerably higher in comparison to the other monitored analytes. The evaluation revealed that despite the use of IPM programs, pesticide and organic contaminants are still being detected in this type of agricultural soil, although at relatively low concentration levels. In general, the contamination rate was similar or lower in comparison to other agricultural areas from nearby regions or countries. However, further monitoring studies should be carried out to establish the possible reduction in contamination by the selected compounds.

A simulation of rainfall infiltration based on two-phase flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jun; Xi, Niannian; Liu, Gang; Hao, Shuang

2016-04-01

Rainfall infiltration in slope usually is one of major reasons cause landslide, which involves multiphase flow coupling with soil, water and gas. In order to study the mechanism of landslide caused by rainfall infiltration, a simulation of rainfall infiltration of DaPing slope, which locates in the Three Gorges Region of China, is presented based on the numerical solution of governing equations of two-phase flow in this paper. The results of this research suggest that there are two sections can be divided in the surface of slope, one is inflow area and the other is overflow area, according to where it is infiltration and discharge. The general inflow area is on the upside of slope, while the overflow area is on the underside. The middle section of slope is on a fluctuant position between inflow and overflow area, which is dramatically affected by the water content inside of slope. Moreover, the average rate of infiltration is more stable in both inflow and overflow area, whose numerical value is depend on the geometry and transmission characteristics of slope. And the factors of rainfall characteristics, surface flow and temperature have little effect on them. Furthermore, in the inflow area, when rainfall intensity is higher than infiltration the rain on the surface of slope will run off, otherwise water and gas will completely infiltrate through soil. The situation is different in the overflow area whose overland flow condition is depended on whether it is saturated or not inside of slope. When it is saturated in the slope, there is no infiltration in the overflow area. But when it is unsaturated, the infiltration intensity will equal to rainfall intensity. In a summary, the difference from inflow and overflow area is the evidence that the landslide may likely to happen on the slope of overflow area when it comes to a rainfall. It is disadvantageous for slope stability when transmitting the pressure of saturated water weight at the top of slope through the pore gas to groundwater, the groundwater pressure will increased sharply.

Object strength--an accurate measure for small objects that is insensitive to partial volume effects.

PubMed

Tofts, P S; Silver, N C; Barker, G J; Gass, A

2005-07-01

There are currently four problems in characterising small nonuniform lesions or other objects in Magnetic Resonance images where partial volume effects are significant. Object size is over- or under-estimated; boundaries are often not reproducible; mean object value cannot be measured; and fuzzy borders cannot be accommodated. A new measure, Object Strength, is proposed. This is the sum of all abnormal intensities, above a uniform background value. For a uniform object, this is simply the product of the increase in intensity and the size of the object. Biologically, this could be at least as relevant as existing measures of size or mean intensity. We hypothesise that Object Strength will perform better than traditional area measurements in characterising small objects. In a pilot study, the reproducibility of object strength measurements was investigated using MR images of small multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions. In addition, accuracy was investigated using artificial lesions of known volume (0.3-6.2 ml) and realistic appearance. Reproducibility approached that of area measurements (in 33/90 lesion reports the difference between repeats was less than for area measurements). Total lesion volume was accurate to 0.2%. In conclusion, Object Strength has potential for improved characterisation of small lesions and objects in imaging and possibly spectroscopy.

A case independent approach on the impact of climate change effects on combined sewer system performance.

PubMed

Kleidorfer, M; Möderl, M; Sitzenfrei, R; Urich, C; Rauch, W

2009-01-01

Design and construction of urban drainage systems has to be done in a predictive way, as the average lifespan of such investments is several decades. The design engineer has to predict many influencing factors and scenarios for future development of a system (e.g. change in land use, population, water consumption and infiltration measures). Furthermore, climate change can cause increased rain intensities which leads to an additional impact on drainage systems. In this paper we compare the behaviour of different performance indicators of combined sewer systems when taking into account long-term environmental change effects (change in rainfall characteristics, change in impervious area and change in dry weather flow). By using 250 virtual case studies this approach is--in principle--a Monte Carlo Simulation in which not only parameter values are varied but the entire system structure and layout is changed in each run. Hence, results are more general and case-independent. For example the consideration of an increase of rainfall intensities by 20% has the same effect as an increase of impervious area of +40%. Such an increase of rainfall intensities could be compensated by infiltration measures in current systems which lead to a reduction of impervious area by 30%.

Perception of Air Pollution in the Jinchuan Mining Area, China: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

PubMed Central

Li, Zhengtao; Folmer, Henk; Xue, Jianhong

2016-01-01

Studies on the perception of air pollution in China are very limited. The aim of this paper is to help to fill this gap by analyzing a cross-sectional dataset of 759 residents of the Jinchuan mining area, Gansu Province, China. The estimations suggest that perception of air pollution is two-dimensional. The first dimension is the perceived intensity of air pollution and the second is the perceived hazardousness of the pollutants. Both dimensions are influenced by environmental knowledge. Perceived intensity is furthermore influenced by socio-economic status and proximity to the pollution source; perceived hazardousness is influenced by socio-economic status, family health experience, family size and proximity to the pollution source. There are no reverse effects from perception on environmental knowledge. The main conclusion is that virtually all Jinchuan residents perceive high intensity and hazardousness of air pollution despite the fact that public information on air pollution and its health impacts is classified to a great extent. It is suggested that, to assist the residents to take appropriate preventive action, the local government should develop counseling and educational campaigns and institutionalize disclosure of air quality conditions. These programs should pay special attention to young residents who have limited knowledge of air pollution in the Jinchuan mining area. PMID:27455291

Cerebral perfusion imaging with bolus harmonic imaging (Honorable Mention Poster Award)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kier, Christian; Toth, Daniel; Meyer-Wiethe, Karsten; Schindler, Angela; Cangur, Hakan; Seidel, Gunter; Aach, Til

2005-04-01

Fast visualisation of cerebral microcirculation supports diagnosis of acute stroke. However, the commonly used CT/MRI-based methods are time consuming, costly and not applicable to every patient. The bolus perfusion harmonic imaging (BHI) method is an ultrasound imaging technique which makes use of the fact, that ultrasound contrast agents unlike biological tissues resonate at harmonic frequencies. Exploiting this effect, the contrast between perfused and non-perfused areas can be improved. Thus, BHI overcomes the low signal-to-noise ratio of transcranial ultrasound and the high impedance of the skull. By analysing image sequences, visualising the qualitative characteristics of an US contrast agent bolus injection becomes possible. The analysis consists of calculating four perfusion-related parameters, Local Peak Intensity, Time To Peak, Area Under Curve, and Average Rising, from the time/intensity curve and providing them as colour-coded images. For calculating these parameters the fundamental assumption is that image intensity corresponds to contrast agent concentration which in turn shows the perfusion of the corresponding brain region. In a clinical study on patients suffering from acute ischemic stroke it is shown that some of the parameters correlate significantly to the infarction area. Thus, BHI becomes a less time-consuming and inexpensive bedside method for diagnosis of cerebral perfusion deficits.

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.

Design of robust adaptive controller and feedback error learning for rehabilitation in Parkinson's disease: a simulation study.

PubMed

Rouhollahi, Korosh; Emadi Andani, Mehran; Karbassi, Seyed Mahdi; Izadi, Iman

2017-02-01

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an efficient therapy to control movement disorders of Parkinson's tremor. Stimulation of one area of basal ganglia (BG) by DBS with no feedback is the prevalent opinion. Reduction of additional stimulatory signal delivered to the brain is the advantage of using feedback. This results in reduction of side effects caused by the excessive stimulation intensity. In fact, the stimulatory intensity of controllers is decreased proportional to reduction of hand tremor. The objective of this study is to design a new controller structure to decrease three indicators: (i) the hand tremor; (ii) the level of delivered stimulation in disease condition; and (iii) the ratio of the level of delivered stimulation in health condition to disease condition. For this purpose, the authors offer a new closed-loop control structure to stimulate two areas of BG simultaneously. One area (STN: subthalamic nucleus) is stimulated by an adaptive controller with feedback error learning. The other area (GPi: globus pallidus internal) is stimulated by a partial state feedback (PSF) controller. Considering the three indicators, the results show that, stimulating two areas simultaneously leads to better performance compared with stimulating one area only. It is shown that both PSF and adaptive controllers are robust regarding system parameter uncertainties. In addition, a method is proposed to update the parameters of the BG model in real time. As a result, the parameters of the controllers can be updated based on the new parameters of the BG model.

Headache: an important factor associated with muscle soreness/pain at the two-year follow-up point among patients with major depressive disorder.

PubMed

Hung, Ching-I; Liu, Chia-Yih; Yang, Ching-Hui; Wang, Shuu-Jiun

2016-01-01

No study has compared the associations of headache, anxiety, and depression at baseline with muscle soreness or pain (MS/P) at baseline and at the two-year follow-up point among outpatients with major depressive disorder (MDD). This study aimed to investigate the above issue. This study enrolled 155 outpatients with MDD at baseline, and 131 attended a two-year follow-up appointment. At baseline, migraine was diagnosed based on the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 2(nd) edition. MDD and anxiety disorders were diagnosed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV-TR. The visual analog scale was used to evaluate the intensities of headache and MS/P in the neck, shoulder, back, upper limbs, and lower limbs. Depression and anxiety were evaluated using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Multiple linear regressions were used to compare the associations of these factors with MS/P. Compared with anxiety disorders, migraine was more strongly associated with MS/P in all areas at baseline and in the upper and lower limbs at follow-up. Headache intensity at baseline was the factor most strongly associated with MS/P in all areas at baseline and follow-up after controlling for depression and anxiety. Headache intensity at baseline predicted MS/P at baseline and follow-up. Migraine and headache intensity are important factors related to MS/P at baseline and follow-up among patients with MDD. Integrating depression and headache treatment might be indicated to improve MS/P.

Relationships between sexual behaviour, dominant follicle area, uterus ultrasonic image and pregnancy rate in mares of two breeds differing in reproductive efficiency.

PubMed

Górecka, Aleksandra; Jezierski, Tadeusz A; Słoniewski, Krzysztof

2005-07-01

Weak or equivocal expression of oestrous behaviour, related to different level of mares' reactivity, may cause problems in oestrus detection and thus influence the reproductive efficiency. The aim of the study was to test whether a breed characterised by low pregnancy rate and high emotional reactivity (Thoroughbreds) differs in oestrous behaviour from a primitive breed with higher reproductive efficiency (Koniks). Additionally, the follicle size was examined to determine how it influences the intensity of oestrus and uterine ultrasonic image and whether the pregnancy rate differs in relation to the intensity of oestrous behaviour and the size of the dominant follicle(s) area on day preceding ovulation in both breeds. During four reproductive seasons the behaviour of 20 Konik polski (K) and 37 Thoroughbred (T) was observed during daily teasing. Simultaneously, the ultrasonic examinations of the reproductive system were carried out. The behaviour of mares was quantified by scoring on an 8-point scale (behavioural score, BS), according to increasing sexual receptivity. Cross-sectional follicular area (FA) was taken as a product of the two largest perpendicular follicular diameters and mean values for each breed were estimated on 1693 and 1982 mm2 for K and T mares, respectively (P < 0.05). Mares were classified according to the pooled area of dominant follicle (FA) during the preovulatory period: group A (FA < or = breed mean) and group B (FA > breed mean). Uterus image (UI) was scored (1-5) according to the increasing uterine echogenicity. The BS was higher (P < 0.01) in K mares (BS = 5.19) than in T mares (BS = 4.04). The BS was significantly related to increasing follicular area (FA). There was no breed difference in uterus image (UI) score. However, significant regression of UI on FA was found in K mares. The intensity of oestrus was positively related with UI (r = 0.29; P < 0.01) only in K mares, no such relationship was found in T mares. The pregnancy rate was significantly higher for K mares (88.5%) than for T mares (46.0%) and lower for T mares with less intense oestrous behaviour (29.4%) as compared to T mares with more intense oestrus (60.0%). No differences in pregnancy rate was found in mares belonging to A or B group of follicular area. The ascertained weaker oestrous behaviour in Thoroughbred was related to lower pregnancy rate. It is hypothesised that oestrus intensity may be the result of breed differences in the response of the neural system to follicular secretions, or may be an effect of higher incidence of multiple non-synchronic ovulation and/or higher sensitivity to stress in Thoroughbred mares.

TEMPORAL STABILITY OF SUNSPOT UMBRAL INTENSITIES: 1986-2012

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

De Toma, G.; Chapman, G. A.; Cookson, A. M.

2013-07-10

We examine the relative intensity of sunspot umbrae during the period from 1986 to 2012 using photometric images from the San Fernando Observatory. We confirm the presence of a relationship between the mean umbral core intensity and the mean sunspot area, as found in previous studies, and do not find a notable change in this relationship between cycles 22 and 23. We looked for a possible time variation in the sunspot umbral contrast during the 27 yr covering cycles 22, 23, and the rise of cycle 24, and we did not find a significant change. These findings do not indicatemore » that sunspots have become less dark during cycles 23 and 24.« less

Quality Improvement Process in a Large Intensive Care Unit: Structure and Outcomes.

PubMed

Reddy, Anita J; Guzman, Jorge A

2016-11-01

Quality improvement in the health care setting is a complex process, and even more so in the critical care environment. The development of intensive care unit process measures and quality improvement strategies are associated with improved outcomes, but should be individualized to each medical center as structure and culture can differ from institution to institution. The purpose of this report is to describe the structure of quality improvement processes within a large medical intensive care unit while using examples of the study institution's successes and challenges in the areas of stat antibiotic administration, reduction in blood product waste, central line-associated bloodstream infections, and medication errors. © The Author(s) 2015.

Application of two regression-based methods to estimate the effects of partial harvest on forest structure using Landsat data.

Treesearch

S.P. Healey; Z. Yang; W.B. Cohen; D.J. Pierce

2006-01-01

Although partial harvests are common in many forest types globally, there has been little assessment of the potential to map the intensity of these harvests using Landsat data. We modeled basal area removal and percentage cover change in a study area in central Washington (northwestern USA) using biennial Landsat imagery and reference data from historical aerial photos...

Basal area growth for aspen suckers under simulated browsing on Cedar Mountain, southern Utah, western United States of America

Treesearch

K. Tshireletso; J. C. Malechek; D. L. Bartos

2010-01-01

The objective of the study was to determine the effects of season and intensity of clipping using simulated browsing on suckers' (Populus tremulaides Michx.) basal area growth on Cedar Mountain, Southern Utah, Western United States of America. Three randomly selected stands measuring 70 m x 70 m were clear-felled in mid-July, 2005, and fenced. Simulated browsing...

Earthquake Hazard and the Environmental Seismic Intensity (ESI) Scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serva, Leonello; Vittori, Eutizio; Comerci, Valerio; Esposito, Eliana; Guerrieri, Luca; Michetti, Alessandro Maria; Mohammadioun, Bagher; Mohammadioun, Georgianna C.; Porfido, Sabina; Tatevossian, Ruben E.

2016-05-01

The main objective of this paper was to introduce the Environmental Seismic Intensity scale (ESI), a new scale developed and tested by an interdisciplinary group of scientists (geologists, geophysicists and seismologists) in the frame of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) activities, to the widest community of earth scientists and engineers dealing with seismic hazard assessment. This scale defines earthquake intensity by taking into consideration the occurrence, size and areal distribution of earthquake environmental effects (EEE), including surface faulting, tectonic uplift and subsidence, landslides, rock falls, liquefaction, ground collapse and tsunami waves. Indeed, EEEs can significantly improve the evaluation of seismic intensity, which still remains a critical parameter for a realistic seismic hazard assessment, allowing to compare historical and modern earthquakes. Moreover, as shown by recent moderate to large earthquakes, geological effects often cause severe damage"; therefore, their consideration in the earthquake risk scenario is crucial for all stakeholders, especially urban planners, geotechnical and structural engineers, hazard analysts, civil protection agencies and insurance companies. The paper describes background and construction principles of the scale and presents some case studies in different continents and tectonic settings to illustrate its relevant benefits. ESI is normally used together with traditional intensity scales, which, unfortunately, tend to saturate in the highest degrees. In this case and in unpopulated areas, ESI offers a unique way for assessing a reliable earthquake intensity. Finally, yet importantly, the ESI scale also provides a very convenient guideline for the survey of EEEs in earthquake-stricken areas, ensuring they are catalogued in a complete and homogeneous manner.

Using kernel density estimates to investigate lymphatic filariasis in northeast Brazil

PubMed Central

Medeiros, Zulma; Bonfim, Cristine; Brandão, Eduardo; Netto, Maria José Evangelista; Vasconcellos, Lucia; Ribeiro, Liany; Portugal, José Luiz

2012-01-01

After more than 10 years of the Global Program to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GPELF) in Brazil, advances have been seen, but the endemic disease persists as a public health problem. The aim of this study was to describe the spatial distribution of lymphatic filariasis in the municipality of Jaboatão dos Guararapes, Pernambuco, Brazil. An epidemiological survey was conducted in the municipality, and positive filariasis cases identified in this survey were georeferenced in point form, using the GPS. A kernel intensity estimator was applied to identify clusters with greater intensity of cases. We examined 23 673 individuals and 323 individuals with microfilaremia were identified, representing a mean prevalence rate of 1.4%. Around 88% of the districts surveyed presented cases of filarial infection, with prevalences of 0–5.6%. The male population was more affected by the infection, with 63.8% of the cases (P<0.005). Positive cases were found in all age groups examined. The kernel intensity estimator identified the areas of greatest intensity and least intensity of filarial infection cases. The case distribution was heterogeneous across the municipality. The kernel estimator identified spatial clusters of cases, thus indicating locations with greater intensity of transmission. The main advantage of this type of analysis lies in its ability to rapidly and easily show areas with the highest concentration of cases, thereby contributing towards planning, monitoring, and surveillance of filariasis elimination actions. Incorporation of geoprocessing and spatial analysis techniques constitutes an important tool for use within the GPELF. PMID:22943547

Superimposition of speaking voice characteristics and phonetograms in untrained and trained vocal groups.

PubMed

Awan, S N

1993-03-01

This study details a comparison of the speaking F0 and intensity values of young male and female adults with and without vocal training, as well as the superimposition of the speaking F0 and intensity data upon phonetograms. Results indicated that (a) trained vocalists have similar mean speaking F0's than do untrained vocalists, but exhibit significantly greater speaking F0 ranges than do untrained vocalists; (b) trained vocalists are significantly greater mean intensity levels in speech, as well as significantly greater speaking intensity ranges than do untrained vocalists; (c) the mean speaking F0 for both trained and untrained vocalists was found in the vicinity of the 5-7% frequency level of the entire phonational F0 range (in Hz), equivalent to 12-16% of the phonational F0 range in semitones; (d) the overall speech area (mean speaking F0 and minimum and maximum speaking F0 peaks) was found in the lower 23-31% of the entire phonational F0 range (in semitones), with the untrained subjects utilizing the lower 25% of the phonational range (in semitones) and the trained subjects extending this area to the lower 28-31%; and (e) significant correlations were observed between the total intensity range and intensity range used in speech in trained female vocalists and between total F0 range and speaking F0 range in the combined trained male and female group. These results have important implications for the use of the phonetogram, as well as the clinical applicability of vocal training exercises in various speech and voice therapy cases.

A new evaluation of heat distribution on facial skin surface by infrared thermography

PubMed Central

Brioschi, Marcos L; Baladi, Marina G; Arita, Emiko S

2016-01-01

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify the facial areas defined by thermal gradient, in individuals compatible with the pattern of normality, and to quantify and describe them anatomically. Methods: The sample consisted of 161 volunteers, of both genders, aged between 26 and 84 years (63 ± 15 years). Results: The results demonstrated that the thermal gradient areas suggested for the study were present in at least 95% of the thermograms evaluated and that there is significant difference in temperature between the genders, racial group and variables “odontalgia”, “dental prothesis” and “history of migraine” (p < 0.05). Moreover, there was no statistically significant difference in the absolute temperatures between ages, and right and left sides of the face, in individuals compatible with the pattern of normality (ΔT = 0.11°C). Conclusions: The authors concluded that according to the suggested areas of thermal gradients, these were present in at least 95% of all the thermograms evaluated, and the areas of high intensity found in the face were medial palpebral commissure, labial commissure, temporal, supratrochlear and external acoustic meatus, whereas the points of low intensity were inferior labial, lateral palpebral commissure and nasolabial. PMID:26891669

Hydropedology of a mildly-arid loess covered area, southern Israel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yair, Aaron; Goldshleger, Naftali

2016-04-01

Extensive loess covered areas characterize the mildly arid areas of western Israel, where average annual rainfall is 280 mm. Hydrological data available point to a peculiar hydrological behavior of the ephemeral streams. The frequency of channel flow is very high. Four to eight flows are recorded annually. However, even in extreme rain events peak discharges are extremely low representing 0.002-0.005% of the rain amount received by the basin at peak flow. In addition, hydrographs are usually characterized by very steep rising and falling limbs, representative of saturated or nearly saturated areas, extending over a limited part of the watershed. Following this observation we advanced the hypothesis that storm channel runoff originated in the channel itself, with negligible contribution from the adjoining hillslopes. The study was based on two complementary approaches. The hydrological approach was based on the detailed analysis of rainfall-runoff relationships in a small watershed (11 km2). The second approach was based on the toposequence concept. According to this concept soil's properties are closely related to the position of a soil along a slope. Constituents and water lost by the upper part of the slope accumulate in its lower part, which is richer in clay and better leached. Several boreholes were dug along a hillslope 400 m long. Soil samples were collected for chemical and particle size analysis. In addition, samples for soil moisture data were taken following each major rain event. Chemical data obtained show no significant observable difference in the downslope direction. Similar results were also obtained for the particle size distribution and soil moisture content. However, particle size distribution in the active channel reveals very high clay content down to 60 cm. Data obtained lead to two main conclusions. 1. Data presented perfectly fit the concept of "Partial Area Contribution", in its narrow sense, as it presents an extreme case of hydrological discontinuity at the hillslope-channel interface. The high water absorption of the clayey alluvium limits infiltration depth resulting in a very high frequency of channel flow, even at low intensity rain events. The limited wet channel area is responsible for the low peak discharges, and for the steep shapes of most hydrographs. 2. The lack of pedological trends in the downslope direction is an additional indication of the limited connectivity between the hillslopes and the adjoining channel. The limited connectivity is attributed to the prevalence of low rain intensities in the study area. 90-95% of the rains are below 10 mm/hr., whereas final infiltration rates of the loamy-clayey soils are 10-15 mm/hr. higher rain intensities do exist, but there duration is extremely short, drastically limiting flow distances and overland flow contribution to the channel. The present study is also relevant to our understanding of pedological processes in dry-land areas. The high frequency of the intermittent low intensity rainstorms limits runoff generation and flow distances, and casts doubt on the general application of the toposequence approach.

[Distribution pattern of riparian invasive plants in Luanhe Basin, North China and its relationship with environment].

PubMed

Ren, Ying; He, Ping; Xu, Jie; Jia, Jiao

2017-06-18

In this study, the invasive plant species from the riparian vegetation in 56 sampling sites of Luanhe Basin were identified, and the correlations between their composition, spatial distribution and environmental factors were explored. In the basin, a total of 26 invasive species were registered, which belonged to 19 genera and 12 families, and 73.1% of them were annual plants. Asteraceae and Amaranthaceae were the two dominant families with the most invasive species, attributing to 50% of the total invasive species. Amaranthus retroflexus, Bidens frondosa and Chenopodium serotinum appeared with the highest frequencies. The number of invasive species and the invasive intensity at each site were significantly negatively correlated with the altitude. The distribution of invasive plants was significantly influenced by the intensity of human activities. The invasive plants were mainly distributed in the plain area, shallow mountainous area with many reservoirs, and the mountainous area with developed tourism around Chengde City, meanwhile, only few species with broad ecological amplitude existed in the plateau area. In general, species with higher invasive grades were mainly distributed in low and medium altitude areas below 400 m. Except for A. retroflexus, no high-grade invasive plants were discovered in high altitude area so far.

Effects of variable regolith depth, hydraulic properties, and rainfall on debris-flow initiation during the September 2013 northern Colorado Front Range rainstorm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baum, R. L.; Coe, J. A.; Kean, J. W.; Jones, E. S.; Godt, J.

2015-12-01

Heavy rainfall during 9 - 13 September 2013 induced about 1100 debris flows in the foothills and mountains of the northern Colorado Front Range. Weathered bedrock was partially exposed in the basal surfaces of many of the shallow source areas at depths ranging from 0.2 to 5 m. Typical values of saturated hydraulic conductivity of soils and regolith units mapped in the source areas range from about 10-4 - 10-6 m/s, with a median value of 2.8 x 10-5 m/s based on number of source areas in each map unit. Rainfall intensities varied spatially and temporally, from 0 to 2.5 x 10-5 m/s (90 mm/hour), with two periods of relatively heavy rainfall on September 12 - 13. The distribution of debris flows appears to correlate with total storm rainfall, and reported times of greatest landslide activity coincide with times of heaviest rainfall. Process-based models of rainfall infiltration and slope stability (TRIGRS) representing the observed ranges of regolith depth, hydraulic conductivity, and rainfall intensity, provide additional insights about the timing and distribution of debris flows from this storm. For example, small debris flows from shallower source areas (<2 m) occurred late on September 11 and in the early morning of September 12, whereas large debris flows from deeper (3 - 5 m) source areas in the western part of the affected area occurred late on September 12. Timing of these flows can be understood in terms of the time required for pore pressure rise depending on regolith depth and rainfall intensity. The variable hydraulic properties combined with variable regolith depth and slope angles account for much of the observed range in timing in areas of similar rainfall intensity and duration. Modeling indicates that the greatest and most rapid pore pressure rise likely occurred in areas of highest rainfall intensity and amount. This is consistent with the largest numbers of debris flows occurring on steep canyon walls in areas of high total storm rainfall.

[Electormagnetic field of the mobile phone base station: case study].

PubMed

Bieńkowski, Paweł; Zubrzak, Bartłomiej; Surma, Robert

2011-01-01

The paper presents changes in the electromagnetic field intensity in a school building and its surrounding after the mobile phone base station installation on the roof of the school. The comparison of EMF intensity measured before the base station was launched (electromagnetic background measurement) and after starting its operation (two independent control measurements) is discussed. Analyses of measurements are presented and the authors also propose the method of the electromagnetic field distribution adjustment in the area of radiation antennas side lobe to reduce the intensity of the EMF level in the base station proximity. The presented method involves the regulation of the inclination. On the basis of the measurements, it was found that the EMF intensity increased in the building and its surroundings, but the values measured with wide margins meet the requirements of the Polish law on environmental protection.

The Role of Parental Perceptions of Tic Frequency and Intensity in Predicting Tic-Related Functional Impairment in Youth with Chronic Tic Disorders

PubMed Central

Espil, Flint M.; Capriotti, Matthew R.; Conelea, Christine A.; Woods, Douglas W.

2014-01-01

Tic severity is composed of several dimensions. Tic frequency and intensity are two such dimensions, but little empirical data exist regarding their relative contributions to functional impairment in those with Chronic Tic Disorders (CTD). The present study examined the relative contributions of these dimensions in predicting tic-related impairment across several psychosocial domains. Using data collected from parents of youth with CTD, multivariate regression analyses revealed that both tic frequency and intensity predicted tic-related impairment in several areas; including family and peer relationships, school interference, and social endeavors, even when controlling for the presence of comorbid anxiety symptoms and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder diagnostic status. Results showed that tic intensity predicted more variance across more domains than tic frequency. PMID:24395287

Detecting facial emotion recognition deficits in schizophrenia using dynamic stimuli of varying intensities.

PubMed

Hargreaves, A; Mothersill, O; Anderson, M; Lawless, S; Corvin, A; Donohoe, G

2016-10-28

Deficits in facial emotion recognition have been associated with functional impairments in patients with Schizophrenia (SZ). Whilst a strong ecological argument has been made for the use of both dynamic facial expressions and varied emotion intensities in research, SZ emotion recognition studies to date have primarily used static stimuli of a singular, 100%, intensity of emotion. To address this issue, the present study aimed to investigate accuracy of emotion recognition amongst patients with SZ and healthy subjects using dynamic facial emotion stimuli of varying intensities. To this end an emotion recognition task (ERT) designed by Montagne (2007) was adapted and employed. 47 patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of SZ and 51 healthy participants were assessed for emotion recognition. Results of the ERT were tested for correlation with performance in areas of cognitive ability typically found to be impaired in psychosis, including IQ, memory, attention and social cognition. Patients were found to perform less well than healthy participants at recognising each of the 6 emotions analysed. Surprisingly, however, groups did not differ in terms of impact of emotion intensity on recognition accuracy; for both groups higher intensity levels predicted greater accuracy, but no significant interaction between diagnosis and emotional intensity was found for any of the 6 emotions. Accuracy of emotion recognition was, however, more strongly correlated with cognition in the patient cohort. Whilst this study demonstrates the feasibility of using ecologically valid dynamic stimuli in the study of emotion recognition accuracy, varying the intensity of the emotion displayed was not demonstrated to impact patients and healthy participants differentially, and thus may not be a necessary variable to include in emotion recognition research. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Interannual Stability of Cumulative Frequency Distributions for Convective System Size and Intensity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mohr, Karen I.; Molinari, John; Thorncroft, Chris D,

2010-01-01

The characteristics of convective system populations in West Africa and the western Pacific tropical cyclone basin were analyzed to investigate whether interannual variability in convective activity in tropical continental and oceanic environments is driven by variations in the number of events during the wet season or by favoring large and/or intense convective systems. Convective systems were defined from TRMM data as a cluster of pixels with an 85 GHz polarization-corrected brightness temperature below 255 K and with an area at least 64 km 2. The study database consisted of convective systems in West Africa from May Sep for 1998-2007 and in the western Pacific from May Nov 1998-2007. Annual cumulative frequency distributions for system minimum brightness temperature and system area were constructed for both regions. For both regions, there were no statistically significant differences among the annual curves for system minimum brightness temperature. There were two groups of system area curves, split by the TRMM altitude boost in 2001. Within each set, there was no statistically significant interannual variability. Sub-setting the database revealed some sensitivity in distribution shape to the size of the sampling area, length of sample period, and climate zone. From a regional perspective, the stability of the cumulative frequency distributions implied that the probability that a convective system would attain a particular size or intensity does not change interannually. Variability in the number of convective events appeared to be more important in determining whether a year is wetter or drier than normal.

A revised “earthquake report” questionaire

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stover, C.; Reagor, G.; Simon, R.

1976-01-01

The U.S geological Survey is responsible for conducting intensity and damage surveys following felt or destructive earthquakes in the United States. Shortly after a felt or damaging earthquake occurs, a canvass of the affected area is made. Specially developed questionnaires are mailed to volunteer observers located within the estimated felt area. These questionnaires, "Earthquake Reports," are filled out by the observers and returned to the Survey's National Earthquake Information Service, which is located in Colorado. They are then evaluated, and, based on answers to questions about physical effects seen or felt, each canvassed location is assigned to the various locations, they are plotted on an intensity distribution map. When all of the intensity data have been plotted, isoseismals can then be contoured through places where equal intensity was experienced. The completed isoseismal map yields a detailed picture of the earthquake, its effects, and its felt area. All of the data and maps are published quarterly in a U.S Geological Survey Circular series entitled "Earthquakes in the United States".  

Identifying biologically meaningful hot-weather events using threshold temperatures that affect life-history.

PubMed

Cunningham, Susan J; Kruger, Andries C; Nxumalo, Mthobisi P; Hockey, Philip A R

2013-01-01

Increases in the frequency, duration and intensity of heat waves are frequently evoked in climate change predictions. However, there is no universal definition of a heat wave. Recent, intense hot weather events have caused mass mortalities of birds, bats and even humans, making the definition and prediction of heat wave events that have the potential to impact populations of different species an urgent priority. One possible technique for defining biologically meaningful heat waves is to use threshold temperatures (T(thresh)) above which known fitness costs are incurred by species of interest. We set out to test the utility of this technique using T(thresh) values that, when exceeded, affect aspects of the fitness of two focal southern African bird species: the southern pied babbler Turdiodes bicolor (T(thresh) = 35.5 °C) and the common fiscal Lanius collaris (T(thresh) = 33 °C). We used these T(thresh) values to analyse trends in the frequency, duration and intensity of heat waves of magnitude relevant to the focal species, as well as the annual number of hot days (maximum air temperature > T(thresh)), in north-western South Africa between 1961 and 2010. Using this technique, we were able to show that, while all heat wave indices increased during the study period, most rapid increases for both species were in the annual number of hot days and in the maximum intensity (and therefore intensity variance) of biologically meaningful heat waves. Importantly, we also showed that warming trends were not uniform across the study area and that geographical patterns in warming allowed both areas of high risk and potential climate refugia to be identified. We discuss the implications of the trends we found for our focal species, and the utility of the T(thresh) technique as a conservation tool.

Identifying Biologically Meaningful Hot-Weather Events Using Threshold Temperatures That Affect Life-History

PubMed Central

Cunningham, Susan J.; Kruger, Andries C.; Nxumalo, Mthobisi P.

2013-01-01

Increases in the frequency, duration and intensity of heat waves are frequently evoked in climate change predictions. However, there is no universal definition of a heat wave. Recent, intense hot weather events have caused mass mortalities of birds, bats and even humans, making the definition and prediction of heat wave events that have the potential to impact populations of different species an urgent priority. One possible technique for defining biologically meaningful heat waves is to use threshold temperatures (Tthresh) above which known fitness costs are incurred by species of interest. We set out to test the utility of this technique using Tthresh values that, when exceeded, affect aspects of the fitness of two focal southern African bird species: the southern pied babbler Turdiodes bicolor (Tthresh = 35.5°C) and the common fiscal Lanius collaris (Tthresh = 33°C). We used these Tthresh values to analyse trends in the frequency, duration and intensity of heat waves of magnitude relevant to the focal species, as well as the annual number of hot days (maximum air temperature > Tthresh), in north-western South Africa between 1961 and 2010. Using this technique, we were able to show that, while all heat wave indices increased during the study period, most rapid increases for both species were in the annual number of hot days and in the maximum intensity (and therefore intensity variance) of biologically meaningful heat waves. Importantly, we also showed that warming trends were not uniform across the study area and that geographical patterns in warming allowed both areas of high risk and potential climate refugia to be identified. We discuss the implications of the trends we found for our focal species, and the utility of the Tthresh technique as a conservation tool. PMID:24349296

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

Jager, Yetta; Bevelhimer, Mark S; al., et.

Military landscapes represent a mixture of undisturbed natural ecosystems, developed areas, and lands that support different types and intensities of military training. Research to understand water-quality influences of military landscapes usually involves intensive sampling in a few watersheds. In this study, we developed a survey design of accessible headwater watersheds intended to improve our ability to distinguish land water relationships in general, and training influences, in particular, on Fort Stewart, GA. We sampled and analyzed water from watershed outlets. We successfully developed correlative models for total suspended solids (TSS), total nitrogen (TN), organic carbon (OC), and organic nitrogen (ON), whichmore » dominated in this blackwater ecosystem. TSS tended to be greater in samples after rainfall and during the growing season, and models that included %Wetland suggested a build-and-flush relationship. We also detected a positive association between TSS and tank-training, which suggests a need to intercept sediment-laden runoff from training areas. Models for OC showed a negative association with %Grassland. TN and ON both showed negative associations with %Grassland, %Wetland, and %Forest. Unexpected positive associations were observed between OC and equipmenttraining activity and between ON and %Bare ground ? Roads. Future studies that combine our survey-based approach with more intensive monitoring of the timing and intensity of training would be needed to better understand the mechanisms for these empirical relationships involving military training. Looking beyond local effects on Fort Stewart streams, we explore questions about how exports of OC and nitrogen from coastal military installations ultimately influence estuaries downstream.« less

Relationship between intensity of soil-transmitted helminth infections and anemia during pregnancy.

PubMed

Larocque, Renee; Casapia, Martin; Gotuzzo, Eduardo; Gyorkos, Theresa W

2005-10-01

A direct relationship exists between the intensity of hookworm infection and blood loss. Other parasites may also contribute to blood loss. Our objective was to assess the relationship between the intensity of soil-transmitted helminth infections and anemia in pregnant women in a highly endemic area of Peru. Recruitment occurred between April and November 2003. Overall, 47.31% of 1,042 women had anemia (hemoglobin < 11 g/dL), 47.22% were infected with hookworm and 82.25% with Trichuris. Prevalences of infections were not associated with anemia. However, those infected with moderate and heavy intensities of hookworm infection (OR = 1.84; 95% CI: 1.06, 3.17) and those with moderate and heavy intensities of both hookworm and Trichuris infections (OR = 2.13; 95% CI: 1.10, 4.13) were more likely to suffer from anemia than women having no or light intensities. These results support routine anthelminthic treatment within prenatal care programs in highly endemic areas.

Natural Disasters in Southeastern Brazil Associated with the South Atlantic Convergence Zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teixeira Nery, Jonas; Malvestio, Leônidas

2017-04-01

This study analyzed rains in southeastern Brazil associated with the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ), which resulted in several disasters over the study area. The study period was from 1976 to 2010 and data were obtained from the National Water Agency (ANA) and Department of Water and Energy (DAEE) of the state of São Paulo. Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) data were also used to analyze SACZ, which is an important dynamics influencing spring and summer in this region. A close relationship between SACZ intensity and economic and life losses in the study area was observed.

PNNLs Data Intensive Computing research battles Homeland Security threats

ScienceCinema

David Thurman; Joe Kielman; Katherine Wolf; David Atkinson

2018-05-11

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratorys (PNNL's) approach to data intensive computing (DIC) is focused on three key research areas: hybrid hardware architecture, software architectures, and analytic algorithms. Advancements in these areas will help to address, and solve, DIC issues associated with capturing, managing, analyzing and understanding, in near real time, data at volumes and rates that push the frontiers of current technologies.

PNNL pushing scientific discovery through data intensive computing breakthroughs

ScienceCinema

Deborah Gracio; David Koppenaal; Ruby Leung

2018-05-18

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's approach to data intensive computing (DIC) is focused on three key research areas: hybrid hardware architectures, software architectures, and analytic algorithms. Advancements in these areas will help to address, and solve, DIC issues associated with capturing, managing, analyzing and understanding, in near real time, data at volumes and rates that push the frontiers of current technologies.

The effect of airplane noise on the inhabitants of areas near Okecie Airport in Warsaw

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Koszarny, Z.; Maziarka, S.; Szata, W.

1981-01-01

The state of health and noise annoyance among persons living in areas near Okecie airport exposed to various intensities of noise was evaluated. Very high annoyance effects of airplane noise of intensities over 100 dB (A) were established. A connection between the airplane noise and certain ailments complained about by the inhabitants was demonstrated.

Effect high intensity storms on soil slippage on mountainous watersheds in Southern California

Treesearch

R. M. Rice; G. T. Foggin

1971-01-01

The conversion of brush areas to grassland increased soil slip erosion on mountainous watersheds in southern California during the intense winter storms of 1969. The incidence of soil slippage, site factors affecting slope stability, and amount of debris generated by slippage were investigated for sample brush and grass areas in the San Dimas Experimental Forest. Soil...

"I'm Present, 'A' Please": A Case Study Examining Grading Issues in a Recreation Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gray, H. Joey

2008-01-01

Despite extensive research, grading and the potential for grade inflation remain areas of concern within higher education. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to obtain collective understandings regarding grading and pressures to inflate grades from faculty and instructors within a research-intensive university. The study focused on a…

Airborne Passive Remote Sensing of the Troposphere in Nashville/Middle Tennessee Area During the 1995 Southern Oxidants Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rider, D. M.; Worden, H. M.; Beer, R.; Nandi, S.; Sparks, L. C.

1998-01-01

In July of 1995 the Airborne Emission Spectrometer was deployed to Nashville, Tennessee to participate in the 1995 Ozone Study Intensive Campaign of the Southern Oxidants Study. AES is a high resolution mid-infrared interferometer that measures the spectrum of upwelling radiation in the 650-4250 cm-1 range.

When Money Really Matters: Tying Resources of Specific Programmatic and Instructional Elements to Student Academic Growth

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goetz, Michael Eric

2012-01-01

This study explores the cost-effectiveness ratios associated with individual tutoring, intensive reading/language arts instruction, and a focus on core subject areas. Using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K) database, this study analyzes these programs using a three-level hierarchical linear model (HLM) with a nationally…

Extreme climatic conditions and health service utilisation across rural and metropolitan New South Wales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jegasothy, Edward; McGuire, Rhydwyn; Nairn, John; Fawcett, Robert; Scalley, Benjamin

2017-08-01

Periods of successive extreme heat and cold temperature have major effects on human health and increase rates of health service utilisation. The severity of these events varies between geographic locations and populations. This study aimed to estimate the effects of heat waves and cold waves on health service utilisation across urban, regional and remote areas in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, during the 10-year study period 2005-2015. We divided the state into three regions and used 24 over-dispersed or zero-inflated Poisson time-series regression models to estimate the effect of heat waves and cold waves, of three levels of severity, on the rates of ambulance call-outs, emergency department (ED) presentations and mortality. We defined heat waves and cold waves using excess heat factor (EHF) and excess cold factor (ECF) metrics, respectively. Heat waves generally resulted in increased rates of ambulance call-outs, ED presentations and mortality across the three regions and the entire state. For all of NSW, very intense heat waves resulted in an increase of 10.8% (95% confidence interval (CI) 4.5, 17.4%) in mortality, 3.4% (95% CI 0.8, 7.8%) in ED presentations and 10.9% (95% CI 7.7, 14.2%) in ambulance call-outs. Cold waves were shown to have significant effects on ED presentations (9.3% increase for intense events, 95% CI 8.0-10.6%) and mortality (8.8% increase for intense events, 95% CI 2.1-15.9%) in outer regional and remote areas. There was little evidence for an effect from cold waves on health service utilisation in major cities and inner regional areas. Heat waves have a large impact on health service utilisation in NSW in both urban and rural settings. Cold waves also have significant effects in outer regional and remote areas. EHF is a good predictor of health service utilisation for heat waves, although service needs may differ between urban and rural areas.

Passive and electro-assisted delivery of hydrogel nanoparticles in solid tumors, visualized by optical and magnetic resonance imaging in vivo.

PubMed

Bakalova, Rumiana; Nikolova, Biliana; Murayama, Shuhei; Atanasova, Severina; Zhelev, Zhivko; Aoki, Ichio; Kato, Masaru; Tsoneva, Iana; Saga, Tsuneo

2016-01-01

The present study describes a development of nanohydrogel, loaded with QD(705) and manganese (QD(705)@Nanogel and QD(705)@Mn@Nanogel), and its passive and electro-assisted delivery in solid tumors, visualized by fluorescence imaging and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on colon cancer-grafted mice as a model. QD(705)@Nanogel was delivered passively predominantly into the tumor, which was visualized in vivo and ex vivo using fluorescent imaging. The fluorescence intensity increased gradually within 30 min after injection, reached a plateau between 30 min and 2 h, and decreased gradually to the baseline within 24 h. The fluorescence intensity in the tumor area was about 2.5 times higher than the background fluorescence. A very weak fluorescent signal was detected in the liver area, but not in the areas of the kidneys or bladder. This result was in contrast with our previous study, indicating that FITC@Mn@Nanogel did not enter into the tumor and was detected rapidly in the kidney and bladder after i.v. injection [J. Mater. Chem. B 2013, 1, 4932-4938]. We found that the embedding of a hard material (as QD) in nanohydrogel changes the physical properties of the soft material (decreases the size and negative charge and changes the shape) and alters its pharmacodynamics. Electroporation facilitated the delivery of the nanohydrogel in the tumor tissue, visualized by fluorescent imaging and MRI. Strong signal intensity was recorded in the tumor area shortly after the combined treatment (QD@Mn@Nanogel + electroporation), and it was observed even 48 h after the electroporation. The data demonstrate more effective penetration of the nanoparticles in the tumor due to the increased permeability of blood vessels at the electroporated area. There was no rupture of blood vessels after electroporation, and there were no artifacts in the images due to a bleeding.

Impacts of mesquite distribution on seasonal space use of lesser prairie-chickens

USGS Publications Warehouse

Boggie, Matthew A.; Strong, Cody R.; Lusk, Daniel; Carleton, Scott A.; Gould, William R.; Howard, Randy L.; Nichols, Clay T.; Falkowski, Michael J.; Hagen, Christian A.

2017-01-01

Loss of native grasslands by anthropogenic disturbances has reduced availability and connectivity of habitat for many grassland species. A primary threat to contiguous grasslands is the encroachment of woody vegetation, which is spurred by disturbances that take on many forms from energy development, fire suppression, and grazing. These disturbances are exacerbated by natural- and human-driven cycles of changes in climate punctuated by drought and desertification conditions. Encroachment of honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) into the prairies of southeastern New Mexico has potentially limited habitat for numerous grassland species, including lesser prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus). To determine the magnitude of impacts of distribution of mesquite and how lesser prairie-chickens respond to mesquite presence on the landscape in southeastern New Mexico, we evaluated seasonal space use of lesser prairie-chickens in the breeding and nonbreeding seasons. We derived several remotely sensed spatial metrics to characterize the distribution of mesquite. We then used these data to create population-level resource utilization functions and predict intensity of use of lesser prairie-chickens across our study area. Home ranges were smaller in the breeding season compared with the nonbreeding season; however, habitat use was similar across seasons. During both seasons, lesser prairie-chickens used areas closer to leks and largely avoided areas with mesquite. Relative to the breeding season, during the nonbreeding season habitat use suggested a marginal increase in mesquite within areas of low intensity of use, yet aversion to mesquite was strong in areas of medium to high intensity of use. To our knowledge, our study is the first to demonstrate a negative behavioral response by lesser prairie-chickens to woody encroachment in native grasslands. To mitigate one of the possible limiting factors for lesser prairie-chickens, we suggest future conservation strategies be employed by land managersto reduce mesquite abundance in the southern portion of their current range.

The Response of Farmland Bird Communities to Agricultural Intensity as Influenced by Its Spatial Aggregation

PubMed Central

Teillard, Félix; Jiguet, Frédéric; Tichit, Muriel

2015-01-01

The shape of the relationship between biodiversity and agricultural intensity determines the range of intensities that should be targeted by conservation policies to obtain the greatest environmental benefits. Although preliminary evidence of this relationship exists, the influence of the spatial arrangement of intensity on biodiversity remains untested. We conducted a nationwide study linking agricultural intensity and its spatial arrangement to a farmland bird community of 22 species. Intensity was described with a continuous indicator based on Input Cost per hectare, which was relevant for both livestock and crop production. We used the French Breeding Bird Survey to compute several descriptors of the farmland bird community along the intensity gradient and tested for the significance of an interaction effect between intensity and its spatial aggregation on these descriptors. We found that the bird community was comprised of both winner and loser species with regard to intensity. The community composition descriptors (trophic level, specialisation, and specialisation for grassland indices) displayed non-linear relationships to intensity, with steeper slopes in the lower intensity range. We found a significant interaction effect between intensity and its spatial aggregation on the grassland specialisation index of the bird community; the effect of agricultural intensity was strengthened by its spatial aggregation. We suggest that an opportunity to improve the effectiveness of conservation policies exists by targeting measures in areas where intensity is moderate to low and aggregated. The effect of the aggregation of agricultural intensity on biodiversity should be considered in other scales and taxa when developing optimal policy targeting and intensity allocation strategies. PMID:25799552

Prediction of Radioactive Material Proliferation in Abukuma Basin using USLE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yi, C. J.

2014-12-01

Due to the nuclear-power plant accident after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, the residents who had resided within 20 km from the Daiichi Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant had forced to leave their hometown. The impacts by the radioactive contamination extended to numerous social elements, such as food, economy, civil engineering, community rebuilding, etc. Japanese government agencies have measured the level of radioactive contamination in urban, agricultural area, forest, riverine and ocean. The research found that the concentration level of cesium-137 (137Cs) is higher in the forest than an open area such as paddy field or rural town. Litter layers and surface layers, especially, are found to be significantly contaminated. The study calculated the estimation of contaminated soil erosion using the USLE which the idea is based on scenario that addresses a question, what if 137Cs would carry out from the forest after intensive rainfall. Predicting radioactively contaminated areas after intense rainfall is a critical matter for the future watershed risk management.

Relationship between isoseismal area and magnitude of historical earthquakes in Greece by a hybrid fuzzy neural network method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tselentis, G.-A.; Sokos, E.

2012-01-01

In this paper we suggest the use of diffusion-neural-networks, (neural networks with intrinsic fuzzy logic abilities) to assess the relationship between isoseismal area and earthquake magnitude for the region of Greece. It is of particular importance to study historical earthquakes for which we often have macroseismic information in the form of isoseisms but it is statistically incomplete to assess magnitudes from an isoseismal area or to train conventional artificial neural networks for magnitude estimation. Fuzzy relationships are developed and used to train a feed forward neural network with a back propagation algorithm to obtain the final relationships. Seismic intensity data from 24 earthquakes in Greece have been used. Special attention is being paid to the incompleteness and contradictory patterns in scanty historical earthquake records. The results show that the proposed processing model is very effective, better than applying classical artificial neural networks since the magnitude macroseismic intensity target function has a strong nonlinearity and in most cases the macroseismic datasets are very small.

Total Suspended Matter (TSM) and Maximum Signal Depth (Z90_max) for Monitoring the Evolution of Sediment Resuspension Process in Shallow Coastal Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Filipponi, Federico; Zucca, Francesco; Taramelli, Andrea; Valentini, Emiliana

2015-12-01

Monitoring sediment fluxes patterns in coastal area, like dispersion, sedimentation and resuspension processes, is a relevant topic for scientists, decision makers and natural resources management. Time series analysis of Earth Observation (EO) data may contribute to the understanding and the monitoring of processes in sedimentary depositional marine environment, especially for shallow coastal areas. This research study show the ability of optical medium resolution imagery to interpret the evolution of sediment resuspension from seafloor in coastal areas during intense wind forcings. Intense bora wind events in northern Adriatic Sea basin during winter season provoke considerable wave-generated resuspension of sediments, which cause variation in water column turbidity. Total Suspended Matter (TSM) product has been selected as proxy for qualitative and quantitative analysis of resuspended sediments. In addition, maximum signal depth (Z90_max), has been used to evaluate the evolution of sediment concentration in the water column.

Assessment of practicality of remote sensing techniques for a study of the effects of strip mining in Alabama

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hughes, T. H.; Dillion, A. C., III; White, J. R., Jr.; Drummond, S. E., Jr.; Hooks, W. G.

1975-01-01

Because of the volume of coal produced by strip mining, the proximity of mining operations, and the diversity of mining methods (e.g. contour stripping, area stripping, multiple seam stripping, and augering, as well as underground mining), the Warrior Coal Basin seemed best suited for initial studies on the physical impact of strip mining in Alabama. Two test sites, (Cordova and Searles) representative of the various strip mining techniques and environmental problems, were chosen for intensive studies of the correlation between remote sensing and ground truth data. Efforts were eventually concentrated in the Searles Area, since it is more accessible and offers a better opportunity for study of erosional and depositional processes than the Cordova Area.

Ultrasonography to Measure Swallowing Muscle Mass and Quality in Older Patients With Sarcopenic Dysphagia.

PubMed

Ogawa, Nami; Mori, Takashi; Fujishima, Ichiro; Wakabayashi, Hidetaka; Itoda, Masataka; Kunieda, Kenjiro; Shigematsu, Takashi; Nishioka, Shinta; Tohara, Haruka; Yamada, Minoru; Ogawa, Sumito

2018-06-01

Sarcopenic dysphagia is characterized by difficulty swallowing due to a loss of whole-body skeletal and swallowing muscle mass and function. However, no study has reported on swallowing muscle mass and quality in patients with sarcopenic dysphagia. To compare the differences in swallowing muscle mass and quality between sarcopenic and nonsarcopenic dysphagia. A cross-sectional study was performed in 55 older patients, who had been recommended to undergo dysphagia assessment and/or rehabilitation. Sarcopenic dysphagia was diagnosed using a diagnostic algorithm for sarcopenic dysphagia. The thickness and area of tongue muscle and geniohyoid muscle (coronal plane and sagittal plane), and the echo-intensity of the tongue and geniohyoid muscles were examined by ultrasound. The study participants included 31 males and 24 females (mean age of 82 ± 7 years), with 14 having possible sarcopenic dysphagia, 22 probable sarcopenic dysphagia, and 19 without sarcopenic dysphagia. The group with sarcopenic dysphagia had a significantly lower cross-sectional area and area of brightness of the tongue muscle than that observed in the group without sarcopenic dysphagia. The most specific factor for identifying the presence of sarcopenic dysphagia was tongue muscle area (sensitivity, 0.389; specificity, 0.947; cut-off value, 1536.0), while the factor with the highest sensitivity was geniohyoid muscle area brightness in sagittal sections (sensitivity, 0.806; specificity, 0.632; cut-off value, 20.1). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the area of the tongue muscle and its area of brightness were independent risk factors for sarcopenic dysphagia. However, geniohyoid sagittal muscle area and area of brightness showed no significant independent association with sarcopenic dysphagia. Tongue muscle mass in patients with sarcopenic dysphagia was smaller than that in patients without the condition. Sarcopenic dysphagia was also associated with increased intensity of the tongue muscle. Copyright © 2017 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sensory Characterization of Odors in Used Disposable Absorbent Incontinence Products

PubMed Central

Widén, Heléne; Forsgren-Brusk, Ulla; Hall, Gunnar

2017-01-01

PURPOSE: The objectives of this study were to characterize the odors of used incontinence products by descriptive analysis and to define attributes to be used in the analysis. A further objective was to investigate to what extent the odor profiles of used incontinence products differed from each other and, if possible, to group these profiles into classes. SUBJECTS AND SETTING: Used incontinence products were collected from 14 residents with urinary incontinence living in geriatric nursing homes in the Gothenburg area, Sweden. METHODS: Pieces were cut from the wet area of used incontinence products. They were placed in glass bottles and kept frozen until odor analysis was completed. A trained panel consisting of 8 judges experienced in this area of investigation defined terminology for odor attributes. The intensities of these attributes in the used products were determined by descriptive odor analysis. Data were analyzed both by analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the Tukey post hoc test and by principal component analysis and cluster analysis. RESULTS: An odor wheel, with 10 descriptive attributes, was developed. The total odor intensity, and the intensities of the attributes, varied considerably between different, used incontinence products. The typical odors varied from “sweetish” to “urinal,” “ammonia,” and “smoked.” Cluster analysis showed that the used products, based on the quantitative odor data, could be divided into 5 odor classes with different profiles. CONCLUSIONS: The used products varied considerably in odor character and intensity. Findings suggest that odors in used absorptive products are caused by different types of compounds that may vary in concentration. PMID:28328646

Surface area generation and droplet size control in solvent extraction systems utilizing high intensity electric fields

DOEpatents

Scott, Timothy C.; Wham, Robert M.

1988-01-01

A method and system for solvent extraction where droplets are shattered by a high intensity electric field. These shattered droplets form a plurality of smaller droplets which have a greater combined surface area than the original droplet. Dispersion, coalescence and phase separation are accomplished in one vessel through the use of the single pulsing high intensity electric field. Electric field conditions are chosen so that simultaneous dispersion and coalescence are taking place in the emulsion formed in the electric field. The electric field creates a large amount of interfacial surface area for solvent extraction when the droplet is disintegrated and is capable of controlling droplet size and thus droplet stability. These operations take place in the presence of a counter current flow of the continuous phase.

An evaluation of the diagnostic accuracy of the 1991 American College of Chest Physicians/Society of Critical Care Medicine and the 2001 Society of Critical Care Medicine/European Society of Intensive Care Medicine/American College of Chest Physicians/American Thoracic Society/Surgical Infection Society sepsis definition.

PubMed

Zhao, Huifang; Heard, Stephen O; Mullen, Marie T; Crawford, Sybil; Goldberg, Robert J; Frendl, Gyorgy; Lilly, Craig M

2012-06-01

Limited research has been conducted to compare the test characteristics of the 1991 and 2001 sepsis consensus definitions. This study assessed the accuracy of the two sepsis consensus definitions among adult critically ill patients compared to sepsis case adjudication by three senior clinicians. Observational study of patients admitted to intensive care units. Seven intensive care units of an academic medical center. A random sample of 960 patients from all adult intensive care unit patients between October 2007 and December 2008. None. Sensitivity, specificity, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the two consensus definitions were calculated by comparing the number of patients who met or did not meet consensus definitions vs. the number of patients who were or were not diagnosed with sepsis by adjudication. The 1991 sepsis definition had a high sensitivity of 94.6%, but a low specificity of 61.0%. The 2001 sepsis definition had a slightly increased sensitivity but a decreased specificity, which were 96.9% and 58.3%, respectively. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the two definitions were not statistically different (0.778 and 0.776, respectively). The sensitivities and areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of both definitions were lower at the 24-hr time window level than those of the intensive care unit stay level, though their specificities increased slightly. Fever, high white blood cell count or immature forms, low Glasgow coma score, edema, positive fluid balance, high cardiac index, low PaO2/FIO2 ratio, and high levels of creatinine and lactate were significantly associated with sepsis by both definitions and adjudication. Both the 1991 and the 2001 sepsis definition have a high sensitivity but low specificity; the 2001 definition has a slightly increased sensitivity but a decreased specificity compared to the 1991 definition. The diagnostic performances of both definitions were suboptimal. A parsimonious set of significant predictors for sepsis diagnosis is likely to improve current sepsis case definitions.

The Value of Foreign Language in Business.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stebinger, Arnold

The University of South Carolina's Master's Program in International Business began in June 1974, with 43 students studying German and Spanish. The program began with a 9-week intensive language learning program, followed by a nine-month unified business program, with language instruction twice a week; six weeks of area study concentrating on the…

Assessment of Sediment Measurements in Lake Michigan as a Case Study: Implications for Monitoring and Modeling

EPA Science Inventory

Lake Michigan, the sixth largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area, was utilized as a water body for assessment within a case study. Field data collected at 116 sediment sampling sites throughout the lake in an intensive monitoring effort were utilized for assessment ...

A LANDSCAPE DEVELOPMENT INTENSITY MAP OF MARYLAND, USA

EPA Science Inventory

We present a map of human development intensity for central and eastern Maryland using an index derived from energy systems principles. Brown and Vivas developed a measure of the intensity of human development based on the nonrenewable energy use per unit area as an index to exp...

A case report of low intensity laser therapy (LILT) in the management of venous ulceration: potential effects of wound debridement upon efficacy.

PubMed

Lagan, K M; Mc Donough, S M; Clements, B A; Baxter, G D

2000-02-01

This single case report (ABA design) was undertaken as a preliminary investigation into the clinical effects of low intensity laser upon venous ulceration, applied to wound margins only, and the potential relevance of wound debridement and wound measurement techniques to any effects observed. Ethical approval was granted by the University of Ulster's Research Ethical Committee and the patient recruited was required to attend 3 times per week for a total of 8 weeks. Treatments were carried out using single source irradiation (830 nm; 9 J/cm2, CB Medico, Copenhagen, Denmark) in conjunction with dry dressings during each visit. Assessment of wound surface area, wound appearance, and current pain were completed by an independent investigator. Planimetry and digitizing were completed for wound tracings and for photographs to quantify surface areas. Video image analysis was also performed on photographs of wounds. The primary findings were changes in wound appearance, and a decrease in wound surface area (range 33.3-46.3%), dependent on the choice of measurement method. Video image analysis was used, but rejected as an accurate method of wound measurement. Treatment intervention produced a statistically significant reduction in wound area using the C statistic on digitizing data for photographs (at Phase one only; Z = 2.412; p < 0.05). Wound debridement emerged as an important procedure to be carried out prior to measuring wounds. Despite fluctuating pain levels recorded throughout the duration of the study, VAS scores showed a decrease of 15% at the end of the study. This hypoalgesic effect was, however, statistically significant (using the C statistic) at Phase one only (Z = 2.554; p < 0.05). Low intensity laser therapy at this dosage, and using single source irradiation would seem to be an effective treatment for patients suffering venous ulceration. Further group studies are indicated to establish the most effective therapeutic dosage for this and other types of ulceration.

Forest Modeling of Jack Pine Trees for BOREAS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moghhadam, Mahta; Saatchi, Sasan

1994-01-01

As a part of the intensive field campaign for the Boreal forest ecosystem-atmosphere research (BOREAS) project in August 1993, the NASA/JPL AIRSAR covered an area of about 100 km by 100 km near the Prince Albert National Park in Saskatchewan, Canada. At the same time, ground-truth measurements were made in several stands which have been selected as the primary study sites, as well as in some auxiliary sites. This paper focuses on an area including Jack Pine stands in the Nipawin area near the park.

Saturable nonlinear dielectric waveguide with applications to broad-area semiconductor lasers.

PubMed

Mehuys, D; Mittelstein, M; Salzman, J; Yariv, A

1987-11-01

Self-focusing in a passive dielectric waveguide with a saturable nonlinearity is studied. The eigensolutions constitute a good approximation to the lateral modes of broad-area semiconductor lasers under low-duty-cycle pulsed conditions. The laser modes are predicted to consist of adjacent filaments coupled in phase, leading to a single-lobed far field, and to be stable with increased current injection above saturation intensity. The ultimate filament spacing is inversely proportional to the threshold gain, and thus wider filaments are expected in low-threshold broad-area lasers.

Different Patterns of the Urban Heat Island Intensity from Cluster Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, F. B.; Longo, K.

2014-12-01

This study analyzes the different variability patterns of the Urban Heat Island intensity (UHII) in the Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro (MARJ), one of the largest urban agglomerations in Brazil. The UHII is defined as the difference in the surface air temperature between the urban/suburban and rural/vegetated areas. To choose one or more stations that represent those areas we used the technique of cluster analysis on the air temperature observations from 14 surface weather stations in the MARJ. The cluster analysis aims to classify objects based on their characteristics, gathering similar groups. The results show homogeneity patterns between air temperature observations, with 6 homogeneous groups being defined. Among those groups, one might be a natural choice for the representative urban area (Central station); one corresponds to suburban area (Afonsos station); and another group referred as rural area is compound of three stations (Ecologia, Santa Cruz and Xerém) that are located in vegetated regions. The arithmetic mean of temperature from the three rural stations is taken to represent the rural station temperature. The UHII is determined from these homogeneous groups. The first UHII is estimated from urban and rural temperature areas (Case 1), whilst the second UHII is obtained from suburban and rural temperature areas (Case 2). In Case 1, the maximum UHII occurs in two periods, one in the early morning and the other at night, while the minimum UHII occurs in the afternoon. In Case 2, the maximum UHII is observed during afternoon/night and the minimum during dawn/early morning. This study demonstrates that the stations choice reflects different UHII patterns, evidencing that distinct behaviors of this phenomenon can be identified.

Psychoactive substances use experience and addiction or risk of addiction among by Polish adolescents living in rural and urban areas.

PubMed

Pawłowska, Beata; Zygo, Maciej; Potembska, Emilia; Kapka-Skrzypczak, Lucyna; Dreher, Piotr; Kędzierski, Zbigniew

2014-01-01

The objective of the study was to determine the similarities and differences between adolescents with psychoactive substances use experience living in urban and rural areas as regards the intensity of Internet addiction symptoms as well as the evaluation of prevalence of psychoactive substances use among adolescents depending on the place of residence. The examined group consisted of 1 860 people (1 320 girls and 540 boys) their average age being 17 years. In the study the following research methods were used: the Sociodemographic Questionnaire designed by the authors, the Internet Addiction Questionnaire by Potembska, the Internet Addiction test by Young, the Internet Addiction Questionnaire (KBUI) designed by Pawłowska and Potembska. Statistically significant differences were found as regards the prevalence of psychoactive substances use by the adolescents living in urban and rural areas and as regards the intensity of Internet addiction symptoms in adolescents, both from the urban and rural areas, who use and do not use illegal drugs. Significantly more adolescents living in urban areas as compared to their peers living in rural areas use psychoactive substances, mainly marihuana. The adolescents who use psychoactive substances, as compared to the adolescents with no experience using illegal drugs, living both in urban and rural areas significantly more often play online violent games and use web pornography. The adolescents living in rural areas who use psychoactive substances significantly more often as compared to the adolescents who do not use these substances claim that it is only thanks to the interactions established on the Internet that they can get acceptance, understanding and appreciation.

HiRadMat at CERN SPS - A test facility with high intensity beam pulses to material samples

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

Charitonidis, N.; Fabich, A.; Efthymiopoulos, I.

2015-07-01

HiRadMat (High Irradiation to Materials) is a facility at CERN designed to provide high-intensity pulsed beams to an irradiation area where material samples as well as accelerator component assemblies (e.g. vacuum windows, shock tests on high power targets, collimators) can be tested. The beam parameters (SPS 440 GeV protons with a pulse energy of up to 3.4 MJ, or alternatively lead/argon ions at the proton equivalent energy) can be tuned to match the needs of each experiment. It is a test area designed to perform single pulse experiments to evaluate the effect of high-intensity pulsed beams on materials in amore » dedicated environment, excluding long-time irradiation studies. The facility is designed for a 10{sup 16} maximum number of protons per year, in order to limit the activation to acceptable levels for human intervention. This paper will demonstrate the possibilities for research using this facility and showing examples of upcoming experiments scheduled in the beam period 2014/2015. (authors)« less

Low intensity, mixed livestock grazing improves the breeding abundance of a common insectivorous passerine.

PubMed

Evans, Darren M; Redpath, Stephen M; Evans, Sharon A; Elston, David A; Gardner, Charles J; Dennis, Peter; Pakeman, Robin J

2006-12-22

Livestock grazing is a major driver of ecosystem change and has been associated with significant declines in various bird species in Britain and worldwide. However, there is little experimental evidence to show how grazing affects bird populations. We manipulated livestock densities in a replicated field experiment and found that mixed sheep and cattle grazing, at low intensity, improved the breeding abundance of a common upland passerine, the meadow pipit Anthus pratensis, after two years. Plots stocked with sheep alone (at high or low density) or not stocked at all held fewer pipit territories. Despite a year-on-year decline in pairs of meadow pipits in intensively grazed plots, we found no effect of sheep number on breeding abundance. Our results support the hypothesis that mixed species of herbivores generate greater heterogeneity in vegetation structure, which modifies prey availability, resulting in a greater abundance of birds. The results of our study should inform the management of grassland areas and enhance the abundance of some bird species, particularly in areas that have seen significant shifts from mixed livestock grazing to grazing dominated by single species of animals.

The prevalence, intensity and clinical manifestations of Onchocerca volvulus infection in Toro local government area of Bauchi State, Nigeria.

PubMed

Anosike, J C; Celestine; Onwuliri, O E; Onwuliri, V A

2001-07-01

Between January and October 1994, a study of the prevalence, intensity and clinical manifestations of onchocerciasis in nine communities of Toro local government area of Bauchi State, Nigeria was undertaken using the skin-snip method. Of the 1117 inhabitants examined, 188 (16.8%) were positive for microfilariae of Onchocerca volvulus. The prevalence of onchocerciasis was significantly higher (P < 0.05) among males than females, in subjects 21 years of age and above than in those in the first two decades of life, in nomads, farmers, hunters and fishermen than smiths and traders. Intensity of infection was light, not exceeding a geometric mean of 5.3 microfilaria per 2 mm skin bite. Preponderance of positive cases below 20 years presented no chronic signs. Conversely, persons above 20 years had higher microfilaria counts which coincides with the period when most clinical signs manifest. Microfilarial-rate and -density in relation to age were closely associated (r = 0.75, P < 0.001). The need for a sustained mass distribution of Mectizan in these communities is highlighted.

Modifications of the urban heat island characteristics under exceptionally hot weather - A case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Founda, Dimitra; Pierros, Fragiskos; Santamouris, Mathew

2016-04-01

Considerable recent research suggests that heat waves are becoming more frequent, more intense and longer in the future. Heat waves are characterised by the dominance of prolonged abnormally hot conditions related to synoptic scale anomalies, thus they affect extensive geographical areas. Heat waves (HW) have a profound impact on humans and they have been proven to increase mortality. Urban areas are known to be hotter than the surrounding rural areas due to the well documented urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon. Urban areas face increased risk under heat waves, due to the added heat from the urban heat island and increased population density. Given that urban populations keep increasing, citizens are exposed to significant heat related risk. Mitigation and adaptation strategies require a deep understanding of the response of the urban heat islands under extremely hot conditions. The response of the urban heat island under selected episodes of heat waves is examined in the city of Athens, from the comparison between stations of different characteristics (urban, suburban, coastal and rural). Two distinct episodes of heat waves occurring during summer 2000 were selected. Daily maximum air temperature at the urban station of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) exceeded 40 0C for at least three consecutive days for both episodes. The intensity of UHI during heat waves was compared to the intensity under 'normal' conditions, represented from a period 'before' and 'after' the heat wave. Striking differences of UHI features between HW and no HW cases were observed, depending on the time of the day and the type of station. The comparison between the urban and the coastal station showed an increase of the order of 3 0C in the intensity of UHI during the HW days, as regards both daytime and nighttime conditions. The comparison between urban and a suburban (inland) station, revealed some different behaviour during HWs, with increases of the order of 3 0C in the nocturnal UHI intensity under HW, but decrease in the daily UHI. The findings were confirmed qualitatively and quantitatively from other two severe episodes of heat waves, occurring during summer 2007.

Intensity attenuation in the Pannonian Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Győri, Erzsébet; Gráczer, Zoltán; Szanyi, Gyöngyvér

2015-04-01

Ground motion prediction equations play a key role in seismic hazard assessment. Earthquake hazard has to be expressed in macroseismic intensities in case of seismic risk estimations where a direct relation to the damage associated with ground shaking is needed. It can be also necessary for shake map generation where the map is used for prompt notification to the public, disaster management officers and insurance companies. Although only few instrumental strong motion data are recorded in the Pannonian Basin, there are numerous historical reports of past earthquakes since the 1763 Komárom earthquake. Knowing the intensity attenuation and comparing them with relations of other areas - where instrumental strong motion data also exist - can help us to choose from the existing instrumental ground motion prediction equations. The aim of this work is to determine an intensity attenuation formula for the inner part of the Pannonian Basin, which can be further used to find an adaptable ground motion prediction equation for the area. The crust below the Pannonian Basin is thin and warm and it is overlain by thick sediments. Thus the attenuation of seismic waves here is different from the attenuation in the Alp-Carpathian mountain belt. Therefore we have collected intensity data only from the inner part of the Pannonian Basin and defined the boundaries of the studied area by the crust thickness of 30 km (Windhoffer et al., 2005). 90 earthquakes from 1763 until 2014 have sufficient number of macroseismic data. Magnitude of the events varies from 3.0 to 6.6. We have used individual intensity points to eliminate the subjectivity of drawing isoseismals, the number of available intensity data is more than 3000. Careful quality control has been made on the dataset. The different types of magnitudes of the used earthquake catalogue have been converted to local and momentum magnitudes using relations determined for the Pannonian Basin. We applied the attenuation formula by Sorensen et al. (2009) using a least-squares regression method. This expression is comparable with the common type of strong-motion attenuation equations (e.g., Joyner and Boore, 1993). Joyner, W. B. and Boore, D. M. (1993). Methods for regression analysis of strong-motion data. BSSA, 83(2), 469-487. Sørensen, M. B., Stromeyer, D., Grünthal, G. (2009). Attenuation of macroseismic intensity: a new relation for the Marmara Sea region, northwest Turkey. BSSA, 99(2A), 538-553. Windhoffer, G., Dombrádi, E., Horváth, F., Székely, B., Bada, G., Szafián, P., Dövényi, P., Tóth, L., Grenerczy, Gy. and G. Timár (2005) Geodynamic Atlas of the Pannonian Basin and the Surrounding Orogens. 7th Workshop on Alpine Geological Studies, Abstract Book, p. 109.

Serial clustering of extratropical cyclones and relationship with NAO and jet intensity based on the IMILAST cyclone database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ulbrich, Sven; Pinto, Joaquim G.; Economou, Theodoros; Stephenson, David B.; Karremann, Melanie K.; Shaffrey, Len C.

2017-04-01

Cyclone families are a frequent synoptic weather feature in the Euro-Atlantic area, particularly during wintertime. Given appropriate large-scale conditions, such series (clusters) of storms may cause large socio-economic impacts and cumulative losses. Recent studies analyzing reanalysis data using single cyclone tracking methods have shown that serial clustering of cyclones occurs on both flanks and downstream regions of the North Atlantic storm track. Based on winter (DJF) cyclone counts from the IMILAST cyclone database, we explore the representation of serial clustering in the ERA-Interim period and its relationship with the NAO-phase and jet intensity. With this aim, clustering is estimated by the dispersion of winter (DJF) cyclone passages for each grid point over the Euro-Atlantic area. Results indicate that clustering over the Eastern North Atlantic and Western Europe can be identified for all methods, although the exact location and the dispersion magnitude may vary. The relationship between clustering and (i) the NAO-phase and (ii) jet intensity over the North Atlantic is statistically evaluated. Results show that the NAO-index and the jet intensity show a strong contribution to clustering, even though some spread is found between methods. We conclude that the general features of clustering of extratropical cyclones over the North Atlantic and Western Europe are robust to the choice of tracking method. The same is true for the influence of the NAO and jet intensity on cyclone dispersion.

SPANISH PEAKS WILDERNESS STUDY AREA, COLORADO.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Budding, Karin E.; Kluender, Steven E.

1984-01-01

A geologic and geochemical investigation and a survey of mines and prospects were conducted to evaluate the mineral-resource potential of the Spanish Peaks Wilderness Study Area, Huerfano and Las Animas Counties, in south-central Colorado. Anomalous gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc concentrations in rocks and in stream sediments from drainage basins in the vicinity of the old mines and prospects on West Spanish Peak indicate a substantiated mineral-resource potential for base and precious metals in the area surrounding this peak; however, the mineralized veins are sparse, small in size, and generally low in grade. There is a possibility that coal may underlie the study area, but it would be at great depth and it is unlikely that it would have survived the intense igneous activity in the area. There is little likelihood for the occurrence of oil and gas because of the lack of structural traps and the igneous activity.

Faulting, damage, and intensity in the Canyondam earthquake of May 23, 2013

USGS Publications Warehouse

Chapman, K.; Gold, M.B.; Boatwright, John; Sipe, J.; Quitoriano, V.; Dreger, D.; Hardebeck, Jeanne

2016-09-23

On Thursday evening, May 23, 2013 (0347 May 24 UTC), a moment magnitude (Mw) = 5.7 earthquake occurred northeast of Canyondam, California. A two-person team of U.S. Geological Survey scientists went to the area to search for surface rupture and to canvass damage in the communities around Lake Almanor. While the causative fault had not been identified at the time of the field survey, surface rupture was expected to have occurred just south of Lake Almanor, approximately 2–4 kilometers south of the epicenter. No surface rupture was discovered. Felt intensity among the communities around Lake Almanor appeared to vary significantly. Lake Almanor West (LAW), Lake Almanor Country Club (LACC), and Hamilton Branch (HB) experienced Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) ≥7, whereas other communities around the lake experienced MMI ≤6; the maximum observed intensity was MMI 8, in LAW. Damage in the high intensity areas consisted of broken and collapsed chimneys, ruptured pipes, and some damage to foundations and to structural elements within houses. Although this shaking damage is not usually expected for an Mw 5.7 earthquake, the intensities at Lake Almanor Country Club correlate with the peak ground acceleration (38 percent g) and peak ground velocity (30 centimeters per second) recorded by the California Strong Motion Instrumentation Program accelerometer located at the nearby Lake Almanor Fire Station. The intensity distribution for the three hardest hit areas (LAW, LACC, and HB) appears to increase as the azimuth from epicenter to the intensity sites approaches the fault strike. The small communities of Almanor and Prattville on the southwestern shore of Lake Almanor experienced somewhat lower intensities. The town of Canyondam experienced a lower intensity as well, despite its location up-dip of the earthquake rupture. This report contains information on the earthquake itself, the search for surface rupture, and the damage we observed and compiled from other sources. 

Prostate Cancer and Ambient Pesticide Exposure in Agriculturally Intensive Areas in California

PubMed Central

Cockburn, Myles; Mills, Paul; Zhang, Xinbo; Zadnick, John; Goldberg, Dan; Ritz, Beate

2011-01-01

In a population-based case-control study in California's intensely agricultural Central Valley (2005–2006), the authors investigated relations between environmental pesticide/fungicide exposure and prostate cancer. Cases (n = 173) were obtained from a population-based cancer registry, and controls (n = 162) were obtained from Medicare listings and tax assessor mailings. Past ambient exposures to pesticides/fungicides were derived from residential history and independently recorded pesticide and land-use data, using a novel geographic information systems approach. In comparison with unexposed persons, increased risks of prostate cancer were observed among persons exposed to compounds which may have prostate-specific biologic effects (methyl bromide (odds ratio = 1.62, 95% confidence interval: 1.02, 2.59) and a group of organochlorines (odds ratio = 1.64, 95% confidence interval: 1.02, 2.63)) but not among those exposed to other compounds that were included as controls (simazine, maneb, and paraquat dichloride). The authors assessed the possibility of selection bias due to less-than-100% enrollment of eligible cases and controls (a critical methodological concern in studies of this kind) and determined that there was little evidence of bias affecting the estimated effect size. This study provides evidence of an association between prostate cancer and ambient pesticide exposures in and around homes in intensely agricultural areas. The associations appear specific to compounds with a plausible biologic role in prostate carcinogenesis. PMID:21447478

Embargo on Lion Hunting Trophies from West Africa: An Effective Measure or a Threat to Lion Conservation?

PubMed Central

Bouché, Philippe; Crosmary, William; Kafando, Pierre; Doamba, Benoit; Kidjo, Ferdinand Claude; Vermeulen, Cédric; Chardonnet, Philippe

2016-01-01

The W-Arly-Pendjari (WAP) ecosystem, shared among Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger, represents the last lion stronghold of West Africa. To assess the impact of trophy hunting on lion populations in hunting areas of the WAP, we analyzed trends in harvest rates from 1999 to 2014. We also investigated whether the hunting areas with higher initial hunting intensity experienced steeper declines in lion harvest between 1999 and 2014, and whether lion densities in hunting areas were lower than in national parks. Lion harvest rate remained overall constant in the WAP. At initial hunting intensities below 1.5 lions/1000km2, most hunting areas experienced an increase in lion harvest rate, although that increase was of lower magnitude for hunting areas with higher initial hunting intensity. The proportion of hunting areas that experienced a decline in lion harvest rate increased at initial hunting intensities above 1.5 lions/1000km2. In 2014, the lion population of the WAP was estimated with a spoor count at 418 (230–648) adults and sub-adult individuals, comparable to the 311 (123–498) individuals estimated in the previous 2012 spoor survey. We found no significant lion spoor density differences between national parks and hunting areas. Hunting areas with higher mean harvest rates did not have lower lion densities. The ratio of large adult males, females and sub-adults was similar between the national parks and the hunting areas. These results suggested that the lion population was not significantly affected by hunting in the WAP. We concluded that a quota of 1 lion/1000km2 would be sustainable for the WAP. Based on our results, an import embargo on lion trophies from the WAP would not be justified. It could ruin the incentive of local actors to conserve lions in hunting areas, and lead to a drastic reduction of lion range in West Africa. PMID:27182985

Embargo on Lion Hunting Trophies from West Africa: An Effective Measure or a Threat to Lion Conservation?

PubMed

Bouché, Philippe; Crosmary, William; Kafando, Pierre; Doamba, Benoit; Kidjo, Ferdinand Claude; Vermeulen, Cédric; Chardonnet, Philippe

2016-01-01

The W-Arly-Pendjari (WAP) ecosystem, shared among Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger, represents the last lion stronghold of West Africa. To assess the impact of trophy hunting on lion populations in hunting areas of the WAP, we analyzed trends in harvest rates from 1999 to 2014. We also investigated whether the hunting areas with higher initial hunting intensity experienced steeper declines in lion harvest between 1999 and 2014, and whether lion densities in hunting areas were lower than in national parks. Lion harvest rate remained overall constant in the WAP. At initial hunting intensities below 1.5 lions/1000km2, most hunting areas experienced an increase in lion harvest rate, although that increase was of lower magnitude for hunting areas with higher initial hunting intensity. The proportion of hunting areas that experienced a decline in lion harvest rate increased at initial hunting intensities above 1.5 lions/1000km2. In 2014, the lion population of the WAP was estimated with a spoor count at 418 (230-648) adults and sub-adult individuals, comparable to the 311 (123-498) individuals estimated in the previous 2012 spoor survey. We found no significant lion spoor density differences between national parks and hunting areas. Hunting areas with higher mean harvest rates did not have lower lion densities. The ratio of large adult males, females and sub-adults was similar between the national parks and the hunting areas. These results suggested that the lion population was not significantly affected by hunting in the WAP. We concluded that a quota of 1 lion/1000km2 would be sustainable for the WAP. Based on our results, an import embargo on lion trophies from the WAP would not be justified. It could ruin the incentive of local actors to conserve lions in hunting areas, and lead to a drastic reduction of lion range in West Africa.

A comparison of the accuracy of pixel based and object based classifications of integrated optical and LiDAR data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gajda, Agnieszka; Wójtowicz-Nowakowska, Anna

2013-04-01

A comparison of the accuracy of pixel based and object based classifications of integrated optical and LiDAR data Land cover maps are generally produced on the basis of high resolution imagery. Recently, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data have been brought into use in diverse applications including land cover mapping. In this study we attempted to assess the accuracy of land cover classification using both high resolution aerial imagery and LiDAR data (airborne laser scanning, ALS), testing two classification approaches: a pixel-based classification and object-oriented image analysis (OBIA). The study was conducted on three test areas (3 km2 each) in the administrative area of Kraków, Poland, along the course of the Vistula River. They represent three different dominating land cover types of the Vistula River valley. Test site 1 had a semi-natural vegetation, with riparian forests and shrubs, test site 2 represented a densely built-up area, and test site 3 was an industrial site. Point clouds from ALS and ortophotomaps were both captured in November 2007. Point cloud density was on average 16 pt/m2 and it contained additional information about intensity and encoded RGB values. Ortophotomaps had a spatial resolution of 10 cm. From point clouds two raster maps were generated: intensity (1) and (2) normalised Digital Surface Model (nDSM), both with the spatial resolution of 50 cm. To classify the aerial data, a supervised classification approach was selected. Pixel based classification was carried out in ERDAS Imagine software. Ortophotomaps and intensity and nDSM rasters were used in classification. 15 homogenous training areas representing each cover class were chosen. Classified pixels were clumped to avoid salt and pepper effect. Object oriented image object classification was carried out in eCognition software, which implements both the optical and ALS data. Elevation layers (intensity, firs/last reflection, etc.) were used at segmentation stage due to proper wages usage. Thus a more precise and unambiguous boundaries of segments (objects) were received. As a results of the classification 5 classes of land cover (buildings, water, high and low vegetation and others) were extracted. Both pixel-based image analysis and OBIA were conducted with a minimum mapping unit of 10m2. Results were validated on the basis on manual classification and random points (80 per test area), reference data set was manually interpreted using ortophotomaps and expert knowledge of the test site areas.

Java Web Start based software for automated quantitative nuclear analysis of prostate cancer and benign prostate hyperplasia.

PubMed

Singh, Swaroop S; Kim, Desok; Mohler, James L

2005-05-11

Androgen acts via androgen receptor (AR) and accurate measurement of the levels of AR protein expression is critical for prostate research. The expression of AR in paired specimens of benign prostate and prostate cancer from 20 African and 20 Caucasian Americans was compared to demonstrate an application of this system. A set of 200 immunopositive and 200 immunonegative nuclei were collected from the images using a macro developed in Image Pro Plus. Linear Discriminant and Logistic Regression analyses were performed on the data to generate classification coefficients. Classification coefficients render the automated image analysis software independent of the type of immunostaining or image acquisition system used. The image analysis software performs local segmentation and uses nuclear shape and size to detect prostatic epithelial nuclei. AR expression is described by (a) percentage of immunopositive nuclei; (b) percentage of immunopositive nuclear area; and (c) intensity of AR expression among immunopositive nuclei or areas. The percent positive nuclei and percent nuclear area were similar by race in both benign prostate hyperplasia and prostate cancer. In prostate cancer epithelial nuclei, African Americans exhibited 38% higher levels of AR immunostaining than Caucasian Americans (two sided Student's t-tests; P < 0.05). Intensity of AR immunostaining was similar between races in benign prostate. The differences measured in the intensity of AR expression in prostate cancer were consistent with previous studies. Classification coefficients are required due to non-standardized immunostaining and image collection methods across medical institutions and research laboratories and helps customize the software for the specimen under study. The availability of a free, automated system creates new opportunities for testing, evaluation and use of this image analysis system by many research groups who study nuclear protein expression.

A LANDSCAPE DEVELOPMENT INTENSITY MAP OF MARYLAND, USA - 4/07

EPA Science Inventory

We present a map of human development intensity for central and eastern Maryland using an index derived from energy systems principles. Brown and Vivas developed a measure of the intensity of human development based on the nonrenewable energy use per unit area as an index to exp...

Long-term basal area and diameter growth responses of western hemlock-sitka spruce stands in southeast Alaska to a range of thinning intensities.

Treesearch

Nathan J. Poage

2008-01-01

To better understand the long-term basal area and diameter growth response of young, well-stocked, even-aged, mixed-species stands of western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) and Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) to a range of thinning intensities (heavy, moderate, light, and unthinned), 20 years of...

Ventral and dorsal streams processing visual motion perception (FDG-PET study)

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Earlier functional imaging studies on visually induced self-motion perception (vection) disclosed a bilateral network of activations within primary and secondary visual cortex areas which was combined with signal decreases, i.e., deactivations, in multisensory vestibular cortex areas. This finding led to the concept of a reciprocal inhibitory interaction between the visual and vestibular systems. In order to define areas involved in special aspects of self-motion perception such as intensity and duration of the perceived circular vection (CV) or the amount of head tilt, correlation analyses of the regional cerebral glucose metabolism, rCGM (measured by fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography, FDG-PET) and these perceptual covariates were performed in 14 healthy volunteers. For analyses of the visual-vestibular interaction, the CV data were compared to a random dot motion stimulation condition (not inducing vection) and a control group at rest (no stimulation at all). Results Group subtraction analyses showed that the visual-vestibular interaction was modified during CV, i.e., the activations within the cerebellar vermis and parieto-occipital areas were enhanced. The correlation analysis between the rCGM and the intensity of visually induced vection, experienced as body tilt, showed a relationship for areas of the multisensory vestibular cortical network (inferior parietal lobule bilaterally, anterior cingulate gyrus), the medial parieto-occipital cortex, the frontal eye fields and the cerebellar vermis. The “earlier” multisensory vestibular areas like the parieto-insular vestibular cortex and the superior temporal gyrus did not appear in the latter analysis. The duration of perceived vection after stimulus stop was positively correlated with rCGM in medial temporal lobe areas bilaterally, which included the (para-)hippocampus, known to be involved in various aspects of memory processing. The amount of head tilt was found to be positively correlated with the rCGM of bilateral basal ganglia regions responsible for the control of motor function of the head. Conclusions Our data gave further insights into subfunctions within the complex cortical network involved in the processing of visual-vestibular interaction during CV. Specific areas of this cortical network could be attributed to the ventral stream (“what” pathway) responsible for the duration after stimulus stop and to the dorsal stream (“where/how” pathway) responsible for intensity aspects. PMID:22800430

Intensity distribution and isoseismal maps for the Nisqually, Washington, earthquake of 28 February 2001

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dewey, James W.; Hopper, Margaret G.; Wald, David J.; Quitoriano, Vincent; Adams, Elizabeth R.

2002-01-01

We present isoseismal maps, macroseismic intensities, and community summaries of damage for the MW=6.8 Nisqually, Washington, earthquake of 28 February, 2001. For many communities, two types of macroseismic intensity are assigned, the traditional U.S. Geological Survey Modified Mercalli Intensities (USGS MMI) and a type of intensity newly introduced with this paper, the USGS Reviewed Community Internet Intensity (RCII). For most communities, the RCII is a reviewed version of the Community Internet Intensity (CII) of Wald and others (1999). For some communities, RCII is assigned from such non-CII sources as press reports, engineering reports, and field reconnaissance observations. We summarize differences between procedures used to assign RCII and USGS MMI, and we show that the two types of intensity are nonetheless very similar for the Nisqually earthquake. We do not see evidence for systematic differences between RCII and USGS MMI that would approach one intensity unit, at any level of shaking, but we document a tendency for the RCII to be slightly lower than MMI in regions of low intensity and slightly higher than MMI in regions of high intensity. The highest RCII calculated for the Nisqually earthquake is 7.6, calculated for zip code 98134, which includes the ?south of downtown? (Sodo) area of Seattle and Harbor Island. By comparison, we assigned a traditional USGS MMI 8 to the Sodo area of Seattle. In all, RCII of 6.5 and higher were assigned to 58 zip-code regions. At the lowest intensities, the Nisqually earthquake was felt over an area of approximately 350,000 square km (approximately 135,000 square miles) in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and southern British Columbia, Canada. On the basis of macroseismic effects, we infer that shaking in the southern Puget Sound region was somewhat less for the 2001 Nisqually earthquake than for the Puget Sound earthquake of April 13, 1949, which had nearly the same hypocenter and magnitude. Allowing for differences in hypocenter, shaking in the 2001 earthquake was very similar to that produced by the Puget Sound earthquake of April 25, 1965. First-person accounts of the effects of the 2001 earthquake on individual households are given for some communities.

Synergistic effects of seasonal rainfall, parasites and demography on fluctuations in springbok body condition

PubMed Central

Turner, Wendy C.; Versfeld, Wilferd D.; Kilian, J. Werner; Getz, Wayne M.

2011-01-01

Summary 1. Seasonality of rainfall can exert a strong influence on animal condition and on host-parasite interactions. The body condition of ruminants fluctuates seasonally in response to changes in energy requirements, foraging patterns and resource availability, and seasonal variation in parasite infections may further alter ruminant body condition. 2. This study disentangles effects of rainfall and gastrointestinal parasite infections on springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) body condition and determines how these factors vary among demographic groups. 3. Using data from four years and three study areas, we investigated i) the influence of rainfall variation, demographic factors and parasite interactions on parasite prevalence or infection intensity, ii) whether parasitism or rainfall is a more important predictor of springbok body condition and iii) how parasitism and condition vary among study areas along a rainfall gradient. 4. We found that increased parasite intensity is associated with reduced body condition only for adult females. For all other demographic groups, body condition was significantly related to prior rainfall and not to parasitism. Rainfall lagged by two months had a positive effect on body condition. 5. Adult females showed evidence of a “periparturient rise” in parasite intensity, and had higher parasite intensity and lower body condition than adult males after parturition and during early lactation. After juveniles were weaned, adult females had lower parasite intensity than adult males. Sex differences in parasitism and condition may be due to differences between adult females and males in the seasonal timing of reproductive effort and its effects on host immunity, as well as documented sex differences in vulnerability to predation. 6. Our results highlight that parasites and the environment can synergistically affect host populations, but that these interactions might be masked by their interwoven relationships, their differential impacts on demographic groups, and the different time scales at which they operate. PMID:21831195

Comparative evaluation of non-structural protein-antibody detecting ELISAs for foot-and-mouth disease sero-surveillance under intensive vaccination.

PubMed

Sharma, Gaurav Kumar; Mohapatra, Jajati Keshari; Mahajan, Sonalika; Matura, Rakesh; Subramaniam, Saravanan; Pattnaik, Bramhadev

2014-10-01

Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly infectious and contagious disease of livestock animals with transboundary and economical importance. Animals in the endemic settings are regularly vaccinated in addition to intensive surveillance for control of the disease. Under intensive vaccination, detection of infected animals among the vaccinated population is essential to monitor the infection and to track down the virus movement. Sero-surveillance and retrospective disease diagnosis is performed primarily by detecting antibodies against non-structural proteins (NSPs) of FMD virus which are usually absent in the inactivated vaccine formulations. The study was conducted with an objective to compare simultaneously performance of six NSP ELISAs in detecting infected animals in the areas covered under intensive vaccination, and to assess their fit-for-purpose attribute for sero-surveillance of FMD in India. A panel of bovine serum samples consisting of samples collected from infected with FMDV, vaccinated and naive animals were constituted. In addition, samples collected at random from areas having varied FMD situation and vaccination coverage were tested simultaneously by the six NSP ELISAs to compare their performances. The four indigenous assays showed varying degrees of correlation with the two commercial kits. The study validated that, in all the groups of samples, the indigenous assays were equally sensitive and specific as the two commercial kits. Among all the six assays, PrioCheck and in-house 3ABC I-ELISAs showed maximum sensitivity for detection of infected animals, whereas 3AB3 I-ELISA and 3ABC C-ELISA showed maximum specificity. The study concluded that the in-house available assays are equally capable as the commercially available kits for differentiation of infected animals under intensive vaccination and identifies the 3AB3 I-ELISA with optimum sensitivity and specificity for the purpose of sero-surveillance in India. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nematode assemblages associated with the parthenogenetic lizard Ameivula nativo in six restinga areas along the eastern coast of Brazil.

PubMed

Menezes, V A; Mascarenhas, J C; Vrcibradic, D; Rocha, C F D

2017-10-04

We surveyed the nematode assemblages associated with populations of the parthenogenetic whiptail lizard Ameivula nativo from six coastal restinga areas in eastern Brazil: Setiba, Comboios and Guriri (State of Espirito Santo) and Guaratiba, Prado and Maraú (State of Bahia). A total of five nematode species (Physaloptera retusa, Physalopteroides venancioi, Skrjabinelazia intermedia, Subulura lacertilia and Parapharyngodon sp.) were recorded from the six different populations of A. nativo. There was considerable variation in overall prevalence of infection (1-42%) among study sites, but geographical distance among areas did not influence similarity in the composition of nematode assemblages. Overall intensity of infection was not affected by lizard body size and did not seem to affect host body condition, based on pooled data of all populations. The studied populations of the unisexual A. nativo had relatively low prevalences and intensities of infection compared to some bisexual congeners and to sympatric lizards from other families for which such data are available. We believe that the low richness of the nematode fauna associated with A. nativo, both locally and regionally, may reflect its narrow geographic distribution and the low diversity of habitats it occupies.

Experimental Study of Multispectral Characteristics of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle at Different Observation Angles

PubMed Central

Zheng, Haijing; Bai, Tingzhu; Wang, Quanxi; Cao, Fengmei; Shao, Long; Sun, Zhaotian

2018-01-01

This study investigates multispectral characteristics of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at different observation angles by experiment. The UAV and its engine are tested on the ground in the cruise state. Spectral radiation intensities at different observation angles are obtained in the infrared band of 0.9–15 μm by a spectral radiometer. Meanwhile, infrared images are captured separately by long-wavelength infrared (LWIR), mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR), and short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) cameras. Additionally, orientation maps of the radiation area and radiance are obtained. The results suggest that the spectral radiation intensity of the UAV is determined by its exhaust plume and that the main infrared emission bands occur at 2.7 μm and 4.3 μm. At observation angles in the range of 0°–90°, the radiation area of the UAV in MWIR band is greatest; however, at angles greater than 90°, the radiation area in the SWIR band is greatest. In addition, the radiance of the UAV at an angle of 0° is strongest. These conclusions can guide IR stealth technique development for UAVs. PMID:29389880

Estimated probabilities and volumes of postwildfire debris flows—A prewildfire evaluation for the Pikes Peak area, El Paso and Teller Counties, Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Elliott, John G.; Ruddy, Barbara C.; Verdin, Kristine L.; Schaffrath, Keelin R.

2012-01-01

Debris flows are fast-moving, high-density slurries of water, sediment, and debris that can have enormous destructive power. Although debris flows, triggered by intense rainfall or rapid snowmelt on steep hillsides covered with erodible material, are a common geomorphic process in some unburned areas, a wildfire can transform conditions in a watershed with no recent history of debris flows into conditions that pose a substantial hazard to residents, communities, infrastructure, aquatic habitats, and water supply. The location, extent, and severity of wildfire and the subsequent rainfall intensity and duration cannot be known in advance; however, hypothetical scenarios based on empirical debris-flow models are useful planning tools for conceptualizing potential postwildfire debris flows. A prewildfire study to determine the potential for postwildfire debris flows in the Pikes Peak area in El Paso and Teller Counties, Colorado, was initiated in 2010 by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs Utilities. The study was conducted to provide a relative measure of which subwatersheds might constitute the most serious potential debris-flow hazards in the event of a large-scale wildfire and subsequent rainfall.

Cosmology and Astrophysics using the Post-Reionization HI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarkar, Tapomoy Guha; Sen, Anjan A.

2016-12-01

We discuss the prospects of using the redshifted 21-cm emission from neutral hydrogen in the post-reionization epoch to study our Universe. The main aim of the article is to highlight the efforts of Indian scientists in this area with the SKA in mind. It turns out that the intensity mapping surveys from SKA can be instrumental in obtaining tighter constraints on the dark energy models. Cross-correlation of the HI intensity maps with the Ly α forest data can also be useful in measuring the BAO scale.

Increased Inhibition in Non-Primary Motor Areas of String-Instrument Players: A Preliminary Study with Paired-Pulse Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

PubMed Central

Vaalto, Selja; Julkunen, Petro; Säïsänen, Laura; Könönen, Mervi; Määttä, Sara; Karhu, Jari

2016-01-01

Background: The muscle representations in non-primary motor area (NPMA) are located in the dorsal premotor area (PMd) and in the border region between the premotor area and the supplementary motor area (SMA). Objective: We characterized the plasticity of intracortical inhibitory and excitatory circuits in muscle representations in primary motor cortex (M1) and in NPMA related to acquired fine motor skills. We compared local cortical inhibition and facilitation balance in M1 and in NPMA between control subjects (n = 6) and right-handed string-instrument players (n = 5). Methods: Navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to compare motor thresholds (MTs), motor evoked potentials (MEPs), short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) and intracortical facilitation (ICF) in non-dominant hand muscle representations in M1 and NPMA. Results: String-instrument players showed reduced SICI in M1 in the actively used left hand abductor digiti minimi (ADM) muscle representation at 3 ms inter-stimulus interval (ISI) with a conditioning stimulus (CS) intensity of 80% of MT and increased SICI in NPMA in ADM representation at 2 ms ISI and CS intensity of 50% of MT in comparison with controls. No differences between string-instrument players and controls were found for the SICI in the left hand opponens pollicis (OP) muscle representation, which is a muscle not intensively trained in string-instrument players. Conclusions: These preliminary results indicate that the stronger inhibition in motor representations outside M1 in string-instrument players may be crucial when accurate movements of single muscles must be performed. In contrast, weaker inhibition in M1 in string-instrument players may benefit the performance of fast finger movements. PMID:29765844

Spatial working memory impairment in primary onset middle-age type 2 diabetes mellitus: An ethology and BOLD-fMRI study.

PubMed

Huang, Ran-Ran; Jia, Bao-Hui; Xie, Lei; Ma, Shu-Hua; Yin, Jing-Jing; Sun, Zong-Bo; Le, Hong-Bo; Xu, Wen-Can; Huang, Jin-Zhuang; Luo, Dong-Xue

2016-01-01

To explore mild cognitive dysfunction and/or spatial working memory impairment in patients with primary onset middle-age type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM] using ethology (behavior tests) and blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD-fMRI). Eighteen primary onset T2DM patients and 18 matched subjects with normal blood glucose levels were all tested using the Montreal cognitive assessment scale test, the Wechsler Memory Scale Chinese-revised test, and scanned using BOLD-fMRI (1.5T, EPI sequence) while performing the n-back task to find the activation intensity of some cognition-related areas. The ethology results showed that T2DM patients had a mild cognitive impairment and memory dysfunction (P < 0.05). The fMRI scan identified a neural network consisting of bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), bilateral premotor area (PreMA), bilateral parietal lobe (PA), and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) / supplementary motor area (SMA) that was activated during the n-back task, with right hemisphere dominance. However, only the right PA and ACC/SMA showed a load effect via quantitative analysis in the T2DM group; the activation intensity of most working memory-related brain areas for the T2DM group were lower than for the control group under three memory loads. Furthermore, we found that the activation intensity of some cognition-related areas, including the right insular lobe, left caudate nucleus, and bilateral hippocampus/parahippocampal gyrus were lower than the control group under the memory loads. Diabetes-related brain damage of primary onset middle-age T2DM patients with right DLPFC-posterior parietal lobe and parahippocampal gyrus default network causes impairment of spatial working memory and mild cognitive dysfunction. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Multi-keV X-ray area source intensity at SGII laser facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Rui-rong; An, Hong-hai; Xie, Zhi-yong; Wang, Wei

2018-05-01

Experiments for investigating the feasibility of multi-keV backlighters for several different metallic foil targets were performed at the Shenguang II (SGII) laser facility in China. Emission spectra in the energy range of 1.65-7.0 keV were measured with an elliptically bent crystal spectrometer, and the X-ray source size was measured with a pinhole camera. The X-ray intensity near 4.75 keV and the X-ray source size for titanium targets at different laser intensity irradiances were studied. By adjusting the total laser energy at a fixed focal spot size, laser intensity in the range of 1.5-5.0 × 1015 W/cm2, was achieved. The results show that the line emission intensity near 4.75 keV and the X-ray source size are dependent on the laser intensity and increase as the laser intensity increases. However, an observed "peak" in the X-ray intensity near 4.75 keV occurs at an irradiance of 4.0 × 1015 W/cm2. For the employed experimental conditions, it was confirmed that the laser intensity could play a significant role in the development of an efficient multi-keV X-ray source. The experimental results for titanium indicate that the production of a large (˜350 μm in diameter) intense backlighter source of multi-keV X-rays is feasible at the SGII facility.

Drainage morphometric analysis for assessing form and processes of the watersheds of Pachamalai hills and its adjoinings, Central Tamil Nadu, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prabhakaran, A.; Jawahar Raj, N.

2018-03-01

The present study attempts to understand the form and geomorphic/hydrologic processes of the 20 watersheds of the Pachamalai hills and its adjoinings located in Tamil Nadu State of southern India from the analysis of its drainage morphometric characteristics. Survey of India's topographic sheets of 1:50,000 is the data source from which stream networks and watersheds of the study area were demarcated followed by the analysis of their morphometric characteristics using ArcGIS software. The results of the analysis formed the basis for deducing the form and processes of the watersheds of the study area. The form of the watersheds inferred from the analysis includes shape, length, slope steepness and length, degree of branching of streams, dissection and elongation of watersheds. The geomorphic/hydrologic processes inferred include denudation rate, potential energy, intensity of erosion, mean annual run off, mean discharge, discharge rate, rock resistivity and infiltration potential, amount of sediment transported, mean annual rainfall, rainfall intensity, lagtime, flash flood potential, flood discharge per unit area, sediment yield and speed of the water flow in the streams. The understanding of variations of form and processes mentioned can be used towards prioritizing the watersheds for development, management and conservation planning.

Gaze Dynamics in the Recognition of Facial Expressions of Emotion.

PubMed

Barabanschikov, Vladimir A

2015-01-01

We studied preferably fixated parts and features of human face in the process of recognition of facial expressions of emotion. Photographs of facial expressions were used. Participants were to categorize these as basic emotions; during this process, eye movements were registered. It was found that variation in the intensity of an expression is mirrored in accuracy of emotion recognition; it was also reflected by several indices of oculomotor function: duration of inspection of certain areas of the face, its upper and bottom or right parts, right and left sides; location, number and duration of fixations, viewing trajectory. In particular, for low-intensity expressions, right side of the face was found to be attended predominantly (right-side dominance); the right-side dominance effect, was, however, absent for expressions of high intensity. For both low- and high-intensity expressions, upper face part was predominantly fixated, though with greater fixation of high-intensity expressions. The majority of trials (70%), in line with findings in previous studies, revealed a V-shaped pattern of inspection trajectory. No relationship, between accuracy of recognition of emotional expressions, was found, though, with either location and duration of fixations or pattern of gaze directedness in the face. © The Author(s) 2015.

Coupling intensity between discharge and magnetic circuit in Hall thrusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Liqiu; Yang, Xinyong; Ding, Yongjie; Yu, Daren; Zhang, Chaohai

2017-03-01

Coupling oscillation is a newly discovered plasma oscillation mode that utilizes the coupling between the discharge circuit and magnetic circuit, whose oscillation frequency spectrum ranges from several kilohertz to megahertz. The coupling coefficient parameter represents the intensity of coupling between the discharge and magnetic circuits. According to previous studies, the coupling coefficient is related to the material and the cross-sectional area of the magnetic coils, and the magnetic circuit of the Hall thruster. However, in our recent study on coupling oscillations, it was found that the Hall current equivalent position and radius have important effects on the coupling intensity between the discharge and magnetic circuits. This causes a difference in the coupling coefficient for different operating conditions of Hall thrusters. Through non-intrusive methods for measuring the Hall current equivalent radius and the axial position, it is found that with an increase in the discharge voltage and magnetic field intensity, the Hall current equivalent radius increases and its axial position moves towards the exit plane. Thus, both the coupling coefficient and the coupling intensity between the discharge and magnetic circuits increase. Contribution to the Topical Issue "Physics of Ion Beam Sources", edited by Holger Kersten and Horst Neumann.

Winds: intensity and power density simulated by RegCM4 over South America in present and future climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reboita, Michelle Simões; Amaro, Tatiana Rocha; de Souza, Marcelo Rodrigues

2017-09-01

Since wind is an important source of renewable energy, it has attracted attention worldwide. Several studies have been developed in order to know favorable areas where wind farms can be implemented. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to project changes in wind intensity and in wind power density (PD), at 100 m high, over South America and adjacent oceans, by downscaling and ensemble techniques. Regional climate model version 4 (RegCM4) was nested in the output of three global climate models, considering the RCP8.5 scenario. RegCM4 ensemble in the present climate (1979-2005) was validated through comparisons with ERA-Interim reanalysis. The ensemble represents well the spatial pattern of the winds, but there are some differences in relation to the wind intensity registered by ERA-Interim, mainly in center-east Brazil and Patagonia. The comparison between the future climate (2020-2050 and 2070-2098) and the present one shows that there is an increase in wind intensity and PD on the north of SA, center-east Brazil (except in summer) and latitudes higher than 50°S. Such increase is more intense in the period 2070-2098.

Tectonic evolution of Western Ishtar Terra, Venus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marinangeli, Lucia

1997-03-01

A detailed geological mapping based on Magellan data has been done in Western Ishtar Terra from 300-330 deg W to 65-75 deg N. The area studied comprises three main phisiografic provinces, Atropos Tessera, Akna Montes and North-Western Lakshmi Planum. The purposes of this study are (1) to recognize the tectonism of this area and investigate its type, direction, intensity, distribution and age relationships, (2) to define the link between the formation of the Akna mountain belt and the tectonic deformation in adjacent Tessera and Lakshmi Planum.

Towards evaluating the intensity of convective systems by using GPS radio occultation profiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biondi, Riccardo; Steiner, Andrea K.; Kirchengast, Gottfried

2015-04-01

Deep convective systems, also more casually often just called storms, are destructive weather phenomena causing every year many deaths, injuries and damages and accounting for major economic losses in several countries. The number and intensity of such phenomena increased over the last decades in some areas of the globe, including Europe. Damages are mostly caused by strong winds and heavy rain and these parameters are strongly connected to the structure of the storm. Convection over land is usually stronger and deeper than over the ocean and some convective systems, known as supercells, also develop tornadoes through processes which are still mostly unclear. The intensity forecast and monitoring of convective systems is one of the major challenges for meteorology because in-situ measurements during extreme events are too sparse or not reliable and most ongoing satellite missions do not provide suitable time/space coverage. With this study we propose a new method for detecting the convection intensity in terms of rain rate and surface wind speed by using meteorological surface measurements in combination with atmospheric profiles from Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation observations, which are available in essentially all weather conditions and with global coverage. The analysis of models indicated a relationship between the cloud top altitude and the intensity of a storm. We thus use GPS radio occultation bending angle profiles for detecting the storm's cloud top altitude and we correlate this value to the rain rate and wind speed measured by meteorological station networks in two different regions, the WegenerNet climate station network (South-Eastern Styria, Austria) and the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement site (ARM, Southern Great Plains, USA), respectively. The results show a good correlation between the cloud top altitude and the maximum rain rate in the monitored areas, while this is not found for maximum wind speed. We conclude from this initial study that for land convective systems the cloud top altitude is strongly connected to the rain intensity and that GPS radio occultation observations show encouraging potential to improve the intensity nowcasting and detection of such kind of severe weather phenomena.

Large area pulsed solar simulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kruer, Mark A. (Inventor)

1999-01-01

An advanced solar simulator illuminates the surface a very large solar array, such as one twenty feet by twenty feet in area, from a distance of about twenty-six feet with an essentially uniform intensity field of pulsed light of an intensity of one AMO, enabling the solar array to be efficiently tested with light that emulates the sun. Light modifiers sculpt a portion of the light generated by an electrically powered high power Xenon lamp and together with direct light from the lamp provide uniform intensity illumination throughout the solar array, compensating for the square law and cosine law reduction in direct light intensity, particularly at the corner locations of the array. At any location within the array the sum of the direct light and reflected light is essentially constant.

FERMI -large area telescope observations of the exceptional gamma-ray outbursts of 3C 273 in 2009 September

DOE PAGES

Abdo, A. A.; Ackermann, M.; Ajello, M.; ...

2010-04-05

Here, we present the light curves and spectral data of two exceptionally luminous gamma-ray outbursts observed by the Large Area Telescope experiment on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope from 3C 273 in 2009 September. During these flares, having a duration of a few days, the source reached its highest γ-ray flux ever measured. This allowed us to study, in some details, their spectral and temporal structures. The rise and the decay are asymmetric on timescales of 6 hr, and the spectral index was significantly harder during the flares than during the preceding 11 months. Lastly, we also found thatmore » short, very intense flares put out the same time-integrated energy as long, less intense flares like that observed in 2009 August.« less

Changes in size of populations and level of conflict since World War II: implications for health and health services.

PubMed

Garfield, Richard M; Polonsky, Jonathan; Burkle, Frederick M

2012-10-01

Armed conflicts include declared cross-border and internal wars and political, ethnic, and religious hostilities. The number of conflicts worldwide and their level of intensity have varied widely during the last 5 decades. Tracking conflicts throughout this period has focused predominantly on the number of individuals killed or displaced from these hostilities through count-based estimation systems, or establishing rates of excess mortality from demographic surveys. This report focuses on people living in areas with conflict by applying an estimated level of conflict intensity to data on the population of each territory with hostilities during 1946 to 2007. Data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program/Peace Research Institute Oslo (UCDP/PRIO) Armed Conflict project database on 324 conflicts of any type in countries with populations greater than 500 000 were combined with conflict-intensity estimates from the Center for Systemic Peace and population data from the US Census Bureau International Data Base. More than half a billion people lived in conflict-affected areas in 2007. An increasing proportion of those affected by conflict lived in early postconflict areas, where hostilities were judged or declared during the last 5 years. In the past 2 decades, the average intensity of conflict among those living in areas with a current conflict has gradually declined. A burgeoning population lives in areas where conflict has recently ended, yet most of the world's large-scale medical responses to emergencies focus on high-intensity conflicts. Effective emergency and reconstruction activities in the health sector will depend on reorganizing services to increasingly focus on and transition to low-level and postconflict environments.

Analysis of Land Subsidence Monitoring in Mining Area with Time-Series Insar Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, N.; Wang, Y. J.

2018-04-01

Time-series InSAR technology has become a popular land subsidence monitoring method in recent years, because of its advantages such as high accuracy, wide area, low expenditure, intensive monitoring points and free from accessibility restrictions. In this paper, we applied two kinds of satellite data, ALOS PALSAR and RADARSAT-2, to get the subsidence monitoring results of the study area in two time periods by time-series InSAR technology. By analyzing the deformation range, rate and amount, the time-series analysis of land subsidence in mining area was realized. The results show that InSAR technology could be used to monitor land subsidence in large area and meet the demand of subsidence monitoring in mining area.

Agency and market area factors affecting home health agency supply changes.

PubMed

Porell, Frank W; Liu, Korbin; Brungo, David P

2006-10-01

To use the natural experiment created by the Medicare interim payment system (IPS) to study supply change behavior of home health agencies (HHAs) in local market areas. One hundred percent Medicare home health claims for 1996 and 1999, linked with Medicare Provider of Service and Denominator files, and the Area Resource File. Medicare home health care (HHC) claims data were used to distinguish HHAs that changed the local market supply of Medicare HHC by their market exit or by significant expansion or contraction of their geographic service area between 1996 and 1999 from other HHAs. Multinomial logit models were estimated to analyze how characteristics of agencies and the market areas in which they served were associated with these different agency-level supply changes. Changes in local HHA supply stemming from geographic service area expansions and contractions rivaled those owing to agency closures and market entries. Agencies at greater risk of closure and service area contraction tended to be smaller, newer, freestanding agencies, operating with more visit-intensive practice styles in markets with more competitor agencies. Except for having much less visit-intensive practice styles, similar attributes characterized agencies that increased local supply through service area expansion. Supply changes by HHAs largely reflected rational market responses by agencies to significant changes in financial incentives associated with the Medicare IPS. Recently certified agencies were among the most dynamic providers. Supply changes were more likely among agencies operating in more competitive market environments.

Constant-intensity waves and their modulation instability in non-Hermitian potentials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makris, K. G.; Musslimani, Z. H.; Christodoulides, D. N.; Rotter, S.

2015-07-01

In all of the diverse areas of science where waves play an important role, one of the most fundamental solutions of the corresponding wave equation is a stationary wave with constant intensity. The most familiar example is that of a plane wave propagating in free space. In the presence of any Hermitian potential, a wave's constant intensity is, however, immediately destroyed due to scattering. Here we show that this fundamental restriction is conveniently lifted when working with non-Hermitian potentials. In particular, we present a whole class of waves that have constant intensity in the presence of linear as well as of nonlinear inhomogeneous media with gain and loss. These solutions allow us to study the fundamental phenomenon of modulation instability in an inhomogeneous environment. Our results pose a new challenge for the experiments on non-Hermitian scattering that have recently been put forward.

[Scoring systems in intensive care medicine : principles, models, application and limits].

PubMed

Fleig, V; Brenck, F; Wolff, M; Weigand, M A

2011-10-01

Scoring systems are used in all diagnostic areas of medicine. Several parameters are evaluated and rated with points according to their value in order to simplify a complex clinical situation with a score. The application ranges from the classification of disease severity through determining the number of staff for the intensive care unit (ICU) to the evaluation of new therapies under study conditions. Since the introduction of scoring systems in the 1980's a variety of different score models has been developed. The scoring systems that are employed in intensive care and are discussed in this article can be categorized into prognostic scores, expenses scores and disease-specific scores. Since the introduction of compulsory recording of two scoring systems for accounting in the German diagnosis-related groups (DRG) system, these tools have gained more importance for all intensive care physicians. Problems remain in the valid calculation of scores and interpretation of the results.

The epidemiology of pediatric burns undergoing intensive care in Burn Centre Brno, Czech Republic, 1997-2009.

PubMed

Lipový, B; Brychta, P; Gregorová, N; Jelínková, Z; Rihová, H; Suchánek, I; Kaloudová, Y; Mager, R; Krupicová, H; Martincová, A

2012-08-01

The aim of this study was to determine the basic epidemiological characteristics of severely burned children who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), Department of Burns and Reconstructive Surgery Faculty Hospital Brno, Czech Republic in the years 1997-2009. We collected and evaluated epidemiological data such as age, sex, burn etiology, length of hospitalization, duration of the ICU stay, surgical or conservative therapeutic strategies, the use of mechanical ventilation and its duration, day and month of injury and the extent of burned area. In total 383 children (253 boys, 130 girls) aged 0-14 years, underwent intensive care for at least 48h. Male to female ratio was 1.95:1. The average range of burn area in the group was 16.43±12.86% TBSA (total body surface area). During the reporting period, 16 children were admitted with burns over 50% TBSA. 328 children suffered burns indoors, with 55 children being burned outdoors. Indoor/outdoor ratio was set at 5.96:1. The most frequent etiological agent was scalding (hot water, soup, coffee, oil, tea). The total number of scalded children in this group was 312 (81.46%). Mechanical ventilation was used in 96 cases (25.07% of all the admitted patients). The duration of mechanical ventilation in these patients was 8.03±5.67 days in average. The average length of stay in ICU was 10.71±10.92 days and total length of hospital stay was an average of 21.55±14.55 days. A total of 184 patients (48.04%) were treated surgically and therefore required necrectomy and skin grafting. The other 199 (51.96%) patients were treated conservatively. During the reporting period 3 children died (0.78%). In our report we identify basic epidemiological data defined in the aim of this study for burned children requiring intensive care. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

Tropical cyclone track Analysis over Indian Coast Using Spatio-Temporal data-mining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohapatra, Gyanendranath; Manjunath, Swetha; Behera, Sasmita; Mohanty, Pratap Kumar

2015-04-01

Tropical cyclones are a natural hazard which largely affects the lives and property with its destructive wind and heavy rainfall. Fluctuations in the frequency and intensity complicate the detection of long-term trends and play an important role in the global climate system; therefore understanding and predicting tropical cyclones track, intensity, and landfall location is of both societal and scientific significance. In this study a data-mining approach is being used to analyze the tropical cyclone track both in the temporal and spatial scale. Basically, the Indian coast line is divided into four zones viz. north east, south east in the eastern side adjoining Bay of Bengal and North west and south west in the western side adjoining Arabian sea as these coastal areas are very much vulnerable for disaster due to maximum number of landfall of Tropical Cyclones. The track and landfall associated with all the cyclones are clustered based on their intensity (Severe, moderate and low) and landfall location. The analyses are carried out for landfall location and the extent of track separately for the events happening in two seasons i.e. pre-monsoon and post-monsoon period. Along with categorization of intensity, trend analysis of track and the targeted zone of maximum damage also been studied. Algorithms are being developed for potential resilient and impact assessment of the parameters associated with cyclone disaster in the coastal region of India. One of the important objectives of this present work is also the identification of most disaster prone coastal area and becoming a part of the information support system during the cyclone period. Based on the statistics like mean, Standard Deviation, regression and correlation analysis, an index is developed which determines the level of damage and vulnerability along the coastal region. This index can be used for the early warning system of particular coastal areas for the preparedness and mitigation of future cyclone events.

Association between recent internal travel and malaria in Ugandan highland and highland fringe areas.

PubMed

Lynch, Caroline A; Bruce, Jane; Bhasin, Amit; Roper, Cally; Cox, Jonathan; Abeku, Tarekegn A

2015-06-01

To examine the association between travel (recency of travel, transmission intensity at destination compared to origin and duration of travel) and confirmed malaria in Uganda. Health facility-based case-control study in highland (~2200 m), and highland fringe (~1500 m) areas with adjustment for other covariates. In the highland site, patients who had travelled to areas of higher transmission intensity than their home (origin) areas recently were nearly seven times more likely to have confirmed malaria than those who had not (OR 6.9; P = 0.01, 95% CI: 1.4-33.1). In the highland fringe site, there was also a statistically significant association between travel and malaria (OR 2.1; P = 0.04, 95% CI: 1.1-3.9). For highland areas, or areas of low malaria transmission, health authorities need to consider internal migrants when designing malaria control programs. Control interventions should include information campaigns reminding residents in these areas of the risk of malaria infection through travel and to provide additional mosquito nets for migrants to use during travel. Health authorities may wish to improve diagnosis in health facilities in highland areas by adding travel history to malaria case definitions. Where routine monitoring data are used to evaluate the impact of interventions on the malaria burden in highland areas, health authorities and donors need ensure that only cases from the local area and not 'imported cases' are counted. © 2015 The Authors. Tropical Medicine & International Health Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Alcohol and Drug Education in Schools of Nursing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howard, Matthew Owen; Walker, R. Dale; Walker, Patricia Silk; Suchinsky, Richard T.

1997-01-01

Identifies and critiques studies regarding chemical dependency training within schools of nursing. The few research efforts in this area possessed methodological shortcomings, and schools of nursing generally provided minimal exposure to important concepts in addictions research. Neither the scope nor intensity of clinical instruction was…

Assessment and synthesis of 50 years of published drainage phosphorus losses

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The prevalence of artificial drainage systems in intensively cropped areas across North America combined with the importance of freshwater resources in these regions has created a critical intersection where understanding drainage phosphorus (P) transport is vital. In this study, drainage nutrient ...

Can rice (Oryza sativa) mitigate pesticides and nutrients in agricultural runoff?

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Phytoremediation of nutrients and pesticides in runoff is a growing conservation effort, particularly in agriculturally intensive areas such as the lower Mississippi River Valley. In the current study, rice (Oryza sativa) was examined for its mitigation capacity of nitrogen, phosphorus, diazinon, a...

A study of the glow discharge plasma jet of the novel Hamburger-electrode

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

Liu, Wenzheng, E-mail: wzhliu@bjtu.edu.cn; Ma, Chuanlong, E-mail: 15121452@bjtu.edu.cn; Yang, Xiao

2016-08-15

To generate atmospheric pressure glow discharge plasma jets (APGDPJs), a novel Hamburger-electrode was proposed. Through the study on electric field distributions, flow field distributions, and characteristics of the discharge and jet, we found that adopting the mode of dielectric barrier discharge with non-uniform thickness of dielectric, it was easy to form the strong electric field areas which were conducive to generate discharge and electric field distributions with large electric field intensity in the narrow gap and weak electric field intensity in the wide gap that were not inclined to form a filament discharge. Using the structure of evenly distributed innermore » electrodes, it was easy to weaken the pressure of strong electric field areas and form flow field distributions which is beneficial for taking out the high density charged particles and generating APGDPJs. Stable APGDPJs in nitrogen with 3.5 mm in diameter and 9 mm in length were formed by using the novel Hamburger-electrode.« less

Burnout and Job Engagement in Emergency and Intensive Care Nurses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Argentero, Piergiorgio; Dell'Olivo, Bianca

Burnout phenomenon emerges from a constellation of factors which cannot be described in terms of cause-effect relationships. This study investigated levels of burnout in nurses working in Critical Care Units with a systemic approach, giving evidence of relation between nurses staff burnout and psychosocial workplace factors. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between job burnout in emergency and intensive care nurse with specific areas of work life in their organizations, using Maslach and Leiter work life model [23]. A cross-sectional survey was designed using the Italian version of the "Organizational Checkup System" in a sample of 180 Italian nurses. Results showed that high burnout levels were strongly related to high demands, low control, low fairness, lack of social support, and individual disagreement on values in the workplace. High professional efficacy levels were instead correlated to professional reward and leadership involvement. The article concludes by suggesting the possible areas for intervention in order to prevent job burnout and building job engagement.

Neural Correlates of Efficacy of Voice Therapy in Parkinson’s Disease Identified by Performance–Correlation Analysis

PubMed Central

Narayana, Shalini; Fox, Peter T.; Zhang, Wei; Franklin, Crystal; Robin, Donald A.; Vogel, Deanie; Ramig, Lorraine O.

2009-01-01

LSVT® LOUD (Lee Silverman Voice Treatment) is efficacious in the treatment of speech disorders in idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (IPD), particularly hypophonia. Functional imaging in patients with IPD has shown abnormalities in several speech regions and changes in these areas immediately following treatment. This study serves to extend the analysis by correlating changes of regional neural activity with the main behavioral change following treatment, namely, increased vocal intensity. Ten IPD participants with hypophonia were studied before and after LSVT LOUD. Cerebral blood flow during rest and reading conditions were measured by H215O-positron emission tomography. Z-score images were generated by contrasting reading with rest conditions for pre- and post-LSVT LOUD sessions. Neuronal activity during reading in the pre- versus post-LSVT LOUD contrast was correlated with corresponding change in vocal intensity to generate correlation images. Behaviorally, vocal intensity for speech tasks increased significantly after LSVT LOUD. The contrast and correlation analyses indicate a treatment-dependent shift to the right hemisphere with modification in the speech motor regions as well as in prefrontal and temporal areas. We interpret the modification of activity in these regions to be a top–down effect of LSVT LOUD. The absence of an effect of LSVT LOUD on the basal ganglion supports this argument. Our findings indicate that the therapeutic effect of LSVT LOUD in IPD hypophonia results from a shift in cortical activity to the right hemisphere. These findings demonstrate that the short-term changes in the speech motor and multimodal integration areas can occur in a top–down manner. PMID:19639554

Intensive precipitation observation greatly improves hydrological modelling of the poorly gauged high mountain Mabengnong catchment in the Tibetan Plateau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Li; Zhang, Fan; Zhang, Hongbo; Scott, Christopher A.; Zeng, Chen; Shi, Xiaonan

2018-01-01

Precipitation is one of the most critical inputs for models used to improve understanding of hydrological processes. In high mountain areas, it is challenging to generate a reliable precipitation data set capturing the spatial and temporal heterogeneity due to the harsh climate, extreme terrain and the lack of observations. This study conducts intensive observation of precipitation in the Mabengnong catchment in the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau during July to August 2013. Because precipitation is greatly influenced by altitude, the observed data are used to characterize the precipitation gradient (PG) and hourly distribution (HD), showing that the average PG is 0.10, 0.28 and 0.26 mm/d/100 m and the average duration is around 0.1, 0.8 and 5.2 h for trace, light and moderate rain, respectively. A distributed biosphere hydrological model based on water and energy budgets with improved physical process for snow (WEB-DHM-S) is applied to simulate the hydrological processes with gridded precipitation data derived from a lower altitude meteorological station and the PG and HD characterized for the study area. The observed runoff, MODIS/Terra snow cover area (SCA) data, and MODIS/Terra land surface temperature (LST) data are used for model calibration and validation. Runoff, SCA and LST simulations all show reasonable results. Sensitivity analyses illustrate that runoff is largely underestimated without considering PG, indicating that short-term intensive precipitation observation has the potential to greatly improve hydrological modelling of poorly gauged high mountain catchments.

Neural correlates of efficacy of voice therapy in Parkinson's disease identified by performance-correlation analysis.

PubMed

Narayana, Shalini; Fox, Peter T; Zhang, Wei; Franklin, Crystal; Robin, Donald A; Vogel, Deanie; Ramig, Lorraine O

2010-02-01

LSVT LOUD (Lee Silverman Voice Treatment) is efficacious in the treatment of speech disorders in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD), particularly hypophonia. Functional imaging in patients with IPD has shown abnormalities in several speech regions and changes in these areas immediately following treatment. This study serves to extend the analysis by correlating changes of regional neural activity with the main behavioral change following treatment, namely, increased vocal intensity. Ten IPD participants with hypophonia were studied before and after LSVT LOUD. Cerebral blood flow during rest and reading conditions were measured by H(2)(15)O-positron emission tomography. Z-score images were generated by contrasting reading with rest conditions for pre- and post-LSVT LOUD sessions. Neuronal activity during reading in the pre- versus post-LSVT LOUD contrast was correlated with corresponding change in vocal intensity to generate correlation images. Behaviorally, vocal intensity for speech tasks increased significantly after LSVT LOUD. The contrast and correlation analyses indicate a treatment-dependent shift to the right hemisphere with modification in the speech motor regions as well as in prefrontal and temporal areas. We interpret the modification of activity in these regions to be a top-down effect of LSVT LOUD. The absence of an effect of LSVT LOUD on the basal ganglion supports this argument. Our findings indicate that the therapeutic effect of LSVT LOUD in IPD hypophonia results from a shift in cortical activity to the right hemisphere. These findings demonstrate that the short-term changes in the speech motor and multimodal integration areas can occur in a top-down manner. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Are trait-scaling relationships invariant across contrasting elevations in the widely distributed treeline species Nothofagus pumilio?

PubMed

Fajardo, Alex

2016-05-01

The study of scaling examines the relative dimensions of diverse organismal traits. Understanding whether global scaling patterns are paralleled within species is key to identify causal factors of universal scaling. I examined whether the foliage-stem (Corner's rules), the leaf size-number, and the leaf mass-leaf area scaling relationships remained invariant and isometric with elevation in a wide-distributed treeline species in the southern Chilean Andes. Mean leaf area, leaf mass, leafing intensity, and twig cross-sectional area were determined for 1-2 twigs of 8-15 Nothofagus pumilio individuals across four elevations (including treeline elevation) and four locations (from central Chile at 36°S to Tierra del Fuego at 54°S). Mixed effects models were fitted to test whether the interaction term between traits and elevation was nonsignificant (invariant). The leaf-twig cross-sectional area and the leaf mass-leaf area scaling relationships were isometric (slope = 1) and remained invariant with elevation, whereas the leaf size-number (i.e., leafing intensity) scaling was allometric (slope ≠ -1) and showed no variation with elevation. Leaf area and leaf number were consistently negatively correlated across elevation. The scaling relationships examined in the current study parallel those seen across species. It is plausible that the explanation of intraspecific scaling relationships, as trait combinations favored by natural selection, is the same as those invoked to explain across species patterns. Thus, it is very likely that the global interspecific Corner's rules and other leaf-leaf scaling relationships emerge as the aggregate of largely parallel intraspecific patterns. © 2016 Botanical Society of America.

Effects of long-term pre- and post-natal exposure to 2.45 GHz wireless devices on developing male rat kidney.

PubMed

Kuybulu, Ayça Esra; Öktem, Faruk; Çiriş, İbrahim Metin; Sutcu, Recep; Örmeci, Ahmet Rıfat; Çömlekçi, Selçuk; Uz, Efkan

2016-01-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate oxidative stress and apoptosis in kidney tissues of male Wistar rats that pre- and postnatally exposed to wireless electromagnetic field (EMF) with an internet frequency of 2.45 GHz for a long time. The study was conducted in three groups of rats which were pre-natal, post-natal. and sham exposed groups. Oxidative stress markers and histological evaluation of kidney tissues were studied. Renal tissue malondialdehyde (MDA) and total oxidant (TOS) levels of pre-natal group were high and total antioxidant (TAS) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels were low. Spot urine NAG/creatinine ratio was significantly higher in pre- and post-natal groups (p < 0.001). Tubular injury was detected in most of the specimens in post-natal groups. Immunohistochemical analysis showed low-intensity staining with Bax in cortex, high-intensity staining with Bcl-2 in cortical and medullar areas of pre-natal group (p values, 0.000, 0.002, 0.000, respectively) when compared with sham group. Bcl2/Bax staining intensity ratios of medullar and cortical area was higher in pre-natal group than sham group (p = 0.018, p = 0.011). Based on this study, it is thought that chronic pre- and post-natal period exposure to wireless internet frequency of EMF may cause chronic kidney damages; staying away from EMF source in especially pregnancy and early childhood period may reduce negative effects of exposure on kidney.

Management-Related Traffic as a Stressor Eliciting Parental Care in a Roadside-Nesting Bird: The European Bee-Eater Merops apiaster

PubMed Central

Blas, Julio; Abaurrea, Teresa; D’Amico, Marcello; Barcellona, Francesca; Revilla, Eloy; Román, Jacinto; Carrete, Martina

2016-01-01

Traffic is often acknowledged as a threat to biodiversity, but its effects have been mostly studied on roads subjected to high traffic intensity. The impact of lower traffic intensity such as those affecting protected areas is generally neglected, but conservation-oriented activities entailing motorized traffic could paradoxically transform suitable habitats into ecological traps. Here we questioned whether roadside-nesting bee-eaters Merops apiaster perceived low traffic intensity as a stressor eliciting risk-avoidance behaviors (alarm calls and flock flushes) and reducing parental care. Comparisons were established within Doñana National Park (Spain), between birds exposed to either negligible traffic (ca. 0–10 vehicles per day) or low traffic intensity (ca. 10–90 vehicles per day) associated to management and research activities. The frequencies of alarm calls and flock flushes were greater in areas of higher traffic intensity, which resulted in direct mortality at moderate vehicle speeds (≤ 40 km/h). Parental feeding rates paralleled changes in traffic intensity, but contrary to our predictions. Indeed, feeding rates were highest in traffic-exposed nests, during working days and traffic rush-hours. Traffic-avoidance responses were systematic and likely involved costs (energy expenditure and mortality), but vehicle transit positively influenced the reproductive performance of bee-eaters through an increase of nestling feeding rates. Because the expected outcome of traffic on individual performance can be opposed when responses are monitored during mating (i.e. negative effect by increase of alarm calls and flock flushes) or nestling-feeding period (i.e. at least short-term positive effect by increase of nestling feeding rates), caution should be taken before inferring fitness consequences only from isolated behaviors or specific life history stages. PMID:27706229

Management-Related Traffic as a Stressor Eliciting Parental Care in a Roadside-Nesting Bird: The European Bee-Eater Merops apiaster.

PubMed

Blas, Julio; Abaurrea, Teresa; D'Amico, Marcello; Barcellona, Francesca; Revilla, Eloy; Román, Jacinto; Carrete, Martina

2016-01-01

Traffic is often acknowledged as a threat to biodiversity, but its effects have been mostly studied on roads subjected to high traffic intensity. The impact of lower traffic intensity such as those affecting protected areas is generally neglected, but conservation-oriented activities entailing motorized traffic could paradoxically transform suitable habitats into ecological traps. Here we questioned whether roadside-nesting bee-eaters Merops apiaster perceived low traffic intensity as a stressor eliciting risk-avoidance behaviors (alarm calls and flock flushes) and reducing parental care. Comparisons were established within Doñana National Park (Spain), between birds exposed to either negligible traffic (ca. 0-10 vehicles per day) or low traffic intensity (ca. 10-90 vehicles per day) associated to management and research activities. The frequencies of alarm calls and flock flushes were greater in areas of higher traffic intensity, which resulted in direct mortality at moderate vehicle speeds (≤ 40 km/h). Parental feeding rates paralleled changes in traffic intensity, but contrary to our predictions. Indeed, feeding rates were highest in traffic-exposed nests, during working days and traffic rush-hours. Traffic-avoidance responses were systematic and likely involved costs (energy expenditure and mortality), but vehicle transit positively influenced the reproductive performance of bee-eaters through an increase of nestling feeding rates. Because the expected outcome of traffic on individual performance can be opposed when responses are monitored during mating (i.e. negative effect by increase of alarm calls and flock flushes) or nestling-feeding period (i.e. at least short-term positive effect by increase of nestling feeding rates), caution should be taken before inferring fitness consequences only from isolated behaviors or specific life history stages.

Sleep quality and covariates as predictors of pain intensity among the general population in rural China.

PubMed

Liu, Xiao-Kun; Xiao, Shui-Yuan; Zhou, Liang; Hu, Mi; Zhou, Wei; Liu, Hui-Ming

2018-01-01

The aims of this study were to investigate the distribution of sleep quality and its relationship with the prevalence of pain among rural Chinese people and to explore the association between sleep quality and pain intensity among the general population in real-life settings. This cross-sectional survey included a total of 2052 adults from rural areas in Liuyang, Hunan Province, recruited through random multistage sampling. The distributions of sleep quality and pain prevalence among the participants over a 4-week period were described. Because of multicollinearity among variables, the influence of self-rated sleep quality and psychosocial covariates on pain intensity was explored using a ridge regression model. The data showed that participants reporting all categories of sleep quality experienced some degree of pain. Sleep quality, along with physical and mental health, was a negative predictor of pain intensity among the general population. Symptoms of depression positively predicted pain intensity. Poor sleep quality increased pain intensity among the participants. Both previous research and the present data suggest that improving sleep quality may significantly decrease pain intensity in the general population. The relationship between sleep and pain may be bidirectional. This finding also suggests that treatment for sleep disorders and insomnia should be addressed in future efforts to alleviate pain intensity.

The influence of model resolution on the simulated sensitivity of North Atlantic tropical cyclone maximum intensity to sea surface temperature

DOE PAGES

Strazzo, S. E.; Elsner, J. B.; LaRow, T. E.; ...

2016-07-10

Global climate models (GCMs) are routinely relied upon to study the possible impacts of climate change on a wide range of meteorological phenomena, including tropical cyclones (TCs). Previous studies addressed whether GCMs are capable of reproducing observed TC frequency and intensity distributions. This research builds upon earlier studies by examining how well GCMs capture the physically relevant relationship between TC intensity and SST. Specifically, the influence of model resolution on the ability of a GCM to reproduce the sensitivity of simulated TC intensity to SST is examined for the MRI-AGCM (20 km), the GFDL-HiRAM (50 km), the FSU-COAPS (0.94°) model,more » and two versions of the CAM5 (1° and 0.25°). Results indicate that while a 1°C increase in SST corresponds to a 5.5–7.0 m s -1 increase in observed maximum intensity, the same 1°C increase in SST is not associated with a statistically significant increase in simulated TC maximum intensity for any of the models examined. However, it also is shown that the GCMs all capably reproduce the observed sensitivity of potential intensity to SST. The models generate the thermodynamic environment suitable for the development of strong TCs over the correct portions of the Nort h Atlantic basin, but strong simulated TCs do not develop over these areas, even for models that permit Category 5 TCs. This result supports the notion that direct simulation of TC eyewall convection is necessary to accurately represent TC intensity and intensification processes in climate models, although additional explanations are also explored.« less

Tornadogensis within Hurricanes Based on the Orientation of the Rainband to the Coast after Landfall

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Etten-Bohm, M.

2015-12-01

The focus of this study is to investigate the development of tornadoes within the rainband of a hurricane for various orientations of the rainband when a hurricane makes landfall. The rainband of a hurricane is a common area where tornadogenesis is found depending on the size, intensity, and orientation of the rain band when the storm makes landfall. As a hurricane approaches a coast line, land-surface roughness contributes to surface friction, which can contribute in tornadogenesis. The orientation of the rainband may play a part in the type of supercells that are formed in that rainband and the number and intensity of the tornadoes produced. This study will investigate if the orientation of the rainband leads to the direction in which the supercells rotate, whether clockwise or counter-clockwise, and the scale and intensity of the tornadoes produced.

a Novel Ihs-Ga Fusion Method Based on Enhancement Vegetated Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niazi, S.; Mokhtarzade, M.; Saeedzadeh, F.

2015-12-01

Pan sharpening methods aim to produce a more informative image containing the positive aspects of both source images. However, the pan sharpening process usually introduces some spectral and spatial distortions in the resulting fused image. The amount of these distortions varies highly depending on the pan sharpening technique as well as the type of data. Among the existing pan sharpening methods, the Intensity-Hue-Saturation (IHS) technique is the most widely used for its efficiency and high spatial resolution. When the IHS method is used for IKONOS or QuickBird imagery, there is a significant color distortion which is mainly due to the wavelengths range of the panchromatic image. Regarding the fact that in the green vegetated regions panchromatic gray values are much larger than the gray values of intensity image. A novel method is proposed which spatially adjusts the intensity image in vegetated areas. To do so the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is used to identify vegetation areas where the green band is enhanced according to the red and NIR bands. In this way an intensity image is obtained in which the gray values are comparable to the panchromatic image. Beside the genetic optimization algorithm is used to find the optimum weight parameters in order to gain the best intensity image. Visual and statistical analysis proved the efficiency of the proposed method as it significantly improved the fusion quality in comparison to conventional IHS technique. The accuracy of the proposed pan sharpening technique was also evaluated in terms of different spatial and spectral metrics. In this study, 7 metrics (Correlation Coefficient, ERGAS, RASE, RMSE, SAM, SID and Spatial Coefficient) have been used in order to determine the quality of the pan-sharpened images. Experiments were conducted on two different data sets obtained by two different imaging sensors, IKONOS and QuickBird. The result of this showed that the evaluation metrics are more promising for our fused image in comparison to other pan sharpening methods.

Raster Vs. Point Cloud LiDAR Data Classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Ashmawy, N.; Shaker, A.

2014-09-01

Airborne Laser Scanning systems with light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology is one of the fast and accurate 3D point data acquisition techniques. Generating accurate digital terrain and/or surface models (DTM/DSM) is the main application of collecting LiDAR range data. Recently, LiDAR range and intensity data have been used for land cover classification applications. Data range and Intensity, (strength of the backscattered signals measured by the LiDAR systems), are affected by the flying height, the ground elevation, scanning angle and the physical characteristics of the objects surface. These effects may lead to uneven distribution of point cloud or some gaps that may affect the classification process. Researchers have investigated the conversion of LiDAR range point data to raster image for terrain modelling. Interpolation techniques have been used to achieve the best representation of surfaces, and to fill the gaps between the LiDAR footprints. Interpolation methods are also investigated to generate LiDAR range and intensity image data for land cover classification applications. In this paper, different approach has been followed to classifying the LiDAR data (range and intensity) for land cover mapping. The methodology relies on the classification of the point cloud data based on their range and intensity and then converted the classified points into raster image. The gaps in the data are filled based on the classes of the nearest neighbour. Land cover maps are produced using two approaches using: (a) the conventional raster image data based on point interpolation; and (b) the proposed point data classification. A study area covering an urban district in Burnaby, British Colombia, Canada, is selected to compare the results of the two approaches. Five different land cover classes can be distinguished in that area: buildings, roads and parking areas, trees, low vegetation (grass), and bare soil. The results show that an improvement of around 10 % in the classification results can be achieved by using the proposed approach.

[Design of sponge city and its inspiration to landscape ecology: A case of Liaodong Bay area of Panjin City, Northeast China].

PubMed

Sui, Jin Ling; Liu, Miao; Li, Chun Lin; Hu, Yuan Man; Wu, Yi Lin; Liu, Chong

2017-03-18

With the expansion of urban area, many cities are facing urban water environment issues, i.e., water resources shortage, lack of groundwater reserves, water pollution, urban waterlogging. For resolving these urban issues, 'sponge city' was proposed in 2015 in China. Liaodong Bay area of Panjin City in Liaoning Province of China was chosen as case study. Based on 'Sponge City Construction Technology Guide: Low Impact Development Rainwater System Building (Trial)', the underlying surface and types of land use in the typical area were analyzed. Sponge city plan of the study area was designed through combining topography, hydrology, rainfall intensity and other factors, and selecting LID measures. The results showed that when the study area reached the ove-rall target control rate (the control rate of the total annual runoff was ＞75%), the subsidence greenbelt rate was 1%-31%, with a total area of 13.73 km 2 ; the pervious pavement rate was 1%-13%, with a total area of 2.29 km 2 . This study could provide a case study for planning and designing of 'sponge city', proposing new ideas and methods for the research on landscape pattern and process.

Seasonal variation of Opisthorchis viverrini infection in cyprinoid fish in north-east Thailand: implications for parasite control and food safety.

PubMed

Sithithaworn, P; Pipitgool, V; Srisawangwong, T; Elkins, D B; Haswell-Elkins, M R

1997-01-01

Reported is the seasonal pattern of Opisthorchis viverrini metacercariae in cyprinoid fish in north-east Thailand. Samples of fish were collected in 1991-92 at monthly intervals from two areas-Khon Kaen Province, where the opisthorchiasis transmission rate was high, and Mahasarakham Province, where the rate was low. Metacercarial loads in both study areas had similar seasonal patterns. High burdens occurred in the late rainy season and winter (July to January) with low burdens during the summer (March to June). The average burden for Puntius leiacanthus in Khon Kaen was 1.68 metacercariae per fish (127.43 per kg), higher than for all species of cyprinoid fish from the low transmission area. The intensities of infection among P. leiacanthus and Cyclocheilichthys armatus collected in Mahasarakham were comparable, but lower than the intensity of Hampala dispar (0.75 metacercariae per fish) concurrently sampled from the same area (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in metacercarial load per kg between fish species from Mahasarakham. The results indicate that seasonal variation in metacercariae was a common phenomenon in areas with both high and low endemicity of infection. Also, the metacerarial load in fish was positively associated with infection levels among humans.

Driving Forces of Dynamic Changes in Soil Erosion in the Dahei Mountain Ecological Restoration Area of Northern China Based on GIS and RS

PubMed Central

Li, Xiao; Niu, Xiang; Wang, Bing; Gao, Peng; Liu, Yu

2016-01-01

Dynamic change in soil erosion is an important focus of regional ecological restoration research. Here, the dynamic changes of soil erosion and its driving forces in the Dahei Mountain ecological restoration area of northern China were analyzed by LANDSAT TM remote sensing captured via geographic information system (GIS) technologies during three typical periods in 2004, 2008 and 2013. The results showed the following: (1) a decrease in intensive erosion and moderate erosion areas, as well as an increase in light erosion areas, was observed during two periods: one from 2004 to 2008 and the other from 2008 to 2013. (2) Between 2004 and 2008, the variation in the range of slight erosion was the largest (24.28%), followed by light erosion and intensive erosion; between 2008 and 2013, the variation in the range of intensive erosion area was the largest (9.89%), followed by slight erosion and moderate erosion. (3) Socioeconomic impact, accompanied by natural environmental factors, was the main driving force underlying the change in soil erosion within the ecological restoration area. In particular, the socioeconomic factors of per capita forest area and land reclamation rate, as well as the natural environmental factor of terrain slope, significantly influenced soil erosion changes within the ecological restoration area. PMID:26981637

Brazil Fire Characterization and Burn Area Estimation Using the Airborne Infrared Disaster Assessment (AIRDAS) System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brass, J. A.; Riggan, P. J.; Ambrosia, V. G.; Lockwood, R. N.; Pereira, J. A.; Higgins, R. G.; Peterson, David L. (Technical Monitor)

1995-01-01

Remotely sensed estimations of regional and global emissions from biomass combustion have been used to characterize fire behavior, determine fire intensity, and estimate burn area. Highly temporal, low resolution satellite data have been used to calculate estimates of fire numbers and area burned. These estimates of fire activity and burned area have differed dramatically, resulting in a wide range of predictions on the ecological and environmental impacts of fires. As part of the Brazil/United States Fire Initiative, an aircraft campaign was initiated in 1992 and continued in 1994. This multi-aircraft campaign was designed to assist in the characterization of fire activity, document fire intensity and determine area burned over prescribed, agricultural and wildland fires in the savanna and forests of central Brazil. Using a unique, multispectral scanner (AIRDAS), designed specifically for fire characterization, a variety of fires and burned areas were flown with a high spatial and high thermal resolution scanner. The system was used to measure flame front size, rate of spread, ratio of smoldering to flaming fronts and fire intensity. In addition, long transects were flown to determine the size of burned areas within the cerrado and transitional ecosystems. The authors anticipate that the fire activity and burned area estimates reported here will lead to enhanced information for precise regional trace gas prediction.

The costs of housing developments on sites with elevated landslide risk in the UK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barclay, K.; Heath, A.

2015-09-01

New housing targets are being set for local planning authorities resulting in more areas being zoned for development. There is currently no requirement for a landslide assessment prior to this zoning, and sites at elevated risk of landslides are being put forward for development without consideration of the additional costs and other impacts of building on these higher risk sites. This study aimed to reveal the increased financial, economic, social and environmental costs associated with these decisions. Case studies were focused on the city of Bath, an area of increasing population and “one of the most intensely landslipped areas in Britain’’. The case studies found the financial costs associated with building in a landslide risk area to be significantly higher than the equivalent construction in areas of greater geological stability. Furthermore, it was found that uncertainty in cost when developing in unstable areas exacerbates this problem as the final cost cannot be accurately predicted before construction.

Comparison of grey matter volume and thickness for analysing cortical changes in chronic schizophrenia: a matter of surface area, grey/white matter intensity contrast, and curvature.

PubMed

Kong, Li; Herold, Christina J; Zöllner, Frank; Salat, David H; Lässer, Marc M; Schmid, Lena A; Fellhauer, Iven; Thomann, Philipp A; Essig, Marco; Schad, Lothar R; Erickson, Kirk I; Schröder, Johannes

2015-02-28

Grey matter volume and cortical thickness are the two most widely used measures for detecting grey matter morphometric changes in various diseases such as schizophrenia. However, these two measures only share partial overlapping regions in identifying morphometric changes. Few studies have investigated the contributions of the potential factors to the differences of grey matter volume and cortical thickness. To investigate this question, 3T magnetic resonance images from 22 patients with schizophrenia and 20 well-matched healthy controls were chosen for analyses. Grey matter volume and cortical thickness were measured by VBM and Freesurfer. Grey matter volume results were then rendered onto the surface template of Freesurfer to compare the differences from cortical thickness in anatomical locations. Discrepancy regions of the grey matter volume and thickness where grey matter volume significantly decreased but without corresponding evidence of cortical thinning involved the rostral middle frontal, precentral, lateral occipital and superior frontal gyri. Subsequent region-of-interest analysis demonstrated that changes in surface area, grey/white matter intensity contrast and curvature accounted for the discrepancies. Our results suggest that the differences between grey matter volume and thickness could be jointly driven by surface area, grey/white matter intensity contrast and curvature. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Particle Size Distribution and Pollutant Speciation Analyses of Stormwater Runoff in the Ancient Town of Suzhou].

PubMed

Li, Huai; Wu, Wei; Tian, Yong-jing; Huang, Tian-yin

2016-02-15

The particle size distribution (PSD) and its transformation processes in the stormwater runoffs in the ancient town of Suzhou were studied based on the particles size analyses, the water-quality monitoring data and the parameters of the rainfall-runoff models. The commercial districts, the modern residential area, the old residential area, the traffic area and the landscape tourist area were selected as the five functional example areas in the ancient town of Suzhou. The effects of antecedent dry period, the rainfall intensity and the amount of runoffs on the particle size distributions were studied, and the existing forms of the main pollutants in different functional areas and their possible relations were analyzed as well. The results showed that the particle size distribution, the migration processes and the output characteristics in the stormwater runoffs were greatly different in these five functional areas, which indicated different control measures for the pollution of the runoffs should be taken in the design process. The antecedent dry period, the rainfall intensity and the amount of runoffs showed significant correlations with the particle size distribution, showing these were the important factors. The output of the particles was greatly influenced by the flow scouring in the early period of the rainfall, and the correlations between the amount of runoffs and the particle migration ability presented significant difference in 30% (early period) and 70% (later period) of the runoff volume. The major existence form of the output pollutants was particle, and the correlation analyses of different diameter particles showed that the particles smaller than 150 microm were the dominant carrier of the pollutants via adsorption and accumulation processes.

Water source protection funds as a tool to address climate adaptation and resiliency in southwestern forests

Treesearch

Laura Falk McCarthy

2014-01-01

Wildfire intensity in the Southwestern United States has increased over the last decade corresponding with dense fuels and higher temperatures. For example, in New Mexico on the 2011 Las Conchas fire, intense fire and wind-driven fire behavior resulted in large areas of moderate and high severity burn (42 percent of burned area) with roughly 65,000 acres (26,300 ha)...

Long Period Seismic Waves

DTIC Science & Technology

1976-08-01

Geoffsica, TPHM. No. 5 , p. 161. Vargas, Freddy (To he published in 1976) 1 .-DTSCRP1TNACTON DE EVENTO«; NATHDALE«; Y ARTTFTCT ALES. 2.- CALCULO DEL...seismic risk, bv de - fininn relative weiqht of maximum MM intensity at a pivon distance ponulation density, area feolupy and attenuation of intensity wit...Population densitv, area peolopv and attenuation of intensitv with distance, is presented topether with a map anplvinp theorv to Bo- livia. ^«^a

Effects of Particle Size on the Attenuated Total Reflection Spectrum of Minerals.

PubMed

Udvardi, Beatrix; Kovács, István J; Fancsik, Tamás; Kónya, Péter; Bátori, Miklósné; Stercel, Ferenc; Falus, György; Szalai, Zoltán

2017-06-01

This study focuses on particle size effect on monomineralic powders recorded using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy. Six particle size fractions of quartz, feldspar, calcite, and dolomite were prepared (<2, 2-4, 4-8, 8-16, 16-32, and 32-63 µm). It is found that the width, intensity, and area of bands in the ATR FT-IR spectra of minerals have explicit dependence on the particle size. As particle size increases, the intensity and area of IR bands usually decrease while the width of bands increases. The band positions usually shifted to higher wavenumbers with decreasing particle size. Infrared spectra of minerals are the most intensive in the particle size fraction of 2-4 µm. However, if the particle size is very small (<2 µm), due to the wavelength and penetration depth of the IR light, intensity decreases. Therefore, the quantity of very fine-grained minerals may be underestimated compared to the coarser phases. A nonlinear regression analysis of the data indicated that the average coefficients and indices of the power trend line equation imply a very simplistic relationship between median particle diameter and absorbance at a given wavenumber. It is concluded that when powder samples with substantially different particle size are compared, as in regression analysis for modal predictions using ATR FT-IR, it is also important to report the grain size distribution or surface area of samples. The band area of water (3000-3620 cm -1 ) is similar in each mineral fraction, except for the particles below 2 µm. It indicates that the finest particles could have disproportionately more water adsorbed on their larger surface area. Thus, these higher wavenumbers of the ATR FT-IR spectra may be more sensitive to this spectral interference if the number of particles below 2 µm is considerable. It is also concluded that at least a proportion of the moisture could be very adhesive to the particles due to the band shift towards lower wavenumbers in the IR range of 3000-3620 cm -1 .

[A case of glioblastoma multiforme which indicated the early stage on brain MRI].

PubMed

Ono, K; Tohma, Y; Yoshida, M; Takamori, M

2000-04-01

A 57-year-old male was urgently carried to our hospital because of sudden loss of consciousness, lasting about 10 minutes. He had resumed consciousness before he arrived at our hospital. Neurologically, he had mild muscle weakness of the right arm. Deep tendon reflexes in the right upper extremity were reduced. In high level functions, speech disturbance, dysgraphia (disturbed ability to write Hiragana), and constructive apraxia were noted. A brain MRI upon admission showed a poorly demarcated, high signal intensity area in the cortical and subcortical layers of the left temporal and parietal lobes. This was visible on T 2 weighted images(T 2 WI), although no abnormalities were visible on T 1 weighted images(T 1 WI). No contrast enhancement was effected by Gd-DTPA. The patient was therefore suspected of having a tumor or degenerative disease and was monitored closely. About 4 months later after onset, his symptoms became aggravated, and brain MRI disclosed a marked low signal intensity area on T 1 WI and a heterogeneous high signal intensity area on T 2 WI. The abnormal signal intensity area was surrounded by extensive edema and mass effect. Ring-shaped, irregular, contrast enhanced areas were also visible. Cerebral angiography revealed a poorly demarcated tumor stain in the area supplied by the middle cerebral artery. The tumor was removed surgically and was histopathologically rated as glioblastoma multiforme(GBM). Because this case represents a valuable example of early stage of GBM, it will be discussed in this paper, along with differential diagnoses.

Implementation and Outcome Evaluation of the Intensive Aftercare Program. Final Report

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiebush, Richard G.; Wagner, Dennis; McNulty, Betsie; Wang, Yanqing; Le, Thao N.

2005-01-01

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention?s (OJJDP?s) intensive community based aftercare research and demonstration project known as the Intensive Aftercare Program (IAP) has become widely recognized as one of the most promising recent innovations in juvenile justice. The project has called attention to an area that traditionally…

Selected field and analytical methods and analytical results in the Dutch Flats area, western Nebraska, 1995-99

USGS Publications Warehouse

Verstraeten, Ingrid M.; Steele, G.V.; Cannia, J.C.; Bohlke, J.K.; Kraemer, T.E.; Hitch, D.E.; Wilson, K.E.; Carnes, A.E.

2001-01-01

A study of the water resources of the Dutch Flats area in the western part of the North Platte Natural Resources District, western Nebraska, was conducted from 1995 through 1999 to describe the surface water and hydrogeology, the spatial distribution of selected water-quality constituents in surface and ground water, and the surface-water/ground-water interaction in selected areas. This report describes the selected field and analytical methods used in the study and selected analytical results from the study not previously published. Specifically, dissolved gases, age-dating data, and other isotopes collected as part of an intensive sampling effort in August and November 1998 and all uranium and uranium isotope data collected through the course of this study are included in the report.

Red fox predation on breeding ducks in midcontinent North America

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sargeant, Alan B.; Allen, Stephen H.; Eberhardt, Robert T.

1984-01-01

Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) predation on nesting ducks was assessed by examining 1,857 adult duck remains found at 1,432 fox rearing dens from 1968 to 1973. Dabbling ducks were much more vulnerable to foxes than diving ducks. Dabbling ducks (1,798) found at dens consisted of 27% blue-winged teals (Anas discors), 23% mallards (A. platyrhynchos), 20% northern pintails (A. acuta), 9% northern shovelers (Spatula clypeata), 8% gadwalls (A. strepera), 3% green-winged teals (A. crecca), 2% American wigeons (A. americana), and 10% unidentified. Relative abundance of individual species and nesting chronology were the most important factors affecting composition of ducks taken by foxes. Seventy-six percent of 1,376 adult dabbling ducks and 40% of 30 adult diving ducks for which sex was determined were hens. In western North Dakota and western South Dakota, 65% of mallard and northern pintail remains found at dens were hens compared with 76% in eastern North Dakota and eastern South Dakota (P < 0.05). Percentage hens varied among the 5 most common dabbling ducks found at dens. In eastern North Dakota and eastern South Dakota, where predation on ducks was greatest, an average of 64% of gadwall, 73% of northern pintail, 81% of blue-winged teal, 81% of mallard, and 90% of northern shoveler remains found at dens were hens. Percentage hens among duck remains found at dens increased as the duck nesting season progressed. Numbers of adult ducks found at individual dens ranged from 0 to 67. The average number of ducks found in and around den entrances was used as an index of fox predation rates on ducks. Predation rate indices ranged from 0.01 duck/den in Iowa to 1.80 ducks/den in eastern North Dakota. Average annual predation rate indices for dabbling ducks in a 3-county intensive study area in eastern North Dakota were closely correlated with May pond numbers (r = 0.874, P < 0.10) and duck population size (r = 0.930, P < 0.05), but all species were not affected in the same manner or to the same degree. Drought had least effect on populations and predation rate indices of mallards and gadwalls and had greatest effect on those of northern pintails and northern shovelers. Hens of early nesting species were more vulnerable to foxes than hens of late nesting species. Predation rate indices were expanded to estimate total numbers of ducks taken by fox families during the denning season. Estimated numbers of dabbling ducks taken annually by individual fox families in 2 physiographic regions comprising the intensive study area ranged from 16.1 to 65.9. Predation was highest during wet years and lowest during dry years and averaged lower, but was more variable, in the region where tillage was greatest and wetland water levels were least stable. Predation in the intensive study area averaged 2.97 adult dabbling ducks/ km2/year and represented an estimated average annual loss of 13.5% of hen and 4.5% of drake populations in that area. Of 5,402 individual food items found at dens in the intensive study area, 24% were adult ducks. Ducks made up an estimated maximum average of 16% of the prey biomass required by fox families during the denning season. The average annual take of adult ducks by foxes in the midcontinent area was estimated to be about 900,000. This estimate included both scavenged and fox-killed ducks, as well as ducks taken after the denning season. Fox impact on midcontinent ducks was greatest in eastern North Dakota where both fox and duck densities were relatively high. Predation in that area was likely increased by environmental factors, especially intensive agriculture that concentrated nesting and reduced prey abundance. Predation by red foxes and other predators severely reduces duck production in the midcontinent area. Effective management to increase waterfowl production will necessitate coping with or reducing high levels of predation.

Hiding Information Using different lighting Color images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Majead, Ahlam; Awad, Rash; Salman, Salema S.

2018-05-01

The host medium for the secret message is one of the important principles for the designers of steganography method. In this study, the best color image was studied to carrying any secret image.The steganography approach based Lifting Wavelet Transform (LWT) and Least Significant Bits (LSBs) substitution. The proposed method offers lossless and unnoticeable changes in the contrast carrier color image and imperceptible by human visual system (HVS), especially the host images which was captured in dark lighting conditions. The aim of the study was to study the process of masking the data in colored images with different light intensities. The effect of the masking process was examined on the images that are classified by a minimum distance and the amount of noise and distortion in the image. The histogram and statistical characteristics of the cover image the results showed the efficient use of images taken with different light intensities in hiding data using the least important bit substitution method. This method succeeded in concealing textual data without distorting the original image (low light) Lire developments due to the concealment process.The digital image segmentation technique was used to distinguish small areas with masking. The result is that smooth homogeneous areas are less affected as a result of hiding comparing with high light areas. It is possible to use dark color images to send any secret message between two persons for the purpose of secret communication with good security.

Characteristics of Atmospheric Pollutants Distribution and Removal Effect of Rainfall on Atmospheric Pollutants in Mining Cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen-feng, Tang; You-biao, Hu

2018-05-01

This paper studies the characteristics of atmospheric pollutant (SO2, NO2, PM2.5 and PM10) and the effects of rainfall on the removal of atmospheric pollutants. The results show atmospheric pollutants concentration vary in different seasons and functional area: atmospheric pollutants concentration in summer and autumn is lower than that in winter and spring; the concentration of SO2 and NO2 in coal-chemical industry areas and light industrial areas is higher, the concentration difference of PM2.5 and PM10 in different functional areas is very small, the removal efficiency of rainfall on atmospheric pollutant is gradually improved with the increasing of daily rainfall, rainfall intensity and rainfall duration, the ability of rainfall to remove pollutants tends to be stable after daily rainfall and rainfall intensity exceeds 30mm and 20mm/h respectively, the effect of rainfall on the removal of PM2.5 was slightly worse than the effect of rainfall on other atmospheric pollutants, the rainfall duration should be 60min, 60min and 80min respectively when the effect of rainfall on NO2, PM10 and SO2 tends to be stable.

The use of surface layer with boron in friction pairs lubricated by engine oils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Szczypiński-Sala, W.; Lubas, J.

2016-09-01

The aim of the present work is to determine the influence of surface layers with boron and engine oil on the processes of friction and wear in friction pairs. The ring samples with borided surface layer cooperated under test conditions with counterparts made with CuPb30 and AlSn20 bearing alloys. During the tests, the friction pairs were lubricated with 15W/40 Lotos mineral oil and 5W/40 Lotos synthetic oil. The lubrication of friction area with Lotos mineral oil causes the reduction of the friction force, the temperature in the friction area and the wear of the bearing alloys under study, whereas the lubrication with Lotos synthetic oil reduces the changes in the geometrical structure of the cooperating friction pair elements. Lubrication of the friction area in the start-up phase of the friction pair by mineral oil causes faster stabilization of the friction conditions in the contact area than in the cause of lubrication of the friction pair by synthetic oil. The intensity of wear of the AlSn20 bearing alloy cooperating with the borided surface layer is three times smaller than the intensity of use of the CuPb30 alloy bearing.

Large-area super-resolution optical imaging by using core-shell microfibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Cheng-Yang; Lo, Wei-Chieh

2017-09-01

We first numerically and experimentally report large-area super-resolution optical imaging achieved by using core-shell microfibers. The particular spatial electromagnetic waves for different core-shell microfibers are studied by using finite-difference time-domain and ray tracing calculations. The focusing properties of photonic nanojets are evaluated in terms of intensity profile and full width at half-maximum along propagation and transversal directions. In experiment, the general optical fiber is chemically etched down to 6 μm diameter and coated with different metallic thin films by using glancing angle deposition. The direct imaging of photonic nanojets for different core-shell microfibers is performed with a scanning optical microscope system. We show that the intensity distribution of a photonic nanojet is highly related to the metallic shell due to the surface plasmon polaritons. Furthermore, large-area super-resolution optical imaging is performed by using different core-shell microfibers placed over the nano-scale grating with 150 nm line width. The core-shell microfiber-assisted imaging is achieved with super-resolution and hundreds of times the field-of-view in contrast to microspheres. The possible applications of these core-shell optical microfibers include real-time large-area micro-fluidics and nano-structure inspections.

Improving biodiversity knowledge with dataset synergy: A case study of non-native plants in Colorado

USGS Publications Warehouse

Crosier, C.S.; Stohlgren, T.J.

2004-01-01

Species lists are important tools for managing biodiversity, including controlling nonnative species, but they are either incomplete or lacking for many areas. Our objective was to illustrate how the synergy of disparate data sets can increase knowledge of species distributions while minimizing further field expenditures. We compared five different data types (two species lists, weed surveys, vegetation plots, and weed maps) of nonnative plant locations at the county level from 45 data sets covering Colorado. Species lists captured the highest number of species, but they missed many of the noxious weeds recorded by weed-mapping data. The number of species recorded per county increased by 30% on average with data synergy even in the most intensively surveyed areas. Each data type also followed the same pattern of survey intensity, leaving some areas in the state consistently unsurveyed or undersurveyed. On average, there was a 44% increase in species recorded per county with all data types included. Overall, inclusion of more data types greatly increased knowledge of the nonnative species in Colorado. Therefore, harnessing the synergy of disparate data sets seems to be a cost-effective first step to increase knowledge of species richness (presence) in an area.

Field survey of earthquake effects from the magnitude 4.0 southern Maine earthquake of October 16, 2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

Amy L. Radakovich,; Alex J. Fergusen,; Boatwright, John

2016-06-02

The magnitude 4.0 earthquake that occurred on October 16, 2012, near Hollis Center and Waterboro in southwestern Maine surprised and startled local residents but caused only minor damage. A two-person U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) team was sent to Maine to conduct an intensity survey and document the damage. The only damage we observed was the failure of a chimney and plaster cracks in two buildings in East and North Waterboro, 6 kilometers (km) west of the epicenter. We photographed the damage and interviewed residents to determine the intensity distribution in the epicentral area. The damage and shaking reports are consistent with a maximum Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) of 5–6 for an area 1–8 km west of the epicenter, slightly higher than the maximum Community Decimal Intensity (CDI) of 5 determined by the USGS “Did You Feel It?” Web site. The area of strong shaking in East Waterboro corresponds to updip rupture on a fault plane that dips steeply east. 

The influence of surface contamination on the ion emission from nanosecond-pulsed laser ablation of Al and Cu

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ullah, S.; Dogar, A. H.; Qayyum, H.; Rehman, Z. U.; Qayyum, A.

2018-04-01

Ions emitted from planar Al and Cu targets irradiated with a 1064 nm pulsed laser were investigated with the help of a time-resolving Langmuir probe. It was found that the intensity of the ions emitted from a target area rapidly decreases with the increasing number of laser shots, and seems to reach saturation after about 10 laser shots. The saturated intensity of Al and Cu ions was approximately 0.1 and 0.3 times the intensity of the respective ions measured at the first laser shot, respectively. The higher target ion intensity for the first few shots is thought to be due to the enhanced ionization of target atoms by vacuum-ultraviolet radiations emitted from the thermally excited/ionized surface contaminants. The reduction of target ion intensity with an increasing number of laser shots thus indicates the removal of contaminants from the irradiated surface area. Laser-cleaned Al and Cu surfaces were then allowed to be recontaminated with residual vacuum gases and the ion intensity was measured at various time delays. The prolonged exposure of the cleaned target to vacuum residual gases completely restores the ion intensity. Regarding surface contaminants removal, laser shots of higher intensities were found to be more effective than a higher number of laser shots having lower intensities.

The Interannual Stability of Cumulative Frequency Distributions for Convective System Size and Intensity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mohr, Karen I.; Molinari, John; Thorncroft, Chris

2009-01-01

The characteristics of convective system populations in West Africa and the western Pacific tropical cyclone basin were analyzed to investigate whether interannual variability in convective activity in tropical continental and oceanic environments is driven by variations in the number of events during the wet season or by favoring large and/or intense convective systems. Convective systems were defined from Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) data as a cluster of pixels with an 85-GHz polarization-corrected brightness temperature below 255 K and with an area of at least 64 square kilometers. The study database consisted of convective systems in West Africa from May to September 1998-2007, and in the western Pacific from May to November 1998-2007. Annual cumulative frequency distributions for system minimum brightness temperature and system area were constructed for both regions. For both regions, there were no statistically significant differences between the annual curves for system minimum brightness temperature. There were two groups of system area curves, split by the TRMM altitude boost in 2001. Within each set, there was no statistically significant interannual variability. Subsetting the database revealed some sensitivity in distribution shape to the size of the sampling area, the length of the sample period, and the climate zone. From a regional perspective, the stability of the cumulative frequency distributions implied that the probability that a convective system would attain a particular size or intensity does not change interannually. Variability in the number of convective events appeared to be more important in determining whether a year is either wetter or drier than normal.

Morphological changes in paraurethral area after introduction of tissue engineering construct on the basis of adipose tissue stromal cells.

PubMed

Makarov, A V; Arutyunyan, I V; Bol'shakova, G B; Volkov, A V; Gol'dshtein, D V

2009-10-01

We studied morphological changes in the paraurethral area of Wistar rats after introduction of tissue engineering constructs on the basis of multipotent mesenchymal stem cells and gelatin sponge. The tissue engineering construct containing autologous culture of the stromal fraction of the adipose tissue was most effective. After introduction of this construct we observed more rapid degradation of the construct matrix and more intensive formation of collagen fibers.

Spatial and temporal assessment of cumulative disturbance impacts due to military training, burning, haying, and their interactions on land condition of Fort Riley.

PubMed

Wang, Guangxing; Murphy, Dana; Oller, Adam; Howard, Heidi R; Anderson, Alan B; Rijal, Santosh; Myers, Natalie R; Woodford, Philip

2014-07-01

The effects of military training activities on the land condition of Army installations vary spatially and temporally. Training activities observably degrade land condition while also increasing biodiversity and stabilizing ecosystems. Moreover, other anthropogenic activities regularly occur on military lands such as prescribed burns and agricultural haying-adding to the dynamics of land condition. Thus, spatially and temporally assessing the impacts of military training, prescribed burning, agricultural haying, and their interactions is critical to the management of military lands. In this study, the spatial distributions and patterns of military training-induced disturbance frequency were derived using plot observation and point observation-based method, at Fort Riley, Kansas from 1989 to 2001. Moreover, spatial and variance analysis of cumulative impacts due to military training, burning, haying, and their interactions on the land condition of Fort Riley were conducted. The results showed that: (1) low disturbance intensity dominated the majority of the study area with exception of concentrated training within centralized areas; (2) high and low values of disturbance frequency were spatially clustered and had spatial patterns that differed significantly from a random distribution; and (3) interactions between prescribed burning and agricultural haying were not significant in terms of either soil erosion or disturbance intensity although their means and variances differed significantly between the burned and non-burned areas and between the hayed and non-hayed areas.

Geographic variations of ecosystem service intensity in Fuzhou City, China.

PubMed

Hu, Xisheng; Hong, Wei; Qiu, Rongzu; Hong, Tao; Chen, Can; Wu, Chengzhen

2015-04-15

Ecosystem services are strongly influenced by the landscape configuration of natural and human systems. So they are heterogeneous across landscapes. However lack of the knowledge of spatial variations of ecosystem services constrains the effective management and conservation of ecosystems. We presented a spatially explicit and quantitative assessment of the geographic variations in ecosystem services for the Fuzhou City in 2009 using exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) and semivariance analysis. Results confirmed a significant and positive spatial autocorrelation, and revealed several hot-spots and cold-spots for the spatial distribution of ecosystem service intensity (ESI) in the study area. Also the trend surface analysis indicated that the level of ESI tended to be reduced gradually from north to south and from west to east, with a trough in the urban central area, which was quite in accordance with land-use structure. A more precise cluster map was then developed using the range of lag distance, deriving from semivariance analysis, as neighborhood size instead of default value in the software of ESRI ArcGIS 10.0, and geographical clusters where population growth and land-use pressure varied significantly and positively with ESI across the city were also created by geographically weighted regression (GWR). This study has good policy implications applicable to prioritize areas for conservation or construction, and design ecological corridor to improve ecosystem service delivery to benefiting areas. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessing spatio-temporal trend of vector breeding and dengue fever incidence in association with meteorological conditions.

PubMed

Malik, Afifa; Yasar, Abdullah; Tabinda, Amtul Bari; Zaheer, Ihsan Elahi; Malik, Khalida; Batool, Adeeba; Mahfooz, Yusra

2017-04-01

Th aim of this study is to investigate spatio-temporal trends of dengue vector breeding and epidemic (disease incidence) influenced by climatic factors. The spatio-temporal (low-, medium-, and high-intensity periods) evaluation of entomological and epidemiological investigations along with climatic factors like rainfall (RF), temperature (T max ), relative humidity (RH), and larval indexing was conducted to develop correlations in the area of Lahore, Pakistan. The vector abundance and disease transmission trend was geo-tagged for spatial insight. The sufficient rainfall events and optimum temperature and relative humidity supported dengue vector breeding with high larval indices for water-related containers (27-37%). Among temporal analysis, the high-intensity period exponentially projected disease incidence followed by post-rainfall impacts. The high larval incidence that was observed in early high-intensity periods effected the dengue incidence. The disease incidence had a strong association with RF (r = 0.940, α = 0.01). The vector larva occurrence (r = 0.017, α = 0.05) influenced the disease incidence. Similarly, RH (r = 0.674, α = 0.05) and average T max (r = 0.307, α = 0.05) also induced impact on the disease incidence. In this study, the vulnerability to dengue fever highly correlates with meteorological factors during high-intensity period. It provides area-specific understanding of vector behavior, key containers, and seasonal patterns of dengue vector breeding and disease transmission which is essential for preparing an effective prevention plan against the vector.

Do Doppler color flow algorithms for mapping disturbed flow make sense?

PubMed

Gardin, J M; Lobodzinski, S M

1990-01-01

It has been suggested that a major advantage of Doppler color flow mapping is its ability to visualize areas of disturbed ("turbulent") flow, for example, in valvular stenosis or regurgitation and in shunts. To investigate how various color flow mapping instruments display disturbed flow information, color image processing was used to evaluate the most common velocity-variance color encoding algorithms of seven commercially available ultrasound machines. In six of seven machines, green was reportedly added by the variance display algorithms to map areas of disturbed flow. The amount of green intensity added to each pixel along the red and blue portions of the velocity reference color bar was calculated for each machine. In this study, velocities displayed on the reference color bar ranged from +/- 46 to +/- 64 cm/sec, depending on the Nyquist limit. Of note, changing the Nyquist limits depicted on the color reference bars did not change the distribution of the intensities of red, blue, or green within the contour of the reference map, but merely assigned different velocities to the pixels. Most color flow mapping algorithms in our study added increasing intensities of green to increasing positive (red) or negative (blue) velocities along their color reference bars. Most of these machines also added increasing green to red and blue color intensities horizontally across their reference bars as a marker of increased variance (spectral broadening). However, at any given velocity, marked variations were noted between different color flow mapping instruments in the amount of green added to their color velocity reference bars.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Investing in Student Achievement.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Education Commission of the States, Denver, CO.

During 1996-97 the Education Commission of the States explored three policy areas in which state efforts to improve student achievement have been increasingly concentrated: early childhood education, teacher quality and stronger connections between the K-12 and postsecondary systems. The study surveyed the scope and intensity of state efforts in…

Belize Area Study

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-11-20

plains. It ’is generally similar . to the entire Yucatan Penisula of which it is a part. If the drainage is sufficient, land use there is intensive...and reported. Dental disease is rather prevalent affecting 90% of the pcpulation and is primarily treated by extractions. Nutrition Energy-protein...8217 ............................................................................................................................................................. . . ._. .- -" nutritionally

Invasive species change detection using artificial neural networks and CASI hyperspectral imagery

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

For monitoring and controlling the extent and intensity of an invasive species, a direct multi-date image classification method was applied in invasive species (saltcedar) change detection in the study area of Lovelock, Nevada. With multi-date Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) hyperspec...

Volumetric analysis and hydrologic characterization of a modern debris flow near Yucca Mountain, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Coe, J.A.; Glancy, P.A.; Whitney, J.W.

1997-01-01

On July 21 or 22, 1984, debris flows triggered by rainfall occurred on the southern hillslope of Jake Ridge, about 6 km east of the crest of Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Rain gages near Jake Ridge recorded 65 mm and 69 mm on July 21, and 20 mm and 17 mm on July 22. Rates of rainfall intensity ranged up to 73 mm/h on the twenty-first, and 15 mm/h on the twenty-second. Digital elevation models with 2.0 m grid-node spacing, measured from pre-storm and post-storm aerial stereo-photographs, were used to map hillslope erosion and the downslope distribution of debris. Volumetric calculations indicate that about 7040 m3 of debris was redistributed on the 49,132 m2 hillslope study area during the two-day storm period. About 4580 m3 (65%) of the eroded sediment was deposited within the study area and the remaining 35% was deposited outside the study area in a short tributary to Fortymile Wash and in the wash itself. The maximum and mean depths of erosion in the study area were about 1.8 m and 5 cm, respectively. The mean depths of erosion on the upper and middle hillslope were 27 cm and 4 cm, respectively. The mean depth of deposition on the lower hillslope was 16 cm. Analysis of the values of cumulative precipitation in the context of the precipitation-frequency atlas of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicates that precipitation from the main storm on July 21 was more than double that expected, on average, once during a 100-year period. The relations of precipitation intensity/duration, developed from data recorded at a nearby precipitation gage, indicate a storm interval of 500 years or greater. The amount of erosion caused by such a storm is primarily dependent on three variables: storm intensity, development of the drainage network on the hillslope, and the amount of available colluvium. Additionally, the erosive ability of successive storms of equal intensity will decrease because such storms would tend to progressively isolate and reduce the amount of colluvium available. The preservation of Pleistocene deposits on hillslopes of Yucca Mountain, in general, indicates that erosional events that strip 5% of the available hillslope colluvium must be quite rare. We conclude that the recurrence interval of an erosional event comparable to the July, 1984 event is probably much longer than 500 years.

A descriptive study of patient satisfaction and the structural factors of Norwegian intensive care nursing.

PubMed

Johannessen, Gudrun; Eikeland, Anne; Stubberud, Dag-Gunnar; Fagerstöm, Lisbeth

2011-10-01

The aim of this study was to describe patient satisfaction with nursing care in three different Norwegian Coronary Intensive Care Units and compare the results with other structural factors such as nursing competence, skill-mix, clinical experience, nurse to patient ratio and number of beds. A descriptive and comparative design was employed and 150 patients at three Coronary Intensive Care Units were included. Patient satisfaction data was collected using the Intensive Nursing Care Quality Instrument (59 items). The data collected was comprised of two parts: a questionnaire and information on the structural factors of the organisational structure. The data was analysed using descriptive statistics. Patients expressed overall satisfaction with the nursing care. No clear association was found between patient satisfaction and nursing competence, skill-mix, clinical experience, nurse to patient ratio and number of beds. When comparing results between units, significant differences were seen for 17 out of 46 questions. The results provide insight into how critical care staffing and skill-mix affect patient satisfaction and guide future nursing research in this subject area. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Diagnosis of complications associated with acute cholecystitis using computed tomography and diffusion-weighted imaging with background body signal suppression/T2 image fusion.

PubMed

Tomizawa, Minoru; Shinozaki, Fuminobu; Tanaka, Satomi; Sunaoshi, Takafumi; Kano, Daisuke; Sugiyama, Eriko; Shite, Misaki; Haga, Ryouta; Fukamizu, Yoshiya; Fujita, Toshiyuki; Kagayama, Satoshi; Hasegawa, Rumiko; Shirai, Yoshinori; Motoyoshi, Yasufumi; Sugiyama, Takao; Yamamoto, Shigenori; Ishige, Naoki

2017-07-01

In a clinical setting, it is important to diagnose complications of acute cholecystitis accurately. Diffusion-weighted whole body imaging with background body signal suppression/T2-weighted image fusion (DWIBS/T2) provides high signal intensity with a strong contrast against surrounding tissues in anatomical settings. In the present study, patients who were being treated for acute cholecystitis and underwent DWIBS/T2 in the National Hospital Organization Shimoshizu Hospital between December 2012 and August 2015 were enrolled. A total of 10 men and 4 women underwent DWIBS/T2. Records, including DWIBS/T2 and computed tomography (CT) imaging, were retrospectively analyzed for patients with acute cholecystitis. CT images revealed thickened gallbladder walls in patients with acute cholecystitis, and high signal intensity was observed in DWIBS/T2 images for the thickened gallbladder wall. Inflammation of the pericholecystic space and the liver resulted in high intensity signals with DWIBS/T2 imaging, whereas CT imaging revealed a low-density area in the cholecystic space. Plain CT scanning identified a low-density area in the liver, which became more obvious with contrast-enhanced CT. DWIBS/T2 imaging showed the inflammation of the liver and pericholesyctic space as an area of high signal intensity. Detectability of inflammation of the pericholecystic space and the liver was the same for DWIBS/T2 and CT, which suggests that DWIBS/T2 has the same sensitivity as CT scanning for the diagnosis of complicated acute cholecystitis. However, the strong contrast shown by DWIBS/T2 allows for easier evaluation of acute cholecystitis than CT scanning.

Community structure and coral status across reef fishing intensity gradients in Palk Bay reef, southeast coast of India.

PubMed

Manikandan, B; Ravindran, J; Shrinivaasu, S; Marimuthu, N; Paramasivam, K

2014-10-01

Coral reef fishes are exploited without the knowledge of their sustainability and their possible effect in altering the community structure of a coral reef ecosystem. Alteration of the community structure could cause a decline in the health of coral reefs and its services. We documented the coral community structure, status of live corals and reef fish assemblages in Palk Bay at the reef fishing hotspots and its nearby reef area with minimum fishing pressure and compared it with a control reef area where reef fishing was banned for more than two decades. The comparison was based on the percent cover of different forms of live corals, their diversity and the density and diversity of reef fishes. The reef fish stock in the reef fishing hotspots and its neighbouring reef was lower by 61 and 38%, respectively compared to the control reef. The herbivore fish Scarus ghobban and Siganus javus were exploited at a rate of 250 and 105 kg month(-1) fishermen(-1), respectively, relatively high comparing the small reef area. Live and dead corals colonized by turf algae were predominant in both the reef fishing hotspots and its nearby coral ecosystems. The percent cover of healthy live corals and live corals colonized by turf algae was <10 and >80%, respectively, in the intensively fished coral ecosystems. The corals were less diverse and the massive Porites and Favia colonies were abundant in the intensive reef fishing sites. Results of this study suggest that the impact of reef fish exploitation was not solely restricted to the intensively fished reefs, but also to the nearby reefs which play a critical role in the resilience of degraded reef ecosystems.

Prevalence and intensity of catastrophic health care expenditures in Iran from 2008 to 2015: a study on Iranian household income and expenditure survey.

PubMed

Yazdi-Feyzabadi, Vahid; Bahrampour, Mina; Rashidian, Arash; Haghdoost, Ali-Akbar; Akbari Javar, Mohammadreza; Mehrolhassani, Mohammad Hossein

2018-04-13

Households exposure to catastrophic health expenditure is a valuable measure to monitor financial protection in health sector payments. The present study had two aims: first, to estimate the prevalence and intensity of catastrophic health expenditures (CHE) in Iran. Second, to investigate main factors that influence the probability of CHE. CHE is defined as an occasion in which a household's out-of-pocket (OOP) spending exceeds 40% of the total income that remains after subtraction of living expenses. This study used the data from eight national repeated cross-sectional surveys on households' income and expenditure. The proportion of households facing CHE, as a prevalence measure, was estimated for rural and urban areas. The intensity of CHE was also calculated using overshoot and mean positive overshoot (MPO) measures. The factors affecting the CHE were also analyzed using logistic random effects regression model. We also used ArcMap 10.1 to display visually disparities across the country. An increasing number of Iranians has been subject to catastrophic health care costs over the study period in both rural and urban areas (CHE = 2.57% in 2008 and 3.25% in 2015). In the same period, the overshoot of CHE and the mean positive overshoot ranged from 0.26% to 0.65% and from 12.26% to 20.86%, respectively. The average absolute monetary value of OOP spending per month has been low in rural areas over the years, but the prevalence of CHE has been higher than urban areas. Generally put, rural settlement, higher income, receiving inpatient and outpatient services, and existence of elderly people in the household led to increase in CHE prevalence (p < 0.05). Interestingly, provinces with more limited geographical and cultural accessibility had the lowest CHE. According to the findings, Iran's healthcare system has failed to realize the aim of five-year national development plan regarding CHE prevalence (1% CHE prevalence according to the plan). Therefore, revision of financial health care protection policies focusing on pre-payments seems mandatory. For instance, these policies should extend the interventions that target low-income populations particularly in rural areas, provide more coverage for catastrophic medical services in basic benefit packages, and develop supplementary health insurance.

Shorter Lumbar Paraspinal Fascia Is Associated With High Intensity Low Back Pain and Disability.

PubMed

Ranger, Tom A; Teichtahl, Andrew J; Cicuttini, Flavia M; Wang, Yuanyuan; Wluka, Anita E; OʼSullivan, Richard; Jones, Graeme; Urquhart, Donna M

2016-04-01

A cross-sectional, community-based study. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between structural features of the thoracolumbar fascia and low back pain and disability. The thoracolumbar fascia plays a role in stabilization of the spine by transmitting tension from the spinal and abdominal musculature to the vertebrae. It has been hypothesized that the fascia is associated with low back pain through the development of increased pressure in the paraspinal compartment, which leads to muscle ischemia. Seventy-two participants from a community-based study of musculoskeletal health underwent Magnetic Resonance Imaging from the T12 vertebral body to the sacrum. The length of the paraspinal fascia and cross-sectional area of the paraspinal compartment were quantitatively measured from axial images at the level of the transverse processes and the Chronic Pain Grade Scale was used to assess low back pain intensity and disability. A shorter length of fascia around the parapsinal compartment was significantly associated with high intensity low back pain and/or disability, after adjusting for age, gender, and body mass index [right odds ratio (OR) 1.9, 95% CI 0.99-3.8, P = 0.05; left OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.2 to 5.6, P = 0.01). Further adjustment for the cross-sectional area of the compartment strengthened the associations between fascial length and low back pain/or disability (right OR 8.9, 95% CI 1.9-40.9, P = 0.005; left OR 9.6, 95% CI 1.2-42.9, P = 0.003). This study has demonstrated that a shorter lumbar paraspinal fascia is associated with high intensity low back pain and/or disability among community-based adults. Although cohort studies are needed, these results suggest that structural features of the fascia may play a role in high levels of low back pain and disability. 3.

Development and Application of Integrated Optical Sensors for Intense E-Field Measurement

PubMed Central

Zeng, Rong; Wang, Bo; Niu, Ben; Yu, Zhanqing

2012-01-01

The measurement of intense E-fields is a fundamental need in various research areas. Integrated optical E-field sensors (IOESs) have important advantages and are potentially suitable for intense E-field detection. This paper comprehensively reviews the development and applications of several types of IOESs over the last 30 years, including the Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI), coupler interferometer (CI) and common path interferometer (CPI). The features of the different types of IOESs are compared, showing that the MZI has higher sensitivity, the CI has a controllable optical bias, and the CPI has better temperature stability. More specifically, the improvement work of applying IOESs to intense E-field measurement is illustrated. Finally, typical uses of IOESs in the measurement of intense E-fields are demonstrated, including application areas such as E-fields with different frequency ranges in high-voltage engineering, simulated nuclear electromagnetic pulse in high-power electromagnetic pulses, and ion-accelerating field in high-energy physics. PMID:23112663

Noninvasive lifting of arm, thigh, and knee skin with transcutaneous intense focused ultrasound.

PubMed

Alster, Tina S; Tanzi, Elizabeth L

2012-05-01

Transcutaneous intense focused ultrasound is a novel Food and Drug Administration-approved technology for noninvasive skin tightening of the face and neck. No studies have reported on its safety and effectiveness on nonfacial areas. Eighteen paired areas (6 each) on the upper arms, medial thighs, and extensor knees were randomly treated with two different transducers (4.0 MHz, 4.5-mm focal depth and 7.0 MHz, 3.0-mm focal depth). One side was randomly assigned to receive a single pass (single plane) of microthermal coagulation zones over the involved area with the 4.0 MHz, 4.5-mm-depth transducer, and the contralateral side was assigned to receive consecutive single passes (dual plane) using both transducers (4.0 MHz, 4.5-mm depth followed by 7.0 MHz, 3.0-mm depth). Two independent masked assessors determined clinical improvement scores using comparative standardized photographs obtained at baseline and 3 and 6 months after treatment. Subjective assessments of clinical improvement and side effects of treatment were obtained. Global assessment scores revealed significant improvement in all treated areas, with the upper arms and knees demonstrating more skin lifting and tightening than the thighs. Areas receiving dual-plane treatment had slightly better clinical scores than those receiving single-plane treatment in all three sites. Clinical scores from single-plane and dual-plane treated areas continued to improve between 3 and 6 months after treatment. Side effects were mild and transient and included erythema, warmth, and skin tenderness. Rare focal bruising was noted in two patients on the upper arms that resolved within 7 days. No other side effects were reported or observed. Transcutaneous intense focused ultrasound can be safely and effectively used to improve the clinical appearance (texture and contour) of the upper arms, extensor knees, and medial thighs. © 2012 by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, Inc. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Relationship between Surface Urban Heat Island intensity and sensible heat flux retrieved from meteorological parameters observed by road weather stations in urban area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gawuć, Lech

2017-04-01

Urban Heat Island (UHI) is a direct consequence of altered energy balance in urban areas (Oke 1982). There has been a significant effort put into an understanding of air temperature variability in urban areas and underlying mechanisms (Arnfield 2003, Grimmond 2006, Stewart 2011, Barlow 2014). However, studies that are concerned on surface temperature are less frequent. Therefore, Voogt & Oke (2003) proposed term "Surface Urban Heat Island (SUHI)", which is analogical to UHI and it is defined as a difference in land surface temperature (LST) between urban and rural areas. SUHI is a phenomenon that is not only concerned with high spatial variability, but also with high temporal variability (Weng and Fu 2014). In spite of the fact that satellite remote sensing techniques give a full spatial pattern over a vast area, such measurements are strictly limited to cloudless conditions during a satellite overpass (Sobrino et al., 2012). This significantly reduces the availability and applicability of satellite LST observations, especially over areas and seasons with high cloudiness occurrence. Also, the surface temperature is influenced by synoptic conditions (e.g., wind and humidity) (Gawuc & Struzewska 2016). Hence, utilising single observations is not sufficient to obtain a full image of spatiotemporal variability of urban LST and SUHI intensity (Gawuc & Struzewska 2016). One of the possible solutions would be a utilisation of time-series of LST data, which could be useful to monitor the UHI growth of individual cities and thus, to reveal the impact of urbanisation on local climate (Tran et al., 2006). The relationship between UHI and synoptic conditions have been summarised by Arnfield (2003). However, similar analyses conducted for urban LST and SUHI are lacking. We will present analyses of the relationship between time series of remotely-sensed LST and SUHI intensity and in-situ meteorological observations collected by road weather stations network, namely: road surface kinetic temperature, wind speed, air temperature, soil temperature at a depth of 30 cm, road surface condition, relative humidity. Also, as there are wind speed and temperature observations at different heights available, we will calculate sensible heat flux in order to relate it to the intensity of SUHI.

Wind Shear Identification with the Retrieval Wind of Doppler Wearth Radar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, S.; Cui, Y.; Zheng, H.; Zhang, T.

2018-05-01

A new method, which based on the wind field retrieval algorithm of Volume Velocity Process (VVP), has been used to identified the intensity of wind shear occurred in a severe convection process in Guangzhou. The intensity of wind shear's strength shown that new cells would be more likely to generate in areas where the magnitude generally larger than 3.0 m/(s*km). Moreover, in the areas of potential areas of rainfall, the wind shear's strength would larger than 4.5 m/(s*km). This wind shear identify method is very helpful to forecasting severe convections' moving and developments.

Distribution of nearshore macroinvertebrates in lakes of the Northern Cascade Mountains, Washington, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hoffman, Robert L.; Liss, W.J.; Larson, Gary L.; Deimling, E.; Lomnicky, G.A.

1996-01-01

During the summer of 1949 studies were conducted at Princeton, New Jersey, to determine the effects on wildlife of DDT used in the control of Dutch elm disease. Direct mortality was determined by intensive search for dead birds after spraying. Twenty-six songbirds, one bat, and one gray squirrel were found. Of 11 dead birds from a study area of approximately 20 acres only one was an adult. Songbird populations were determined by censuses before and after spraying on a study area and on a similar unsprayed check area. The number of all breeding birds showed a 19.6 percent decrease on both the study and check areas during the week immediately following spraying. About two weeks after spraying the population in the treated area began to increase and within another week was back to prespray level. When only those species common to both sprayed and unsprayed areas are considered a population decline of 22 percent was measured in the sprayed area while the check area showed a 6 percent increase in numbers over the same period. Nestling mortality was studied in both areas. Among 18 young found on the study area during and following spraying 8 (44%) survived. Death of two broods of catbirds occurred four days after spraying. Of 21 young found on the check area 15 (71%) survived.

Effects on wildlife of DDT used for control of Dutch elm disease

USGS Publications Warehouse

Benton, A.H.

1951-01-01

During the summer of 1949 studies were conducted at Princeton, New Jersey, to determine the effects on wildlife of DDT used in the control of Dutch elm disease. Direct mortality was determined by intensive search for dead birds after spraying. Twenty-six songbirds, one bat, and one gray squirrel were found. Of 11 dead birds from a study area of approximately 20 acres only one was an adult. Songbird populations were determined by censuses before and after spraying on a study area and on a similar unsprayed check area. The number of all breeding birds showed a 19.6 percent decrease on both the study and check areas during the week immediately following spraying. About two weeks after spraying the population in the treated area began to increase and within another week was back to prespray level. When only those species common to both sprayed and unsprayed areas are considered a population decline of 22 percent was measured in the sprayed area while the check area showed a 6 percent increase in numbers over the same period. Nestling mortality was studied in both areas. Among 18 young found on the study area during and following spraying 8 (44%) survived. Death of two broods of catbirds occurred four days after spraying. Of 21 young found on the check area 15 (71%) survived.

[Effect of thinning intensities on fruiting regularities of Quercus liaotungensis forests in Huang-long and Qiaoshan mountains.

PubMed

Huang, Cai Zhi; Zhang, Wen Hui; Li, Gang; Yu, Shi Chuan; You, Jian Jian

2016-11-18

In order to clarify the impact of thinning intensities on fruiting regularity of Quercus liaotungensis forests, we took the Q. liaotungensis half-mature forests in Huanglong and Qiaoshan mountains on south of the Loess Plateau as the object of study, which were under close-to-natural management of different thinning intensities (CK, 10%, 20% and 30%). An analysis was made on stand density and percent of seed trees, seed number of sample tree and unit area, seed spatial distributions, seed characteristics of the Q. liaotungensis forests after 5 years of thinning. The results showed that, percent of seed trees, seed number per sample tree and percent of developed seeds of Q. liaotungensis forests increased with the increasing intensity, and showed a pattern of 30%>20%>10%>CK. Seed number per area reached the maximum number under 20% thinning, and showed a pattern of 20%>30%>CK>10%. From the seed spatial distribution in the canopy, the upper accounted for 73.6%, while the lower had 26.4%. The sunny side of canopy layer set relatively the most fruits of 65.8%, shady side only had 34.2%. Under thinning, further improving was geater under lower canopy than under upper canopy and so was on shady side than on sunny side. The seed long diameter, seed short diameter and 1000-seed mass of Q. liaotungensis forests increased with the increasing intensity, which reached the maximum under 30% thinning. 10% thinning did not significantly impact Q. liaotungensis fruiting, the thinning intensity of 20% was most conducive to the seed quantity and quality improvement of Q. liaotungensis, while the thinning intensity of 30% did not improve the fruiting, and lowered the total number of seeds. It was proposed that 20% thinning should be chosen (canopy density of 0.7) to effectively improve fruiting and quality of Q. liaotungensis.